Give Me Courage (Give Me Series #4)

26 - Pathetic

The moment the Center for Disease Control stepped inside the halls of Beacon Hills High, clad in their yellow bio-hazard suits, everyone grew a little more panicked at the thought of being infected by the virus. Sydney was the first to be escorted out of the classroom by one of the doctors to bring her to quarantine in another part of the school, soon followed by a couple of other students who potentially showed signs of being infected.

It wasn't long after they left the room with Ms. Martin and Scott, who claimed he needed to use the bathroom, but intended on following the rest to quarantine to find more information out about everything when more workers in yellow suits covered the windows in the classroom with plastic.

This was a very serious matter and that's what scared me most of all.

Only twenty or so students remained in the classroom with Simon, the PSAT instructor, who seemed oddly calm, despite the panic sweeping through the halls and classroom of Beacon Hills High. He simply sat behind the teacher's desk with a magazine held in his hands on his laps, acting like this happening every time he was sent to a school for the exam. The PSAT booklets were taken back by him with the obvious announcement they would be rescheduled for another day when a potentially deadly virus was infecting the students.

My fear of the virus wasn't directed toward myself, but toward Stiles instead. He was the only human of the group. This virus-- whatever it may be-- had the chance of affecting Stiles like it did to the other students. Sure, I was a hybrid, giving me a very slim chance of being infected, but being a werewolf should overall protect me from the virus.

"Hey," Stiles whispered and placed his hand on my knee to stop my leg from bouncing up and down. He gently squeezed my leg.

I released a small sigh, willing myself to become in control of my emotions. My eyes shifted down to his hand on my leg from where I sat on top of a desk with my sneakers propped on the seat. The rest of our friends stood in the makeshift circle, in the middle of a conversation about what they thought was happening and didn't pay any attention to either of us.

"Everything's going to be fine," he reassured me.

I bit down on the inside of my cheek, refusing to tell him how worried I was about his safety. If students were already feeling the side effects of the virus, how long would it take until Stiles began to feel them as well? We didn't know anything about this virus. It could be a simple virus that only needed a vaccination they had on hand nearby or it could be something deadly.

I wouldn't know what to do with myself if some were to happen to Stiles.

Isaac leaned against the desk beside me, gently bumping his hand against my shin. There was a look in his eyes like he understood exactly what I was thinking. He knew I was secretly terrified of what was to come if the virus turned out to be something dangerous.

My right hand wrapped around the back of Stiles' hand where it laid on top of my knee, desperately needing a sense of comfort from him. I pressed my lips together and willed the lump in my throat not to rise any higher.

"I bet they're just thinking smallpox," Stiles added to the conversation with a simple shrug of his shoulder.

Malia turned away from the window at the sound of his voice, instantly noticing our hands on my knees. A pensive expression formed on her face and her head tilted to the side, listening to our heartbeats. My face began to pale as I realized what she was doing. Both of us heard the way my heart skipped a beat a few seconds later from the worry of her realizing we were dating. We knew we wanted to tell our friends, but we didn't see it as being the right time to do so with so much going on.

Her gaze trailed upward until we locked eyes with each other. A few moments of silence passed between us.

Malia knew.