From the back of the classroom, you could see Mr. Jackson sitting at the front desk, eyeing his terrified students. Every student in the room knew that hell was close to descending upon them.
You didn't understand chemistry. You would never understand chemistry. Mr. Jackson stood up and gathered a stack of neatly stapled papers. He began at the front row, passing the packets to the nervous sophomores.
In your right hand, your pencil tapped rapidly on the wooden desk. Your left hand remained clenched, long nails digging into your palm. You focused on the tap tap tap of the pencil.
You hadn't gotten much sleep last night. It had been a full moon. You wished you could write a note to your teachers explaining that you couldn't take tests after full moons because you stayed up late chaining your boyfriend up with the help up Beacon Hills' one and only True Alpha. But then they would send you in for psychiatric help.
"Hey," Liam whispered. "You doing okay? You look tired."
"I'm fine," you whispered back.
Liam didn't respond as Mr. Jackson neared your row. Your stress level was through the roof. You hadn't studied at all. You didn't know any of it, and you hadn't been paying attention in class. Chemistry was so boring that you used this hour to catch up on your sleep. The usual night generally consisted of helping the pack fight evil, or hanging out with Liam.
Mr. Jackson placed the packet on your desk. You pushed your nails deeper into your palm as you wrote your name, date and hour.
What are the six most common elements in the human body?
You didn't know the answer.
What is the difference between radiation and radioactivity?
You didn't know the answer.
"[Y/N]," Hayden whispered.
You saw that Mr. Jackson was looking the other way. "What?" You could feel Liam listening in.
"Your hand," she said, concerned.
You looked at your hand to see that your nails had drawn blood.
"[Y/N]," Liam said.
"I'm fine," you told him again.
You could still feel him looking at you, but you turned your attention back to the test. By the time fifty minutes were up, you had guessed on only about half the questions.
You could only hope Liam wasn't monitoring your heart rate as you walked into the hall.
"Hey," Liam said. He, Hayden, and Mason were following you.
"Are you okay?" Hayden asked as you stopped in front of your locker.
"I'm fine," you said.
"Your heart rate is way up," Liam stated.
"Your hand is still bleeding," Hayden said.
"You look all sweaty," Mason told you.
"Did you sleep at all last night?" Liam asked.
"Are you going to pass out?" Hayden asked.
"You look like you're gonna pass out," Mason said.
You could feel your hands shaking. You tried to reassure them that you were fine, but no words came out of you. You stumbled towards them a bit and Liam placed his hand on your arm. Hayden opened her mouth to say something, but her voice seemed far away. You could see that she and Liam were beginning to argue as you struggled to remain on your feet. Mason had his full attention on you.
"[Y/N]," Mason's voice echoed. You could barely see him. A mixture of both dark and bright spots covered your vision.
Your body couldn't seem to handle itself anymore, and you fell sideways. You would have landed hard on your arm if Hayden hadn't caught you.
"[Y/N]," Liam was on you in a second. He repeated your name several times. You wanted to respond, but you couldn't. In your semi-conscious state, you could feel and hear everything going on around you, but couldn't seem to move.
You felt Liam's arms hook under your legs and arms, and he pulled you off the ground.
"Oh my god," a new voice said. "What happened?" It was Lydia.
"She fainted," Liam said.
"Where are you taking her?" Lydia asked.
"Nurse," Liam answered. You bounced a little in his arms as he carried you to the nurse's office. Lydia, Hayden, and Mason trailed behind. The voices slowly became more distant, and you were out.
*****
You woke up to the smell of hospital, Melissa McCall and Liam leaning over you. Your hand was wrapped.
"Hey," Liam smiled.
"What happened?" You asked faintly.
"Exhaustion, insomnia, anxiety," Melissa rolled off. "You should have come in earlier." She patted your arm in an assuring way. "I'll go grab your pills," she said, leaving the room.
"Hey," Liam said again.
"Hey," you said.
"Hayden, Mason, Lydia and Scott were here for a long time too, but they had to go back to school. They gave you something to help you sleep, so you were out a couple hours."
"That's okay," you sat up.
"I wish you would have told me," he said.
You looked at him to see that his eyes were tearing up.
"Liam, it's okay. I'm fine now," you told him.
Liam sniffled and looked you in the eye. "From now on, no full moons. No helping us unless we need you, and we only spend time together during the day."
You would have complained about his restrictions, but you agreed. It pushed you too far. "Or," you said. "No full moons for me. No helping unless they need us, and we spend as much time together as possible."
Liam smiled at you, that smile that made you feel loved.
"Come here," you patted the space next to you on the bed. Liam climbed into the bed and held you. He held you until you fell, once again, into a much needed sleep.
