LOVERS ROCK
chapter three ; pack mentality
[ season one - episode three ]

"So you killed her?"

"I don't know." Scott shrugged. His best friend walked behind him into the school, raising a brow at the wolf, he'd said it so casually, as though he hadn't just painted his best friend an image of a horror movie he and Allison starred in, better known as a dream he had last night. For Stiles, that seemed like something that shouldn't be discussed so early in the morning, he'd almost brought his breakfast back up with all the mentions of blood in Scott's story. "I just woke up sweating like crazy, and I couldn't breathe. I've never had a dream that made me wake up like that."

Stiles sniggered as he agreed that he'd had those kinds of dreams, but they ended differently for him, certainly not in bloody gore and death, no, his were much more pleasurable. Scott's lip had curled up in disgust, one, that wasn't what he meant, he was talking about how he'd never felt a dream so real, and secondly, he never wanted that much detail about his best friend in bed ever again. Perhaps the two had been best friends for years, brothers even, but there were some lines even they shouldn't cross, and that was just one of them. Stiles agreed, he wouldn't cross it, but he had a few guesses as to why Scott's dream last night occurred, Scott did too; his date with the brunette girl tomorrow. Neither of them wanted that to be the reason, but it seemed logical. Just the thought of it made him nervous, if he had strong emotions on that date there was nothing to stop him from losing control and ripping out her throat, just like he had in his dream.

His best friend tried to make him feel better, denying that that was what he had been thinking, it had only lasted a second because Scott had seen straight through the lie, it was obvious that the whole throat-ripping thing was the first thing to come in either of their minds. Stiles made a few more attempts at comforting his best friend, telling him how well he had been handling the large change in his life, it wasn't as though he could take a class in lycanthropy, though if there was he was sure that Honey had taken it, that or she really was just that smart.

Stiles's point had made Scott think. Perhaps there wasn't a class he could take, but there might be a teacher, and he wasn't talking about their blonde friend, no, the answer was much worse, it was yet another one of their stupid ideas, so stupid even Stiles disagreed with it, slapping Scott around the head just for suggesting it. They had put Derek in jail, accused him of murder, he was the last person they should be asking for help.

Scott knew that but he still couldn't shake just how real his dream felt, how vivid it was inside of his mind, the chasing her, the blood, dragging her to the back of the bus. It felt so real that, well, he wasn't sure that it hadn't happened at all. It was as Scott admitted that the two of them had walked out of the building, faced with the parking lot swarmed with deputies and reporters who all surrounded a school bus, one defaced with blood and large scratches. Both of their faces dropped at the sight, their hearts in their stomach as they looked all around them, it was just as Scott had described it. Now, Stiles wasn't sure that the dream wasn't real either.

Flustered, the wolf ran back into the school, his hands running through his long brown hair as he began to freak out, asking if he had really killed Allison Argent, daughter of a werewolf hunter, it couldn't be true, not when Stiles just said how well he had been doing. He pulled out his phone, calling and texting Allison, but he got no reply, meanwhile, Stiles texted Honey, telling her how it was urgent that she find them in school immediately. He had left her behind this morning, she'd woken up late, delaying her entire day as she urged Stiles to carry on without her, it was better if only one of them had to suffer detention from Mr. Harris, he hated their guts. For reasons the girl wasn't quite sure of, nobody knew why he hated everyone so much.

Scott begged his best friend to help find Allison as they rushed through the halls, every brunette in sight had made his heart drop, wondering if it was her until they turned around, none of them being the girl that he was desperate to see. He could hear his own heartbeat thudding in his ears as he scoured the halls for her, praying that it was just some big understanding. Stiles texted the blonde over and over, he was desperate, maybe she would know what to say to stop Scott from spiraling but he too wasn't getting an answer from her. His texts were unread, calls going straight to voicemail as he wondered whether she planned on skipping school entirely today.

And then, as if by pure miracle, he caught a glimpse of the blonde down the other side of the hall with her phone pressed to her ear, talking to someone, explaining why she hadn't answered any of his messages. He turned to tell Scott, suggesting that they should talk to Honey about it, but it was too late, Scott was gone, he had disappeared into thin air to find Allison. By the big smile on Honey's face he could gather who she was talking to, her father checked up on her twice daily, a call in the morning, a call in the night, eager to see how his daughter was coping with the move, making the most of being without him until he flew in on Thursday, in just three days.

"Dad, I've gotta go." Honey started to explain as Stiles walked towards her, his arms and hands in the air as he tried to mouth their problem, silently catching up, but she hadn't managed to catch anything that the boy was trying to tell her. "I think Stiles is having some kind of stroke." The boy dropped his arms to his side as he looked at her with a straight, unimpressed face, the complete opposite of the smile across hers as she hung up on her dad. "You okay? You look like somebody died." The blonde joked, an uneasy look across Stiles's face as if she'd hit the nail on the head. It took only a matter of seconds before her expression matched his. "Oh, my God. Who died?"

Stiles twiddled with his thumbs. "Scott might have killed Allison last night."

Honey burst out into laughter, widening the boy's eyes as he stared at her, unable to see what he said that could have come across as funny. A girl could be dead. Because of Scott. "Nice try, but I just walked in with Allison."

The boy beamed with enthusiasm, grabbing either of her arms as he asked if she was telling the truth, Honey wearily nodded at him, confused as to why she would lie about walking in school with Allison. He thought this was another one of his jokes that she didn't quite get, but then she saw it in his eyes, the relief he felt in hearing that she'd seen Allison this morning. He was being serious, Scott really did believe that he had killed Allison last night.

Stiles tried his best to provide Honey with the same level of detail on Scott's dream as the wolf had given him, by the time they had gotten to chemistry the blonde was mortified, also ready to bring up her breakfast as she listened to all of the gory details, at least when she had listened to the tale she didn't have to go through the stress of wondering whether it was real. At least most of it wasn't, not the part involving Allison. But the fact remained, someone had been hurt, if not killed on that bus, and with Scott's dream so vivid, the three were still pinning him as the main suspect for a potential murder. All they had to do was figure out the details while trying to act like normal teenagers, so to them, it was just another Monday morning.

Scott couldn't settle as he sat in front of his best friends in Chemistry class, his leg bouncing up and down as he thought of the possibilities, most of which was him somehow not killing people on a school bus, his hopes were high, even though he knew his chances were slim. He took every opportunity to turn and talk to Stiles and Honey when Harris had his back turned, he couldn't sit around in class and learn when there was a mystery, potential murder to be solved. Scott turned with the theory that it was his blood on the door, that maybe he had just hurt himself on the bus meaning he didn't have to worry about hurting anyone else, the ideal situation.

"Or it could have been animal blood," Honey suggested in a whisper.

Stiles nodded in agreement, giving a list of animals it could have been, a rabbit amongst the list, somehow, that hadn't made Scott feel any better, knowing he hurt a bunny was just as bad as if he had hurt a human, at least the human had more chance of not being innocent. He put aside his strong feelings towards hurting a rabbit for a moment, asking what he would have done if he did in fact kill a rabbit.

"Ate it?" Stiles deadpanned, he thought it was obvious.

"Raw?" Scott's lip curled.

"No, you stopped to bake it in a little werewolf oven."

Honey sniggered at the comment, louder than she had intended to, Harris' head had whipped around at the sound, he looked straight at her, able to pinpoint who had made the sound easily, the blonde had sunk in her seat as Harris looked between her and the two boys she was talking to, his usual three culprits. They were caught red-handed, all bound to face a punishment, she'd said from day one that it would be Stiles who would earn her her first detention, today seemed to be that day. "Something funny, Miss. Carter?" Harris asked with folded arms.

Everyone had turned to look at the girl as she shook her head rapidly, the man turned to Stiles, telling him that if he thought that he was talking in a hushed whisper he should consider taking out his headphones every once a while, a slight burn that left Stiles struggling for words, mostly wondering whether anyone had heard their discussion of werewolves and cooking bunnies. The man suggested that some space might benefit the three teenagers, despite their arguments, he separated them. Stiles was moved to the back corner, almost out of Harris' line of sight, exactly how the man liked it, where he was able to pretend the boy didn't exist. Scott managed to keep his seat, and the blonde girl moved to sit beside Jackson, just a seat in front of Scott, frankly, she thought that she had gotten off quite well too, there were certainly worse options than Jackson.

For a while, Honey had learned her lesson as she sat quietly, choosing to use the time Harris had his back turned to think about the accident that had happened on the bus, if not Scott killing his date for tomorrow, then who, what. Maybe it wasn't him at all, that his dream was just a strange coincidence. Most people had put it down to a mountain lion, the animal all accidents the blame was put on, no matter what town, Lousiana had been the same. A handful of people, those with a bit of imagination would have liked to believe that it was something more, but ultimately, they would fall into the same habits that the rest of Beacon Hills had, blaming it on an animal nobody had actually seen roaming around.

She used to be one of those people, until she knew the truth, when random deaths weren't just an animal attack, but an attack from a werewolf, he had done the honor of informing her on that detail, allowing her a new perspective on the world, stopping her from falling into that habit the people of Lousiana and California did. She'd had a simple mind before, she never thought that it was possible for incredible creatures like werewolves to exist, she hadn't ever cared for that kind of genre in books or movies, she was happy with the idea of a normal, boring world, like the one that her parents had taught her to be content with. Both Emily and Jude had discouraged Honey to think in that kind of way, telling her that talk of such things was frowned upon, people would make fun of her. And maybe they were right, but now she knew the truth about the world.

Honey felt a gentle nudge in her side, turning her head from looking out of the window, Jackson was looking at her, taking a second to glance at Harris before turning back to her, making sure it wasn't going to be him getting moved next. "So, what do you think happened?" He asked quietly as he leaned in closer.

The blonde hummed slightly in confusion, unsure what he meant. "The bus. What's your guess?"

"Oh." Honey tried to think of a resonable answer for him. "Moutain lion. I mean, what else could it be?" She asked with a shake of the head, a feigned smile. Hoping he brought it.

Jackson nodded as he moved away again, only lasting a second before another question came into mind, he leaned back in again as he asked. "What makes you think that?"

The blonde shrugged, admitting it was just a theory based on what she'd heard, from what she knew about California mountain lions were common, perhaps the bus was just an unfortunate accident, apparently those were common here too. Stiles had been researching some of the old animal attacks in Beacon Hills, wondering if it were something more, he had been the one who told her how often this town experienced so-called accidents.

Jackson hummed in agreement, accidents were common here. "Like the Hale fire."

"Hale fire?" Honey questioned with knitted brows. Of course, her mind had gone to one place. A familiar wolf named Derek Hale. The home he lived in, how damaged it was, a fire made sense, it certainly looked scorned, she didn't know why she hadn't thought about it sooner. Now, Honey felt the urge to know more about it.

"It was a fire that happened, like, six years ago. Eight people died. Nobody knows how it started but only one person survived. Derek Hale. He's older than us. A bit of a loner now, you probably wouldn't know him." Jackson explained, she didn't make it clear that she knew Derek, that was just a can of worms waiting to be opened. "Anyway, everyone says it was an accident but I don't think it was, fires like that aren't just accidents."

"So if you don't think it was an accident then what?" She asked. "Arson?"

"Maybe." He shrugged. "But you'd have to be a monster to do something like that."

Honey agreed, she couldn't imagine what could push a person to do such a thing, to start a fire that killed an entire family, ripping apart their home and everything that came with it. And then at that moment, she thought back to something Jackson had said. The fire was six years ago. It was a number that stuck in her mind as she asked the boy for a more specific date, In January 2005 he told her, it was as specific as he could get, he didn't know a precise date, but what he'd given her was more than enough.

Harris had turned around, continuing his teaching, cutting off any hushed conversations in the class, including the one between Honey and Jackson as their attention turned back to him, her mind in a completely different place as she stared to the front of the class, more eager than ever for her father to come to town. She wasn't entirely sure, but she had a feeling that if she were to search through the box of souvenirs her mother and father brought from their business trips she would find one from Beacon Hills, dated January 2005, the time of the fire. Maybe it was all a big coincidence, but Honey had learned to stay on her toes, to expect the unexpected.

Only seconds had passed before the silence of the class was interrupted, Harley, the girl sitting beside Scott jumped up from her seat, announcing that they had found something, pointing at the window, everyone followed her lead as the entire class rushed to the window, even Harris, everyone watched as a pair of EMTs wheeled a gurney towards the ambulance.

A bloody man lay on the gurney, a sight in itself as teenagers felt their stomachs turn, still, none of them turned their heads, too intrigued to know what happened, whether the man was dead, who had killed him. Every teenager leaned closer to the window for a better look. Honey turned to look back at Jackson who stood close behind her, both raising an eyebrow before looking at the bloody body once again. The EMTs were about to lift the gurney into the ambulance until the man laying on it had jolted upright with a scream, grabbing onto one of their arms.

The classroom full of teenagers all jumped back as they released a scream of their own, as if it was a natural instinct, Jackson grabbed a hold of the blonde who had been standing in front of him, both breathing heavily with shock. The air had been knocked out of their lungs, they were almost the ones being whisked away on a gurney, not him. Honey's eyes remained on the man, all she could think was one thing. That certainly was no bunny.

Honey sat around the lunch table with Scott and Stiles, the man from the bus still a hot topic in theirs and everyone else's conversations, only for the three of them, it was less of a who done it situation and more of a who the hell is going to fix it situation. Scott couldn't keep having weird dreams that turned out to be real, he couldn't keep hurting innocent people without realizing it. He could think of only one solution to stop that from happening again, a very stupid one named Derek Hale. Somehow, he had forgotten that they'd gotten the wolf thrown into the jail for Laura Hale's murder, his own sister's murder. He was insane to think Derek would help him after that, they were lucky to still be breathing after what they had done. A point Honey and Stiles told him many times over, but he remained adamant that Derek was his only solution.

Stiles wasn't so sure why he was convinced Derek had all of the answers in the first place when it was clear that if anyone around here had answers that they needed it was the blonde girl sitting beside them, he couldn't understand how the girl living in his own house could still be such a big mystery to him. But for now, he had given up on getting answers out of her. Scott could tell them both why he was so convinced that Derek knew what he was doing- during the full moon he had complete control over himself, while he was running around attacking some innocent guy. Stiles didn't see the logic in that, but Honey couldn't argue with it, she would be pretty pissed too if it was her seeing Derek running around doing whatever he liked while she was struggling to stay in bed at night without almost killing someone.

"We don't know you attacked that guy." Stiles argued.

"But we don't not know it either," Honey added with a swing of her fork. Her comment earned a strong stare from Stiles as he questioned whose side she was on here, frankly, she was leaning to Scott's side of the argument, at least he was trying to think of ways to control his transitions.

Scott washed as the two bickered over whose idea was more stupid, Honey was winning with an annoying question repeated over, if not Derek, who were they supposed to ask? Stiles deflected as much as he could, choosing to bring up all of the reasons that Derek couldn't be trusted, that didn't change the fact he would be their last resort. As far as they were concerned, there were no other werewolves in Beacon Hills to ask. No matter how much they hated the thought, and she'd really hated the idea, they had nobody else to turn to.

Stiles still hoped that she would pull a book full of answers out of her back pocket in a moment of desperation, but it wasn't going to happen. She knew nowhere near as much as he thought or wanted her to. It had been in the past week and a half that she realized just how little knowledge she really had on werewolves, experiencing it from the bite was much different from what she'd experienced before.

"I can't go out with Allison." Scott deadpanned, ending their argument as they both turned their heads to look at him. "I have to cancel."

"No, you're not canceling." Stiles insisted, this time he had Honey on his side. "You can't just go and cancel your entire life. We'll figure it out."

A tray was placed down beside Scott, the three teenagers raising their heads. "Figure what out?" Lydia asked with a smile as she sat down beside the wolf.

The three all looked between one another questioning what the hell was going on, Honey knew she may still be new to the town, but she was pretty sure that the likes of Lydia Martin sitting on the same table with a pair like Scott and Stiles was well beneath her "social status". Girls like her would rather be caught dead than seen with two, now three, people who weren't on her scale of the hierarchy. Even Scott and Stiles knew that.

One popular person quickly turned into a whole group of them as the empty seats around them were quickly filled by Lydia's clique, Allison had taken the seat on the opposite side of Scott, two people Honey didn't even recognize sitting at the end of the table, and then, Jackson and Danny who seemed just as confused as to why they were sitting on this table, but what Lydia says goes, that was how it worked in their group. Jackson took the seat beside Honey, a smile on his face as he nodded at the girl, someone who'd make sitting at a table with the likes of Scott bearable.

"So, what are we talking about?" Jackson asked, looking around the table.

Lydia opened her mouth, about to give him the lie that Scott had just given her; homework. That wouldn't go over Jackson's head as easily as it had hers, so before Lydia could speak, Honey had said another lie. "The man who attacked on the bus." She blurted out, an elbow in her side, that probably wasn't her best excuse, she could tell by Stiles's elbow in her ribs, but it worked.

"I heard it was some kind of animal attack," Danny spoke up, carrying on the topic. "Probably a cougar." He shrugged. That was just one of the guesses people had.

"I heard a mountain lion." Jackson chimed in, nodding towards the blonde who had told him it might be that animal, Honey sunk in her seat as she looked at Stiles with a shrug, she could've always told him a werewolf and really put them in the hot seat.

"A cougar is a mountain lion." Lydia deadpanned with a snarl of attitude. "Isn't it?"

Jackson scoffed, asking who cared when the guy was probably some homeless who would die sooner or later anyway, showing just how sympathetic he could be for those in need. Not at all. Someone who actually cared was Stiles who with a quick google search had found out just who the "homeless tweaker" was- a bus driver named Garrison Meyers who as of now, was in critical condition at Beacon Hills memorial. Nobody else at the table had ever heard of the man, except for Scott, who knew the man from when he lived with his father, when he used to get the bus to school. Only Stiles and Honey saw the concern in that, that Scott had known this man, nobody who had joined them on the table knew to be concerned about it, they had no reason to think it was important that Scott had a connection to the man on the bus.

With a roll of her eyes, Lydia asked if they could talk about something more interesting, perhaps the plan for tomorrow night, her question directed towards Allison, but even she didn't seem to know that she had made plans with the girl. Not until Lydia had elaborated. Allison had told her about "hanging out" with Scott, she had automatically assumed her invitation too.

Honey and Stiles shared a raised brow with one another, for many reasons. First of all, Lydia had referred to the date between Scott and Allison as "hanging out" that was sure to sting, neither of them knew whether that was what the brunette called it when telling Lydia, whether she'd acted as though it wasn't as serious as Scott was taking it. And of course, the fact that she had decided to add herself to the date, bound to make an already bad situation worse.

Allison shrugged her shoulders, under pressure as she muttered that she and Scott were trying to think what they were going to do, she didn't know what else to say as she looked at the wolf for some help, but he was too flabbergasted to intervene, as were Stiles and Honey, both giving him a quick kick in the shin under the table, trying to get him to say something, but even kicking hadn't helped him out of the shock.

"Well, I am not sitting at home again watching lacrosse videos again." Lydia deadpanned, side-eyeing her boyfriend, the person who made her watch those said boring videos. "So if the four of us are hanging out, we are doing something fun."

"Hanging out?" Scott repeated in a stammer, looking at Allison who was just as stuck on what to say as he was, she didn't particularly want to hang out with the other two either but telling Lydia no was also something she didn't want. "Like, the four of us?" He added, Stiles's hand slapped to his mouth, it was like watching a train wreck. Honey's elbows rested on the table, her head in her hands unsure how much more of this she could listen to.

"Carter, you should come," Jackson added to the conversation. Honey's head shot up as she and two others, Stiles and Lydia, asked the same question. What. It was no longer a train wreck, this was an apocalypse, a massacre, and it was getting worse by the second. Suddenly, Lydia lost her enthusiasm for the group hang-out, not if the blonde was coming.

Jackson looked at his girlfriend, squaring his eyes at her, though those who had caught it were unable to tell whether it was in spite or to warn her to go along with the invitation, Lydia took it as the latter, agreeing through a feigned smile that it would be fun if she came along with them. Much to Honey's surprise, Scott joined in, agreeing that she should come. The blonde looked at him with wide eyes, questioning what the hell he was doing, but all he did was shake his head, a warning to go along with it too, she knew she would get an explanation later. She also knew she wasn't going to like whatever was coming to her. Tomorrow night would be hell on Earth.

"I- I don't know." Honey shook her head, still trying to get out of it. "I mean, I have a lot of things to pack before my dad gets in town and-" As the girl spoke, trying to come up with any excuse in the universe that could get her out of being a fifth wheel she caught a doe-eyed couple staring at her from across the table, both silently begging for her to come, to ease the situation. "Fine." She sighed, there was no escaping it. Scott was drowning and he was taking her with him.

Eventually, a solid plan was made. They would all go bowling, there was already a competition between Scott and Jackson, the pair arguing across the table about who was the better bowler, who would finally win the feud between them. It was a heated argument, over something small, bowling of all things. There had only been one way to split it up, and that was with Lydia's idea, a genius suggestion as she called it- for Jackson to set up the blonde with someone from one of his teams, whether it was the lacrosse or swim team, frankly, for her, anyone would do as long as the blonde was far from Jackson tomorrow. Both he and Honey had shaken their heads, that the girl didn't need a date, it wasn't necessary, but Lydia insisted on it.

·❥·

Honey sat cross-legged on the bedroom floor, her suitcase in front of her as she began packing a few of her belongings ready for the move to a more permanent residence than with the Stilinskis who had been more than good to her over the past few weeks. Her father warned her to pack in advance, telling her that he would transfer her things to the new house while she was at school, he hoped that meant the two of them could spend as much time with one another as possible, it would make up for all of the weeks they had been apart. There had been many times that they'd been without each other for this amount of time when her father was away on business, but this time it felt different, the hours felt longer, perhaps it was because she didn't have her mother as company like she used to. But she was glad that, for now, she would have her dad back.

Stiles had offered his help with the packing, telling her that once he had finished around round of his game he would be in to help, even if she wasn't packing much, but ultimately, it had been an hour since he had offered, he had completely forgotten, still glued to his computer screen. It was a game that he had told her about many times, but she had lost interest in it after the first, if she remembered correctly, it was something about battling mythical creatures. She had enough of that in her real life, she didn't need it in a video game.

Once the brunette had packed everything but the clothes she would be wearing for the next two days, she stood up from the floor, about to shove her suitcase aside until the door knocked. She expected it to be Stiles, talking to him through the closed door as she told him it was a little too late for that helping hand now, but it wasn't him on the opposite side of the door. But Scott. The wolf smiled at the blonde as she opened the door, nervously, he asked her for another favor, it couldn't be any worse than his favor of joining a group date. At least that was what she thought.

That simple favor brought her to the place many favors from Scott McCall brought here, Derek's house. Unlike before, the two weren't so fearful as they approached the derelict house, not even when they had had to hang back and wait for a deputy to leave with his rabid dog, Scott told her that he could hear it all, that the deputy was supposed to check that the house was vacant, that the dog had begun barking uncontrollably, presumably because of Derek.

Only when the deputy had run off did the two teenagers approach the house further. "As much as I like being your friend, Scott, and trust me, I do." Honey began her complaint as she followed beside him. "Can we not make these trips a habit of ours?"

Scott nodded in agreement. He didn't like coming here any more than she did, and certainly not for the reason why they were here. The two stopped at the end of what used to be a path to the Hale house, now buried beneath years' worth of leaves, hiding the damage that the fire made to the land around the house, burying the secrets of the Hale's. Scott looked up at the house.

"I know you can hear us." He spoke. Honey looked over the house, all the broken windows, she expected to see Derek lurking behind one of them, staring down at them, but with human eyes and the distance between them and the house, she couldn't see him. Still, she could feel a dark presence looming over her as she stood with folded arms. Scott looked at the blonde, she gave him a nod, encouraging him to continue, no matter how stupid the plan was. "I need your help."

There was nothing but silence. No shout to come in. No attack from Derek. Scott was prepared to retreat, to give up on the idea of asking Derek for help, of getting help at all, he'd known it was a long shot when he had come up with the idea of coming to Derek, but it didn't hurt to at least try and ask. Though the confidence of asking had come with the recruitment of Honey. Derek didn't seem as threatening in her presence, it was as though they received a kinder version of the wolf, as kind as Derek got. Which turned out to still not be great.

Honey began walking towards the house, prepared to trespass into it if she had to, unlike Scott, she wasn't going to leave it there, if Derek was here then they were going to talk to him, and she knew he was, not only had Scott told her that he could feel it, but she knew he would be. Where else did a werewolf with no friends have to go? He didn't seem like the type for a shopping trip. Scott paused for a moment, looking around him before he followed the blonde to the door, one day she was going to get him in trouble with her impulsiveness and ability to leave without what she wanted in her possession. But that inability was what made her a good companion in this, it meant that somehow, he would gain Derek's help, at what cost, he wasn't sure, nor did he care.

As soon as the blonde had stepped onto the porch the front door opened, Derek stepped out, he made sure to close his door behind him, refusing Honey a peek at what was inside the house of horror. She looked at Scott, nudging the wolf, he must have prepared some big speech for Derek, surely he didn't think a mere I need your help would get them what they wanted.

Derek raised a brow at the young wolf. Waiting. "Okay. I know I was part of getting you arrested and that we basically announced you being here to the hunters." Scott began, it wasn't the best start, but they let him continue. "I also don't know what happened to your sister. But I think I did something last night. I had a dream about someone, but someone else got hurt. And it turns out that part of the dream might have actually happened." Scott explained.

"You think you attacked the driver last night?" Derek asked, no emotion in his voice.

Scott shrugged, he didn't want to think he did. "Did you see what I did last night?"

"No." Derek deadpanned.

"Helpful," Honey mumbled under her breath as she looked around, acting nonchalant.

Scott asked the older wolf to tell him the truth, to which he agreed to do, he'd thought the wolf may have had one single question, but he had multiple. Each one worse than the last, every one of Derek's answers shook Scott's confidence a little more. Am I gonna hurt someone? Yes. Could I kill someone? Yes. Am I gonna kill someone? Probably. After that, Scott stopped asking. He had already begun a slow descent to insanity as he leaned against one of the pillars, trying to get his mind around what he had been told. With a sigh Honey turned back to Derek, asking if he knew a way for them to truly know whether Scott was the person who attacked the bus driver, maybe it was a coincidence, that someone else was mauling people, frankly, she was open to that. She liked that more than trying to console Scott over the thought of hurting someone.

Derek admitted that he knew, but he didn't stop there. Though he looked and talked to the girl, everything that came out of his mouth was for Scott, but he knew that to gain the trust of Scott, he would need to gain the trust of the blonde girl in front of him. He knew that if he didn't have her on his side, he wouldn't have Scott either. In just a few weeks the pair had become bonded, she had become his adviser, and he trusted her judgment. He told the girl that not only could he tell them how to remember what really happened last night, but he could teach Scott how to be in complete control of his shifting, even during a full moon. Honey was listening as she nodded, waiting for the but. There was a but. He admitted. It would come at a price, but for now, he was willing to give them what they wanted. Derek told them to go back to the bus, to go inside of it, to see it, to feel it. To let his senses, his sight, smell, touch, remember for him.

Scott looked over at the pair, finally inserting himself back into the conversation, asking if that was all it took, to go back to the bus. Derek asked him if he wanted to know what happened, a rhetorical question, but Scott gave him an answer anyway, what he wanted to know more than what happened was whether he had hurt an innocent person or not. The incorrect answer, the wolf told him. Honey agreed with it too, she knew that wasn't Scott's main concern, but she had kept quiet. Scott didn't want to know whether he had hurt the bus driver, he wanted to know if he would hurt Allison.

It was nightfall when the three teenagers pulled up to the parking lot where the answers rested, Honey and Scott had hardly been able to explain the full situation before Stiles was grabbing his keys from his dresser and pushing them back out a door they had hardly stepped through. It was safe to say that he was up for the challenge of restoring Scott's memories, even if he was a little jealous that Scott hadn't invited him to confront Derek, but he could understand why, he would have annoyed Derek so much that he refused to help them now or ever.

The three would have been lying to say that they weren't scared of what Scott would discover on that bus, but their desperation to know the truth was stronger, so the three didn't waste another second jumping out of the Jeep, hastily walking towards the fence that stood between them and the bus. Scott had been so caught up in the adrenaline of getting answers that he didn't realize Stiles or Honey were out of the Jeep until they'd reached the fence.

"Hey, no, just me. Someone needs to keep watch." Scott shook his head.

"That's what Winnie's here for." Stiles shrugged, pointing at the blonde who begged to differ. The wolf looked at him with an uneasy smile, he knew this would happen. "How come I'm always the guy keeping watch?" He asked in a sulky tone.

"If it wasn't for me we wouldn't have even known to come here." Honey defended herself.

Stiles shook his head. "I could have found that out." He argued. "Eventually..."

With a sigh, Honey turned to the wolf, agreeing that she would keep watch with Stiles, that he'd probably be a bad lookout anyway because he would get distracted by something as silly as the dangling air freshener in the Jeep. Stiles couldn't argue against that, he'd often become slightly distracted by it swinging to and fro, especially while he was trying to drive. The two headed back to the Jeep as Scott began climbing the fence. As they sat watching Scott and the bus, Stiles had emphasized once again that he could have gotten the answers from Derek, even if he didn't fully believe his own words. Frankly, he wanted the big part in all of this that Honey seemed to have, maybe he didn't have the weird charm that she had that he still didn't quite understand nor did he have the experience with werewolves that she still denied she had, but he still wanted to play a part in Scott's new experience with it.

He considered telling her about it, but instead, he chose a lighter conversation topic. Her father came into town, along with Bee who she hadn't stopped talking about since she arrived. She'd seemed to have missed her beloved dog more so than her father with the way she had talked of him. But this time when he had mentioned her father, she didn't show the excitement that she'd shown every other time, she stared down at her lap, trying to avoid the topic with a hum as he'd asked her the questions he always asked, whether she was glad to have her dad back, Bee back, to have her own room that she could decorate rather than living in his spare room.

No matter his question, all he got out of her was a hum. Until he didn't. The blonde asked him if he knew anything else about the Hale fire, the rumors that surrounded it, perhaps if he knew a specific date of the fire. He didn't know much more than Jackson, nobody did, only that it was in early January, a weekday afternoon, he could remember sneaking a peek in the case file one day when his dad had brought it home. A night where he had been drunk, admitting that he thought it was arson, he just didn't have the evidence to back it up.

After telling her all he knew, it was only fair that he had one question to ask her. Why she wanted to know about the Hale fire. Only she hadn't been able to answer him, not before she slammed a hand on the steering wheel, sounding the horn to alert Scott. A security guard was approaching the bus with a flashlight, about to catch Scott. They were right to assume Stiles would end up in a distraction, but at least it wasn't an air freshener. Stiles's hand replaced Honey's on the horn, a repeated beeping until Scott was jumping back over with the fence with a somersault, there was no time for fiddling with the blonde getting into the back seat, Scott had slid her onto his lap as he urged for Stiles to drive away as fast as possible as he hit the dashboard.

Scott was there last night, but he hadn't killed anyone, in fact, he was trying to protect the driver but Derek had attacked him. None of them were sure why Derek would want him to remember it or why he would have drawn Scott out to the bus in the first place. Stiles's only guess was that it was some kind of initiation, bonding over the ripping of throats. But none of that was what Scott focused on, he was more so concerned about his date with Allison than his innocence.

·❥·

Honey had been thinking all day how bad the date tonight would be, but nothing could've ever prepared for just how bad it really was. Ten minutes. That's how long it had taken for Honey to want to leave, in that time, she had barely laced up the clown shoes the alley made them wear. Lydia had, of course, complained that they didn't match her outfit. Scott couldn't walk in them. Her date, who she didn't even know the name of because he, in his words, believed that the girl should already know exactly who he was. Frankly, she was sure Jackson had picked out anyone from the team, if not, then he had picked out the biggest douchebag.

Scott had always been convinced that Jackson Whittemore was the worst person this Earth had ever created, and then he saw Honey's date, and well, Jackson had been knocked down a peg. It was unbelievable how someone could talk so much about themselves, and yet, not a single one of the things he said was of interest.

In between turns, Lydia sat back with her diet coke, sipping through her straw as Honey died on the inside, and a little on the outside trying to listen to her date. Allison had apologized to Honey at every given opportunity, for her date, for Lydia, for having to come on this date at all, even if she was sorry that the blonde had been roped into joining them, she was glad nonetheless. She wasn't sure she would be able to handle the competition between Jackson and Scott alone. The two had been at each other's throats since meeting up in the parking lot.

What had made the night that slightest bit bearable, was Scott's bowling. He had told Honey he was a bad bowler, Stiles had emphasized just how bad he was, clearly, none of them knew of any words that truly explained how bad Scott really was. Of course, that only made things worse, he had bragged at the lunch table how brilliant of a bowler he was, and now, he was being proven wrong, by himself. It seemed that even a werewolf bite couldn't help him now.

Honey wasn't the best bowler, that she could admit proudly because, unlike Scott, she didn't lie to Jackson in a heated argument in the school cafeteria. However, her poor bowling meant that Jackson had offered his assistance, or more so, insisted upon it. Lydia sat in her seat seething as she watched her boyfriend holding Honey's arms, hands, touching her at all, just to guide her in the right direction. Even when she had told him she was getting the hang of it, he continued, he seemed to be relishing in the anger radiating from his girlfriend.

Each of the pairs took their shots, most scoring strikes minus the redhead who didn't have an athletic bone in her body or assistance from her boyfriend who seemed to be on a date with the blonde rather than her. But that didn't matter when it came to the person who she and Jackson had been anticipating the next turn of. Scott. Who insisted he just needed to warm up before he would beat Jackson's ass, clearly, he hadn't learned his lesson from the cafeteria.

"You're up, McCall." Jackson smugly grinned as he and Lydia peered over their shoulders to look at the clearly anxious boy. The five pairs of eyes staring at him really didn't ease that feeling.

Allison placed a hand on the boy's knee. "You can do it, Scott." She reassured him.

Scott took a few moments to gather his thoughts before attempting to bowl, leaving everyone on the edge of their seats waiting to see how wrong this was going to go. The only person who had faith in him was Allison, and that was simply because Honey knew how bad of a bowler he really was. She would have loved to have faith in her friend, but she also knew better. Maybe if one person believed that Scott could actually bowl he would have a chance at proving Jackson wrong. That depended upon Allison and her faith.

When he finally took his shot, the ball immediately landed in the gutter guaranteeing that this wasn't one of those situations where he shocked them with his amazing performance like he'd done at the scrimmage or his lacrosse tryout. And this was certainly more than the need to get himself warmed up.

Jackson and Lydia laughed hysterically at the sight while Scott stood humiliated, Honey bowed her head in embarrassment for her friend, she knew Jackson would never let him live this night down, he would be hearing it for the rest of his high school career, if not longer.

Allison scowled at the boy. "Jackson. Mind shutting up?" she snapped at him. Honey wasn't sure where this side of Allison had been hiding, the one with a sharp tongue, but she liked it. Maybe she had a thing for people with a mean streak, it certainly wasn't out of character for Honey. She was known to be around those with anger running through their veins.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry." Jackson tried to speak through his laughter. "I'm just flashing back to the words 'I'm a great bowler." He smirked as he looked up at Scott who was less than impressed by Jackson's arrogance.

"Just... give him time," Honey mumbled her support, she knew she wasn't the right person to try and give tips on bowling, but someone other than Allison had to try. "Just try and aim a little bit more in the middle." She said with a reassuring smile, trying her best. Scott nodded, thankful for her advice, even if he still had little faith in himself.

"How about you aim for anything except for the gutter?" Jackson added again, this time, Honey narrowed her eyes at him. Out of anyone he could mock tonight he couldn't have chosen her so-called date? Maybe it would be offending someone on his team, but from his boring stories, the boy wouldn't be too much of a loss. Allison snapped at Jackson once more. Scott took another deep breath before walking back up to the lane prepared to give it another shot, Honey's words in his head as he took his shot. The ball made it halfway down the lane, perfectly centered giving the two girls who were supporting him some hope, and then it edged closer to the pins, slowly it moved left and landed in the gutter. Claiming yet another gutterball. "Oh, great job, McCall. Man, you are a pro." Jackson teased again as Scott took his seat filled with utter humiliation.

The cycle continued again as everyone took their shots with Allison and Jackson in joint first, Honey somehow in second, her date whom she had forgotten the name of third, even Lydia was beating Scott who was yet to hit a single pin. Honey felt guilty watching Scott stand at the top of the lane with the ball in his hand considering whether it was really worth taking another chance if it would gain him even more mocking from Jackson and Honey's date who, frankly, he didn't remember the name of either. He had bored all of them until they had attempted to completely block his existence out of their minds, even Jackson who invited him had grown to dislike him or the way that he found everything funny, just to try and impress his captain. Even his 'Nice shot' to Honey when she had scored another strike annoyed him.

Honey quickly switched seats from beside her date to Allison who was biting her nails, filled with nerves for her boyfriend. "Maybe you should give him a few words of encouragement," she said, a hinting look as she waited for Allison to catch the hint. The other three were all too busy, their stares all on a flustered Scott as he looked at the ball in his hands.

"What?" Allison mumbled in confusion.

"Tell him something that will take his mind off of it."

"Like what?"

"I don't know. Use your imagination. I think you'd be surprised." Honey said with a smirk, Allison finally understood what she was implying. She was just scared to physically say it to Scott. Or to anyone for that matter.

Allison hesitated for a moment before she jumped out of her seat to mutter those few words of encouragement to her date leaving the other three only to assume what she was saying to him. But they gathered it was something along the lines of 'Ignore Jackson' or a few more bowling pointers like Honey had already tried to give him because clearly, she was better than she once thought she was. Once Jackson had taught her the swing of it she was a master.

With a giddy smile and rosy cheeks, Allison skipped back to her seat, grabbing ahold of Honey's hand for comfort just like she had at the lacrosse games. Even if she had only known the blonde a few weeks, even if they weren't that close compared to her with Lydia or Honey with Scott and Stiles, she still felt comfort and warmth in the blonde's company. Like a true friend.

Scott kept Allison's words in his mind as he prepared himself, taking another shot, this time with a more professional stance, better aim, and a throw that didn't make him look like a girl. His ball traveled down the middle of the aisle perfectly, at the speed of light until it collided with each of the pins, scoring him the strike he had been desperate for leaving not only himself but everyone around him in a state of shock. Jackson's jaw had hit the floor, his fist clenched in anger, Honey's date reassuring his captain that he was still better than Scott.

Lydia looked at the two laughing and cheering girls with a furrowed brow, questioning what she had said to Scott to give him such a change in shape. From that moment on he was unstoppable. Strike after strike until he had placed himself drawing with Jackson in second place receiving, a cheer from his date and Honey for every single turn he had. Allison put it down to natural talent that Scott hadn't managed to find until now, similar to Honey, but of course, they knew it was more than that. At least for Scott. Honey, well, she may have just found a new hobby other than skating.

"I could use some natural talent. Do you mind helping me out this time, Scott?" Lydia asked in a very flirtatious tone as she stood with doe eyes. Most people couldn't say no to the redhead, the blonde had noticed that since moving to Beacon Hills. In fact, she felt as though she was the only one who wasn't falling for the was the act of innocence or stupidity for that matter.

Honey looked at the redhead with a shake of the head. She knew sometimes that girls would flirt to get their own way, she certainly had, it was a talent all girls possessed but this wasn't one that kind of time. This was Allison's date, it wasn't a competition of who was dating the most athletic sophomore on her arm. It seemed as though Lydia needed some slight guidance on who should be a victim of her powers of persuasion but she thought that the redhead would have known not to try it with Scott. Apparently, not.

"No, you're good. Go for it." Scott reassured her with a smile, Honey hiding the smirk growing on her face as she looked down. Lydia was flabbergasted, distraught. Pissed.

She walked towards the lane, refusing help from her boyfriend who finally offered, this time they all watched as Lydia scored a strike, and a flawless one at that. Everyone staring at her with wide eyes or furrowed brows. The redhead skipped back to her seat as though it wasn't a big deal that she had managed to score a strike without even trying, as well as having an almost perfect form which Allison made sure to point out as a bowling enthusiast. The other five were left speechless for a moment as they sat stunned staring at the screen as it celebrated the girl's strike. Lydia had been struggling to pick up her purse at school, let alone be able to score a strike with a ball that weighed more than her tiny dog.

"I think I'm getting the hang of it." Lydia smiled at her two best friends who weren't convinced.

"Maybe you should stop pretending to suck just for his benefit." Allison discreetly whispered to the redhead as she leaned forward, though the blonde was still able to hear it all, she was just glad someone else had finally caught onto the facade that Lydia had been playing of the dumb girl with the popular boyfriend because it was clear that she was much better than that. In more than just all of her AP classes. How she managed to get away with being in those classes and still not be questioned about her intelligence truly was a mystery to the two girls.

"Trust me, I do plenty of sucking just for his benefit."

After hearing that, Honey knew she was ready to turn in for the night as she jumped up from her seat, Scott joining her, they both turned to look at Allison, the girl they were taking home, she didn't mind leaving so hastily either.

Honey sat in the car outside of Allison's house, Scott had walked her to the door, a chance to say a proper goodbye, perhaps to arrange a date that didn't involve four other people. She had been sitting quietly, minding her own business as she fiddled with the dials on the radio, and then she felt a chill down her spine. Her head turned to look out of the driver's window where nothing but trees sat opposite Allison's house. Honey kept her eyes on them, she felt as though something or someone was watching her. The girl's eyes narrowed on the bushes, she could have sworn she'd seen something move inside of the greenery, Honey leaned over the driver's seat, trying to get a closer look. And then, her phone rang.

The blonde was startled as she threw herself back in her seat, getting her breath back before she reached for the phone in her jacket pocket. Stiles' name on her screen, she should have known it would be him, she told him that she would be back before the curfew, and well, she wasn't. The boy on the other side of the call wasted no time shouting down her ear, asking where she was, if she was still with Scott. Honey was about to tell him that he was saying goodnight to Allison but the wolf had already gotten back into the car before she could. Stiles had heard him, urging her to put him on loudspeaker so Scott could hear the news.

She did, and Stiles gave them the news. The bus driver had succumbed to his wounds, he'd died while the two of them were out at the bowling alley. Somehow, Honey knew when she looked at Scott that Allison's house wasn't her last stop before she was taken home. That habit that they both said they wouldn't pick up, that every time they were together they wouldn't end up at the Hale house, well, it was too late for that. Because that was exactly where they were headed.

"Scott!" Honey shouted as she chased after the wolf charging towards the Hale house, this time he didn't slowly creep up to it or check around him, he was too angry to think rationally. Even if the blonde warned him, he wouldn't have listened. "Scott, slow down!"

The young wolf stormed straight into the house. "Derek!" His voice bellowed through the empty home. "I know you're here!" He shouted as Honey ran in after him, coming to a sharp stop as she looked around her at the house, finally seeing what was behind that door, and it was horrifying. "I know what you did!" Scott continued to yell, looking through the dark house for Derek.

Derek's voice sounded through the house. "I didn't do anything." He said, though neither of the teenagers could tell where the voice had came from. But both approached the unstable stairs in front of them, assuming that was where they would find Derek.

"You killed him!"

"He died." Derek corrected the wolf who slowly ascended the staircase.

"Like your sister died?" Scott asked.

"My sister was missing." Derek told them. "I came here looking for her."

"You found her."

Derek agreed that he found her, but he had found her in pieces, being used as bait to catch him, as though that was all that Laura's life was worth.

Scott believed Derek had killed them both, he'd told him so, as well as telling him that he would tell everyone that, starting with Stiles's dad, the Sheriff. As he spoke, threatening to out the wolf, he and Honey reached the top of the staircase. Honey had followed him up them, no matter how unstable the entire structure of this house looked, she would rather risk falling through the floor than have to stand alone in it when she could hardly see her surroundings. The girl's foot hardly touched the landing before she was grabbed, a set of claws against her neck, prepared to rip out her throat. Scott's head had whipped around to see Derek standing behind the struggling blonde who tried to fight her way out of his grip.

He demanded that the wolf let her go, and much to his surprise, Derek did, grabbing him instead to throw him down that same unstable staircase, tumbling down them until he was laying at the bottom with a groan of pain. Derek looked back to the blonde girl who took a step back, moving away from both him and the staircase. Scott might have survived a tumble down the staircase, it wouldn't be the same for her, something like that could kill her, snap a few bones maybe. And it wasn't as if hers would simultaneously fix themselves like it would for him or Scott.

As they both looked back down on Scott, he turned around, his eyes a glowing yellow, his sharp teeth bore, ten sharp claws like the ones Derek had momentarily dug into Honey's neck, his own version of a threat, he didn't need words like the ones' Scott used to try and threaten him. Scott roared at the older wolf, initiating a fight as Derek jumped down from the top of the staircase, it was a matter of seconds before Scott pushed him, sending him through an entire wall as though there wasn't a single ounce of difference in their weights.

Wearily, Honey stepped back down the staircase, standing beside Scott as they watch Derek pull himself off of the floor, pulling off his leather jacket, prepared for a real fight as he mocked Scott, calling his little stunt cute. Derek's eyes began glowing a bright blue, a color Honey recognized a lot more than she did any other. This time, when they fought Derek had the upper hand, with his shift he had gained more strength, able to toss Scott around at ease, throwing him against every surface left in the Hale house. Every time Scott tried to fight back, he was defeated, Derek landed a blow to his jaw, stomach, anywhere he could, the young wolf flying across the room as Honey watched with her fingers pressed to her temples, wondering when it would end. This was easily the thing she hated most about being around werewolves, their urges to fight, how everything in the world led to a fight with them.

Eventually, Scott was weakened further and further, he was in a losing battle, spitting up blood as he lay on the floor, Derek towering over him, unable to see the end of the fight anytime soon. He continued kicking Scott around the floor, the young wolf stood up, determined to come out a winner twice tonight, another blow in his ribs, this time, the snapping bones were audible, the blonde standing away from the fight had heard it as she winced.

Scott pulled himself up again, a weak groan as he did, refusing to give in yet. Derek's fist raised again, clenched, ready to beat the young wold again, but this time, before the blow landed the blonde appeared in between them both, finally deciding it was time to step in.

"Enough." Honey spat out, looking between Derek and his clenched fist. The wolves both faded back into their human states, stopping the fight as the girl took a heavy breath. She turned back to Scott. "He didn't kill him. Neither of you did. It's not your fault and it's not Derek's either."

"You're sticking up for him?" Scott asked the girl, raising his voice. "This is all his fault! He ruined my life! He was the one who bit me!"

"No." Honey shook her head. "He wasn't." She said, sure of her words. She turned back to Derek who could see that she knew like she managed to figure most things out, she figured this all out too. It was as she watched them fight, thinking about how this had happened, the driver, Derek telling Scott to go back, to remember. They couldn't think why Derek would want Scott to get his memory of that night back if he was the one who attacked the driver, but she realized now, that Derek wasn't the one who attacked him. "There's another werewolf, isn't there?" She asked him.

"What?" Scott mumbled in confusion. His hand reached for his chest, his t-shirt ripped from the fight, he wiped the blood from a now healed wound, his eyes widening as he did. The memories came rushing back, all of them, he saw the attack in a different light, a more detailed one. Derek was there, but there were three of them. Honey was right. There was another.

An Alpha. The most dangerous of their kind. He and Scott were betas. That thing as Derek called it was more powerful, more animal than either of them. His sister had come here to look for him, now he was trying to find him. He admitted that he didn't think he could do it without Scott. He was the one bitten by him, making him a part of the Alpha's pack. It was Scott. Scott was the one he wanted.