Chapter Nineteen 

The next week I'm sitting in Scott's room, watching him frantically search his room with Stiles. "Call it again." Scott requested. He had lost his phone.

"It's not here." Stiles pointed out. Tossing blankets, pillows, and lacrosse equipment, Scott tears through the place. "So you lost your phone. Get a new one."

"I can't afford a new one. And I can't do this alone. We have to find Derek." Scott panicked. Derek had been missing, according to Scott. We don't know where he is and the Argent's had captured him.

"Okay, A, you're not alone. You have me and Paige. And B, didn't you tell me Derek walked right into gunfire?" Stiles asked.

"Argent's plan was use him to get the Alpha. They won't kill him." Scott informed us.

"Then let them do what they're planning. They use Derek to get Peter, problem solved." Stiles told him and I nodded in agreement.

"Yes, then this can finally be over and done with because quite frankly, it's getting a little old." I groaned.

"Not if Peter's going after Allison to find Derek. I can't protect her myself. Which means I need to find Derek first. Just help me." Scott frantically spoke.

"What?" I asked, hearing the mention of Allison's name. "Well, why didn't you say so! Jesus, Scott. That should've been the first thing you said!"

I called Scott's phone, absolute silent from his other end. "You know, you probably lost it when you two were fighting. Remember?" Stiles reminded him. "When he was trying to kill you? When you interrupted him trying to kill Jackson? Starting to see a pattern of violent behavior here? No? Maybe it's just me."

His voice went straight to voice mail. "He wasn't going to kill anyone. And I'm not letting him die." Scott told us.

"Could you at least think about letting him die?" Stiles whined and I shoot Stiles a weird look.

But before Scott could respond, he pauses. "What?" I asked him.

"My Mom's home," Scott told us quietly.

I tried to read his expression along with Stiles. "Is she okay?" I asked him.

Scott shakes his head. "What's she doing now?" Stiles asked.

"Crying." My heart sank for Melissa. Scott slumps down on his bed in utter misery.

"Scott. You can't protect everyone." Stiles informed him.

"But I have to."

⇉

Shoppers rush the corridor of a mall. Allison follows Lydia into a Macy's Department Store entrance, and I followed after them.

"Nothing's wrong. I have a lot on my mind." Allison lied as Lydia asked that question.

"You could smile, at least. Ever hear the saying: Never frown. Someone could be falling in love with your smile." Lydia informed her.

I wrapped an arm around Allison. "Smile, Allison. I'm buying you a dress."

"I'll admit, as far as apologies go, that's more than I expected," Allison admitted to me.

"Brilliant." I smiled, clasping my hands together.

"But not as much as I'm going to ask." Allison gives me a weird look.

I frowned. "What? What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means—you're going to ditch whatever dumb jock that Lydia is going to set you up with..." Allison, Lydia, and I finished the ride up the escalator, standing on the top floor. "And you're going to go with someone else."

"Um... Who?" I asked.

"Him." Allison nods over towards Stiles, who was down the aisle, standing at the perform counter. He sprays a bottle in his face and reacts with a violent sneeze. I giggled a little but then turned to Allison to scowl at her for setting with up with one of my friends. "Don't frown, Paige. Someone could be falling in love with your smile."

We turn to see Stiles waving, then sneezing, violently. I walked over to him. "Hey," I greeted him, leaving the girls to shop alone.

"Hi," Stiles replied with a small smile.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know she was doing this," I admitted to him. "You don't have to go with me, you know; I'm happy to—"

"No, no, it's fine," Stiles said. "Besides, we're friends, right?"

"Yeah, absolutely; friends can go with each other." I agreed. "Let's start shopping, I guess."

⇉

Cars pour into the school parking lot, flooding with teenagers in formal dresses, suits and ties. The dance has begun. Stiles had picked me up in his car. Tonight, I wore a blue sparkly dress with a slit coming up my right leg. It didn't have any long sleeves. I wore these white heels with a white handbag to match.

Stiles was wearing a nice black tux. Men have it super easy. They look good in any tux.

Lydia had done my makeup; it was a simple glam look. Nothing too fancy; it's just a winter formal.

Stiles had parked his car and quickly exited and opened my car door. I smiled tightly. "Thank you."

"No worries." Stiles smiled back and closed the door once I got out, then locked the car. We had pulled up right next to Jackson and Allison.

"You're looking stunning, Paige." Allison gushed, walking over to me.

"Not bad yourself, Allie." I giggled, and Lydia walked over to us, looking beautiful as ever.

Lydia grinned. "That dress, mwah." Lydia smiled and then looked at Jackson. "Jackson. You look handsome."

"Obviously. It's Hugo Boss." Jackson rolled his eyes. He takes Allison's arm, leading her to the entrance while Lydia practically fumes.

"I don't care. I don't need compliments. I'm not falling prey to society's desire to turn girls into emotionally insecure neurotics who pull up their dresses at the first flattering remark." Lydia mumbled to herself.

"You look beautiful," I assured her, and her face lit up.

"Really?" She asked quietly.

"Who did you say you're going with?" I questioned.

"This jock called Ryan," Lydia responded. "He's meeting me inside. I think."

"Great, let's go." I glanced at Stiles, and he nodded, confirming. He held out his arm, gesturing for me to take it, which I did. Lydia follows us in.

Booming music shakes a stack of amplifiers around a DeeJay. Multi-coloured spotlights were dancing around on the students before us. The tables gathered our friend group; Ryan had met up with Lydia. She seemed not so interested in him and more interested in Allison and Jackson.

Allison looked extremely uncomfortable sitting next to Jackson and Lydia looked more miserable. Allison turned to Jackson. "Do you want to dance?" Allison questioned.

Jackson gives her a look. "Do I have to?" 

"Not the response I was expecting. But no. Guess not." Allison replied. Jackson takes another shot from his drink. Wincing at the strength of it, he looks down into the cup. Then over to the extraordinarily beautiful Allison. Finally, he tosses the still quite full red cup into the trash and holds his hand to Allison.

"You want to dance?" Stiles asked me. I twisted my face up. "Come on, Paigey, dance with me."

"I don't know how to dance," I told him. "I'll be an embarrassment."

"I'll teach you; it'll be easy." Stiles offered a hand. I sit back, slumping in my chair and looking at the daunting floor. "Paige, get off your ass and dance with me." I was a little bit taken aback.

"Well, okay, then." I finally gave in and took Stiles' hand, and he dragged me to the dance floor.

"McCall, I see you!" I heard Coach yell somewhere in the distance as I bounced awkwardly to the music, with Stiles jamming out.

"I thought Scott wasn't coming to the school dance because of his academics?" I asked Stiles.

Stiles shrugged. "He must've snuck in." Then he continued to dance.

"McCall, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Coach asked loudly; every couple around Scott and Danny was watching. Including me. "You're not supposed to... You shouldn't be... um..." He looks from one hostile glare to the next.

Scott pulls a bewildered Danny closer to him. "Yes, Coach?" Scott asked innocently.

The teens bear down on Coach, eyeing him with pure hostility. "Okay, hold on..." Even the DeeJay leans over his booth to stare. The entire room was now frighteningly quiet and still. "I was... I mean, I wasn't... I'm not... You guys don't think I'm..." Coach finally steps back in retreat. "Dance! Everybody dance!"

I smiled, shaking my head. Scott has the weirdest ideas somehow, yet they oddly enough work. Once everyone was back to dancing and the music pumping, Scott dashed towards Allison, stealing her away.

I turned back to Stiles, still smiling. Suddenly, someone touched my back. I turned at was Lydia. "Hey, have you seen Jackson?" Lydia asked me.

"Um... No." My eyes quickly swept across the dance floor, but no sign of Jackson. "He was with Allison a second ago, I think."

Lydia huffed. "Where did he go?" She muttered to herself. "I'm gonna go look outside."

I had a bad feeling form in my stomach. "Lyds, I'll go with you." I looked at Stiles, who didn't hear a word on what we were saying and was still dancing his heart out. I touched his arm, immediately grabbing his attention. "Hey, I'm going to the bathroom with Lydia; I'll be right back, okay?"

Stiles nodded. "Sure, I'll be here."

I smiled at him tightly. "Sweet. Come on, Lyds." I pulled her away as we make our way into the hallway. "Why need to look for him again?"

Lydia shrugged. "I don't want anything bad happening to him."

"He could be passed out on the lacrosse field, you know," I told her. "Maybe walking over there wouldn't be such a bad idea."

Lydia's face dropped. "Yeah... It wouldn't..."

We quickly walked to the lacrosse field, calling out Jackson's name. "Jackson?" I called out, hoping he would respond, but my gut told me he wouldn't. It was an almost pitch-black lacrosse field. I had an awful feeling. "Lyds, maybe we should—"

"Jackson?" Lydia called, and my eyes darted over to a blurry figure in the in shadows across the field. She starts to jog over there, and I try to catch up with her.

"Lydia, wait," I called quietly. My heart was beating widely.

"Jackson? Is that you?" Lydia asked. Someone walked towards us, and we paused. The shadow was stepping right out of the darkness, walking with calm and purpose. "Jackson?"

But it's not him. I grabbed Lydia's arm and retreated slowly as the stranger approached. "Paige! Lydia!" I turned around to see Stiles sprinting towards us. "Run!"

But strangely breathless, I turn back to see Peter Hale calmly approaching. Taking a step back, I cannot look away from Peter as his mouth opens impossibly wide. Jaw protruded out as monstrous fangs appeared between his lips, and I screamed, along with Lydia.