DEAD MAN!
CHAPTER TWELVE.
control your heart rate.

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ADRIAN SIGHED AS HE LISTENED TO HIS DAD AND MOTHER ARGUE BACK AND FORTH, LEAVING HIM IN THE MIDDLE OF IT. He was currently at the parent/teacher conference due to the fact that he was required to attend with his grades not being good enough; hence another reason his mum and dad were arguing.

"He would be doing way better in school if he stayed with me!" His dad stated as the Martins exited the school. Adrian cringed. Did they really have to do this out in public? He thought.

"It's not my fault neither of them want to live with you!" His mum argued back with a furious look in her eyes. Adrian rolled his eyes, trying to step as far away from his parents as possible.

In the middle of the parking lot, he noticed Scott and Allison together with their parents in front of them. Adrian felt sorry for them, knowing they must be furious with them; a feeling he knew all too well.

A high pitched scream caught Adrian's attention in the parking lot, alerting others as well. Parents, students and even a few teachers were running mad around the car park; some looking lost while others looked scared.

Adrian split off from his parents, taking slow steps around the car park. People were screaming, trying to get to their cars as fast as possible. What is going on?

"Move! Move!" Adrian turned his head just as a car beeped their horn, the sound making him tense. In the corner of his eye, Adrian could see Sheriff Stilinski running towards something which set an alarm through Adrian.

"Sheriff!" The teen chases after him in worry, the only thing going through his mind being he had to make sure he didn't get hurt. Stiles couldn't afford to lose another parent.

Before Adrian could alert the man, a car backed into the him. Sheriff Stilinski was sent to the ground, making the teen run faster. It didn't seem to be a hard hit, but definitely one that would cause a few injuries.

Fear tore at his face and veins as the Martin knelt down besides the older Stilinski, his eyes wide. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." The man shook it off. He reached down to his ankle where a gun was being held in its holster. Adrian covered his ears as the shots rang off, more screams sounding.

Then . . . silence. People gathered in crowds, looking at whatever had been hit. Adrian knew from the crowds that Stiles' dad was too far to have hit whatever had appeared. So who did?

The boy got his answer when he saw Chris Argent standing over a dead mountain lion, people staring in shock while some congratulated him.

Adrian could do nothing but stare at the aftermath of whatever just happened, staying by Stiles' dad's side as people checked over his injuries.

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"Is he really not talking to you?" Adrian grumbled as he caught Scott in the hallway. Ever since last night's attack, Stiles had been upset at Scott for not saving his dad; which Adrian could understand . . . but really didn't want to be stuck in between.

Scott sighed, nodding. "Yeah, and I can't call him because Derek broke my phone. He also told me to stay away from Allison."

Adrian looked at the boy in surprise, confusion written all over his face. "You mean stay away from the one person who seems to be keeping you grounded?"

"Exactly!" The shaggy haired boy exclaimed. Things were silent between the two before Scott sighed. "At least yours and Stiles' relationship is going alright."

"Woah, whoa, whoa." Adrian slammed his arm out, stopping Scott from walking any further. Adrian tilted his head, his emotions stone cold. "Let me stop you right there. Stiles and I are not together."

Scott furrowed his eyebrows. "You're not?" Adrian gave him a glare, to which Scott got his answer. "Well, you at least like him then."

Scoffing, Adrian shook his head. "No, I don't." The boy denied, fiddling with his straps nervously.

"Yes, you do." Scott stated as if it were obvious.

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't!" Adrian's voice got defensively higher.

"Adrian, every time you two are around each other I can feel your heartbeat rising so I know you like him!" Scott said relatively loudly, making Adrian's eyes widen.

Does it? Was what first entered the teen's mind due to the statement. Realising how cliche it sounded, the boy shook it off.

Thank god it was an early school morning and not many people had arrived, or else Scott McCall would no longer be standing.

The boy exhaled, looking to see if anyone was paying attention. When no eyes were on them, he set his hands on the werewolf's shoulder. "Okay, I like him. But, if you tell anyone about this, Scott, I swear to god I will poison you with wolfsbane."

Scott gulped, paying close attention to the way Adrian's eyes stared deep into his soul. "I wasn't going to tell anyone." He shook his head slightly.

"Good." Adrian curtly nods, stepping away slowly. He was about to leave when Scott abruptly grabbed his arm, dragging him backwards so they were walking in the opposite direction they were before. "Uh, what are you doing?"

"Allison." Scott bluntly stated as Adrian nodded in understanding. They didn't go more than a few steps before Scott was turning himself and the redhead in another direction.

"Stay away from Jackson." The shaggy haired boy warned just as the said teen stepped out of a classroom.

Lydia came round the corner, smiling at her brother and the other boy. "Hey Adrian! Scott!" Her voice bright and chirpy, two things Adrian wasn't in the mornings.

"Oh come on!" Scott whined, letting go of Adrian's arm before running off. Adrian confusedly stared at him before walking to class.

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Due to his deflated mood, Adrian chose to sit next to Stiles in English. As he walked over, he smiled, the boy repeating the action as they settled themselves in. Adrian wasn't going to interrogate Stiles and bring up his dad, because he was aware that may not be what the boy wanted to hear just now.

Thankfully, he didn't have to be the one to bring it up as Stiles leaned closer to him. "My dad told me you stayed with him until he was done getting checked over last night. Thanks."

"Oh. I-It was nothing." Adrian awkwardly shook it off. When your sister's Lydia Martin, lets just say you're not used to you getting praised. "H-How is he?"

"He'll be fine." Stiles nodded, Adrian's eyes displaying relief which made the Stilinski boy smile.

That smile fell as soon as Scott walked into the classroom, sitting behind Stiles; who rolled his eyes. "Still not talking to me?" When Stiles didn't reply, Scott exhaled. "Can you at least tell me if your dad's okay? I mean, it's just a bruise, right? Some soft tissue damage? Nothing that big?"

Adrian looked between the two in sadness. He hates admitting it, but he always envied Stiles and Scott's friendship. The two had been friends for as long as he could remember. There was hardly any times the two would fight, and Adrian hated seeing that they were now.

The tanned boy stressfully sighed. "You know I feel bad about it, right?" Stiles didn't reply, staring straight ahead. "Okay. What if I told you that I'm trying to figure this whole thing out and . . . that I went to Derek for help."

Stiles answered Scott for the first time, sighing through his nose. "If I was talking to you, I'd say that you're an idiot for trusting him. But, obviously I'm not talking to you." There was a pause, a smirk growing on Adrian's face as Stiles curiously turned in his seat. "What did he say?"

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"Wha- He wants you to tap into your animal side and get angry?" Stiles summed up the whole of Scott's story as the three walked out of class together side by side.

"Yeah." Scott nodded, adjusting his backpack strap.

"Isn't that what we're trying to avoid, though?" Adrian furrowed his eyebrows as he looked expectantly at the werewolf. "Because every time you've done that you have tried to kill someone; most of those times being Stiles and I."

"I know." The werewolf agreed with him. "That's what he means when he says he doesn't know if he can teach me. I have to be able to control it."

"Well, how's he going to teach you to do that?" Stiles asked.

Scott shrugged and shook his head. "I don't know. I don't think he knows, either."

"When are you seeing him again? You have a little werewolf calendar you track your meetings down on?" The tallest of the three questioned.

"Just told me not to talk about it. Just act normal and get through the day."

Stiles rolled his eyes, stopping the long haired boy by hitting him on the chest. "When?"

"He's picking me up at the animal clinic after work." Scott told them.

"After work." Stiles muttered. "Alright, that gives me till the end of the school day then."

"To do what?" Scott and Adrian both asked at the same time, looking at the boy confused. Looks between them stated that they had no idea what the hazel eyed boy was going to say next.

"To teach you myself."

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Stiles had dragged Adrian to sit next to him and Scott next period, Lydia and Allison right across from them. Stiles munched on his apple as Scott ducked his head down behind a world history book, Adrian rolling his eyes. "You do realise the book makes it more obvious, right?"

"Yeah, plus she's reading anyway." Stiles added in, gesturing to the girl occupied by a book before attending back to his notes.

"Did you come up with a plan yet?" Scott asked as Stiles scribbled down on a sheet of paper. Right now, Stiles was trying to come up with a plan to get Scott into his animal side; determined to train him without Derek's help.

"Think so." Stiles hummed, taking a big bite out of his apple.

"Does that mean you don't hate me now." The shaggy haired boy hopefully asked.

"No. But your crap has infiltrated my life so now I have to do something about it." He nodded. "Plus, I'm definitely a better Yoda than Derek."

Adrian looked confusedly as the two talked amongst themselves. "Okay, you teach me."

"Yeah, I'll be your Yoda." Stiles stayed obviously.

"Yeah, you be my Yoda." Scott lightly chuckled, shaking his head.

"Your Yoda I will be." Stiles did some weird impression Adrian could only hope to be the green person from Star Wars. When none of them laughed, Stiles explained. "I said it backwards."

"Yeah, I know."

"Alright, you know what? I definitely still hate you. Uh-huh. Oh yeah!" Stiles bitterly laughed as he got up and collected Scott's book.

"Can I ask you a question." Adrian's voice made Stiles stop and raise his eyebrows. "Who's Yoda?"

Stiles looked like his father had just died, a pained look on his face. "You've never seen Star Wars?!" When the redhead slowly shook his head, Stiles pinched the bridge of his nose. "God, why do I even lik- live with you! Why do I even live with you?!" Stiles frantically said, his eyes wide and fearful.

As he jogged away, Adrian turned to face Scott. "What was that all about?"

Scott bit his lip, seeming to be hiding a smirk. "I have no idea." He shook his head.

Adrian held a straight face. "You're lying to me."

Scott broke into a smile, his words not convincing Adrian in the slightest. "I'm not!"

"Oh really?" Scott nodded, making Adrian shrug as if he accepted it. All of a sudden, he turned round in his seat. "Bye Scott!" He said loudly on purpose, gaining Allison's attention.

Adrian smirked mischievously as Allison called after her boyfriend, who hurriedly ran for the boy's bathroom.

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Adrian would normally spend his free period on the lacrosse pitch, trying to get as much practice as possible before next practice. So, it wasn't out of the ordinary for him to be there. It was, however, out of the ordinary to be there with Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski.

"Okay," Stiles stated as he sat a sports bag down on the bench, digging through its continents. "Here. Put this on." He pulled out a heart rate monitor. Adrian used to use one for his laps.

"Isn't this one of the heart rate monitors for the track team?" Scott asked, amused on how the boy got such equipment.

"Yeah, I borrowed it." Stiles nodded.

"Stole it." Adrian and Scott corrected him, the redhead getting up to see the monitor and it's workings.

"Temporarily misappropriated." Stilinski insisted, not wanting to admit the two teens were right. "Coach uses it to monitor his heart rate while he jogs, and you're gonna wear it for the rest of the day."

"Isn't that Coach's phone?" Adrian asked the boy, pointing to the device in his hand.

"That, I stole." Stiles admitted, licking his lips.

"If Coach finds out I participated in this, I'm dead." Adrian made the execution sign, sighing. "Why do we even need it?"

"We need it because Scott's heart rate goes up when he goes wolf. When you're playing lacrosse, when you're with Allison, whenever you're angry! Maybe learning to control it is tied to learning to control your heart rate." Stiles listed, the two boys nodding in understanding.

Scott grinned, almost proudly to himself. "Like The Incredible Hulk."

"Kind of like The Incredible Hulk." Stiles nodded.

"No, I'm like The Incredible Hulk."

"Yes, you are." Adrian pats the werewolf on the shoulder, looking between the two. "Let's get this show on the road, losers!"

Scott allowed Stiles to duct tape his hands while Adrian awkwardly stood holding a lacrosse stick. Once satisfied, Stiles walked towards the redhead with the bag. "Alright, ready?" He asked the werewolf.

"No."

"Remember," Stiles ignored him, putting a ball in Adrian's net. "Don't get angry." He pressed a button on the phone, most likely to see his heart rate levels.

"Starting to think this was a really bad idea." Scott said as Adrian prepared to take a shot.

"Sorry about this, Scotty." Adrian apologised before lunging at the boy, getting a pretty good hit to the stomach.

Scott grunted as he doubled over, hissing in pain. Stiles grinned down at the phone, looking back over at the redhead. "Again!"

This time, it hit Scott directly on his cheek. Scott made another sound of pain. "Okay, that one kind of hurt." He winced.

"Quiet." Stiles instructed. "Remember, you're supposed to be thinking about your heart rate, all right? About staying calm."

"Stay calm. Staying calm. Staying totally calm." Scott chanted to himself as Adrian continued to never miss a hit. The boy felt bad he was getting a bit of fun out of Scott being a target.

"Stiles, I think that's enough now." Adrian spoke when his eyes saw Scott's heart rate was into its 160's- which wasn't a good sign. The redhead was right as Scott dropped to his knees and Stiles lost his smirk.

They called his name a few times, but the werewolf didn't call back due to his continuous groans and grunts. The duct tape was ripped off of his wrists by him before he collapsed on the ground.

Stiles and Adrian checked the phone again to see his heart rate was slowly but surely going back down to normal, the tanned boy falling onto his back. "Scott? Sorry about those hits. Are you okay?" Adrian spoke as they moved over to him. "You started changing."

"From anger." Scott's hoarse voice explained, gulping. "But, it was more than that. It was like, the angrier I got, the stronger I felt."

"So it is anger, then. Derek's right." Stiles didn't want to admit the older werewolf was right, but he was.

"I can't be around Allison." Scott panted, shaking his head.

"Because she makes you happy?" Adrian tilts his head, confused on the fact that Scott would want to stay away from his own girlfriend.

The werewolf shook his head, looking at up the two teens through squinted eyes. "No, because she makes me weak."

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"All right, so you stay away from her for a few days. You can do that." Stiles assures Scott as the three teens enter the locker room, their lacrosse gear in hand.

"But is it a few days, or is it forever?" Scott asked, playing with a lacrosse ball in one hand.

Stiles shrugged, leaning as he turned to face the troubled werewolf. "You know this whole 'woman make you weak thing' thing-"

"Or guys." Adrian shrugged, Stiles sending him a surprised look which received a shrug. "We're in a better generation, guys. Wake up." He rolled his eyes, trying his best to save himself.

Stiles seemed to buy it, continuing. "Is a little too Spartan warrior for me. It's probably just part of the learning process."

"Yeah, but you've seen Derek." Scott sighed as he put his stuff away. "I mean, the guy's totally alone." He reminded them. "What if I can, like, never be around her again?"

"Well, if you're not dead, that can be a good thing." Stiles nodded, trying to seem optimistic.

"I'd rather be dead." Scott grumbled.

"You're not gonna end up like Derek." Stiles told him, seeing how serious he was getting over it. "All right? We'll figure it out."

"Okay." Scott didn't sound convinced.

"Come on, let's get out of here." Adrian told the tanned boy, pulling him towards himself and the buzzcut boy.

"Yeah, something smells terrible in here." Scott says as he puts his hood up, the two boys leading him away.

"Really? In the boy's locker room?" Stiles makes a face. "That doesn't make any sense at all." He sarcastically replied.

"It's probably you, Stilinski." Adrian chuckled as he nudges the boy, who lightly slaps his chest.

"No, it's like something's rotting or dying." Scott told them seriously, his nose sniffing around.

"Alright, let's start heading to class before you become a sniffer dog." Adrian pats him on the back, leading him out of the smelly room to their next class.

A U T H O R. N O T E
by the time i finished this chapter, i have little to no idea what i just wrote so sorry bout that.

my dog gets his first injections today. hope he's okay and doesn't get scared too much. let's be honest, he's gonna think it's a godsend when he gets to run around outside for the first time. i am also super proud of that gif btw since it's in normal colour and not black and white. i have zero life accomplishments as you can tell.

GIF MADE BY ME !
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