chapter nineteen.

BLUE IRISES UNVEILS TO a new day but is blocked by a grinning Isaac Lahey leaning over him, an ache swims back around his temple he winces instinctively fingertips ghosting the purple bruise a hole in his memory from last night.

"I wouldn't mind waking up like this -" His arms are agile tanking him into a headlock shoving his body weight on his so his head hits the matrices, ignoring the soft thumping of pain. Isaac grunts surprised, he recovers rapid slapping his back until his fingers find the bottom of his t-shirt and pulls it over his head trapping him. "I should've predicted that. You're still doing the same moves ten years later."

"Why change it if it's fine?" Isaac retorts with a light shrug as Arthur tosses the t-shirt he slept in exchanging it for one of his. "Get up, we're going to to school, loser."

"Mean girl reference?" Arthur scoffs, head sticking out of the fresh grey long sleeve. "Don't start." Picking his brain he tries to remember anything that could give him an insight from the bruise, he doubts Scott gave it to him. It's like his memories are nonexistent almost as if he was born yesterday. Strange, side effects of hitting your head does come with amnesia. "Hey, do you know what happened to my head?"

"You got your ass beat." The blue eyed beta says bluntly. "One of the, eh, twins found you and Lydia knocked out and freezing. You probably hit you're head when you fell."

Arthur bits his thumbnail he wasn't going to change out of his jeans, nodding the information doesn't spark anything inside of him. He sighs taking his word for it, "Yeah, is Lydia okay?"

"Have you noticed how brutal we'd make as team?" Isaac asks changing the subject entirely, hands on his knees he traces the spines of his books.

"Of course, we're invincible." The blue eyed grins, rubbing his palms on his knees clueless to the change. There's a light limp in his leg, he guess from the fight that took place last night although it would've healed by now normally.

"We've wasted so much energy trying to be good." Scott notes, a smile on his lips stopping in front of Arthur, "Nobody notices us so what's the point? There'll be others to take our place if we change course."

"Wh, What?" This couldn't be Isaac talking, this is the same kid who has been wronged his entire life and beating up bullies is how he gets through it. They were rescued by werewolves, who knows where they'd be if they hadn't been. There are times when they can replaced with the snap of fingers but Arthur couldn't leave ensuring ensuring his family's safety and he doesn't mind getting bloody knuckles. "It's not like we have a list of replacement waiting to take our place, and since when did you get bored of being the good guy?"

"Since I noticed how much of an beneficial asset you are." The beta answered, he takes a seat on the matrices besides him. Arthur's skin begins crawling itching for him to sprint away from the stranger besides him, he neglects the feeling. "Do you like riddles?"

"I didn't know you liked riddles." Arthur mumbles, wrapping his arms around his knee.

"It's a great distraction." Isaac replies, a smile curving on his lips. It pricks his skin like needles, he swallows thickly as anxiety splashes him like a cold bath but this is Isaac, the same boy who stayed with him when he missed the bus even though it got him in trouble with his dad. He's not a threat. "What can't be used until it's broken?" Then why is his heart beating so fast after the question.

Arthur shrugs. "I don't know. Riddles aren't really my thing -"

"- An egg." The beta answers, his unnerving smile widening. It remains him of when he went to a circus with his mother and sister and somehow got lost, clowns popped out everywhere like a Jack-In-The-Box ignoring his begging for help, their boisterous laughter bouncing in his head like a wrecking ball stripping his voice, he tripped knocking his ice cream onto his sweater and when his mother found him he was under a bleacher crying in between his knees. He doesn't like this. "What is it the more you take away the larger it becomes?"

"I, I don't know." Arthur mumbles tugging on his collar.

"C'mon, it's not that hard." Isaac persuade, nudging shoulders with him. "Think, Arthur. What is it the more you take away the larger it becomes? What is it the more you take away the larger -"

His eyelids rip open swallowing a well needed scream knuckles white gripping the bed sheets, light peeks through the ajar door - he never leaves his door open especially not before sleeping it terrifies him knowing somebody could be standing outside watching him. Scarlet red numbers on the wall are slightly shadowed by something or someone, this is why he keeps it closed paranoia chews him up bit by bit.

Arthur wants to pretend to be asleep until the intruder is gone but he couldn't. His fingers spider walk to the edge of his pillow and squeezes counting to three he only reaches two not giving him a chance to back out and swings the pillow. "What the s -"

"- Swiss Cheese!" The familiar soft voice groans as the nightstand quakes when she fell into it. "I only came to barrow your charger."

Relief washes over his fear letting his bed swallow him. "Sorry. Take whatever you want." The charger signifying their peace treaty, he craves for sleep to take him away but having another nightmare like he had preys his eyes open, beads of sweat lining his forehead and torso sticking the cotton t-shirt to his chest.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Josie questions phone plugged in, her eyes trail over his expression. "I can stay with you if you want."

"I'll fine and you have school tomorrow." Arthur says.

The ebony hesitates, biting her thumbnail besides his bed. "I, eh."

Noticing her uncertainty, he turns on his side to face her and asks. "What's up?"

"The ceiling, duh." The words slips past her lips automatically. He rolls his eyes. Her finger fiddles with the silver ankle bracelet. "I just, I got rejected."

"What? By who?" The thought of sleep was shoved to the back of mind using his elbows to hold himself up.

"I'm not saying names, it'll just make me even more embarrassed." Josie mumbles burying her hands in her face. "She was cute, like really monkey cute."

He resisted the urge to point out monkeys aren't cute, instead saying, "But you're cuter." His mind wonders back to his closet friend persuading him to join the dark side, it felt like he was seeing life through the other side of a mirror.

"I know. She rejected me in front of everybody." Her voice was muffled by her hands but he understood every word clearly, she groans pretending she hadn't wiped her eyes. The last thing he needs is watching his sister get her heartbroken for the first time, a sense to cry and wreck whoever hurt his sister overcoming him. "Who does that!"

"Someone in desperate need of a trick." Arthur mutters. An idea lights above his head a creative way for him and her. "Cheer up, Joe, big brother knows how to help." He swings himself out of bed bare feet flinching at the cold floor, he snatches his bomber jacket behind his door.

"Eh, it's one in the morning." Josie points out, the scarlet numbers on the clock illuminating the bedroom glancing at him tie his laces.

"Even better." The blue eyed sings. "Josie, get dressed in black while I get the eggs."

Twenty minutes later, the Robinson siblings stood on the foot of heartbreaker's lawn, two fresh cartons of eggs underneath their arms awaiting to be cracked. What can't be used until it's broken? The answer laid delicate in his palm, was this a sign or a consequences? Either way he couldn't deal with it right now, he has a sister in need of a short term remedy.

"Do you know where her room is?" Arthur whispers, in between two parked cars opening the cartons.

"No? Why would I, why would I know -" his deadpanned look makes her purse her lips. "The one on the left."

"Great. Now when trying the egg make sure you -" his advice is silenced by an egg whizzing through the air and smacked against a left side window instantly followed by another inches apart. "Whoa, guess we know who'll be trying out for lacrosse." The young girl giggles.

Throughout the night the silence was ripped away by eggs staining the windows, walls and door and the laughter of siblings releasing pent up emotions. This might be one of Arthur's greatest ideas.

"That was awesome!" Josie beams, clenched fists raised in excitement.

"A productive way to release bottled emotions." Arthur declares smiling, punching her shoulder softly and begins collecting the empty egg cartons.

"Ooh, we missed a spot." Josie notes, lips twitching into a frown. He shows her the empty boxes. "Don't worry." She picks something up. "She breaks my heart, I break her window."

His eyes widen noticing the brick in her hand, his fingers grip her wrist. "Don't do that, we've done enough."

"She hurt me, Arthur." Josie insists. "I want her to hurt like I hurt."

"You've done your revenge." Arthur insists. "Hitting her window will alarm the neighbors and you could miss and we would get caught."

"Oh, you're right." Her arms relaxes pushes it into his arms. "Go on, big brother, put those Lacrosse skills to use."

The stone weighs heavy in his hand, he would do anything to make his kid sister feel happier again and he thought he did so but smashing the eggs, so maybe he could've helped her deal with it better. He's already in too deep.

"Do my answer yet?" She asks. The way she spoke was familiar to him certainly not a good way.

His heart began to pound in his chest just by hearing her voice, it was like he's afraid of her.

"Just, just get ready to run." Arthur whispers, raising the brick felt like carrying an anchor. Again, he counts to three - this time launching it at one it slices the air hurtling inside the shattered window with a thump and another sound that resembles of water splatters the wall. It was too dark to see what but he had an idea of what it could be. Oxygen is knocked out of his lungs, he knew this could've happens and he still went with it.

Arthur gags clutching his stomach, nothing comes out of his mouth besides spit. "God Josie, we gotta, we gotta -"

"Arthur, the loyal and devoted big brother." Josie taunts. The pricking in his ears return. "You have no restraint for her, it's sweet, really. It makes me wonder what you would do for me."

"I, I woke up." Arthur whispers, his head begins to pound as a burn spreads behind his ears, he doesn't understand what's happening, none of this makes sense. "I was awake!"

"Riddle me this, Arthur the wise : What is it the more you take away the larger it becomes?"

"I don't, I don't - why are you asking me that?" Arthur stammers, hands raking his hair as he steps back.

"C'mon, Arthur." Anxiety splashes him as she steps forward teeth sharper than knives taunting him, he stunned butt hitting the ground painless. "Think : what is it the more you take away the larger it becomes?"

"No, I don't -" a knife is pressed against her thin throat, his eyes widen crawling on his onto his feet feeling at the droplets of blood splashing the pavement. "Don't hurt her! Please!"

"A little motivation."

Arthur gulps, "I really don't, I don't, I don't know!" His head feels tangled earphones and the more he tries to untangle them under pressure the worse he makes it. "I can't think, I can't think!"

"Five seconds, Arthur the wise." She gibes, throat tilting back letting more crimson stain the pace.. The blue eyed boy gags hand covering his lips nothing comes out again it's like he trying to puke his insides. "Five -"

"- don't do this!" The blue eyed pleads, hand shot out.

"Four, three -" What becomes more the larger you take away. Think, Arthur, think. "Two, o -"

"Give me more tim -" scarlet red slaps his face like a canvas.

* * *

THE SUN SHINES BRIGHTER than how Arthur feels, his stupid false awakening left him alarmed the entire night checking on Josie for wounds and for a stable pulse, none of that was real but why was this happening to him? He thought he closed the door and everything would be fine but he's still experiencing hardcore shit.

Arthur glances at two black motorcycles speeding in between Scott's, in response the Alpha accelerates to the high school. He blinks, the knife glides her pale throat. Blood drops onto the pavement like droplets of water hitting a bathtub. And splatters his face like he'd been slapped startling him awake from the nightmare into the real world. Dreams are known to be symbolic, have meaning. You're closer friend and sister taunting you, isn't very symbolic."

Scott parks his dirt bike Arthur hopes off behind him. "Thanks for the ride."

"No problem." He smiles, his eyes trace over his features before frowning. "Hey, have you been sleeping?"

Arthur manages a small smile, retorting. "Don't worry these bags under my eyes are Gucci." The Alpha chuckles.

Black motorcycles line in between Scott's, the same one they ditched halfway to school, wiping the smile off Scott's face. The blue eyed presses his lips at their obsession with being accepted into the McCall's pack is getting desperation

"How long are you going to be doing this?" Scott asks, still on top of his bike.

"All day." Aiden nods, arms folded on his helmet.

"All night." Ethan finishes cutting the engine.

"If this about being in Scott's pack, you're well on your way." Arthur lies knowing they could hear the thumping of his heart. "He favors the clingy ones." He blows him a kiss. "I'll see you inside."

Five minutes later, Scott managed to ditch the boys and reunited with Stiles and Arthur in the lab class where the message for William Barrow was written because Stiles found something.

"So then she starts talking about phosphors and the key having chemicals on it, right? And so that made me think of the chemistry closet and the fact that someone had to let Barrow in.. It's gone." Stiles frowns at the eraser board. Arthur isn't surprised, it happen three days ago cleaners or even teachers were bound to wipe it off. "Okay, it doesn't matter though. It doesn't matter. I've still got the key." He sprints to the supply closet searching his pile of keys only to come up empty handed. "What the hell? I had it I had it here. I had it here this morning, I swear to God, I had it this morning."

"The key you were talking about last night?" Scott inquiries, watching his friend lose his mind.

Stiles nods shoving the keys down his pocket, "Yeah, I showed it to you, right? Didn't I show it to you?" He looks in between the two.

"No, you just told me about it." Scott denies. "I never actually saw it."

"Yeah, me neither." He recalls only hearing Stiles talk about one but hadn't seen one.

Stiles stalks back to the chalk board, pointing a finger at it, he reminds. "I was here a couple of hours ago. And the message left to Barrow spelling Kira's name was right there on the board in my handwriting and I had the key to the chemistry closet."

"So you unlocked the chemistry closet so Barrow could hide in it from the cops and then you wrote him a message to kill Kira?" Scott concludes, the suspicion in his voice as clear as glass.

It adds up but at the same time it doesn't. He knows Stiles, the last thing he'd do is control a serial killer into murdering someone when he puked at the sight of blood.

Stiles shakes his head in denial. "I know how it sounds But look at this. This is the news report that came out about Barrow when they caught him, okay? About the shrapnel bomb that he used. See this?" He pulls out a crumbled new report. "See what he did? He put nuts, bolts and screws. And then he hid the bomb and the detonator in a box that he wrapped as a birthday present. What does that sound like to you?"

"The trick you played on Coach." Arthur mutters, eyes widening.

"The joke we played on Coach. That was my idea. You remember? That was my idea. That's no coincidence. It can't be."

It has to be, it happens. You overhear or see something and mimicked days later completely forgetting where it originated from, that had to have happened to Stiles.

"I don't want to sound like I'm trying to tell you that you're wrong. But I don't think you're trying to kill people either." Scott stammers.

Stiles crunches the page glaring at the chalk board. "It was here. It was all here.

"Dude, are you feeling okay?" The Alpha asks softly, doe eyed filled with concern. "You're looking really tired."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping really well." Stiles mutters. Arthur purses his lips refusing to expose himself unintentionally.

"Why don't you go home?" Scott suggests. Arthur couldn't agree more, he looks like he's going to pass out. "Take a sick day or something."

"Did either of you tell him?" Is the first thing Aiden asks when they leave the classroom.

"Now wouldn't be the best time to tell him." Arthur replies, pushing open the double doors avoiding another student's shoulder.

"If they're coming for Scott in a few hours then so do you." Ethan replies.

Arthur wanted to scoff at their pathetic act of concern. Their new facade won't last long because it's not who they are, and when they get what they want their mask will drop.

"What if it's not me? Okay?" Scott snipes, spinning on his heel to face the three. "What if I'm not the one they want?"

"Who else is there?" Aiden questions. Blue eyes spot the innocent Kira walking down the stairs, the same one Stiles unconsciously might have told William Barrow to assassinate.

Arthur couldn't help but smile, Scott and his disastrous taste in woman will be the death of him, one of them looks like an innocent flower but be the serpent underneath and she will be no difference.

* * *

( author's note ) decided not to skip ep
16 and this turned out to be one my favorite written chapters!