5. THE TELL

"What did you get for question three?", Allison mumbled, chewing the end of her pencil.

During the Derek dilemma, I had unknowingly agreed to do Calculus homework together. My mom got home early and invited her to stay for dinner.

"Oh, um six.". 

"How did you… Never mind, found my mistake!", Allison cried excitedly, fixing the equation. 

"You're not going to get that?", she asked, pointing at my phone.

After having a not so informative late-night conversation with Derek the other night, I told Tweedledum and Tweedledee what he told me- the Alpha was definitely out for my blood. I hardly slept after he left for obvious reasons.

Scott and Stiles decided to have a check in system in place. I had to text them every half an hour to let them know I was alive. Unlucky for me, I was two hours late and Stiles had been blowing up my phone.

"Nah, it's just Stiles honing me about my mom's cupcake recipe. The guy doesn't even bake!". 

Laughing, she jumped up into sitting position.

"Oh my gosh I have to tell you about this embarrassing thing that happened at dinner last night! So, Scott came over…". 

She began explaining how her aunt accused Scott of stealing something from her bag, but it turned out that it was Allison who went rummaging through her aunt's stuff- she was looking for a condom. 

"And that's not even the worst part, my dad was there too!". 

We both burst out laughing, I wish I could've seen the look on Scott's face. I let out a sigh, remembering why the teen wolf ended up in that situation in the first place. 

"I've been meaning to ask, that Derek guy, is he a friend of yours or… I asked Scott about him, but he wouldn't give me a straight answer.", Allison said quietly.

"Uhhh… Derek is more of an acquaintance.". 

I wasn't lying, none of us knew him well enough to call him a friend just yet. Allison didn't look convinced, but she dropped the subject. 

"So… You know you're the only single one left in our group?". 

"Since when am I part of your group?", I asked, my eyebrow raised.

She threw a pillow at me.

"Come on, Lorelai! You're never around to see it!".

I scoffed, "I just prefer to be out of people's way. Besides, I don't wanna spend most of my lunchbreak talking about the latest shoes and prom. It's boring!". 

"That's not all we talk about…", she muttered under her breath. 

"We also rate the guys according to who has the cutest butts!", she joked. 

I asked her about how she felt being in Beacon Hills and she told me that it really felt like home.

"It was always hard making friends at my previous schools… And here I have a boyfriend, and close friends… I always have this fear that my parents are going to barge through my room door in the middle of the night saying we have to pack up and leave. It's happened twice before…". 

I gave her an understanding expression as my mom poked her head through the door saying that dinner was ready. While she and Allison spoke, I wondered if Mr. Argent knew about me. Judging by the way he greeted us when he came to pick up Allison, he didn't have a clue. 

"She's sweet! I like her a little better than that Stilinski kid.", my mom observed as we cleaned up the kitchen. 

"Lor… About your dad-".

I cut my mom off before she could finish, "I… I'm sorry for the way I acted when you told me the truth… It's just… I don't know how to feel… About… About everything.".

My breath caught in my throat and my mom wrapped me in a tight hug. Maybe it was her embrace, but I burst into tears.

"It's going to be okay, we're gonna get through it. We always do.", she whispered, stroking my hair.

I wanted to tell her everything, about dad, about me, about the werewolves, but something stopped me. I wasn't sure how she'd react to the news, she'd probably move us back to New Orleans.

 I stayed in my mom's arms until my phone buzzed for the hundredth time. She kissed my forehead before letting me go. It was Stiles.

There's been another murder, at the video store, and you'll never believe who the witnesses are. They said it's a mountain lion.

Call me as soon as you can, 

- Stiles.

As I got into bed and right into covers, I dialed his number, and he answered immediately.

"Hey! I've been trying to get a hold of you for the past four hours!!! I saw the body!!!". 

He was practically shouting in excitement when he told me the news. 

"Dude, tone down the enthusiasm! What happened?".

He explained while he was eating dinner with his dad, they got the alert about a possible murder on the police scanner. When they arrived at the video store to question the witnesses, it was Lydia and Jackson. 

"You think they saw it?", I asked, scratching my arm nervously. 

"I don't know, and even if they did, neither of them would talk to me willingly…", Stiles trailed off. 

I shuddered, already knowing where his mind went.

"No, Stiles, you cannot kidnap them!". 

"What? I… Wasn't… Urg, fine! We'll come up with something tomorrow. See ya at school!". 

I rolled my eyes, plugging my phone into its charger after he hung up and flopped my head on to the pillow, praying that I wouldn't wake up in a place that wasn't my bed.

∞∞∞∞

"Just a friendly reminder, parent-teacher conferences are tonight! Students below a C-average are required to attend. I won't name you because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment.". 

It hadn't even been five minutes and Mr. Harris was already in a bad mood. I twirled my pen around my fingers, catching a glance of Stiles, who looked engrossed in his textbook, highlighter in hand.

"Has anyone seen Scott McCall?". 

Mr. Harris stopped at Stiles' desk, hoping to get answer from him. I had a small hunch that Scott decided to skip class with Allison for her birthday. Mr. Harris' attention was pulled away from Stiles when Jackson walked in, without his usual smug expression. He took a seat next to me and immediately, Mr. Harris approached him.

"Hey, Jackson, if you need to leave early for any reason, you let me know.", he said softly to the pale lacrosse captain. 

Jackson nodded, giving me a quick glance before returning his gaze to the front of the class, his hands slightly trembling.

"Whittemore, you okay?", I whispered. 

He seemed distracted and lost in thought, completely ignoring me. Gently, I placed my hand on his wrist. 

"Jackson?".

Suddenly, I was hit with images from his experience last night at the video store- the bright red irises of the blurred Alpha, the sound of the video shelves collapsing and the fear he felt during the whole ordeal. Quickly removing my hand off his wrist, Jackson looked at me. 

"Maolán, did you say something?". 

"Uh, just asked if you're okay…". 

"Yeah, fine.".

Not surprised by his cold reaction, I returned to my Chemistry textbook trying to figure out how the hell I was able to see inside his head. I faintly caught Mr. Harrison instructing us to read chapter nine, after calling Stiles out for using his textbook as a coloring book. 

Jackson struggled to focus, groaning and flinching every now and again. I got a strange feeling as my mind travelled back to his memories of the Alpha. The sound of Stiles slipping out of his chair made us both jump and turn around. Stiles shook himself off, acting like nothing happened.

The rest of the lesson was uneventful, Mr. Harris reminded us for the third time about the parent-teacher conference that evening. Stiles was waiting for me outside the classroom, his phone to his ear.

"Do you have any idea what's going on? Lydia is totally MIA, Jackson looks like he's got a time bomb inserted in his face, another random guy's dead, and you have to do something about it!". 

Judging by his frustrated tone, I figured he got Scott's voicemail instead of the actual guy. I cocked my head in the direction of our next class. Finally, ending the call, his posture slumped, and he sighed in defeat. 

"Sometimes, I feel like he forgets that there's a freaken killer werewolf on the loose… Were you able to get anything from Jackson?". 

"Uhhh… I guess you could say yes?", I grumbled.

Stiles stopped me just as I was about to go into class. 

"What do you mean?".

I explained how I was able to see flashes of Jackson's memory from last night.

"He definitely saw something, but it was like his brain blocked it out…". 

Stiles' face lit up.

"Come on, we have to go!". 

He grabbed my arm, pulling me towards the exit. 

"Dude, what about the rest of the school day? I'm already walking on thin ice with my mom.", I said in irritation as I yanked myself out his grasp.

"It's fine, you can afford to skip a few classes. We're going to see Lydia!". 

We got into his jeep and sped away from Beacon Hills High. 

"So? How did you do it? See Jackson's memories I mean.".

I scratched my chin.

"Honestly, I have no idea. I just touched him, and suddenly I was inside his head.". 

"Looks like we can add that to our list of weird things that keep happening with no explanation…", he said as we stopped in the driveway. 

"Okay, the plan is to go in, you do your weird telepathy thing you used on Jackson to find out what she knows and then, move out.".

He was more nervous than anything and I told him to breathe as he knocked on the door.

"Hi, can I help you?", a red-haired lady with a tight smile on her face answered. 

The resemblance between Lydia and her mom was uncanny, they even shared the same uninterested tone in their voice.

"Hi Mrs. Martin, I'm Stiles and this is Lorelai. We're Lydia's friends from school. We just wanted to check in to see how she's doing…", Stiles said shakily.

"Yes, come in. She's a bit… Out of it at the moment…". 

Mrs. Martin led us up the stairs, knocking on Lydia's door before opening it. 

"Honey, there's a Stiles and a Lorelai here to see you.".

Lydia was sprawled on her bed, still in her nightgown, inspecting her nails. 

"What the hell is a 'Stiles'?", she slurred.

Her mom mentioned that she took something to calm her nerves before leaving the three of us alone. 

"What are you two doing here?", her usual snarky tone returning. 

I rolled my eyes at her attitude while Stiles told her he wanted to see how she's doing. She patted the space on her bed, motioning for him to sit down next to her. Stiles looked at me and then to her before taking a seat. 

Lydia drifted in and out of the conversation but when Stiles asked her to say, 'I saw Susie sitin' in a shoe-shine shop' ten times fast, she stumbled on the word 'saw', her eyes growing wide in fear. She repeatedly said she saw a mountain lion, but I had a feeling she was blocking out the memory, just like Jackson. 

Lydia's hand flopped onto Stiles' leg, and he gasped, his teenage hormones raging. I approached her, crouching down to where she hung off the bed. 

"Hey Lydia… It's Lorelai…".

She chuckled. "The throat illness?". 

"That's laryngitis.", I corrected her sheepishly.

She booped me on the nose. Stiles stifled a laugh, and I smacked him in the arm. I gently placed my hand on her wrist, closing my eyes, but nothing happened. 

"Anything?", Stiles whispered. 

I shook my head, removing my hand. 

"Try again.".

I did the same thing, concentrating hard, but it was like hitting a concrete wall. 

"I don't understand…". 

I got up from my spot and moved towards the door while Stiles told Lydia we were leaving. I was already in the passageway when I heard Lydia ask Stiles to stay and he closed the door in my face. Five minutes later, he rushed out of the room, pulling me with him. As soon as we were out of the Martin's house and in the jeep, he held up his phone. 

"This. This is what they saw last night.". 

Stiles drove to his house, and I stared at the picture. It sent shivers down my spine as I recalled the night I sleepwalked into the Beacon Hills Preserve and was attacked by the monster. But that wasn't the only memory that sprung to mind- a tiny part of me felt like that six-year-old girl looking for her stuffed panda.

We arrived at Stiles' house, rushing straight to his room and he phoned Scott, who didn't pick up. I sat down on his bed while he ranted, leaving a message on Scott's voicemail.

"Hey, it's me again. Look, I found something, and I don't know what to do, okay? So, if you could turn your phone on right now, that'd be great! Or else, I'll kill you. Do you understand me? I'm gonna kill you. And I'm too upset to come up with a witty description about how exactly I'm gonna kill you, but I'm just gonna do it, okay? I'm gonna- ugh! Goodbye.". 

He threw his phone onto his bed.

"That was… definitely something.". 

Stiles made a face as he sat down on his desk chair, the both of us jumping in surprise when the door opened. 

"Please tell me I'm gonna hear good news at this parent-teacher thing tonight. Lorelai, right?", Mr. Stilinski popped by.

I nodded while Stiles hesitated before responding. 

"Depends on how you define good news…".

"I define it as you getting straight-A's with no behavioral issues.".

I snorted loudly at Mr. Stilinski's definition and Stiles gave me a death stare before returning his gaze back to his dad. 

"You might wanna rethink that definition.". 

Mr. Stilinski wore a tired unamused expression before leaving us to our own devices.

"Come on, Scott. Where the hell are you? Lorelai, can you use your weird druid powers to try and find him?".

"I think something's wrong with them… It didn't even work with Lydia, it felt like she was blocking me out. Maybe it was the drugs. And as for Scott, he's probably with Allison, it's her birthday.".

"Well, I don't know what we're gonna do….", he waved the photo of the Alpha in my face, however he was holding up a different phone.

"Did you steal Lydia's… You know what, I don't wanna know. And we do have a solution, you just don't like it.". 

He deleted the photo off Lydia's phone and was about to argue with me about Derek when my phone started to ring. It was an unknown number, and I held my hand up to shush him.

"Shed! Your house! Hurry!", someone yelled on the other side, ending the call without waiting for my response. 

My heart racing, I turned to Stiles. 

"Lorelai, what's wrong?".

"It's… I think it's… Oh god… We need to get to my house now.".

∞∞∞∞

I barged into our garden shed with Stiles right behind me. On the floor, lying against the old trunk, with a swollen eye and lip, covered in multiple bruises and bleeding heavily from his stomach, was my old friend. Ricardo Calavera. Lying next to him was a first aid kit. Stiles paled instantly at the scene before us.

"Oh my god, Ricky!".

I bolted to his side, crouching down to inspect the damage. 

"You need a hospital! Stiles, help me!".

Ricardo shook his head quickly.

"No. No. They'll come looking for me there!", he said, his Mexican accent thick, and his voice filled with distress.

I always told him he sounded exactly like Antonio Banderas- he even dressed up as Zorro for one of the Halloweens to humor me.

"You're going to bleed to death if we don't get you to a doctor!".

"Lory, you have to do it. Please.", he said weakly, holding up a needle and thread. 

I gawked at him, flabbergasted. 

"Come again?". 

"I've seen you do it before!".

"Uhhh, Halloween costumes and oranges are not the same as sewing human flesh!", I shrieked. 

Ricardo brushed me off and lifted his shirt to reveal a deep gash covering him stomach. I gasped wondering how the hell he survived this long.

"Okay, okay, okay. Stiles, I need you to get water, towels, and the lighter. It's in the drawer near the sink.". 

He gagged, nodding at my instruction. I reached for the house keys in my back pocket, tossing it to him and he hurried off. 

"Ricky… What happened?", I asked, ripping his already torn shirt in the middle to get better access.

He groaned before answering.

"I couldn't… Let them find you…".

"Who?".

Stiles returned with all the things I asked for. I rolled up my sleeves, quickly burning the needle to sterilize it, and threaded the cotton into the eye.

"I'm just gonna wait… Outside…", Stiles winced. 

He was going to make a break for it, but I gripped his arm.

"Nuh-uh, you need to hold Ricky down.". 

Stiles groaned, taking his place behind my injured best friend.

"I'm not too happy about this either, bud.", Ricky muttered, gritting his teeth. 

We had to move him into a laying position, and I handed him one of the towels.

"We don't have any anesthetic so you're gonna have to bite down on this…".

Stiles placed himself uncomfortably by Ricardo's head, holding his shoulders.

"Okay, here we go…". 

I remembered my mom teaching me how to stitch a wound when she was studying for her nursing exam. I pushed the needle through Ricardo's skin, and he screamed, the sound muffled because of the towel he was biting on.

As I began to sew, I had to make sure to avoid the fat. Eventually I found a flow, and the wound was finally stitched up. 

"Lorelai, I think he's…", Stiles' voice trembled.

Ricardo's face was as white as a sheet, and he started seizing. 

"Turn him on his side! Quickly!", I shouted. 

"If we don't call 911, he's going to die!", Stiles stressed.

"I know, I know!".

"Unless… Unless… That thing you did with Derek, can you do it again?". 

Ricardo had stopped shaking but his breathing was coming out in short breaths, we were running out of time. I gently rested my hand near his heart, hoping to feel those tingles again. At first, nothing happened, and all I could feel was the faint beat of his heart. Two seconds later, I felt those sparks dancing on my fingertips. 

Harnessing the little electrical tingles, I channeled them from my fingers into Ricardo's chest. It seemed to be working and it wasn't long before he let a gasp of relief.

"Lorelai, what's happening?", Stiles asked, bewilderment and fear eminent in his voice.

I followed to where his eyes were staring and when I looked down, I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. I was the one who was covered in blood. My blood.

"Oh. It's fine, I'll heal.".

Ricardo's stomach wound had fully closed, leaving behind just the cotton. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was now back to normal. It only took a few minutes before the mirrored version of his injury on me healed.

"That is freaky…", Stiles mumbled.

I asked Stiles to get some food and water for Ricardo as I cleaned up the dry blood his torso, not missing the tattoo of a skull near his heart. As I began to wipe his face, he woke up in shock.

"Hey, hey. It's only me…", I whispered. 

He winced when I pressed the rubbing alcohol infused cloth against a bruise on his right temple. 

"Still a baby.", I teased softly.

Ricardo smiled lightly as he pushed himself into sitting position after I was done. 

"Okay, now that you're conscious and not dying, what the hell are you doing here?!? And when did you get a tattoo? And abs?!?".

Ricardo looked down at his hands sadly.

"Lory… I wish I could answer your questions, but it'll only put you in more danger. I promise everything will make sense eventually. As for now, I was able to buy you some time.".

"What are you talking about? Why can't you tell me?", I croaked.

Instead of answering, he pulled me into a tight hug. I just stayed in his embrace, the memories rushing back from when we were back in New Orleans and spent almost every day together. We broke apart at the sound of Stiles clearing his throat, his arms cradling some snacks and a few bottles of water. 

"I'm so sorry to interrupt this beautiful reunion, but we have that parent-teacher conference in like two hours, and I have to get home…", Stiles informed, putting the items down.

"Crap, I was supposed to go with Mom.".

Realizing that I was covered in both Ricardo's and my blood, it would be a tough one to explain to her if she found me like this.

"I can't stay here anyway… If they find me, they find you… And your friends… You're not ready yet, neither is Scott…", Ricardo said, putting the food and water into his dirty backpack.

"Wait, you know about Scott? And who is they?", Stiles interrogated Ricardo.

"You have to just trust me on this one, okay? They were also right about you Lorelai. You have no idea how powerful you are, I honestly wish I could've told you the truth sooner…".

∞∞∞∞

"You alright?.", my mom asked while we drove to the teacher-parent conference.

After Ricardo and I said our goodbyes, Stiles left before making sure I was okay, and I cleaned myself up, chucking the bloodstained clothing into the bottom of the garbage can.

It was hard to come to terms with my best friend's involvement in the whole werewolf world. Whenever I'd ask him about his family, he'd always avoid the questions, but I thought it was too painful for him to talk about it. It seems that my dad wasn't the only who kept secrets. Maybe that's why they got along so well.

"Uh… Yeah. It's just been a very long day…", I sighed as we got out of the car.

Stiles texted me to give him a heads up if I bumped into Scott. The first teacher my mom decided to visit was Mr. Harris. I waited outside while they had their discussion, my head swimming with questions regarding Ricardo.

"Well, your grades seem to be in order… Although, he's a little concerned about the kids you hang out with…", my mom said thoughtfully.

"There's nothing wrong with Scott and Stiles, Mom. They're just different…", I defended.

"Okay, okay… Well, the next teacher on the list is… Bobby Finstock…? As in Beerhead Bob? Your dad's best friend?", my mom raised her eyebrows in surprise. 

"Oh, yeah. Did I forget to mention that he teaches here and coaches the lacrosse team?".

"Huh…".

I directed her to Coach Finstock's office before heading to my locker to get my Calculus textbook, my mind going straight back to Ricardo. I wondered who he was so afraid of. My attention was pulled away by the sound of people screaming outside. I didn't think twice before sprinting off in its direction- the parking lot.

As I got closer, I spotted Scott and I let out a sigh of relief, stopping to give him a questioning shrug. I didn't get to see his response due to the people surrounding me, who were rushing and moving in panic, pulling me along with them.

I heard a deep growl, my eyes darting around trying to locate where it came from when I witnessed an inconsiderate driver knocking Mr. Stilinski with their car. I ran to his side to check how bad the damage was.

"Oh my god, Mr. Stilinski, are you alright? Can you move?", I questioned, my heart beating rapidly in my chest.

"I'm okay… Lorelai, what are you doing here? It isn't safe!", he said as he scrambled for his gun while the people became more frantic.

I was about to answer him when a worried expression covered his face.

"Lorelai, don't make any sudden movements, it's going to be okay…", Mr. Stilinski whispered, placing his hand on top of mine, looking straight into my eyes.

Judging by the tone of his voice, I realized the damn animal was right behind me. The growling noise coming out of its mouth made the hair on my neck stand up. Suddenly, the sound of gunshots rippled through the air, and my heart almost jumped out of my chest. Mr. Stilinski squeezed my hand, letting out a sigh of relief. 

When I turned around, I gasped when I saw the mountain lion's still body just a few feet away from us. It was Mr. Argent who fired the shot, his eyes moving from the animal to Mr. Stilinski and I, Scott standing next to him. Everyone came out of their cars to catch to a glimpse of the dead creature.

"Lorelai? Lorelai!", my mom shouted when she found me. 

Helping me up, she wrapped me in a tight hug. 

"What the hell were you thinking?!? I've been looking all over for you!!!". 

"I'm fine, mom.", I muffled into her shoulder. 

After pulling away, she asked Mr. Stilinski if he was okay.

"Nothing's broken, but I would've been torn to pieces if it wasn't for Chris Argent over there.", Mr. Stilinski replied. 

My mom dragged me away from the scene after I gave Mr. Stilinski and Mr. Argent an awkward thank you nod. There was something extremely unsettling about this whole situation. It was like someone had lured the mountain lion to the school on purpose.