Hoping for Heroes

Chapter 13

The next morning, Harley was sitting in her car waiting for Stiles and Scott. Once Stiles' clunker pulled up into the spot next to her, she got out and came to Scott's side, joining them in the midst of conversation. 

"There's gotta be some other way to get tickets, right?" she hears Scott ask Stiles.

"You guys didn't get tickets?" Harley scoffs. "How are we gonna do anything if you don't have tickets?"

"It's a secret show," Stiles says, ignoring her. "There's only one way, and it's a secret."

"Not much of a secret if everyone knows about it," Harley muses.

"Hey!" a voice calls out behind them, and the three turn to see Matt walking up to them. "Any of you guys know why no one's getting suspended after what happened the other day at school?"

"Just forget about it, nobody got hurt," Stiles shrugs. 

"I-I had a concussion."

"Well, nobody got seriously hurt."

"I was in the ER for six hours!"

"Hey, do you wanna know the truth, Matt?"

"Stiles," Harley warns. "Don't."

"Your little bump on the head is about this high on our list of problems right now!" Stiles yells, hovering his hand flat just above the ground. Harley kicks his hand, gesturing for him to stand back up. She hesitantly smiles at Matt, who looks quite offended.

"Are you okay?" Scott asks Matt.

"Yeah, I'm fine now," Matt says, shooting a look at Stiles. "So you didn't get any tickets last night either?"

Scott shakes his head. "They still selling?"

"Uh, no, but I managed to find three online." Matt rummages through his bag, grabs a ticket, and hands it to Harley. She feels her brows furrow as she grabs it.

"Thanks?" she says.

"My date wanted me to get one for you," he explains. Harley opens her mouth to ask who his date is, but he cuts her off, talking to Scott again. "You should keep trying though, sounds like everyone's gonna be there." He nods once at Harley, then walks the other way.

Stiles looks at Scott, at the ticket in Harley's hand, and back at Matt. "I don't like him." As Scott starts to walk away, he continues, "Hey, are you sure about this?"

"Last time, whoever's controlling Jackson had to kill somebody because he didn't finish the job, so what do you think he's gonna do this time?" Scott asks. Harley chews on her bottom lip.

"We'll just have to be there," she says. "Ready to save anyone who needs it."

Harley's waiting outside the locker room for Stiles and Scott after their lacrosse practice. She's reading through the text Alayna sent her about everything she knew relation to the Kanima when she gets a strong whiff of perfume. She looks up to find Erica Reyes grinning down at her.

"Morning, gorgeous," Erica says, smiling even wider when Harley blushes. "Waiting for your boys?"

"y-yeah," Harley stutters out, clearing her throat.  "Well, they aren't my boys, but yeah. You here for Isaac?"

"How do you know I'm not here for you?"

"Uh-well-I-"

"Capsicle!" A voice calls out behind her. "So good to see you!"

Harley spins around, already glaring up at Isaac Lahey. "I told you, you are not allowed to call me that."

"Capsicle?" Erica asks. 

"It's a reference, you wouldn't get it," Isaac explains. "You know, cause you're lame." Erica sticks her tongue out at him, and Harley chuckles quietly. The other two turn bright red when they seem to remember that they have company. "So, what brings you ladies here?" He slings an arm around Erica's shoulder, who shoves him off.

"I'm just waiting for Scott and Stiles," Harley says. 

"And I'm here to ask Harley to be my date to the rave," Erica winks at Harley, who blushes hard yet again. She seems to have done so more often around this girl than anyone else. 

"See, that's so funny, because I was going to ask Capsicle the exact same thing," Isaac chuckles, but it sounds mocking. "What a shame, who ever is she going to go with?"

"Well, me, of course."

"Well now why would she pick you?"

"You literally became not-enemies last night."

"That means absolutely nothing. We have nicknames for each other."

"That doesn't mean anything either."

"I have an idea!" Harley cuts in, and the two spin to look at her. "You go with each other, and I catch up to Scott and Stiles who have already left." She jogs away before the betas can respond. "Bye!"

"..I'm not going with you," Erica hisses. "Why would you mess that up for me? I've been chatting her up for a while."

"We have to go as a pack anyway, Erica," Isaac waves her off. "Besides, she's too pretty for you." 

"Oh, screw off, Lahey."

That afternoon, after school, Harley found herself, yet again, seated in the back of Doctor Deaton's office. 

"Ketamine?" Scott asks Deaton as he shows the group a vial. 

"It's the same stuff we use on the dogs, just a higher dosage," Deaton says, setting down the drug on the table. "If you can get close enough to Jackson, it should slow him down enough to buy you some time." Deaton grabs another jar from behind him. "This, is what you'll use to create the barrier. This part is for you, Stiles. Only you." He sets the jar down on the table.

"Uh, that sounds like a lot of pressure," Stiles comments, grabbing the jar. "Can we maybe find a slightly less pressure-filled task for me?" Stiles looks between Scott and Harley, shrugging.

"It's from the mountain ash tree, which is believed by many cultures to protect against the supernatural. This office is lined with Ashwood, making it difficult for someone like Scott to cause me any trouble," Deaton explains. Harley nods slightly, freezing up when Scott speaks up.

"So why can't Harley do it?" Scott asks. "If it just needs to be someone human, why does it need to be Stiles?"

"Uh-" Harley attempts to come up with an excuse, but she's not sure she even knows the real answer. Deaton saves her before Scott can become too suspicious.

"When it comes to terms of 'distracting' Jackson, she's going to be your best bet. You'll need her inside."

"Yeah, what he said."

"Okay, so, what? I just spread this around the whole building and then either Jackson or whoever's controlling him can't cross it?" Stiles asks, bringing the focus back off of Harley.

"They'll be trapped," Deaton says.

"Doesn't sound too hard," Scott shrugs.

"See, no, don't say that, cause now it's gonna be hard," Harley huffs. 

"And that's not all there is," Deaton agrees. "Think of it like gunpowder. It's just powder until a spark ignites it. You need to be that spark, Stiles."

"If you mean light myself on fire, I don't think I'm gonna be up for that," Stiles jokes. Harley rolls her eyes as Deaton tries to hold in a laugh.

"Let me try a different analogy." As Deaton continues on, Harley feels her phone buzzing, signaling a call. She excuses herself, then steps into the waiting room to take it. 

"Alayna, what's up?" Harley asks. 

"Harley," Alayna responds, and Harley is startled by the crack in her voice. "Sweetheart, I'm so sorry."

"What? Why?"

"Baby, I just got a call. Your dad passed away this morning." 

**A/N terrible chapter I'm sorry babes. Also I decided she needed some spice so here's this