𝟏𝟐. ❙𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

❛ 𝑮𝑯𝑶𝑺𝑻𝑭𝑨𝑪𝑬 ❜

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•☆.⭒✻❙ 𝐂𝐎𝐆𝐍𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐂𝐄𝐏𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 ❙✻⭒.☆•

❝ 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐨𝐧? ❞

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𝑲𝑰𝑺𝑺

𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒆

❛ i want to be your fantasy ❜

𝐴 𝐹𝐸𝑊 𝐷𝐴𝑌𝑆 𝐴𝐹𝑇𝐸𝑅 the trio had discovered that Derek Hale is a murderer, they had gone back to his house to watch him get arrested. Stiles' dad was called in to bring Derek to justice, so because of Jolene's mysterious grudge against he and all other werewolves and the two boys general curiosity, Stiles drove them down to the crime scene, but parked far enough away that they wouldn't be acknowledged.

Stiles and Scott were leaning against his blue Jeep, watching as Derek was being marched out of his house in handcuffs by one of the deputies. He scowled right at Scott, who looked away with shame and guilt written all over his face. Derek may have been a murderer, but Scott has an overwhelming amount of compassion. He still felt guilty.

Jolene had stepped away from the boys with the excuse of having to call her dad to let him know where she was. The boys didn't think anything of it; that was until they saw her walking out from the woods and straight to the unattended police car holding Derek. The deputies were checking out the crime scene, Sheriff Stilinski included, so Jolene was jumping at this opportunity. Stiles tried to wave her down to stop her while Scott fidgeted and finicky, too panicky to actually figure out how to stop her. Jolene did see them, but decided to ignore them.

Jolene went right into the passenger seat of the car, closing the door behind her, and turning around to face Derek. He sighed as soon as he saw her, but Jolene sported an arrogant smirk on her face.

"Hey, girl."

"Fuck off."

"Woah! Language, Hale! Bad dog." Jolene teased. Derek's scowl only worsened, his irritation from her not having a limit. Jolene simply enjoyed annoying him, but she did have something important to discuss. "Anyway, I wanted to ask you something and since you're kinda stuck here and leashed to the back, you have to answer."

"Are you gonna keep it up with the dog jokes?" Derek wondered, more so needing to know how much he was going to hate his life more than he already did after this conversation.

"Do you hate them?" Derek nodded his head. "Then yes."

Derek sighed and leaned back against the seat, looking up at the ceiling and internally asking the god he didn't believe him to spite him now and take his life. Derek and Jolene have a long and complicated history. Werewolves had been told many different stories than the reality of the history between sirens and their own kind. Werewolves believed that the siren queen betrayed the noble werewolf and went insane, threatening to kill him, so he had to use that whistle to bring her peace. Derek always believed that story, always believed that the sirens were the antagonists, but that was far from the truth.

Sirens are misinterpreted and manipulated creatures that are peaceful beings; history has rewritten sirens to be monsters, not the angels of the sea. Sirens only become violent and gruesome when threatened.

Derek has threatened Jolene countless times over, which has now devolved into an unsalvageable hatred. Jolene did, however, have to use his knowledge of his own kind to question the strange phenomenon she, Scott, and Stiles had witnessed. "That girl you killed was a werewolf, but she could turn into an actual wolf. You can't do that, Scott can't do that, I've never heard of a werewolf that could. Is that why you killed her?"

"Why are you so worried about me when it's Scott who's the problem?" Derek dodged her question. "And since when were you friends with him?"

"Since when do you care who I'm friends with?" Derek isn't oblivious to Jolene's status at school, he knows a lot about her and vice versa. They simply use that knowledge against them.

"I don't."

"Then why are you asking?" Derek clenched his jaw in annoyance and leaned forward a bit, doing his best to ignore how irritating she was being and drive this point home. "What do you think is going to happen when he shifts on the field? People aren't just gonna keep cheering him on. I can't stop Scott from playing, but you can. And trust me--you want to. You've seen what happens on full moons."

Jolene would never admit it, but Derek was right. Scott had already tried to kill her and Stiles, but he hadn't actually hurt anyone yet. Derek Hale and his family on the other hand have been attacking Jolene since she was a little girl, ever since they discovered she was a siren.

However, before Jolene could respond to Derek, the car door opened and Stiles' father--the sheriff--was standing right there. Jolene sent him an awkward smile and dragged out, "Hey, Sheriff."

"Jolene." He greeted in a deadpanned voice, not amused by her presence. He stepped to the side and motioned for her to get out of the car. Jolene wasn't going to argue with law enforcement, so she complied. She and Sheriff Stilinski knew each other well since Mick had been arrested dozens of times for minor crimes when he was drunk. It was never anything more than a night in a cell or a small fine. Stilinski did always feel bad for her and gave Jolene the benefit of the doubt since he's seen her bail out her father far too many times than she should have. Stilinski didn't want her talking to Derek Hale though. He knew she was eccentric and far too curious.

The two of them stood across from each other as Stilinski let out an exasperated breath. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Helping."

"Really?" Jolene shrugged her shoulders even though Stilinski didn't believe her. "Well, how 'bout you help me understand exactly how you came upon this?"

"I was wandering in the woods 'cause my friend Allison has this boyfriend, his name's Scott, he's kind of weird. He's actually friends with your son. Anyway, he lost his inhaler, so-"

Stilinski was quick to cut off her ramble since he was only looking for particular information. "When did he lose it?"

"The other night, I think."

"The other night when my son was out here alone looking for the first half of the body, which Stiles told me that he was alone when they were looking for that first half." Stilinski had her. Jolene clicked her tongue and twisted her body a little, starting to get nervous since she accidentally got Stiles caught in a lie. She wasn't with them when that happened, so she wasn't aware of the lie she had to tell.

"See, if I had known he told you that, I wouldn't have said that Scott lost his inhaler that night."

"So, you would've lied to me?" Stilinski challenged, but Jolene has quite the talent for snarking her way out of problems. "Well, that depends on how you define a lie."

"I define it as not telling the truth, how do you define it?"

Jolene scoffed and put her hands on her hips. "Hanging vertically like a bat...obviously."

Stilinski pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a breath, already exhausted by this girl and how much she reminded him of his already exhausting son. Stiles had used almost that exact excuse the last time he was caught in a lie, only it was reclining horizontally. She was really pushing her luck with Stilinski and not arresting her. "That isn't a lie, Jolene."

"Well, I wouldn't have even lied anyway, no matter how you define it. I would have...fibbed."

"That's a synonym for lying."

"What the hell is a cinnamon?" Jolene was genuinely asking, it showed that she wasn't academically smart, almost sadly so.

Stilinski let out a breath and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I don't want you, Scott, or my son anywhere near this, alright?"

"What if I'm not near, but like, sort of close, but not really?" Stilinski was already glaring at her while Jolene wore an expectant look. She wasn't being helpful to herself in any way, only pushing her luck. Stilinski motioned with his head for her to leave and demanded, "Get out of here."

"Right. Sorry." Jolene was quick to walk off and head straight for Scott and Stiles. She didn't want to make the sheriff of her town any angrier than he already was.

Stiles lifted his hands in disbelief at the girl, still overwhelmed by the fact she willingly went to speak to a murderer and defy the police. As soon as she got close enough, he asked, "Why?"

"I was being helpful." Jolene defended herself. "While I was getting answers, you were just sitting here looking pretty."

Scott was already headed to the backseat since he knew Jolene was going to force him back there anyway, but even from that distance, he could hear Stiles' heart skip a beat when she called him pretty. Stiles really did try to hide it, but was struggling. Stiles cleared his throat and diverted the conversation to what was important in order to hide his flustered state. "So, did you find out anything?"

"No 'cause Derek's useless." Jolene responded as she and Stiles got in the car. He started it up and began to drive off. While he was behind the wheel, Jolene and Scott went to work. Jolene used her books Stiles still had in his car from when he borrowed them and Scott used his phone to research werewolves. As they were driving along the road that led them out of the woods, Jolene and Scott needed to rationalise and figure out why wolfsbane was being used or what this burial was all about since Derek gave her nothing. It was a lot more difficult than they thought. "I can't find anything about wolfsbane being used for burial. Jo?"

"Don't call me Jo." She scolded. Stiles glanced over to the girl for a moment, intrigued by the fact that she was so adamant about people not calling her by that nickname, but never seemed to mind when Stiles did it. She told him that it was only because they didn't know each other well, but she didn't know Scott well either. Stiles had no clue why he was allowed to call her Jo.

"But, no. I haven't found anything. I don't think it's a ritual, I've never heard of werewolves turning into actual wolves." Jolene answered his question.

"Well, maybe it's a special skill, you know? Something you have to learn?" Stiles suggested, trying to help brainstorm since he couldn't help them with the research while he was driving. This conversation may have been helpful to the further knowledge of werewolves, but it was only stressing out Scott, who muttered, "Yeah, I'll put it on my to-do list right underneath figuring out how the hell I'm playing this game tonight."

Neither of the two in the front really heard Scott, but their minds were occupied elsewhere. "Maybe it's different for girl werewolves?"

"I don't get why it would be different, but that would be sick." Jolene agreed. Scott was growing increasingly more irritable by the second and this conversation was doing him no good. He finally lost his patience, "God, stop it!"

Jolene looked back at him as he continued to stress, "Stop saying 'werewolves!' Stop enjoying this so much!"

"Why are you being such a little bitch?" Jolene scrunched her nose.

"Shut up!" Scott's aggravation was a lot more present when his voice went dark and he doubled over in his seat as if he was in pain, which was immediately a cause for concern. Stiles looked back at him through the mirror, still driving, "Woah, Scott, you okay?"

Scott groaned in pain, not being able to speak. Jolene very suddenly grabbed Stiles' bag, which was sitting between the two and started to rifle through it, having a feeling she knew why Scott was reacting in such a way while Stiles only thought that he was dramatically frustrated, "Scott, you're gonna have to accept this, sooner or later."

"I can't!"

"Well, you're gonna have to."

"No, I can't breathe!" Stiles actually looked back at him this time when he noticed the strange undercurrent in Scott's tone, which was part of him shifting into a werewolf. This was exactly the moment when Jolene found wolfsbane in Stiles' bag.

Without hesitation and while the car was still moving, Jolene opened the door. With the flower in hand, she jumped out of the car, which made Stiles panic. Jolene created the illusion around her that the world was moving in slow motion while she moved at a normal pace. This allowed her to catch herself and get to her feet so easily.

Jolene's illusions aren't exactly illusions. She could make things appear as if they're truly present when they aren't, but they would feel completely real. Jolene's powers operate on a level incomprehensible to the human mind, to any supernatural mind. It's why sirens used to be confined to the ocean, they were too powerful anywhere else.

As time set back to normal, Jolene set the flower on fire in her hand, but didn't get burnt. The flower completely disappeared, but still remained nothing more than an illusion. It was confusing as to how her powers worked. It looked like pyrokinesis, but it wasn't.

Stiles pulled the car over immediately and got out. He had just watched this girl jump out of a moving vehicle and to him, it looked like she caught herself in real time. Stiles sprinted from his car and over to her, grabbed her arms with worry surrounding him. "Hey! Jo, are you okay?! Are you hurt?!"

"That flower could have killed him, Stiles!" She scolded.

"Well, what was I supposed to do with it?!"

"Not keep it!" Jolene was so frustrated with this entire situation. She didn't like werewolves to begin with, yet was helping one, who seemed quite ungrateful for her efforts. She had to speak to Derek. Everything she was doing was going against every part of her moral compass. Jolene was so angry that she didn't comprehend that she shoved Stiles' hands away from her, the hands she always wished to hold her.

Jolene stepped around Stiles to go find Scott and make sure he wasn't dead, but all she saw was the Jeep door open and no one inside. "Scott?"

There was no answer since the vehicle was completely empty. Scott was nowhere to be found. Jolene ran her hands through her hair, frustrated as Stiles put his phone up to his ear to call the police. Jolene surveyed the area, trying to find Scott, but she could hear Stiles on the phone, "I just need to know if you've gotten any odd calls...Like an odd person or-or like a dog-like individual roaming the streets...Can you at least call me if you do?...Please?...Hello?"

The dispatcher had hung on Stiles, but in all fairness, he is a little panicky, so he calls them quite a lot. It's usually to go around his dad or figure out what he's doing. Stiles stepped forward to talk to Jolene, but he stopped himself quickly when a large piece of dirt suddenly exploded out of the ground next to the road. He flinched, startled by the sudden outburst of anger before he looked back at Jolene, who was now facing him. She was looking down at the ground and had her palms to her forehead, hitting it over and over again--a horrible habit of hers.

"Hey. Hey." Stiles walked over to her and put his hands on her forearms, pulling her hands away so she would stop hitting herself. Stiles held her hands in his, now seeing that her eyes were tearing up. It was an instinct to pull her into a hug, holding her close, and running his hand through her hair to soothe him. Jolene's arms went around his waist as she muttered into his shoulder, "I fucking hate werewolves."

"Why do you hate them so much?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

Stiles pulled her closer and let Jolene rest her head on his shoulder as he whispered to comfort, "That's okay. We can just stay here."

Jolene desperately hated werewolves with every part of her soul and being all because of this generational hatred. She hated that they were the reasons sirens were wiped out and how inhumane it was. She hated that Derek had attacked her so many times before, that he had killed that girl, and that he wasn't even being helpful. She hated that Scott was being so difficult with the shifting and that she couldn't just help him be in control. She hated how naturally violent werewolves are, it only ever reaffirmed her hatred she didn't want to feel. But still, Jolene could feel her heart beating down to a normal pace when Stiles held her. It was the most peace her heart had ever been blessed with.

❝ 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐝, 𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞. 𝐢𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭, 𝐚 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐜𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐦. ❞

:𝒑𝒔𝒚𝒄𝒉𝒐

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