VESTIGE ↬ D. HALE [3]

11 ; old friends

11 ↬ OLD FRIENDS

"Nancy!" Elise exclaimed, rushing after the girl as she made her way out of the loft. "You can't just tell me that some freaky... thing is draining my power. What does that even mean?"

"I don't know!" Nancy frowned, spinning on her heels to face the brunette. The harshness in both faces softened. "I don't know," she repeated. Nancy turned back to continue down the stairs, though this time, she was maintaining a slower pace. She turned her head over her shoulder to peer at her cousin. "Are you coming?"

The pair made their way out of the complex, slowing to a stop in the parking lot. Nancy looked up toward the sky. The sun had quickly risen since Elise and Derek had arrived, and a pink glow was cast upon the town.

"Elise, I barely know more than you do," Nancy confessed. "All I know is that Everett was sick. She saw things, she had outbursts.. it was like-"

"-Like she was losing her mind?" Elise suggested. "I've read the journals."

Nancy nodded. "My mom was there. Not when the accident happened, but she was there for everything before that. She'll know what to do," the girl said assuredly. "Just let me talk to her, I can get her to help."

Elise meant to reply, but a pained shout cut through the air, drawing both of their attention back to the complex. "I think your boyfriend might need some help dealing with that 'Peter' guy," Nancy suggested. "He's a bit of an ass."

"You don't know the half of it," Elise sighed. She turned away from the complex, returning her eyes to where Nancy had been standing, only to find that she'd already left.

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"Werewolf, werecoyote, banshee..." Liam listed off each creature as he eyed them. Scott and Stiles had planned to lure Liam to the Martin's lakehouse for the full moon. The plan was meant to isolate the boy, to prevent him from hurting anyone during his first shift. "Witch... and fox?"

Elise had decided that helping her brother would be better for her nerves than sitting around worrying about what Nancy had told her. She'd told Derek about the news before she had left to help with Liam. Elise had told him everything. Everything except for Nancy's claim that the very same thing plaguing Elise had brought down a whole family of witches.

Now, he was out trying to discover who had attacked Peter at the loft, and she was helping hold a fifteen-year-old kid hostage.

"Kitsune," Kira corrected. "But fox works, too."

"Well, what are you?" the boy asked, this time looking to Stiles.

The older boy considered it for a moment, then spoke. "I mean, I was possessed by an evil spirit for a while."

"And now?"

"I'm... better."

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Elise and Lydia stared at the man in the kitchen of the house. Next to him was a large keg of beer, and his expression was far from amused. The house around them was pulsing with activity, and Elise's head ached from the blaring music.

Kira had lured Liam to the lakehouse under the pretense that there would be a party, and somehow, the rumor had spread through the entire freshman class. Now, Kira and Scott were dealing with a very angry werewolf at the boathouse and Stiles was restraining Malia-who still hadn't gained complete control over her own shift- in the basement. That left Lydia and Elise to run damage control.

"I didn't order a keg of beer," Lydia frowned as they approached the man. "Especially not domestic."

"Well, someone did," the man replied. And I already drove all the way out here, so somebody is paying for it."

"How much?" Elise asked. The man held out a paper for the two women to see. Elise's eyes widened as she read the number, but Lydia appeared unimpressed.

"What's that extra hundred-dollar charge?" she asked.

"That is what I call a 'Yes, you do look twenty-one to me' charge," he explained.

Lydia sighed and turned to the brunette. "Keep an eye on things down here, I'll go get him some cash," she frowned.

Elise nodded, and the girl disappeared within the crowd once again. The man flashed Elise an impatient look before she, too, left.

The brunette wound her way through the crowd until she found what she was looking for. She took a step out onto the porch, savoring the clean, crisp air. The music still thrummed in her ears, but it was much more bearable. She lowered herself onto one of the steps that led down to the driveway.

A few mosquitos buzzed near the dim porch light. Elise stared at the bulb, listening to its electric hum. It felt as if with each second, the hum grew louder until it was nearly unbearable.

The hum was silenced as someone stepped between Elise and the light.

"Don't stare too long, it'll hurt your eyes," Mare smiled.

"I think you're talking about the sun," Elise replied as the girl took a seat beside her.

"Same basic principle."

Elise shrugged. The pair fell silent for a moment before the older brunette spoke. "Not to be rude, but whatever you need Scott for can wait. He's dealing with something right now."

"I know," Mare said. "I've been watching. Not like, in a creepy way, though."

"Is there a not-creepy way to watch someone?"

Mare opened her mouth to reply, but no words came out. Her brows furrowed as her eyes skimmed the treeline. "Someone's watching us," she announced. Slowly, Mare got to her feet. Elise followed suit, watching the girl carefully as she scanned the shadows.

Then, somewhere across the drive, a twig snapped. Mare took off after the source of the sound, leaving Elise standing in shock.

"Mare!" Elise shouted. She wasted no time rushing after the other woman.

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When Elise finally caught up with Mare, she had tackled a tall figure to the ground. Elise slowed next to them, her chest heaving as she looked at who Mare had pinned to the forest floor.

Even in the darkness, Elise recognized the boy. His light curls were ruffled and his eyes were wide as he appraised Mare.

"Issac?" Elise gasped.

"You know this guy?!" Mare questioned, her eyes flirting between Elise and the teen boy she'd chased.

"I- Yeah, I know him! He's a friend, let him up," Elise insisted. Mare appeared hesitant, but she eventually nodded, releasing her iron grip on Isaac's arms and helping him to his feet.

Mare took a step back as Isaac and the other woman exchanged brisk, friendly greetings. Her dark, round eyes flitted around them, scanning the trees.

Just outside of her vision, hidden within the shadows, stood the person she had feared was watching. He stood perfectly still, formulating his plan. His rifle was slung over his shoulder and a fresh bandage was wrapped around the large, swollen wound on the side of his head.

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This chapter was a mess lol. I originally planned on having Nancy being at teh party for some reason and the dude from the woods comes back and Isaac shows up to help but then I remembered that Mare kicked his ass w a shovel to the face and he would need like a whole week to fully recover bc he's human and doesn't heal in .2 seconds oops. Anyway, yeah. This chapter was crappy so I don't really have anything else to say lol. Oh, also I promised to bring Isaac back bc this show has a problem with dropping characters without an explanation. Don't even get me started on how dirty they did Arden in S5
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