3. | EVERLY [S. STILINSKI]

Chapter Seven: [damage control]

"With a secret like that, at some point the secret itself becomes irrelevant. The fact that you kept it- does not."

Arms crossed, her eyes narrowed at the sign. She couldn't tell what it was, but it was haunting and it made her feel uneasy. Indigo stared at it until they passed it, but even when they did, a flyer on the front doors held the same anxiety-inducing letters that were enough to make her heart pump and her palms sweaty.

           

    PSAT.

Indigo grimaced, almost as if in pain, as they walked through the front doors, her eyes glancing to the line running from one classroom doorway, all the way to them. She huffed and followed everyone else: Scott, Stiles, Kira, and Malia. Instantly, Indigo tried to relax on the lockers, leaning her head around to gaze at the person at the front of the line. Most were talking to each other, some standing silently. She bit her lip and her leg began bouncing.

Stiles eyebrows furrowed at the noise of slight rattling and looked to Indigo, seeing her heel click against the bottom locker as she peered around him at the front of the line. He took a quick glance as well, before looking back to her as he placed his hand on her thigh. Indigo's leg stilled instantly, snapping her attention to him, eyes wide.

"Are you nervous?" He asked, joking a little- even adding a small smile. But Indigo only leaned off of the locker, shaking her head.

"I don't have a good feeling about this."

His smile turned to a small side-smirk, his hands taking place on either of her shoulder, getting her to face him head on.

"Indigo, you don't have to be nervous. You can always take it again-"

Indigo sighed, shaking her head at her boyfriend. She couldn't tell if she was nervous about the test, or not. Her chest felt tight and her shoulders felt heavy.

She licked her lips as she looked back to the front door. "Lydia would agree with me. Where is she?"

Stiles dropped his arms and crossed them. "She took it freshman year."

Both Indigo and Malia turned to Stiles with bewildered looks, before Malia scoffed, "Does that mean I could have taken it some other time?"

"Guys-" Scott huffed. "Both of you, you studied. Harder than any of us."

Indigo raised an eyebrow and immediately turned to Stiles, who was nodding in agreement, until he saw her look. He stopped and gave her a questioning look in return.

"I'm not so sure I would have called it studying. . ." Indigo trailed off.

  Her legs were crossed as she sat on her bed, Stiles lying next to her with his legs sprawled on her pillows and his back on her mattress. He looked over as he twirled the extra pencil in his hand, watching as her eyebrows cinched while she looked at his explanation.

"Stiles- this doesn't make sense." Indigo sighed, shaking her head at the practice book, looking down to him. He smiled, tilting his head.

"When you move 5x and combine it with 7x, you have to move it to the right side to leave it with the 2x squared-"

Indigo interrupted him. "But with equations, aren't you supposed to combine and separate like-factors and put the 'x' on one side and the exponents on one so that when you're simplified you can divide and solve for x, which you can plug into the 'y' equation?"