❛ It kissed your scalp and caressed your brain. Well, you laughed, baby it's okay. It's buzzcut season, anyway. ❜

SEASON 1, EPISODE 9
lunatic

"HEY," STILES GREETED Willow, then turned to Scott as she sat beside him.

⠀⠀⠀Willow fumbled with the chip in her hands, feeling like a nervous idiot once again. She would wait until Scott and Stiles were just about to leave to give it to him so she wouldn't have to deal with any teasing that came from her giving it to him.

⠀⠀⠀"What happened?" Stiles asked Scott.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Scott asked back.

⠀⠀⠀"What do you mean, what?" Stiles pressed him, annoyed as he shook in his seat from the anticipation. "Did you ask Lydia? Did she say anything? Did she say she liked me? Did she imply she liked me?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow felt her heart sink, slipping her hands into the sleeves of her sweater to hide the chip in her hand.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, yeah," Scott nodded his head. "She likes you. In fact, she's totally into you."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles became as elated as he had been in the hall telling Willow he had made the first line. Willow felt her stomach drop. It was a dent in her heartbreak once again. It's all she seemed to feel these days.

⠀⠀⠀Coach blew his whistle, and the boys moved to line up.

⠀⠀⠀"Uh, Stiles!" Willow exclaimed, her hands shaking. She should just give him the good luck charm. But, instead, she told him, "Good luck."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles smiled wide, nodding his head, then sprinted to line up with the others.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, are you alright?" Laurel asked Willow from the other side of Bridgette.

⠀⠀⠀Willow turned to her and smiled, furrowing her brows like she didn't know why she asked.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm fine," Willow assured her.

⠀⠀⠀Both sisters frowned.

⠀⠀⠀Bridgette took Willow's hand from her sleeve, the one not holding the chip (thankfully), and held it tightly in hers. Despite not wanting to admit the fact that Willow kept feeling like her heart had been taped together only for it to keep falling apart, she basked in the comfort.

⠀⠀⠀"Let's go, next!" Coach yelled across the field.

⠀⠀⠀Scott was next, standing at the front of the line. None of the sisters could see his expressions, or any of their faces for that matter, just taking stock by the numbers on their jerseys.

⠀⠀⠀They watched as Scott sprinted across the field, his whole body tense, and how he got knocked down almost immediately.

⠀⠀⠀Coach walked over to Scott, saying a few mocking words to him. Willow couldn't hear, but spending enough time in Coach's econ class knew the sentiment behind it.

⠀⠀⠀"Who's next? Let's go!" Coach called, turning away from Scott and towards Stiles, who stood nervously at the front. "You have a problem with that, Bilinski?!"

⠀⠀⠀Willow rose an eyebrow and smirked at the corners of her lips.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Stiles asked, then shook his head. "Yeah, no."

⠀⠀⠀"All right, you're up, big boy. Let's go!" Coach shouted.

⠀⠀⠀On the other side of the field, Scott had stood from where he had been knocked down and stalked back to the front of the line. He pushed Stiles back by his lacrosse stick and took away Stiles' shining moment as he moved to re-do his set.

⠀⠀⠀"That's it, McCall! That's the spirit! You earn it! Earn it, McCall!" Coach cheered, ecstatic by the aggressive demeanor Scott was overtaking.

⠀⠀⠀Willow wasn't as excited by the new Scott, wondering what had gotten into him and if this was the full moon's effect or his own.

⠀⠀⠀Scott sprinted forward and rammed into one, two, three players. The last was the worst, Scott slamming his shoulder straight into Danny's and forcing him back into the ground at an odd angle.

⠀⠀⠀The sisters stood from their seats as Danny started to groan in pain and rushed over to the crowd forming around him.

⠀⠀⠀Danny was lying in the grass, his helmet off with a bloody nose for everyone to see. They walked over to Stiles at Scott's side, who ripped his helmet off, breathing heavily.

⠀⠀⠀"Dude, what the hell are you doing?" Stiles asked him, throwing his hand out toward Danny in disbelief.

⠀⠀⠀"He's twice the size of me," Scott brushed off.

⠀⠀⠀"But everybody likes Danny," Bridgette frowned, fretfully looking between Danny and Scott.

⠀⠀⠀"And now, everybody's gonna hate you," Laurel added in her monotone voice.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't care," Scott muttered, storming away from the four before they could press him further.

⠀⠀⠀"Is he okay?" a peppy voice asked from behind them.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles and Willow turned to look at Lydia. Lydia looked up at her boyfriend, smiley and bright as he explained that Danny had just gotten a bloody nose before he stopped, staring at her upper lip.

⠀⠀⠀"What?"

⠀⠀⠀"Your lipstick," Jackson muttered, glaring.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh," Lydia said, pulling her purse towards her and digging through it for her mirror. She chuckled, seeing her lipstick had been smudged. "Oh, wonder how that happened."

⠀⠀⠀But they all seemed to know what happened.

⠀⠀⠀Scott had made out with Lydia.

"HEY," STILES SMILED as Willow opened the door of his Jeep, sliding in. "Thanks for helping me out. Scott's been acting weird, and I don't know—"

⠀⠀⠀"It's fine," Willow told him, giving him a thin smile. "I don't mind."

⠀⠀⠀"Is your mom okay with you coming out?" he asked, nodding back at her house and the fact she asked him to park around the corner.

⠀⠀⠀"Uh, no," Willow admitted scratching the side of her head. "I snuck out through Bridgette's window."

⠀⠀⠀"Bridgette's?"

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, she sneaks out all the time, and I trust her more than Laurel," Willow explained. "I mean, in not ratting me out."

⠀⠀⠀"Right," Stiles nodded.

⠀⠀⠀They sat in the car, silent.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, um, I almost forgot," Willow said, fumbling through her pockets and pulling out the chip. She just had to do it, now or never. It didn't matter if Stiles was in love with Lydia. She at least wanted to give it to him since she made it. "I made this... for you. Um, it's a, uh, good luck charm. Well, the spell book says good luck fortune, but you know, fortune, charm, same thing. Anyway, yeah, I just wanted to give it to you before your, uh, game."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles looked at her like she had just given him the first-ever copy of the Star Wars trilogy with George Lucas' signature on it. His eyes shined in the light of the full moon, and he delicately plucked the chip from her hand.

⠀⠀⠀"Really?" Stiles whispered, turning the chip in his fingers to look at it closer. "For me?"

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah," she smiled.

⠀⠀⠀"Thanks, Will," he said.

⠀⠀⠀They sat in silence again.

⠀⠀⠀"We should probably head to Scott's," Willow told him.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles looked up from the chip, nodded, and pocketed it. He pulled off the street and headed towards Scott's house. They made it in silence, the radio playing softly underneath it. He pulled into the driveway shortly after, the two getting out and headed for the front door.

⠀⠀⠀"Do I need to unlock it?" Willow asked him but watched as Stiles stuck a key into the lock and turned it, opening the door.

⠀⠀⠀"Scott?" Ms. McCall asked, walking to the front door and looking between the two.

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles," he corrected, pointing to Willow behind him. "Willow."

⠀⠀⠀"Key!" Ms. McCall exclaimed, pointing at the key in his hand.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, I had one made, so—"

⠀⠀⠀"That doesn't surprise me," Ms. McCall told him quickly with a thin smile, not wanting to get into it. "It scares me, but it doesn't surprise me." She looked away from Stiles and to Willow, giving her a softer smile. "Hello, Willow, how are you?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow laughed stupidly and could feel the look Stiles was giving her from the corner of his eye.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm good!" Willow exclaimed, her voice an octave too high.

⠀⠀⠀Melissa smiled sweetly, and Willow felt like she was going to melt from her gaze.

⠀⠀⠀Beside her, Stiles threw the bag from his shoulder, beginning to weigh him down to the floor, the chains clanking against each other. They all turned to look at the bag, and Ms. McCall looked back at them with a raised brow.

⠀⠀⠀"What is that?" Ms. McCall asked.

⠀⠀⠀"Uh, school project," Stiles said.

⠀⠀⠀"Mm," Ms. McCall said, nodding her head but didn't seem to believe him. Instead, she looked between the two teenagers and seemed to blurt her next question without thought. "Stiles, he's okay, right?"

⠀⠀⠀"Who? Scott? Yeah, totally," Stiles assured her.

⠀⠀⠀"He just doesn't talk to me that much anymore," Ms. McCall explained, her expression falling. "Not like he used to."

⠀⠀⠀Willow reached her left hand out to rest comfortingly (and mildly flirtatiously) onto Ms. McCall's arm, but before it could land, Stiles caught her hand with his. He held her hand against his chest, across her own, and they both smiled awkwardly.

⠀⠀⠀"He's just been stressed with mid-terms," Willow explained.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, yeah," Ms. McCall nodded, eyeing the two. "I get it. Yeah, um—Okay, uh—Be careful tonight."

⠀⠀⠀"You, too," Stiles smiled.

⠀⠀⠀"Full moon," Ms. McCall added, walking past the two and toward the door.

⠀⠀⠀"What?!" Stiles exclaimed, jumping back as if Ms. McCall had threatened him with a knife.

⠀⠀⠀Willow turned and glared at him, using the hand he still held to smack him in the chest.

⠀⠀⠀"There's a full moon tonight," Ms. McCall repeated herself, turning away from the door to look back at them. "You should see how the ER gets. Brings out all the nut jobs."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles heaved a sigh of relief.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh."

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah."

⠀⠀⠀"Right."

⠀⠀⠀"You know," Ms. McCall continued with a smile. "It's actually where they came up with the word 'lunatic.'"

⠀⠀⠀Ms. McCall then left them to stand in the foyer of the McCall house, reeling from their conversation.

⠀⠀⠀"Willow," Stiles muttered.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah?" she asked.

⠀⠀⠀"You have got to stop flirting with Scott's mom!" he exclaimed, whipping his head to look at her. "It's weird."

⠀⠀⠀"But she's hot," Willow frowned.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles had let go of her hand and walked over to the bag picking it up. Then, they headed for the stairs.

⠀⠀⠀"Hot? Yes. Appropriate to flirt with? No," Stiles told her.

⠀⠀⠀"So, what you're telling me is you wouldn't hit that?" Willow asked, raising an eyebrow.

⠀⠀⠀"Willow, I'm not having this conversation with you," he told her.

⠀⠀⠀Willow smirked, "You so would."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles rolled his eyes, walked into Scott's room, and flipped the lights on. When he turned back to look inside, Scott was sitting in his chair glaring at them.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, my God!" Stiles and Willow both exclaimed when they noticed him.

⠀⠀⠀"Dude, you scared the hell out of me," Stiles continued, holding his hand to his chest. "Your mom said you weren't home yet."

⠀⠀⠀"I came in through the window," Scott stated, his tone flat as he watched Stiles move through his room.

⠀⠀⠀"That's one way to do it," Willow commented, unsure how to take Scott's odd behavior.

⠀⠀⠀"Uh, well," Stiles muttered, clearly uncomfortable as well as he looked at Willow then Scott again. "Let's get this set up. I want you to see what I bought."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles put the bag on the ground, squatting down with it, and unzipped it. He looked up at Scott as the chains were now on display and waited patiently for him to respond.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm fine," Scott assured him. "I'm just gonna lock the door and go to bed early tonight."

⠀⠀⠀"You sure about that?" Stiles asked, his voice shaky. "'Cause you've got this kind of serial killer look going on in your eyes, and I'm hoping it's the full moon taking effect cause it's really starting to freak me out."

⠀⠀⠀Willow glanced between Stiles and Scott, then closed her eyes hoping Scott wouldn't notice. She did as she had at the school, reaching her energy out and laced a protection spell over Stiles in the event Scott lost control.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm fine," Scott said again. His voice felt like it had echoed around the room. "You should go now."

⠀⠀⠀"Alright, I'll leave," Stiles nodded, but he didn't stand. He just looked back at the bag. "Well, look, would you at least look in the bag and see what I bought? You know, maybe you use it, maybe you don't. Sound good?"

⠀⠀⠀Scott didn't respond, but he did move his hands onto the armrests, curling his fingers around the ends, and pulled himself up. Scott walked over at a languid pace, staring at Stiles with narrowed eyes until he squatted beside the bag and looked through the chains. He lifted a fistful and stared at them in disgust.

⠀⠀⠀"You think I'm gonna let you put these on and chain me up like a dog?" Scott spat.

⠀⠀⠀"Actually, no," Stiles said simply before throwing his hand out. Before any of them realized, Scott was handcuffed to the radiator in his room.

⠀⠀⠀"What the hell are you doing?" Scott hissed.

⠀⠀⠀"Protecting you from yourself and giving you some payback for making out with Lydia!"

⠀⠀⠀Stiles left almost immediately, his jaw set and all of his muscles tense. Willow stayed with Scott to keep an eye on him. She walked over to Scott's bed and sat on it, her back against the wall.

⠀⠀⠀Willow had wished for silence, but it seemed like Scott wanted to tear apart all of the people around him tonight. Whether literally or metaphorically.

⠀⠀⠀"I can smell it on you," Scott said, so soft Willow thought she had imagined it, but when she looked at him, he was staring right back at her with a smirk on his lips.

⠀⠀⠀"Do I smell that bad?" Willow asked, frowning as she lifted her arm to see if she needed to reapply deodorant and ignoring the fact she knew he was taunting her.

⠀⠀⠀"No," Scott bit back, his smirk widening ever so slightly. "The jealousy."

⠀⠀⠀Willow rolled her eyes, crossed her legs, and looked up at the ceiling.

⠀⠀⠀"You don't believe me?" Scott asked her.

⠀⠀⠀"No," Willow told him. "I'm not jealous of anything. Well, except for maybe being jealous of your dad for being able to land your mom. Even for a little bit."

⠀⠀⠀Scott scoffed at her comment.

⠀⠀⠀"You're jealous of Lydia," he told her.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm not," she muttered.

⠀⠀⠀"You are," Scott continued, pulling himself up and turning to look at her. "But, why? You never told him, right? That every time he looked at her, mentioned her, talked about her, your heart cracked a little bit more before it completely shattered."

⠀⠀⠀Willow glared at him, grinding her teeth in an attempt to not say anything.

⠀⠀⠀"Lydia Martin," Scott said fluidly like it rolled off the tongue. He would know. He made out with her. "She could never compare to you. She's smarter, prettier, richer than you. Everything better than you except for maybe your abilities, but even then, she'd probably figure out how to do that, too, and better."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles walked into the room a second later and stood in front of Scott. Willow couldn't tell by his expression if he had been listening or if he was purely fueled by rage, but she definitely didn't want to ask.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles held a bottle of water and a dog bowl with Scott's name written on it out in front of him.

⠀⠀⠀"I brought you some water," Stiles stated, pouring the water into the bowl then setting it on the floor. As he turned to leave again, Scott reached forward and flipped the bowl into his back.

⠀⠀⠀"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"

⠀⠀⠀Stiles turned back, all the pent-up anger he had been trying to hold back from the day finally releasing.

⠀⠀⠀"You kissed her, Scott, okay?" Stiles screamed at him. "You kissed Lydia! That's, like, one of the only girls that I ev—"

⠀⠀⠀He stopped himself, his hands tightening into fists, and kept his sights on Scott.

⠀⠀⠀"And, you know, the past three hours, I've been thinking. It's probably just the full moon, you know. He doesn't know what he's doing, and tomorrow, he'll be totally back to normal. He probably won't even remember what a complete dumbass he's been! A son of a bitch, a fucking unbelievable piece of shit friend!"

⠀⠀⠀"She kissed me."

⠀⠀⠀Neither of them expected that. They both turned to look at Scott, who smirked at the fact he held it over Stiles. Even if the full moon passed and Scott went back to normal, the fact that Lydia had kissed Scott and not the other way around would forever be engrained into Stiles' head.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Stiles asked, trying to regain himself.

⠀⠀⠀"I didn't kiss her. She kissed me," Scott continued, but Stiles didn't want to hear any more of it. He left the room, and Willow was stuck staring at Scott again while Stiles sat outside of the room.

⠀⠀⠀Willow didn't want to follow him in the event he had overheard them talking. She'd rather sit with Scott than Stiles right now. But, even that was with a werewolf and his uncontrollable loud mouth. At least she wouldn't have to see his face.

⠀⠀⠀"She would have done a lot more, too," Scott continued taunting Stiles. "You should have seen the way she had her hands all over me. She would have done anything I wanted. ANYTHING!"

⠀⠀⠀Scott went quiet for a moment, and both Willow and Stiles hoped he had stopped trying to talk his way under their skin, but luck didn't seem to be on their side that day. Instead, Scott's voice dropped into his normal soft, concerned tone, and he looked from Willow to the shadow in the hall.

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles," Scott called.

⠀⠀⠀He had been messing with his handcuffs as well, his wrists turning red with blood as he tried to escape. Willow had to keep telling herself not to worry so much about it. By tomorrow, he'd be okay. He would heal, and this would be behind them.

⠀⠀⠀"Please, let me out. Willow. Please, please. It's just the full moon. I swear. You know I wouldn't do any of this on purpose. Please, Stiles, Willow, let me out. It's starting to hurt. It's not like the first time. It's the full moon. It's Allison breaking up with me. I know that it's not just taking a break. She broke up with me, and it's killing me. I feel completely hopeless. Just, please, let me out."

⠀⠀⠀The full moon had moved from behind the dark clouds and now filled the room with its light. Scott started screaming, panicking as he tried to rip himself from his restraints. He continued to scream in pain as he began to shift.

⠀⠀⠀Willow stood as she watched his eyes glow gold and his canines rupture from his gums. He turned to her, ripping the handcuffs clean from the radiator.

⠀⠀⠀"Cae—"

⠀⠀⠀Scott lunged forward, knocking Willow to the ground with his fist, and jumped out of the window before she could even stand.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles ran into the room, looking at Willow, then the bloody handcuffs, then the blood trailing out of the open window.

⠀⠀⠀He rushed to Willow, holding his hand out for her to stand, and she took it, stumbling to her feet. Stiles' hand shakily reached up to her face, where a bruise was already beginning to blossom. A bit of blood hinted at the edge of her lips. He wiped it away.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm fine," Willow assured him, letting out a shaky breath from his touch. "Let's find Scott."

STILES DROVE NEAR the woods, looking for Scott. He sat anxiously with one hand on the wheel while the other drummed against his thigh anxiously. Willow sat next to him, looking out of her window to see if she could spot anything while she held a bag of frozen vegetables to her face to numb the pain.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles continued down the road that wound around until they came across a blockade of ambulances and cop cars stopping them from going any further.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, no, no, no," Stiles muttered, parking the car and jumping out of his Jeep. Willow followed behind him as Stiles moved through the crowd of cops, asking, "Dad? Dad? Has anyone seen my—Has anyone seen my dad?!"

⠀⠀⠀Stiles approached the body, Willow behind him. She glanced at the hand, feeling slightly relieved by the fact it looked nothing like his dad's. Willow touched his shoulder, and he turned to look at her with a devastated expression. She nodded down at the hand, and he looked, letting out a sigh of relief.

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles?" his dad asked from behind them. "What are you doing here?"

⠀⠀⠀Stiles didn't answer. He turned to his dad and wrapped him in a tight hug, relieved to see that Scott hadn't gotten to him.

⠀⠀⠀"It's good to see you, son," his dad said, laughing lightly as he parted. "But seriously."

⠀⠀⠀"We were—um, I was just driving Willow home," Stiles explained, pointing his thumb back to her, and she waved.

⠀⠀⠀"Are you alright, sweetheart?" Mr. Stilinski asked, passing Stiles and held her by the shoulders. "You look like you got—"

⠀⠀⠀"Punched?" Willow asked, laughing. "I did."

⠀⠀⠀"Who the hell—?"

⠀⠀⠀"My sister, Laurel," Willow explained, rolling her eyes. "I was messing around with her, but I ended up striking a nerve, and we got into this huge fight. She didn't do it intentionally, a heat of the moment kind of thing. But, you know siblings, it happens once, then you're forgiven."

⠀⠀⠀Mr. Stilinski nodded but didn't look entirely convinced.

⠀⠀⠀"You would tell me if it was something else, right?" he asked her.

⠀⠀⠀"Of course," Willow said, smiling to reassure him.

⠀⠀⠀"Alright," Mr. Stilinski nodded. "You two should get going. I'll see you at home."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles nodded, "Okay."

⠀⠀⠀The two turned back to his Jeep.

⠀⠀⠀"You're a really good liar," Stiles whispered to Willow as they walked back.

⠀⠀⠀"I know," Willow whispered back with a small smile. "How do you think I kept being a witch from you for so long?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

Shout out to my mom for being the real MVP when my laptop crashed and I realized I left my charger at work, she lent me hers. I really thought for a second I wouldn't be able to post tonight because I got through editing but I still had to make the beginning GIF and put in the breaks.

Anyways, um, I'm just realizing we're getting close to being done with season one??? I have a few things planned for the end of this season but SEASON TWO??? Oof, it's gonna be a wild ride for Willow and her sisters... that's all I have to say for that :)

SONG: Buzzcut Season by Lorde

Thank you for reading! Leave comments telling me your thoughts on this chapter, but however you interact, know that I really appreciate you reading. I hope you enjoy, and until the next one.