CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE:
IT'S NOT HER

"I JUST TALKED TO MY dad, who just talked to Jackson, and I've got really terrible, horrible, very, very bad news." Stiles entered the classroom the next day, taking a seat behind of Scott who was sitting beside of Elaine. The two glanced towards him before turning back to the front where Isaac was sitting.

"I think I already know." Scott shushed him, pointing towards Isaac. When the bell rang, the three were quick to walk out of the classroom.

"All right. I only found one thing online called a Kanima―︎it's a Werejaguar from South America that goes after murderers." Stiles told the duo.

"A. . . a werejaguar. . . ?" Elaine cocked her head slightly, frowning.

"That thing was not a jaguar." Scott denied, shaking his head.

"Yeah, and I'm not exactly a murderer." Stiles pointed.

"Neither am I, I think. I was murdered by a murderer, but. . ." Elaine spoke, making the two boys look at her. She just shrugged in response.

"Yeah, but you did see it kill somebody, which is probably why it tried to kill you. And it's still trying to kill you, and it probably won't stop until you're dead." Scott pointed out.

"I didn't see anyone die and it still tried to kill me." Elaine frowned.

Stiles looked between the two before saying, "You know, sometimes I really begin to question this 'friendship.'"

"I've been questioning it since we were four." Elaine spoke with a sarcastic smile. She gave both of them a pat on the shoulder before pushing them both into their next class. Scott and Stiles sat beside one another whilst Elaine sat behind Stiles, opening her book with pursed lips. Jackson sat down in the empty seat beside her before glancing towards Scott and Stiles.

"Hey, Testicle Left and Right―︎what the hell is a Kanima?" The three all tensed up before quickly snapping their attention towards Jackson, sharing looks with one another. However, before they could say anything, Coach started speaking.

"All right, listen up! A quick warning before we begin our review―︎some of you, like McCall, might want to start their own study groups, because tomorrow's midterm is so profoundly difficult―︎I'm not even too sure I could pass it!" He then looked around the clas before saying, "Okay, I need a volunteer at the board to answer the first question. Who's got it, huh?" A classmate raised their hand before going up to the board. The three quickly turned back towards Jackson.

"Paralyzed from the neck down. Do you have any idea what that feels like?"

"I'm familiar with the sensation." Stiles nodded.

"Wait―︎why would Derek test you? Why would he think that it's you?" Scott asked, frowning.

"How should I know?"

"Wait, do they think it's Lydia?" Elaine asked, frowning deeply at the thought of them going after her best friend.

"I don't know! All I heard was her name and something about chemistry." Jackson answered the female.

"Jackson!" Coach yelled, making the four snap towards him. "Do you have something you want to share with the rest of the class?"

"Umm. . . Just an undying admiration for my-my coach." Jackson quickly stuttered.

Coach smiled. "That's really kind of you. Now, shut up! Shut it!" He then turned back towards the rest of the class. "Anybody else?"

"How do we know it's not her?" Scott asked, looking at his sister before glancing towards Stiles.

"I looked at it, Scott." Elaine whispered. "That thing screamed nothing but evil. Lydia can be a bitch sometimes, but she's not as evil as that thing."

"She's at least sixty percent evil, forty on a good day." Stiles backed Elaine up. Scott looked between the two of them before shaking his head.

"That's not a very good argument."

"It's not her." Elaine sternly told her brother. "I refuse to believe that my best friend is a homicidal lizard! Lydia's perfectly fine, alright? Next suspect, please." The two glanced towards Elaine before sharing a look with each other, looking back towards the front before noticing what was written on the board. Lydia stood there, and Stiles took a picture of the words.

"What is that, Greek?" Scott asked.

"No, actually, I think it's English." Stiles answered before showing them the picture he took before flipping it, causing it to read the words 'SOMEONE HELP ME' all pushed together.

When the bell rang, the three were quick to make it to their Chemistry class. They stood in the doorway for a moment before Elaine offered them both a small smile, making her way over to Lydia. She sat beside the redhead with a gentle smile. Seconds later Scott and Stiles were joining the two, making Lydia look at them before rolling her eyes. Elaine glanced towards her brother, the two having a conversation between their eyes before a sigh fell from her lips.

"Einstein once said, 'Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity. . . And I'm not sure about the universe.' I myself have encountered infinite stupidity. 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 Stilinski's case, less than one." Mr. Harris spoke. "Erica, you take the first station. You'll start with―︎" He cut himself off upon seeing half the class raise their hands. He gave them all a blank look. "I didn't ask for volunteers. Put your hormonal little hands down." He then looked back at Erica before saying, "You'll start with McCall."

The siblings opened their mouth to ask which one, but upon noticing the teachers gaze narrowed on Scott, the boy nodded before getting up and joining Erica's side. Elaine started with Lydia, whilst Stiles started with Allison. The two females started the experiment.

"Hey, I'm sorry about the other night." Elaine softly sighed. "You know I love you, and I wouldn't have left if it wasn't absolutely important."

"I know." Lydia assured, offering her a small smile. "All is forgiven."

"I swear I'll make it up to you." Elaine promised.

"I know you will." Lydia nodded.

Elaine bit her lip before saying. "Lydia, I need you to listen to me. Whatever you do, don't talk to Isaac nor Erica."

"Why. . .?" Lydia rose an eyebrow.

"Just. . . just trust me on this one, alright?" Elaine requested. That's when they were forced to switch. Stiles went with Isaac, Scott went with Lydia, and Allison went with Elaine. The two girls looked at one another for a moment before focusing on their work.

"It's not her, right?" Allison asked.

"It can't be." Elaine shook her head. "I refuse to believe otherwise. Lydia's cruel sometimes, but she isn't cruel enough to slaughter someone." Allison nodded her head.

"Hey, are you and Stiles okay?"

"We're fine." Elaine answered her. "Why?"

"I don't know. The tension around you both just seems a little thicker than usual when you're around each other." Allison shrugged her shoulders.

"We had a little argument the other day, but I'm over it now." Elaine assured, giving her a tight smile.

"Does he know that?" Allison asked, and before Elaine could answer, it was time for them to switch again. Allison went with Erica, Elaine went with Isaac, and Stiles and Scott went with one another.

"If you hurt her, I know a book full of hexes, and I won't be afraid to use every single one of them on you." Elaine snarled, not even bothering to glance at the boy.

"I'm sure you will, Elaine." Isaac said, clearly amused. "But you can't use them on me when you're too exhausted from using them to protect her." Elaine turned her head towards him, narrowing her eyes at him before they switched once more. Isaac ended up with Lydia, Stiles and Elaine ended up together, and Allison and Scott ended up with one another.

There was silence between the two as they finished the experiment, Stiles biting the inside of his cheek as he glanced towards Elaine, wanting to say something, but he didn't know what to say to her. "Elaine. . ."

"It's fine, Stiles." Elaine cut him off, not glancing towards the boy. "Let's just act like it didn't happen."

"But it did. We had an argument and I want to apologize―︎"

"Well, don't." Elaine spoke, finally looking at him. Stiles opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Mr. Harris called time.

"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." Elaine examined the crystal for a moment, going to pop it into her mouth only for her attention to snap towards her brother who had yelled Lydia's name. The girl had been moments away from eating the crystal before she snapped her head towards Scott.

"What?"

"Uh. . . nothing." Scott swallowed. They watched as she ate the crystal, and her heart clenched when nothing happened. Elaine clenched her jaw before exchanging a look with Stiles. Lydia had failed the test.

The group of four, Elaine, Scott, Stiles, and Allison were all quick to gather in Coach's office away from the rest of the students as they slightly panicked.

"Derek's waiting outside for Lydia." Scott was quick to inform them.

"Waiting to kill her?" Allison asked, looking at her boyfriend with raised eyebrows and a frown covering her face.

"If he thinks she's the Kanima, then yes―︎especially after what happened at the pool." Scott told her, nodding his head.

"It's not her." Elaine shook her head, in a state of denial over the fact that there was a possibility of the Kanima being Lydia.

"El, she didn't pass the test. Nothing happened." Scott told his sister with a frown.

"No, it can't be her." Elaine snapped.

"It doesn't matter, because Derek thinks it's her." Allison quickly changed the subject, just as tense about the situation as Elaine was. "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 informed them with the shake of his head.

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

"By three o'clock?" Stiles asked in disbelief.

"There could be something in the Bestiary." Allison told him.

"Oh, you mean the nine-hundred-page book written in archaic Latin that none of us can read? Good luck with that." The boy sarcastically stated. He paused before turning to Elaine. "Wait, I know you like different languages, can you read it?"

Elaine glanced at them before shrugging her shoulders. "I know regular Latin by heart, if Archaic is anything like it I might could try."

"Actually, I think I know someone who might be able to translate it so Elaine doesn't have to struggle to do so." Allison told them, making Elaine let out a slight breath of relief.

"Uh, I can talk to Derek, maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove that it's not her? But, if anything happens, you guys let me handle it, okay?"

"What does that mean?" Allison asked, frowning as she turned towards Scott.

"That you can't heal like I do." He then looked at Allison before saying, "I just don't want you to get hurt."

Allison turned around and quickly went through her bag before holding up her crossbow and facing him once more. "I can protect myself." Scott looked at the girl before glancing down and looking up at her once more. "What? Did something else happen?"

"I just don't want you getting hurt. 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."

"Scott―︎" Elaine started but her brother just shook his head, wanting her to stay with them, knowing what she could do. If anything were to happen, Elaine could quickly protect them by saying a few Latin words. The girl sighed before nodding. Scott turned on his heel to walk out, quickly stopping and turning just in time to catch the arrow that was inches from his face. Elaine turned to Stiles with slightly wide eyes whilst Allison just turned her head to look at the boy, holding out her hand.

"Ah, sorry." He handed Allison the crossbow back before nodding to the weapon. "Sensitive trigger on that." Scott glanced at them for a moment before walking out.

━︎━︎━︎━︎━︎

After what seemed like forever of trying to convince Lydia to come with them, the girl having constantly asked questions before Jackson told her to shut up and keep walking, they had all driven in Stiles' jeep in order to drive to Elaine and Scott's household. They got out of the car, walking up the steps as Elaine pulled out a key, pausing as she looked at Stiles who had also pulled out a key.

"Do you have a key to my house?" Elaine spoke, furrowing her eyebrows as she looked at the boy.

"Yes. . ." Elaine and Stiles stared at one another before Elaine pursed her lips and turned back towards her door, quickly unlocking it.

"If we're studying at Scott's house, then where's Scott?" Lydia spoke up.

"Meeting us here, I think." Stiles answered as Elaine pushed the door open. "I hope." The group entered the house with Stiles closing the door and quickly locking all three locks before checking out the window and turning around to see Lydia giving him a questioning look.

"Uh, there's been a few break-ins around the neighborhood." He paused before grabbing a chair and placing it under the door knob, making Lydia raise an eyebrow. "And a murder. Yeah, it was bad." Elaine sighed, shaking her slightly before looking to Jackson, nodding her head towards Lydia. He looked at her for a moment, the two sharing a silent conversation before Jackson huffed and looked towards Lydia.

"Lydia, follow me. I need to talk to you for a minute." Jackson spoke, turning to walk away.

Lydia scoffed. "Seriously? What is going on with everyone?" The girl huffed before following after him. Elaine, Allison, and Stiles all kept watch whilst Jackson and Lydia talked upstairs.

"Hey, uh, are we good?" Stiles softly asked the girl, looking at her. Elaine glanced up at the boy before nodding her head.

"We're fine, Stiles." Elaine told him.

"I'm sorry what I said."

"Don't be." Elaine shook her head. "You were just worried about me and I yelled at you."

"Guys." Allison spoke, grabbing their attention. They quickly looked out the window before noticing Derek and his pack standing there.

"Call Scott." Elaine quickly informed her. "I'm going to try something." Allison nodded her head before dialing Scott's number whilst Elaine put her hands on the door.

"What are you doing?" Stiles was quick to stutter out, looking at the girl and having a gut feeling that he knew exactly what she was about to do.

"I'm going to put up a protection spell around the house so that they can't get in."

"The entire house?" Stiles yelled, exasperated. "You could barely keep the Kanima trapped in a small area, what makes you think you can do an entire house."

"I'm so glad you believe in me." Elaine sarcastically responded.

"I do believe in you, I just don't want you hurting yourself." Stiles quickly corrected her. Her lip lifted slightly a his worry before she turned back towards the door and closed her eyes whilst Allison quickly spoke with Scott on the phone.

"Well, I have to do something." Elaine told the boy.

"It's me." Allison spoke. "You need to get here now. Right now. I don't know how long Elaine will be able to keep up the boundary spell she's casting and once it drops they're going to come barging in."

"I'm on my way." Scott quickly said before hanging up the phone.

Elaine let in a deep breath. "Alright, you can do this. Phasmatos veras nos ex malom. Terra mora vantis quo incandis per vasa quo errum signos." She repeated the phrase over and over, clenching her jaw as she tried to keep it up as long as possible, but she could feel herself quickly draining of power. Stiles watched her with worry, not liking how much power she was using. She was a new witch, one that barely knew of what she could do, and yet here she was casting a spell that could potentially save Lydia's life, whilst also damaging her own health in the process. He couldn't stand there and do nothing. But what other choice did he have? He was just a human, and she was a powerful witch. All he could do was stand there and silently hope and pray that Scott got there, and soon.