Chapter Twenty - One ✧Slumber Party✧

In the past couple years, I've been inside the Beacon Hill's Sheriff Station a couple dozen times. This time was probably the first time I was here on non-supernatural business since my dad had died, however. 

This time around, I was entering the police station with Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski but, for a change, with Hayden Romero. 

My newfound friend was taking me with her to talk to her sister who was one of  Sheriff Stilinski's Deputies. Scott had hatched a plan a few hours ago to keep Hayden safe, but in order to do that she needed to stay at the school overnight. Basically, long story short, there were some kind of telluric currents at school that hindered the Dread Doctors in a way I didn't one hundred percent understand, which left our beloved high school a possible safe place for Hayden. So, in order to protect her, we were going to keep her over night at the school. Telling her sister that would just lead to questions we couldn't answer, so I was with station to give her sister a excuse as to where she was going to be. 

"So, you guys have a project that's going to take all night?" Deputy Valerie Clark questioned, looking back and forth between me and her sister quizzically. 

"Well, not all night," Hayden corrected. "It's just going to take a while and I just thought it would be easier if I just spent the night at Charlotte's house after we were done, you know?" 

Hayden's sister still didn't look too sure so I piped in to help her. "It wouldn't be any trouble. I already asked my m- uh, legal guardian. Sh-she said it was fine." 

My face immediately flushed as my eyes fell to the ground. I didn't know what was worse, the fact that I had awkwardly almost called Scott's mom my mom, or that I had just made the mistake in front of people. And, for some extra uncomfortable points, I had also high-lighted the fact that I didn't have any parents, or even any biological family at all, still either alive or at least in the United States. That subject was one that never ceased to make me feel uneasy, not to mention unequivocally upset. 

Inevitably, an awkward silence had fallen over the three of us. Unable to think of anything to say as everything beside the word 'orphan' had manage to slip my mind, my eyes remained glue to the floor. I must've looked rather crazy with my eyes wide and staring directly downwards, my skin undoubtedly a million shades paler then usual, but seeing as all the insane stuff that had been cluttering my life, it was really high time my outside reflected the demented thing inside of me. 

Time felt frozen, so I wasn't sure if it was minutes or seconds that actually ended up going by, I just knew that it was Hayden who finally cleared her throat. The girl shot a expectant look towards her sister, waiting for the other girl to swoop in and say something. 

"Oh, well, then I guess it's no problem," Valerie said in a soft, kind tone. "Just don't stay up too late, Hayden." 

Giving her sister a thankful smile, Hayden nodded. "Wouldn't dream of it." 

A phone on Deputy Clark's desk began to ring and she rushed to pick it up. While she answered it, my eyes wondered over to another desk, one I knew to belong to one Jordan Parrish. Scott had told me he was trying to rewire some frequencies in some equipment he had in hopes of messing with, so I wasn't really expecting him to be there. Of course, he wasn't at his desk, so I looked back to Hayden. 

"She's busy, we should go," Hayden said in a quite voice. 

I nodded and the two of us began to head out of the Sheriff's Station. I was hoping to at least see Sheriff Stilinski, but according to Hayden's sister he was running down a lead at the hospital. Everyone was doing their best to figure out what was going, how to defeat the Dread Doctors, and I was trying my best to do my part, too. I think that for right now, though, all I could do is pray that our efforts would be enough to get us through tonight. 

"So, what now?" Hayden asked, holding the door open for me. 

"Thanks," I murmured before answering her question. "Now all we have to do is get to school and survive the night." 

"Lovely," Hayden laughed bitterly. I completely agreed with the sentiment. 

Beacon Hills High School was far from being my favorite place on earth. During the day, I found it the source of all my anxieties and insecurities, a place that made me feel constantly on edge, at best. At night time, all of those things got a thousand times worse. 

Lydia, Scott, Liam, and I decided that the best place to keep Hayden for the night would be the locker room. Malia and Parrish were also at the school, but they were currently on guard else where. I didn't know what they planned on doing if the dread doctors did end up showing up, but I also didn't really want to ask, either. The only thing I allowed myself to think about was keeping Hayden safe. That was another thing I didn't really know how it would happen, but I dared to have faith in myself. 

Liam and I currently sat facing each other on one of the bench's in the locker room. I remembered the bench as the same one that Liam and I had sat on before his game against Devenford Prep, specifically because I still had the shirt he had given me that day. In the midst of the Deadpool and a million other problems, Liam had still managed to swoop in and make life seem a little less insane. 

Smiling to myself at the memory of that day  -- because, despite everything, it was actually a good memory -- I flipped over another flash card. In hopes of at least getting some studying in today, Liam and I had brought the flashcards we'd made last night for our US History class. The current card I had held up for Liam read Bacon's Rebellion. 

"Oh, I know this one," Liam said quickly. His eyebrow's furrowed rather adorably as he tried to recall the correct information from his memory. "It was the rebellion led by Kevin Bacon with all of the discontent landless former-slaves." 

Doing my best to conceal a laugh, I shook me head lightly. Liam groaned in anguish before falling backwards so that he was laying on the bench. With a deep, weary sigh, he rubbed at his eyes, clearly finding it hard to focus. That was understandable. It was late and we we're all trying to make ourselves stay up in the badly-lit school so that we were prepared if anything started to happen. 

"Liam, it was't that bad," I assured him. I reached out and gently shook his knee, trying to get him to sit back up. "Everything was right except for the name. The guy was Nathaniel Bacon, not Kevin Bacon." 

Slowly, Liam sat back up, a frown dominating his face. "Well then who's Kevin Bacon?" 

"Kevin Bacon is an actor," I explained, not being able to help my laughter this time. "He was in the dancing movie Footloose. And I think he was in that one X-Men movie, the one Mason got for us to watch." 

"Oh," Liam murmured. A small smile began spreading across his face now. "Yeah, definitely not the same guy." 

I shook my head, returning his smile. "Not quite," I agreed. 

Liam looked at more for a second longer, his smile slowly widening. After a moment, his grin was as wide as it could get, and he lightly shook his head before finally looking away. I could feel myself brushing as Liam took a new card from the pile and held it up for me. This one said Declaratory Act. 

"It was an act passed in 1766, along with the Stamp Act?" I said questioningly. I carefully looked at Liam, who nodded at what I said so far, so I continued. "It basically was so that the Parliament could declare that they had the power to tax the colonies in all cases whatsoever." 

"Was the the one where they told the colonists that they had virtual representation?" Hayden piped in, suddenly appearing next to me. "Can I join?" 

"Yeah, of course," I nodded, and so Hayden sat on the floor by us. 

I looked over to Liam, who was watching the girl carefully as she sat down. I had the feeling he was trying to figure out if she still hated his guts or not, which I really couldn't tell if she did. Truthfully, I would like it if they could get along, but my life didn't consist of me getting a lot of things I'd been hoping for. Not to say that I didn't get lucky in many aspects in life, like living with the McCalls or being able to finally make some friends or meeting Liam. It was just that things had a way of almost never turning out as I'd expect them to. 

I don't remember actually falling asleep. The last thing I remembered was Liam, Hayden, and I all coming to consensus on stopping the flashcards finally because all of our brains were officially fried. This resulted in Liam and I moving to the floor with Hayden so we could recline on the lockers. I distinctly remember Liam holding my hand and me putting my head on his shoulder and then, next thing I know, I was waking up with a jolt to an odd sound. 

The sound, it would turn out, was actually Liam rummaging threw a bag Scott had brought. As Liam lifted his hands, chains were pulled from the bag. I frowned, not understanding what the use of them was supposed to be. 

Liam looked towards Scott. "What are we going to do with these?" 

"I brought them just in case," Scott explained carefully. He took a slow calculated step towards Liam. 

"In case of what?" I inquired. An uneasy feeling began to stir inside of my chest. 

Lydia, who had been sitting wearily on one of the many other benches in the locker room, turned to look at both Liam and I. "In case we got the chance to catch one of them," She responded. 

Scott took a few more steps forward. "If we can't make the school a fortress, maybe we can turn it into a trap." 

"If their coming for her, does that mean she's the bait?" Liam asked next. 

If Hayden had been asleep before, she was definitely awake now. She looked over to me expectantly, as if waiting for an explanation to this extension of the plan. I had no explanation for her, though, because I had no idea that we were even planning to do such a thing. 

Before I knew, I was standing up. The uneasy feeling in my chest turned into a uncomfortable heat tracing throughout my veins. I felt a strong emotion leading the fire all over the inside of my body, but I couldn't tell if that emotion was rooted from anger or sorrow. Maybe it was both, or maybe it was something else entirely. All I really knew was that I was stuck in a familiar situation, one that involved me being out of the loop once again. 

"Charlotte," Scott began what might've been an apology. I saw him starting to approach me, and I quickly shook my head. He knew what I was thinking and I didn't want him to feel guilty about it. It wasn't his fault that I was the weak little human girl. 

I shook my head at my friend. "Don't. Just-- Don't. I-I just have to go to the bathroom. It's down the hall. I'll be right back." 

Quickly, I moved past Scott, who looked at a loss for words. It didn't matter, I didn't really think he could say anything that could make me feel better, anyways. So, instead, I ducked out of the locker room, trying to run away from the fact that yet again, I wasn't told the full plan, because I wasn't someone who could contribute to the plan in the first place. It wasn't the first time this happened, and it wouldn't be the last time.

 I was the weak link and every one knew it. Why couldn't I just accept that? 

By the time I got to the bathroom, my body felt like it was burning up. I felt like I was on the verge of bursting into flames and joining the ranks of the Fantastic Four. Gripping the sink tightly, I looked up at my reflection in the mirror. 

I was fully prepared to see my face with beads of sweat dripping down it. It probably would look clammy, my skin tone turning a few shades paler to match the sickly feeling wafting over me. But I didn't see any of that. In fact, I didn't even get to see my own reflection because, apparently, nothing wanted to go right for me today. 

Genevieve's ghostly Allison impersonation stared blankly back at me in the mirror. She didn't look nearly as disgusting as I felt. 

"Not now," I begged. I didn't think I was crying, but my voice told a different story. 

"Go back," Genvieve demanded. Her words echoed ruthlessly around inside of my head, pounding against my skull that already felt like it was going to burst. "Go back to the girl. When she falls, you fall." 

My heart, which felt like it had been beating a million times faster then normal, suddenly stopped. 

"What are you talking about?" I asked her, my eyes darting to find any emotion on the face of the fallen huntress. "Genevieve!" My voice got significantly higher, desperation seeping through teach syllable. "Tell me what's going on!" 

Still no change in expression. I knew what she was meant, though. She had predicted my death just the night before, claiming Hayden would be the cause of it. I hadn't given it any thought because truthfully I thought it would be best just to avoid to death omen. But now, as my insides felt like they were melting, the omen felt like it was very, very, possible. 

"Charlotte?" 

As my name was spoken, Allison's lips stayed perfectly still. I was so frantic for an answer of any kind, it took me a second to realize it wasn't her who had spoken. 

The image in the mirror rippled away from Allison and morphed back to my own horrified and distraught face. But, as I looked at the reflection, I saw I was no longer alone. Standing behind me and looking worriedly into the mirror over my shoulder was Mason. 

hey loves, thanks for bearing with me with this chapter. so the thing i'm sure most of you have been waiting for has happened! Charlotte's little secret has been discovered! i'm glad we're finally here because I feel like things are going to start flowing a little easier for me writing-wise.

Also, a little shameless self promo here but i've seen in some of your comments that you know charlotte's face claim (danielle campbell) as davina claire from the originals, so if you lover her as much as I do you can check out my new Davina fic, Love Drought! 

Question - what do you think mason's reaction is going to be?