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CHAPTER FIVE
"knowledge is pain"
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KNOWLEDGE IS POWER.

 A famous line spoken by Sir Francis Bacon - and one that was drilled into Lex's mind since she was a child. She always thought it was a frivilous thing to say; especially since it was coming from a man whose last name was Bacon.

 When Lex was a child, she dreamed of power. She thought that power came in hand with good fortune, and good fortune was a key to a happy life. She looked at her parents, both of whom seemed to get by with adequate amounts of power, and hoped to be like them. As she grew older and a page was turned on what the world was really like, she began to rethink. 

 Lex was used to knowing things about people. She was used to being an adverse figure in people's eyes, simply due to the underlying notion that she knew something about them that they didn't want her to. Lex then came up with her own philosphy, one to counteract what was said by an old man years and years ago:

 Knowledge is a burden. 

 It's true, isn't it? Knowledge may be helpful, but at the end of the day, it causes more harm than good. You gain knowledge and people begin to expect things of you. They expect you to use that knowledge and grow; expanding your roots deep into the ground and raising towards the sun. When a person (specifically a woman, but that's a conversation for another time) is blessed with knowledge, people want them to prove time and time again that they hold on to that power. But when power is expected, and power is used against you - it becomes burden. 

Now, Lex liked to think that the burden of her knowledge was making her suffocate. At first, she was planning to stay in her room and think of vast theories for why there was an emblem of an abandoned bank on her wrist - but then she dove too deep into her own mind. She thought about how Derek Hale was looking for Boyd and Erica; two teens who haven't been heard from in weeks. She thought about the prospect of an abandoned bank: stone walls, metal vaults, closed off and heavily protected and... well, she couldn't help but think that it would make sense for kidnappers to hide people there. 

 And then she started thinking about Stiles' friend, Heather. She knew that the Stilinski boy didn't want her help, and she would never admit it aloud - but she did want to see if anything could be done about it. 

 Which was how she found herself biking down the street in the middle of the night, her nerves on high alert as the full moon beat down on her. 

 Lex hated being outside at night more than she hated anything else in the world. She felt like a target at all times: like a gazelle running through a pack of lions. So she wore all black, trying to obscure her features as much as possible, hoping that the reflectors on her bike were enough to keep her from being hit by a car or something stupid like that. She had her hair tied back, a black beanie hiding most of the dark strands as she pedeled along. It didn't take long for the bank to come into sight, and she wasn't sure what her goal was as she stopped her bike near the entrance. 

 What was she doing? She thought, rubbing her arms as the breeze made a chill spread through her veins. This was completely and utterly insane. She was basing everything she was doing off of a bruise on her arm, and for what? It didn't make sense rationally thinking - a woman somehow managed to give her a hint to where a bunch of missing kids were? On the off chance that she was right, then what? She gets kidnapped too? Or she just books it to the nearest building and calls the cops. 

 She had both of her pocketknives on her; one in her actual pocket, and one tucked into her bra. That was for the kidnapping scenario, since Lex didn't think that they pat down your boobs when looking for hidden weapons. She also had a small thing of pepper spray in her opposite pocket, which was what she was clasping now as she crept along the shadowed edge of the building. 

 Suddenly, a loud crash made her jump about a million feet in the air. She put a hand to her chest, her heart rate skyrocketing as she folded her hand around her pocketknife, flicking the blade open and taking a moment to resist the urge to sprint back to her bike.  

 She felt sick, regretting her choice more and more by the second as she tentatively glanced around the corner. She couldn't see much, but in the darkness she could made out a smoky haze coming from a large hole that had presumably just been smashed in the wall. 

 Lex blinked, what the fuck? How could something have possibly just broken through solid rock?

 She felt her stomach churn, her hands shaking as she swallowed. Steeling her nerves, she walked as silently as she could, running one hand along the wall, her throat becoming more and more dry as she neared the opening. 

 She pressed her back against the wall, listening for a sign that she wasn't alone. Instead, all she heard was a voice - one that only confused her further. In fact, it confused her so much that her fear dissipated into just that: pure confusion, as she turned to peak through the entrance. 

 As if sensing her presence, Scott McCall turned to look at her at precisely the same time she became visible. Lex actually relaxed, at least knowing that she wasn't about to be axe-murdered as she pressed a hand to her chest to feel her heartbeat. "Scott? What the sweet hell are you doing here? Do you take secret late-night boy scouts or something? Jesus fuck-"  

Scott, however, did not seem as relaxed at this predicament. "Lex! What the hell are you doing here?" He demanded, his voice raising a pitch with his worry, as he turned to look behind him. Lex followed his gaze, only to find her previous fear re-seizing her chest as she locked eyes with Vernon Boyd. 

 But it wasn't Boyd. Physically it appeared to be, but Lex was too rooted in by eyes that glowed yellow staring into her soul to do a full evaluation. He growled - an animalistic sound that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. He bared his teeth at her - no wait, not teeth - fangs that portruded from his mouth, and took a step forward. 

 Lex froze. What the holy fuck was that?

"Get out of here, now!" Scott yelled, his usually sweet-tone turned demanding, Lex looked to the side, her gaze landing on Derek Hale and only increasing her erratic heartbeat. Boyd roared, running forward towards her, and she flinched, stepping backwards. Her foot caught on some of the debris from the broken wall, and she fell onto her back; the air knocked from her lungs. 

 She wanted to run. She wanted more than anything to stand up and sprint home, where she could bury herself under her pillows and schedule an appointment for therapy. But she couldn't. Something was rooting her in her place as she rose to her feet, placing her hands on the jagged rock and feeling panic begin to settle as she watched Scott throw Boyd against the wall. There was a girl there too - one who was viciously slashing at Derek with her hands; although Lex couldn't see anything that could be used as a weapon. 

 But she focused her vision and saw it then: claws. Claws like that of an animal, in place of regular fingernails. She could smell blood, but she wasn't sure where it was coming from as grunts of pain echoed throughout the vault. She stumbled up onto the stones, holding her pocketknife out as if it would do anything. 

 Before she could step inside, someone called her name. It was Allison, who was staring at her with a frenzied look in her eyes. "You have to get out of here now!" 

 "Fuck if I do!" She shouted back, "I'm not going anywhere!" 

 "Scott will be fine, I'll take care of it, okay? Go they can't follow you!" She gestured to a line of black powder running over the perimeter of the room, "they can't get passed the line, okay? Just go, run!" 

 "I'm not running!" 

 Her voice was partially drowned out by a loud banging, and when Lex turned to look at the fight, she gasped when she spotted Boyd toss Scott into a row of vaults like he weighed nothing. She felt her heartbeat increase as Boyd dug his claws into Scott's stomach, physically lifting him off of his feet and dragging his back against the metal. 

 Her eyes darted to the thin line of black powder separating her from the building. Allison said that they can't go past it, which means that as long as it is intact, they are trapped inside. As if reading her mind, Derek shouted over in a raspy voice, "don't break the seal!" 

Completely ignoring him, Lex jumped down so that her boots hit the hard floor, dropping down to her knees. "Hey!" She shouted, her voice vibrating off the walls. "Boyd!" 

 She quickly swiped her hand through the powder, the dust scattering across the floor. "Be free motherfuckers!" 

 Her plan immediately backfired, as now she had two weird animal-people sprinting at her full speed. She barely had time to mutter an "oh shit" before she was tackled by the female, and was sent flying outside of the walls. 

 She screamed, her managing to grasp a handful of her hair and tug sharply away as fangs snapped at her neck. She felt pain in her arm, presumably from claws, and tears sprung to her eyes as growling invaded her senses. She kept pulling the creatures hair away, gasping as her hand groped around for her pocketknife. She managed to get a grip on it, moving purely off of adrenaline as she flicked the blade open and brought it up to stab into the creature's upper arm. 

 She - or, it - roared in outrage, as Lex pulled the blade out. It snarled, rolling off of her and sprinting into the darkness before Lex even had a chance to breathe. She gasped, feeling tears on her face as she stared up at the sky, shock penetrating her system and masking her pain.

 What just happened? That wasn't real - there was no way that was real.

 She vaguely heard someone shout her name, before rough hands grabbed onto her arms and pulled her harshly to her feet. She cried in pain as Derek Hale's hands pressed against her fresh cuts, not even realizing she was crying until she felt tears drip down her chin. 

"What were you thinking?" He yelled, Lex flinching harshly, shutting her eyes. 

 "Hey!" Scott yelled, shoving Derek back and making him release his hold, "don't touch her!" 

 "I-" Lex gasped, suddenly finding it very hard to breathe, air not able to slid past her constricted throat. "I - I had to do something!" 

Scott had blood drenching his shirt, but he didn't appear to be in pain as he stepped protectively in front of a shaking Lex, "she saved our lives."

"Yeah, and what do you think they're going to do out there?" Derek demanded, his anger enough to diminish some of the panic coursing through Lex's system. "Do you have any idea what you just set free?" 

 "No I fucking do not!" She yelled back, her voice high-pitched as she wiped at her face, stepping around Scott and jabbing a finger into Derek's chest. "I have no fucking clue what that was! I came down here because I figured out that the bruise on my wrist was the logo, and I thought-" 

 "You thought what?" 

 "I thought that I could do something!" Her breathing was beginning to turn raspy as Allison stepped through the hole in the wall. "I wasn't going to let you absolute psychopaths get clawed to death when I could have done something!"

She gasped as a shot of pain rain down her arm, and clasped her hand over it. "You know what? Fuck you! Fuck you-" she turned to point at the bank, "fuck this fucking bank! And fuck whatever crack-house you came from you fucking dick! You are going to tell me what is going on right now, or I am going to take my pocketknife, and I am going to turn you into a bowl of whatever fucking species you are noodle soup. Understand?"

"Lex," Allison spoke up, making the girl shut up and continue shaking from head to toe. Allison stepped forward, gently pulling her hand away from her arm, only to find that it was coated in a light shade of red. 

 Scott's eyes widened, "you're bleeding." 

 "No shit," Lex took a defensive step away, "I just got clawed by cat-woman."

"Are you sure that it wasn't a bite?" Allison asked, nerves making her voice tight. Lex wrapped her arms tightly around her torso, feeling like she was seconds from passing out on the ground. 

"Y-yes, I'm sure." She clenched her teeth, "I'm sure. Here-" She unzipped her jacket with shaking hands before pulling off her hoodie so that her arms were bare. She whimpered lightly when she saw the injury, and felt a dizzy sensation run through her head. 

 Five indents were dug into the skin, deep enough that blood was beginning to run down her arm, leaving the skin red and the injuries irritated. She swallowed, covering her mouth with her hand and feeling tears run over it. 

 "Hey-" Scott stepped forward and gently wrapped her in his arms. She pressed her face into his chest, shaking from head to toe as her shoulders heaved with sobs, her uninjured arm snaking around his middle. "It's okay, I'll explain it all, I promise." 

 "We don't have time!" Derek snapped, "we have to go right now, they could be killing innocent people as we speak!" 

 "I'll take care of it," Allison said as Scott ran a hand through Lex's hair, fiddling with her hair-tye. "I'll explain everything." 

 Reluctantly, Lex let go of Scott, shivering from the cold as goosebumps grew on her arms. She turned to Allison, wiping her face and sniffling. The girl outstretched a hand, which Lex nervously took, allowing herself to be pulled into a side-embrace in an effort to keep her from freezing. 

 She looked eyes with Scott and gave him a defiant nod, "go." 

 His eyes were wide, "are you sure?" 

 "Yes, go prevent a mass-murder or whatever. I'll be okay." 

 She wasn't sure if that was true or not, but she allowed herself to think it as Allison led her away. 

 ***

Werewolves.

Out of all of the worrisome things going on in the world, Lex was sitting on Allison Argent's porch, talking about werewolves. 

She was hunched over, a blanket tossed over her shoulders as the brunette carefully bandaged her arm. She was still shaking from head to toe, but she felt more numb than anything - like her emotions had been switched off. She supposed that was what shock felt like... like someone took an axe to her stomach, and all she could feel was the pressure from where the blade entered her skin. 

 "I know it's a lot," Allison said, her tone surprisingly comforting as she gently wrapped the bandage around her bicep. "I swear it makes more sense as time goes on, but if you're lucky you won't have to learn much more." 

 Lex nodded, a shiver passing over her skin like the kiss of a ghost. She spoke up, her voice quivering, "what about you?" 

 "Me?" Allison carefully cut the bandage, taping it into place. "What do you want to know?" 

 "W-What are you?" She turned so that she could look at her eyes. Lex didn't even want to imagine what she looked like right now. She could picture her mascara smudged under her eyes, her hair loose and tears staining her face like wisps of acrylic paint. "Do you have claws and fangs and... glowing eyes too?" 

 Allison laughed, brushing a piece of hair behind her ear. "No, I don't. I actually come from a family of -" she trailed off slightly as she tried to figure out how to choose her next words, "well, hunters. Werewolf hunters." 

 Lex wanted to laugh at the sheer absurdity of that sentence, especially when she remembered that Scott and Allison used to go out. A werewolf and a werewolf hunter... nearly as ironic as Romeo and Juliet.

She didn't say any of that, she just bit her lip. "Scott, is he going to be okay? Did I just do something insanely stupid by letting Boyd and that girl out?" 

 "It wasn't stupid," Allison set her small First-Aid kit to the side, shifting so that they were facing each other. "It was actually very brave. You probably saved his life." 

 Lex nodded, sighing as she rested her forehead in the palms of her hands. They sat in silence for a few moments, the only sound the wind rustling through the trees. Lex had no shortage of thoughts running through her head, although they all seemed to circle back to Scott McCall. She wanted to know the exact details of everything that had happened to him, starting from the very first day. She had no urge to run away, in fact - quite the opposite. She wanted to run closer to this new world she discovered; not to feel the pounding of her heart reminding her how dangerous it was, but to feel the satisfaction that she was right all along... something really was wrong with Beacon Hills. 

 "Are you okay?" Allison asked softly, concern in her eyes as Lex pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders. "I know this is a lot." 

 "I'm fine, I-" she took another shuddering breath. "I think I might be having a minor panic attack."

 "Do you want me to bring you home?" 

 "No!" She didn't mean to shout, but her voice was raised as her head flew up, her eyes widening. "I can't go home, not like this - my parents would kill me." 

"Oh, um-" Allison rose to her feet, an action that Lex copied. "You can sleep over here tonight, and we can drive you to school tomorrow. My dad isn't home right now, but I could just text him and let him know." 

 Lex nodded, the action barely noticable as she wiped her face to try and rid herself of any stray tears. "Thank you, Allison. And I'm sorry."  

 "Oh don't be," she actually smiled as she turned to open the front door, "It's reassuring to see someone react like a normal person, it definitely is scary." 

 "I-I'm sorry for everything." Lex reached out to rest a hand on the other girl's wrist. Allison turned, shooting her a confused glance, so Lex reiterated. "I'm sorry for being a bitch to you, and I'm sorry for dating your ex, and I'm sorry for that time I superglued your boots together." 

 Allison squinted, "that was you?" 

 "Yes, I literally just said that," she snapped, before grimacing and brushing her hair from her eyes. "Sorry for that too. You're a good person, and now I see that you really did have a lot of shit going on, and I am a huge bitch."

 Allison paused, before a small smile graced her features. She outstretched a hand, which Lex took, and quietly opened her door. "Thank you. And don't be sorry about Scott, he really does care about you - I can see it in his glowing yellow eyes." 

 Lex giggled, feeling the warmth from the home coat her skin and help ebb some of the shakiness from her bones. She followed the girl into the house, all while one thought played on repeat in her mind.

If only you knew, Allison.

Apparently everyone has their own secrets. 

A/N:

guys i am experiencing a scott mccall brainrot.

but yay! lex finally knows, and i had to have her freak out a little because if that shit happened to me i would have personally signed myself in to eichen house. 

i wanted to just put a reminder in here to please comment!! voting obviously makes me super happy, but reading comments is one of my favorite things about writing! i want to hear your thoughts on my book so we can be nerds together <3

also i made these:

I ALREADY ADMITTED THAT I WAS OBSESSED OKAY??

thank you for reading, and don't forget to vote and comment! lots of love <3