AND I'LL KEEP YOU A
DAYDREAM AWAY. JUST
WATCH FROM A SAFE PLACE
SO I NEVER HAVE TO LOSE.

SEASON 2, EPISODE 2
shape shifted

WILLOW, SCOTT, AND Stiles were sitting in the chairs outside the principal's office, waiting for him to finish with Mr. Stilinski and Jackson. Scott had leaned against the window the second they sat down to eavesdrop on the conversation while Willow and Stiles sat in silence.

⠀⠀⠀After a few minutes, Scott moved away from the window, appearing normal as Mr. Stilinski stepped out of the office. Stiles reacted quickly, throwing a magazine in front of his face to try and keep his dad from seeing him.

⠀⠀⠀Mr. Stilinski sighed, staring at his son in unsurprised disappointment, then turned to his friends staring awkwardly back at him.

⠀⠀⠀"Hi, Scott. Willow," Mr. Stilinski greeted, giving them a small smile.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey," Willow smiled awkwardly back.

⠀⠀⠀"H—" Scott tried to say but nodded his head. "Yeah."

⠀⠀⠀Mr. Stilinski looked back at his son, shook his head, and moved on from the three teenagers. They were too distracted by the fact that Mr. Stilinski had left to notice the principal approach, greeting them and all three of them jumping at the sudden voice.

⠀⠀⠀"Come on in," the old man from the funeral, and as Scott told them earlier, Allison's grandfather called them in with a warm smile.

⠀⠀⠀The three paused in their tracks. Willow was sure their principal was not Gerard Argent before, and there had been no announcement of his replacement. However, they didn't wait in the hall for a moment longer, getting up and following him into his office.

⠀⠀⠀The three sat down in the chairs in front of Principal Argent's desk, anxiously sitting down. Coming to the principal's office was only for Scott to see what was happening with Jackson and Isaac's case. Now they were thrown into the lion's den with an Argent staring back at them.

⠀⠀⠀However, to their surprise, Gerard Argent wasn't looking at them with the same knowing gaze as his son always had. The second Chris Argent knew about Scott, he had this look in his eye that he just knew who was with him. Thanks to Stiles, he didn't know Willow's secret, but he knew that she, her sisters, and Stiles all helped.

⠀⠀⠀Principal Argent smiled at them, picked up a blue folder, and scanned over the paperwork inside. He glanced at Willow first, his smile softening into a knowing parent's disappointment like he knew she could do better, and it sent chills over her skin.

⠀⠀⠀"Willow Gallagher," he finally said, returning his eyes to the paper, and his frown turned down a little more. "All D's in your classes and no extracurriculars. You used to be in the art club. What happened to that?"

⠀⠀⠀"Uh," Willow said nervously, feeling her heart pumping at a mile a minute as she spoke to the man, wringing her hands out in her lap. "I realized I wasn't really good. And, I, I, um, work, so it's a little difficult for me to spend all my time at school."

⠀⠀⠀"Well," Principal Argent mused with a small smile. "Maybe you should ask if you could take a day off so that you could study a little more at least? Perhaps get a study group."

⠀⠀⠀Willow smiled hesitantly at his advice and nodded like she would follow it.

⠀⠀⠀"Scott McCall," Principal Argent continued, turning to him sitting between Willow and Stiles. "Academically not the most accomplished, but I see you have become quite the star athlete."

⠀⠀⠀He didn't sit with Scott longer than that, pleased by his folder more than Willow's, and moved down the line.

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles Stilinski. Oh, perfect grades but little to no extracurriculars. Maybe you should try lacrosse," Principal Argent said with a small smile.

⠀⠀⠀Willow felt a small smile come to her lips when he suggested that looking to Stiles and noticed his jaw fall open at the suggestion.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, actually, I'm already—" he began to explain, leaning out of his chair towards Principal Argent with a smile to prove himself. Principal Argent cut him off with a finger held up at him.

⠀⠀⠀"Hold on," he said quickly, turning back to Scott. "McCall. You're the Scott that was dating my granddaughter."

⠀⠀⠀"We were dating but not anymore," Scott explained and should have left it at that, but he got nervous when lying and started babbling further. "Not dating, not seeing any of each other or doing anything with each other—at all."

⠀⠀⠀Principal Argent didn't seem dissuaded by Scott's nervousness as he chuckled in amusement at his reaction.

⠀⠀⠀"Relax, Scott, you look like you're about to crack a cyanide pill with your teeth," Principal Argent told him.

⠀⠀⠀Willow would have thought that comparison was strange if it weren't because he was most definitely a werewolf hunter, just like his son.

⠀⠀⠀"Just a hard breakup," Scott explained with a sigh, leaning back into his chair.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, that's too bad. You seem like a pretty nice kid to me," Principal Argent frowned, closing the folder still in his hands, and looked between the three. His features softened as he looked between them as three ordinary kids, and it was strange to see after all of these months feeling like more than that. "Now, listen, kids. Yes, I am the principal, but I really don't want you to think of me as the enemy."

⠀⠀⠀"Huh, is that so?" Stiles muttered, turning to look at Scott and Willow in his exasperation.

⠀⠀⠀"Shut up," Willow mouthed back at him angrily, and he only shrugged in reply.

⠀⠀⠀Principal Argent ignored Stiles and continued.

⠀⠀⠀"However, this being my first day, I do need to support my teachers. So, unfortunately, someone is going to have to take the fall and stay behind for detention."

⠀⠀⠀There was a pause, and both Argent and Scott were looking between Willow and Stiles, waiting for one of them to take the fall because neither seemed to think it should be Scott.

⠀⠀⠀Willow moved to the edge of her chair so she could lean over Scott and hissed at Stiles, "I can't take another detention. I could get suspended."

⠀⠀⠀"Why do I have to take the fall?" Stiles exclaimed, throwing his hands out. "Why do I always take the fall?"

⠀⠀⠀"That's your thing," Willow bit back. "I don't want to become the girl that got suspended!"

⠀⠀⠀"She has a point, young man," Principal Argent commented, raising his brows as he peeked into her file again. "If she takes this detention, she'll be suspended for a month."

⠀⠀⠀"A month?!" Stiles asked, looking from him to Willow. "How many detentions have you had?!"

⠀⠀⠀"How many times do you guys tag me along in your little after-school adventures? I've had more detentions because I miss them!" Willow exclaimed, pointing between them, and Scott raised his hands in surrender. Then, she glared at Stiles and told him, "Just fall on your sword, alright?"

⠀⠀⠀"Fine," Stiles sighed, sinking back into his chair.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm glad to hear that," Principal Argent smiled, gathering their folders to put up once they left. "I hope not to see you three in here again. Have a good rest of your day."

WILLOW WAS SITTING in her room, her homework set neatly on the table, her textbook open to the correct page, her pencil ready to begin working, and... she was on her bed playing The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword on her DS. The game had come out a few months before, and she was finally getting around to playing it. But, unfortunately, all that homework really put her behind in her rescue of Zelda.

⠀⠀⠀Willow had just gotten back to the Sealed Temple when her phone started to buzz. She sighed, annoyed, as she returned to the main title and picked up her phone to see Stiles calling.

⠀⠀⠀"Willow, hey, I'm outside," Stiles said as she answered, not giving her a chance to open her mouth.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey to you, too," Willow greeted, narrowing her eyes as she thought over his words. "Did we have plans you forgot to tell me about?"

⠀⠀⠀"No, sorry, shit," Stiles said quickly. "Allison called, Argent's sent out some men to kill Isaac, and we need to get to the station, like, now."

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, um, I'm wearing pajamas," Willow told him, looking down at her clothes.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't think I can wait for you to change, Will," Stiles told her, growing panicked with every word. "As long as your not gonna freeze to death, grab your shoes and let's go!"

⠀⠀⠀Willow groaned, hanging up on Stiles. She pulled back her covers, grabbed her shoes sitting by her door, and snuck across the hall to Bridgette's room. Willow opened the door quietly and then pulled it shut after her making sure it didn't slam. She turned to Bridgette sitting at her desk with her crystals and looking back at her with an amused smile.

⠀⠀⠀"Sneaking out?" Bridgette asked knowingly, raising an eyebrow.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, sorry, I have to go," Willow told her, rushing across the room still in her crouch.

⠀⠀⠀"Wait!" Bridgette exclaimed just as Willow finished opening the window. "Who with?"

⠀⠀⠀"Bridge—"

⠀⠀⠀"Come on, just tell me," Bridgette begged her, turning in her seat and crossing one leg over the other, and her fist rested on her chin. "I won't tell anyone."

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles, okay?" Willow said sharply, looking out the window to Stiles sitting in his Jeep, waving his hands frantically at her to hurry up. "I'll see you later. Keep your window unlocked."

⠀⠀⠀"Will do," Bridgette nodded with a smile.

⠀⠀⠀Willow walked down the roof and to the edge, stopping. She almost cast to bring up a pillar of earth to lower her down, but just the simple act would most likely alert Starla over her movement. Either by sensing the magic in the air, as she claimed she could do, or by seeing a giant pillar erupt in her front yard.

⠀⠀⠀Willow sighed, sitting down on the edge of the roof, and turned so she could slip off, holding onto the edge until she had the nerve to let go. She ran across the front yard, head down, and jumped into the passenger's seat of the Jeep.

⠀⠀⠀"Go, go!" Willow exclaimed, slamming her hand against Stiles' arm.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, I'm going! I'm going!" Stiles shouted back at her as if he hadn't been the one rushing her a minute ago. He was flying down the streets and toward the police station, but it didn't seem to occupy him enough to fill the air with a lighter conversation. Instead, he looked over at Willow then back at the road with a slight smirk on his face. "That's my All Time Low shirt," Stiles pointed out.

⠀⠀⠀Willow, distracted by the fact they were on the way to fight off the Argent's, was confused for a moment by the comment trying to piece the meaning behind it. Then, she looked down at the baggy Dirty Work Tour shirt she had taken from him when they were dating and realized what she had said. She scoffed, rolling her eyes as she looked back up at him.

⠀⠀⠀"Whatever, I paid the forty bucks for it at the concert," Willow stated.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, seriously? Come on, you got it for me, you know that's not how it wor—" Stiles started to retort, but his phone rang, interrupting their conversation by a call from Allison. "Hey, did you slow him down?" he answered her call, putting her on speakerphone.

⠀⠀⠀"You could say that," Allison told them.

⠀⠀⠀"All right, well, uh, I've got Willow," Stiles told her, glancing over to her then back to the road. "We're headed to the station now."

⠀⠀⠀"Where's Scott?"

⠀⠀⠀"Isaac's."

⠀⠀⠀"Does he have a plan?"

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, but not a very good one," Stiles explained with a sigh. "And unfortunately, we don't really have time to come up with anything better."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles didn't wait for Allison to say anything else, hanging up his phone and throwing it into the cup holder beside him.

⠀⠀⠀"Is that how you end all phone calls now?" Willow asked him.

⠀⠀⠀"What do you mean?" Stiles asked, frowning in confusion.

⠀⠀⠀"On a really depressing note and no goodbye," Willow stated.

⠀⠀⠀"Shut up," Stiles muttered, shaking his head. "And look for Derek. Scott's plan is for us to pick him up on the side of the road."

⠀⠀⠀"What road?" Willow asked, looking out her window to watch for Derek.

⠀⠀⠀"Uh, I don't know," Stiles shrugged.

⠀⠀⠀Willow turned back to him, her face falling into confusion, and asked, "What?"

⠀⠀⠀"He can probably track our scent, y'know?" Stiles explained, obviously not giving Derek too much thought.

⠀⠀⠀"How does that work if we're in a moving car?" Willow retorted, growing frustrated with Stiles' lack of thought.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles stopped at a red light, turned to her with thin lips, and threw his hands out around him.

⠀⠀⠀"Now, we're in a stopped car," Stiles bit back, raising his eyebrows.

⠀⠀⠀A loud slam hit against the front window, making both of them jump and turn to see Derek panting on the hood of the car, staring back at them.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay," Willow conceded, her eyes wide as she stared at Derek in shock. "I guess you were right."

⠀⠀⠀Derek stood from the hood and headed for the passenger's seat. Willow took that as her cue and unbuckled her seat belt, crawling into the back. Derek followed, sitting where she had been, and immediately turned to glare at Stiles.

⠀⠀⠀"Move."

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah—Yeah, you got it," Stiles responded.

⠀⠀⠀He blasted through the red light and continued their journey for the police station. It wasn't long until they made it, pulling up next to the building and the two teenagers both turned to Derek.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, now the keys to every cell are in a password-protected lockbox in my dad's office," Stiles explained to him. "The problem is getting past the front desk."

⠀⠀⠀"I'll distract her," Derek answered matter-of-fact, about to leave the car when Stiles pulled him back by his leather jacket.

⠀⠀⠀"Whoa, whoa, whoa—you?" Stiles asked with a laugh like he couldn't believe what Derek was saying. "You're not going in there."

⠀⠀⠀Derek stared blankly back at Stiles until he pulled his hand off Derek. Willow smirked as she sat between them, watching the scene unfold like a movie.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm taking my hand off," Stiles assured him.

⠀⠀⠀"I was exonerated," Derek stated with a smile that didn't comfort either teen. Instead, it screamed, 'I could kill you if I wanted to.'

⠀⠀⠀"You're still a person of interest," Stiles stated.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, maybe that could be the distraction," Willow added with a slight shrug.

⠀⠀⠀"Not helping, Willow," Stiles snapped at her.

⠀⠀⠀"I wasn't trying to help," Willow retorted, deadpan.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm an innocent person," Derek added on.

⠀⠀⠀"An—you?" Stiles fumbled out, laughing as he looked at Willow then back to Derek. Neither of them were laughing along with him. "Yeah, right! Okay, fine. What's your plan?"

⠀⠀⠀"To distract her," Derek repeated himself.

⠀⠀⠀Willow barked out a laugh at his hollow response, slapping her hand over her mouth as she glanced at Stiles, who still looked annoyed.

⠀⠀⠀"Uh-huh," Stiles asked, smirking as he narrowed his eyes at Derek. "How? By punching her in the face?"

⠀⠀⠀"By talking to her," Derek continued.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, alright. Give me a sample," Stiles told him, readjusting in his seat and preparing himself for Derek's stellar performance he didn't believe in. "What are you gonna open with?"

⠀⠀⠀Derek paused, only staring at Stiles with a cold glare, and both thought he might stay like that until Stiles gave in, but they were both surprised when Derek looked away for a moment. He ran his hand over his face, his expression softening immediately, and turned back to Stiles with a warm smile.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, hello, I just had a question," Derek began.

⠀⠀⠀Willow looked between them with a shit-eating grin as Stiles began to eat his words. He looked pale in the face as Derek made a complete one-eighty in his personality to prove a point.

⠀⠀⠀Derek paused, eyes flickering down then back up to his face, and continued with, "I'm so sorry, I'm just a little thrown off. I wasn't really expecting someone so incredibly handsome working behind the desk tonight."

⠀⠀⠀Derek's hand had moved forward, his thumb running over Stiles' cheek, and he winked.

⠀⠀⠀"Y-Yeah, that, um, that might work," Stiles said quickly, pushing Derek's face away from him now that it was a little too close for comfort for Stiles.

⠀⠀⠀"So, do I pass?" Derek asked, also amused by Stiles' reaction.

⠀⠀⠀"Y-Yes," Stiles said, his voice going an octave higher while Willow was still trying to keep a handle of herself in the backseat.

⠀⠀⠀"Alright," Derek smiled, then got out of the car.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, my God!" Willow exclaimed when Derek had left, standing up in the back seat so she could look over the front seats to look at Stiles with wide eyes. He turned to look at her, immediately pushing her back to keep her away from him.

⠀⠀⠀"Not. A. Word," Stiles hissed at her, pointing his finger back at her, and she raised her hands in surrender but still had trouble holding back her laughter. "Come on."

⠀⠀⠀Willow and Stiles followed Derek as he stood flirting with the desk attendant. Stiles still rolled his eyes. Then, the two snuck down the hallway the deputy wasn't looking at and back towards Mr. Stilinski's office. Finally, they made it to the lockbox that the keys were supposed to be in, but when Stiles opened it, the keys were missing. Stiles turned back to Willow with wide eyes, and she frowned.

⠀⠀⠀"You know," she whispered to him. "I could just unlock it myself."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles' face fell at the complete lack of thought any of them had put into this.

⠀⠀⠀"Why didn't we think of that before?" he whispered back, and she only shrugged in reply. "Well, now we know someone else is in here with us for Isaac. Be careful."

⠀⠀⠀Willow nodded, and the two stepped back out of the office to head for Isaac's cell. They turned down the hall, Stiles stumbling over his feet with Willow coming up behind him as he noticed one of Argent's men walking out of a room. The two tried to act normal, but they were stumped when he turned to them and glared.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh. Uh, just looking, um—Oh, shi—!" Stiles exclaimed.

⠀⠀⠀The two tried to make a break for it when they all recognized the other as the enemy. However, the man grabbed Willow by the arm before she could make her escape. He forced her into an odd position of her head resting against his ribs. Her legs spread out in front of her as she tried to keep her balance. As she tried to squirm out of his grip, one of his hands was over her mouth. She worried it was because he knew she was a witch but most likely just so she wouldn't scream to alert anyone else.

⠀⠀⠀Willow needed to ask Allison if her family knew about hers when this was over.

⠀⠀⠀"Make one wrong move, and I snap her neck," the man threatened Stiles.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles raised his hands in surrender and followed the Argent hunter to the holding cells. When they turned the corner just before the cells, Stiles pulled the fire alarm to alert Derek at the front that something had gone wrong. There was the slim chance that the hunter would snap Willow's neck the second he did, but as they looked into the room, Isaac had already escaped.

⠀⠀⠀The hunter dropped Willow to the floor, discarding her as an issue as they took a moment to stare at the open cell. Then, appearing from the shadows, Isaac jumped from one side of the room and attacked the hunter.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles rushed over to Willow and wrapped his arms under hers. He pulled Willow up and dragged her to the side of the room, out of the way of the fight.

⠀⠀⠀They watched as the hunter held a needle full of black liquid Willow hadn't noticed before in his hand, throwing it forward in an attempt to hit Isaac. Isaac caught his arm before he could, turning it until the bone cracked, and tossed it back. The hunter tried to go forward again, but Isaac slammed his head against the wall, knocking him unconscious... or worse.

⠀⠀⠀The needle was behind Isaac but was crushed under the boot of Derek. The snap alerted both the teens who had arrived with him and Isaac.

⠀⠀⠀Isaac turned to Derek before his attention was focused on Willow and Stiles. They were both filled with dread at the soft growling Isaac let out, his shoulders moving up and down as he stared at them.

⠀⠀⠀"Caelus, tuus virtus cum celamus et ab advorsari defendemus qui velo ad nocemus," Willow said quickly, throwing her hands up to hold the force field before anything bad could happen in a second of weakness.

⠀⠀⠀Isaac started to move forward, but Derek was in front of him a second later, growling loudly until Isaac moved back, cowering against the wall.

⠀⠀⠀Willow released the force field, leaning back against the wall, and panted once they were safe.

⠀⠀⠀"How did you do that?" Stiles asked Derek, glancing between him and Isaac.

⠀⠀⠀Derek turned back to them and smirked.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm the Alpha."

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

Yeah, I did. You're welcome.

I really hate the amount of times they don't really wrap up Stiles' scenes so I'm left with a stupid ending like the one above. :/ Annoying. But! Ice Pick is the next episode and I'm very, very, excited for that one!

SONG: A Daydream Away by All Time Low

Comment and vote if you enjoyed but I appreciate you guys just reading this. Love you all and see you in the next chapter.