all of my chapters have become progressively longer. this one is longer than the last, ope.

☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒

FORTY TWO;

ILLUMINATION NIGHT

"So, when did you all get there?"

Agent McCall carefully calculated each and every single teenager sitting down in front of him. He shouldn't have been surprised to see that the usual three were in his view, the Sheriff son and his own along with their partner in crime, Sage Connelly. The other two that occupied a spot on the bench were Lydia Martin and Kira Yukimura, further proving to the man that the three delinquents were pulling more people into their bad actions.

As part of his job, he was supposed to notice the small things about their behavior. For instance, his son and Kira both had tight expressions on their face while Lydia continued to rub her hands together. The Sheriff's son, Stiles, had leaned back as if this entire conversation barely affected him and Sage's posture was tight as if she were in pain.

And, she was.

The teenage girl was trying her hardest to remain calm, knowing that if any of them said or acted in the wrong way then it would just make Agent McCall all the more suspicious. However, it didn't ignore the gutwrenching feeling in her stomach that practically screamed at her to check on Isaac. Something was going on with him, something that was enough for her to keep her lips in a tight line through the interrogation.

"The same time," Stiles vaguely explained, his eyebrows raising as he moved his hands in front of him, trying to pull off the most casual expression despite the nerves that were racking up inside of him.

Agent McCall frowned at the answer. "The same time as who?"

"The same time as me," Scott interjected, making all eyes turn to him for a split second as he gave his father a dull look that clearly screamed he was anything but pleased about this conversation.

"By coincidence?" his father questioned, notepad extended as he tried to get all of the details pertaining to what happened tonight at the power substation.

Stiles furred his eyebrows, all while Sage and Lydia shared a look that clearly expressed everything that hadn't needed to be said between the two. After everything that they've been through, after everything that they've had to explain, they knew well enough that this was all a way for Stiles and Scott to confuse Agent McCall so he stopped asking the questions that hit too close to home.

That also meant Sage and Lydia must play along.

"What do you mean by coincidence?" Sage asked, speaking up for the first time as she crossed her arms over her chest from in between Scott and Stiles.

Agent McCall didn't seem phased yet. "That's what I'm asking you. The three of you arrived at the same time. Was that coincidence?"

"Are you asking me?" Scott wondered, face contorting in false confusion as he glanced up at his father.

Sage hummed out in dismissal, turning to give Scott a look. "I think the question was for me, unless it wasn't and it was actually for you."

"Actually," Stiles interrupted, turning to look at the two next to him. "I think he's asking me."

Lydia pursed her lips, adding herself into the fiasco. "I think he's asking all three of you."

"Okay, let me answer the questions," Agent McCall stated, just before his face went up in annoyance and he sighed as he realized he slipped up on his part which only meant the teenagers were doing their job correctly. "Let me ask the questions. Just so we're absolutely clear, Barrow was hiding in the chemistry closet at the school. Someone left him a coded message on the black board telling him to kill Kira, then Barrow took Kira to a power substation and tied her up with the intent of electrocuting her, which blacked out the entire town."

Everyone waited a few moments, trying to let it sink in that everything they discovered tonight sounded like something you would find in a horror movie. It never occurred to them how much they went through up until there was a person standing in front of them playing it back, focusing in on distinctive evidence that made their lives even more unbelievably complex.

Stiles nodded once at the man. "Sounds about right."

"How'd you know that he would take her to a power station?" Agent McCall asked, looking directly at Stiles for this answer considering he was the only one confident enough to reply and not slip up.

"Well, 'cause he was an electrical engineer," Stiles began." So, where else would he take her?"

Scott's father clenched his jaw slightly. "That's one hell of a deduction there, Stiles."

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I take after my Pops. He's in law enforcement," the teenager retorted with sneering sarcasm, a smirk on his face as he glanced behind Agent McCall to give his father a wink all while pointing his index finger out to emphasize the truth to his words.

There was a choke from Sheriff's mouth as he let his hysterics slip from his son's sarcastic mouth. The man was just happy that he knew what was actually going on, that he was on the other side instead of on Agent McCall's, clueless to everything but the facts. Sheriff found nothing funnier than that, than the humor that only the teenagers and he understood.

Agent McCall didn't seem pleased to know that the Sheriff was laughing in such an intense matter, his head turning just as Sheriff Stilinski turned his laughter into a cough as subtly as possible. His hand outstretched to his son, giving Stiles a look that clearly stated he needed to act as professional as possible so that this interrogation will end.

"Stiles," Sheriff called out, nodding at his son. "Just, uh, just answer the man."

Stiles shrugged, his hands lifting for a second. "We made a good guess."

"What were the two of you doing?" Agent McCall asked, his attention now turned upon his son and the brunette that was sitting next to him.

Kira's words fell out a moment quicker than Scott's, her words slightly different than the boy's as she said, "Eating sushi," while he answered with, "Eating pizza."

They realized their mistake soon after though, glancing at each other with wide eyes and flushed cheeks before trying again. This time, Scott began with Kira's first answer "Eating sushi," while Kira said what Scott previously announced, "Eating pizza."

With a small huff out, they tried again and finally managed to get it correct. "Eating sushi and pizza."

"Do you believe this?" Agent McCall questions, glancing over at Sheriff Stilinski to see if he was grasping the concept that the teenagers were trying to pull off better than he was.

Sheriff pursed his lips and let out a sigh as he shook his head. "To be honest, I haven't believed a word Stiles has said since he learned how to speak, but I think the kids found themselves in the right place at the right time and that girl sitting there is very lucky for it."

"Kira," Agent McCall said, getting the girl's attention. "Is that how you remember it?"

Everyone seemed to tense up, knowing very well that this girl could be the very reason they blow this whole thing, which is why all of them leaned forward a bit to send her a warning glance. Sage's was harsher than it probably needed to be, but she knew from the second she met Kira that the girl would only be a danger to all of her friends.

Tonight proved that more than most considering Scott had gotten electrocuted with who knows how many volts, herself and Stiles woke up in the middle of the hallway to the sound of sirens behind them, completely disoriented and confused, all while Kira seemed to be the only one seemingly okay despite her involvement with Barrow.

Sage did have trust issues, which is why this girl better not slip up and say the wrong thing, endangering her friends and everyone else in Beacon Hills in the process. The best answer that could come from Kira at this point was to either nod and keep her mouth shut, or be a damn good liar.

"Yes," Kira stated, the single word making all of the others relax slightly as Agent McCall stared down, almost as if he were disappointed in her answer. "Can I get my phone back now?"

Agent McCall shook his head, glancing over at her phone that was placed in the evidence bag due to it being used at the crime scene. "Sorry, but no, and considering there is nothing else that you five want to tell me, you're free to leave."

The five of them gave each other glances before moving to get up, Stiles and Sage being the first to and out the door. Each and every one of them was still shaken up, and Kira only seemed to grow more anxious when she saw that Scott's father handed the evidence bag with her phone in it off to another deputy.

"Kira," Agent McCall interrupted, his attention on the girl that was leaving the office. "A deputy is going to take you home, but we'll need you to fill out some paperwork first."

The brunette girl hesitated, eyes traveling to the man that was taking her phone away from her before nodding and giving a single glance back at Scott before following through the door. Sage and Stiles gave each other a glance when they noticed that Agent McCall was staring at them, the two practically shunned away by the intense gaze as they realized they were unwanted in the conversation between himself and his son.

"Well, that's our cue to leave," Sage muttered, grabbing a hold of Stiles' elbow as the two of them walked through the door. Lydia had to have already been in the car considering she was nowhere else in sight, leaving the former couple completely alone for those few awkward seconds to the car. "Stiles?"

"Yeah?" he asked, glancing over at her as they walked through the final hallway leading outside.

"Why do you think we blacked out?" she asked, giving him a look as she pushed her hands further into her hoodie. "I mean, I guess I can understand why I did if Scott was electrocuted but I don't know why you did."

Stiles shrugged, holding open the door for her as they stepped out into the cool air. "I don't know, Sage. I can barely remember anything besides waking up to see Scott and Kira standing over us and the sirens outside. It's over though, alright?"

Sage nodded and gave him a half-hearted smile before the two of them began to gain on his jeep. Just before that happened, though, Stiles turned to look over at the blonde with a slight frown. "Hey, do you still want to talk? I know you said we could after Lydia went home but after what happe—"

"When did I say that?" Sage asked, giving him a confused look as she moved to the passenger's side of the car.

Stiles furred his eyebrows for a second, his mouth parting in question as he wondered how she couldn't remember a conversation that they had not long ago. He figured it must have just been her exhaustion after today, knowing that he barely even remembered what happened after he stepped into the power substation.

"Nothing," Stiles dismissed, shaking his head. "Nevermind."

That had been the end of the conversation, and the beginning of a new day.

☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒

Despite the fact that Sage had negative opinions about Mischief Day, the following hours after it ended were all the more aggravating because, while teenagers throwing around toilet paper was bad, people dressed up in haunting masks was much worse. The girl was never one to easily scare, so the actual hidden identities wasn't the terrifying part.

The terrifying part was that everyone was someone else.

Walking into the school wasn't nearly as bad as she was expecting, and she had an assumption that all of it had to do with the fact that the power remained out in the school. This just meant that people who didn't have generators were forced to take cold showers this morning, their phone was more than likely dead, and they probably had to eat some shit breakfast that wasn't refrigerated.

Sage was one of those people.

She had a generator at the loft, but the unfortunate thing was the fact that Derek was nowhere to be seen this morning or last night, which only added onto the stress of wondering if he left again. The even more unfortunate thing was the realization that Sage had no shitting idea how in the hell to work a generator.

So, she was stuck with cold, wet blonde hair and a dead phone.

"Class starts in five minutes!" a voice shouted directly into Sage's ear, the startled girl going jumping forward as she crashed into a body in front of her while Coach continued on. "Just because there's no power, don't expect there to be no school!"

The voice embodying the person that she crashed into snorted. "Hey, that's a triple negative, Coach. Very impressive."

Sage glanced up to see that it, of course, had to be Stiles that she crashed into. The boy glanced down at her with a smile and she couldn't help but question how in the hell he was standing properly this morning when she could barely figure out which shoe fit on which foot the moment she woke up and realized school was relevant in her life.

"Copy that," Coach replied through the bullhorn that he was using to instruct everyone considering the announcements weren't up and running.

Sage's eyes narrowed slightly at him before she turned to look over at Stiles, her hand digging into the pack of her jeans for a second. "Hey, I found this in my bedroom last night and I didn't know if you left it at the loft or something. So, yeah."

The key shined in the sun, which was their only source of light at this point. She ended up finding it when she was changing clothes, the object falling from her dresser and onto her floor which caught her attention. After realizing that it wasn't anything that matched her locks, she opted on trying the only other person that it could have possibly belonged to.

"Oh," Stiles said, his eyebrows raised slightly as he looked surprised. "Um, I don't think I've lost any keys lately but I'll go home and see if they fit any of the locks."

Sage nodded and moved her hands into the back of her pockets, shrugging awkwardly as she realized there wasn't really any good way to exit this conversation. She didn't get a chance to either because from her opposite direction of Stiles, she watched as Scott entered the school through the doors and frowned deeply before looking back at her ex-boyfriend and nodding for him to turn around.

Stiles did as gestured, glancing back to see that his best friend was walking through the hall only to stop the moment that his eyes caught sight of a person a ways down from his position. It was now Stiles' turn to get Sage to look back, nudging the girl's arm and trying his hardest not to look obvious as he pointed towards the brunette some feet away from them.

After Kira turned away rather hastily, Scott's frozen state thawed out and the boy was rushing forward so that he could talk to the girl only to be stopped when Stiles grabbed a hold of him. "No, no. Stop. Stop it."

"I need to talk to her," Scott argued, his attention on Kira as she peered over at them before returning to opening up her locker.

"No," Sage denied, moving herself into the conversation as she stared up at Scott. "You need to remember that someone left a coded message to tell Barrow to kill her."

Scott turned to look at his blonde friend in exasperation. "Which is why I need to talk to her."

"Scott, no way," Stiles denied, shaking his head as he began to board Sage's train of trust issues. "Until we figure out if she's just another psychotic monster who's going to start murdering everybody, I vote against any and all interaction."

Sage sighed, running her hands through her wet hair before catching Scott's attention again. "Look, Scott, I know that you like her but the only thing we know about her is that she can absorb electricity like she's a freaking battery. That's it, and that's all that Stiles and I should have to tell you to convince you that she has the potential of being dangerous to you, to all of us."

"But what if she's like me?" Scott opted, watching as Kira left her locker with one last glance at the three friends before moving her way down the hall and to her first class.

"That girl walked through one point twenty one gigawatts of electricity," Stiles explained, his hand falling over Sage's head so that he could gesture Kira. "She's not like you."

Scott gave the two a look before sighing, shaking his head as he realized that there was no possibly way for the two most stubborn people he knows to change their minds. The brunette boy left after that, realizing that the five minutes he had when Coach announced it were slowly decreasing the longer that they stood there doing nothing.

Sage pursed her lips so sternly that there were prominent dimples on the sides of her face, turning to look over at Stiles. "I've got to get to Biology. Lydia wants me to save her a seat so that I can hide her if her mom says something embarrassing."

"Alright," Stiles said, nodding as he watched her disappear down the hallway towards Harris' old classroom before his attention focused on the key that was still being grasped in his hands.

He knew from the moment he glanced at it that it wasn't his, but that wasn't going to stop him from figuring out what it went to and why Sage was the one that had it. Unlike yesterday, the girl that was walking around the hallways was the girl that he knew. Whoever, or whatever, possessed her to be a different person yesterday was gone, no trace of them ever being there.

None at all.

☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒

"Hey, Little Red."

"Go away."

Sage didn't even glance over to see who it was, the person already having given himself away due to the nickname as well as the tone of voice. Not only was Aiden the only person that called her Little Red, but he was also the only person that had the ability of making her want to hit her head on the table she was sitting at until she acquired brain damage.

Aiden snorted at her response. "See, I would, but I actually have this class. Plus, I happen to enjoy the view of the person I'm sitting next to."

Sage sighed, rubbing her hands over her face before glancing over at Aiden for the first time. He was grinning at her, a facial expression that she hadn't seen in a very long time and something that actually make her want to smile back. She assumed that while he was in Deucalion's pack, that grin never found it's way on his lips.

She didn't find enough of herself to actually smile though, and instead she leaned closer to the boy as she smirked at him. "I happen to enjoy the view of you halfway across the room from me."

"You always have the kindest things to say to me," Aiden retorted, his eyebrows raised with the smile still on his face while Sage scoffed, moving back to her original position as she played with her Biology book. "But, in all seriousness, I'm actually here to talk about Danny."

Sage's head lifted up, turning to him with narrowed eyes. "What did Ethan do?"

"Actually, he didn't do anything," Aiden dismissed. "It's what he wants to do. Danny was going to throw a black light party tonight but since all of the power in the whole town is out, the person that owned the place it was supposed to be thrown at canceled."

"Let me guess," Sage began, leaning back in her chair as she turned to face Aiden completely. "You wanted to be a good Samaritan and decided to offer up my loft as the new place."

Aiden shrugged. "Derek hasn't been back in a while and I figured you would be at the party anyway tonight, but I wanted to ask you before I tell Ethan to give Danny the good news."

Sage sighed, knowing that she could very easily say no to the whole idea but that would only be letting half of the school down as well as Danny. Had anyone besides Aiden come to request her loft as the place for the party, she would have immediately said yes, but this was the same person that sided with the man that called himself Death, Destroyer of Worlds. This was the same person that walked away and left her with a broken heart and false sanity.

"Fine," Sage muttered, grinding her jaw. "Go ahead and give Danny the good news, but I'm probably not going to be able to help the three of you set up the place so you're going to have to figure all of that out yourself."

Aiden looked at her in confusion. "Why?"

"I'm catching fireflies tonight," Sage explained, just before immediately scrunching up her face when she realized how it sounded. "I know these two kids that have been wanting to catch fireflies for a while and their parents called me asking if I would take them out tonight."

Aiden watched as a small smile cracked on her face when she spoke about the two kids, figuring that they must be important if she was giving up her time as a seventeen year old to go firefly catching with them. It was almost relieving, almost nostalgic to see this girl sitting next to him. Ever since he came to Beacon Hills, the girl that he used to know was completely washed away and that small statement showed that she was just hidden.

Sage glanced up when there was the sound of a seat scratching, noticing that Lydia went to sit two tables in front of her but not before turning around to give her blonde friend a confused look as she gestured towards Aiden with her eyes. Sage wasn't surprised because, although all of her friends were very reluctant of letting the former alpha anywhere near his ex-girlfriend, Lydia knew firsthand what Aiden was capable of after all of their moments Coach's office.

There was a chance for Lydia to say anything because her mother had showed up down the aisle way a few moments later, the mother and daughter conversing in a conversation while Aiden gave a small hum. The blonde next to him gave him a raised eyebrow, wondering why he was so interested in what Lydia and Natalie were speaking about.

"Something interesting?" she asked.

He turned to look at her. "Why is Lydia's mom teaching Biology?"

"Because Harris used to teach biology until he found himself tied to a tree with a garrote wrapped around his neck," Sage muttered, her slicing sarcasm evident as she gave the boy a dark look, almost as if she were blaming him for the whole thing.

"What? I didn't kill him," Aiden stated a small smile on his face as he glanced at her up and down, finding her obvious frustration towards him rather hot. That is until he noticed the seriousness on her face and his smile fell in concern. "Sage, what?"

Sage swallowed hard, trying to ignore the feeling in her chest. "Yesterday, I helped save someone's life. After all of the bad things that I've done, I actually helped save someone, and it felt really good. Then, I look at you and all I can think about is that night that you left me there, knowing exactly what you did. I look at you and all I can think about is when you helped kill Boyd. I wonder how you can try so hard to be a part of my life again after you know that you're not just a bad boy, you're a bad guy."

She looked over at him, alternative to the wall that she had been staring at as she whispered all of this to him. She knew that it wasn't the best time to be explaining her feelings, knew that she probably shouldn't even have given him the benefit of the doubt after all of the pain he caused her, but that was all she had left in her. The blonde knew that he needed to know how she felt beyond words spilling out with such venom, beyond all of their irrelevant fights.

"I wasn't always a bad guy," Aiden muttered in return, giving her a look that honestly hurt her in a physical and mental way because he was showing true emotion for the first time since she saw him a few months ago.

Sage nodded at him with the same pained look. "I know you weren't."

☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒

Sage sat anxiously in the passenger seat of Stiles' jeep for the second time in two days, biting down on her finger as her knee moved. Most people would probably assume that she was anxious because she was in a car with the boy that she broke up with less than a month ago, but it was mostly due to the fact that she was supposed to be at Clara and Billy's in ten minutes and instead she was on her way to the Sheriff's station.

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked, breaking the silence to look over at the blonde. "You've been jittery ever since I picked you up."

Sage's thumb left her teeth as she glanced over at him. "I'm fine, there was just something that I promised I would do before I went to Danny's party. I think I'm going to have to cancel though."

"Was it important?" he wondered, his attention focusing on the road again as he got closer and closer to the station and further away from Clara and Billy's house.

She frowned, trying to ignore the guilt that was creeping up on her. "Yeah."

"Do you want me to take you somewhere? I can just tell Scott that you couldn't make it," Stiles opted, honestly willing to drive her anywhere that she wanted to go despite the fact that they were already pulling into the station.

"No," Sage denied, shaking her head as she pulled the large flannel over her body that covered the outfit that she had chosen to wear for the black light party. She hadn't wanted for Billy and Clara to see her in that attire, and she also knew that she wouldn't have enough time to change. "We're already here."

"Hey," Stiles began, making the girl turn to look at him. "Whatever it was, I'm sure they'll forgive you."

Sage smiled gratefully, although she knew Clara and Billy would be upset. They were afraid of catching fireflies ever since Boyd nearly attacked them in the woods, and refused to do it again until Sage went with them. She was hesitant at first, knowing that she could be putting the two children in potential danger all while putting herself at risk of a broken heart by seeing Billy's face again.

He resembled too much of Luke for her not to be hesitant.

The moment that they parked, they noticed that Scott was already there on his bike with another face sitting behind him. That was when Sage's guilty conscience turned into an annoyed one when Kira came into view, realizing that Scott had done exactly what Stiles and she permitted to happen, speaking to the girl that could be a murderous threat to them.

"Why do they need the key cards again?" Sage muttered, giving Stiles an unsure look as she grew even more against the idea of involving Kira in their lives any further. "What's in that station that is so important they need to break into it?"

Stiles didn't get the chance to even question Scott's choices with her because the boy was already at their window and the cards were already on full display for him to see. "Okay, this one will get you into all of the perimeter doors, this one to the evidence room, and this one to my father's office."

"You didn't steal these, did you?" Scott asked, giving the objects a weary look.

Stiles pursed his lips, arm still hanging out the window. "No, just cloned them using an RFID emulator."

"Isn't that worse than stealing?" Scott questions, raising his eyebrows at his best friend's choices.

Stiles seemed to consider it a moment, pausing a bit before answering. "It's smarter."

The werewolf seems to curl his lip back in acceptance and slight appreciation, not completely taking into full consideration all of the possible problems that could occur with whatever the hell they are planning to do. If they were inside and someone catches them with those cards, not only could they be thrown in jail for copying them but they could also be charged for breaking and entering.

Which, Sage supposed, is the exact reason she is staying in the car.

"Scott, can I talk to you?" Kira interrupted, turning to the boy with a worried expression taking over the entirety of her face and body language.

Scott nodded, the two walking away and out of the vicinity of Sage and Stiles' hearing. Immediately, the former couple narrowed their eyes from inside of the car, annoyed that they came here and dismissed all of their earlier plans just so they could help Scott and Kira break into the station for an unknown reason.

"Uh, okay," Stiles muttered, scratching his temple. "We'll just..."

His statement ended there, rolling his eyes as he watched the two of them converse out of earshot. That was when Sage turned to look over at the teenage boy, trying to get over the tension that they had between them so that they could attempt to be acquaintances instead of an awkward post-breakup pair.

"You never told me why they're breaking into the station," Sage said, crossing her arms over her chest as she look at him.

Stiles snorted, giving her an amused look. "Naked pictures on her phone."

"No way," Sage denied, her eyes lighting up a bit as she watched Scott and Kira converse. "Do you think they were supposed to go to Scott?"

He shrugged, leaning his head on his hands but never had the chance to answer her because, once again, Kira and Scott had returned from their huddled conversation. "Okay, so almost everybody is out dealing with the blackout, but there's always somebody at the front desk. Dispatch usually a night shifter or two and you can use the service door entrance by the dumpster, nobody uses it. Now, I'll text you if anyone comes out, but Scott, if you get caught, I can't help you. I mean, my dad's under investigation for impeachment because of your dad so, if anything happens, I will run and leave you both for dead."

Sage opened her mouth, but quickly shut it as she realized there was nothing that she could say because it would only come out as a question or a response to Stiles' ending, neither of which she knew would be comforting to the two that were going to break into the station.

"I got it," Scott said, giving Stiles a grateful look. "Thanks. Seriously, dude."

Stiles nodded. "I'd ask my dad, but—"

"Yeah, I know. I get it," Scott replied, knowing very well that Sheriff Stilinski shouldn't have to risk his job any more than he already has for the sake of keeping the supernatural safe.

Stiles swallowed hard at the thought of his father before giving the two a small frown. "Alright, just, uh, hurry up."

The two gave each other one last hesitant stare before turning around, leaving Stiles and Sage alone to let the silence eat them alive. That had been true, neither one of them knowing exactly what to say to each other. It was one of the saddest things to experience to, knowing very well that there were so many memories shared between the two that disappeared the the single and few words of, "I have to break up with you, Stiles."

Stiles glanced over at the girl that he fell in love with, the girl that became everything to him and showed him that life consisted of her in it. "You don't wear your leather jacket anymore."

"It didn't feel the same," Sage denied, shaking her head as she picked at the end of the large flannel shirt all while trying to keep it to herself that she couldn't wear the jacket anymore because she burned it in the fire.

Stiles couldn't help but let out an exhausted laugh, rubbing at his eyes. "Nothing feels the same anymore. I honestly thought that nothing could top just how bad sophomore year turned out to be, but this year definitely wins first prize."

"I don't think it was that bad," Sage commented, looking at him. "I mean, yeah, Scott got bitten and Jackson left, but there were upsides. You and Scott both got to play on the lacrosse field for the first time, Allison and Scott got together, you and I got together."

Stiles stopped his actions, meeting her eyes. "And now all of that is gone."

Sage didn't know what else to say, knowing that if any more words fell through her lips then a fight was bound to happen between the two and that was the last thing she wanted. All she knew is that she wanted to get to this stupid black light party and get drunk. The last time alcohol has been in her system was over the summer when she and Lydia opted on stealing some of her mom's wine, although Sage is more of a beer girl than red wine.

Both of them were nearly blinded when headlights shined in their direction, their heads shooting up to see that Scott's father just pulled up at the station. Sage's eyes widened while Stiles let out an, "Oh, hell," before watching the man for a few seconds to see if he was actually going to get out and go into the station that Kira and Scott were in.

The second that Agent McCall opened his car door, Stiles had his phone out dialing Scott's number. "Come on, Scott."

"Stiles," Sage said in warning, her voice raising at the end as she watched the man get closer and closer to the entrance of the station.

The teenage boy let out a sigh in annoyance. "I'm so going to regret this."

Stiles quickly opened up his car door, Sage following after his action, the two rushing to get to the station so that they could stop Agent McCall before he caught his son and Kira tampering evidence from a crime scene all because Kira was an idiot and took photos of herself naked. The only positive thing that came from tonight was the fact that Sage chose to wear her white converse instead of the black heeled boots she was considering.

Stiles ended up pushing his way through the doors a few seconds after Scott's father, cringing for a split second as his limps practically crashed into all of the hardest places of the frame before himself and the blonde after him quickly jogged past Agent McCall. In the most suspicious way possible, both of them managed to squeeze their way in between the man and the door that their friend and the human battery were in.

"Hey! We've been looking for you everywhere," Sage exclaimed, making sure that her voice was loud enough for Scott to hear so that he would get the idea that he needed to leave. "Do you know how hard you are to find?"

Stiles nodded in an exaggerated agreement. "Thank God! Boy, oh boy... thank the lord."

Sage didn't even want to look over at Stiles, knowing that she would end up glaring at him for his spluttered choice of words. Neither of them had an amazing performance when it came to stalling, and that was obvious enough considering the amount of times the two have been forced to do it just to get their friends out of shit situations.

"What do you two want?" Agent McCall asked, raising his eyebrows high as he practically sensed the nerves radiating off of the two teenagers.

"Uh, we, uh," Stiles stuttered, giving Sage a look of sheer panic. "We were thinking on the case. I was thinking that my thinking should clue you in on my thinking... and here's my thinking. I was thinking this, I was thinking that Barrow, right? Barrow received the information about who to kill from the school, right? So, Sage and I were thinking that maybe the person who gave him that information, check this out, might actually be someone at the school."

Sage turned to look at Stiles with narrowed eyes before turning to look at Agent McCall. "That's what we were thinking because, you know, you never can trust the people at our high school. I mean, you had that one kid, Matt, that went out on a murderous rampage and killed a bunch of people."

"Oh, Matt," Stiles jeered, laughing falsely as he threw his hand out. "See? It could be anyone at the school. We were just thinking that because thinking is good to think about."

Sage tried to ignore the groan that was building up in her throat every time Stiles repeated think in the same sentence, only making their whole on-the-spot idea even less realistic than it was to begin with. Stiles decided to make matters even worse by poking at Agent McCall's chest with another nervous laugh, trying to keep him from moving.

Agent McCall seemed to nod in agreement. "Hmm, you two are right."

"We are?" Stiles asked, somewhat shocked while Sage just subtly found herself stepping on Stiles' foot to keep him from opening his mouth and saying the wrong thing, or saying "think" one more time in the conversation.

"Yeah, we were starting to find links between Barrow and the faculty and students last night."

Sage's eyebrows raised. "Oh, that's... that's wonderful."

"So, you already then, uh, know that stuff," Stiles muttered, nodding at the man. "You already thought of that."

Agent McCall shoved his hands into his pockets as he stared down at Stiles, somewhat displeased to admit his next words. "Your dad did. His one useful suggestion."

Sage quirked an eyebrow at his words, watching as he moved around her to slide his key card to open the door. She didn't see how he was acting so casual about the fact that he practically just called a great man unworthy of the job that he took on. No matter what may have happened in the past, Stiles' dad was a great Sheriff and everyone knew that.

Seeing someone question the man infuriated, not only her, but Stiles, who spoke up in his father's name. "Hey, you know this attitude that you have towards my dad? You can dress it up to all the professional disapproval that you want, but I know the real reason that you don't like him."

"Is that so?" Agent McCall asked, a chuckle escaping his lips as if he were questioning whether or not Stiles actually had the audacity to bring up the reason why there was so much tension between the two men.

Stiles didn't even flinch. "Yeah, because he knows something that you don't want him to know, and guess what? I know it too."

The man's face hardens rather quickly at the revelation, Stiles looking just as equal as he keeps the man from moving any further through the door. Agent McCall took a few steps back, swallowing the lump in his throat as he tried to regain the words he didn't know how to say at the moment. Sage, on the other hand, was ready and willing to ask many questions towards the whole subject considering there was a different look on Stiles' face as he mentioned whatever happened.

There was something dark about it.

"Go home, Stiles," Agent McCall whispered just before nodding towards the blonde that was shoulder-to-shoulder with him. "Take Sage with you. There's, uh... there's a curfew."

The man made a second attempt to get past them, and this time neither of them felt the need to stop him, realizing that if Scott and Kira didn't get out at this point then there was nothing that they could do. Sage backed away, noticing that Stiles was still pausing by the door and grabbed a hold of his arm only for the teenage boy to jerk it free of her grasp.

"I don't want to talk about it," Stiles muttered, moving past her and out the door, leaving her standing there in confusion for a few seconds before she moved to follow after him.

When she got outside, she saw that he was leaning against his jeep with an unreadable expression on his face and could only bring herself to a slow stride as she came up to him. There was a few moments of silence, a few moments where she questioned what she could say but realized that there was absolutely nothing. He was keeping a secret that wasn't his, and one that she knew had to have been eating him alive since he found out.

"I know that you don't want to talk about it," Sage began, looking over at him. "But, if you ever need me, I'm here."

He turned to look at her with shadowed eyes. "I don't need you to be."

The blonde was taken back at the comment, and something inside of her dropped when she heard those words, but there wasn't a single chance for her to say anything because Scott and Kira were already escaping from the back door of the station, bright grins plastered on their face in opposite comparison to Stiles and Sage's empty ones.

"Hey, we did it," Scott announced with a large smile, one that led Sage to question if he managed to see any of the nude pictures. "All of the pics deleted."

"Oh, that was awesome!" Kira exclaimed, making Sage and Stiles turn to look at her in surprise, especially considering those few minutes in there were excruciating for them. "I mean, terrifying, completely terrifying, but kind of awesome. I've never done anything like that before, have you?"

Sage, Stiles, and Scott all look at each other in surprise, mostly considering there was no way for them to give the truthful answer without Kira believing that they were actual delinquents. Not only have they done it before, but they've practically been making a list of all the felonies they've successfully accomplished ever since Scott was bitten by Peter.

"Uh," Stiles muttered, turning to the others. "Once or twice."

Kira curled her lip back in acceptance, nodding as she gave them another grin. Sage couldn't help but huff out slightly, giving Scott a look before squeezing his shoulder and moving over to the passenger side of Stiles' jeep. It was honestly the last place she wanted to be right now, but she was on limited options at this point.

She just prayed nothing else came from Stiles that could puncture the mood that was already running dry. The blonde already felt like shit for having to cancel on Clara and Billy, now Stiles practically said he didn't want her help anymore, and she still had to go to the black light party and face a bunch of teenagers from her school that she hated.

This is the very reason she despised Halloween.

☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒ ☒

ne. this chapter is so fucking long, i apologize. it's literally the length of what should be two chapters, but im already at forty two chapters and im trying to cut back on them so their just becoming twice as long.

okay, this is me having to go on a long explanation considering it was brought to my attention by another author of a teen wolf story. apparently, someone believed that the last chapter of this book reminded them of simplystiles- a.k.a Sasha's, In This Together, story, and I can tell you that the only comparison that will ever match the two stories together is the fact that they're both a stiles stilinski fanfiction and that they're both in season three.

whoever believed that had jumped to the conclusion that i was copying an idea from her story, which im not. i made plenty sure that my idea was different from everyone else who has already written 3b, but there are only so many thoughts that a person can have before something is bound to deem a similarity. but, i can assure you that there is absolutely nO comparison which means actually wait to find out what's happening to sage before you write me off as someone who copies.

no harsh feelings, but its just a sucky feeling when the ideas i took a long time to come up with are written off as familiar. when i saw that, my heart literally dropped. sasha is her own writer and i would never intentially even think of taking anything from her, knowing what it feels like to have work plagiarized myself.

other than that, we got sAIDEN. I don't know if you guys still ship them together but they will forever be my love and life considering there is so much raw emotion between them and it makes me want to scream into a pillow and drown in tears. so, be expecting more saiden because you knew it was coming eventually but also more stage and insanity. :-)