❛ But you didn't have to cut me off. Make out like it never happened and we were nothing. ❜

SEASON 1, EPISODE 8
night school

WILLOW, LAUREL, AND Bridgette had been in the library at their home studying when it happened. Laurel had been walking them through how to do triangle similarity for geometry pausing mid-sentence. Her eyes turned glassy, and to the witches watching her, the energy passing through them turned her iris' and pupils a bright white.

⠀⠀⠀Laurel was unresponsive for several minutes, with Willow and Bridgette waiting patiently. Although, the longer they waited, the more they worried. Laurel had never gone out for more than twenty seconds. It was rumored that a witch could get stuck in a seeing state, which only furthered their worry.

⠀⠀⠀Bridgette stood from her chair, it tumbling back to the ground, and she was at the door to go get their mom when Laurel snapped back. Her hand clamped down on Willow's wrist, and the other reached for Bridgette's although she wasn't there. Laurel snapped her head to Bridgette, panting.

⠀⠀⠀"We have to go to the school," Laurel stated.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Bridgette asked, walking back into the room with wide eyes. She rested her hand on top of Laurel's. "Why?"

⠀⠀⠀"They're in danger."

⠀⠀⠀"Who?" Willow asked.

⠀⠀⠀Laurel snapped to look at Willow.

⠀⠀⠀"Scott and Stiles!" she exclaimed like it were obvious.

⠀⠀⠀"We can't just leave," Bridgette told her, furrowing her brows. "Mom hasn't made the protective necklaces yet."

⠀⠀⠀Laurel stood to her feet, removing her hands from her sisters. She looked out of it, shaken up by her vision as she tried to get her two sisters to go with her. Willow noted it was an odd turn of places. In contrast, Willow and Bridgette would usually be the ones trying to convince Laurel to sneak out with them.

⠀⠀⠀"It doesn't matter," Laurel sighed, fumbling with the rings on her fingers. "I saw Derek die, and they're next."

⠀⠀⠀Willow let out a shaky breath.

⠀⠀⠀"Fine," Bridgette sighed. "We can use my window. It's closest to the ground. Come on."

LAUREL WENT SCREECHING into the school parking lot, her tires leaving skid marks on the pavement. Ahead of them and behind Stiles' Jeep was a creature crouched and waiting to pounce. It moved away from the Jeep, staring at the front of the building.

⠀⠀⠀"It's Stiles!" Willow shouted, pointing at him standing in front of the school with a pair of gardening shears in hand.

⠀⠀⠀Laurel composed her expression, furrowing her brows, and pressed her foot to the floor. The werewolf was dipped in the moonlight as it slinked closer to Stiles, who was frozen in fear. Laurel turned the wheel again, speeding straight into the Alpha with a sick crunch.

⠀⠀⠀The Alpha rolled a few feet away from them as the sisters jumped out of the car. Stiles stared at them in surprise, his mouth wide open and his eyes wide like disks. There was no time to explain as the Alpha stood back to its feet, barely affected by the hit.

⠀⠀⠀"Get in, get in," Scott shouted from behind the door of the school, holding it open just a crack until the sisters and Stiles rushed to the door and pooled inside.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles took the shears in his hands and used the two handles to lock the door. They expected to hear growling, panting, scratching, something, but there was nothing beyond the door, and the longer they waited, the more the anticipation coiled in their stomachs.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles approached the door, raising his handheld flashlight up to the window to look outside for the creature, but it was like it had disappeared.

⠀⠀⠀"That won't hold, will it?" Scott asked, turning to Stiles.

⠀⠀⠀"Probably not," Stiles muttered, turning to him. "Can one of you make another one of those force fields?" he asked, turning to look at the sisters, and more so Willow, who had done it in the first place.

⠀⠀⠀"Not like the one in the locker room," Willow told him with a frown. "I can't hold that one very long, but I can protect a room on a lesser scale."

⠀⠀⠀A howl erupted through the school, echoing off the walls. The five seemed to be struck knowing they were stuck in the school after hours with a beast that wanted to kill them.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles and Scott were the first to start running, then the sisters after them. Scott led them into the first classroom that was left open and skidded inside. Willow followed, noting the number of windows in the room, and wondered if she'd be able to withstand the night protecting the room. Just how long would they have to stay here?

⠀⠀⠀"Caelus, nostra orsum apsconditus tenemus. Caelus, ad advorsari defendemus qui velo ad nocemus," Willow recited, protecting the room to the best of her ability.

⠀⠀⠀"The desk!" Stiles exclaimed, he and Scott running to the desk to move it in front of the door for added defense. "Stop, stop! The door's not gonna keep it out," he told him.

⠀⠀⠀"I know," Scott nodded. "But we have Willow, Bridgette, and Laurel to help."

⠀⠀⠀"Willow's the only one capable of making a protective shield around the room that will last," Laurel corrected Scott. "She's practiced for years."

⠀⠀⠀"Laurel practices divination, and I practice healing," Bridgette added quickly. Her voice rose an octave higher, and her words slipped out of her mouth like she couldn't help it.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles nodded, thinning his lips before he turned back to Scott.

⠀⠀⠀"Right now, what matters is the fact that the Alpha is your boss," Stiles told Scott.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Scott muttered, narrowing his eyes. "No."

⠀⠀⠀"Yes!" Stiles retorted. "Murdering psycho werewolf."

⠀⠀⠀"That can't be."

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, come on," Stiles groaned. "He disappears, and that thing shows up ten seconds later to toss Derek twenty feet through the air? That's not convenient timing?"

⠀⠀⠀"It's not him," Scott told him sternly. He glanced at the sisters, confusion filtering through his features as he looked between them. "Speaking of convenient timing, how did you guys know we were here?"

⠀⠀⠀"I had a vision that you two were in trouble," Laurel explained, never one for too many details.

⠀⠀⠀"A vision?" Stiles asked, scratching the back of his head.

⠀⠀⠀"Yes, like how I knew Scott was turning," Laurel explained, nodding her head. "Typically, I get visions through touch, but it seems we've spent so much time together that your energies have clung to me and told me you were in trouble."

⠀⠀⠀"What did you see?" Scott asked, stepping away from the desk and going wild-eyed as he frantically spoke to Laurel. "Did you see what will happen? What we can do? Do you know who the Alpha is?"

⠀⠀⠀Laurel took a couple of steps back, ensuring space between herself and Scott before she responded.

⠀⠀⠀"I've only seen what's happened by now," Laurel told him, raising her hands to keep the distance. "I saw Derek die, I saw you two in trouble, and we headed here."

⠀⠀⠀Scott sighed, running his hands over his face.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, just—" Scott muttered, trying to get his bearings. "What do we do?"

⠀⠀⠀"We get to my Jeep," Stiles told them, pointing at the sisters. "You three as well. I think your car is totaled."

⠀⠀⠀The sisters nodded. Even if Laurel's car wasn't, there was no time to chance the idea that it was fine.

⠀⠀⠀"We get out of here. You, Scott, seriously think about quitting your job, good?" Stiles asked and walked toward the windows in the room.

⠀⠀⠀Scott tried to push one of the windows up, but Stiles stopped him before he broke anything.

⠀⠀⠀"No, they don't open," Stiles explained, glancing outside. "The school's climate-controlled."

⠀⠀⠀Willow walked toward the window to look outside as well. Laurel's car was out front, the front hood crunched, and Willow could only think that their mom was going to kill them when she found out what had happened.

⠀⠀⠀"Then we break it," Scott stated.

⠀⠀⠀"Which will make a lot of noise," Stiles retorted.

⠀⠀⠀"Then, uh, then we run really fast," Scott concluded, nodding his head at the simple plan. It was the only one that might get them out alive. Just running.

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles," Scott spoke up, walking down to the end of the window and staring at something. "What's wrong with the hood of your Jeep?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow turned to look in the direction of Stiles' Jeep, unable to make out anything wrong with it from so far away. She followed Stiles, standing close to him as they all peered out of the window in an attempt to see what Scott did with his enhanced sight.

⠀⠀⠀"What do you mean?" Stiles asked. "Nothing's wrong."

⠀⠀⠀"It's bent," Laurel commented.

⠀⠀⠀"What, like, dented?"

⠀⠀⠀"No, she means bent," Scott told him.

⠀⠀⠀"What the hell—"

⠀⠀⠀Shattering glass suddenly filled the room, the sound making Willow's ears ring. Stiles placed his hand on the back of her neck and forced her down with him. The five stayed in their positions, hands over their heads and limbs held close to their bodies. Then, they slowly looked up and noticed the battery lying on the other side of the room.

⠀⠀⠀"Fuck," Laurel muttered.

⠀⠀⠀"That's my battery!" Stiles exclaimed, pointing at it, and nearly stood before Scott stopped him.

⠀⠀⠀"Don't," Scott hissed at him, his hand on Stiles' chest.

⠀⠀⠀"We have to move," Stiles hissed at him.

⠀⠀⠀"He could be right outside," Scott told him.

⠀⠀⠀"He is right outside, dipshit," Laurel hissed at him.

⠀⠀⠀Scott looked between the group, ready to move, and sighed.

⠀⠀⠀"Just," he muttered, turning to look up at the window. "Let me take a look."

⠀⠀⠀Scott moved into a squat and turned on his toes without lifting his feet. Then, agitatingly slow, he pulled himself up just enough to look over the shelves lined against the windows and out into the parking lot. He didn't say a word, continuing to scope outside.

⠀⠀⠀"Nothing?" Stiles asked him, impatient for a response.

⠀⠀⠀"No."

⠀⠀⠀"Move now?"

⠀⠀⠀"Move now."

⠀⠀⠀Willow stood with the others, keeping as low to the ground as they could as they walked out into the hallway. They moved back to their full height in the hallway, now stuck with no idea where to move next that would give them better cover. Scott started to head out, but Willow stopped him.

⠀⠀⠀"We need to go somewhere without windows," Willow told him. "I couldn't protect us enough in there, seeing as the battery made it through the window."

⠀⠀⠀"Every single room in this building has windows!" Scott exclaimed, panicked.

⠀⠀⠀"Somewhere with less windows," Stiles added from beside her.

⠀⠀⠀Scott looked like a light bulb had gone off above his head and said, "The locker room."

⠀⠀⠀"Wait!" Willow called before the two boys went running off. "I need to put a protection charm on all of us before we keep moving."

⠀⠀⠀Bridgette and Laurel nodded, holding their hands out, and Willow rested them in hers. Stiles and Scott walked back over, wondering if they should be taking the time to do this when they were vulnerable in the middle of the hall. At the moment, though, they didn't really have another choice if they kept running straight into danger.

⠀⠀⠀Laurel and Bridgette held their hands out to Stiles and Scott, then held each other. Willow nodded once they were all connected, and they nodded back at her. She closed her eyes and muttered, "Caelus defendant nos, animus et corpus, ab impetus dum sumus forabilis in hic spatium opi."

⠀⠀⠀Willow finished and opened her eyes, looking at the four in front of her. She waited until the energy covered each of them head to toe. Then, she broke the circle, removing her hands from her sisters, and they followed. They took a moment to get their bearings before Scott looked between them, taking the lead.

⠀⠀⠀"Alright," Scott told them. "Let's move."

"CAELUS, NOSTRA ORSUM apsconditus tenemus. Caelus, ad advorsari defendemus qui velo ad nocemus."

⠀⠀⠀"Okay," Scott said from behind Willow, turning to Stiles. "Call your dad."

⠀⠀⠀"And tell him what?" Stiles asked him.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't know. Anything," Scott said dismissively. "Gas leak, a fire, whatever. If that thing sees the parking lot filled with cop cars, it'll take off."

⠀⠀⠀"What if it doesn't?" Stiles asked him, thinning his lips and readjusting his stance to a more closed-off. His arms crossed over his chest, and his feet spread apart. "What if it goes completely Terminator and kills every cop in sight, including my dad?"

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles is right," Bridgette interrupted the two. "We can't involve innocent people."

⠀⠀⠀"We're innocent!" Scott exclaimed, throwing his hands up. "They have guns."

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, and Derek had to be shot with a wolfsbane laced bullet to even slow him down, you remember that?" Stiles snapped at him.

⠀⠀⠀"Then we—We have to—We have to find a way out and just run for it," Scott concluded.

⠀⠀⠀"What if we just wait it out for the night?" Willow asked, trying to dissolve the tension. "I think I can hold it until morning."

⠀⠀⠀"But do you know for sure?" Scott asked her, frowning as he turned to look at her.

⠀⠀⠀"It might be the only choice we have," Stiles added on when Willow didn't respond. "There's nothing near the school for at least a mile."

⠀⠀⠀"What about Derek's car?" Scott asked.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles sighed, glancing at Willow, then nodded his head reluctantly.

⠀⠀⠀"That could work," he frowned, running his hand over his head. "We go outside, we get the keys off his body, and then we take his car."

⠀⠀⠀"And him," Laurel and Scott said together.

⠀⠀⠀"Fine, whatever," Stiles rolled his eyes.

⠀⠀⠀The five headed for the door of the locker room now that they had a plan in mind. Willow paused for a second, making sure there was nothing outside that she could hear. Then, she looked at Scott, and he nodded for her to release the spell. She trailed her fingers over the edge of the door frame and was about to open the door when Scott grabbed her hand.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" she asked, turning back to look at him.

⠀⠀⠀"I think I heard something," Scott muttered.

⠀⠀⠀"You heard something?" Willow whisper-shouted back at him. "I just put the shield down. I don't have enough time to put it back up!"

⠀⠀⠀They were quiet for a moment, all of them now hearing something move outside of the door. The group backed away, moving deeper into the locker room, trapped.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles flung his flashlight around without realizing it was on until he pointed it straight at the door. His hands were shaking as he tried to turn it off and ended up muffling it into his shirt instead.

⠀⠀⠀"Hide," Scott told them.

⠀⠀⠀Willow froze up, unsure where to hide. She was panicking at the thought of the Alpha--that had been terrorizing Beacon Hills for a month now--finally catching up to them.

⠀⠀⠀Then, before she realized it, her hand was grabbed, and she was dragged into the locker with Stiles.

⠀⠀⠀Willow stood inside the tall locker with her back to the door and her chest against Stiles'. She let out a shaky breath from fear or proximity. Willow didn't know. What she did know was that despite hating Stiles, she never really did. Just being in that locker with him while the Alpha corralled them brought her assurance that she would be okay.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles' hand was still in hers while the other pressed into her back as best as he could with the flashlight still in hand. He pulled her closer to him so that they didn't go stumbling out. She shut her eyes and rested her head against his chest. Stiles rested his chin on top of her head to look out of the vents in the locker.

⠀⠀⠀"Son of a bitch!" a man screamed as he opened the lockers opposite to them.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles pushed Willow out of the locker, keeping her steady before reaching out for the janitor who had caught Scott. The janitor jumped with the appearance of two more people hiding in the locker room.

⠀⠀⠀"Quiet!" Stiles exclaimed.

⠀⠀⠀"Quiet my ass!" the man shouted as he looked between the teenagers.

⠀⠀⠀Bridgette and Laurel opened their lockers and stepped out. The man jumped for the third and final time before scowling between them.

⠀⠀⠀"What the hell are you kids trying to do? Kill me? All of you, out!"

⠀⠀⠀"Will you just listen for half a second, okay?" Stiles snapped at the man.

⠀⠀⠀"Not okay!" the janitor exclaimed, grabbing the boys by the shoulders and leading them out of the locker room. The sisters followed reluctantly behind, unsure what to do next. "Get the hell out of here, right now!"

⠀⠀⠀The janitor threw Stiles out of the locker room, then Scott.

⠀⠀⠀"Just one second to explain!" Bridgette exclaimed from behind him, the girls staying inside the locker room to try and get him to listen.

⠀⠀⠀"No, no explaining! Get the hell out!" the janitor screamed. He moved around them and forced all three of the girls out of the room.

⠀⠀⠀"Just up and go—"

⠀⠀⠀The janitor was ripped back into the locker room by the ankle, the door slamming shut behind him. Willow ran to the door. She held her hands out towards the door, about to cast in an attempt to save the janitor. However, Stiles pulled her back just as the janitor was pinned to the glass. He slid down it, leaving a bloody streak behind him.

⠀⠀⠀"We can't fight it!" Stiles exclaimed in her ear, moving her down the hall. "We have to go. Go!"

"I'M NOT DYING here," Stiles told the group as they rushed down the halls, beginning to panic. "I'm not dying at school!"

⠀⠀⠀Willow glanced at Stiles, worried. It had been a while since she had seen Stiles have a panic attack, but she was sure this was how they started. Typically, he was freaking out about something. Usually, it wasn't about near-death situations. It used to be something minor that was, in turn, related to something else entirely.

⠀⠀⠀For example, he'd failed his math test in eighth grade. He started freaking out over it, and the next thing Willow knew, he was having a panic attack. It wasn't the test or failing but the fact that the anniversary of his mother's death was approaching.

⠀⠀⠀Now, this, she understood, wasn't something else, but honestly, the weight of getting mixed up in supernatural problems was getting to him. Not to mention there was no break from this one. They were trapped in the school for the night, and when morning came, who knows what would happen next.

⠀⠀⠀"We're not going to die," Scott assured him, sounding so sure of himself as he led the four down the halls.

⠀⠀⠀"God, what is he doing?" Stiles asked, his voice going up an octave. "What does he want?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow took in a deep breath, looking to the lockers on her left. She had been trying to convince herself that she didn't care, that she didn't know Stiles as well as she did, that this was the beginning of something she had seen too many times before. But then, Willow nearly wanted to kick herself. Just because she and Stiles were exes didn't give her the permission to be insensitive to Stiles' anxiety.

⠀⠀⠀"Me," Scott told Stiles, deadpanned. "Derek says it's stronger with a pack."

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, great," Stiles sighed, his breathing becoming condensed in his chest. "A psychotic werewolf who's into teamwork. That's—That's beautiful."

⠀⠀⠀Before Willow thought any longer on the matter, she stuck her hand out and grabbed his. She could see Stiles whip his head to look at her from her peripheral and could feel the burning gaze of her sisters behind her. Willow squeezed his hand but didn't acknowledge the fact that he was staring at her. She tapped her finger on the back of his hand in measures of two, and after a second, she could feel Stiles start to breathe with her timing. It was like she was standing in front of him, asking him to breathe with her. They had come up with this way when Stiles continued to panic in class then got embarrassed when people started to notice.

⠀⠀⠀When Stiles was back to his regular breathing, Willow turned to look at him, catching his eye. He looked at her like nothing had changed, and for a moment, so did she. It was like they were standing where they had been the year before except with creatures of the night trying to kill them.

⠀⠀⠀Willow, then, wanted to rip his eyes out. The fact that her stomach burst into a flutter of butterflies at that gaze. She wanted to set her skin on fire in an attempt to feel anything other than that again.

⠀⠀⠀His eyebrows lowered, he quirked his lips at the corners of his lips and mouthed a simple 'thank you.' She paused a moment before nodding, then looked away.

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

PSA: If you have a friend having a panic attack, please don't kiss them. Yeah, that ain't cool and they're not consenting to that. You should be there to them, try to get their mind of it, and help them regain their breathing if that's what they need. Mental illness shouldn't be romanticized in that way. Thank you.

Anyways, FINALLY we're getting to where I believe this story really begins to hit it off with the drama. I love this episode and the following ones a lot >:) stuff really begins to hit the fan after this episode. For now, we get some soft Willow and Stiles (Stillow?).

AAAAAH WE'VE HIT 1K READS!!! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH, ILYSM!

SONG: Somebody I Used To Know by Gotye & Kimba

Thank you for reading! Leave comments telling me your thoughts on this chapter, but however you interact, know that I really appreciate you reading. I hope you enjoy, and until the next one.