How hard could it be? • LM / SS

Chapter 75

           "It feels so good to be this young
                         and have this fun
                        and be successful."

"So then he started talking about phosphors and the key having chemicals on it, right?" Stiles pointed at Max, talking a hundred words per minute. Scott and the twins were trying to tell him about what happened last night at the party, but they hadn't had a chance yet. When Stiles started explaining something, you could kiss the chance of talking goodbye.

"And so that made me think of the chemistry closet and the fact that someone had to let Barrow in- it's gone. Okay, it doesn't matter though I still have the key."

They watched in confusion as Stiles ran around the room, stopping at the board before rushing to the closet with a bunch of keys in his hands. He began to mutter under his breath, protesting that he had the key this morning, despite the fact that it clearly wasn't there.

"The key you were talking about last night?" Scott asked, brows furrowed.

"Yeah, I showed it to you, right? Didn't I show it to you?"

"You showed it to me," Max nodded, leaning back against a desk. He'd been the one who told Stiles about the phosphors on the key, but he was kinda confused as to where the conversation was going.

A look of relief flashed through his eyes as he walked back towards the board. "I was here a couple of hours ago. The message left to Barrow spelling Kira's name was right there in my handwriting and I had the key to the chemistry closet."

"So, you unlocked the chemistry closet so Barrow could hide in it from the cops and then you wrote him a message to kill Kira?" Scott raised a brow. That made zero sense, even for Stiles.

"Damn. I knew you hated the idea of Scott going out with her, but that's taking it a bit far, don't you think?" Jade snickered, taking a sip out of her coffee. She was surprised that she hadn't given up already and slumped to the floor, considering she was running on three hours of sleep and her eyes felt as heavy as sandbags.

Stiles ignored her comment, feeling his heart start to beat faster. What was happening? The message had been right there. It had been as clear as day. He rooted around in his pocket, pulling out a piece of paper as the others surrounded him to see what it was.

"This is the news report that came out about Barrow when they caught him, okay? About the shrapnel bomb he used. See this? See what he did? He put nuts, bolts and screws. And then he hid the bomb and the detonator in a box that he wrapped as a birthday present. What does that sound like to you?"

"The joke we played on Coach," Scott whispered, his lips parting slightly in confusion. They'd taken all the screws and bolts out of Coach's furniture in his office. And who had came up with the idea? Stiles. But why would he want to kill someone?

"I don't wanna sound like I'm trying to tell to that you're wrong, but I don't think you're trying to kill people, Stiles," Scott shook his head, refusing to believe it. He wouldn't believe it. There was no way his best friend was behind this. "Are you sure you're okay? You're looking really tired."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping really," he sighed, wiping his eyes with his palms. There was dark circles under his eyes, and to be honest he looked like he wasn't all there. Like some part of him was far away, somewhere else.

"I think maybe you should go home. Take a sick day or something. Max can make sure you get there okay," Jade firmly suggested, patting him on the shoulder gently. She nodded when he glanced back at her, his exhausted brown eyes staring into her concerned green.