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CHAPTER EIGHT; 08

"Did he not pick up?"

"If he did I wouldn't be talking to you, Sage."

Sage snickered. "Touche."

Allison laughed as well, and Sage felt relieved that she was talking to someone. Even if it wasn't who she wanted to talk to, it felt nice to have an actual conversation with a person not involved in the werewolf drama. Allison had ended up giving Sage her phone number when she dropped by the hospital the day Sage was discharged, and the two had hung out at Allison's house afterwards. It felt nice to have a girl friend.

The only problem was that Allison was an Argent.

"So, how are you doing? After the whole thing—"

"I'm perfectly fine. Jackson decided to be an asshole, nothing new," Sage bluntly spoke, a bland taste on her tongue as she thought back to when the lacrosse player had forcefully pressed his lips onto her own.

She had told Allison what happened at the hospital, how Jackson was drunk and decided to kiss her, as well as the text message she got from Stiles. She only told Allison because she didn't really have anyone else to tell; Derek would have killed Jackson, and Stiles was pissed at her so that left her new brunette friend as the final option.

"You know that's not what I'm talking about, Sage. Have you heard from Stiles?" Allison asked.

Sage snorted, and shifted around in the Camaro. She had taken it for a drive, and somehow she ended up in the middle of nowhere, literally, and decided to call Allison, who was trying to call Scott, who was with Derek, who doesn't know she stole the Camaro. It was like a cycle.

"Not a word. I'm pretty sure he's pissed at Scott too, though. Didn't you say Sheriff Stilinski got hit?"

Allison hummed from the other end. "Yeah, at the conference. By the way, did you ever go?"

Sage almost snorted when she thought about Derek sitting in front of Harris or Coach, listening to them babble on about how she's always late to class and is known to back talk. All she could picture was Derek smirking like an idiot because Sage is exactly like Luke, despite claiming she wasn't the first day of school.

"No, and they didn't ask me about it either. I guess they're afraid to ask. Everyone knows that Derek is my guardian, but I think they're afraid to ask because of having to bring up my mom and dad," Sage explained.

That was most likely the only reason. None of the teachers wanted to deal with a blubbering orphan trying to explain that her parents couldn't come because they were dead. Granted, it would be amusing for her to experience but the teachers would probably have a nervous breakdown.

"Is it hard? You know, thinking about them?"

Sage couldn't help but smile when Allison asked the question. Every time she would say something about her parents, people would go all awkward and apologize at least thirty times. It was refreshing to have Allison do neither, instead continuing on with the subject. The only other person to be that blunt was Stiles.

"It's not as hard as it used to be. When I was younger, I would stay up at night crying and wishing they would come back. But now, it's not that I necessarily want them back, it's just that I want to have experiences normal teenagers have. I'll never have my dad walk me down the aisle, or have my mom do my makeup for prom. I'll never be able to bicker with my brother about taking too long in the bathroom. Thinking of the moments that got taken away is the hardest part, really."

It was silent on the phone for a few seconds, before Allison's throat cleared. "Well, when prom comes, I'll definitely be there to do your make up. You might look like a clown, though."

"Okay, deal," Sage laughed.

"Hey, uh. I've got to— um, yeah. I have an English project and—"

Sage let out a snicker. "Scott's there isn't he?"

"Don't tell my dad! I'll see you tomorrow!" Allison begged before the line ended.

Sage shook her head, grinning as she hung up the phone. She went to click off her screen when her finger accidentally pressed her text messages, and the same word was glaring at her. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she quickly pressed delete and it vanished from sight.

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Sage actually arrived to class early for once.

Still, half of the class was already situated in their seats, the one person she was trying to avoid being one of them. Her seat was directly beside Stiles. She wanted nothing more than to find a different one but the class was full, and she was absolutely positive no one would trade with her, making her stuck. She slowly walked to her seat, setting down her back pack and trying not to cringe at how awkward it was.

Scott appeared a few seconds later, and she could have swore the tension rose by another fifty percent. The boy quickly took his seat behind Stiles, and blew out a breath of air before looking towards Sage. She shrugged, not knowing what to tell him. They were only partially on the same boat. Stiles was pissed at her for no reason, he just started avoiding her.

She felt like shit, a part of her was defeated, and another part of her was just pissed. He had no right to just avoid her for no reason, she didn't even know why he sent the text. He had no right to make her question her sanity at this point, because she was going out of her freaking mind not being able to talk to him.

"Still not talking to me?" Scott finally asked, looking towards Stiles who sat motionless, staring straight at the chalkboard. It probably had to do with him being cornered by both herself and Scott. She was to the left of him, Scott was behind, and Greenberg was on his right. No one wanted to talk to Greenberg. "Okay, can you at least tell me if your dad's okay? I mean, it's just a bruise, right? Some soft tissue damage? Nothing that big? You know I feel really bad about it right?"

"Oh my god," Sage muttered, rubbing her face as she watched Stiles refuse to talk.

"What if I told you that I'm trying to figure this whole thing out? That I went to Derek for help?" Scott wondered. Sage knew that bringing up Derek would get Stiles to talk, mostly because Stiles hated Derek and his whole existence.

"If I was talking to you, I would tell you that you're being a total idiot for trusting him," Stiles spat out, not even bothering to look back and acknowledge Scott. "But obviously, I'm not talking to you."

"It's okay, Scott, he's not talking to me either," Sage comforted, looking over at Scott.

She saw Stiles' jaw tighten, and she knew that her attempt to piss him off worked. It made her feel a bit better because he deserved it for being an asshole to her.

Stiles glanced over at her, narrowing his eyes. He was still pissed at her, but he was more pissed at Jackson. Actually, he's not even sure who he's more pissed at anymore. All he knew is that he's pissed. When he sent the text, he was just tired of falling for a girl that falls for the wrong guys— the same guy, actually.

Which just made him hate Jackson a little more.

He looked away from her after that, pursing his lips before turning around to stare at Scott. "Alright, what did he say?"

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Sage walked out of English class, ready to go to her locker to exchange her books when a hand grabbed a hold of her bicep. She almost jumped out of her skin, but when she saw that it was just Scott, she let out a deep sigh in relief. Stiles was by his side, and she noticed him roll his eyes after seeing Scott snatch her from the crowd.

"So he told you to tap into your werewolf side and get angry?" Stiles repeated the same words from class. He made it his best interest to stay on the other side of Scott, away from Sage. Scott nodded in agreement, and Stiles contemplated. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but every time you do that, you try to kill someone, and that someone is usually me."

Sage frowned, looking up at Scott. "I thought you stopped being a homicidal maniac?"

"No, he hasn't, and I refuse to let Derek teach him anything," Stiles said to her, never once making eye contact.

"What about me?" Sage asked, looking over at the two.

Stiles scoffed at the blonde. "I refuse to let you teach him anything either."

"You know what—"

Stiles avoided her attempt at a back fire, looking over at Scott. "When's he supposed to be teaching you?"

"He's picking me up at the animal clinic after work," Scott informed, thinking back to the conversation they had in his room after the alpha showed up outside of his car.

"After work, alright. Well, that gives me until the end of the school day then."

"To do what?" Scott asked, arching his eyebrows high.

Stiles looked over at Sage for the first time and sighed. "For Sage and I to teach your ourselves."

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Sage followed behind Stiles into the boy's locker room, the two of them awkwardly silent as they darted through the benches. It smelled exactly like anyone would think a locker room smelled like: teenage boy and too much Axe. She watched as Stiles got to a locker, most likely his, pulling out a duffle bag and a lacrosse stick. He handed the stick to her without speaking, and she bit down on her cheek.

"Okay, what the hell is your problem?"

Stiles turned around, surprise written all over his face. He almost dropped the duffle bag from his hand out of shock. He honestly didn't think she would talk to him. He was just kind of hoping that she would make this as quick as possible and he could leave the locker room. He felt a shiver rise up his spine.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he answered, going back to walking towards Coach's office. He was generally surprised when she grabbed a hold of his arm, tugging him back around so they were face-to-face.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. Why the hell are you ignoring me? What the hell did I do to you?" Sage asked, crossing her arms over her chest. She truly wanted to know because it was eating her up inside just having him hate her for no reason.

Stiles frowned. "It doesn't even matter anymore."

"Why? Because we're 'nothing'? Stiles, why did you send that text message? I know it has to do with what I told your dad about our relationship."

Stiles closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He really didn't want to do this now. He also didn't want to tell her that he was jealous because he saw her kissing Jackson, and he most definitely didn't want to tell her that he liked her. She was just a crush anyways, he loved Lydia. He's loved Lydia since he was a kid. It's always been Lydia.

Something told him he was lying to himself.

"I sent it to the wrong person, I meant to send it to Scott," Stiles lied, going to turn around once again when Sage jerked him back. He went crashing into her chest, grabbing a hold of the locker that was behind her to steady himself.

Sage felt the wind knock out of her when she realized Stiles was centimeters from her lips. Their chests were still pressed tightly against each other, and she could feel his heart beating through his plaid shirt. That was when she realized she really wanted him to kiss her. She could practically just tilt her head and there his lips would be, but she never had the chance because he pushed away from her, rushing towards Coach's office.

He came back a few seconds later with a phone. "Alright, let's go."

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"Put this on."

Stiles handed Scott a monitor that he needed to put on his waist in order for the plan to work. Sage sat on the bleachers across from Stiles. She knew what the plan was, and she also knew that it was both payback and help. She wasn't going to be participating because she wasn't really in the mood to hurl lacrosse balls at Scott.

"Isn't this one of the heart rate monitors they use for the track team?"

Stiles nodded. "Yeah, I borrowed it."

"Stole it," Sage corrected, shooting Scott a look that he returned with a grin. Stiles looked over at her with a glare, the whole locker room scene was now forgotten for the time being.

"Temporarily misappropriated," Stiles shot back. "Coach uses it to monitor his heart rate with his phone while he jogs. You're going to wear it for the rest of the day."

"Isn't that Coach's phone?" Scott asked, looking down at the phone that Stiles was fiddling around with in his fingers. Stiles didn't even bother glancing down.

Stiles cringed. "That, I stole."

"Why?"

"Alright well your heart rate goes up when you go wolf, right? When you're playing lacrosse, when you're with Allison, whenever you get angry. Maybe learning to control it is tied to controlling your heart rate," Stiles explained.

Sage pursed her lips, wishing she could help them out more. She doesn't know as much as Derek does when it comes to werewolves; she knows that full moons are bad, packs are good, killing is bad, and that alpha's have a tendency of going on a murderous rampage for no reason.

"Like The Incredible Hulk?"

Stiles let out a huff in annoyance. "Like The Incredible Hulk."

"I'm like The Incredible Hulk!"

Sage snatched the strap out of Stiles' hand, rolling her eyes at how annoying the two boys were being. "Would you just shut up and put the stupid thing on."

Scott did as told, scared that she would rip him apart if he didn't. Scott also noticed the two come out onto the field with dark, red faces. He didn't bother questioning what they did in the locker room. Not even when Sage's heart sped up as Stiles accidentally brushed her arm, or when Stiles almost dropped the duffle bag and lacrosse stick. They were fidgety.

More than usual, at least.

Sage watched as Stiles duct taped Scott's hands together so he couldn't get out. From her place on the bleachers, she could clearly see both parties, and could turn away if she needed to. She had a feeling that Stiles wasn't going to be holding back. Not after what Scott did to his dad.

"Remember, don't get angry," Stiles reminded Scott as he turned on Coach's phone.

"I'm starting to think this is a really bad idea," Scott shouted, and then the ball came, hitting him straight in the chest. Sage winced, closing her eyes before she could see Stiles fling another ball directly at Scott's face. "Okay, that one kind of hurt."

"Be quiet. Remember you're supposed to be thinking about your heart rate, about staying calm," Stiles said, twisting the stick in his hands.

He continued to throw balls at Scott, laughing while Sage just shielded herself from the action. While she was turned around, she noticed that Jackson was standing behind the bleachers, looking at the chaos happening on the field. Jumping up from her seat, she rushed over to him, trying to direct his eyes from the two idiots to her.

"Hey."

He looked over at her and nodded once in greeting. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, you know, just chillin'," she awkwardly replied, laughing mechanically as she leaned her arm on the bleacher to try and block his view.

He did stop glancing over, but only because he had a clear view down her shirt with the tank top she decided to wear today. Even after she has seen the, somewhat, decent side of him, he contiues to prove that he is still an asshole deep down inside.

"So someone told me that you were in the hospital?"

Just what she was trying to avoid.

"Yeah. I had a seizure, but I'm okay now," she reassured, forcing a smile on her face to try and take away all of the uncomfort that she felt.

From across the field, Stiles just so happened to glance over to see that Sage was speaking with Jackson. And his anger fueled, making him hurl a ball as hard as he could at Scott. When the ball hit him in the face, Stiles heard the heard monitor begin to beep a lot louder and faster than it had before.

Jackson and Sage had also directed their attention over to Scott who was now on the ground, free of the tape and able to kill all of them.

Sage's eyes widened and she looked over at Jackson. "I've got to go."

Then she darted onto the field, coming to a halt right beside Stiles who was glancing down at the heart monitor. It was slowly decreasing, and Sage took a step forward, crouching in front of Scott. "You started to change."

"My anger— but, it was more than that. It was like the angrier I got, the stronger I felt."

"So it is anger then," Stiles confirmed. "Derek's right."

Scott took a deep breath. "I can't be around Allison."

"Wait, why?" Sage asked, furring her eyebrows.

"Just because she makes you happy?" Stiles asked, wondering where the hell Scott's mind was at the moment. Why would he stay away from her if she makes him happy?

"No, because she makes me weak."

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"Let's go. Sit, sit, sit, sit, we've got a lot to cover today."

Sage sighed as she walked into Coach's class, plopping down in her seat. She watched Stiles go to take the seat in front of her when Scott was quick to ask him to sit behind him. Sage realized why when she saw Allison set her books down. Stiles pulled his leg out, giving Scott a look before returning to the seat in front of her.

"Hey," Allison said to Scott, a smile on her face. "I haven't seen you all day."

"Yeah, uh, I've been super busy," Scott lied, turning around to give Sage and Stiles a pointed look that basically screamed for help. Sage shrugged while Stiles just slouched into his seat even more.

"When do you get your phone fixed? I feel like I'm totally disconnected from you."

Scott frowned, trying to figure out how to continue with the lack of truth. "Uh, soon. Real soon."

Sage let out a deep sigh and leaned forward in her seat, dropping her head on her desk as she tried to ignore the awkward conversation in front of her. Well, really it was to the left of her, but still.

Stiles seemed to feel the same because he leaned back in his chair, whispering in her ear. "This is like a train wreck waiting to happen."

"So I changed partners by the way," Allison excitedly told Scott, happy that she was able to spend more time with the boy.

"Oh, to who?" Scott wondered, completely oblivious to the fact that the brunette was talking about him.

Sage snorted, but it was only heard by Stiles who was close enough to catch it. "Dumb ass."