13: Closing In

A few days later, Sky and Scott walk through the hallways of the school as they talk to Stiles. The previous night, they had started to help Derek as they had agreed, using his car to distract the hunters from finding out where he actually was. Scott was driving with Stiles in the passenger seat and Sky in the back, but eventually the hunters had caught on that Derek wasn't in the car. The police had started to persue Derek himself, they were communicating over the radio about him running on foot, leading the hunters to back off from Derek's car.

After some persuasion -- that was really panicked shouting from Sky and Stiles -- Scott had managed to finally put his foot on the gas and sped to help Derek, Sky yanking him in the back with her just in time after the hunters had started shooting at him.

And Sky did not want to ever experience Scott's driving ever again.

Now, they were trying to figure out how to get Allison's necklace from her without her noticing. Derek had told them about two things he had found on his hunt for the Alpha. One was their chemistry teacher, Mr. Harris, who was a lead Derek's sister had come across but with no explanation, and two was a drawing of a symbol. A symbol that Scott had seen on Allison's necklace, which she had been given as a gift from her aunt for her birthday.

Scott lets out a hopeless sigh as they walk to class, "This is gonna be impossible, you know?" he tells them.

"Why don't you just ask her if you can borrow it?" asks Stiles.

"How?" Scott wonders.

Sky smiles sarcastically at him, "It's easy, just say 'Hey Allison, can I borrow your necklace to see if there are any supernatural clues that will lead me to the super murderous Alpha I supposedly have to kill to be the perfect boyfriend for you,'" she supplies.

Scott looks at her, "Not helping."

Stiles sighs, "Why don't you just talk to her?" he suggests.

Scott shakes his head, saying, "She won't talk to me. What if she, like, only takes it off in the shower or something?"

"That's why you ease back into it, okay? Get back on the good side, and remind her of the good times. And then you ask for the necklace," Stiles pauses with narrowed eyes as he looks at Scott. "You're thinking about her in the shower, aren't you?" he asks.

Scott nods sheepishly, "Yeah."

Sky swats the back of his head, rolling her eyes in exasperation, "God, you're such a teenage boy."

"Well, yeah."

Stiles shakes his head at them, "All right, stay focused, okay? Get the necklace, get the Alpha, get cured, get Allison. In that order. Got it?" he tells Scott.

"Get the necklace," Scott repeats.

***

Ariel watches Sky curiously as she digs through her locker.

Sky grunts in frustration, not being able to find her homework, when she notices the stare.

"What?" she asks.

"Would you take the cure?"

Sky pauses from looking through her locker, "I --" she hesitates. "I don't know."

Ariel mindlessly steps forward and reaches into Sky's backpack, pulling out the homework she was looking for and handing it to the girl as she asks her next question, "Do you like the way you are now better?" she wonders.

Sky bites her lip, "I - yes." she admits, almost sounding ashamed.

Ariel tilts her head, with no judgement on her face, "Why?" she asks.

Sky opens her mouth to reply but stops as she catches sight of Stiles walking up to them, "Hey guys, have you --"

Scott comes running up to them out of breath, ranting about how Jackson had found out about him. They all gape in disbelief, apart from Sky who scowls in annoyance.

Stiles stares incredulously, "How the hell did he find out?" he asks.

"I have no idea," replies Scott.

"Did he say it out loud?" asks Stiles. "The word?"

Scott frowns at him in confusion, "What word?"

Sky rolls her eyes, "He means werewolf, Scotty. Did he actually outright say he knows you're a werewolf?" she asks.

"No, but he implied it pretty freaking clearly," replies Scott.

Ariel bites her lip, "Okay, maybe it's not as bad as it seems. He doesn't have any proof, right? And would anyone actually believe him if he went around telling people you were a werewolf?" she reasons.

Scott shakes his head, "How about Allison's father?" he reminds them.

Ariel winces, "Right." she mumbles.

Stiles pauses, "Okay, it's bad."

Scott starts panicking, "I need a cure. Right now," he says.

Sky holds her hand up, "Wait. Does he even know about Allison's father? Or just you?"

Scott shrugs, "I don't know. "

Stiles sighs, "Okay, where's Derek?" he asks.

"Hiding, like we told him to." Scott answers. "Why?"

"I have another idea," says Stiles. He hesitates. "It's gonna take a little time and finesse, though," he admits.

Scott looks at him warily, "We have that game tonight. It's quarterfinals. And it's your first game. Sky's too, considering she didn't play last time." he says.

Stiles groans at the reminder,  "I know, I know. Look, do you have a plan for Allison yet?"

Scott nods, "She's in my next class. "

"Get the necklace."

"Right. Get the necklace."

Sky watches them head to class with wary eyes, "My twin senses are tingling. They're telling me my brother is about to do something stupid," she says, sounding exasperated at the thought.

Ariel chuckles, pulling her along, "Let's go."

***

Jackson had ended up taunting Scott all day yet showed no signs of knowing about Sky, so she made sure to be careful about what she said and did around the school.

Scott's plan to get the necklace had originally failed, but now he was stuck at Allison's house having dinner with her family after getting invited to stay by Kate Argent, her aunt. Scott had kept Sky up to date with texts and reassured her he would meet her at school for their lacrosse game.

Sky was choosing to spend her time before the game at Ariel's house. The girls lay together as they watched TV and talked amongst themselves.

Ariel sighs after a moment, "Jackson dumped Lydia over text today," she tells Sky. "She's heartbroken but she won't show it."

Sky looks up from where she was playing with the ends of her hair, "Why are you here with me and not her then?" she wonders.

Ariel frowns, "She said she just wants to be alone for now," she mumbles.

Sky hums, "I could hurt Jackson for her if you want," she suggests.

Ariel rolls her eyes at her, "I know you're just itching for an excuse to do that," she looks at her pointedly. "But you're not going to," she tells her.

Sky sighs as she rolls onto her back and stares at the ceiling. They lay in a comforting silence for a moment before Sky speaks up quietly.

"It makes me better."

Ariel turns to look at her in confusion, "What?"

"You asked me why I like being this way. It makes me better," Sky repeats.

"What do you mean?" Ariel asks.

Sky bites her lip as she tries to sort out her thoughts, "Before, I wasn't really anything," she starts quietly. "I didn't do well in school. I didn't play any sports. I was socially a nobody. You didn't notice me. I was still angry, but I couldn't help Scott as much as I can now when someone tries to hurt him."

Ariel leans over and grabs her hand, "Skylar --"

"It's the truth."

Ariel scoffs, "A twisted truth," she turns Sky's head to look her in the eyes. "You're getting good grades because you're working hard. You started playing lacrosse for your brother before you knew about your abilities. Socially --" she pauses. "You still don't like people but I force you to socialise with me --"

"True," Sky mutters.

Ariel flicks her forehead, "And I have never, and I mean never, seen a time where you haven't stood up for your brother. You may not have had the physical strength then, but you've always been there for him."

Sky fidgets awkwardly, "Well, only I'm allowed to hit him when he's annoying," she mumbles.

"And as for me," continues Ariel. "Well, when I skipped a year and joined you as a freshman, this older girl caught my attention. You see, when Greenburg kept pointing at me for being younger and Lydia's sister, she threatened to break his fingers when she thought I wasn't listening," Ariel lets a smirk take over her lips. "I was."

Sky blinks, "You heard that, huh?"

Ariel grins, "Oh, yeah."

Something clicks in Sky's mind, making her start smiling smugly, "You've had a crush on me since freshman year," she realises.

Ariel narrows her eyes, "A tiny -- "

"Big fat --"

"- attraction --"

"Crush!"

Ariel huffs and pokes her in the ribs, "Don't try and act like you didn't threaten people for me, Skylar," she retorts.

"Don't try and act like you're not totally in love with this face, Ariel," Sky mocks.

Ariel looks at her in annoyance, but she can't keep the fond look out of her eyes, "Don't you have a lacrosse game to play?" she averts, moving to stand up.

Sky grins at her, "Yep."

***

When they arrive at the lacrosse game, Sky snorts as Ariel tries to keep up her grumpy facade but fails, letting a smile escape after Sky pecks her on the forehead before she walks over to the bench where her brother was.

Sky drags a hand through his hair to mess it up as she moves to sit next to him. Scott groans, pushing her hand off,

"You're an annoyance," he mutters.

"You're adopted," Sky retorts.

Scott snorts, "Okay, womb buddy."

Jackson sits himself down on the other side of Scott, making Sky scowl.

"It's the bite that does it, isn't it?" he asks, referring to becoming a werewolf.

"Yes," grumbles Scott.

Jackson nods, pleased as he fiddles with his gloves, "Well, then, it's easy."

Scott shakes his head, "No, it's not. I can't be the one to do it, okay? It has to be - It has to be an Alpha. " he tells him.

Jackson shrugs, "Well, then, you get him to do it."

"I don't even know who he is." Scott tells him, "Okay, trust me. This whole thing is so much more complicated than you think. There are others. There's hunters," he tries to explain.

Jackson frowns, "Hunting what? What hunters?"

Sky rolls her eyes, leaning forward, "Werewolf hunters, idiot."

Jackson raises his eyebrows as he looks at her, "Oh, my God. You've got to be kidding me? I'm guessing you're one too, girl McCall."

Sky narrows her eyes at him, "Listen, you ignorant piece of crap. There's a whole family of them, and they carry assault rifles. Do you get that? They'd kill you," she tells him.

Jackson looks to where Scott was glancing and nods towards the Argents who were there to watch the game, "Them?" he asks.

Scott panics, "What? No, no -- "

Jackson laughs at him, "Oh, my God, that actually makes sense. Allison Argent. Oh, my God, you don't get it. You've known her this long, and you never actually asked her -- " He looks between them. "Her name, idiots. Do you know what Argent means in French? It means silver."

Sky reaches over and grabs him by the shirt, "Watch your mouth, Jackson. You're still human right now, remember?" she growls.

Coach walks up to them and claps Scott and Jackson on the shoulders, making Sky lean back, "Now, this is what I like to see, rivals turned allies. You know there's no "me" in "team," right, boys?"

Sky raises her eyebrows at him, "There's an M and an E."

Coach narrows his eyes at her, "Okay, smart ass, how 'bout this --" he looks between the twins, "No "A" in econ if no win on the field? Good? Huh? Perfect. Good."

Scott looks at Jackson once Coach walks away, "So, what are you gonna do?" he asks.

Jackson tilts his head in thought, "Well, I'm gonna give you a chance to give me what I want. What's three days, huh? 72 hours. That's all you get, Scott. 72 hours," he tells him.

Sky looks at him, "What if he can't?"

Jackson laughs, "Oh, come on, McCall's. That's not a winning attitude," he tells them.

Sky flinches when Coach blows his whistle, "Let's go. Huddle up! Let's go! Big night! Big night!" he shouts.

The twins stand up only to pause when they hear the Argents talking, "Chris, remember how we were talking about more beta's -- maybe a younger one?"  starts Kate.

"Yes."

Kate focuses on a set of claw marks on Jackson's neck from where the Alpha had grabbed him at the video store, "Can you get turned by a scratch?" she wonders.

"If the claws go deep enough. Maybe," Chris replies.

Kate nods him to what she was looking at, "Wonder how deep those went," she comments.

Sky sucks in a breath as she shares a look with Scott. Jackson wasn't even a werewolf yet and the hunters were suspicious of him.

Coach goes over to the team, "Ready? Say it so they can hear it! Hands in. What are we?"

"We are lacrosse!"

"All right, take the field! Let's go!"