❛ No fair. You really know how to make me cry when you gimme those ocean eyes. ❜

SEASON 2, EPISODE 7
restraint

WILLOW, STILES, AND Scott had a few minutes before the reading of their restraining order as they waited for Scott and Willow's parents to be in attendance since they were minors. Taking the few minutes they had to themselves, the three decided to call Allison and let her know what was going.

⠀⠀⠀"If Jackson doesn't know what he's doing, then he probably doesn't know that someone's controlling him," Allison said in response to their explanation. Jackson had shown up at the police station without realizing he had become the kanima on the journey there.

⠀⠀⠀"Or he doesn't remember," Scott added with a frown, resting his hands on the table in the room they had gone into while waiting.

⠀⠀⠀"What if it's the same kind of thing that happened with Lydia when she took off from the hospital?" Stiles asked, looking up at Scott.

⠀⠀⠀"A fugue state?"

⠀⠀⠀"He'd have to forget everything," Scott stated with a frown, furrowing his brows as they thought it over. Jackson honestly had no idea what he was. "The murder..."

⠀⠀⠀"Getting rid of the blood," Allison added.

⠀⠀⠀"So, there's a point when Jackson is the kanima and when he's Jackson," Willow realized, nodding her head. "Like an Animorph."

⠀⠀⠀"Animorph?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, you know, the books of the teenagers turning into like a rat, but there's that middle stage where they look insane," Willow explained.

⠀⠀⠀"Now's not the time," Stiles cut the two off, looking between them with a frown. "Jackson did have help with one thing, though. The video. And someone else helped him forget that," Stiles continued, returning to the issue at hand.

⠀⠀⠀"Whoever's controlling him," Scott added on.

⠀⠀⠀"Are you sure Jackson has no clue about any of this?" Allison asked, still unsure that Jackson was completely naïve to the situation.

⠀⠀⠀"He thinks he's still becoming a werewolf," Willow stated quickly.

⠀⠀⠀"And that somehow being with Lydia delayed the whole thing," Stiles followed.

⠀⠀⠀"So, do we try and convince him he's not?"

⠀⠀⠀"If it helps us find out who's controlling him, then yeah," Scott said.

⠀⠀⠀"Do you think he'll talk to us after what he did?" Allison asked next, causing a pause in the conversation that allowed them to realize that it most likely wasn't going to happen.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, it's us. He'll talk to us," Stiles stated, keeping up hope unlike the rest of them, looking to Willow and Scott across from them. Their unsure expressions had his face drop, and he asked, "Right?"

"YOU WILL NOT go within fifty feet of Jackson Whittmore. You will not speak to him. You will not approach him. You will not assault or harass him physically or psychologically," Mr. Stilinski read off the terms of Jackson's restraining order against Willow, Stiles, and Scott to the room. He turned to glare at the three slumped in their chairs and slapped the clipboard against the table when he finished.

⠀⠀⠀"What about school?" Stiles was the first to ask.

⠀⠀⠀"You can attend classes while attempting to maintain a fifty-foot distance," the Sheriff stated.

⠀⠀⠀"Bu—okay, what if we both have to use the bathroom at the same time and there's only two stalls available, and they're only right next to each other—"

⠀⠀⠀Willow kicked Stiles underneath the table with the heel of her shoe into his shin. Stiles' stopped as she did, making a pained face but stopped as he looked back at his dad, his glare had narrowed into a deadly one Stiles didn't want to mess with.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll just hold it," Stiles answered his own question, nodding his head and slumped back into his seat.

⠀⠀⠀They signed the restraining order then were dismissed to leave. Vic had been in attendance to hear the charges, and the two walked out into the waiting room.

⠀⠀⠀"What happened?" Vic asked her quietly as they paused before heading home.

⠀⠀⠀Vic had always been the more understanding parent when Willow got in trouble. He understood she struggled with school, that she sometimes got into trouble. So, telling him what happened truthfully was her best bet. He knew exactly what to say to calm Starla, the over-reactive parent, down from whatever grandiose punishment she had ready for her.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, there have been all these murders here and people were getting paralyzed and we only recently found out that it was Jackson and so we were trying to get the situation under control but when we kidnapped him it didn't really work out how we wanted because we wanted to try and explain that he's been murdering people but he thinks he's turning into a werewolf and not a kanima which is like a lizard man and so he ended up escaping from the car as the kanima and made it here as Jackson putting in a restraining order against us," Willow said all in one breath.

⠀⠀⠀Vic stared down at his daughter with wide eyes as he tried to follow what she was saying. Finally, he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose after a moment to process.

⠀⠀⠀"Next time, call," Vic told her sternly.

⠀⠀⠀"I didn't want to stress you guys out," Willow admitted sheepishly.

⠀⠀⠀"Honey, not telling us stresses us out more," Vic stated with a small smile, putting his hands on the sides of her face. "Okay?"

⠀⠀⠀"Okay," Willow nodded.

⠀⠀⠀"Now, Jackson," Vic said, his expression becoming serious now as he thought over the implications of the restraining order. "Try and keep away from him. I know you're trying to save the world and all that but I can't bail another kid out. It's too expensive."

⠀⠀⠀Willow let out an uncomfortable laugh when he said that, her eyes darting to Rowan hiding behind a magazine from the two then back to her dad. Vic noticed the odd change, frowning at her, then looked behind him. It took him a second, but he'd recognize his son anywhere. He let out an annoyed breath before storming across the waiting room and pulled Rowan up by the arm.

⠀⠀⠀"Ow, ow, ow," Rowan complained as he was moved to stand beside Willow. Vic stared at Rowan, waiting for him to speak first. "Hi, Dad. Nice to see you as always."

⠀⠀⠀"What is this?" Vic asked, putting his hands on his hips. "You're supposed to be in San Francisco."

⠀⠀⠀"Uh, well, it's a funny story—" Rowan began, but Vic shook his head, cutting him off.

⠀⠀⠀"Does your mother need to know about this?" Vic asked him quickly.

⠀⠀⠀"Probably, yeah."

⠀⠀⠀"Save it for home then, come on," Vic told the two, resting his hand on Rowan's shoulder in a death grip and leading him out of the station.

⠀⠀⠀Willow began to follow but stopped when Ms. McCall, talking to Scott, pointed at Stiles then her.

⠀⠀⠀"No Stiles! No Willow!" Ms. McCall shouted at her son.

⠀⠀⠀"What—no Stiles?" he asked, stopping in his tracks like Willow had and staring at the McCalls distraught.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, we can hang out if you want, Ms. M—"

⠀⠀⠀Stiles slapped his hand over Willow's mouth, dragging her back into him so she couldn't escape and embarrass any of them further. Willow complied, knowing that it was probably for the best.

⠀⠀⠀"What is going on with you?" Ms. McCall asked, her back to Willow and Stiles while Scott looked over her shoulder at them. "Is this about Allison?"

⠀⠀⠀"Do you really wanna know?" Scott asked.

⠀⠀⠀Willow nodded her head, egging him on to just go ahead and tell her while Stiles shook his head, disagreeing.

⠀⠀⠀Before Scott could make up his mind on what to do, Ms. McCall beat him to it.

⠀⠀⠀"Is this about your father? It is, isn't it?" she sighed, shaking her head. "Okay, you know what, um—We'll talk about this at home. I'm gonna go get the car."

⠀⠀⠀When she left and was out of earshot, Stiles finally let Willow go, and the three stood together for one last moment together before they were all grounded for the rest of their lives.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm the worst son ever," Scott muttered, shoulders sinking.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, I'm not exactly winning any prizes either," Stiles sighed.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm just glad Rowan's back in town," Willow commented, pointing her thumb behind her at the door. "He makes me look like the golden child."

"HEY."

⠀⠀⠀Willow whipped her head to look at the space beside her locker, finding Blair leaning against it and smiling ever so slightly at her. Willow felt like everything dropped when she arrived, her stomach, heart, and thoughts. Everything was scattered and worried and excited and concerned. She wasn't sure how to interpret the 'hey.' Was Blair going to break up with her or try to make it work? If she did want to keep going, did Willow tell her that she's a witch or continue to keep secrets from her?

⠀⠀⠀"So, it seems like I just can't keep away from you," Blair sighed, a smile spreading across her face. "I hope you feel the same."

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah," Willow gulped, nodding her head quickly before Blair started to think she was rejecting her. "Yeah, I do."

⠀⠀⠀"Good," Blair grinned, standing up straight. "We don't have to talk about everything yet, but how is everything? Are you doing okay?"

⠀⠀⠀"Uh," Willow sighed, looking back into her locker as she tried to think over what to say to her. "No. Well, yes, I'm doing fine, but no, Jackson has a restraining order against me, Stiles, and Scott."

⠀⠀⠀"Wha—A restraining order?" Blair asked, her eyes growing wide and her jaw-dropping open. "A lot's happen then," she said with a small laugh.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, kind of hard to explain," Willow said with a shrug. "Especially between classes."

⠀⠀⠀"That's okay. I like hearing that my girlfriend is pretty much a badass," Blair explained with a smirk, looking at Willow, impressed.

⠀⠀⠀Willow turned to her, a smile forming on her own lips as she stepped closer to Blair, testing their lines as she stood close enough to kiss.

⠀⠀⠀"Did you just call me a badass?" Willow asked her teasingly.

⠀⠀⠀Blair rolled her eyes at that.

⠀⠀⠀"I also called you my girlfriend," Blair said, wrapping her arms around Willow's waist.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, yeah," Willow nodded, teasingly looking severe as she furrowed her brows. "I thought that was a given," she joked.

⠀⠀⠀"Did you?" Blair asked, pecking at her lips. "Well, I didn't."

⠀⠀⠀"Oh?"

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, usually one has to ask the other to be their girlfriend," Blair explained in a hushed whisper, her eyes looking up, then back at Willow.

⠀⠀⠀"But you just called me your girlfriend," Willow retorted, narrowing her eyes at Blair. "You're giving me mixed signals, B."

⠀⠀⠀Blair shrugged and said, "It's what I'm best at, babe. Sorry to break it to you."

⠀⠀⠀"As long as you don't break my heart," Willow told her with a small, sweet smile resting on her lips as she rested her head on Blair's forehead. "Okay?"

⠀⠀⠀"Okay," Blair replied under her breath, then leaned in to kiss her.

⠀⠀⠀They broke apart about a minute later when the bell rang for lunch.

⠀⠀⠀"Will you eat lunch with me?" Blair asked her hopefully.

⠀⠀⠀Willow frowned, "I'm sorry, I'm meeting the boys and Allison in the library to go over what Lydia translated on the kanima. We can hang out after school, though."

⠀⠀⠀Willow smiled to herself, relieved that she could just tell Blair what was going on rather than making up an excuse.

⠀⠀⠀"Promise?"

⠀⠀⠀"Promise."

WILLOW, STILES, AND Scott met Allison in the library, standing on one side of the bookshelves while Allison stood on the other. They made a gap between library books so they could talk to one another without the cameras picking them up for Allison's family to see. Allison put her tablet through the small gap so the three could look at the bestiary text Lydia had translated.

⠀⠀⠀"It's everything Lydia can translate," Allison explained in a hushed whisper. "And trust me, she was very confused."

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, what'd you tell her?" Scott asked, the three crowding around the tablet to look over Lydia's translation.

⠀⠀⠀"That we were part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures," Allison told them, laughing under her breath, and Scott followed.

⠀⠀⠀Willow glanced at Stiles, who looked irritated by Allison. She knew Stiles played plenty of World of Warcraft at home, even when they used to hang out for extended periods of time. The fact that they were laughing at him without realizing it got under his skin.

⠀⠀⠀"I am part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures," Stiles told them, and the two both snapped their mouths shut when they realized he wasn't joking.

⠀⠀⠀Allison stared at him wide-eyed and stuttered out, "O-Oh, great."

⠀⠀⠀Allison looked away, embarrassed, while Stiles continued to stare at her to express annoyance. Willow shoved her elbow into his side when he continued to do it for longer than he needed to. Finally, he snapped his head to her with the same annoyed glare waiting for her to talk.

⠀⠀⠀"They didn't know," Willow whispered to him.

⠀⠀⠀"Still, it was rude," Stiles retorted, his frown deepening, but he stopped glaring at Allison.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, does it say how to find out who's controlling him?" Scott asked quickly, moving on before they could get into it.

⠀⠀⠀"Not really," Allison admitted. "But Stiles was right about the murderers."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles pumped his fist in excitement, his mood turned with that, and exclaimed, "Yes!"

⠀⠀⠀"It calls the kanima a weapon of vengeance," Allison continued to explain, staring at Stiles with wide eyes for a moment, then turned back to Scott. "There's a story about this South American priest who uses the kanima to execute murderers in his village—"

⠀⠀⠀"All right, see?" Stiles asked, nodding his head hopefully. "So, maybe it's not all that bad."

⠀⠀⠀"Until the bond grew strong enough that it killed whoever he wanted it to," Allison finished, glancing at Stiles, who frowned.

⠀⠀⠀"All bad. All very, very bad."

⠀⠀⠀"Here's the thing, though," Allison continued. "The kanima's actually supposed to be a werewolf, but it can't be—" she began but stopped herself as she turned back. Someone came onto her aisle but left just as quickly.

⠀⠀⠀"Until it resolves that in its past which manifested it," Scott finished for her, finding the line she was referencing in Lydia's translation.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, if that means that Jackson could use a few thousand hours of therapy, I could've told you that myself," Stiles retorted.

⠀⠀⠀"What if—" Allison began, her voice lowering even softer as she thought over the text. "It has something to do with his parents? His real parents."

⠀⠀⠀"Being adopted myself, I'd say that not knowing your real parents does something to you," Willow admitted. She peered between Scott and Stiles to catch Allison's eye. "I love my parents, but there's always that question in the back of your mind. Why did they give me up?"

⠀⠀⠀"Well, Jackson's parents died. That's why they gave him up," Stiles told her simply.

⠀⠀⠀"You know what I mean," Willow snapped at him. "Okay, so, then maybe he's questioning the universe rather than his own parents," Willow explained, rolling her eyes at Stiles correcting her. "Like, why did the universe take my parents from me?"

⠀⠀⠀"Does anybody actually know what happened to them?" Scott asked, furrowing his brows as he looked between the group.

⠀⠀⠀"Lydia might," Stiles said.

⠀⠀⠀"What if she doesn't know anything?" Scott asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, he doesn't have a restraining order against me. So, I'll talk to him myself," Allison assured them. Scott slipped the tablet back to her, and she took it, piling it within her arms full of books.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, what do I do?" Scott asked her.

⠀⠀⠀"You have a make-up exam, remember?" Allison asked him.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, shit. So do I," Willow muttered, glancing at Stiles as she admitted, "I forgot to study."

⠀⠀⠀"Again?" Stiles asked her in exasperation. "You need a study group."

⠀⠀⠀"The last study group I attended ended with me almost dying," Willow retorted, crossing her arms.

⠀⠀⠀"That wasn't a real study group!" Stiles exclaimed. "You're going to end up in school until you're thirty because you don't study," he said knowingly, pushing his finger against her forehead.

⠀⠀⠀Willow frowned at him but turned back to Scott and Allison as they continued to discuss the situation at hand.

⠀⠀⠀"Allison," Scott said desperately. "If you get hurt while I'm busy with some stupid test, someone's going to need to take care of me. If he does anything—"

⠀⠀⠀"Like?" Allison interrupted him.

⠀⠀⠀"Anything. Weird or bizarre, anything."

⠀⠀⠀"Anything evil!" Stiles exclaimed, pushing his head through the shelves so he and Allison were nose to nose.

⠀⠀⠀Allison pushed him back through, and he stumbled back, Willow catching him before he pushed her into the bookshelf behind them.

⠀⠀⠀Allison dismissed them, looking between Scott and Willow, and told them, "Pass your tests and we'll talk later."

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

FIGHT SCENE NEXT CHAPTER! FIGHT SCENE NEXT CHAPTER!

SONG: ocean eyes by Billie Eilish

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.