It'll Take Time -Malia Tate-

16- Freshmen Party

Nori sat in science class at a lab table with her partner Tracy Stewart. Kira and Lydia sat behind them. Nori was talking to Tracy until Lydia's and Kira's conversation sounded interesting. She excused herself from Tracy and spun her chair around to face the other two girls.

"No wonder Malia's failing." Kira noted, looking at the screen of Lydia's laptop.

"Why is Malia failing?" Nori asked them.

Lydia turned her laptop around quickly to show her so-called, 'math notes'. Which were actually a bunch of random letters and numbers. "Oh..."

"Well some of it is actually my math notes. The rest I think might actually be a code." Lydia spoke.

"But you don't remember writing it?" Kira asked.

"Not in the slightest."

"Freaky." Nori mumbled.

"But considering my drawing of a tree led us to the Nemeton, I should probably figure out what it means before it tries to kill us." Lydia told the girls.

"Which, by the way. Is so fucking cool your drawing of a tree helped us." Nori winked at her.

"Maybe it's like the Enigma Code the Allies used." Kira spoke up, focusing on Lydia's laptop. "Remember my dad was a World War II buff?"

"And mom was, well you know...in it." Nori added.

"I think it's a variation on something called the Vigenere Cipher." Lydia said.

"Do you know how to crack it?" Kira asked.

Lydia shrugged, "With a key."

Natalie held a key in front of Lydia's face. "Remember the rules. No more than six people allowed in the lake house. Stay out of the wine. And if anything gets broken, it's getting added to your credit card debt." Lydia's mom, explained.

"Fine." Lydia went to swipe the keys from her hands, but her mom pulled back. "And lock up the basement. From all the scratch marks I found on the walls, it looked like a pack of wild animals got down there." She dropped the keys in Lydia's hand, and Lydia gave her a fake sweet smile.

"If we weren't friends with werewolves I would totally force you to throw a party." Nori whispered, turning back around to her lab table, sending a quick smile to Tracy.

*

"I'm not sharing my basement." Malia told the pack as they stood in a circle between the buses.

"Actually it's my basement. And my mom noticed how you tore it up last time." Lydia sailed smiling at Malia.

"All right, she's still learning." Stiles said, defending his girlfriend.

"It's progress." Nori said smiling, trying to help out Malias' side. Stiles pointed at Nori, agreeing.

"But, we're going to use the boathouse for Liam. It's got support beams. We can chain him to one of them." Scott said.

"But how do we get him out to the lake house if he doesn't trust us?" Kira asked.

Nori held up one finger, "A party?"

"I say if it keeps him from murdering someone we chloroform the little bastard and throw him in the lake." Stiles suggested throwing his hands around.

"Or that." Nori agreed.

"I'm in." Malia said, raising her hand slightly. And Stiles smiled at both of them.

"We're not killing or kidnapping him." Scott told them.

"Again. Not kidnapping him...again." Nori commented, sending Scott a sarcastic smile.