c h a p t e r   f i v e
thank you, too

It was pitch black outside now, and Harper had sent a couple of text messages back to her grandma to warn her that she wouldn't be back for a while. Rose had replied with a few kisses, indicating that it was okay. Harper still felt bad though, even as they watched Derek leave and Stiles pulled up in front of the old, ruined house. 

As the three teenagers climbed out of the jeep, Harper wondered how on earth it was stable enough for a person to live in there. It was no doubt a beautiful, large home before it had been burnt down, but now it looked like it was about to collapse any moment, half of the building was missing and the broken windows were boarded up with wooden planks.

Scott grabbed two shovels, keeping one for himself and tossing the other one to Stiles. Stiles chucked Harper the torch, telling her that it was her job to keep a look out in case Derek came back.

Harper wasn't really happy with her role in this job (or more like crime). The thought of the werewolf coming back to them digging up his property terrifed her.

The werewolf beside her sniffed the air. "Wait. Something's different."

"Different how?" She replied, shining the torch straight in front of them so that they could all see.

There wasn't much to see though. Other than the old house there was only trees and leaves surrounding it.

"I don't know." Scott hesitated. "Let's just get this over with."

He walked down to the side of the house before sticking the shovel in the ground. Stiles quickly began to help while Harper stood in her oversized jumper, shivering slightly while holding the torch.

"Keep it still." Scott warned.

Harper rolled her brown eyes. "I'm freezing."

"You're wearing a massive jumper." He retorted.

She rolled her brown eyes one more time. She could probably get a headache from the amount of times that she had rolled her eyes today. But being around Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski does that to you.

Twenty minutes later, the boys were still barely getting anywhere. They were panting, sweaty messes.

"This is taking way too long." Scott groaned, lifting up more dirt and throwing it over his shoulder.

"Just keep going." Stiles muttered, not even looking up as he continued to dig away.

"What if he comes back?"

"Then we get the hell out of here." Stiles replied as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"What if he catches us?"

"I have a plan for that." Stiles stopped digging to tell them. "You run one way, Harper and I run the other. Whoever he catches first, too bad."

Harper giggled a little as Scott's face screwed up. "I hate that plan."

Stiles didn't reply, moving his shovel back into the earth to dig when it hit something. Harper raised her eyebrows as he began warning Scott to stop. She moved forwards with the flashlight, shining it over where he had hit something.

Scott and Stiles began to dig with their hands, coming across some ropes. "Hurry," Scott warned Stiles as he began to try and untie the knots.

"I'm trying." Stiles grunted. "Did he have to tie the thing with like nine hundred knots?"

Scott sighed. "I'll do it."

He began to help, the two of them quickly getting the knots undone. Harper squinted her eyes as they pulled away the material covering whatever was in the ground. But she wished they hadn't. The three of them screamed loudly, the boys jumping out of the hole as the body was revealed.

Only it wasn't a human body. It was the dead  body of a dark haired wolf.

"What the hell is that?" Stiles yelled.

"It's a wolf." Scott spoke in disbelief.

"Yeah. We can see that." Harper tried to control her breathing from where her heart had just spazzed out. "I thought you said you could smell blood? As in human blood?"

Scott shook his head. "I told you something was different." He claimed.

Stiles blinked. "This doesn't make sense." He refused to believe it.

"We gotta get out of here." Harper rubbed her temples, the stress of this whole thing finally starting to get to her.

"Yeah," Stiles agreed. "Help me cover this up." He told Scott.

Scott began to cover what was left of the wolf up with dirt when Harper noticed something. Harper pointed the flashlight over to where a single purple flower was growing out of the ground. It was the only bit of colour around here.

"What's wrong?" Scott asked.

"Do you see that flower?" She pointed at it.

Scott frowned. "What about it?"

"I think it's wolfsbane." Harper didn't sound too sure herself, it came out more like a question. Stiles nodded along with her though.

Scott looked at Harper like he wanted her to explain further. "What's that?"

Stiles sighed loudly. "Haven't you ever seen The Wolf Man?" He sighed even louder when Scott shook his head. "Lon Chaney Jr.? Claude Rains? The original classic werewolf movie?"

"No, what?" Scott was clearly getting fustrated.

Stiles huffed. "You're so unprepared for this." He crept over to the flower and Harper followed close behind, keeping the light on it the whole time.

He began to pull it from the ground, stopping when he realised that the roots were attached to a rope. Harper and Stiles both shared a look of confusion before he continued, more and more rope coming up.

Scott watched, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion as Stiles pulled the rope carefully. It lead all the way around where the dead wolf had been buried. Harper looked back into the hole, her heart skipping a beat when she saw what was inside.

"Stiles!" She whacked his arm, causing him to look over.

The two boy both jumped when they saw it. Inside, in replacement of the wolf, was half of a dead body. A girl, a few years older than them, was lying lifelessly there, but her eyes were wide open, as if she was looking at them.

Harper grabbed hold of Stiles' arm. "Call your dad."

☹☻

The next morning, Stiles had personally picked up Scott and Harper at six in order for the three of them to watch the arrest of Derek Hale. The police had been waiting for Derek to come back all night, but he heard over the police radio station thing his dad had that Derek had just gotten home.

As soon as they had gotten there, Stiles had left Scott and Harper next to his jeep while he went off to investigate. The girl was barely awake, since she had been up most of the night yesterday and it was only six in the morning.

Harper had thrown on a pair of black jeans and a cute top. She hoped that her outfit would make up for the fact that her face was bare with no makeup. At least it was Saturday, so they had no school.

The door the the Hale house suddenly opened and Derek Hale himself walked out, a police man attached to his arm and sheriff Stilinski following behind. Derek was in hand cuffs, his eyes trained  Scott and Harper as the police guided him towards the car. Harper looked down, feeling somewhat bad. It was in her nature to care too much.

The police officer pushed Derek into the back of the car and she heard Scott sigh slightly from beside her. Looking around, she noticed about half of the police station were here, including detectives from out of state. Some were crowded around the hole that they had dug up, taking pictures and samples as evidence.

Harper's eyes landed on Stiles who was walking from by the trees towards the police car Derek was currently sat in, his hands in his pockets, whistling slightly. It was so obvious that he was trying to look natural that he looked utterly suspicious. Harper groaned as Scott began shaking his head, whispering a 'no'.

Stiles just shot them both a look before opening the drivers door and climbing inside. She mentally face palmed. Stiles Stilinski is the reason they are banned from not only the cinema but their local corner shop. He just always has to stick his nose into everything.

Maybe that's why she liked him so much.

Hey, hey. Not the time.

Scott looked away, too embarrassed to watch what ever was going to happen in the police car between Stiles and Derek. Harper, however, couldn't peel her eyes away. She watched as Stiles began to talk, though she obviously couldn't hear what he was saying.

Not even half a minute of them talking went by before Stiles was being yanked out of the car by Noah. Stiles yelped as Stilinski grabbed his arm, pulling him up to stand straight before slamming the car door.

Stiles sighed.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Noah glared at his only son.

"I'm just trying to help." Stiles attempted to reason with his father, using his usual hand actions.

The sheriff didn't look convinced. "Uh-huh. Well, how about you help me understand exactly how you came across this."

Thankfully, Stiles didn't flinch. He sighed. "We were looking for Scott's inhaler." He sighed convincingly.

"Which he dropped when?" Sheriff asked.

"The other night." Stiles replied without a single moment of hesitation.

Harper knew already that Noah had latched onto Stiles' web of lies. "The other night when you were out here looking for the first half of the body?"

"Yes!"

"The night that you told me you and Harper were in the woods alone and Scott was at home?"

"Yes!" Stiles exclaimed before realisation hit him and his face fell. "No! Oh, crap."

Noah only gave a smirk of satisfaction. "So you lied to me?"

"That depends on how you define lying."

"Well I define it as not telling the truth. How do you define it?"

Stiles thought for a few seconds. "Reclining your body in a horizontal position?" He replied, causing Harper to snort from where she was.

Noah, however, didn't find it as funny as she did. "Get the hell out of here." He muttered.

"Absolutely," Stiles nodded after not even a second passed by, scratching his head awkwardly before rushing over towards Scott and Harper.

☹☻

To Grandma: Hey, grandma. Stiles and I are picking you up in a bit for your doctors appointment. Be ready x

Harper sent her grandma the text message before sinking down futher into her seat in the back of the jeep, a small yawn escaping her mouth. Stiles was going to drop Scott home and then take them to the doctors, but right now they were googling about wolfsbane. Their encounter with the wolf/girl had left them curious.

"I can't find anything about wolfsbane being used for burial." Scott groaned from the passangers seat, sounding stressed and aggravated.

"Me either." Harper sighed as she clicked back onto the internet tab she was on before she had texted her grandmother.

Stiles didn't take his eyes off of the road as he drove down the path leading out of the woods. "Just keep looking." He insisted as Scott huffed.

"Maybe, it's like a ritual or something. Like, maybe they bury you as a wolf. Or maybe it's like a special skill. You know, like something you have to learn." The boy with the buzz cut continued to guess.

Scott rolled his brown eyes. "I'll put it on my to-do list." He remarked sarcastically. "Right underneath, 'figure out how the hell I'm playing this game tonight.'."

Stiles completely ignored him. "Maybe it's different for girl werewolves." He continued.

Scott suddenly snapped. "Okay, stop it."

Stiles frowned, "stop what?"

"Stop saying 'werewolves'. Stop enjoying this so much!" He yelled, his voice sounding strangled as he grunted, bending slightly.

"Are you okay?" Harper asked worriedly, leaning forward in her seat to come closer towards them both.

"No!" He yelled again, causing her to sit back a little. "No, I'm not. I'm so far from being okay."

He began to wince, panting as he held his stomach. Stiles didn't seem to notice this, but Harper did.

"You know, you're gonna have to accept this, Scott. Sooner or later." Stiles tried to calm him down, failing miserably as Scott panted.

"I can't."

"Well, you're going to have to!"

Harper bit her lip anxiously as Scott groaned. "No." He seethed. "I can't breathe."

The werewolf suddenly groaned loudly before slamming his hands against the roof of Stiles' jeep, causing Harper to jump and Stiles to look over quickly. His face was screwed up in agony.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Stiles began to swerve, the jeep going off of the road for a few moments, going down into the woods.

Harper grabbed hold of the seats, terrified. "Pull over!" She shrieked as Stiles managed to steer them back onto the road.

"What's happening?" He turned to Scott frantically.

Scott didn't reply, still panting as he unzipped Stiles' backpack, pulling out he wolfsbane wrapped in rope. He held it before turning to face Stiles, now looking furious. All he had to do was make Stiles do the wrong move and they were all dead.

"You kept it?" He yelled.

Stiles tried to defend himself. "What was I supposed to do with it?"

Scott hissed. "Stop the car!" His eyes flashed a golden yellow, his voice low and demonic.

Stiles' eyes widened and he finally listened, hitting the brakes as quickly as he could. "Okay," he quickly grabbed the bag, swung the door open, rushed outside and threw his backpack as far away as he could into the trees.

Harper turned to Scott to ask if he was okay, only to be met with an empty seat and an open door.  Stiles turned around to come back, his eyes widening when he saw that Scott was gone.

He gulped. "He ran?"

She nodded fearfully.

☹☻

"Stiles, you know you can't call the dispatch line when I'm on duty." The familair voice of Genny came from over the other end of his fathers old police radio that he had stolen when he first got his jeep.

Genny was Harper's favourite police officer, after Sheriff Stilinski, of course. When Stiles and Harper were younger they used to come down to the station and she would always watch them for Noah when he had to go out. Even nowadays they bring her coffee when they go to see Stilinski up at the the station.

"I just need to know if you've gotten any odd calls." Stiles asked urgently as he drove around a corner.

By now Harper had moved to the front, looking out the windows for any sign of Scott.

"Odd how?" She repeated, confused.

"Uh, like an odd person or dog-like indivisual roaming the streets?"

Harper glared at Stiles as Jenny sent a goodbye before disconnecting. Ignoring her glare, Stiles threw the walkie talkie down onto the backseat, sighing.

Her face softened. "Stiles, I'm sure Scott will be perfectly fine." She moved her hand to gently place it other his anxiously bouncing one. "We can drive about for a bit, see where he-"

Harper was cut off by the sound of her own phone buzzing. She quickly grabbed it, praying it was Scott but sighing when she saw it was her grandma.

"Who is it?" Stiles asked, not taking his eyes off of the road in front of him.

"My grandma." Harper replied.

Grandma: Where are you sweetie xx

Harper's eyes widened. "Oh crap! We were meant to take her to the doctors!" She panicked, looking at the time. "I have fifteen minutes. You can drop me off at home and keep looking for Scott-"

Stiles moved his hand to now place it on top of hers, instantly making her freeze. "I told you I would take you and your grandma. You said it yourself, Scott will be fine." He spoke so softly, it was as if he hadn't been panicking literally a minute ago.

Harper couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face. "Thanks, Stiles." She whispered.

Stiles changed direction, driving the jeep to Harper's house, again, going over the speed limit.

☹☻

Harper helped Rose into the front seat and climbed into the back, handing her a blanket from the back when she noticed she was shaking like a leaf in autumn time.

"Are you okay, Rose?" Stiles asked  Rose worriedly, his eyebrows knitting together as he took his eyes off of the road to look at her.

She smiled weakly at him. "It's just a cough, sweetheart. I've been trying to tell Harper this, but she won't listen." She patted his knee.

Stiles smiled sweetly at her. "It's just because she cares. Harper just worries." He reminded her, as if she wasn't even sat in the back.

Harper looked up from where she was looking out the window to smile fondly at them both. Her two favourite people (no offence Scott) were sat right in front of her. She had everything she needed in this jeep right here, right now. It would be a bonus if her other best friend was here too, but her feelings for Stiles were a little stronger.

Harper wondered if it was possible that Stiles could ever like her back. He had never had a girlfriend before, but she knew he was straight due to his crushes on celebrities in the past few years. Maybe he would always see her as just his friend though. The thought crushed Harper, but she pushed it aside as he pulled up at the car park in front of the doctors.

"I'll pay for a parking ticket, you guys go inside." He told her as he helped her grandma out. Harper climbed out from the back, moving to her grandma's side.

"Here's five dollars." She handed him the note. "Give me back the change."

Stiles scoffed. "You don't have to pay for me to park my car."

Harper rolled her eyes. "You're only here because I asked you to."

"Still." Stiles rolled his eyes.

"Take the money, Stiles." She shoved the bill back into his hands as he shoved it away.

"No, I have money." He protested.

Rose laughed, pulling them out of their mini arguement. "You two bicker like a married couple. Like me and your granddad. Are you sure the two of you aren't dating?"

The two of them shut up, blushing madly. "No, grandma." Harper spluttered while Stiles began to avoid all eye contact, scratching the back of his neck. "Just take the money."

Harper pushed it into his hand before gently grabbing her grandma and leading her away, towards the entrance of the doctors. When they were inside she signed her in and sat down in the waiting room.

"I can't believe you said that." Harper hissed at her.

Rose giggled. "You need to tell him how you feel before it's too late, sweetie. I regreted not telling your grandfather things. Don't you go making the same mistakes as me. I won't allow it."

"I don't like him like that." She lied, pushing her hair out of her face and not looking her in the eye.

She rolled her blue eyes. "I saw how you looked at him, hon. It's okay to like someone. Even if it's your best friend. It's adorable, like something out of a movie. And he looked at you like that too, sweetpea. He's always looked at you like that."

"Like what, grandma?" Harper mumbled, finally looking her in the eye. Did Stiles look at her like that?

Rose coughed awkwardly as the lanky teenage boy walked through the door, smiling slightly when he noticed them and taking a seat on the other side of Harper. He handed her the five dollar bill, causing her to sigh.

Before Harper could even speak, he cut her off. "Don't even." He held one finger up. "I won't accept any money, and I swear to God I will make a scene."

"You wouldn't." She threatened him.

He smirked. "Try me. I will literally scream this place down."

A doctor walked into the room, causing Harper to look up. "Rose Verum?" She called sweetly, but messing up the last name horribly.

Her grandma stood up and turned to Harper. "I can go in by myself, sweetie." She said before turning to walk away with the doctor.

Stiles patted Harper's hand in a comforting way, and she smiled as if to thank him. His gesture filled her with butterflies. Hopeless, pointless butterflies. He smiled back at her.

"We should try calling Scott again." Harper suggested, pulling out her phone.

Harper tried calling him twice, only for it to go straight to his voicemail. Stiles had the same reaction, until the both just gave up, slumped in the chairs in defeat. She ran a hand through her dark hair again, aware that it probably looked like she had been dragged through a bush backwards.

He glanced at Harper. "You should stop worrying so much. Stress isn't good," he warned.

Harper scoffed, "duh." She smiled a little. "I can't help but worry. About my grandma, about Scott, everything."

Stiles looked like he was debating to say something before he just sighed. "Scott will be okay. And your grandma is a strong woman, I'm sure she's fine. She's probably just got a cold, like she says."

She nodded in agreement. "You're right." She tried to convince herself. "Everything is going to be okay."

"Of course it is," he grabbed her hand and began to trace patterns with his thumb, causing her heart to do a thousand flips, the butterflies in her stomach to roar to life, and her head to go fuzzy. "I promise."

"This may be a little deep for a trip to the doctors..." Harper began. "But I want to tell you something."

"Yes?" He sat up eagerly, squeezing her hand a little. "You can ask me anything. Anything at all. Like, at all. Shoot. Fire."

Harper giggled, squeezing his hand back. "I just wanted to thank you." She told him. "For everything, Stiles. For being my best friend for the past however many years, for defending me, for making me smile and laugh and cry. For looking after me when my parents died, for begging your dad to let me stay with you, for being there for me when my granddad passed away. For taking me and my grandma to the doctors today. For comforting me right now. Everything. Thank you, Stiles Stilinski."

Stiles didn't know what to say. It wasn't what he was expecting, and he couldn't decide if it as so much better or not. His hands went a little sweaty in hers, but he prayed she didn't notice. He began to blink quickly, processing what she had just said.

A smile then broke out on his face. A real, massive, genuine Stiles Stilinski smile.

"Well then I want to thank you, too." He spoke confidentally.

"For what?" Harper smiled. "Just tagging along and making stupid comments?"

Stiles rolled his eyes. "You're so much more than that. You're so kind and amazing. Sometimes I wonder how after all of the things you've been through, you're still so thoughtful and loving. Your stupid comments only make me laugh. Your sense of humour is amazing. And when my mums anniversary come around you are always there for me. When I thought crying in front of Scott was babyish, you reminded me that it was okay to cry. You helped me heal, you helped me move on. So thank you, Harper Jean Verum."

Tears sprung to her eyes, threatening to spill, but she blinked quickly, the biggest grin on her face. Before Harper could open her mouth, some middle aged guy yelled from behind them, "ugh, just kiss already! You guys make me feel even sicker."

The two teenagers blushed, a loud laugh escaping Harper's lips as her head fell into her hands. She shook her head, laughing. "Oh my God," she muttered.

When she looked up Stiles was chuckling awkwardly too. "Can your grandma come out now and save us from this awkwardness?" He begged.

"I wish."

☹☻

Rose came out of the doctors and said that she was fine, but they had taken a blood test just in case. Harper was so relieved that her grandma was going to be okay. Stiles dropped her back home before they both went to his house.

His dad was still out, probably caught up in the whole Derek Hale murder case. Stiles and Harper watched movies all day on Netflix with popcorn and chocolate, until around five when she got a text message from Allison.

Stiles paused the movie they were currently watching. "Who is it?" He asked curiously, reaching into the half empty popcorn bowl and eating a handful.

"Allison," Harper replied as she read the text message.

From Allison: Scott just came by  house and my dad hit him with the car (wtf I know). He's okay, but now my dad is coming to the lacrosse game tonight. Ugh.

"Scott's fine, he went around Allison's house." Harper told him.

Stiles rolled his eyes. "Of course he did." He muttered before switching the TV off. "We should start heading over to the school anyway. I have to go and get ready."

Harper nodded, getting up off of the coach and taking the bowl of popcorn to the kitchen. When she came back Stiles already had his PE bag over his shoulder and his shoes on. She slipped on her own shoes before following him out.

The car ride to the school was short and filled with silence. Not awkward or boring, but comfortable and content. The radio played quietly in the background as Harper leaned her head against the window, drumming her painted nails along to all of the pop music that played.

Stiles concentrated on driving until he pulled up at the school, parking in his usual place at the back of the school car park. They both got out before starting to walk towards the school.

"See you out there?" He sounded somewhat nervous as they stopped where she had to leave.

"That is why you drove me here." Harper laughed, giving him a small hug. "You go get changed. See ya,"

"S-see you," he waved back as she turned to leave, heading towards the field.

The stands were already packed with people. Harper noticed Allison with her dad and Lydia so she decided to go and sit with Melissa McCall, one of her favourite people ever- Scott's mum. She took a seat next to her, grinning.

"Hey, Harper." Melissa greeted her warmly. "How's my not-daughter doing?"

Harper giggled, "I'm good, Melissa. You excited to see Scott play tonight? I can't believe he made the team."

"Very." She replied. "And me too. I didn't believe him when he came home and told me. I thought he sat on the bench with Stiles?"

"Oh," Harper coughed awkwardly, looking over to where Stiles was sat on the bench, his dad next to him as they spoke. "But that was last year. Scott and Stiles practiced a lot over summer, turns out Scott was good enough to play first line."

Melissa nodded. "I'm so proud of him." She agreed. "Do you... you don't think there's anything wrong with Scott, right?"

Harper froze momenterially before smiling weakly. "Why would you think that?"

She shrugged, sighing. "He's just been acting strange lately... different. Distant. Has he spoke to you or Stiles about it?"

She shook her head. "He's perfectly okay at school and around us. He's probably just stressed because I heard Coach Finstock is looking for a new team captain." She lied easily.

Melissa nodded. "That makes sense."

Sheriff Stilinski walked over, smiling at the two of them. "Hey, Harper. Melissa." he smiled brightly. "I hear your son is playing tonight?" He sat down on the other side of the teenage girl.

"Yeah..." They began to talk about Scott and Stiles while Harper zoned out, looking around to see if she could spot Stiles. He was looking back at Harper, a smile on his face.

She smiled back, waving.

The whistle blew on the field, catching her attention as she turned away from Stiles. The lacrosse team from the other school and Beacon Hills High ran out onto the field, cheering and waving their lacrosse sticks in the air.

Harper began to play with her hair nervously as the game started, the ball going everywhere but Scott's direction. She snuck a quick glance in Stiles' direction, seeing him chewing his glove anxiously. Sighing, she turned back to the game.

Nobody was passing the ball to Scott, even when he was in the perfect spot. Harper suspected this had something to do with Jackson. It always somehow leads back to him. A player from the opposite team dropped the ball, sending it to the grass.

Scott saw the opportunity and he took it. But it looked like somebody else had the same idea. As Scott darted for the ball, Jackson went for it too, knocking Scott to the ground on the way.

Scott landed with a thump, causing Harper to wince. Meanwhile, Jackson scooped up the ball and cradled it before throwing it straight into the back of the net.

Everyone but Stiles, Melissa and Harper errupted into cheers. Harper sighed, remaining sat down on the bench next to Scott's mum who looked very dissapointed.

"That's it, Jackson!" Coach yelled from at the bottom of the bleachers. "Get fired up! Fired up!"

Melissa sighed before standing up and clapping. Harper guessed she had hesitated because her son had been knocked down, but his team was winning, after all.

She didn't clap though. Not for that jackass.

Harper heard extra loud whooping coming from a few benches behind, turning to see Lydia and Allison holding up a massive sign that read: "We luv u Jackson". She cringed, turning back to see Scott staring straight at the poster, a look of both defeat and anger written on his face.

"Ouch," she muttered. That one has to sting.

The game continued and Harper noticed how a few people around Scott were looking at him strangely. He was bent over slightly, panting in and out lightly, white puffs of air coming out from his breath and filling the cold air. Harper began to chew her bottom lip, not even stopping when she felt it start to bleed a little.

Nervous was an understatement.

Come on Scott.

The referee blew the whistle and the game came back to life. The ball flew through the air and Scott made a dash for it. He jumped, somehow managing to jump onto a member of the opposite teams shoulder, grabbing the ball mid air in his stick and landing on the ground perfectly.

"Oh my God." Harper muttered, her brown eyes wide.

He began to run as quickly as he could, cradling the ball the whole time as he doged other players. In, out, in, out. Melissa did a little jump from beside Harper, a massive grin on her face as she watched her son with such proudness that it filled Harper's worried heart with warmth.

Scott made it the entire length of the field before shooting it. It went straight through the net, causing everybody to cheer loudly. Melissa and Harper shot up in their seats, screaming for Scott.

"To McCall!" Coach Finstock yelled, Stiles jumping spastically from behind him. "Pass to McCall!"

A player from the other team grabbed the ball, turning around to throw it backwards, only to be met with Scott. He stared at Scott for a moment, his eyes wide before he threw the ball at him. Scott caught it effortlessly causing Harper's jaw to drop.

How did he..? Did he just..?

Scott ran, throwing the ball towards the net. The goalie lifted his lacrosse stick to catch it, but the ball went straight through the netting, slicing through and into the goal behind.

Harper yelled happily, Noah and Melissa high fiving each other from either side of her. She made eye contact with Stiles who was jumping around at the bottom of the bleachers, whooping for their best friend. He grinned at her, shooting her two big thumbs up.

The refree blew the whistle again, the ball going straight to Scott. Scott ran, finding himself in the middle of the field, nobody surrounding him. Harper watched as he started to pant, and she was almost sure he was growling. Her eyebrows furrowed as she excused myself, rushing down towards where Stiles was.

With only five seconds remaining and two members of Mystic Falls High closing in on Scott, he suddenly threw the ball. It landed in the goal just as the whistle blew and everybody began to cheer.

Beacon Hills had won.

Stiles looked relieved from beside her. "Yes! Yes! Oh my God." He let out a sigh, standing up.

"I hate to say it, but I don't think it's other yet." She muttered from beside him, chewing on the sleeve of her jumper anxiously.

Stiles didn't seem to hear her as he sat down on the bottom of the bleachers, taking off his gloves. Harper sighed, sitting down next to him as everybody went onto the field to cheer on the players, leaving just them and Noah.

If Stiles didn't think anthing was wrong then there probably wasn't anything wrong.

Stiles noticed his dad frowning on the phone and turned to him. "Dad? What's wrong?" He asked.

Harper thought too soon.

☹☻

Stiles and Harper rushed towards the locker room where they knew Scott would be. She couldn't believe what Stiles' dad had just told them. They were so screwed.

Stiles rushed into the boys locker room and Harper followed behind, the both of them stopping dead in their tracks when they saw what was going on in the shower area. Scott and Allison were making out, the two of them with their arms wrapped around each other.

She grabbed Stiles' arm, dragging him back so he couldn't watch and ruin the moment for them.

"Let him have his moment." Harper whispered quietly, a small smile on her face as they hid behind the pegs.

Stiles stood right next to her, her arm linked with his arm as they waited for them to stop kissing.

"I gotta get back to my dad." They heard her whisper, taking it as their cue to leave. Just as they came around the corner Allison noticed them. "Hey, Harper. Stiles." she nodded awkwardly.

"Hey," Harper smiled back as Allison left and Scott began to walk over, the cheesiest, biggest grin on his face.

"I kissed her." He sounded happier than Harper had seen him in the past few weeks, since all of this werewolf crap happened.

"We saw." She giggled back. Scott McCall's smile was contagious, there was no denying it.

"She kissed me." He grinned, causing her to chuckle as Stiles smiled.

"We saw that, too." He nudged Scott cheekily.

Scott just sighed happily before stammering,"I don't know how, but I controlled it. I pulled it back. Maybe I can do this. Maybe it's not that bad."

"We told you!" Harper squealed slightly, giving him a quick hug.

"Yeah..." Stiles gave an awkward laugh. "We'll talk later then."

He began to leave but Scott grabbed his lacrosse shirt, pulling him backwards to face him. "What?" He asked, his smile finally fading.

Stiles hesiated before sighing. "The, uh, medical examiner looked at the other half of the body we found."

"And?"

"Well, I'll keep it simple. Medical examiner determines killer of girl to be animal, not human. Derek is human, not animal. Derek not killer. Derek let out of jail."

Scott's face fell. "Are you kidding?" He asked in complete shock. He obviously thought it was all over.

"No, and here's a bigger kick in the ass." Stiles continued. "My dad ID'd the dead girl, both halves. Her name was Laura Hale."

Realisation dawned upon Scott. "Hale?" The werewolf repeated louder.

Harper bit her bottom lip. "Derek's sister." She confirmed.

— isaaclovesmexican
alisha
♡☆

anyone actually liking this yet? lol

✨