!due to the mature theme of this chapter, readers discretion is advised!

chapter thirty
❝ & i'm screaming all on my own, with the revolver & a note.
will you please come back home? ❞
motel california

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The bus slowly rolled up to a Motel. Kennedy groaned as Stiles made her get up. She had been tired, and sleeping most of the ride there. She followed her friends, stepping out of the bus. "Motel Glen Capri," She read out loud, standing next to Lydia. She adjusted her bag on her shoulder. It was an ugly motel, something she would've seen in an old 80's movie.

"I've seen worse." Scott shrugged, standing a few feet in front of her.

"Where have you seen worse?" Stiles asked his friend.

Coach blows his whistle, catching everyone's attention, "Listen up. The meet's been pushed till tomorrow. This is the closest motel with the most vacancies and least amount of good judgment when it comes to accepting a bunch of degenerates like yourselves." Coach Finstock explained, holding up keys. "You'll be pairing up. Choose wisely." People began pairing up, grabbing their own keys. "And I'll have no sexual perversions perpetrated by you little deviants. Got that? Keep your dirty little hands to your dirty little selves!"

Kennedy turned to her friends, "Are all three of us rooming together?" She asked Lydia and Allison.

"We can share a bed," Allison offered. Kennedy nods, and walks up to grab the key. She and the Argent looked back at Lydia. "Lydia?"

Lydia stood there with an uneasy look on her face. "I don't like this place." She trailed off. Her hand stayed firmly around the strap of her purse.

Kennedy looks around, "I don't think the people who own this place like this place." She said, scrunching her nose. The place looked old and grimey. If Peter knew Kennedy was staying here, he'd throw a fit.

"It's just for a night." Allison said, trying to reassure Lydia.

The Martin looked up, "A lot can happen in one night." She mumbled.

Kennedy rolled her eyes, linking arms with Lydia. "Maybe I'll bed with you so you don't have nightmares." She joked, pulling Lydia along. "Come on, we can share our feelings or something."

༺❀༻

Stiles opened the door to his and Scott's room, seeing his girlfriend standing outside, "Kennedy, welcome to the Three Musketeers meeting." He said slowly. Nobody questioned the new name, accepting it as they went along.

Kennedy walked into the room, "Lydia was spraying our room with perfume and my head was hurting." She explained, jumping into Scott's bed. The McCall groaned as Kennedy landed on his stomach.

"Get off of me!" He laughed. Kennedy hummed, rolling over.

"I don't know, Scott, maybe you can sleep in the bathroom, this bed is nice!"

Scott pushed Kennedy off of him, and the brunette girl laid next to Stiles, all of them looking at the ceiling. "All right, so I have four."

Scott rose a brow, "Four? You have four suspects?"

Stiles nods, "Yeah, it was originally ten. Well, nine technically, I guess. I had Derek on there twice." Kennedy smacked his chest, causing him to grunt in pain.

"So who's number one? Harris?"

"Just because he's missing doesn't mean he's dead." Stiles explained.

Kennedy looked at her boyfriend. "So if he's not dead, our chemistry teacher is out secretly committing human sacrifices." She stated, squinting at him with a look as if saying seriously?

Stiles looked at her for a moment. "Yeah, I guess that just sounded way better in my head." He mumbled.

"Well, what if it's somebody else from school?" Scott
asked, "Like, you remember Matt? We didn't know that he was killing people."

Stiles sat up, "Excuse me? I'm sorry, what?" He stood up off the bed, and Kennedy and Scott sat up too. "I, yes, we did. I called that from day one, actually."

"Yeah, but we never really seriously thought that it was Matt."

Stiles pointed to himself, "I was serious. I was quite serious, actually. Deadly serious. No one listened to me." He explained.

Kennedy waved her hand, not wanting to talk about her stalker anymore. "Okay, so who were the other three?" She asked.

"Derek's sister, Cora. No one knows anything about her, and she's Derek's sister."

"I'm Derek's cousin and I'm not a suspect." Kennedy pointed out.

Stiles put his hands on his hips. "With hanging out with us, solving mysteries, attending lacrosse practices, school, and getting your nails done with Lydia, when would you have the time to kill people?" Scott and Kennedy looked at each other, knowing he was right. "Alright, next, your boss."

"My boss?"

"Yeah, your boss." Stiles said, "I don't really like the whole Obi-Wan thing he's got going on, you know. It freaks me out." Kennedy and Scott looked at him blankly. "Oh, my God. Have you still not seen Star Wars?"

Scott shrugged, "I swear, if we make it back alive, I will watch the movie." He said, "And you can take Kennedy on a Star Wars movie date."

Stiles scratched his nose, "Just makes me crazy."

"Who was the last one?"

Stiles sighed, looking at Kennedy, "Lydia." Kennedy frowned as Stiles sat next to her. "She was totally controlled by Peter, and she had no idea, so,"

Kennedy rolled her eyes, the three of them falling back onto the beds at the same time. There was no way Lydia was the one that was doing this. It wasn't possible. Stiles's hand found hers, and they looked at each other, smiling.

Scott excused himself, walking to the bathroom. Kennedy and Stiles looked at each other, the silence between them feeling more like tension. Kennedy brought her lips between her teeth as she looked at Stiles's lips. It seemed like, of late, they hadn't been able to get enough of each other. They never took it far, no, but the thought was there. Stiles felt his heart pick up, and right away they pulled each other in for a kiss. Kennedy crawled on top of Stiles, straddling him as they kissed. The make out session was intense, and more passionate than their other ones. Kennedy looped her fingers in his hair as his hands rested on her lower back. She thought about pulling off his sweatshirt, but didn't. This was definitely not the time.

It was only a few minutes until Scott came out of the bathroom. Kennedy pulled away from Stiles, watching Scott walk out of the room. "Well that was weird." Stiles said, sitting up.

"Maybe he thought we needed some alone time," Kennedy shrugged, the two laughing. Stiles stood up, walking over to his bag.

"I'm going to go to the vending machine, you want anything?" Stiles asked. Kennedy looked up, her head still kind of hurting from what she assumed was Lydia's strong perfume.

She shook her head, her hands in her lap. "No, actually, I'm fine." She stared at the door as he walked out. Kennedy shook her head, feeling almost sick. It felt like her mind wasn't her own. Or rather, that someone was whispering in her ear. She rubbed her head, trying to feel better. Figuring it was just the hotel and nervous jitters, Kennedy stood up and grabbed her things, walking back to her hotel room.

༺❀༻

"198?"

Allison dried her hair as she looked at Lydia from the bathroom. Kennedy sat on the bed, listening to the conversation. "Yes, and we're talking 40 years. On average, that's, 4.95 a year, which is, actually expected." Allison walked to her bag, "But who commemorates that with a framed number? Who does that? Who?"

Kennedy looks up, "And they're all suicides?"

"Yes. Hanging, throat-cutting, pill-popping, both-barrels-of-a-shotgun- in-the-mouth suicides. I don't know about you, but me, I- " Lydia stops, and Kennedy looks at her friend. "Did you hear that?"

Allison shrugs, "Hear what?" She asked. Lydia seemed to be too focused on whatever it was she was hearing, and Kennedy groaned as she felt her head hurting again. Lydia looked at the vent above the bed, before climbing up entirely. Allison and Kennedy looked at Lydia as she breathed heavily.

Kennedy tried to use her werewolf hearing, but there was nothing. Allison sent her a worried look, but Kennedy only shrugged in confusion. Lydia suddenly jumped back, covering her mouth in horror. "What is it, Lydia?" Kennedy asked, standing up to check on Lydia.

"Did you hear that?" Lydia asked, climbing off the bed.

"Hear what?" Allison asked, shaking her head.

Lydia looked at her friends with crazed looks. "The two people in the other room; they shot each other." Lydia says before rushing out of their room. Allison goes after her friend. Kennedy stands back, hearing something herself.

"You guys go ahead," Kennedy called. Allison and Lydia didn't answer, too focused on the room next door. Kennedy sighed, listening to the sound. She looked around the room, seeing nothing.

Kennedy turns towards the bathroom, seeing Ben Stallard. Her dad. Her eyes widen in horror. "You're a monster." He began to say. Kennedy stumbled back, fear rushing over her. "You're a killer! Just like your father!"

"You're dead." Her voice trembled, feat washing over her. Ben stepped closer and closer. "Get away from me!"

"You're a monster! You should have died in the fire!"

Kennedy shook her head, stumbling back into the door. "Stop it!" She cried. Ben chased her around the room, and Kennedy climbed over the beds before locking herself in the bathroom. "Please, just leave me alone." She pleads, covering herself with her arms.

The girl cried. How was this happening? How was Ben alive? How did any of this happen? Where were her friends? Kennedy held her body up to the door, closing her eyes as she tried to calm herself down.

She sighed, feeling safer alone. She stood up, turning on the faucet of the sink. She was fine. Maybe she was tired, or she ate something. The cold water rushed over her face, calming her down. Kennedy slowly looked up, seeing her own reflection. Kennedy felt her heart drop as she saw none other than Sloane Valet behind her.

Kennedy gasped as she turned around, her mother's charred body in front of her. "You did this to me." Sloane croaked. Kennedy shook her head in disbelief. How was she seeing her dead family members?

"No- no it was Kate. Momma, Kate did this." Kennedy sobbed, the horrifying sight causing her to feel sick.

Sloane glared at her, "You're a failure of an alpha. Just like your father."

"I'm not an Alpha!" She yelled back, Kennedy reached for the door, unable to open it.

Sloane grabbed Kennedy's wrist, shoving her into the wall. "Why didn't you burn with us!? Why did you live!?"

"Dad- Dad saved me!" Kennedy yelled in pain, trying to get out of her dead mothers grasp.

"It was your fault! You were supposed to leave with Kate!"

Kennedy cried as she shook her head. "No! No, it wasn't me!" She pushed and pulled, trying to get to the door.

"You're the reason I'm dead! The reason Talia is dead! The reason Derek is dead!"

"NO!" Kennedy screeched, before feeling the burning pain from Sloane's burnt body fly through her. Kennedy howled in pain, tears running down her face. She felt like she was on fire. She could feel her skin burning, melting away. The smell filled her nose, and Kennedy screamed from the torture.

The bathroom door swung open, and Kennedy suddenly fell to her knees. Allison and Lydia kneeled down. "Ken, are you okay?" Allison asked, seeing Kennedy's tear stained face. Kennedy looked around the bathroom. She was alone. No Sloane, no Ben. Just her. She looked at her arm, no burn marks, no smell of burning skin.

Kennedy wiped her face. "Yeah, I just need some air." Kennedy pushed past her friends, walking down the stairs.

༺❀༻

"Last time I saw Scott act like that was during the full moon." Allison said. The three human teens all stood in the girls's room, still no sign of Kennedy.

Stiles nods, "Yeah, I know. He was definitely a little off with me too, but actually, it was Boyd who was really off." He said, "I watched him put his fist through the vending machine."

Allison nods, "Yeah, and Lydia and I heard Kennedy screaming from inside the bathroom. It sounded like she was being tortured." She told Stiles. The human boy felt horrible. His own girlfriend was going through this and they had no idea how to help.

"See, it is the motel." Lydia said, "Either we need to get out of here right now, or," Lydia opened up a drawer, pulling out a bible "Someone needs to learn how to do an exorcism asap, before the werewolves go crazy and kill us."

Stiles held up his hand, "Okay, just hold on, all right? What if it's not just the motel?" He said, "The number in the office went up by three, right?"

Allison nods, "You mean like three sacrifices?"

Stiles nods, "What if this time it's three werewolves?"

Allison looks down, "Scott, Isaac, and Boyd." She stated, glancing at Lydia.

"Or Kennedy, cause she's effected too." Stiles gestured, "Maybe we were meant to come here."

"Exactly! So can we get the hell out of here now?" Lydia pleads, "Please?"

Stiles looks at the book in Lydia's hand, "Wait, hang on. Let me see this." He takes it, flipping open the page to an article inside it. Allison and Lydia looked over the book. "28year-old man hangs himself at the infamous Glen Capri."

Every few pages, another article fell out of the bible. Lydia looks at all the articles. "Oh, no. Look at these two. They both mention the room 217." She said, "These are probably all the suicides that happened in this room."

"So if every room has a Bible,"

"There could be articles in all the rooms." Lydia finishes the sentence for Allison.

Stiles nods, "That's a beautiful thing. Most places leave a mint under the pillow. This one leaves a record of all the horrible deaths that occurred."

Lydia looked up, "What if the room next door has the one about the couple?" The three teens ran out of the room. Stiles grabbed the handle to room 217, fiddling the locked door. "No, that was not locked before."

Allison looked down. "Guys," Both Lydia and Stiles watched as the Argent picked up a purse. "This is Kennedy's bag." She said nervously. "We need to find Scott, Isaac, and Boyd,"

Stiles walks down the hall, stopping when he hears an electric whirring sound. "I'm not the only one who heard that, am I?" Lydia mumbled.

"It sounds like someone turned the handsaw on."

Stiles ran over, "Handsaw?"

"What if it's Kennedy in there?" Lydia asked.

"Then let's get the freaking door open!" Stiles shouted. Allison opened Kennedy's purse, grabbing a bobby pin. The three teens eventually got open the door, Ethan standing there with a hand saw pointed at his stomach "Hey, no, Ethan, don't!"

Ethan shouted as Stiles fought him for the handsaw. Lydia knelt down, unplugging the tool just as Stiles almost falls onto it. Allison pulls him away, and the two leap up when Ethan tries to claw himself to death. They grab his arms, and Ethan falls onto some form of heater. He screams in pain, looking at his hands. The boy stood up, "What just happened?"

"Have you seen Kennedy?" Stiles asked.

Ethan looked down in thought. The three teens looked at one another, and the alpha twin ran out. "Ethan!" Stiles shouted, running after him.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I don't know how I got there or what I was doing."

Stiles rolled his eyes, "Okay, you could be a little bit more helpful, you know? We did just save your life."

Ethan looked back at him, "And you probably shouldn't have." He said before storming out.

"What now?" Lydia asked.

Allison looked over, "I'll find Scott. You guys grab Isaac and Boyd. The best thing we can do is get them out of this place." She said, walking up the stairs.

༺❀༻

Kennedy looked around the dark room, fighting back tears. She looked at the small knife she had found in the office. Was any of this worth it? Saving her friends? She looked at the knife again, the small cold metal almost mesmerizing. Maybe they would be better off. All she did was mess things up. Like the night of the fire, she begged Kate to stay back for a few extra minutes. Those extra minutes lead to the fire that killed most of her family. Kennedy couldn't even save Derek. At this point, she wasn't sure if she could save herself.

The door swung open, and Stiles came in. His eyes landed on the knife in her hands. "Kennedy, no!" He shouted.

The air whisked around her as she looked at him. Her glossy eyes studied him as she held on tighter to the knife. Kennedy shook her head. "I don't want to be like this," She cried out. She was sad. Alone. She didn't want to be this burden to anyone. Not to Scott, Lydia, Peter, and not to Stiles.

"Kennedy, this isn't you." Stiles's voice wavered as he looked at his girlfriend. He was worried that if he moved too quickly she'd hurt herself.

"Isn't it!? I'm a monster!" She sobbed. Stiles jumped at her volume. Lydia and Allison stepped into the door, Lydia covering her mouth in horror.

Stiles shook his head. "You're not a monster. You're anything but. Ken, youre the best thing that's ever happened to me."

Kennedy sniffled as she looked at the knife. "It's all
my fault. Everything's my fault." She said slowly. "I was supposed to leave the house with Kate. I asked to stay a few minutes longer so I could finish my drawing. If I-" Stiles cut her off.

"Nothing could have stopped Kate. She was crazy, Kennedy." Stiles said. "None of this was your fault." He crept closer, looking at his girlfriends hand. "You're not a monster, Kennedy. You never have been."

The brunette looked up as Stiles took the knife from her hands. She sighed as she looked at herself. Everything seemed to go back to normal. No more voices, hallucinations. Nothing. She was herself again. She looked up at Stiles, hugging him tightly. Stiles sighed in relief, and Lydia and Allison walked into the room. The four teens hugged one another. Kennedy thought back to her dream from before. It happened. Just like the others. Why were her dreams coming true?

Kennedy's head was shoved in his shoulder. "What the hell is happening to me?" She whimpered out. The sound of her voice caused Stiles's heart to break slightly.

"It's the hotel," Lydia said, causing Kennedy to look up. "It's affecting the werewolves."

Kennedy pulled away, "Where's Scott?" She asked, her mind focusing on things other than creepy dreams.

"He's the only one we have to find." Stiles said. "Let's go."

Allison lead them down the stairs. "I can't find Scott anywhere."

"It's happening to him too, isn't it?" Asked Kennedy.

Lydia nods, "It has to be. Didn't you say there was another flare on the bus?"

"Yeah. I'll get it." The four teens stop when they see Scott in the middle of the parking lot, holding the last flare. Not only that, but he was soaking wet.

Allison stepped over, "Scott,"

Kennedy looked at her friend, as well as the tub of gasoline he must have poured on himself. "There's no hope." Scott said finally.

"What do you mean, Scott?" Allison asked, smiling. "There's always hope."

Scott shook his head. "Not for me. Not for Derek."

Kennedy stepped toward, "Derek wasn't your fault." She said, her eyes filled with tears, "You know Derek wasn't your fault, Scotty." She said sadly.

"Every time I try to fight back, it just gets worse. People keep getting hurt." Scott said. Allison shook her head, "People keep getting killed."

Stiles let go of Kennedy's hand. "Scott, listen to me, okay? This isn't you, all right?" He stepped forwards, "This is someone inside your head telling you to do this. Okay?"

"What if it isn't?" Scott asked. Kennedy felt sick as she watched her friend. "What if it is just me?" Allison out a hand over her mouth, "What if doing this is actually the best thing that I could do for everyone else?" Scott cried. Kennedy shook her head, unable to believe this was really happening. "It all started that night, the night I got bitten. You two remember the way it was before that?" He asked Kennedy and Stiles. "You two, and me, we were, we were nothing." He told them, remembering everything they went together. "Stiles and I weren't popular. We weren't good at lacrosse. We weren't important. We were no one." Scott said as he looked down in thought. Stiles had tears running down his face as he looked at his best friend. "Maybe I should just be no one again. No one at all."

Kennedy cried as she looked at the flare in Scott's hand. "Scott, just listen to me, okay?" Said Stiles, "You're not no one. Okay? You're someone, you're," The human boy shook his head, "Scott, you're my best friend." Scott cried as he looked up at Stiles. "Okay? And I need you." Kennedy felt tears rolling down her cheeks as she looked at the two most important people in her life. "Scott, you're my brother." The Stilinski looked down at the gasoline on the ground, "All right, so," Kennedy sucked in a breath as Stiles stepped into the puddle. "Do if you're gonna do this, then, I think you're just gonna have to take me with you." Stiles grabbed onto the flare. Kennedy and Lydia looked at each other in disbelief as Stiles grabbed the flair from Scott's hand. The human boy threw the flair, away from the gasoline.

Scott cried, looking at Stiles. Kennedy and Lydia looked at the flare, seeing it roll towards the gas. "No!" Lydia screamed. Kennedy leaped over, pushing her boyfriend and her best friend out of the gasoline as Lydia and Allison jumped. Flames combusted in front of them as they landed on the pavement. Lydia looked behind them to see something appear from the flames. It was dark and ugly as it eventually disappeared.

Kennedy sighed in relief, looking at Stiles and Scott who were under her. "I hate you all." She said slowly, before laying her head on them.

༺❀༻

Coach Finstock was the first on the bus the following morning. He paused when he saw Scott laying in one seat, Kennedy and Stiles in another, Lydia and Allison next to them, and Boyd and Isaac in the back. "I don't want to know." Kennedy sat up, stretching. "I really don't want to know, but in case you missed the announcement, the meet's cancelled, so we're heading home." Stiles rolled his head, his neck cracking. "Pack it in. Pack it in!"

Ethan walked around Coach, sitting next to Scott. Kennedy looked up in confusion. "I don't know what happened last night, but I'm pretty sure you saved my life." He said to Scott.

Stiles leaned forwards. "Actually, I saved your life, but not that it matters that much. It's just, it's minor detail."

"So I'm gonna give you something. We're pretty sure Derek's still alive." Ethan says. Kennedy's eyes widen. "But he killed one of ours. That means one of two things can happen. Either he joins our pack-"

Kennedy speaks up, "And kills his own."

Ethan nods, "Or Kali goes after him, and we kill him. That's the way it works." He says.

Stiles speaks up, "You know, your little code of ethics there is sort of barbaric, just F.Y.I." Stiles says as Ethan walks towards Danny. Stiles moves to sit next to Stiles, letting Kennedy have her own seat.

Coach walks towards the back of the bus. "Hey, Ethan, I wanted to-"

Lydia stood up, "Coach, can I see your whistle for a second?"

"I'm gonna need that back." Coach said as Lydia takes it.

Lydia looks at the whistle, sitting next to Kennedy. She blew the whistle into her hand. Purple dusting covers her palm. "Wolfsbane."

Stiles looked at the whistle, "So every time the coach blew the whistle on the bus, Scott, Isaac, Boyd,"

"And Kennedy and Ethan." Lydia adds.

Scott looked over, "We all inhaled it."

"You were all poisoned by it." Allison explains.

Stiles nods, "So that's how the Darach got in their heads." Stiles says, looking at the whistle. "That's how he did it." As the bus began to run, Stiles grabbed the whistle, tossing it out the window.

"Stilinski!" Coach yells.

Kennedy watched as they drove down the road, looking out the window. Derek was alive, but it was still a concern involving the Alpha pack. However; she looked at Lydia and Allison, who smiled back at her. Then, she looked at Boyd and Isaac, who gave her gentle waves. She lastly looked at Scott and Stiles in front of her. Stiles gave her a thumbs up while Scott smiled. Kennedy smiled in content, happy she had her friends, at least in this moment.

NATALIA'S NOTES
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hey

so THAT WAS FUN, right!? great GREAT time. i love seeing the ghost of my scary adopted dad & my even scarier mom!

if you think i'm done torturing my best girl...this entire season i'm literally sending this girl into a psychotic breakdown i swear if i were her i would've already had my villain arch. i also feel like all she's done is CRY this season but tbh everyone is freaking DYING so it makes sense i guess.

in other news, i hit 1K followers on tiktok & i have NO IDEA how i swear i had like 80 followers a week ago but that's cool. go follow me it's voidlunet. i post edits of kennedy a LOT because she's the loml.

i hope you enjoyed this chapter...there's no happiness next chapter either, but the chapter after it maybe !! no not really tbh this girl gets no break until 3x13 or something

toodles !