☽

SCOTT slips inside a classroom with a relieved breath. Glancing around, he sees Stiles. But as soon as Stiles sees him, he looks away.

"You still not talking to me?"

Stiles ignores Scott as he takes the seat behind him. Scott looks over at Luna with a questioning face. She shrugs with pursed lips before looking at the front of the room.

"Can you at least tell me if your Dad is okay? It was just a bruise, right? Soft tissue damage?"

Still no response.

"You know I feel really bad about it?"

Still nothing.

"Okay, what if I told you that I'm trying to figure this out? And that I went to Derek for help."

Stiles frowns, "If I was talking to you, I'd tell you that you're an idiot for trusting him. But obviously I'm not talking to you."

The room settles for the beginning of class. Stiles opens his notebook, pen poised for note taking. Then, unable to stand it, he whips his head around.

"What did he say?"

...

Scott follows Stiles out of class with Luna slowly walking behind the two.

"He wants you to tap into your animal side and get angry? Correct me if I'm wrong, but every time you do that you try to kill someone. That someone usually being me and on occasion, Luna."

"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."

"How's he going to teach you to do that?" Stiles questions.

"I don't know. I don't think he does either."

"When are you seeing him again?"

"He doesn't want me to talk about it. He told me to act normal today. To just get through the day-"

Stiles rolls his eyes, "When?"

"He's coming to get me at work. At the Animal Clinic."

"Okay. Then that gives me until the end of the school day."

"To do what?"

"To teach you myself."

Scott stares at Stiles in confusion as he walks away pulling Luna along with him. Scott frowns as he opens his mouth to speak as they turn a corner and disappear.

"Wait what do you... what does that even mean?"

...

Stiles and Scott walk out to the field with their lacrosse equipment. At the benches, Stiles pulls out a black strap with a digital display at its center.

"Put this on."

Scott catches the strap looking at it in question, "Isn't that one of the heart rate monitors for the track team?"

"Yeah, I borrowed it."

"Stole it?"

"Temporarily misappropriated. Coach uses it to monitor his heart rate with his phone while he jogs. You're going to wear it the rest of the day."

Luna walks up to the two holding up an item in her hand.

Scott frowns, "Isn't that Coach's phone?"

"That she did steal."

Luna nods smiling.

"Why?"

Luna shrugs, "Your heart rate goes up when you go wolf, right?"

Scott nods.

"During lacrosse, when you're with Allison, when you get angry. So maybe learning to control it is tied to learning to control your heart rate."

"Like the Incredible Hulk?"

"Kind of like the Incredible Hulk." Luna says with a grin.

Scott nods liking the sound of that, "I'm the Incredible Hulk."

Stiles rolls his eyes, "Shut up and put the strap on."

Moments later, Scott stands with his hands behind his back as Luna duct tapes his wrists together.

"This is not exactly how I planned to spend my free period."

Stiles picks up a lacrosse stick and glances down at his phone to look at the heart monitor.

"Ready?"

Scott frowns, "No."

Stiles hands Luna his phone after she walks over to him, "Remember. Don't get angry."

Stiles drops a handful of lacrosse balls at his feet and picks up his lacrosse stick.

"I'm starting to think this is a really bad-"

A lacrosse ball soars right into Scott's leg.

"Ow."

With a slight smile, Stiles picks up another ball and tosses it. This one nails Scott in the shoulder.

"Okay, that kind of hurt."

"Quiet. You should be thinking about your heart rate. About staying calm."

Luna holds up his phone to show Scott's rising heart rate, "Don't enjoy this too much."

Stiles rolls his eyes at her as she smirks.

Scott bounces around trying to calm through the pain, "Okay, stay calm. Staying calm. Staying totally calm..."

A lacrosse ball whacks him in the knee.

"Son of a bitch."

Scott staggers, nearly falling. As he attempts to right himself someone approaches the field from a distance... Jackson. He steps underneath the bleachers, remaining hidden while watching them with a suspicious but interested eye.

Stiles twirls the lacrosse stick in his hands, "I think my aim is improving."

"I wonder why." Scott mutters through gritted teeth.

"Hey can I try?"

Stiles glances over at Luna and shrugs, "Sure why not."

Luna grabs the lacrosse stick from Stiles before looking at it weird, "Like this?"

Stiles nods moving behind her placing her hands the right way on the stick, "There perfect."

Luna smiles as she feels butterflies in her stomach. She clears her throat while peeking over her shoulder at him, "Thanks."

Stiles face reddens as he moves away from Luna. Watching her swing the stick, he sees the ball soar and hit Scott straight in the stomach.

"Nice one."

Luna smiles as Stiles nods at her.

"Don't get angry Scott."

Scott glares at Stiles, "I'm not getting angry-"

Another ball flies, whacking Scott right in the baby maker. He gasps for breath, doubling over.

"Shit sorry! I was aiming for your face."

"All right, hold on. Just stop."

Scott stumbles. With his hands taped behind him, he falls to his knees. Behind the bleachers, Jackson comes forward, watching with a smile as Scott is brutally pummeled.

Luna grimaces and hands the stick back to Stiles. As he moves to pick up another ball with the lacrosse stick, but he pauses at the sound of gravelly rumbling coming towards him.

A growl.

Then a beeping sound catches his attention. It's the heart rate monitor on his phone. Luna shows the phone to Stiles showing the numbers climbing at an alarming speed.

"Scott?"

Stiles looks from his phone to see Scott kneeling on the grass. Both of his hands digging into the dirt, strands of torn duct tape around his wrists. He rips the duct tape apart.

At the bleachers, Jackson watches, clearly unsure of what he's seeing. And then Scott looks up, sweat dripping down his forehead.

Stiles frowns, "You started to change?"

"From anger. But it was more than that. The angrier I got, the stronger I felt."

"Then it is anger. Which means Derek's right?"

Scott nods sadly at Stiles, "I can't be around Allison."

Luna frowns, "Why? Just because she makes you happy?"

"Because she makes me weak."

Scott slumps down, sitting on the grass. Weighted down by the sacrifice he's going to have to make.

...

A pile of books drops down on the teacher's desk as students hurry in for the start of class. Coach Finstock glares up at them. He looks hung over as he drops a handful of antacids into his mouth and starts crushing them up with his teeth.

"Sit down. Sit, sit, sit. Lots to cover."

Scott and Stiles take seats as the classroom fills up.

"No, Stiles, take the seat behind me. Stiles-"

But it's too late. Allison takes the empty seat behind him. Luna giggles into her hand as she watches Stiles slump into the seat in front of her beside Allison.

"Hey, I haven't seen you all day."

"Oh. Sorry? I've been super busy." Scott grimaces.

"When are you getting a new phone? I feel like I'm totally disconnected from you."

Stiles and Luna both roll their eyes at the same time.

"Soon. Really soon."

"I switched lab partners by the way."

"To who?"

Allison smirks, "To you, dummy."

"Me? Why me? I mean- Are you sure?"

"Yeah. This way I get an excuse to bring you home to study."

"Oh..."

She looks at him, taking his reaction as disappointment, "You don't mind, do you?"

"I just don't want to bring your grade down."

"Maybe I can bring your grade up. Come to my place tonight. 8:30?"

"Tonight?"

Allison nods biting her lip, "8:30."

Coach Finstock smacks a book on his desk like a judge's gavel to get the class's attention,'"All right, settle down. Let's start with a quick summary of last night's reading. Greenberg, put your hand down. Everybody knows you did the reading. How about... McCall?"

"Huh?"

"The reading, McCall."

Scott grimaces scratching his head, "Last night's reading?"

"No, the reading of the Gettysburg Address."

"What?"

"That was sarcasm, McCall. Familiar with the concept?"

"Very."

He glances to Stiles, who smiles proudly. Luna shakes her head rolling her eyes.

"You do the reading or not?" Coach asks.

"I think I forgot."

"Okay, then. Nice work. Because it's not like you're averaging a D in this class. You do know I can't keep you on the team with a D, McCall?"

He waits patiently for Scott to respond. Everyone looks at him. Someone giggles from across the room. At the desk, Stiles hears a low beeping and looks down at his phone, Scott's heart rate rising steadily.

"How about you summarize the previous night's reading? No? How about the night before? How about you summarize anything you've ever read? In your entire life."

Flustered, Scott blinks up at him. Stiles watches the heart rate monitor on his phone continue to rise. He holds the phone up a little showing Luna who leans over her desk and stares at the heart rate monitor increasing rapidly.

"Um... uh..."

"Anything at all. A blog? The back of a cereal box? The adults only warning on your favorite website."

Sweating, Scott stares blankly, not knowing how to respond.

"Thank you, McCall. Thank you for extinguishing every last flicker of hope I have for your generation. Next practice you start with suicide runs."

As the class laughs, Scott sinks into his seat in utter humiliation. Behind him, Allison slowly moves forward. Stiles looks with dismay at the heart rate monitor. Until the numbers start dropping.

Strangely fast.

Luna taps his shoulder making him glance at her. She points to Scott and he looks over to see why. Allison has reached under Scott's desk to intertwine her fingers in his. They sit there linked while Scott's heartbeat falls to perfect calm.

All from her touch.

After the bell rings the three leave from their Economics class. Stiles follows Scott into the crowded hallway with Luna on his side.

"It's her."

"What do you mean?" Scott questions confused.

"It's Allison. Remember what you told me about the night of the full moon? You were thinking about her. About protecting her."

"Okay."

Luna slaps her hand on her head. Scott really had some slow moments.

"So remember the first lacrosse game? You said you could hear her voice out on the field."

"Yeah. I did."

Stiles nods, "That's what brought you back so you could score. And then in the locker room, you didn't kill her. At least not like you were trying to kill me. She brings you back."

"But it's not always true. Because literally every time I'm kissing her or touching her-"

Luna raises a hand silencing him, "First of all ew tmi. Second of all, that's different."

Nodding his head to agree, Stiles replies, "When you're doing that you're just another hormonal teenager thinking about sex...See, you're thinking about sex right now. Aren't you?"

Gazing off with a slight smile at his lips, Scott snaps back to attention, "Yeah... Sorry."

"Oh brother."

"Now when she was holding your hand in class, it was different. I don't think she makes you weak. I think she actually gives you control. It's like she's a kind of anchor..."

"Oh good word." Luna smiles at Stiles.

"You mean because I love her."

"Exactly."

Stiles pauses, noticing Scott has stopped walking, surprised at his own words.

"Did I just say that?"

Luna and Stiles glance at each other with a raised eyebrow then look back at Scott, "You just said that."

"I love her."

"Congrats Scotty boy."

"Yeah dude that's great. Moving on-"

"No, I do. I really do. I think I'm totally in love with her."

"And that's beautiful. Before you go off and write a sonnet can we figure this out? Because you obviously can't be around her all the time."

Scott realizes that Stiles is right and turns serious once more, "Okay, what do I do?"

Stiles paces.

Then stops and thinks.

"You're getting an idea, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"Could this idea get me in trouble."

Stiles shrugs, "Maybe."

"Is this idea going to cause me physical pain?"

Luna thinks to herself, 'I hope so.'

"Definitely."

Scott and Luna follow Stiles around the school to the edge of the parking lot where several large dumpsters sit concealing a few seniors. They hang out there laughing and talking while smoking. One senior climbs out of a smoke filled truck to join the others.

Stiles looks at Scott pointing, "Over here."

"What are we doing?"

"You'll see. Stand right here. Do you have your keys?"

Scott takes out his house keys.

"Hold them up. Like this. Now, whatever happens I want you to think about Allison. Find her voice like you did at the game? Got it?"

Scott nods.

"Good. Keep holding the keys."

Stiles pulls Luna's arm and walks over to the Senior's truck then takes out his own car keys. Within a quick few seconds, Stiles drags his key across the side of the Senior's truck, digging a hideous scratch into the paint. As Scott watches in horror, Stiles pockets his keys and turns to him.

"Dude. What do you think you're doing to that truck?"

The Seniors turn around to see Scott holding his car keys up.

"What the hell?

Scott steps back as Stiles gives him a devilish smile.

Luna slaps her hand over her head and rolls her eyes, "Here we go..."

The Seniors are on him in a nanosecond. Scott puts up his arms trying to protect himself. But they literally start beating the ever-loving crap out of him. Stiles eyes his phone to note the rising heart rate while Scott crumbles to the pavement under the merciless pummeling.

"Stop! Stop right now! What do you idiots think you're doing?"

Mr. Harris breaks up the fight. Scott lies on the ground, blood dripping from his nose. He slowly turns to Stiles who holds his phone up with a grin. The screen shows a steady and normal heartbeat.

It worked.

I love stiles 😂😂 he's too much

Fav character?

Fav duo?

Trio?

Future predictions?

Any special requests...