CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR:
LYDIA'S PARTY

ELAINE HAD WOKEN UP TO find her brother sitting there, asleep. Her heart rate monitor spiked at seeing him, making the boy immediately jump up in alarm, thinking that something was wrong, but when he saw his sister laying there, looking at him with tears in her eyes, he was quick to stand up and walk over to her. He sat on the edge of the bed, grabbing her hand.

"You're okay." She whispered.

"Yeah. I'm okay." He nodded his head. "How are you? Are you okay?"

"I'm good, knowing that you came out alive." Elaine whispered, nodding her head. A tear fell from her eye. "I thought you were going to die, Scott. And I couldn't do anything because my dumbass was too busy being concussed by Argent's car. I wanted to help, but Derek and Stiles wouldn't let me go in―︎"

"Good." Scott nodded, wiping the tear from her eye. "Derek got to me in time. Brought me to the clinic."

"I'm glad you're okay." Elaine told her brother. "How soon can I get out of here."

"Uh, not until you're healed." Melissa's voice entered the room, making the two turn their heads to look at their mother. "How are you feeling, sweetheart?"

"Fine, mom, really. I'd rather get hit by a bus than stay in this hospital any longer." Elaine told her mother. Melissa gave her a look, making the girl roll her eyes. "Mom, I promise, I feel fine. No dizziness, I can see straight, I'm fine."

Melissa pursed her lips before sighing. "It's never a good idea to argue with you."

"That's because I always win the arguments." She smiled. Melissa sighed before nodding her head. Moment later, Elaine was being discharged, having being forced to grab Stiles out of the wait room, seeing as Scott had kicked him out of her actual room in hopes of him going home, but of course, that hadn't worked.

"You don't have to go to Lydia's party tonight." Scott told the girl, but Elaine shook her head.

"Of course I do. She's my best friend."

"And you have three broken ribs, a sprained wrist, and just healed over a concussion." Stiles pointed out to the girl.

"Seriously. I'm fine." She shrugged her shoulders before smirking slightly. "Nothing a little magic can't fix." The two boys exchanged looks with one another before Elaine hopped into Stiles' vehicle, glancing at the two boys. "You guys comin'?"

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎

"Elaine." As soon as Lydia saw her best friend standing at her door, a breath of relief fell from her lips. She immediately pulled Elaine into the hug, the girl trying not to wince as Lydia wrapped her arms around her waist. Upon feeling the girl tense up, she quickly pulled away. "Sorry. Broken ribs, forgot."

"Hey, it's fine." Elaine waved off. She entered the home, deciding to help Lydia with the drinks.

"You look really nice tonight, Laine." Lydia smiled. "Stiles won't be able to look away."

"Oh my god." Elaine groaned, rolling her eyes whilst Lydia just smiled in amusement at her friend. It continued to grow later, Elaine having found Allison and talking with her, the two girls glancing at the very minimum amount of people that had showed up before they noticed Stiles and Scott walking out. The two girls walked up towards them.

"Jackson's not here." Allison informed the two boys.

"Yeah, no one's here." Stiles pointed out.

"Maybe we're just early?" Scott tried.

"Or maybe, nobody's coming because Lydia's turned into the town whackjob."

"Stiles," Elaine warned.

"Well, we have to do something, because we've completely ignored her for the past two weeks." Allison told the group.

"She's completely ignored Stiles for the past ten years." Elaine stated, making Stiles give her a blank look. Apparently she hadn't remembered what she had said. Elaine then corrected herself. "No, what is it that you like to say? You haven't fallen on her radar yet?" Elaine had a smile of amusement on her lips.

"We don't owe her a party." Scott finished, ignoring his sibling.

"What about the chance to get back to normal?" Allison looked at Scott.

"Normal?" Scott frowned. "Do you remember when life was normal? 'Cause I don't."

"Well, technically, she wouldn't be the 'town whackjob' if it wasn't for us." Elaine told them, a small frown falling on her lips.

"I guess I could use my co-captain status to get the lacrosse team here." Scott said, nodding his head.

"Yeah, I also know some people who can get this thing going. Like, really going." Stiles informed them.

"Who?" Both girls asked.

"I met them the other night. Let's just say, they know how to party."

"Oh dear." Elaine muttered. Ten minutes later a group of drag queens showed up, and immediately Lydia's house had been filled up. Elaine stood off to the side, watching the party as she drank the punch, a small smile on her lips as she watched Lydia having a much better time than when it had first started.

"Hey, Laney."

"Hey, Stiles." Elaine smiled at the boy.

"You have a very colorful mouth when you're on pain medication mixed with a concussion." Stiles spoke, nodding his head. Elaine groaned, covering her face with one of her hands.

"Oh god, what did I say?" Elaine spoke, wincing slightly.

"You don't remember anything?" Stiles questioned. The girl shook her head.

"The last thing I remember is Derek saying something about Scott dying." Elaine answered. "After that, everything's blank. I didn't say anything too embarrassing did I?"

"Nope, just some nonsense about birds."

"Birds?" Elaine rose an eyebrow. "Wow. Out of all of the things I could've went on a tangent on, I went off about birds." Elaine laughed to herself, shaking her head before finishing the rest of her punch. "I'll be right back." She offered Stiles another smile before walking away. Stiles opened his mouth to call after her but just pursed his lips instead. Right now probably wasn't the best time to tell her what she said anyways.

Elaine pushed past the group of people, flashing people smiles every so often before she finally made it to the bathroom. She quickly pushed herself inside, closing and locking the door. She did her business before washing her hands. That's when she looked up at the mirror, a gasp falling from her lips as she stumbled backwards, looking at her reflection with wide tear filled eyes. Her eyes were black, black veins crawling up her neck as well as the sides of her face, a sinister smile fell on her licorice painted lips.

"Everywhere you go, something always seems to go wrong. Someone always gets hurt." Elaine shook her head. "Look around you, Elaine! You killed them. All of them. Ruthlessly. And you did it with a smile on your lips and no regret dancing in your eyes." Elaine looked around her before letting out a scream of pain, tears trickling down her face. Her friends all laid dead at her feat. Her brother, Allison, Lydia, her mother. "Stiles got the worst of it though. You were just so angry with him. He almost looks unrecognizable now." Her eyes snapped towards the dead body of Stiles, flesh scared and burnt with a puddle of blood surrounding him.

"No." Elaine cried, shaking her head as she fell to the ground beside of his body, shaking him in hopes of him waking up. "No, no, no."

"This is what will become of you, Elaine." Her reflection spoke. "This is your future."

She sobbed uncontrollably. Even after all the bodies seemed to have disappeared, they lingered in her brain, haunting her. She couldn't move as she continued to sob on the bathroom floor. Her eyes were cloudy, as if she weren't fully there. Scott, having just managed to get Stiles out of his own hallucination. The two boys were in search of Elaine, pushing through the crowd in hopes of finding the girl. That's when Scott could hear her sobs.

"This way." Scott quickly nodded, running down the hallway and stopping in front of the bathroom. "El! El, open the door!"

"Laney, it's Stiles!" Stiles called, knocking on the door. The girl didn't move making the two boys exchanged looks before Scott slammed his shoulder against the door, forcefully making it open. The two quickly stopped, looking down at the girl who was curled in a ball in the floor, the sink still running. Scott was quick to turn it off whilst Stiles kneeled down in front of the girl, placing his hands on either side of her face.

"Elaine, hey, snap out of it." Stiles tried. "I really don't want to throw you into water because I'm scared of what the outcome will be, but I will if you don't sober up."

"Here." Scott walked back into the room, Stiles never realized he had left. Stiles took the glass, handing it to the girl who took it and drank it. It seemed to sober enough that she blinked, turning her head towards Stiles.

"Stiles?" Her voice broke as she said his name, another tear escaping her eye. The boy nodded head and immediately Elaine threw her arms around him, clutching onto him for dear life. He quickly hugged the girl back, placing a hand on the back of head as she buried her face in his shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. I'm right here." As he held onto her, he exchanged a look with Scott, wondering what exactly it was that the girl could have seen to make her so shaken up.

"We have to find Lydia." Scott spoke up. Stiles pulled the girl up from the ground, wiping the tears from her cheeks and examining her for a moment.

"You okay?"

Elaine swallowed before nodding her head. "Y-yeah. Let's go find her." The trio searched everywhere, all having gone in separate parts of the house before they met up at the pools once again.

"Hey, I can't find her."

"Me either." Elaine shook her head.

"And dude? Anyone who drank that crap, they're freaking out." Stiles told the wolf.

"I can see that." Scott nodded.

"Well, what the hell do we do?" Elaine questioned.

"I don't know, but we gotta―︎" However, Scott was cut off by the voice of Matt yelling out.

"I can't swim!" A group of guys dragged him towards the pool. "No, no, no, no, stop, guys! I can't swim! I can't swim! I can't-I can't―︎" The boy was thrown in, being plunged under the water. The boy was struggling to stay afloat, and Elaine wanted to help him, but before she could even step forward, Jackson appeared, pulling the boy out of the water. Matt stood up, Jackson seeming to take an almost protective stance beside the boy. "What are you looking at?" Jackson walked away and Matt went to do so as well, stopping in front of the three before quickly pushing past them, making the three exchange looks.

"Did we all see the same thing I did?" Elaine muttered, the two boys nodding in response as they had watched the boy leave.

"The cops are here! Party's over!" Someone yelled before everyone went running. The three went outside, Elaine going with her brother whilst Stiles went to the car. They walked past the cops before Scott grabbed his sisters wrist, making her turn her head only to stop. Matt stood there, soaking in wet, anger clear on his face. But that wasn't what made Elaine freeze. The Kanima was right beside of him, his tail wrapped protectively around Matt's legs. Before the two could do anything, Matt and the Kanima disappeared within the crowd, making the two siblings exchange wide eyes looks with one another.

It was Matt. Matt was the one that was controlling the Kanima.