( SHE WOLF. )
CHAPTER THIRTEEN.
night club.

ALLISON RAN UP to where Lydia was standing, taking her by the shoulders, whispering promises of an explanation. The two of them got into Allison's red car, swiftly driving away. As soon as they disappeared down the road, Derek ordered Boyd to take care of Isaac and Erica before sprinting at full speed in the direction Jackson had gone.

"We have to follow him," Scott said suddenly, slapping Stiles on the shoulder. Stiles fumbled for his keys, pulling them out of his pocket and unlocking his baby blue Jeep.

"Katie, you coming?" Stiles asked as he started walking to the Jeep.

Katie looked to where Erica was still sitting motionless on the deck. She bit her lip, unsure of whether to stay or go. Erica made eye contact with Katie, but Katie couldn't read her expression.

"Katie?" Stiles repeated.

Katie took a deep breath before nodding, following Stiles and getting into the back seat of his Jeep. As soon as she did, Stiles jammed the keys into the ignition and stepped on the gas.

"How did you even end up with Derek?" Stiles queried, baffled.

"It's a long story," Katie sighed.

"Yeah, same here," Stiles said, looking to Scott.

"I heard you got turned into a werewolf, Scott," Katie commented. "How's that working out for you? Last time I got a life update from you, you were normal."

"Define normal," Stiles laughed, earning a punch in the arm from Scott.

"Honestly? It's going pretty terrible."

"Maybe not so terrible considering you replaced me as captain of the lacrosse team," Katie said, unable to resist.

"Co-captain," Stiles corrected.

"Shut up, same thing."

"Are you still upset about that?" Scott asked, turning around in his seat, a small smile on his lips.

"No. Definitely not. But, I'm just saying, it had to help," Katie said defensively, scoffing.

"She's still mad," Stiles nodded.

"For some reason I remember telling you to shut up, Stilinski," Katie shot back.

"Yep, still mad," Scott laughed. "I'm sorry. If it makes you feel any better, I'd trade being an average kid on the bench for being a werewolf team captain any day. But it is a perk."

"Oh well, I'd rather you have my spot than another one of Jackson's friends. At least you keep things interesting," Katie relented. Seeing Scott's genuine concern made her feel a little better about surrounding her treasured pettiness.

"Hey, Katie, are you a werewolf too?" Stiles asked, looking at Katie through the rear view mirror.

"No, I'm something else. Still cursed, though," Katie nodded, offering a tight lipped smile.

"What are you then?"

"A phoenix."

"Like the bird?"

"Precisely."

"So you are a bird, then?"

"I guess so? I don't know, I'm extremely new to this."

"Well, I guess that's not the worst thing to be. Look on the bright side, you could be running around like a naked snake every night," Stiles offered sarcastically.

"Thank you so much for that consolation, Stiles."

"I'm known for my moral support."

"Stiles, take a left!" Scott shouted. Katie realized that he had been using his enhanced sense of smell as a compass.

The road immediately ended in a tall chain-link fence.

"Dead end," Katie stated the obvious.

"What do we do now?" Stiles exclaimed, ready to put the jeep into reverse. Instead of giving a verbal reply, Scott just scrambled out of the Jeep, slamming the door shut. He jumped the fence with little effort, leaving Stiles and Katie in the dark.

Stiles turned around and looked at Katie wordlessly.

"If you're expecting me to get out and start flying or something, not a chance," Katie said, shaking her head.

"Can't you do something?" he pleaded.

"I just found out what I am a few hours ago, there's no way I'm testing out my abilities right now." Katie climbed into the passenger seat, trying to get a better look at where Scott went. "What are you waiting for? Let's take another route."

"What am I? A human tracker? How am I supposed to know where he went?" Stiles held his hands up defensively.

"Whatever, let me drive," Katie suggested.

"You? Bike girl? No way."

"Alright, fine, Jeep boy. Let's just drive around the area and look for the damn thing." Katie stuck her head out the window, listening for any sign of a werewolf or Kanima.

After driving around for many minutes, Katie spotted Scott, tucked away behind the town's gay night club.

"What the hell is he doing?" Stiles asked, parking his Jeep in the lot. Katie and Stiles rushed over to where Scott was hiding, causing him to jump when they appeared unexpectedly.

"Sorry, sorry," Stiles said, holding his hands out, "Did you see where he went?"

"No, I lost him," Scott said regrettably.

"What? You couldn't catch his scent?"

"I don't think he has one," Scott shrugged.

"Alright, any clue where he's going?" Stiles asked.

"To kill someone."

"Ah, that explains the claws and the fangs and all that. Good. Makes perfect sense now." By now, anyone who knew Stiles was aware that his first language was sarcasm. "What?" Stiles said, seeing the pointed look that was being given to him by Scott. "Scott, I'm 147 pounds of pale skin and fragile bone okay? Sarcasm is my only defence."

"Just help me find it," Scott pleaded.

"Not it, Jackson," Stiles clarified.

"I know, I know."

"Alright, but does he know that? And did anyone else see him back at your house?"

"Hold on, didn't he pass that test they did on him with the venom though?" Katie questioned, trying her best to keep up.

"Yeah, but thats the thing. How did he pass the test?" Stiles nodded, holding up his arms.

Scott furrowed his brow. "I don't know."

"Alright, maybe its like an either-or thing. I mean, Derek said a snake can't be poisoned by it's own venom, right? When's the kanima not the kanima?" Stiles thought out loud.

"When it's Jackson," Katie said grimly.

"Guys," Stiles said suddenly, "See that?" Katie's eyes darted to the rafters of the club. A scaly tail could be seen slithering through the gaps. She shivered. Whether in fear or because of the brisk night air, she didn't know.

"He's inside," Scott stated.

"No shit."

"What's he gonna do in there?" Stiles asked.

After a moment, Scott responded. "I know who he's after."

"What? How? Did you smell something?"

"Armani," Scott answered.

"Who's Armani?" Katie questioned, staring ominously at the club.

"No, it's not a person. It's aftershave. Danny's aftershave," Scott said, shaking his head.

"Danny Mahealani?"

"Exactly."

✶

They managed to get inside the club thanks to Scott's supernatural strength. Who needs to get past a bouncer when you can rip off the door handle of the back door?

Lights of all different colours flashed through the dark room and reflected off the five disco balls suspended on the ceiling. The music shook the floor, each beat causing its own small earthquake.

Several strippers and dancers were sprinkled throughout the club, elevated above the crowd. There was a bar and DJ booth in the centre of the room and dance floors occupied the rest of the space.

"Hey, guys, I think we're in a gay club," Scott said, looking at the couples dancing.

"Man, nothing gets past those keen werewolf senses, huh, Scott?" Stiles retorted, surrounded by a group of drag queens who seemed to find him attractive. Katie stifled a laugh as they let Stiles' head while Scott continued to look for Danny. The three of them decided to head over to the bar.

"Three beers," Stiles said confidently, looking at the bartender.

"IDs?" the man asked skeptically.

Stiles pulled out his license, placing it on the table. Scott and Katie followed, confused at Stiles' method.

"How about three cokes?" the bartender nodded after seeing that the three of them were sixteen.

"Rum and coke? Sure!" Stiles danced awkwardly, not dropping the act. "Coke's fine actually. I'm driving anyway." Stiles shot the bartender a finger gun as he turned to get the coke.

"That was smooth," Katie laughed.

"Thank you very much," Stiles said, touching his heart.

After a moment, a shirtless man came over, balancing the drinks. Stiles went to pay but the man stopped him. "Actually, that one's already paid for," he told them, pointing to Katie's drink.

Across the counter was a woman who held up her hand, offering a small wave. Katie smiled back, holding up the drink and pointing to it. "Thank you," she mouthed.

"Katie, she's like 35," Stiles said disapprovingly, turning around to continue scanning for Danny.

"You're just jealous nobody wanted to buy you one," Katie shrugged.

"I'll have you know that if I wanted a free drink, I could very easily get one."

"Let's see it then," Katie grinned, "Whoever can get another free drink without explicitly asking for it first gets to use the other as a training dummy for lacrosse."

"Can you guys stay focused?" Scott scolded, hitting Stiles on the back of the head and looking at Katie with a warning look.

Katie nodded shamefully. "My bad."

"We'll come back another time," Stiles whispered to Katie. Without missing a beat, he pointed into the crowd. "I found Danny."

"I found Jackson," Scott said, looking up at the ceiling.

"What are you gonna do?" Stiles asked.

Scott flexed his hands and claws emerged from his fingertips.

"That works," Katie commented nervously.

"What about you?" Stiles turned to Katie. "Oh, right, your powers are useless," he said sarcastically.

"Uhm, says you?"

"I am not useless, I told you. I'm the moral support. And the brains of the operation, and the idea man, and the charisma, and the only one here who actually has a car so you're welcome."

"The car part is true at least."

"C'mon, let's go get Danny," Stiles said, grabbing Katie's sleeve and dragging her into the mass of people. Scott took a separate route, seeking out Jackson.

The dancing people seemed to squeeze Stiles and Katie together, making it difficult to move. Smoke obscured their vision and the loud techno music overwhelmed their senses. Suddenly, people began to drop to the floor. One by one. Katie kept her eye on Danny, trying to push through. Then he fell. Paralyzed.

The falling bodies initiated a freak out. Running, pushing, screaming. Katie and Stiles looked at each other in fear before following suit. Fleeing the dance floor, they spotted Scott running out a back door. They followed his footsteps and a trail of dark blood to the pair of boys. Scott and Jackson. Jackson lay unconscious and fully human on the ground while Scott crouched over him.

"What do we do now?" Scott sighed.

"What else can we do but hide him?" Katie shrugged.

So they shoved him into the back seat of the Jeep at Katie's feet. Stiles put the keys into the ignition while Scott left to see what Danny knew about the situation. After a few moments, he returned.

"Couldn't get anything out of Danny," Scott reported.

"Okay, can we just get the hell out of here now before one of my dad's deputies sees me?" Stiles started the car, shaking his head worriedly. Just then, the sheriff's car pulled up. "Oh, my god! Oh, my god! Could this get any worse?" Stiles exclaimed.

Jackson rolled over, letting out a groan.

"That was rhetorical!" Stiles shouted at Jackson.

"Get rid of him," Scott urged, pointing to Stiles' dad.

"Get rid of him? We're at a crime scene and he's the sheriff."

"Do something!"

Stiles sighed, opening his car door and jumping out. He made his way over to his dad, trying to come up with a plausible excuse.

"What's happening?" Jackson mumbled, beginning to sit up.

Scott didn't wait for permission. He looked at Katie, and then at Jackson. "Jackson, I'm sorry but—" And Scott punched him right in the nose, knocking him out.

"Yeah, smart," Katie nodded breathlessly. A moment of silence persisted before Scott spoke again.

"Hey, I'm really sorry about taking your spot as team captain." He turned back around in his seat towards Katie.

"It's okay, Scott. If I was a werewolf I would use every ounce of werewolf senses on that field every second I could. I don't blame you," Katie paused, "I'm still pissed off but I get it. And it's not something you have to apologize for. You've won us a lot of games."

"So . . . you don't hate me?"

"Hate you? I never hated you — Well, maybe a little at first — but no, I don't hate you," Katie smiled.

Scott smiled back. "That's good to hear."

"It feels weird having this conversation with Jackson unconscious between us, but also weirdly fitting," Katie laughed. Scott managed a laugh too, looking down at his handiwork.

"Hey, do you want to come with us after this?" Scott asked. "We're going to have to come up with a place to put him. I'm going to call Allison once we get away from all of this and see what she's doing. Then I'm thinking we're going to have to take him to the woods or something until we find a way to stop him from killing people," he explained, leaning over the seat.

"I really would but I can't," Katie sighed. "I need to go find Erica."

"Erica's going to be fine. I know you guys were friends but she's with Derek now."

"That's why I'm worried. She doesn't know what the hell she's doing. This isn't like her, y'know? I think she's just afraid to the point where she doesn't know what else to do. Or maybe she's so caught up in her new power that she's trying to spite everyone who ever treated her like shit. I don't know. The point is: she shouldn't be alone with Derek. I don't trust him."

"I don't trust him either," Scott agreed. But there was a hint of sadness in his declaration.

"I do trust you though, Scott."

"I trust you too, Katie."

Katie felt a warmth in her chest at the words. Maybe Scott McCall wasn't all that bad. "Thanks, Scott."

The sheriff began to walk away from Stiles, allowing Stiles to let out a long exhale of air. He walked back to the Jeep, a look of relief on his face. He quickly pulled himself inside the Jeep and started it up, driving away before any further questions could be asked by any of the police.

AUTHOR'S NOTE.

( word count: 2401)

scott and stiles chapter lol. i hope u still enjoyed this. thank u so much reading! see u next week lol.

love,
skye