Chapter 8: Magic Bullet

Groaning, my head fell against the cold metal of my locker, making me sigh. Lydia had been at Allison's house all weekend, meaning that I couldn't talk to her. I'd just seen her and attempted to talk to her, but she just blew right past me, fast walking off to class.

I knew she probably just didn't want to hash things out at school, but I wasn't sure. I mean, she'd been gone all weekend, avoiding me at all costs.

Huffing, I jumped, slightly banging my head on the locker door as someone slid up next to me, slamming again the metal with a strange grin on his face.

Looking at him wide-eyed, I wasn't sure what to say to my hyperactive friend. A single text of 'guy stuff,' was all he'd sent me over the weekend, that being all I had to try and keep me from going insane.

"What up giirl?" Stiles asked, stretching out the last word in a high pitch as he moved his hands in a smooth motion toward me.

"What the hell is wrong with you Stiles?" I questioned, leaning against the lockers as I stared at him incredulously.

"Oh, there's a lot wrong with me." Stiles bobbed his head up and down as if he needed to further prove his point. "But I have no idea what you're talking about." Stiles abruptly started shaking his head instead of nodding.

Scoffing, I left it alone, walking past him as I drug him in the direction of our World History classroom.

Stumbling, he eventually righted himself into walking correctly, following my footsteps down the crowded hallway.

"So, when are we actually going to hang out? Seeing as you've been avoiding my calls?" I questioned him, turning to look at him with a teasing smile on my face.

Stiles tripped over himself slightly before nodding his head a few times. "Uh..soon. Yeah, soon, soon. I'll talk to Scott about it." Scratching the back of his head, he continued through the classroom door, making his way over to his seat behind Scott.

Shaking my head in amusement, I stalked over to my desk in the front row. Sadly, I'd missed class the day Mr. Monroe let the students pick seats, so I had to sit on the right side of the room, in the front.  It was horrible.

Noticing that the teacher was getting ready to hand me a test, I put down my bag and grabbed the pieces of paper from him, smiling as he walked past.

Looking down while I started to sit, I noticed the familiar A+ at the top of the paper, smiling as I set it down on my desktop. Ignoring the muttering of conversations around me, I started getting the things I needed out of my bag as I heard the final bell ring.

Setting the bulky textbook down in front of me, I reached back into my bag grabbing my notebook for the class and a pen. Opening the notebook to the closest blank page, I folded the used pages back and placed it next to my book. Twirling the pen in between my fingers, I leaned back in my seat.

"I don't know!" Startled, I whipped around, pen stilled in my hand, to look at the back of the room where I had heard Scott's voice yell.

Confused, I watched as Scott slowly turned around from snapping at Stiles. Glancing around the classroom, he put his head down, looking at his open textbook.

Looking at the troublemaker in question, I saw him itch his neck with a pencil before grabbing his test from the teacher. When our eyes connected, I sent him a 'what the hell' look, directing my eye line between him and Scott. He responded with a spastic motion of shrugging and wiggling his arms, eyes blown out of his face, mouthing the words, 'I dunno.'

He was so cute..

Rolling my eyes jovially, I turned back to my work assuming Stiles had simply overwhelmed Scott with questions. It wouldn't be the first time.

~Stiles' POV~

Letting out a huff, I sunk down in my seat a bit, tapping the toes of my right shoe on the ground.

We didn't have enough information. How the hell are you supposed to get anything done with limited information?

Grumbling under my breath, I swore as I grabbed my test off the desk, head nodding at the A I'd gotten. At least my grades weren't slipping.

Staring over Scott's shoulder, I zeroed in on the note written to the front of his packet. Not like you! See me after class. A big D- circled in red ink was placed next to the words, seeming to emphasize the feeling of failure.

Leaning over, my brows creased as I spoke to Scott. "Dude, you need to study more." In response, he slapped the papers down on his textbook, staring solemnly forward. "That was a joke." Pausing, I moved my hand around. "Scott, it's one test, you're gonna make it up." Hand flopping over the front of my table, I continued. "Do you want help studying?"

"No." Scott shook his head. "I'm studying with Allison after school today."

Eyebrows shooting all the way up, I reeled back in my seat. "That's my boy!" I smirked, knowing studying never ended in just studying.

"We're just studying." Scott shook his head again, tilting his head toward me.

"Unuh, no you're not." I shot out, speaking quicker, throwing my hands up.

"No, I'm not?" He muttered, absolutely clueless.

"Not if I'm forced to live vicariously through you," I spoke seriously, leaning forward in my seat, needing Scott to realize the severity of this situation. "If you go to her house today and squander that colossal opportunity, I-I swear to god I'll have you de-balled."

"Okay." Scott expresses, turning around to look at me as he spoke. "Just..stop with the questions man."

"Done." I shook my head, raising my right hand as the corners of my lips stretched down. "No more questions. No more talk about the alpha...or Derek. Especially Derek. Who still scares me." Knocking lightly on my desk, I looked down at it with a grim expression. Stupid Derek.

Scott ignored my ramblings before turning back around to look at me. "And for the record. You wouldn't have to live..whatever..through me if you just asked Rae out."

Scott gave me a crooked smirk as my eyes widened, flailing as I quickly glanced up to her to see she wasn't paying attention, instead looking down at her history book.

Flinging back around to look at Scott, I put a finger up to my mouth as I harshly shushed him, eyes wide in shock. I was so lucky she hadn't heard him. I just hoped no one else did. No one could ever know. Scott knew that.

Leaning forward, I whispered sharply so no one could hear me. "You know I can't do that. She'd never go out with me. And I'm not gonna ruin our friendship when I already know the outcome of the question." I shot back at him, speaking faintly and very fast.

Leaning back in my seat, the only response I got was the shake of Scott's head as he chuckled under his breath.

Looking back over at Rae, I frowned. I wished I could talk to her about everything. She was always so good at putting puzzle pieces together. She was so smart. She always figured out the things I couldn't.

I felt bad about ignoring her calls all weekend, having been with Scott the whole time, trying to figure it all out and doing more research on werewolves.

I mean, I did take a break one time to battle mythical creatures on my laptop, but that was beside the point.

Sighing, I started tapping the ground with my foot once again, thinking about the weekend.

"Wait, what do you mean Derek's not the one who turned you?" I questioned Scott, standing in the middle of his room with my hand in the air, face screwed up in confusion. "What about the whole, 'the bite is a gift,' thing?" I mocked, waving my hands around.

Scott stood up from his bed, walking forward until he was stood in front of me. Lifting his own hand, it only stayed in the air a moment before it dropped back down, a huff being blown out of his mouth. "I mean, he's not the one who bit me." Scott shook his head, eyes darting up to meet mine as he looked back to the ground, beginning to walk around his room.

"He said there's another one. Called an alpha. Apparently, we're called betas?" Scott explained, still not seeming completely clear on the terms.

"Yeah. I read about that. Alphas are the leaders of the packs, and the betas follow alphas. There's also omegas. They roam the world alone. With no Alpha. At least you're not an omega, I guess." Talking as I walked, I shrugged my shoulders before I sat on the edge of Scott's bed, watching him pace around.

"I'd rather be an omega." Scott groaned. "At least then I wouldn't be connected to a murderer." Shuddering, Scott leaned on his desk, looking down at the ground. "Derek said he needs my help. That the alpha is too powerful."

Scoffing, I scooted forward more, looking him directly in the eyes. "Why should we help him?"

Scott just shrugged lightly, glancing down before meeting my eyes again. "It's not about Derek. People are dying."

Chewing on my cheek, I knew Scott was right. No matter how afraid I was or how much I didn't trust him, we needed his help.

Not that I'd admit that out loud.

People were dying and we had to do something about it. We were the only ones who could.

()()()()()()()()()()

~Rae's POV~

Sighing to myself, I walked over to my locker, completely ready to get out of here. I was hoping that Lydia would actually come home today so I could talk to her about everything. Opening the metal contraption, I was confused to see Derek Hale standing in the corner of the hallway, hands batting at his ears while the bell rang. Brows furrowed, I started to walk over but he disappeared when a group of students walked in front of him.

Freezing, I went back the few steps I'd taken, wondering what in the hell Derek was doing here. At a high school. For teenagers. He wasn't looking so good either.

Shaking my head, I stopped thinking about it, grabbing my cardigan and my history book, adding it to my math textbook in my bag.

Slipping my arms through the sleeves, I hissed delicately as I rubbed the healing cut on my arm. Adjusting the bag on my shoulder, I slammed the locker door shut, twisted the lock, and followed the rest of the kids out of the school doors.

Finding my car quickly, I pulled out of my parking space, driving behind what I recognized to be Allison's blue Mazda. Waving my hand out the window, I saw her wave back before we were stopped in a line of traffic. Used to this happening more often than not, I glanced down at my phone to check my notifications while we waited.

Glancing between my phone and the road, I quickly finished my task and looked to see who was holding up the line this time. To my surprise, my eyes met with Roscoe, the beautiful blue Jeep Stiles drove. But nothing compared to looking in front of it and seeing Stiles and Scott huddled in front of a pavement ridden Derek Hale.

Getting out of the car, I moved forward for a better look, trying to figure out what was going on. Jumping back, I squinted my eyes for a closer look. Did Derek's eyes just flash bright blue? True to what I'd seen, when he opened up his eyes, they were flashing blue causing me to let out a small gasp as I quickly got back in my car to calm down. What the hell is going on?

Looking back through my windshield, I saw Scott throw Derek in the Jeep while cars around me honked. Noticing Allison get out of her car to go confront them, I sunk down in my seat, tormented by my own thoughts. I had no idea what was happening.

Soon enough, I noticed the cars in front of me start to move, so I put my car back in gear and left the school parking lot, mind not completely on the road.

Driving home, my mind ran rampant with thoughts as I stared straight ahead, turning the wheel and accelerating when needed. It wasn't long before I was home, pulling into the driveway. Relief and fear seized me as I noticed Lydia's car in the driveway. Remembering it had been there all weekend, I sighed, not knowing if she was actually here or not.

Grumbling, I grabbed my bag, my mind having completely switched problems. My thoughts were solely on my sister now. Popping open my door, I locked it before slamming it shut, continuing to the house. Testing the door, it was already unlocked, leading me to believe Lydia was here, having gotten home before me.

Swinging the door open, I walked through, looking around the house as I entered. Seeing nothing, I shut the door behind me, locking it shut. Turning back around, I headed for the stairs, assuming my sister would be in her room.

Sighing, I realized how sore my feet were in that instant. I could really go for a foot rub. Laughing internally at the random thought, I continued down the hallway, passing my door.  Under more consideration, I stopped, noticing the light peeking out from underneath it. Backtracking, I held a hand up to the doorknob, hesitant to grab it. Finally, I grabbed ahold of it, turning it to the side as I pushed the white door open.

The first thing I noticed was strawberry blonde hair, attached to the turned away body of my sister. Upon hearing my arrival, she turned around, a mask slipping over her face for a moment before it cracked its way off. She sighed.

As I walked further into the room, Lydia looked down at the ground, an ashamed look on her face.

"I'm sorry I was gone." She started, still looking at the ground. "I didn't want to talk about it." Glancing up at me, she looked around at my room, eyes lingering over the bookshelf beside my bed. "I shouldn't have said those things. They were wrong. And I shouldn't have made you go with us. I'm sorry." Hearing a small sniffle, I sat down next to my sister. "I was just trying to help. But sometimes I guess I help too much." Smiling unamused, she turned to look at me. "You did the right thing, ya know. Leaving. Yelling at me. And for the record, I may not like them, but Scott and 'whatever his name is' make you happy. They won't destroy you. I'm really sorry, Rae." Lydia's eyes grew moist as she waited for my reaction, eyes wide and expectant, not sure what response she was gonna get.

Sighing, I pulled my sister into my arms. "I forgive you," I told her, "Just don't do any of that shit again. And I'm sorry for the things I said to you too. They were mean, and I didn't mean them I was just angry." Pausing for a moment, I thought over her words. "And you know his name is Stiles, Lydia." Chuckling, I put my head down on top of hers.

Lydia visibly relaxed and I could feel her tension melt while I hugged her. She only stayed there a few more seconds before she stood up. "Well good, because I need your help." In a matter of seconds, my sister was put back together, a perfectly curated facade falling over her face. "And I forgive you too. I know you didn't mean it." Winking, my sister began walking out of my room, beckoning for me to follow.

Curious and amused at how easily she jumped back to her usual self, I bounced off the bed, following after her.

Stopping in her room, Lydia had flounced onto her bed, obviously just wanting to be in her own bedroom. I rolled my eyes.

"I can't figure out what decorations to get for our party. No way can they be at all like last years, and they can't look stupid." Lydia explained, twirling a fiery curl around her finger as I sat down.

Chuckling, I leaned on my side, facing her. "Lydia our birthday isn't for a while, you're good." Smiling, I wasn't at all surprised that she was already planning.

Lydia gasped. "No, I am not. Do you know how much work goes into planning these events? It has to be perfect. This is the biggest party of the year, Rae. Lydia Martin does not throw mediocre parties that have just been tossed together at the last minute."

Laughing at my sister, I shrugged my shoulders and prepared myself for the rest of her rant about the need for Martin parties to be utter and complete perfection.

()()()()()()()()()()

Sitting down on my bed, a smile on my face, I shook my head at the two hours my sister had forced me into talking about different decorations and drinks and music. The one thing she'd already decided on prior was which day we were going to celebrate on.

Fun fact: even though we were twins I was born the day before she was. She was born right after midnight, making her birthday the 19th of March, and mine the 18th. Lydia had decided to have our party on her birthday because there was a full moon. She thought it would be aesthetically pleasing.

Now finally by myself, I remembered what had happened when I'd been trying to leave school. 

I know I hadn't imagined Derek's eyes glowing. In all honesty, it only kind of surprised me. Ever since Scott had been bitten, Derek had suddenly been around. I think I even saw him in the woods at lacrosse practice one day. Knowing that Scott for some reason had glowing eyes made it all the more reasonable that Derek did too.

Shaking my head at myself now, I couldn't believe my thoughts. Is this really what my life had come to? Rationalizing why it wasn't surprising that a complete stranger had glowing eyes?

Sitting back against the pillow, I grabbed my laptop from the shelf on my bedside table.

Easily opening it, I powered it on, waiting until the screen showed that I needed to put in my password. Quickly typing in MStill24, the bright home page opened up, showing a picture of Stiles and I. Hugging each other, our cheeks were smooshed together as Melissa took the photo, our ten your old little faces smothered in ice cream and our eyes wide with a sugar high.

Opening up my internet browser, I paused trying to figure out what to type. What was I even supposed to lookup? Did the FBI have the ability to look through my search history? Would they throw me in a padded cell?

Choosing to bypass those thoughts, I tapped a nail on the keyboard, thinking..thinking..thinking. I couldn't believe I was doing this.

Cases of people with glowing eyes

Pressing enter, I watched the search results come in, passing over the first few which only had to do with William Barrow, a crazy shrapnel bomber that had blown up a bus full of kids. Shuddering, I continued down the list, having no idea what I was looking for. Despite not wanting to click on it, the site The Secret World of the Supernatural caught my attention. Seeing as it was all I had to go off of, I entered the website.

Scrolling through, I read the article in question. It spoke about werewolves and vampires, fairies and trolls. Rolling my eyes, I had almost clicked the back button to continue my search when a paragraph title caught my eye.

Werewolves

There was no way, but flashing back to Stiles' joke..the one I'd heard twice now..I decided to read it.

Werewolves have existed on this planet for centuries, stories coming from all across the world, from completely different customs. Wolven creatures with glowing eyes and sharp teeth prowl the night looking for their next victim. All werewolves are affected by the light of the full moon, forcing them to turn into the beasts they truly are. Werewolves are also affected by anything that raises their pulse, causing them to shift. These moments are also when their bloodlust is at its peak, causing them to attack.

Continuing to read, I ignored the little voice in my head that was whispering that I was crazy. That there must be some other explanation.

Werewolves are prone to having superior strength, even in their human form.

Gulping slightly, I kept my eye on him as he ran around the guy and dodged more players, scoring yet another goal; which ripped through the goalie's stick.

Number 7) Scott might have super strength.

They also obtain superior hearing, being able to pick up on conversations from extremely far distances. They can also smell everything a wolf could smell.

"Technically should be two," I whispered under my breath catching both Stiles and somehow Scott nodding with my silent statement.

"And that's not the only weird thing. I-I can hear stuff I shouldn't be able to hear. Smell things."

"Smell things?" Stiles asked. "Like what?"

"Like the mint mojito gum in your pocket."

As if that wasn't enough, werewolves can also heal supernaturally fast. A gash meant for death could be healed within seconds. A gunshot gone in an instant. This all makes them extremely hard to kill, not to mention their superior speed.

Werewolves run in packs, just like real wolves. And just like wolves, they have the same rankings. An Alpha is the leader of a pack. Most legends say that an Alpha's eyes glow red with the blood of his enemies. Beta wolves are the wolves that follow an Alpha. They follow their Alpha's orders, and they make the pack stronger. Legend says that Beta wolves eyes glow a golden yellow, stained with the curse of a beast. Lastly, there are Omega's. Wolves that don't follow an Alpha. These wolves wander alone, and are the most vulnerable.

Werewolves become what they are very simply. A bite from another werewolf turns another. Some legends say that only the bite of an Alpha will turn another, but there is speculation.

Pausing, I thought back to the first day of the semester. I thought of the giant bite on Scott's side.

"....Scott got trampled by some deer, dropped his inhaler, got bit by something. Scott thinks it's a wolf but-"

"There haven't been wolves in California for 60 years."

I walked up to Stiles and overheard him saying something about a wolf.

"Laura Hale? His sister?! Are you kidding me? Yeah, I understand. Wolf bites..."

Number 10) Apparently, a wolf killed her even though there shouldn't be wolves in Cali, which also meant Scott probably did get bit by a wolf.

The one made from a wolf.

Feeling like I was slowly going insane, I backed out of the page and against my better judgment typed in a new search.

What are werewolves

Over the course of the next three hours, I completely forgot about my math homework and dove headfirst into a vat of insanity.

Werewolves are humans that have been cursed to wander the Earth as wolves, predators to the human species.

Every full moon a man turns into a beast, two legs turning into four as he chases the first scent of blood he can find.

Glowing eyes indicate the beast is getting ready to shift. If you are anywhere near someone like this, it may be too late. They enjoy the hunt. If you run, they will chase you. And believe me...they are far faster than you.

Some say superior or heightened senses would be worth turning into a ravaging animal every full moon. I don't think they would be.

No matter what website I went to, they all said the same thing. Werewolves were dangerous. They turned into wolves or half-man half-wolven creatures on the crest of every full moon. They were animals.

Leaning back, I pushed my laptop away from me, pushing back the stray pieces of hair that had fallen in my face as I tried to think.

There was no way werewolves were real.

Right?

This just had to be some huge coincidence and one day Stiles would tell me what has been going on and everything would make sense.

Right?

Blowing air out of my mouth, I pushed the laptop off of me jumping out of bed as I rushed downstairs. Walking into the kitchen, I grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it with cool, crisp, refreshing purified water. I needed to eat.

Opening up the fridge, I scanned its contents before deciding on the leftover spaghetti my mom made on Saturday. It always made me feel better. Pulling it out, I shut the refrigerator door and set the dish down on the counter. Grabbing a bowl, I easily poured some of the delicious noodles and sauce into it before throwing it in the microwave, setting it for two minutes.

Putting the lid back on the container, I picked it up and put it back in the fridge, going to grab a fork. Once a minute hit on the timer, I opened the microwave and stirred the noodles, making sure they would all get heated. Placing it back in, I shut the microwave door and started it back up.

Sighing, I stuck the fork in my mouth, licking off the spaghetti sauce left behind. Soon enough, I was silencing that annoying ass beeping and pulling out my food, making my trek back up the stairs.

Entering my room, I sat back on my bed, avoiding looking at the screen of my laptop. I didn't want to think about the fact that I'd made a word document with a lot of the information I'd read up on tonight.

Eating my food, I leaned back and got comfortable, staring at the ceiling. I sighed. What had my life come to?

Sitting up, I took another bite before pulling my laptop closer to me, going over the document I'd made while I finished my food. Finishing my food and the document, I set my bowl down on the side table before turning back around.

There was no way any of this was true.

Despite that fact, I saved the document, closed all my applications and shut down my computer. Putting it away, I laid down in my bed knowing that sleep wouldn't come for a few hours.

It was only eight-thirty. Pulling my phone out, I called Stiles, hoping he could take my mind off of all of this. He usually had that effect. Huffing, Stiles voicemail was all I got. Smashing the end call button, I put my phone down next to me, upset he still wasn't picking up.

Sighing again, I began staring at my ceiling, counting the little bumps and ridges trying to take my mind off of my own thoughts.

I got to number 826 before my phone chimed.

Batman: Sorry I missed your call, Rae. It's been a really long night. I'll see you tomorrow. Sleep tight.

Grumbling at the message, I checked the time. I'd been counting things on my ceiling for an hour.

To Batman: It's fine. I'll see you tomorrow.

Rolling over, an immense sadness filled me. I missed my best friends. I missed teasing Scott about how long his hair had grown out. I missed prank calling people with Stiles. I missed playing Mario Kart and laughing because Scott never won. I missed Stiles. I just missed Stiles.

Temporarily forgetting about everything else, I wallowed in bed and wished for sleep to come and that a new day would bring clearer skies.

P.S if you don't understand her password it's Rae's totally incognito password. M for Stiles' first name, Still for his last name, and 24 as in his lacrosse number. I don't know, he could probably figure it out if he really thought about it, but I thought it was cute. Plus, in my mind, Stiles always assumed the password was a play on words for 'I'm still 24' and was always super confused. 

And yes, this means Stiles told her his real name and not Scott. It happened when they were younger. I may or may not write that scene one of these days. 

Also, the next chapter will have nothing in Rae's POV. That's just how it worked. 

Have a good night!

~SiriusCatBennett