chapter eighteen
❝ saw you dancing in a crowded room ❞
frenemy

━━━━༺❀༻━━━━

The trio now all were in the Jeep once again, on another one of their high speed chases. This one, was chasing down Jackson. AKA; the Kanima. Kennedy sat in the back, her eyes nervously searching for any sign of her friend. "Stiles, stop!" Scott shouts, Stiles stomping on the break.

The three look over at the spikes on the road, stopping Stiles from continuing on without busting his tires. "What do we do now?" Before Stiles can continue, Scott jumps out of the car. Stiles clamps his mouth shut, turning to the girl in the back. "Are you going after him?"

Kennedy looks after Scott, then shakes her head. She climbs into the front seat, shutting the door. "Drive." Stiles doesn't hesitate, starting the engine.

"Where exactly am I driving to?" Stiles asks her, making a sharp U-turn. Though the group of three definitely shared a bit of an awkward moment less than an hour ago, he felt better. Scott knew that technically he was the last one in the trio to lose his virginity, and Stiles was fairly confident that he and Kennedy are sharing a new bond that they didn't have before.

She shakes her head, her eyes tracing the roads. "Head to the main road, and then pull over, I think I know where Jackson's going," She says, categorizing all the hottest nearby spots. Stiles presses on the gas, taking a sharp right. "I don't know what the plan is, but be careful. If you get paralyzed again-"

Stiles cuts her off, "I know, you'll have to save my ass, and risk getting stabbed." Kennedy nods slowly, remembering that night clearly. "Maybe thats why he didn't use his venom on you," Stiles shrugs in thought. Kennedy turns her head towards him, confused. "Think about it. You're Jackson's ex girlfriend who he had his first kiss with, first cringey grope session, and you're still probably the only girl at Beacon Hills High who completely accepts Jackson Whittemore as Jackson Whittemore." He reasons.

"Lydia accepts him. They had a major connection," Kennedy points out.

"Yeah, but what I'm saying is maybe he didn't hurt you because both real Jackson and Kanima Jackson care about you." Stiles says. "Maybe stabbing you was better because you'd heal faster." Kennedy looks at the road at the thought, wondering if Stiles is right. Stiles is almost always right, especially when it comes to anything related to Kennedy's life.

The teenage girl looks up, "Pull over," Stiles nods, pulling the Jeep to the side. Both teens hop out, walking over to Scott, who stands behind a club.

Stiles grabs Scott's shoulder, causing the werewolf to jump, "Holy cr-"

"Sorry, I'm sorry." Stiles ushers out, raising his hands up. "Did you see where he went?"

Scott sighs, shaking his head. "I lost him."

Stiles looks at him with an exasperated look. "What? You couldn't catch his scent?" Kennedy shakes her head, both boys looking over at her.

"Kanima's don't have very strong scents." Kennedy explains.

Groaning, Stiles places his hands on his waist. "All right, any clue where he's going?"

Scott looks over at him. "To kill someone." He deadpanned. Kennedy scoffs, leaning against the building.

"That explains the claws, and the fangs, and all that. Good. Makes perfect sense now." Stiles huffs. Scott sends him an annoyed look. "What? Scott, come on. I'm 147 pounds of pale skin and fragile bone, okay? Sarcasm is my only defense."

"Will you two just calm down; we have more important things to do." Kennedy retorts, looking between her two friends.

Scott nods, looking over the corner. "Just help me find it."

"Not it. Jackson." Stiles corrects. Kennedy looks over at Scott, her brown hair swinging behind her.

"Yeah, I know." Scott answers, "I know."

Stiles shakes his head, "All right, but does he know that? Did anybody else see him back at your house?" He asks, concerned.

Kennedy shakes her head. "It's doubtful, but he already passed Derek's test, so anyone as stupid as you guys isn't gonna figure it out." She explains to him.

"Yeah, but that's just the thing. How did he pass the test?" Stiles asks the two werewolf teens.

Scott shrugs, "I don't know."

Stiles looks around in thought, "Maybe it's like an either-or thing." He suggests.

Kennedy groans, "You haven't figured it out, yet?" Both boys look at her, confused. "A snake can't be poisoned by its own venom,"

"But Jackson was poisoned," Stiles follows, not catching on.

Kennedy shakes her head, "Because human Jackson isn't a kanima. The only time the Kanima isn't the Kanima is-"

"When it's Jackson." Says Scott. The two boys share a look, realizing what Kennedy was saying. The reason Jackson was effected by the Kanima venom, was because he's technically not a kanima when he's human.

Stiles looks up at the building, "Uh, dude." He grabs onto his friends, pulling them a few steps back. "See that?" They all watch as the tail of the kanima disappears through a window.

"He's inside." Says Scott.

"What's he gonna do in there?"

Kennedy shakes her head, "I can't believe I was right," She says to herself, looking over at the boys. "I know who he's after." Scott stops, a strong scent filling his nose.

"I do too."

Stiles looks between them both, "What, how?Did you smell something?"

Scott watches as Danny walks through the line into the club called Jungle. "Armani." He mumbles. Kennedy purses her lips, leading the way down an alley.

"Danny told me he was gonna be here tonight," Kennedy starts. "And, my raging theory Jackson's actually not straight told me this was where Kanima Jackson would go."

Stiles raises a brow. "Wait, you think-? No way!" Stiles argues, not able to picture Jackson Whittemore liking guys. The three come to a stop at a back door, Stiles shaking the handle. "All right, maybe there's, like, a, like, a window we could climb through, or some kind of" The human cuts himself off when Scott breaks the handle, walking inside. Stiles's jaw slacks, and he looks at Kennedy, "Handle that we could rip off with supernatural strength. How'd I not think of that one?" He mutters.

The club was loud, a variety of hot men filling the space. Kennedy didn't mind the view much, looking around. "Dude, everyone in here's a dude." Says Scott, observing the scene. "I think we're in a gay club."

Both teens look at Stiles, who is surrounded by drag queens. Kennedy covers her mouth with her hand, trying to stop her laughter. "Man, nothing gets past those keen werewolf senses, huh, Scott?" He shouts over the music.

Kennedy looks around, sliding off her jacket. "Hold this, I'm going in," She said, pointing to the dancing pit of people.

"What? Why?"

Kennedy looks over, "Uh, because I'm the only girl in a gay club and I'm going to go hype up the guy in the red speedo," She says, flipping her hair before shoving her jacket into Scott's arms. Stiles stumbles up to Scott, the two watching as Kennedy instantly dances her way into the crowd, the boys accepting her in immediately.

"I hate how pretty she is." Stiles mutters, heading to the bar.

Kennedy squeals playfully as she jokingly does a sexual dance with one of the guys on the floor. The guy's friends cheer as they continue their trot. "How did a girl like you end up in a bar like this?" Asks the guy.

The brunette girl jumps around, her arms up in the air. "I'm looking for a friend," She yells over the music, "Do you know anyone by the name of Danny?" The boys all look at each other, not sure.

"Look at her! How can someone be so perfect without doing anything!" Stiles rants as he and Scott look for Danny or Jackson.

"You know, I asked myself the same thing for two years." Says Scott, finding it funny how Stiles and him have shared the same experiences. His eyes search the dance floor, looking for any sign of lizard monsters.

Stiles watches as Kennedy stops dancing, walking forwards her left. Stiles looks to his right, seeing Danny dancing. "Hey, I found Danny." He tells Scott, who's looking up at the ceiling.

"And I found Jackson." The human looks up, seeing the Kanima holding onto the ceiling above Danny and Kennedy.

Kennedy walks over to Danny, grabbing his shoulder. "Hey, hot stuff, I was wondering if you were here!" Danny looks over, shocked to see her.

"Kenny, hey!" He cheers, patting her back. "Why are you in a gay club?" He asks, confused. The brunette shrugs, unsure what to say.

"You know, looking for hot guys that can become my new best friends," She rambles, looking around.

Danny scoffs, "Spots taken," He says, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. Stiles pushes through the crowd, trying to reach his friends as Scott slowly moves through the crowd. "Come on, dance with me!" Danny says to Kennedy. The brunette smirks at her friends, the two jumping into the air as they begin dancing around.

Steam begins to fill the room, hiding the Kanima. Kennedy slowly stops dancing, realizing something was going on. "Danny, I think we should go," She mutters, looking around.

"What? But we just got here!" Danny whines. Kennnedy's hearing helps her listen to a body fall to the floor. She gasps loudly, grabbing onto Danny. "Okay, what's going on?"

"Danny, can we please just leave!?" She pleads, hearing more bodies fall. She screams when Danny stumbles, falling into her arms, paralyzed. She looks around, the Kanima standing in front of her.

Scott sees Derek making his way through the crowd. "Jackson, no! Dont!" He yells at the Kanima. Derek slashes the Kanima across the chest, causing it to scream in pain. Kennedy stands up, watching as it runs away. People have finally noticed the scene in front of them, and Scott grabs onto the werewolf girl.

The pair run after the Kanima, a trail of black blood on the pavement. "Jackson?" Kennedy's voice cracks as she walks up to the teenage boy. He was human again bloodied and scratched up. The girl falls to her knees, hardly caring about the fact her ex boyfriend is naked.

Stiles runs up, looking at the scene before him. "What do we do with him now?" Asks Scott.

༺❀༻

Kennedy sat in the back of Stiles's blue jeep, a naked Jackson next to her. His head rested on her lap, and though most people would be grossed out, Kennedy was far more worried about him living. Scott slides into the car, looking at his friends. "Couldn't get anything out of Danny."

"Okay, can we just get the hell outta here now, before one of my dad's deputies sees me?" The three nod, just as the Sheriff's car pulls in. "Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Could this get any worse?"

The girl hums. "Well," She begins as Jackson groans in his sleep.

"That was rhetorical." Stiles scolds. Kennedy purses her lips, resting her hand on Jackson's head as he adjusts his sleeping position.

Scott looked at Stiles. "Get rid of him."

"Get rid of him?" Stiles bickers. "We're at a crime scene, and he's the sheriff."

"Do something." Scott hissed. The human boy reluctantly hopped out of the car, approaching his dad.

Jackson groaned as he sat up, "What's, what's going on?" He asked. Kennedy shushed him, Scott turning around in his seat.

"Jackson, Jackson, be quiet."

The Whittemore sat up. "What's happening?" He questioned.

Kennedy's eyes widen. "Jacky, I'm sorry." She mumbles before punching her ex. Jackson falls to her lap, unconscious. Scott blinks at her, shocked. The two glance at the Stilinski's, and they both give sheepish waves. "This is awkward."

"Note to self, never piss you off." Scott says awkwardly, looking at the deadly punch she tossed at poor Jackson.

The brunette raises a brow. "You piss me off everyday." Scott's face pales as the door opens, Stiles climbing in. The three begin to drive away. "Okay, where are we gonna put him?" She asks as she runs her hand through Jackson's hair. Though she wished it was anyone else but Jackson that was the Kanima, she felt better knowing either way.

"Uh, what about your house?" Stiles offers the idea to the two others.

Scott shakes his head. "Not with my mom there." He says urgently. Scott sighs, "We need to take him somewhere where we can hold him long enough to figure out what to do with him. Or long enough to convince him he's dangerous."

Stiles stared at the road, shrugging loosely. "I still say we just kill him."

"We're not killing him." The other two in the car say in sync. The two turn to each other, frowning in confusion before looking back at Stiles.

The human boy scoffs. "God, okay, okay. I got an idea." He tells them finally.

Scott raises a brows "Does it involve breaking the law?" The McCall asks.

Kennedy leans forwards. "By now, don't you think that's a given?" She replies.

"I was just trying to be optimistic."

"Don't bother." Stiles retorts.

༺❀༻

The next day at school, Kennedy and Scott walked in. Stiles was gone, keeping Jackson in a Sheriff's van. "Scott," Kennedy looks up from her desk to see Allison trying to capture the McCalls attention. "Scott!"

Before he can reply, someone walks in the room, causing the Argent to sit down. Kennedy's eyes widen, seeing Victoria Argent. "I'm afraid your teacher was feeling ill today, and had to leave early." She leans onto the desk, "So, unfortunately, you're stuck with me as a substitute." Kennedy and Scott look over at each other, before back to the front. "Can anyone catch me up to speed on where we are? Mr. McCall, how 'bout you?" Scott pursed his lips, pulling his things out of his bag, clearing his throat awkwardly.

After class, the pair walked swiftly to Kennedy's locker to get her bag with her car keys. "So we go to the hospital, ask Danny about him and Jackson, and then what?" Asks the brunette

Scott shrugs. "I don't know." He admits. Kennedy rolls her eyes, grabbing her things. "Look, we're going to save Jackson, okay?" Kennedy sighs, nodding.

"I know." She mumbles, looking up. "I just wish it wasn't him." Scott gave the girl a sad smile, patting her back in comfort.

"You know, we haven't talked about you and Stiles-"

Kennedy cuts him off with a groan. "And let's keep it that way."

Scott chuckles, the two walking down the hallway. "Ken, you and Stiles are probably the cutest thing I've seen since, well, you when we were 13." Kennedy rolls her eyes playfully, knowing he was kidding. "You both know you have feelings for each other, so whats holding you back?" He asks. Kennedy thinks for a moment. What was holding them back? She held her bag tightly as she thought.

"I think its me." She says finally, earning a confused look from the McCall. "Scott, after I turned into a werewolf, I changed. A lot." Scott looked at her, studying her looming features. "I, I'm angrier. I'm reckless. Scott, I can hurt people. People like Stiles." Her blue eyes shift to the ground. "I don't want to hurt someone I love."

The McCall's ears perk at the last part. "You love him, huh?" Kennedy looks up, her eyes widening in realization.

"Scott if you say anything-"

"I'm saying nothing." He retorts, causing Kennedy to sigh. He purses his lips, leaning to her ear. "Kenny and Stiles, sittin in a tree-"

"I'm going to kill you."

༺❀༻

Kennedy sat on Danny's hospital bed as he continued to get dressed. "You sure everything's okay between you and Jackson?" Scott asks the boy.

Danny shrugs. "Yeah, everything's fine." He looks down, searching through his things. "Did the cops have to take my fake ID?" He asks, falling onto the bed next to Kennedy.

The brunette sits up straight. "You didn't do anything to make him angry?" Danny looks at her, "Like, on a scale of one to ten,"

"One being kind of irritated, and ten wanting to kill you violently." Finishes Scott. Kennedy sends him a look as if saying really.

"Jackson's kind of always at a four, but we're good. I was actually doing him a favor."

Scott and Kennedy both look at Danny. "What favor?" Scott inquires.

Kennedy tries to think of any ideas of what they could be talking about. "Oh, the video!" She chimed.

Danny nods. "I was recovering a video for him. I put it on my tablet." The teenager stops, "Which is in the trunk of my car, and probably still at the club."

Scott looks between his friends. "What was on the video?" Danny purses his lips.

"I'm not really supposed to say."

Kennedy leans over, "Danny, what if I told you this could be a matter of life and death?"

He only shrugged in response. "I'm not supposed to say." Scott sighs, not having any more ideas. Kennedy looks up, smirking.

"What if I told you you can get your fake ID Back?"

After getting Danny to agree, the two teens spastically run out of the room, stumbling right into Melissa McCall. "While I think you two being here to check in on your friend is all sorts of commendable, I've gotta play tough mom right now, even though I'm not very good at it." Kennedy sends a confused look, unsure what was going on.

Scott stretched out his neck awkwardly, "Right now?" He questions.

"Yes, right now." She snaps, causing the two to stand up straight. "I got a call from your principal. Scott, you are failing two classes?" Kennedy looks at him with wide eyes, not knowing anything about this.

The boy stutters, "I know. And that's why I'm studying with Stiles right now." He explains. "And Kennedy is going to help me." Kennedy looks up, nodding awkwardly.

Melissa crosses her arms. "Do you know that if you fail even one of your midterms, that they're gonna hold you back?" Scott's jaw drops in shock.

"He said that?"

"Yes. All of your friends are gonna be juniors, while you are still a sophomore." Kennedy looks at her friend, concerned. "Do you understand, Scott? You cannot fail."

Scott nods urgently. "I know."

Melissa nods, "Okay. Thank you." Her eyes shift to the girl, "And Kenny, the principal actually said you're getting a 4.92 GPA, and he wants to see how you'd feel taking more college classes next year." Scott looks at Kennedy, shocked she had the time to get such a high grade point average. Lydia's was at a 5.0, and both of the girls expected the two of them to pass that by the end of sophomore year, though Scott didn't know that.

Kennedy's jaw dropped. "4.92? It was a 4.96 last semester!" She groaned, "Curse you, Mr. Harris." She whined. Melissa and Scott share confused looks, not sure why she was upset.

༺❀༻

Instead of going with Scott to get the tablet, Kennedy goes back home. Her mind focused on the idea of Scott being held back. It scared the hell out of her. She couldn't bare the thought of graduating without one of her closest friends by her side.

So, she came up with the idea of doing all of his work.

For the next handful of hours, Kennedy spent her time doing all of Scott's missing work. Somehow, the girl had managed to perfect his handwriting, and she even made sure to make a few Scott-like mistakes on each assignment. It was simple for her, really. It felt almost like meditation, while she tried to think of a way to tell Stiles she loved him, she did math equation after math equation.

When Melissa came home a few hours later, she was in sweats and a hoodie already, drinking a cup of hot chocolate. Melissa walked into the girls room. "Hey," Kennedy looked up, waving.

"Hi."

Melissa looked around the teenage girls room as Kennedy closed textbooks and stuff. "I talked to Sheriff Stilinski, he said its only another month or two until Derek gets his place ready for you." Kennedy nods awkwardly, turning in her chair. "I know you've been doing so much, Ken, and I want you to know that I'm here for you, for girl talk."Kennedy laughs, nodding. "Ben's going to be on trial soon, if you want to go,"

"I don't." Kennedy answers quickly, her face emotionless. "I don't think I could ever look at him the same." Melissa gives the girl a sad smile, patting her arm.

Suddenly, Melissa's phone began to ring. "It's the Sheriff," She says to Kennedy before answering. "Hello? He what? Oh my god. Yeah, I'm on my way. Thank you, Sheriff."

Kennedy looks at her friends mom in confusion. "What?" Melissa sighs, looking over.

"Scott and Stiles kidnapped Jackson Whittemore, and he is getting a restraining order." Kennedy's brown eyes widen in shock. Melissa sighs, standing up. "Do you want to come watch Scott get yelled at?"

The Stallard smiles. "It'll bring me all the joy in the world."