Brother || Teen Wolf

Chapter 48 - The Dance

Once Scott had regained his senses, the group of teens had come up with a very elaborate plan to both keep Allison safe at all times and make sure Peter would end up behind bars -- it did take expert convincing on Lydia's part to get Jamie to agree to that last bit of the plan, but Peter had committed serious crimes and needed to face justice. Now, the strawberry-blonde girl was playing her part, as it was her turn to make sure Allison was not alone. She had taken it upon herself to knock on Allison's door and had invited herself inside.

The first few minutes had been slightly awkward since Allison was busy with homework, but Lydia soon found the perfect pretext to get Allison to agree to her presence at her side. She was idly browsing through Allison's clothes, out of habit more than anything, when her mind came up with a solution that would also get them to go out and enjoy the nice weather: the formal was tonight and if Lydia had learned anything while searching through her friend's clothes, it was that Allison was in dire need of a new dress.

"Come on!" Lydia smiled, tugging at Allison's sleeve to try and convince her to give up on her homework, "We need to go dress-hunting!"

Allison was having a hard time fighting the smile that threatened to form on her lips at Lydia's choice of words, and Lydia noticed. Giving up, the raven-haired girl closed her chemistry book shut and turned to her friend.

"Okay, you win!" she laughed, "I guess hunting is kind of my thing now..."

It wasn't long before the girls were inside Macy's, busy gathering potential dresses for Allison and talking. It had been a while since their last actual conversation and Lydia was thankful for an afternoon free of drama, up until she saw the silhouette of a man she had no desire to see. Peter Hale was here, and his gaze was on Allison.

Immediately, Lydia took action. She picked a dress at random and grabbed Allison's arm, leading her surprised friend away from the alpha. She pointedly ignored Allison's questions as she paid for the dress and exited the store, glancing over her shoulder every now and then in search of the menacing silhouette she knew was following them. In her almost panicked state, Lydia remained capable of logical thinking and so she took her friend to the one place Peter wouldn't follow them: the Argent House.

Unless he was suicidal, there was little chance the alpha would willingly set foot inside a house full of hunters. The girl even came up with a convoluted explanation as to why they had to leave the store, phrasing it in such a ridiculously complicated way that Allison didn't feel like asking for details. All things considered, Lydia was quite proud of herself for handling the situation so well. Plus, the dress she had randomly picked was actually a great fit.

She was not exactly a fan of the next phase of their plan, however, since it involved Jackson. After some (very forceful) convincing, Scott had gotten him to agree to take Allison to the formal -- as friends. Scott had basically scared Jackson out of his own mind and he had agreed to their plan the second Scott had wolfed out in front of him. Lydia had no doubt that from now on, the Lacrosse captain's nightmares would never fail to include at least one wolfed-out Scott.

The girls got ready for the formal at Allison's house, both rather excited at the prospect of spending a night partying. Lydia did her best to hide how apprehensive she was of the event and how fearful for Allison's life and their owns the supernatural world was making her. She did a good job of hiding it and when she drove to the school, Allison was none the wiser. One thing did make Allison feel somewhat embarrassed, and that was the fact that they were going to be late to the formal. When she shared her concerns with Lydia, the only answer she received was a good-hearted laugh and a wave of hand.

"Relax, waiting five minutes won't kill Jackson!" Lydia brushed off. "And it's not like Jamie's going to be on time either."

Allison really wanted to say that they weren't five minutes late, more like thirty, but she knew better than to argue with her friend. When they finally arrived, Allison was quick to reach the large doors, next to which was standing Jackson. Even from afar, she could tell he was tense. His jaw was clenched and his arms were crossed over his chest, a clear sign of impatience. The wait might not have killed him, but it had done nothing to put him in a good mood. The fact that he could feel Scott watching him like a hawk also didn't help, but Allison didn't know that.