24: Detention

"Sky!" Ariel shouts, voice wavering from the shock and scare she just experienced. "I - I'm fine," she tries to convince. "I'm fine. Sky, I'm fine."

Sky only hears her erratic heartbeat saying otherwise as she goes straight for Jackson.

He glares at her, scrambling to stand up, "I have a restraining order!" he shouts.

"Trust me, I'm restraining myself," Sky grits out, lunging for him.

She shoves him by the shoulders and Jackson tumbles back into the wall, creating a harsh crack as he struggles against her, knocking the piping off the sink -- water starting to leak everywhere. Sky knocks him to the ground and moves to claw him, only for Jackson to kick her back, making her fall.

Allison and Ariel watch in shock as Scott then comes stumbling through the door, only looking furious at the sight of Jackson going to attack his sister. He grabs Jackson by the shoulders and shoves him towards the door, where they fall out onto the floor and into the puddle of water that had leaked into the corridor.

Sky gets up and rushes out of the door they had just gone through, only to halt when she hears Mr Harris's voice, urging her wolf features away.

"What the hell's going on?" Harris demands as he watches Scott and Jackson scuffle on the ground.

Sky runs forwards and rips Jackson off her brother, giving him a deadly glare.

Harris points between them, "Hey!" he shouts again. "Enough! Enough. What do you idiots think you're doing?"

He holds back Jackson as he tries to lunge at Sky, "Jackson! Calm down!" he demands. "Miss McCall, you wanna explain yourself?" he asks.

Sky doesn't answer as she continues to stare Jackson down, jaw clenched.

Seeing he was getting no answer, Harris points at each of them, "You and you --" he stops and looks at the others watching. "Actually - all of you - Detention. Three o'clock," he tells them, shaking his head.

***

Jackson walks into the library where detention was being held, stopping when he sees Scott, Stiles and Sky, "Oh, uh -- we can't be in detention together," he tells Mr Harris. "I have a restraining order against these tools."

"All of these tools?" asks Harris.

Stiles shakes his head in annoyance, "No, just us tools," he answers, gesturing to the three of them.

Harris nods, "Fine," he points to a separate table. "You three, over there."

The three of them barely sit down before Sky's glaring in Jackson's direction, "I'm gonna kill him," she mutters quietly.

Stiles sighs, "No, you're not," he tells her. "You and Scott are going to find out who's controlling him and then you're gonna help save him," he looks at Scott for help.

Scott shakes his head, also glaring, "No. You were right, let's kill him," he agrees with Sky, making her look up in pleasant surprise.

Stiles looks between them, "Oh -- No."

***

Stiles observes everyone in the room before pausing at someone, "Hey," he calls quietly. "What if it's Matt? I mean, this whole thing comes back to the video, right?"

Scott shakes his head, glancing at Sky who's still glaring at Jackson -- occasionally glancing at Ariel, who sits with Allison. "Danny said that Matt was the one who found the two hours of footage missing," he says.

Stiles points to him, "Exactly! He's trying to throw suspicion off himself," he reasons.

Scott raises his eyebrows in disbelief, "So he makes Jackson kill Isaac's dad, one of Argent's hunters, and the mechanic working on your jeep?"

Stiles nods, "Yes!"

"Why?"

Stiles falters, "Because -- he's evil."

"You just don't like him," points out Scott.

Stiles sighs, "The guy bugs me. I don't know what it is," he gestures to Matt. "Just look at his face."

Sky nods, observing Matt for a moment, "He is weird," she agrees.

Scott rolls his eyes, "Any other theories?" he asks Stiles.

Meanwhile, Sky turns her attention back to Jackson, watching intently as black blood starts to drip from his nose, causing him to stand up and half run out of the room, Harris quickly following after telling them not to leave their seats.

They immediately leave their seats.

Sky snatches the nearest seat to Erica and sends her a sickly sweet smile, a menacing look in her eyes, "Stiles says you know how Jackson's parents died," she says, being straightforward. Scott kicks her under the table but she ignores it.

Erica shifts uncomfortably, "Maybe."

Sky drops her fake smile and narrows her eyes, "Talk," she demands.

Erica clears her throat, looking at the boys who weren't as threatening, "It was a car accident," she tells them. "My dad was the insurance investigator, and every time he sees Jackson drive by in his Porsche, he makes some comment about the huge settlement he'll be getting when he's 18."

Stiles rolls his eyes, "So not only is Jackson rich now, but he's getting even richer at 18?" he clarifies.

Erica nods, "Yep."

Stiles shakes his head, muttering, "There's something so deeply wrong with that."

Erica opens her laptop, "You know what? I could try to find the insurance report in my dad's inbox. He keeps everything."

They're interrupted by the speaker asking Scott to go to the principal's office. He nods reassuringly at Sky as he gets up and leaves.

Erica carries on scrolling through her laptop, "Passengers arrived at the hospital DOA. The estimated time of death - 9:26 P.M., June 14, 1995."

Stiles perks up, "Jackson's birthday is June 15th."

They look back as Mr Harris comes back and grabs his bag, starting to walk to the exit. He pauses, smiling in amusement when they start to get up too, "Oh, no, I'm sorry," he says with a small laugh. "Uh, yes, I'm leaving. But none of you are. You may go when you're done with the re-shelving. Enjoy the rest of your evening," he smirks at them and leaves. Sky slumps in her seat, gaze moving over to Ariel who gives her a reassuring smile as she and Allison get up, moving towards them as they go to start re-shelving.

***

Scott had come back looking a little pale as they continued their discussion about Jackson, but Sky chose not to question it yet -- instead looking at Stiles, "It means he was born after his mom died by c - section," he tells them quietly. "They had to pull him out of her dead body."

Allison looks at him confused, "So was it an accident or not?" she asks.

"The word all over the report is 'inconclusive'," Stiles replies.

"His parents could have been murdered?" wonders Ariel.

Stiles nods, "If they were, then it falls in line with the Kanima myth," he says. "You know? It seeks out and kills murderers. "

Allison pauses, "But for Jackson?" she asks. "Or the person controlling him?"

Scott frowns, saying, "We have to talk to him. We have to tell him."

Sky scoffs, shaking her head in disagreement, "That idiot isn't gonna lis --"

"Erica!" Scott interrupts as he spots Erica on the floor, shaking uncontrollably.

He runs over to her, the others following, "Whoa, hey, hey, hey, hey! I think she's having a seizure."

Stiles looks panicked, "Hey, we need to get her to a hospital," he tells them.

"Derek --" Erica chokes out. "Only to Derek."

Scott looks up at them, "When we get her to the hospital -- "

Erica grabs his arm, "To Derek. To Derek," she repeats.

Stiles kneels and picks her up, heading to the door but Scott hesitates. Sky simply stays by Ariel's side.

Allison notices Scott's reluctance, "Go," she urges.

"Hey, Scott! Sky!" Stiles calls back from the doorway.

Scott shakes his head, "I'm staying here with you," he tells Allison.

Allison looks back to where Sky wasn't moving from Ariel, hands now tightly clasped together, then back to Scott, "He can't take her alone," she reasons. "Not like this. And Matt -- I've got to call an ambulance for him, just go."

Scott frowns, "This doesn't feel right."

Allison tries to smile, "It's okay," she assures.

Scott also looks to where his sister is refusing to leave her girlfriend's side and back to Allison, "No, it's not. No, it's not right."

Allison hesitates, understanding his meaning, "It doesn't -- it doesn't mean anything," she tells him.

"But it feels like it does."

"Scott," Sky says firmly, gaining his attention. "Go."

Scott watches as she gives him a nod, assuring him she'll look after Allison. He steps back reluctantly, "Okay," he says, turning to run after Stiles.

After a moment, Sky nudges them along, "C'mon," she murmurs. "Call that ambulance, Allison."

***

Later that night, Sky and Ariel sit in Ariel's bedroom, soaking up the day's events.

Sky could feel Ariel's eyes on her, making her glance back at her with a sigh, "Your eyes are almost burning a hole through me," she tells her.

There's a moment of silence before Ariel says anything.

"You came for us -- me," she blurts.

Sky face scrunches up in confusion, "What do you mean?"

Ariel chews her lip, "You came for me when I needed you," she clarifies.

Sky gives her a funny look, "Well, yeah -- Duh," she mutters.

"I -- I just," Ariel hesitates. "You were there," she mumbles, sniffling slightly as her emotions take over.

Sky frowns, scooting closer and bringing her in for a hug, "Princess," she murmurs. "Nothing could stop me from being there when you need me."

Ariel shakes her head in frustration, "I could barely protect myself, I --"

"You were able to control yourself," Sky corrects, squeezing her slightly. "Something I obviously couldn't do."

Ariel leans back, "No, I'm glad," she tells her. "Jackson wasn't exactly himself."

Sky sends her a lopsided smile, "Well, you can always count on me to have your back and kick ass," she says in an almost joking tone, though she was being completely serious.

Ariel lets a small smile slip onto her face, "Thanks, trouble," she mumbles. She moves to lie down, bringing Sky with her as she curls into her. Sky rubs her hand up and down Ariel's back as they let everything that the events of the day catch up to them, soaking in the comfort that they could only bring each other.

"If he ever does that again, though," Sky mutters after a moment, breaking the silence. "I will kill him -- witnesses or not," she promises, adding. "I'm still pissed I couldn't get my hands on Peter before Derek killed him."

Ariel stays quiet at the mention of the dead Alpha, a strange feeling washing over her.

***

No one had noticed Lydia wandering into the claws of Peter Hale as he lures her to him at the Hale house ruins that night.

"I'm so sorry, Lydia," Peter says as he sits next to her on the floor inside the living room. No one was able to see him but her.

"All of this must be terribly confusing. But at least you know that you're not actually crazy," he tells her. "Well -- not completely. There's bound to be some residual effects, but you're a strong girl," he sends her a twisted smile as she stares forward blankly. "Personally I think that you're gonna pull through with a minimal amount of post-traumatic stress. And maybe a few years of profoundly disturbing nightmares."

He pauses, "I had a plan, you know," he says. "It was a good plan. But if there's one thing that I've learned in life, it's to always have a backup."

Lydia's eyes flutter closed as he leans forward, whispering, "That would be you. Your immunity makes you a perfect plan b. You wouldn't turn from the bite. You wouldn't die. But you would be able to do one very important thing. Do you know what that is, Lydia?" he asks.

She doesn't respond and he leans closer, "Lydia!" he shouts, causing her to jolt awake with a gasp.