❛ You're a shark and I'm swimming. My heart thumps as I bleed and all your friends come sniffing. ❜

SEASON 2, EPISODE 5
venomous

THREE DAY HAD passed since the pool, and Willow hadn't heard a word from Blair. The game was on Friday night when Blair had learned the truth about the supernatural (but not about Willow, she was worried now how Blair might take that). The weekend had passed since with no call, text, voicemail. Now, it was Monday, and Willow had to finally accept that Blair wasn't just busy. She was avoiding her. The type of avoiding that she saw Willow walking down the hallway and turned the other way.

⠀⠀⠀Willow could do nothing but give her the space she needed and hope that what she told Scott would stay true.

⠀⠀⠀While all these thoughts were racing through her head, Willow was standing with her sisters at Bridgette's locker as they did between fourth and fifth every day. She felt like she had barely seen her sisters lately, and the distance between both them and Blair had her feeling even more alone.

⠀⠀⠀"Is everything alright?" Laurel asked her, frowning as she turned to look over at her sister, noticing the severe change over the weekend.

⠀⠀⠀"Fine," Willow said, but her words were forced out. She took what her sister wanted to heart, not wanting to involve her in her supernatural issues.

⠀⠀⠀Laurel rolled her eyes, "What is it?"

⠀⠀⠀"It has to do with Scott," Willow sighed, turning to look at her. "Don't worry about it."

⠀⠀⠀"Just because we don't want to be as involved doesn't mean you can't still talk to us," Bridgette told Willow with a deep-set frown and furrowed brows as she closed her locker. "We're still your sisters, y'know?"

⠀⠀⠀"I know," Willow sighed, running her hand over her face.

⠀⠀⠀She didn't respond right away, noticing Blair and Dillon walking together down the hallway. Bridgette and Laurel followed her gaze the moment Blair looked back at them. She didn't hesitate, turning on her heel and walking the other way. Dillon paused a second when he noticed she wasn't by his side anymore, sighed, then turned to follow her.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm assuming it has to do with your girlfriend," Laurel commented, turning back to Willow with a raised brow.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah," Willow muttered, the three stepping away from the lockers and headed to their classes that were close enough they could walk together. "She kind of found out."

⠀⠀⠀"Found out?" Bridgette asked, turning to look at her. "About us?"

⠀⠀⠀"No, no," Willow sighed. "Just the werewolf of it all," she explained. "And the kanima."

⠀⠀⠀"Kanima?" Laurel asked. "What the hell is a kanima?"

⠀⠀⠀"Some creature that's been terrorizing the town," Willow explained with a shrug. "I didn't know about it until Stiles got paralyzed by it at the mechanic shop."

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, that's what happened?" Bridgette asked with a gasp.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah," Willow sighed.

⠀⠀⠀"This is why I didn't want to get involved," Laurel muttered, shaking her head. "Oh, God," she said a little louder, and her sisters turned to look at her.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" they asked.

⠀⠀⠀"I have to go," Laurel explained, glancing at them than Jackson walking down the hall toward the three and more so Laurel. "See you at lunch," she exclaimed and darted into the bathroom.

⠀⠀⠀"Willow," Jackson yelled down the hall, catching up to her and Bridgette. "Remember when I said to tell your sister to text me?" he asked her, his whole body looming over hers, and Willow had to lean back to look at him.

⠀⠀⠀"Um... yeah?" Willow replied with a frown.

⠀⠀⠀"Well, she hasn't!" Jackson exclaimed, throwing his hand to the women's bathroom Laurel was hiding in (and most likely found a stall to help her escape via magic). "What did you tell her?"

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, right," Willow exclaimed, tapping her chin. "That you're actually a complete dickhead who almost got me and Stiles killed. I told her that instead."

⠀⠀⠀Jackson's mouth fell open, and his eyes filled with anger, and Willow rolled her eyes, pushing him back.

⠀⠀⠀"I told her what you want me to, asshole," Willow snapped, narrowing her eyes at him. "Like I told you, she's not interested."

⠀⠀⠀Jackson frowned, his hands clenching into fists as he glared at her, and for a moment, Willow feared he was about to do something. But, he just let out an annoyed breath, took a step back, and left.

⠀⠀⠀"What's wrong with him?" Bridgette asked, having watched the whole scene beside her sister.

⠀⠀⠀"He's got a thing for Laurel," Willow explained, rolling her eyes.

⠀⠀⠀Bridgette laughed, shaking her head, and said, "Don't they all?"

⠀⠀⠀"I'll see you later," Willow told her sister as they passed her economics class. Bridgette turned to her, still walking, and waved back.

⠀⠀⠀Willow walked into her class and sat behind Stiles, putting her binder down and opening her notebook. Before Willow could fully settle, Stiles turned around in his seat, staring wildly back at her.

⠀⠀⠀"Isaac's back!" he exclaimed.

⠀⠀⠀Willow glanced from him to the board, then back to him with furrowed brows.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, I know," Willow whispered back at him. "I have history with him."

⠀⠀⠀"You have history with him?!" Stiles exclaimed, his eyes widening at her statement. "Why do you have history with him?"

⠀⠀⠀"How am I supposed to respond to that, Stiles?" Willow asked him in annoyance, shaking her head. "I got my schedule on the first day of school, and so did he, and now we have the same first period."

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, I thought—" Stiles started to say, realizing he thought she meant something else and faltered. "Uh, okay."

⠀⠀⠀"I don't think he knows what I am or that I know what Scott is," Willow assured him. She rolled her eyes and leaned back in her seat, resting her feet on the basket on the bottom of Stiles' chair to get comfortable for class.

⠀⠀⠀Then, Jackson returned to the class. Willow wondered where he had gone since they had just had an argument in the hall. She watched as Jackson stormed through the room and took the seat behind Scott and beside Willow. He leaned forward, looking between Scott and Stiles, not even looking at Willow.

⠀⠀⠀"Hey, testicle left and right," Jackson hissed to them in a whisper, neither responded. "What the hell is a kanima?"

⠀⠀⠀They all turned to look at Jackson with wide eyes but didn't get the chance to respond as Coach Finstock slammed a book onto his desk to start class.

⠀⠀⠀"All right, listen up!" he exclaimed, looking over the heads of teenagers. "A quick warning before we begin our review. Some of you, like McCall or Gallagher, might want to start their own study groups because tomorrow's midterm is so profoundly difficult—I'm not even sure I could pass it."

⠀⠀⠀Willow raised her hand.

⠀⠀⠀"No, Gallagher, you can not decide to not take the test," Coach answered her question before she even had a chance to ask.

⠀⠀⠀"I'll fail it either way," Willow stated.

⠀⠀⠀"But if you at least try, maybe you'll get a twenty-five from guessing, and you won't get a detention," Coach retorted with a wide, sarcastic smile.

⠀⠀⠀Willow frowned in response but sighed, falling back into her seat and accepting her fate.

⠀⠀⠀"Exactly," Coach finished, looking over the rest of the class. "Okay, I need a volunteer at the board to answer the first question. Who's got it, huh? Come on, let's go, buddy."

⠀⠀⠀"Paralyzed from the neck down," Jackson continued unprompted when Coach stopped talking. The three leaned toward Jackson as they listened to what he was saying. "Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

⠀⠀⠀"I'm familiar with the sensation," Stiles commented with a slight shrug, trying to play off his experience.

⠀⠀⠀Jackson glanced at him like he didn't believe Stiles understood what he had gone through. Instead, thinking Stiles was trying to make some innuendo to lighten the mood.

⠀⠀⠀"Same here," Willow added to try to help Stiles' case, but Jackson blew her off as well.

⠀⠀⠀"Wait, why would Derek test you?" Scott asked in confusion, furrowing his brows. "Why would he think that it's you?"

⠀⠀⠀"How should I know?" Jackson asked defensively, recoiling into himself like he had just touched a hot pan.

⠀⠀⠀"Wait, do they think it's Lydia?" Stiles asked, looking to Jackson in concern.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't know," Jackson hissed at him. "All I heard was her name and something about chemistry.

⠀⠀⠀"JACKSON!" Coach shouted, walking up to their desks and zoned in on Jackson while the other three turned back in their seats like they hadn't been a part of Jackson's conversation. "Do you have something you want to share with the rest of the class?"

⠀⠀⠀"Um, just an undying admiration for my-my coach," Jackson said in the most teacher's pet voice he could muster.

⠀⠀⠀Willow wanted to throw up just from hearing it.

⠀⠀⠀"That's really kind of you," Coach smiled.

⠀⠀⠀Willow raised an eyebrow as Jackson took the compliment, nodding his head for himself like he had just cured cancer.

⠀⠀⠀"Now, SHUT UP!" Coach yelled at him. "Shut it! Anybody else?"

⠀⠀⠀When Coach walked away, thankfully not bothered by Willow, Scott, or Stiles, the two boys ahead of her were face to face talking to each other urgently about what they had just learned.

⠀⠀⠀"How do we know it's not her?" Scott asked Stiles, eyes wide in worry.

⠀⠀⠀"Because I looked into the eyes of that thing, okay?" Stiles stated, glancing at Scott then Coach to make sure he wasn't looking at them. "And what I saw was pure evil, and when I look into Lydia's eyes, I only see fifty percent evil."

⠀⠀⠀Willow kicked Stiles' chair.

⠀⠀⠀"All right, maybe sixty," Stiles corrected himself, glancing back at her. "You know, but no more than forty on a good day."

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles, that's not a very good argument," Scott muttered.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm aware of that, but I swear it's not her," Stiles assured him. "It can't be, all right? Lydia's fine."

⠀⠀⠀Lydia was standing at the board to answer the questions, but instead, she looked tense even from behind, frantically writing across the board nothing to do with economics. Willow raised an eyebrow as Lydia turned back to them, shaking and wide-eyed like she had when she walked out of the woods.

⠀⠀⠀"Okay, then," Coach hummed, clapping his hands, not really sure what else to say. "Anybody else want to try answering? This time in English?"

⠀⠀⠀"What is that?" Scott asked, staring at the board. "Greek?"

⠀⠀⠀Willow stared at the back of his head in disappointment.

⠀⠀⠀"Do you not know the difference between Greek and Roman letters?" Willow asked him.

⠀⠀⠀Scott turned back to her and frowned.

⠀⠀⠀"I don't know how to speak either!" Scott exclaimed, throwing his hands out. "You're the one in Latin."

⠀⠀⠀"Scott," Willow sighed, raising her hand to the board. "It's literally English just flipped. It says, 'somebody help me."

⠀⠀⠀The boys turned to look at her with wide eyes, most likely from the words Lydia had written, but Willow couldn't keep her head straight from the fact that they couldn't even read.

⠀⠀⠀"I'm surrounded by idiots," Willow muttered, putting her head to her forehead.

WILLOW, SCOTT, AND Stiles headed to chemistry as they tried to keep calm. Well, Scott was able to while Willow and Stiles panicked about what chemistry would hold.

⠀⠀⠀"Derek's not gonna kill her without proof," Scott was trying to reassure Willow and Stiles as he had all of lunch but neither fully trusted that Derek wouldn't.

⠀⠀⠀Despite the fact that her mom trusted and cared for Derek, Willow wasn't sure he wouldn't kill Lydia when she was killing other people (unknowingly).

⠀⠀⠀"All right, so he tests her like he did with Jackson, right?" Stiles asked, looking over at Scott. "But when and where?"

⠀⠀⠀They walked into the chemistry lab and looked into the room to see Isaac and Erica walk in together on the other side of the room. There was a moment of hesitation as they realized precisely what was about to happen.

⠀⠀⠀"I think it's gonna be here and now," Willow answered Stiles under her breath. "Go, I'll trip them up."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles and Scott rushed for Lydia's table, and the second they started moving, Isaac and Erica were as well. Willow stayed where she was, holding her hands flat toward the ground, and whispered, "Caelus, inferus pedi mutat et eum vorsus meus mutat."

⠀⠀⠀Erica and Isaac tripped over their feet, keeping themselves upright but out of the way for Scott to reach Lydia. Both of the werewolves snapped their heads in her direction while she rushed to sit at an open table.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh," Stiles muttered at another table, loud enough for her to hear. "She meant literally."

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Allison walked in, feeling the tension in the room, and paused, staring at Scott in confusion. Scott nodded his head behind him, where Erica and Isaac were sulking in their annoyance. Then, finally, Allison caught onto what was happening.

⠀⠀⠀"It'll be okay," Willow whispered to her, nodding her head for Allison to sit with her. "Don't let them get to you."

⠀⠀⠀Allison glanced over to Willow and smiled, thankful for the small assurance.

⠀⠀⠀"Einstein once said," Mr. Harris started the class just as the bell rang and didn't wait for the teenagers to settle into their seats. "'Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the universe. I, myself, have encountered infinite stupidity," he continued, slapping his hand against Stiles' shoulder to prove his point.

⠀⠀⠀After their time in Principal Argent's office and hearing that Stiles had perfect grades, Willow wondered how much Harris projected onto Stiles since he obviously wasn't failing the class. Instead, it seemed Harris was more so jealous or completely unhinged and just wanted to torment Stiles because he disliked him for whatever reason.

⠀⠀⠀"So, to combat the plague of ignorance in my class, you're going to combine efforts through a round of group experiments. Let's see if two heads are indeed better than one. Or, in Mr. Stilinski's case, less than one. Erica, you take the first station. You'll start with—"

⠀⠀⠀Nearly every hand in the class rose to volunteer to be Erica's partner, irritating Harris further.

⠀⠀⠀"I didn't ask for volunteers. Put your hormonal little hands down," Harris barked at them, then looked back to Erica. "Start with Mr. McCall."

⠀⠀⠀The air turned stale as they all looked to the two, realizing now that Harris' lab experiment had created an even harder attempt to keep Lydia safe. Harris continued to sound off partners. Lydia, thankfully, with Allison, Stiles, and Bridgette, then Willow and Isaac.

⠀⠀⠀The room scrambled to sit with their partners, tension rising with the new pairings while the rest of the class started their experiments. Willow sat down at the table next to Isaac, picking up the plastic instruction sheet and reading over them while Isaac stared at the side of her face.

⠀⠀⠀"So," Isaac began, a broad smile coming to his face while he leaned his elbow against the table and head in his hand. "You're a witch."

⠀⠀⠀"No," Willow told him without hesitation, portioning out the chemicals as the instructions said to. "But I'll be more than happy to kick your ass if you'd like."

⠀⠀⠀Willow turned to him and smiled across her face, keeping the ends straight to show she wasn't amused by him. He returned her smile by grinning even wider, placing his pen between his teeth teasingly, looking down, then back up to her face.

⠀⠀⠀"You're pretty hot when you're angry," he commented, trying to pull something out of her, but she didn't react how he wanted.

⠀⠀⠀"You're pretty ugly when you're a werewolf," she bit back, looking at him as she clenched her teeth together and pulled air between them to hiss in realization. "Oh, sorry."

⠀⠀⠀"It's fine," Isaac assured her, dragging his chair closer to hers. "I'm kind of into it."

⠀⠀⠀"I'm not," Willow told him, putting her palm into his face and pushing his face away from her. His hand landed on her thigh instead, squeezing it. "Do you mind?"

⠀⠀⠀"No," Isaac told her with a slight shrug. "I don't, actually."

⠀⠀⠀"Fuck off."

⠀⠀⠀"If you'd like."

⠀⠀⠀"Switch!"

⠀⠀⠀"Talk to you later, Sabrina," Isaac called, winking, and walked over to the next station with Stiles.

⠀⠀⠀At Stiles' table, he started working, and again, Isaac did nothing to help.

⠀⠀⠀"If you harm one strawberry blonde hair on her head," Stiles started, keeping his eyes focused on the beaker in front of him. Still, his words stayed as threatening as he could under the circumstances. "I'm gonna turn your little werewolf ass into a fur coat and give it to her as a birthday present."

⠀⠀⠀"Really?" Isaac asked, chuckling. "I've never actually been to one of her big invite-only birthday parties. I did ask her out once, though."

⠀⠀⠀"Sounds like the beginning to a heartfelt story," Stiles commented, quickly interrupting him. "I'm gonna pass, thanks."

⠀⠀⠀"It was the first day of freshman year—" Isaac started, but Stiles didn't mind interrupting him again.

⠀⠀⠀"And you thought everything was gonna be different for you in high school, but she said no," Stiles finished for him, having been in the same situation dozens of times.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, yeah," Isaac nodded, laughing at the memory. "She even laughed. Told me to come back when the bike I rode to school had an engine, not a chain."

⠀⠀⠀"Mm, unrequited love's a bitch," Stiles sighed, shrugging his shoulders. "Maybe you should write about it in English class, you know? Channel all that negative energy."

⠀⠀⠀"Nah, I was thinking I'd channel it into killing her," Isaac retorted, shrugging as well. "I'm not very good at writing."

⠀⠀⠀Stiles opened his mouth to respond, but Isaac cut him off this time, turning back to look at Willow's table.

⠀⠀⠀"But, y'know, I'm glad she didn't say yes because now I could ask out Willow," Isaac explained, winking when Willow looked up. "You think she'd be into me?" he asked, leaning back against the desk and turning his head to look over his shoulder at Stiles.

⠀⠀⠀"No, I don't think she would," Stiles replied, trying to keep himself from reacting like he knew Isaac wanted him to.

⠀⠀⠀"Yeah?" Isaac asked, raising an eyebrow, his mouth open in a laugh as he stuck his tongue out onto his canine. "Why's that?"

⠀⠀⠀"You're not really her type," Stiles explained, glancing over at him with a small, annoyed smile.

⠀⠀⠀"And you are?"

⠀⠀⠀"Well, she dumped me," Stiles shrugged in response. "I'd say her type is more five foot three, blonde hair, blue-eyed."

⠀⠀⠀"Minus the height, it sounds a lot like me," Isaac commented, grinning smugly.

⠀⠀⠀Stiles glanced over at Isaac and frowned because shit, he was right. Unfortunately, Stiles didn't get a chance to respond because Harris called for another switch.

⠀⠀⠀Back at Willow's table, she had been paired with Erica. Willow was surprised that Erica had let her continue with the lab rather than torment her like Isaac had, but maybe that was the point. Keep her in an aggravating silence, and maybe Willow would feel too unnerved just by that. Or, perhaps, Erica wanted a good grade, which she shouldn't rely on Willow to give her.

⠀⠀⠀"Time! If you've catalyzed the reaction correctly, you should now be looking at a crystal. Now, for the part of that last experiment, I'm sure you'll all enjoy. You can eat it!"

⠀⠀⠀Willow picked up the beaker and looked into it, her face instantly contorting into disgust at eating the weird goo inside. She looked around the room, noticing Scott and Stiles pretty much had the same thing in theirs.

⠀⠀⠀Willow returned to the issue at hand, looking to Isaac sitting with Lydia and handing her the crystal to eat dripping in the kanima venom. Willow raised her hand to cast, but Erica reached out as if waiting for her to do it, pinning it to her thigh then the other as well.

⠀⠀⠀Willow was forced to lean closer to Erica, and she stared back in amusement, licking her lips.

⠀⠀⠀"This is kind of hot," Erica commented flirtatiously, looking down at Willow's lips then back to her eyes. Willow tried to turn back to Isaac, ignoring Erica, but Erica put both of Willow's hands into one of hers then, with her free hand, moved Willow's head back to her, tsking.

⠀⠀⠀"Don't even try it," Erica whispered, her claws extending into her wrists and nearly puncturing the skin.

⠀⠀⠀"Lydia!" Scott shouted, jumping from his seat, making her stop before biting into the crystal.

⠀⠀⠀Lydia stopped, turning back to him with an annoyed expression.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" she snapped at him.

⠀⠀⠀The whole class was staring at Scott, and he had nothing to say. They were stuck watching in horror as Lydia bit into the crystal, the crunch loud enough to make their ears ring, and the realization that nothing happened became overwhelming.

"DEREK'S OUTSIDE WAITING for Lydia," Scott told Willow, Stiles, and Allison as they rushed into Coach's office to talk a little more securely.

⠀⠀⠀"Wanting to kill her?" Allison asked.

⠀⠀⠀"If he thinks she's the kanima, then yes," Scott nodded. "Especially after what happened at the pool."

⠀⠀⠀"It's not her," Stiles continued to deny, shaking his head.

⠀⠀⠀"Stiles, she didn't pass the test, man," Scott told him with a sigh. "Nothing happened."

⠀⠀⠀"No, it can't be here," Stiles stated.

⠀⠀⠀"It doesn't matter," Allison cut them off, leaning against the desk as she ran her hands through her hair. "Because Derek thinks it's her. So, either we can convince him that he's wrong, or we've got to figure out a way to protect her."

⠀⠀⠀"Well, I really don't think he's gonna do anything here. Not at school," Scott stated.

⠀⠀⠀"What about after school?" Allison asked. "What if we can prove that Derek's wrong?"

⠀⠀⠀"Before three o'clock?" Willow asked, not sure any of them were that good at figuring supernatural mysteries yet. They couldn't even figure out who the Alpha was. Derek had been the one to figure that out.

⠀⠀⠀"There could be something in the bestiary," Allison stated hopefully.

⠀⠀⠀"Oh, you mean the nine-hundred paged book written in archaic Latin that none of us can read?" Stiles asked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Good luck with that."

⠀⠀⠀"Actually," Allison interrupted them, furrowing her brows together in thought. "I think I know someone who might be able to translate it."

⠀⠀⠀Willow was surprised to hear that none of her family could speak or read archaic Latin. Who outside of witches would be able to read it?

⠀⠀⠀"Uh, I can talk to Derek. Maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove that it's not her," Scott told them, but even he didn't sound convinced that he could do it. "But if anything happens, you guys let me handle it, okay?"

⠀⠀⠀"What does that mean?" Allison asked.

⠀⠀⠀"That you can't heal like I do," Scott told her, and Allison's face fell into annoyance at his comment. "I just don't want you to get hurt."

⠀⠀⠀Allison stared at him for a second, then turned to reach into her backpack and pulled out a small hand-held crossbow, raising it with her finger off the trigger. She glared at Scott, asking him if he wanted to repeat himself.

⠀⠀⠀"I can protect myself," Allison finished.

⠀⠀⠀Scott didn't respond, and Allison picked up on the hesitation.

⠀⠀⠀"What?" Allison asked. "Did something else happen?"

⠀⠀⠀"I just... I don't want you getting hurt," Scott repeated himself, standing a step closer to her. "Seriously, if anything goes wrong, you call me, okay? I—I don't care if your dad finds out. Call, text, scream, yell, whatever. I'll hear you, and I'll find you as fast as I can. We have until three o'clock."

⠀⠀⠀Allison nodded hesitantly, and Scott turned to leave. A sharp whistle filled the air for only a second, and Scott turned, catching an arrow before it flew through his head. The three all turned to Stiles holding the crossbow. Willow put her hand on it and lowered it for him before he could reshoot it. She took it from him and handed it to Allison when it was down.

⠀⠀⠀"Sorry, sorry," Stiles said sheepishly once he realized what he had done. "Sensitive trigger on that."

AUTHOR'S NOTE —

:) Isaac.

I feel like both Isaac and Erica are very flirty people, right? Like, I'm not trying to make Willow into a character that everyone else wants to be/wants to be with but I feel like since they got their abilities they've embraced their confidence to a whole new level.

SONG: Tessellate by alt-J

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.