Wolfsbane

Chapter 5

Pushing open the door to the boys' locker room, Lydia stepped inside into the dimly lit area. It smelled like sweat and field hockey, and she scrunched up her nose in disgust. Why Jackson had insisted she meet him here, she had no idea. He should know her better than to think she would enjoy being in the smelliest room in the entire school.

"Jackson?" she called quietly, her voice reverberating louder in the metal room than she'd expected. She glanced between the rows of lockers, squinting since it was hard to see with nothing but the sunlight glaring through the row of windows lining the point on the walls where they met with the ceiling. That glare did little to light the room this far down, and she brushed her hair out of her eyes in an attempt to see better as she walked farther into the locker room. "Jackson... where are you? You asked me to meet you here and now you're hiding? Exactly how childish is that?" she griped.

She knew, despite her attempts to shut down her feelings for him, she still loved him. She'd been hurt when he'd yelled at her that one time in the hallway, and she'd hated him, but she loved him at the same time. They'd been together since middle school, and there were many fun memories to counteract the bad. Then there was the time at Scott's house when he'd kissed her after she told him she hated him... it was all too confusing. After they'd broken up, he'd been acting like an asshole to her, and she didn't want to play games with him anymore.

"Jackson, if you don't show yourself right now, I'm leaving." She had reached the junction between the lockers and the showers, and she still saw no one. Her heart was beating faster now as an inexplicable feeling of dread settled over her, and she crossed her arms, rubbing her elbows although the locker room was probably the hottest room on campus.

Feeling a prick on the back of her neck, she spun, fully prepared to launch into a tirade on Jackson for playing games with her, but her throat constricted as she came face-to-face with a snarling reptile and its deadly golden eyes. Her green eyes widened in fear, her heart beating in her ears and deafening her, and she opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. The creature advanced slowly on her, forcing her backward to get away from it so she was standing in the shower room. The twirling fan on the wall sliced the light pouring in from outside, creating a strobe light effect that only added to her anxiety.

A low hissing rose from the beast's mouth, and she realized it was starting to speak, a slithering sound that grated on her mouth and spine. "Do tell what Peter Hale wantsss you to do, Lydia," it hissed, its putrid breath warming her face and making her nauseous, "And I may ssspare your life."

She was backed up against the tiled wall of the shower now, and she began trembling in fear. But she couldn't let that fear show, at least as little as was possible.

"I.. don't know... what you're talking about," she lied, closing her eyes and cringing as the creature leaned even closer to her. An involuntary whimper escaped her throat as its claws began to close around one of her wrists.

Suddenly, a load roar filled the locker room, and her eyes snapped open to see the lizard was gone. Glancing around frantically, she saw its long tail snapping around as it leapt away from its attacker, leaping into the rafters. Following closely behind was a leather-clad male with black hair. He dodged the dangerous tail and claws, grabbing the scaled beast and flinging it across the room. It flew at the window, spinning in midair so it sailed out through the glass, shattering the windows and raining glass all over the locker room. Lydia covered her head as shards rained down around her, and she realized she was shaking.

"Are you okay?" asked a familiar voice, and she timidly looked up to see Derek dressed in his black leather jacket, his scruffy face regarding her with a mixture of concern and irritation. Stiles was right, he was really grumpy.

"I'm... fine," she managed, drawing herself up and brushing glass off of her clothes and out of her hair. She looked up at him with a suspicious look. "How did you know I was in here anyway?"

Derek smiled slightly, the first sincere smile she'd ever seen him wear. "Your heart was beating so loud, I bet every werewolf in the state could hear it. Plus, I was already tracking Ja-... the kanima and you happened to lead me right to him." He shrugged nonchalantly.

Lydia nodded slightly and cleared her throat uncomfortably. "You just saved my life..."

He shrugged again and smirked as he glanced over at her. "I did."

She pursed her lips and smiled, the fear from her near-death experience wearing off and leaving her feeling giddy. "I guess that puts us right back where we started then."

"I guess so, since Allison still wants to kill me..." He turned away and walked off through the locker room, disappearing into the semi-darkness almost instantly thanks to his black jacket. Lydia sighed loudly and smacked her head against the tile wall as she slumped against it. Derek had saved her life, and she'd drugged him and almost gotten him killed. That made the score 2-0. If she didn't stop Allison from trying to kill him, then she wouldn't have only failed Peter, it would confirm she was a horrible person.