How hard could it be? • LM / SS

Chapter 3

                      "Yet you think we're
                                 the same."

The large sign that was blocking their entry into the forest was easily read, the bold letters standing out against the night; "Beacon Hills Preserve: no entry after dark." Logically speaking, that probably should have been their first warning sign to get back in the jeep and drive home. In their defence, they weren't exactly the smartest people, but running on a few hours of sleep and no caffeine definitely clouded their judgement a lot more than what they would have liked.

"We're seriously doing this?" Scott groaned. Why had he given in to the peer pressure and listened to Stiles and Max? He could be at home right now, music playing in the background while he fell asleep and honestly, he would have been able to get on with his life perfectly fine without ever knowing about this.

"You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town," Stiles defended himself, slapping his best friend on the back, a grin painted on his face as he ducked underneath the chain that was keeping trespassers out.

"I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow," he grumbled, nevertheless picking up his feet and following after the two hyperactive boys that had run ahead, Jade walking beside him.

"Right, cause sitting on the bench is such a gruelling effort," Stiles ignored the kick in the shins from Jade, instead snickering along with Max, who had found his joke funny. He was only joking, given that everyone knew he was the resident benchwarmer every year.

"No, because I'm playing this year! I'm making first line," Scott straightened his shoulders, hoping that if he looked and sounded confident, it would maybe add some truth to his words.

"That's the energy we need," Jade commented, nodding along reassuringly, her footsteps falling in line with her cousin's. To say she was tired was an understatement, so she was thankful that Scott wasn't trying to make it a race in the forest.

"Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one."

"Hey," Max muttered, his tone laced with humour yet a slimmer of a warning was hidden in there. He tried to cover up his laugh by coughing into his elbow, keeping his eyes trained on the floor so he wouldn't fall over anything. "Your dream is not pathetic, ignore him."

"Which half of the body are we looking for? And what if whoever killed the body is still out here?" Scott questioned, trying to keep his voice clear of any anxiety but failing miserably. He was always on board with Stiles' plans, but he could admit that this didn't seem to be planned out very well. Believe it or not, he actually wanted to try out for the lacrosse team, not be brutally murdered in the dead of night.

Stiles started to climb a small hill, gripping fistfuls of grass and dirt so he wouldn't lose his balance. "Huh. I didn't think about that," he shrugged casually, trying to get his flashlight to work again by hitting it against a tree trunk.

"We're gonna die," Jade muttered under her breath, massaging her temples with her fingers while she waited for Scott to climb the hill. He took a few puffs of his inhaler while she anxiously pushed her golden necklace against her skin. The necklace was a new piece of jewellery, something she had recently inherited from her mom. After the two witches had performed a spell that transferred Sean's empath abilities to his son, Elizabeth moved her magic into the necklace. She had given it to her daughter, along with a heartfelt speech that pained her to think about.

She started to trace her fingers, trying to regulate her breathing so that she wouldn't set the whole forest up in flames. She hated to admit that it wouldn't exactly be the first time she had done something like that and she had a feeling that it probably wouldn't be her last. She glanced up, catching Max's concerned eyes and simply shooting him a small smile in reassurance. Sometimes she forgot that he could literally feel every emotion that was coursing through her veins. She tried to focus on her grounding techniques and block out the other's overlapping conversations. Huh. Therapy in sixth grade did come in handy for something.