How hard could it be? • LM / SS

Chapter 111

                         "One step forward,
                          three steps back."

Jade quietly sat down on the wooden bench that had been placed in front of Allison's grave, the school's way of expressing their condolences to the surviving Argents. Even though it may have been a slightly vain gesture on their behalf, the blonde appreciated it. Given the amount of time she spent there, without the bench her back would be snapped in half from sitting on the rocky floor.

After her brother and Lilith had talked her down from burning the school to ash, their other four classes flew by without any interruptions. Stiles had kept his distance in the lessons they shared together, obviously taking the hint to stay away for a while. She had caught Scott's line of sight a few times, a forced smile being exchanged. That was a huge leap of process that she didn't think they would reach for a long while.

Max's speech had helped, which she was beyond grateful for. Although she knew that he didn't want to be put in the middle, it was a good thing in a way; he was unbiased on both sides of the situation, trying to get them to see where the other was coming from. Half of the time it was like trying to get blood out of a stone, the cousins being just as stubborn as each other.

But she couldn't bring herself to face going home yet and after twenty excruciatingly long minutes, she had convinced her two body guards to give her some space for a while. Anytime something went wrong or she needed to clear her head, she had no control over where she was going. On every occasion, it all led back to the same place.

Sipping her strawberry smoothie patiently, she started her weekly ramble about every minuscule thing that had happened since her last visit. Every last detail was spilled, from finding out she was on the dead pool to what she had for dinner last night, which happened to be half of a leftover cheese and ham sub and a cookie from the previous evening. She was sure that passer-by's thought she was losing it— to be completely honest, she was starting to believe it too, so couldn't exactly blame them.

She usually sat there for so long that she could hear Allison's breathy laugh at the story about falling out of Lydia's window, or hear the brunette's whisper as they pointed out well-structured comments about people that went by. It was in moments like those that she felt at peace, like nothing anyone said could get to her. She was normal again— not the Amethyst Enchantress, or any other insults that were substituted instead of her name. It was in moments like those that she finally felt whole again, the shattered pieces of her heart sellotaping and gluing themselves back together. She was a normal teenager, back in the cafeteria giggling with her best friend, responsibilities floating miles away.

The lacrosse game was starting soon enough, Liam refusing to sit out and Scott and Stiles not even daring to ask Coach to call it off. It was happening, wether they were ready for it or not, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Honestly speaking, she would much rather sneak home and have a bath while everyone was out, spending the rest of her evening screaming karaoke songs before crying over Grey's Anatomy. It wouldn't have made a difference if she missed one game, but she wasn't going to let a stupid argument stop her. The pain in her stomach was the only thing forcing her to go, a gut feeling, warning her that something bad was going to occur.

After swinging by the Argent's apartment to collect her partners in crime, they had half an hour to spare, yet the struggle to find a car park space was unreal. Lilith's suggestion to threaten a freshman on a motorbike was quickly shut down, both twins being the voice of reason, for once in their lives.

The three teenagers clambered their way up the metal bleachers, Jade yelping loudly when she was yanked down the steps. Coming close to swiping the threat off their feet, her magic almost broke past it's barrier of control, but she let herself relax when a pair of honey-brown eyes stared back at her.