LOVERS ROCK

chapter eighteen ; frenemy
[ season two - episode six ]

Tapping on the dashboard, she sat quietly in Stiles' Jeep, staring out into darkness, repeatedly replaying the conversation that she and Lydia had over in her mind. It was quite humorous. It turned out, the two of them weren't so different after all. Deep down, behind the way that they had decided to hide their true emotions, they were the same girl. Insecure. Scared. In need of a sense of love and stability that they just couldn't seem to get their hands on. She never thought she would be sat thinking about Lydia Martin, let alone feel sorry for her. It certainly hadn't been on her bingo card. 

The redhead was a wreck when she had tried to get answers out of them all, more solid answers than the one that Honey had given her in the bathroom. Granted, it was the most honesty she'd received in years, but it wasn't enough. Honey knew it wasn't enough. She wouldn't have settled for the answer either. Perhaps if the girl was capable of handing the truth, she would have given it to her, but the sobs and screams for honesty when they all stood outside, hearing the sirens in the distance come closer, was proof that she couldn't handle it. 

Allison had taken her home, hopefully talking her down and convincing her that what happened tonight was a burglary like they had told Sheriff Stilinski too. Like they would be telling Melissa. Or anyone else in this small, gossiping town who asked. The truth would be kept between those who were there, those who could handle such truth.

She, Scott, and Stiles had tried their best to make up a convincing story of a burglary. The mess of the house seemed like sufficient evidence, all they had to do was act, dazed and confused of what happened to them. According to their story, the three of them had been upstairs, trying to study when they heard the crashes begin downstairs, after declaring that it was a robbery, they all hid in the protection of Scott's bedroom where Stiles had called his dad from, refusing to step foot out of the room until it had all gone quiet and the only sound was sirens. 

Honey sold the act, as Scott and Stiles had told her. She had streams of tears running down her face as she talked, reliving the lie of a story they had come up with instantaneously. Maybe why she was crying was fake, but she had only conjured up the tears from real fear, recalling one of her scariest memories to ensure that it seemed genuine. She would keep that from the boys, it seemed better to leave them thinking that she was just a good actor. 

After sitting still in some random, dark alley for fifteen minutes as they said they would, the pair finally sighed, nodding at each other as they finally climbed out of the car. Fifteen minutes. That was their agreed-upon time before they searched for Scott and Jackson on foot. There was only so much ground a car could search on, Scott had proved that when he had jumped from the car while it was still moving, following the Kanima through an abandoned industrial estate.

They only managed to walk around a single corner before finding the werewolf himself, peering around a corner from a dark alley of his own, watching someone. Honey would have hoped that it was the Kanima he was watching, but based on the club he stood outside of, watching a line of people queuing to get it, she wasn't convinced that he'd found him again. 
The two were unintentionally quiet as they came up behind him, Stiles placed a hand on Scott's shoulder, startling the wolf as he spun around, gasping for breath with a hand that was about to punch the boy.

"Sorry! Sorry!" Stiles held his hands up in defense. Honey quickly pulled him back, allowing him to deflect what could have been a deadly punch. "Did you find him? Did you find Jackson?"

Scott shook his head, admitting that he'd lost him. He still couldn't believe it was Jackson. How had they not seen it coming? It was Jackson. He was practically evil incarnate, officially now, not just because he was some asshole on the lacrosse team who had always picked on them. He was actually evil now. "Couldn't you catch his scent?" the blonde asked. Unlike her two friends who had repeatedly called Jackson evil, she still thought that there was something deeper. Maybe it was her being delusional, she had always thought differently to them when it came to Jackson's personality, but this time she meant it more than ever. She still didn't believe him capable of the things he was doing. He may have been a bully, but he didn't seem like someone who would go as far as to murder someone. 

The werewolf shook his head again. "I don't think he had one." Confused, Honey and Stiles gave a quick glance at one another, they thought everyone had a scent, but they also didn't know the first-hand experience of being able to smell everyone and everything at such intricate levels. The two swiftly moved on, asking whether the wolf had figured out where he might have been going. "To kill someone." Scott deadpanned. A somewhat obvious answer. Yet it was still terrifying.

"That explains the claws, and the fangs and all that." Stiles sarcastically retorted. Honey noticed that the more scared he became, the more he used sarcasm. "Good. Makes perfect sense now." As Scott and Honey looked at him with disapproval, he threw his arms up. "What? Come on. I'm 147 pounds of pale skin and fragile bone, okay? Sarcasm is my only defense."

Scott instinctively turned to Honey, waiting for her to provide some poor excuse for her negative comments and occasional sarcasm. "I have issues?" the girl shrugged, unsure what other reason she could provide him. Scott and Stiles shrugged too, both agreeing, which she was only slightly offended by as she scowled at them. 

"Will you help me find it?"

"It?" Honey repeated in disbelief. "This is Jackson, Scott. Not some monster." she defended him, raising a finger that warned Stiles to shut up before he could even murmur a comment about the boy being a monster, both figuratively and literally.

Scott nodded, mumbling a small apology, trying to put aside his personal feelings toward him to focus on the real problem at hand. All of the people he had, or would kill. Unsure where to begin in finding Jackson, Stiles reeled off questions, hoping that one of them might lead them to him or someone who knew about him. "Did anyone else see Jackson? How exactly did Jackson pass Derek's test when Lydia didn't? Maybe it's just an either/or thing. Maybe Jackson is just weak." 

"A snake can't be poisoned by its own venom." Honey chimed in, ruining the boy's idea of puny, weak Jackson being paralyzed. He turned to the girl, unsure how she knew that, unsure that he wanted to know the reason why either. Even so, he still didn't understand it. Neither did Scott, but he was much too busy staring off to try and figure it out. To help him, she asked him a single question. "When is the Kanima, not the Kanima?"

His eyes widened in realization. "When it's Jackson." he almost cheered at the revelation. "God, I could kiss you."

Scott shushed them just as Honey warned the boy not to kiss her, pointing a finger in his face yet again as he stepped back. The two turned to him with furrowed brows until they heard a hissing sound like they had heard back at Scott's house. Their eyes scaled up the building until they saw a long, scaly black tail swooshing out of an open window on the next floor, slowly worming itself into the building as they stared at it in awe.

Only then did Honey think to question why they were at a club, she had been so caught up in the idea of Scott finding Jackson, that she hadn't thought to ask Scott how he had ended up here at this random club across town. Scott didn't understand it either, not until she'd asked, and in the very moment that she had, a scent lingered past his nostrils, allowing him to understand it as he peered around the corner again, finding the source of the scent standing in line. Jackson's best friend. Danny Maehelani. He recognized that smell of Armani anywhere.

He began turning the corner, prepared to follow Danny into the club until Stiles pulled him back, reminding him that they didn't have fake IDs. He hummed, looking around until his eyes landed on the back entrance, a small door in the alley that they stood in. He walked ahead of his friends as he left them trailing behind, Stiles still unsure how he planned to get in, even using the back entrance.

Scott's hand wrapped around the door handle, tugging at it tightly until it broke from its place. After turning back to flaunt his pride and have Stiles' slacked jaw boost his ego, he opened the door, creeping into the dark club that deafened them the moment they stepped in. Through a glittery curtain, the three stepped into the heart of a club filled to the brim with men. Only men. Scott began looking around, his eyes scouring the busy club for the Kanima, taking a few more minutes before he turned back to his friends, only both of them had disappeared. He frantically looked around until his eyes landed on Stiles who was surrounded by drag queens infatuated by the teenage boy. 

"Dude! Everyone in here is a dude!" Scott shouted through the music, still looking for Honey. "I think we're in a gay club!"

"Man, nothing gets past those keen werewolf senses, huh Scott?" He shouted back, nodding at another group of drag queens who had bombarded Honey, all of them sharing makeup tips and complimenting each other's outfits. 

"Honey!"

"Seriously, text me about how to get my eyeliner like that!" Honey shouted, waving off her new friends as she hurried back over to Scott, and Stiles who had managed to free himself from the wandering hands. "So, did you find him?" she asked, the werewolf shaking his head. "Me neither but I did find the bar," she said, pointing at the display of alcohol that she definitely needed. She skipped ahead before either of the boys could tell her not to, and in the few seconds that they'd spent considering whether to follow her, she had already gotten herself a drink. 

Scott and Stiles appeared beside her, the latter slamming down some money as he tried to order two beers for himself and Scott. The bartender looked them up and down, unconvinced that the two of them were 21 as he asked for ID. With a smile peeking past the straw, Honey sipped on a fruity cocktail, taking enjoyment in the two of them even attempting to get a drink. Neither had her level of charm. 

"How about two cokes instead?"

"Rum and coke? Sure." Stiles retorted proudly, bopping his head to the beat of the music, less upbeat, the man trying to do his job who stared into his soul. "Coke's fine. I'm driving anyway." Stiles nodded, taking the drink.

"That one's paid for." The bartender nodded at Scott, handing him his coke as the three teens all furrowed a brow. He nodded over to someone on the other side of the bar, a young man waving at Scott with a flirtatious smile. The two raised a glass and Scott's cheeks blushed a bright shade of red as Stiles narrowed his eyes at him. 

"Oh, shut up." He mumbled as he took his non-free drink.

"I didn't say anything." Scott laughed.

"Yeah, well, your face did." he grumbled, looking out to the dancefloor where he finally caught a glimpse of Danny who was grinding against another boy, who arguably looked a little old for him but they wouldn't focus on that. "Hey, I found Danny." 

"I found Jackson." Honey followed, nudging Scott to look up at the ceiling.

They followed her stare to the dark ceiling, barely able to see the Kanima if not for an occasional light shimmering against its scaly skin. Its reptilian yellow eyes turned to them, startling them all again as they jumped back, watching it scurry to the middle of the dance floor, right over Danny.

Scott was right, Jackson had come here for Danny. He wasn't sure why Danny would want to kill his best friend, but it appeared that he did as he hung over the boy's head, lingering like a storm ready to rain over him. He swung his tail from side to side, waiting for the perfect moment. What the perfect moment was they weren't sure, there was no discretion involved in this, not when he would be hit and paralyzed in the middle of an entire club. 

Honey volunteered to go and get Danny, already beginning to slide through the crowd of people when Stiles turned back to Scott. "What are you gonna do?" Scott extended his claws, which was enough of an answer for the boy who nodded, tapping his back before rushing to follow Honey. 

Stiles had lost the blonde within seconds. He didn't know how she did. Getting drinks at the bar without ID. Working her way through a stubborn crowd that wouldn't budge, at least not for him to squeeze through. She was a mastermind. The heavy beat was deafening, the lights blinding as he tried to push further into the crowd, managing to see glimpses of long blonde hair through a couple of dancer's heads.

He called for her, but over the music, he couldn't even hear his own voice. He felt suffocated, the crowd felt like it was getting bigger, the space getting smaller. He was agitated, sweaty, flustered and not even Adderall could help him now. 

Danny! Honey shouted as she gripped onto the boy, turning him to face her. Honey! He cheered drunkenly, pulling the girl into a hug. He turned back to the boy he was dancing with, pushing the two together to introduce them. Honey quickly shook his hand, trying to be as nice and fast as possible before turning back to Danny, telling him that they needed to get out of here. Danny furrowed a brow, unsure what was going on with her. I don't have time to explain we just need-

The blonde's mouth was left agape, unable to finish her sentence as she felt the venom begin to rush through her system. People dropped around them left and right. As people dropped Stiles was finally able to see the blonde clearly, shouting at her to move away as he climbed over all of the paralyzed bodies. And then he watched as Danny and Honey dropped too.

She lay on the sticky, alcohol-covered ground, staring up at the Kanima. She was more infuriated than anything else. This was the third time she had seen this creature. The second time that she had been paralyzed by it. How does someone get paralyzed twice? Twice? It continued hovering over Danny, wanting to take it further until the boy was dead. Danny was face down on the floor. He had no idea what was coming for him.

Honey watched as claws dug into the Kanima's stomach, causing it to unleash a deadly screech that pierced her ears. It was much louder than the music, causing those who hadn't noticed all of the dropping bodies to finally pay attention. She didn't know who had punctured the Kanima as her eyes darted around looking for them, unable to see anything, not even the Kanima.

Screams sounded through the club as people began scurrying away. Stiles had thought that he would finally be able to reach Honey, but as everyone began clamoring, they pushed him back, further and further away from the blonde as he tried to fight through it. Scott watched Jackson slither across the ceiling, trying to escape as he quickly followed it.

As Stiles tried to push through, someone grabbed his shoulders. "Where's Scott?" Derek asked, shaking the boy. Stiles was in a state of shock, unsure where the Alpha had come from, and all he could think about was getting to Honey. Right now he didn't care about where Jackson was, he was sure that Scott would be following him, but nobody was helping Honey. "I don't know!" Stiles shouted back through all of the screaming. "Where's Honey?"

"She's on the dancefloor!" He shouted, pointing through the gap in the crowd. "I think Jackson got her!"

Derek groaned, mumbling under his breath as he pushed Stiles toward the exit, telling him to go as he headed in the direction of the blonde, shoving his way through all of the partygoers while a panicked  Stiles stood still, refusing to leave until he knew that she was safe. He didn't have to wait long, within seconds Derek reappeared in front of him again, this time with the blonde in his arms as he urged for the boy to go once again. 

The three of them slipped through the back exit, immediately stumbling on a trail of blood that they followed back to Stiles' Jeep. Scott was already waiting there, towering over Jackson who lay unconscious and naked on the concrete. The werewolf stood beside him like he had done it himself, or like a kid who stood in the doorway of his parent's room to tell them that he was sick in the middle of the night. He did anything but take control of the situation, which he hoped was the purpose of Derek being here. 

"What do we do with him now?"

Stiles groaned with disgust as he looked at the unconscious, bloody jock. He didn't want to say it. He would have rathered leave him out in the cold, but he knew he couldn't. He was sure that his father and a string of deputies would be here any minute now to figure out what was going on. They couldn't let him see Jackson. Or Honey for that matter. "Put him in my Jeep." the boy said with a roll of his eyes, the thought making him sick.

Derek handed the blonde over to Stiles before disappearing once again, refusing to help them clean up the mess that he had helped to make by impaling Jackson. Even paralyzed, Scott and Stiles could feel the wrath of the irritated blonde as she sat in the back, waiting out the feeling of paralysis. Her face was like thunder. The heat of her anger radiated from her. She sat useless as the two of them tried to form a plan, both of them struggling on where to begin as they watched the police cruisers and ambulances roll in, slowly bringing out the dozens of paralyzed clubbers. Including Danny. 

As soon as Scott saw the boy being rolled out, he jumped out of the Jeep, hoping to get anything out of the boy. A reason why Jackson would be after him would have been ideal, but ultimately he returned with nothing. They knew nothing. They didn't know why Jackson was the Kanima or why he was killing the people that he was killing. None of it made sense, and even when the boy finally woke up, he wouldn't know either. He had no idea what he was doing to people.

"Can we just get the hell out of here before one of my dad's deputies see me?" Stiles pleaded, his hand already on the keys, ready to slam his foot down the moment Scott agreed. The wolf didn't get a chance to answer before wailing sirens pulled up in front of his car, his father stepping out of his cruiser.  "Oh, my God. Oh, my God! Could this get any worse?" The boy began to panic. A groan came from the back seat as Jackson began to stir. "That was rhetorical!"

"Get rid of him." Scott deadpanned.

"Get rid of him? We're at a crime scene and he's the sheriff!"

Scott and Stiles flapped around, trying to figure something out. They needed the help of Honey, her charm, her ability to think on her feet, anything but her being sat in the back paralyzed next to Jackson who was beginning to wake up. Do something! Scott urged. Stiles looked between his father and the three people in his car, back and forth repeatedly until he knew that there was no other choice. He climbed out of the Jeep, stumbling over to his father who wasn't impressed to see his son at yet another crime scene. Two in one night was his best record yet. What's going on? Jackson mumbled as he began sitting up.

Jackson, Jackson, be quiet. Scott pleaded, shoving the boy back down with his other hand while he kept an eye on Stiles and his dad, trying to act casual if the man looked over. He was trying to listen to their conversation, flailing between them and Jackson while also begging for the blonde to begin feeling something again. She was trying. As much as someone paralyzed could try.

"Not exactly your type of club." Sheriff Stilinski said with a furrowed brow as he turned from the club in question, back to his son who stood before him.

"Uh..." The boy mumbled. "Well, Dad, there's a conversation that-"

"You're not gay." Sheriff Stilinski deadpanned.

Stiles almost seemed offended by the comment. "I could be."

"Not dressed like that." His father deadpanned looking him up and down. The boy stammered as he looked at his outfit, wondering what was wrong with it. The drag queens didn't seem to mind it. "And don't get me started on you and Honey," he added, causing the boy to stammer more as he tried to figure out where to begin asking about what he meant by that. Before he managed to string together a sentence, his father had already begun walking towards the Jeep, causing both him and Scott to panic. "Wait, wait, wait!" The boy yelled, pulling his father back towards him.

"What? I'm going to talk to Scott and Honey." the man shrugged, about to walk off again.

"Honey!" Stiles shouted eagerly. "Let's talk about that!"

Scott was relieved to see the man had stopped again, taking up the opportunity to talk about his son and the blonde girl, hoping that something was finally going on between them like he had both thought and hoped since her arrival. He took the opportunity to turn back to the two in the back, Jackson was stirring again, and Honey was still paralyzed. This was hell. 

Sheriff Stilinski stood with folded arms. Well? He asked, waiting for his son to talk about the girl. Stiles hummed in thought, trying to figure out something to say. With the lack of any interesting conversation, Sheriff Stilinski was forced to bring up the reason why his son was here yet again. "This is the second crime scene that you just happened to show up on, Stiles. And at this point, I've been fed so many lies, I'm not sure that I know the kid in front of me. Now, what the hell is going on?" Sheriff Stilinski yelled at his son, finally reaching the limit of his patience.

"What's happening?" Jackson asked as he sat up again.

"Jackson, I'm sorry, but..." Before Scott could finish his sentence Honey had beaten the wolf to it as she swung for Jackson with her deadly uppercut that knocked him unconscious yet again. A smile wiped across the blonde's face as she wiggled her fingers, relieved to be regaining feeling in her hands. She was slightly guilty about punching Jackson but mostly glad that she had even been able to punch him. "Oh, thank God."

"Dad, I- I-" Stiles fumbled as he tried to think of something. He wanted to keep his dad safe, he wanted to tell him the truth. But he couldn't. He couldn't even think of a reason to pass of why he was here. Why everyone was paralyzed Why he seemed to keep appearing in the middle of a series of crimes.

"Hey, Sheriff!" Honey beamed, appearing beside the two Stilinskis, distracting them both as the two of them turned to her. One with a smile, the other with sheer relief as he finally figured out how to breathe again. "Everything okay?"

"Stiles was just about to tell me why you're all here," he said, narrowing his eyes at his son who still had nothing.

"Oh! Well, our friend Danny broke up with his boyfriend and he needed cheering up so we came here to get his mind off of things." Honey told the man. Stiles stood with a slacked jaw, trying to figure out how she did it still. 

"Well..." the man cleared his throat, fixing his uniform, feeling slightly embarrassed for shouting at his son. "That's really good of you guys. You're good friends." 

Sheriff! One of the man's deputies shouted him away. With a quick goodbye, the man hurried off to help with the crime scene. Stiles rested his hand on Honey's shoulder, taking a deep breath as he thanked the girl for saving him, both mumbling about being terrible people as they headed to the Jeep where the boy she had just knocked out was hidden.

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Twisting her golden hair around her finger, the teenage girl sat innocently in class, by the look on her face, anyone would have thought she was intently listening to what her teacher had to say. On the inside, she hadn't listened to a word since the woman opened her mouth. To all of her peers, she looked like a normal girl, mostly normal, at least. If they didn't focus on the fact she was an orphan whose dad was uncovered as a murderer/arsonist. Besides those factors, it seemed like she was normal, but even she would admit she wasn't normal. While she acted like she cared about this class, really, she was counting down the minutes on the clock until the end of the day when she could return to what she really cared about. 

In her bag, her phone vibrated lowly with updates from Stiles who was currently on guard of the Kanima, otherwise known as co-captain of the lacrosse team Jackson Whittemore. Nobody had really noticed that he wasn't at school. Which relieved her. The last thing they needed right now was anyone asking questions. Nobody needed to know that they had him hidden in a transport van they had stolen from the Sheriff's department and placed it in a remote corner of the woods. No, questions would not be good.

Really, they had no idea what they were doing. They didn't know how long they could get away with hiding Jackson. They hoped until they figured out how to help/stop him, but there wasn't a timeframe on that either. This whole thing was just a shot in the dark.

Stiles had Jackson's phone, updating his parents to say that he was staying with a friend. It was the best excuse they had for now, and as long as they kept his parents updated, they hoped the problem of anyone asking questions could be put as a last priority. 

A loud crackle sounded through the speakers, a clear of the Principal's throat as he asked to see Allison Argent. Honey spun in her chair to look at the brunette behind her. The girl was uneasy at the thought of sitting opposite her grandfather. What if he knew about Jackson? She slowly rose from her chair as the class began oohing and aahing, wondering what she had done to get called to the principal's office. You'll be fine, Honey mouthed to the girl as she passed by. Then, Gerard made another announcement, asking for her too. Allison stopped in her tracks, looking back at the blonde. This was bad. This was definitely bad. 

The two of them whispered like little girls as they scurried through the halls, questioning what it could be about. Allison assumed something to do with Jackson, but she still didn't know about holding him hostage, at least not until Honey had dropped it out in the middle of the hallway. As soon as she spat it out she regretted it. Allison had stopped in the hallway, her jaw on the floor. She couldn't even fathom it. There were so many questions, and yet, she was speechless too. Is she serious? The brunette wondered. Was this some kind of joke.? Yes, and no. The blonde girl's face made the answers clear.

After dropping the sudden bomb on her, the two found themselves already at the office. Allison took a final look at the blonde, questioning what they were supposed to do. Honestly, she didn't know, but she told Allison to follow her lead anyway.

"Ah, there you are!" Gerard stood up from his desk as the two of them timidly walked in, forcing a smile as they took the seats he gestured toward. "Since Allison told me the two of you are out studying with Lydia tonight, I thought I would seize the opportunity to talk to you both now." he said in his slow, monotone voice that put them on edge. Honey had no idea what he was talking about, it was clearly a lie. She and Lydia might have had a momentary heart to hear, but the two of them certainly weren't in girl's night territory.

"We're prepping for our world history midterm." Honey lied, it came naturally to her, and frankly, Allison found it terrifying as she nodded along with it.

"History was one of my favorites, especially military history." Despite his attempts to make easy, friendly conversation, the two girls had never felt so uncomfortable. Their lies were beginning to choke them. Their hands were sweaty. "Ever heard the phrase "Know thy enemy"?" He asked, a change of tone in his voice, one that they'd begun to recognize after a few weeks of knowing the man. This was about to turn into one of his lessons. His warnings.

"It's from The Art of War by Sun Tzu." Allison nodded, which the blonde hadn't known.

"Very good. Know what it means?"

Allison continued reciting from the book while Honey listened in awe, wondering if she had the text written on the back of her hand or something to speak it so easily. In order to win a battle, one must know everything they can about their enemy. It was only after she had said it that the younger Argent began to understand where her grandfather was going with this. Gerard nodded proudly, right again. He settled down in his seat, becoming more comfortable, which only made them feel worse. "Christopher and I happen to be having that very problem. We have an enemy about which we know next to nothing. It's killed one of our own, among others." He continued, both girls bowing their heads as they listened.

"We've heard," Allison mumbled.

"Did you hear Jackson Whittemore didn't show up at school today?"
Honey's head quickly shot up as she looked at the man, her heart in her stomach. He knew. He knew. Oh, fuck he knew. She swallowed the ungodly-sized lump in her throat. He didn't? Honey asked with a slight crack in her voice as she tried to remain composed. Gerard shook his head as he informed her that his parents called, and so had the police. Police?  Both of them repeated in shock, their eyes darting between each other and their informer.
"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" He asked, both shaking their heads. "Well, let me tell you what I know. I know that a teenager's first instinct is to protect their friends. I know that your first instinct is to protect each other. And I believe my granddaughter would always want to protect their friends and each other, even if it meant lying. So I want to ask one more question, and this time, with a small advantage." He spoke with a smirk. He stood up, calling the blonde girl to be used as his test subject. 

Nervously, Honey stood up, her skin shivering as the man moved her hair behind her, giving him clear access to her neck. I'm not going to hurt you, I just want to get a scent of your pulse. Gerard explained as he placed two fingers beneath her jawline, searching for the pulse. Think of it as a game. All you have to do is tell the truth. Honey hummed in agreement, staring straight ahead to try and remain calm, to steady her heart rate. He asked again if she knew anything about the boy being missing. Once again, she told him no. He asked whether Jackson was in trouble, and again she answered no.

For his final question, Gerard turned to his granddaughter, taking her by surprise as he pressed his fingers against the girl's neck. Does this have anything to do with Scott? He asked the girl. No. Allison quickly answered, forgetting herself. I mean, I don't... I don't know. She stammered. This was all too much for her. She couldn't lie. Not to save her life. 

Your pulse jumped. 

Honey jumped to Allison's defense. Because you're scaring her! Gerard stepped back with hands raised in surrender, retreating back to his desk as he apologized to them both, admitting that he had taken it too far. Both girls nodded, mumbling agreements under their breath. Allison joined the blonde in standing up, perhaps he hadn't ended this meeting, but they were. It wasn't right for me to use tactics like that. I'm sorry. You can go back to class. Gerard told the girls as the two of them turned their backs on him, unwilling to question it twice.

They walked down the halls, taking deep breaths as their hands finally stopped shaking. Honey looked up, her eyes landing on the newly installed security cameras. Then another. Another, yet another. They were everywhere. Nearly every angle covered. The Argents were no joke. Just as Allison re-entered, Honey's arm was grabbed, stopping her from following as she was pulled to the side, perhaps in the only blind spot of the new cameras. Scott smiled teasingly. Your turn.

Honey's fist banged against the back of the prison transport van with the knock that Stiles had made up to signal her arrival. He swung open the doors, relieved to see her, so was Jackson, for at least a split second until he realized she had had a part in all of this too. Stiles was glad that it was finally over, he didn't know how much longer he could argue with Jackson, he had spent his entire school career doing it, but in this close proximity, for hours on end, it become tedious.

She nervously chuckled as she sat opposite Jackson. His eyes pierced daggers into her. "Carter, you're seriously helping him and not me right now?" the boy laughed in disbelief. "Do I look like some big scaly monster to you? You know I wouldn't hurt anyone. I mean, how the hell would I paralyze someone?"

"With your claws." Honey deadpanned. "You paralyzed me last night, actually. I doubt that you remember that... and I bet you don't remember my fist knocking you out either."

"That's why my jaw is so sore..." he mumbled, rubbing the tender spot. "So... he isn't lying? I'm really some scaly animal with a big tail?" he asked, seemingly starting to believe them. The girl nodded, her face serious. Still.. he didn't believe them. He laughed it off, joking about it. Asking if he could strange Stiles with this big tail of his.

Stiles shook his head, growing even more frustrated with the idiot. "All right." he sighed, sitting forward as he tried to figure out another way to make the boy see that this wasn't some kind of practical joke. "The night of the semi-final game, what did you do right after?" I went home, the jock answered confidently. "Are you sure?" Stiles asked. Yes, you idiot. What the hell else would I do? He snapped.

"Attack me, Stiles, and Derek. Trap us in a swimming pool. Kill a mechanic." Honey listed off as Stiles thanked him for the PTSD he would have from seeing it happen. "And you tried to kill your best friend last night. You only paralyzed him. And me. And about twenty other people." Honey continued to list off as Jackson furrowed a brow at her, still unsure whether it was a joke or not.

"Why would I want to kill my best friend?"

"That's what Scott's actually trying to figure out right now." Stiles told him, unsure whether the boy finally believed them or not. 

There was a momentary silence as Jackson appeared to contemplate everything that they had told him. He almost looked guilty, a shade that Stiles hadn't seen on him before, and it certainly didn't suit him. Then suddenly, the co-captain shot forward, his face as red as a fire engine as his voice became so loud it physically strained him. "What maybe he should be trying to figure out is how he's going to pay for a lawyer when I prosecute your asses all the way to jail!" he shouted in Stiles' face, failing to threaten the blonde who he didn't even look at.

"That's cute," Stiles said with a stifled laugh. "Tell me this, Jackson, on the night of the first full moon, what happened?" He asked as he crossed his arms, sitting back to enjoy the realization that would dawn on the boy's face. He couldn't deny it. They knew it was him. They'd confirmed it. He could spend all night lying but they knew the truth.

"Nothing..." Jackson insisted. "Nothing happened."

With her arms wrapped around her, Honey leaned against the prison transport van, watching as Stiles sent yet another text to Mr. Whittemore. Going to be home late. Don't wait up. Stiles wore a proud smile, nodding at his own text message as though it was creative, revolutionary, not the kind of text she had sent to her parents a million times in her life. He turned the phone to her for her approval before he sent, the blonde shrugged carelessly, it would suffice. His thumb almost hit send before someone appeared, startling them as she grabbed their shoulders. Stiles let out an involuntary squeal, flailing his arms around to fight off the innocent Allison who had trudged through miles of mud to find them. 

"What are you still doing here?" she asked, both of them looking at her with confusion. "Why is Jackson still here? They know he's missing!"

"Oh shit..." Honey muttered in realization, turning to the boy. "I came out here to tell you that... but you and Jackson got caught up in your arguing and it slipped my mind."

"It slipped your mind?" Stiles's repeated in disbelief, his voice scaring birds out of trees. "Honey! What the hell!" he shouted as the girl tried to defend herself with the excuse of being blonde. It was not successful. "How do they know? I've been texting his parents since last night. They don't have a clue."

"Something you said must have tipped them off." Honey shrugged. 

With a shake of his head, Stiles looked down at the phone, at the text he had almost sent. Then, it dawned on him as he immediately threw it with disgust, the blonde girl instinctively catching it before she too began juggling it, trying to figure out what to do with it. Their prints were on it, they would be arrested. Their life would be spent behind bars. Honey dropped it to her feet, she watched it lay in the mix of dead leaves. Before she knew it, her foot had stamped on it, her eyes widening as she looked back up at Stiles and Allison. That works. 

Stiles rushed to the front of the van, beginning to tune in the police radio, hoping to hear they were safe for a little while longer. Of course, they weren't. All available units proceed to Beacon Hills Preserve as instructed. Proceed with caution until Sheriff Stilinski's arrival. With jaws that almost touched the floor, Stiles and the two girls looked at one another with a sense of dread. It couldn't get any worse. Where the hell were they going to go? How the hell would they justify it if they were caught? They were criminals.

"What do we do?" Allison looked between the masterminds for a plan.

"We drive. As quick as possible." Stiles deadpanned. As if the same thought crossed their minds Allison and Stiles's heads immediately turned to the blonde sitting between them. She was the most reckless, that had to count toward her driving too. She seemed like someone who would have experienced a police chase or two. In fact, Stiles had seen her in action. He knew she could do it. 

Move over. Honey insisted, climbing over Stiles' lap to sit in the driver's seat. Within an instant, the tires were squealing against the ground, mud and leaves flying in the air as they jolted to a start, speeding around the preserve for an even more remote corner that would keep Jackson in hiding for a little longer. The poor Kanima was being thrown around the back of the van, none of them had thought to explain to him what was happening before they let Honey in control of the vehicle. Frankly, Stiles preferred it this way.

As Beacon Hills began to darken, the three criminals found themselves standing with the van on the lookout point. It was secluded, right on the border of Beacon Hills, looking out over the town as the lights began to illuminate, making it quite the beautiful scenery. If only the circumstances were different, they might be able to enjoy it.

While Scott and Allison worked on dumping the cars, Honey and Stiles remained on watch, both of them sitting quietly, looking down on Beacon Hills which, from afar, seemed like a quaint and beautiful town. Like the homely ones in the movies. It couldn't have been further from it. Honey sighed as she watched the sunset, as the stars started to become more visible. She remembered doing this all of the time. Granted, she had usually snuck out and it was spent with someone she would rather not remember right now, but she did miss the simplicity of sitting under the stars.

"You know..." Stiles spoke up. The blonde turned her head to him, her eyebrows slightly raising. He lost his words for a moment. He couldn't help it, he was struck by the sheer beauty of her. It was hard to even compare her beauty, he couldn't. Nothing compared. The golden hour struck her eyes, revealing the Honey colour that made her name suit her so well. Her hair was messy from the amount of times she had run her hands through it to deal with the stress of holding a hostage. The way she always made it clear with her face that she was listening, and she always listened. He cleared his throat. "You never told me how or what got you involved with all of this in the first place. You know, how you knew about werewolves before."

"I dated one." she shrugged. "I didn't know for a long time, but when it did, it all made sense. He wasn't like Scott." she shook her head. "He wasn't a good guy. At all. He tried but... once I knew, once I saw it all for myself, there was no going back on those things." she told him. He seemed to be surprised, she claimed he was a bad guy, but when she talked about him, he could sense the forgiveness in her tone, like it was something she almost liked about him. "There was a group of them. They were all bad. They were like some kind of dysfunctional family. Somehow, even if I was a human, just some girl that had wandered into it all, I was kinda part of that family. Then..."

"Then what?" he asked, he leaned in with soft eyes that encouraged her to keep talking, even if she didn't know where it was all pouring out from.

"There was one night. We met up in the park, like we always did. My mom has asked me to stay at home with her, but I didn't. I chose to see him instead. I put him first." she said, the regret in her voice lacing every word. "She died that night. I got back from the hospital and he was there, waiting in my room. I thought he knew... I thought that he had heard and he had come to spend my worst hours with me. To be the person I wanted, needed him to be."

"He left... didn't he?" Stiles asked.

She bit down on her lip, a stifled laugh escaping from them as she nodded. "I, uh, I haven't really spoken about him or that night since," she admitted lowly. "When I came here and realized Scott was like him, I was terrified. I was scared that I would go through it all again, and in a way, I have gone through it again. But this time... this time is different. I'm stronger this time. I have friends I know won't leave me." she smiled.

With the sound of crunching leaves approaching them, the two turned to see Scott and Allison, the two of them hand in hand, smiling, despite the circumstances. The two pulled themselves to their feet, brushing themselves off to stand and figure out what they were actually going to do to put this to an end.

If Jackson doesn't remember being the Kanima, he's definitely not going to remember stealing Danny's tablet. Scott told them, already meeting their levels of stress in the short time that he'd been out here with them. He didn't even know what was on the tablet. Danny didn't even know. Jackson seemed to be the only one, or at least the other part of him knew what was on it. Allison chimed in, questioning if someone else could know what was on the tablet, if someone else took it from Danny before Jackson had the chance. 

If that were the case, someone knew what Jackson was. Someone could be protecting him. Like the bestiary said, the Kanima seeks a friend. Stiles stopped them, feeling like he was losing track of what the three of them were talking about. Someone had watched a video of Jackson turning into the Kanima, and erased it so nobody would know. Who would do that? 

The two girls shrugged, unsure of the reason why. They presumed that whoever did it was trying to help Jackson. Even if Allison did think it was unlikely for someone to be nice to Jackson when he certainly wasn't nice to others. Scott shook his head, there was something else. There had to be. When Stiles had searched for more information on the Kanima, it claimed that it only tried to kill murderers, what if that was true?

Stiles shook his head, it couldn't be true. It had tried to kill all of them, he didn't know about the three of them, but he hadn't murdered anyone lately.

"But I don't think it was actually trying to kill us. Remember when we were at Isaac's the first time, it just went right by us, didn't it?" Scott asked as he turned to Allison who confirmed it, it had just run off. "And it didn't kill the two of you at the mechanic's garage." He added, pointing at Honey and Stiles. Honey brought up the night at the pool, insisting that it tried to kill them that night too. "Did it?" Scott asked her, making her think about it more. "What if it was trying to keep you in?"

While Allison tilted her head to the side, thinking about the possibility, Honey and Stiles looked at one another, still unsure about it. They didn't feel like they had been saved or protected by it. They felt violated. That was something they could all agree on. That, and the fact that because of it, they were all in danger. 

Each of them looked off of the cliff that stood before them, down at the town that they had become the volunteered protectors of, the real protectors, the ones who did the dirty work that the Sheriff couldn't do whilst staying unbeknownst to the supernatural.

"Know thy enemy," Honey mumbled, recalling the conversation she and Allison had with Gerard. While the two boys didn't seem to know what she was talking about, Allison began seeing more and more similarities between herself and her grandfather.

"I got it," Stiles spoke up excitedly. "Kill Jackson. Problem solved." Scott tried to defend his co-captain, reminding him that he had helped them fight against Peter. "Yes, but what did we just find out? He got the bite from Derek." Stiles argued back. "It's funny how he just got exactly what he wanted by supposedly risking his life for us, it's funny."

"It doesn't mean he's not still worth saving." Honey chimed in, finding herself defending the boy yet again. It was as though she couldn't help it. Those damn freaking bad boys. Why did she find herself defending them yet again? Stiles rolled his eyes, it was always something with Jackson, he told her. He wasn't wrong, she knew that. "He doesn't know what he's doing." She continued.

"So what?"

"So I didn't either," Scott added, turning back to Allison. "You remember when I almost killed you and Jackson?" He asked, the brunette nodding in agreement. Oh, she remembered it. She remembered being terrified. It seemed like nothing now. Those were the easy times compared to now. "I had someone to stop me. He has nobody."

"That's his own fault."

"Doesn't matter." Scott insisted. "If we can save him, we should try."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Pulling off her jacket, Honey walked into her home, the gush of hot hair a warm welcome across her skin after spending hours out on the cold preserve. She quickly placed her keys down in time for Bee to come scrambling out to search for his owner. He practically jumped into her arms, her smile always appearing when he was around. For a moment, while stroking her hands through a never-ending sea of blonde hair, she thought that her night was about to come easier. Then, her aunt appeared, holding a cup of hot cocoa out for her niece. 

With a contorted face, Honey stood up, unable to hide her suspicion. The two of them weren't a kind of family that greeted someone home with a hot cup of cocoa. They had practically been on the outs since the poor woman had been stuck with the responsibility of an orphaned teenager. This wasn't their relationship. "Relationship" seemed like an exaggeration of what they had. This was merely a living arrangement.

Wearily, the young girl thanked her aunt as she took the cup, trying to wear a convincing smile. Her eyes fell into the darkness of the chocolate, wondering if her aunt was poisoning her, if that was what this strange interaction was all about. Her aunt was a sweetheart, but she was also a hunter before, nothing could be put past a hunter. She waited for the other shoe to drop, there had to be an explanation for this.

Abigail cleared her throat. It was coming. "Gerard called me". There it was. "Oh." Honey weakly muttered as she guiltily looked up at her aunt. Abby nodded toward the living room, taking the lead as she sat down on the sofa, but the girl lingered with uncertainty. "This isn't a lecture, B. Loosen up a little." she scoffed. As much as Honey wanted to believe that, she couldn't. "Look, Honey, I'm on your side. I'm not the bad guy. I'm not them. It may seem like I am, but as far as I'm concerned, my interaction with Gerard is to ensure your safety, nothing else. I don't want to build you up into this build-strong hunter like I know he wants to. Like your parents wanted. If you want that, fine, I'll support you. I'll train you myself. If you don't, I'll fight like hell to try and keep you out of trouble. But I need co-operation, Bee. I need you to talk to me."

Honey's bottom lip trembled as she found herself overwhelmed with emotions, unsure where it had all come from, but it had hit her like a truck. "I think we're in trouble, Abby." her voice broke as she finally admitted it to herself. That this whole mess might just be bigger than the group of friends she had that tried to fight against these things. Abigail sat up, waiting to hear more. "One of my friends might be in serious danger and I don't know how to help because I can't translate fucking Archaic Latin!" she ranted until she was breathless, needing the hot cocoa in her cup to soothe the burning of her emotions.

"I can translate Archaic Latin." Abigail deadpanned.

Honey's tears came to a sharp halt as she looked back over at the woman, unsure if she'd heard her right or if she was simply that overwhelmed she was in a fever dream. "What?"

"What? Your boring old aunt can't have some tricks up her sleeve?" Abigail scoffed. She patted a hand on the space beside her as the blonde rushed over, handing her the sheets of paper as she curled up next to her. "The Kanima?" Abigail's eyes widened at the image. "This thing isn't real, is it?" she asked, turning to her niece who nodded. Definitely real. 

Honey pointed at one of the sentences. "Morrell said this means "The Kanima seeks a friend." But that was all she could translate for me."

"Friend?" Abigail repeated. "No, that means master. The Kanima seeks a master." She corrected, turning to see the horror on her niece's face. "Honey? Does that change things?"

"Yeah." she nodded. "It means someone's not protecting Jackson... They're controlling him."