𝟐𝟑 𝒎𝒖𝒓𝒅𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒓𝒚

✯☾✯

"𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕?" 𝑺𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒔𝒌𝒆𝒅. He was leaning against the cold metal of his locker, tapping on his phone. Lizzie took a step closer to him, grinning proudly at the pink bottle in her hand.

"Bubbles!" She squealed as she blew through the wand creating numerous glistening bubbles.

Stiles glared at her, mouth open and his top lip slightly curled upwards. "Why?"

It was a simple question yet he expected a very complicated answer. He knew the sunshine brunette well enough by now to know nothing with her was really that simple in the first place.

Lizzie dipped the wand back into the mixture, swirling it around. "I found a dollar under my bed."

She shrugged cheerfully as she blew again. Bubbles floated around the school hallway, breezing past confused students.

Stiles held his tongue in the side of his cheek. It was best not to question it. "Come on, we were meant to meet Scott and Allison five minutes ago."

The pair skirted their way through the gossiping teens throughout the school, making their way into the library where they met with Scott and Allison who were tucked away so that Allison was shielded from the cameras, they hid behind a bookshelf so no one would catch the secret couple and their friends.

Keeping aware of her surroundings, she slowly slid her tablet through a gap on one of the shelves. Scott, Stiles and Lizzie, situated on the opposing side of the shelf, received it with ease. Stiles and Lizzie looked up from the book they were reading as cover, the girl had been told to put her bubbles away as soon as Scott saw them.

She moved in front of Scott and pushed herself up on her tip-toes to see through the gap.

"Hi, Ali." She waved when she caught sight of the hunter's pale face. Allison smiled and wiggled her fingers at the pixie.

The tablet displayed a picture of a page from the bestiary which informed them about the kanima, only it had a small yellow text box off to the side holding the translation, curtesy of everyone's favourite red head.

"It's everything Lydia could translate." Allison murmured in a hushed voice. "And, trust me, she was very confused."

Scott glanced at his girlfriend. "Yeah, what did you tell her?"

"That we were part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures." An amused Allison shook her head.

Stiles held an earnest expression. "I am part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures."

"Oh. Great."

Luckily, Scott warded off the awkward moment before Stiles could take offense. "Okay, does it say how to find out who's controlling him?"

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

"Yes!" Stiles celebrated, clearly delighted with the fact that, once again, he was right.

"It calls the kanima a 'weapon of vengeance'." The taller brunette girl continued, peering through the gap between the books doubtfully. "There's a story in there about this South American priest who uses the kanima to execute murderers in his village."

"Oh, well it doesn't seem that bad." Lizzie optimised, her hands clinging to the shelf to keep her stable on her tip-toes so she could see through the gap and implant herself into the conversation.

Allison shut her down immediately, pretending to pick out a book. "Until the bond grew strong enough that it killed whoever he wanted it to."

Stiles looked horrified. "All bad. All very, very bad."

"Here's the thing, though," Allison paused to look wearily over her shoulder. "The kanima's actually supposed to be a werewolf, but it can't be-"

An approaching girl caused Allison to clamp her mouth shut.

"Until it resolves that in its past which manifested it." Scott finished off, reading aloud.

"Okay, if that means that Jackson could use a few thousand hours of therapy, I could've told you that myself." Stiles added, unnecessary in Scott's mind.

"What if," Allison pondered, not completely looking at the trio on the other side of the shelf. "It had something to do with his parents. "His real parents?"

It took a while for the fact that Jackson was adopted to click in Lizzie's brain.

"Yeah, does anybody actually know what happened to them?" Stiles asked the group.

"Death." Was the first thing Lizzie could come up with. "Or they could've been kidnapped, enslaved, taken to another planet, the possibilities are endless really."

"Lydia might." Stiles swiftly put an end to Lizzie's ramble.

"What if she doesn't know anything?" Scott asked but Stiles just shrugged.

"Well, he doesn't have a restraining order against me, so I'll talk to him myself." Allison spoke.

Lizzie smiled. They could put together a great plan if they tried hard enough. Exhibit A.

Scott, however, felt left out and very unheroic. "What can I do?"

"You have a make-up exam, remember?" Allison practically mom'd her boyfriend.

Scott sighed, accepting that he'd have to put his hero hair away for the day and focus on school.

"Promise me." Allison clasped Scott's hand. Lizzie grinned, imitating it, both her and Stiles performing a very dramatic scene of hand holding behind the couple.

"If he does anything, you run the other way." Scott instructed softly.

"I can take care of myself."

"Allison, 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-"

Scott sounded extremely urgent, his grip on Allison's hand tightening.

"Like?" The hunter waited for the rest of the sentence.

Scott couldn't find the words. "Anything weird, or bizarre- anything."

"Anything evil." Stiles added, sticking his head through the gap only to be pushed away by Allison, groaning and mummering to himself.

✯☾✯

Lizzie had lost track of how many times she'd hit this stupid vending machine because nothing was coming out. She just wanted her Doritos.

Giving up with one final shove, she backed away from the machine with a forlorn expression and rounded the corner of the hallway.

That was when she hit an unusually muscular chest.

She stumbled backwards but manged to catch herself, restoring her balance.

"You good?"

Lizzie looked up, brushing herself off. "Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm just a bit- you know the vending machine has stopped- oh shit."

Isaac smirked, watching the girl register who she was actually talking to.

"The vending machine was what? Carry on, i'm invested." He tilted his head teasingly.

"I- uh," Despite her best efforts, Lizzie couldn't really form the words. "It's just not, uh- you know?"

She caught Lydia's eye from the other side of the hallway. The redhead was staring disappointedly at the scene, frantically waving her hands about, insinuating for Lizzie to stop.

"Uh- it just wasn't vending and wow, what's that?" Lizzie pointed at one of the lockers, Isaac followed her gaze to whatever fictional wonder she was marvelling about.

There was nothing there.

And, by the time he'd turned back to question the pixie, she'd darted off down the hallway towards Lydia.

Lydia caught her at barrelling speed. "What was that!"

"I fucking hate flirting! I hate it with a burning passion and a burning rage. At the same time. Everything's burning. Was that flirting?" Lizzie strangled out, finding it very hard to speak at the rate Lydia was dragging her.

"Not in the slightest." Lydia scolded as she pushed both of them into a supply closet. Lizzie looked awkwardly around the room, fixating her gaze on a mop stood against the wall.

"I just- every other animal on this stupid planet has figured out a way uh- show that they're a suitable partner by doing something physical,"

Lydia could sense a ramble coming and with Lizzie, it was in everyone's best interest to just sit back and let it happen, although Lydia wasn't sure where this one was going.

"Like, that one bird builds towers and ostriches do weird dances," Lizzie was practically jumping up and down on the spot. "I can do both those things. I have lego at home, i could build him a tower and i could probably do a dance if i needed to."

Lydia nodded along. She hoped it wasn't that evident that she was confused.

"But, for some reason, humans decided to use their brains and we've decided to speak to each other, and that is something i cannot do. Plus, i'm not even allowed to be near Isaac."

"In my head i'm like 'oh, i think he's flirting with me' that's the input and then the output is talking about vending machines. Why-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there," Lydia caught one of Lizzie's flailing arms. "Let's backtrack, this time without talking about ostriches, yeah?"

✯☾✯

Turns out, receiving dating advice from Lydia Martin really takes it out of a girl. With her converse shoes dragging against the ground, Lizzie tiredly followed behind the queen bee herself and Stiles.

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone." Lydia kept her head held high as her Prada heels clicked along the grimy flooring, she was walking her followers like dogs.

"Come on," Stiles pressed. "Anyone who every says, 'I'm not supposed to tell anyone,' is always dying to tell someone, so tell me!"

Lydia brushed her beautiful hair over her shoulder, thinking. "Why do you wanna know?"

"I can't tell you that." Stiles murmured, trying to keep his hypocrisy quiet.

"Then, I'm not telling you." Lydia scoffed in a duh tone. She picked up the pace, latching a perfectly manicured hand around Lizzie's wrist. Stiles pulled the two apart as a way of revolting.

"But, you are telling me that you could tell me something if you wanted to tell me?"

Lizzie wondered how far Stiles could actually push his luck before he'd receive a bitch slap.

Lydia was partly confused, mainly annoyed. "Was that a question?"

Stiles deliberated. "It felt like a question."

"Well, tell me if this feels like an answer," The redhead pretended to think for a second, prolonging her indecisiveness just to anger Stiles. "No."

Lizzie fled up the stairs, doing her best to keep up with her two friends that argued like a married couple.

A hand touched her shoulder gently and then more forcefully. She was pushed into a wall, Erica appearing in sight.

"Oh, ah, Jesus." Lizzie groaned, clearing her curled hair out of her face. "Hi there."

She tried to be as friendly as she could with Erica because, in Lizzie's opinion, even though she'd basically formed a whole new personality, Lizzie had a feeling the lonely pre-bite Erica was hidden somewhere, ready to resurface at the knock of her confidence.

"Why are you and Stiles asking Lydia about Jackson's real parents?" Erica questioned violently, her claws had emerged and she was searching her eyes for answers.

"Excuse me, you kinda have your hand on my boob-"

"Come on, sweetheart," Erica interrupted, she preferred her usual tactic. Seduction. "You know you can tell me anything, right? I'm your friend."

Now, the thing about Lizzie, as well established by Lydia earlier, was when in uncomfortable situations, or the rare times she stepped out her comfort zone, her mind didn't seem to function properly.

"Of course you are, i just-"

Erica adjusted her hand.

"Okay, ow, that's a lot of pressure right there." Lizzie cringed at the tingling pain Erica was unknowingly inflicting on her chest. A blink of flashing red caught Lizzie's eye.

She lowered her voice. "Erica, claws."

Erica followed her gaze to the watching security camera, dropping her hand a retreating from the smaller girl.

The blonde sighed as her eyes quickly flickered over Lizzie's innocent face. There was something about this girl that weakened everyone. No matter what side they were on. Even Derek had a soft spot for her.

"If you're wondering about Jackson's real parents, they're about a half a mile from here- in Beacon Hills Cemetery." Erica informed her. Lizzie watched the trustworthy ripple of honestly swim in her eyes. Up and down.

She smiled thankfully. "D-do you know how they died?"

Erica hummed. Her flame of seduction was once again lit.

"Maybe," She took a step closer to Lizzie, voice low. "If you tell me why you're so interested.

Lizzie tried to ignore the suggestive smirk on the wolf's face, the closing proximity and the hallway full of people. "I- uh- the thing is-"

Despite her unlucky roll of life, Erica had always been smart which meant putting two and two together was something she found easy. "It's him, isn't it?"

Oh, Lizzie had fucked it. Her ocean coloured eyes widened in alarm. Had she really just given everything away?

"What? Why? Where? How? Who? No-"

"The test didn't work, but it's still him. It's Jackson!" You could spot realisation dawning on the Reyes girl from a mile away. She took off down the hallway, presumably to relay the fresh new information to her alpha.

Lizzie chased after her, shouting for her. "Oh god, please don't tell Derek. Eri?"

They rounded the corner near the boys locker rooms as Erica stopped with a roll of her eyes. "What are you gonna do, sweetie? You gonna try and stop me, Lizzie?"

The blonde caught a wisp of Lizzie's hair, twirling it around her own finger. "Look at those pretty blue eyes. So innocent. You wouldn't hurt a fly."

Erica smirked as she watched Lizzie start to fidget around.

"Lizzie?" A voice came hurtling round the corner from behind. Stiles sprinted down the hallway. "Lizzie? What the hell-"

The door to the locker room flew open, as did two boys. Jackson and Scott rolled around as they tried connect their fists anywhere they could. Stiles and Lizzie were quick to lunge for Scott whilst Erica took hold of Jackson, forcing them away from each other.

"What the hell is going?" Harris pushed his way through the rally of students gathered to watch. "Hey!"

"What do you two idiots think you're doing?" The teacher Lizzie labelled as evil scolded. "Jackson, calm down!"

A bony hand wrapped around Lizzie's wrist, a force yanking her to Stiles' side. Tucked away, off to the right, Matt Daelher stood unbeknownst to anyone with Allison's ipad in hand.

"Mr McCall," Scott was the first to be questioned. "Care to explain yourself?"

Scott said nothing. He only breathed out heavy, riled up breaths.

"Stilinski? Brown?"

"You dropped this." Matt spoke up as he tried to hand the ipad to Allison before it was swiped and left in the hands of Harris.

"You and you." Harris pointed at a half naked Jackson and a panting Scott. However, he didn't finish sentence as a new thought dawned on him. "Actually, all of you. Detention. 3 o'clock.

That left the rally of teens in utter aggravated despair, every single one of them seething for different reasons.

✯☾✯

3 o'clock came and each victimised teen entered the library in a military like style. Quiet and subdued. Harris stood like the devil himself, smiling and relishing in the situation.

Everyone took seats at a table gestured to by him. Scott, Erica, Stiles and Lizzie on one. Jackson, Matt and Allison on another.

"Oh, we can't be in detention together. I have a restraining order against these tools." Jackson nodded his head to Lizzie, Scott and Stiles who gave him false smiles.

"All of these tools?" Harris asked.

"No," Stiles moved his finger in circle between him and his two best friends. "Just us tools."

"Fine, you three over there." Harris sighed as he pointed to table further away from Jackson.

The trinity took their places, Scott and Stiles sat opposite each other, and Lizzie at the edge of the table.

"I'm gonna kill him." Scott hit his fist against the wood angrily. Lizzie had been informed that Scott had caught Jackson, naked, advancing on Allison in the changing rooms. Hence the current mishap.

"No, you're not," Stiles tried to quell the boy's fury. "You're gonna find out who's controlling him, and then, you're gonna help save him."

"No. You were right, let's kill him." Scott shook his head, referencing Stiles' previous views.

"Oh, no." Stiles looked around the room, he already knew that whenever Scott agreed with him, nothing worked out. "Lizzie, back me up here."

Lizzie looked up from the scrap of paper she'd been drawing on, startled. "I don't see a problem with killing him."

Stiles' eye twitched aggrievedly. "I said back me up. Me."

Scott slammed his head on the desk whilst Lizzie drew, her tongue poking out the corner of her mouth, and Stiles inspected everyone in the room, creating files of evidence for each of them in his head.

"Hey, what if it's Matt?" Stiles thought out loud. "I mean, this whole thing comes back to the video, right?"

Scott weighed up the possibilities. "Danny said that Matt was the one who found the two hours of footage missing."

"Exactly! He's trying to throw suspicion off himself" Stiles sounded extremely proud of his highly esteemed thought process.

Scott looked to the table behind them, observing Matt munch on a packet of chips.

"So, he makes Jackson kills Isaac's dad, one of Argent's hunters, and the mechanic working on your jeep?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

The wolf had clocked the one thing missing if the kanima master was in fact Matt. A motive.

"Because... he's evil." Stiles offered.

Scott rolled his eyes. "You just don't like him."

"The guy bugs me. I don't know what it is. Just look at his face."

All three teens, including Lizzie, watched Matt offer Jackson one of his chips. He looked so innocent.

"Ooh, he's got food." Lizzie leapt up to her feet, checking Harris' back was turned and made her way over.

Scott and Stiles shook their heads at the girl that really did seem crazy, but of course they loved her anyway.

Whilst Lizzie was off asking (stealing) for chips, the boys continued to brainstorm. However they were soon interrupted as Jackson stood up, complaining he had a headache.

Harris seemed concerned, too concerned considering Jackson was a teenager he claimed to not give a damn about. He followed the boy out the room, only after ordering the rest of the group to stay in their seats.

No one listened.

Scott, Stiles, and Lizzie after she was beckoned over with the whole bag of chips which she'd persuaded Matt to give her, all ran to the table Erica was seated at.

"Stiles says you know how Jackson's parents died." Scott started straight off the bat.

Erica shrugged. "Maybe."

"Talk."

Erica immediately shut her notebook, like she'd been waiting her whole life for the moment to tell this story. "It was a car accident. My dad was the insurance investigator, and every time he sees Jackson drive by in his Porsche, he makes a comment about the huge settlement he'll be getting when he's 18."

"So, not only is Jackson rich now, but he's getting even richer at 18?" Stiles complained in disbelief.

"We should rob him." Lizzie said. The economic difference between the Browns and the Whittemores was extremely large.

"You know what? I could try and find the insurance report in my dad's inbox. He keeps everything." Erica opened up her laptop. She was being surprisingly helpful and they weren't threatening her or anything.

The announcement system crackled ahead. "Scott McCall, please report to the principal's office."

Scott looked confused to say the least, he had no idea what he could be in trouble for but he suspected it was down to the fact it was Allison's mother calling him up there.

✯☾✯

It was a while before Jackson and Harris returned and unluckily for Jackson, he didn't return in the same state. He was pale, ghostlike. Beads of sweat cluttered his skin. He looked like he was dying.

Stiles, Lizzie and Erica had spent the entirety of the time, breezing through insurance commissions, looking for anything at all that link to the enigma surrounding Jackson.

"Look at the dates." Stiles pointed out on one of the documents pulled up on Erica's laptop.

"Passengers arrived at the hospital DOA. The estimated time of death, 9:26, June 14th, 1995." Erica read allowed from her screen.

Stiles shifted in his seat. "Jackson's birthday is June 15th."

"Stalker." Lizzie mumbled. She'd barely looked up from whatever she was scribbling on the scrap piece of paper.

There was shuffling from the other side of the room as Harris stood up, slinging his satchel over his shoulder. A malicious laugh tumbled from his lips as everyone else began to follow his actions and pack their stuff up.

"No, I'm sorry. Uh, yes, I'm leaving. But, none of you are. You may go when you're done with the re-shelving." He patted a cart filled to the brim with books, smirking devilishly upon leaving.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening."

A collective groan came from the group, Lizzie finally looking up from her finished masterpiece. She tugged childishly on Stiles' plaid jacket. He turned to her, a tired look on his face.

Lizzie smiled broadly as she turned the piece of paper round, presenting it to Stiles who took it and grimaced when he inspected it.

"Look," She squealed proudly. "It's you and Lydia."

Stiles shook his head at, what was in fact, a slightly deformed picture of him and Lydia getting married. Lizzie stood waiting for Stiles to say something put he only sighed and began to drag her long with him so they could get started on the re-shelving.

After a painful ten minutes for Stiles, consisting of the boring activity of placing books on shelves whilst Lizzie commented on each one, Scott appeared slightly disconcerted from the principal's office. This meant Stiles could relay the information he and Lizzie had learnt from Erica.

"It means he was born after his mom died by C-section. They had to pull him out of a dead body." The boy concluded whilst Allison and Scott listened intently. Lizzie just sat on the floor, stacking the books so they looked like a castle. Anything to do with Jackson bored her.

"So, was it an accident or not?" Allison tried to keep her voice down, pointless since Erica had super hearing.

"The word all over the report is inconclusive." Stiles replied dryly.

"Then his parents could have been murdered?" Scott questioned. He hated Jackson as much as the next person but damn did he have a hard life.

"That means it fits with the kanima myth thing, right?" Lizzie spoke from the floor, placing Great Expectations down as the final piece of her castle. The other three glanced down to her, nodding.

"But, for Jackson?" Allison continued the theory. "Or for the person controlling him?"

"What have to talk to him." Scott edged out from behind a cart, speaking hurriedly. "We have to tell him."

"He's not gonna list-" Allison started but her boyfriend was already gone, followed quickly by Lizzie who pushed herself up from the floor, knocking her book castle over in the process.

Lizzie and Scott weaved through the forest of bookshelves, coming out where Jackson was supposed to be. But, all there was was a book laying upon on the grey carpet. Slowly, the pair shuffled towards it. The carnage only worsened.

To the right lay Matt, admits a turn over cart and scattered books, the back of his neck had a small slit across it, crimson liquid dripping from it.

A crash came from overhead just as Scott and Lizzie bent down to check out Matt, clutter dropped, flung in all different directions. Scott's arms came up to cover Lizzie's head as if it was instinct now.

His wolf features came out and he called to his fellow wolf who was going through a similar process.

The lights started to spaz out, partly due to the Jackson shaped kanima leaping from shelf to shelf and partly due to Lizzie's panic.

Everywhere plunged into a deep whole of chaos and throughout it all, a feminine scream emerged.

Erica.

Lizzie stayed crouched on the floor when she heard the yell of pain. Jackson, his face morphed with the kanima's, pushed Scott towards Stiles and Allison. The wolf used to his advantage to take a protective stance in front of them.

Lizzie stood, ignoring the disapproving whispers of her friends, keeping low to the ground and following the trail of Erica's scream.

She found her within seconds. The blonde had collapsed to the floor, her body shaking harshly. She moved fast, dropping to her knees to take the girl in her arms.

Erica didn't noticed, her muscles were locked together and she'd lost all concept of anything.

Stiles was soon to join Lizzie as the brunette brushed Erica's hair out of her face.

"I think she's having a seizure!" The Stilinski boy yelled over the noise.

Allison and Scott approached the chalk board Jackson had written on unknowingly before he disappeared.

In bold scratchy writing stated:

Stay out of my way or i'll kill all of you

The next few minutes was a kaleidoscope of arguments and chaos. Lizzie held Erica close, murmuring soft reassurances and stroking her hair. It was decided that Erica should be taken to Derek whilst Matt, who had been paralysed, would be rushed to the hospital.

The pack went their separate ways, took on their assigned responsibilities. Erica, Derek, Lizzie and Stiles to Derek and Matt and Allison to Beacon Hills memorial.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮

hey guys, so sorry for the wait but it's here FINALLY.

i'm starting to redo the theme of this book so it's neater.

i hope you guys liked this chapter, i managed to sneak a very small lizaac scene in for you <33

thanks for reading xx