25: The Leads [2]

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"So you killed her?" I asked sarcastically as I swung open the doors leading to the bustling corridors.

"I don't know." Scott shrugged nervously, still seemingly caught between the dream and reality. "I just woke up."

"And why Lydia all of a sudden? I thought you had your eyes on somebody else." I teased, arching an eyebrow.

"No idea." He shrugged again before continuing.

"I was sweating like crazy, and I couldn't breathe." He sighed. "I never had a dream that felt that real before."

"Really? I have." I smirked as I strolled past him. "Usually ends a little differently."

"Hey, I meant I never had a dream that felt that real." He clarified, catching up with me. "And never give me that much detail about you in bed again."

"Noted. But let me take a guess here." I suggested, raising his curiosity. "I think it's just the aftereffects of the high adrenaline rush you had from the match and the fight after that."

"Maybe." Scott shrugged again, not entirely convinced by my theory.

"And speaking of werewolf business, I've got news for you." I said, causing him to stop in his tracks.

"What?" He asked eagerly.

"Uh, the medical examiner looked at the other half of the body we found." I began.

"And?" Scott pressed.

"Well, I'll keep it simple." I shrugged, delivering the news bluntly. "The medical examiner determines the killer to be an animal, not human. Derek's human, not animal. So Derek's not the killer, and he's let out of jail."

"Are you kidding?!" Scott exclaimed loudly, drawing glances from the passersby in the corridor.

"I mean—" I scratched my neck, "I kinda expected it in a way."

"What?" Scott asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, I pretty much knew this was how things would play out once I heard Tara's assessment of the lower body." I admitted.

"Then why did we go through all that?" Scott asked in shock.

"Because I wanted to confirm something." I sighed.

"What?" He inquired.

"I don't think Derek's really the killer, Scott." I stated firmly, watching his reaction closely.

"Uh... what the... okay, fine, why?" He asked, still processing my thoughts.

"I know he gives off the vibe, but there are too many factors that don't match up." I explained as he absorbed my words.

"So your dad's looking out for him or something? I mean, they don't just let guys like him walk out, right?" Scott asked with a worried grunt.

"No, he's a person of interest, but I think my dad's shifting this case to the forest department." I muttered the last part quietly. "He can't really be chasing after animals when he has bigger cases to work on, so we're on our own like we always are."

"Bigger cases? Like what?" Scott questioned as we headed toward the back door of the corridors leading to the field where he said he had the dream.

"Jessica's been missing for two days." I revealed.

"When you say Jessica..." Scott trailed off, hoping it wasn't the chattering classmate of ours, but I had to dash his hopes.

"Jessica Stanley, yes." I confirmed.

"Jesus, man." He muttered as we opened the door and stepped outside. "Any idea how it happened?"

"No, I was up all night reading through Dad's files—no witnesses, nobody saw her leave her house, no signs of a break-in." The case was very interesting actually.

"Hacked through your dad's computer once more?" Scott asked.

"Too curious on this one to keep my hands tight-." My words trailed off as my eyes widened, spotting the crowd of police in the field. Scott noticed too.

Our attention was drawn to the blood-stained doors of the school bus, with various bloody handprints on the inside. A restricting line had been drawn before it, and officials were working on gathering clues.

"You said it felt all real, right? I guess it was." I remarked.

Scott dashed back in panic, his eyes scanning the crowd.

"She's probably fine." I tried to console him, but it wasn't working.

"Do you have her number?" He asked, pulling out his phone to dial.

"Just because I used to be obsessed with her doesn't mean I know everything about her, Scott." I deadpanned.

"Stiles!" He barked impatiently.

"No, I don't know." I sighed, shaking my head.

"Shit." He cursed, increasing his pace. "This could just be a coincidence, okay?"

I maintained hope that she was alive; if Lydia had died, everyone in the school would have known by now, and they didn't seem that bothered.

"Just help me find her, okay?" He growled, looking around anxiously. "Do you see her?"

"No." I shook my head.

By that point, we'd run down the hall twice and checked the floors above, but Lydia was nowhere to be found.

Scott's panic brought back his aggression, and he collided with a locker in the corridor, specifically Jackson's locker.

He growled loudly before punching the locker, breaking the door off at a weird angle.

But then his nose caught something, and he recoiled, trailing a scent as he bumped into someone.

"Watch where you're going!" I recognized that screechy voice—it was familiar to everyone.

"I'm sorry." Scott muttered as he picked up the books she dropped for Lydia.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Once my heart stops racing, yeah." she commented, half-sarcastically.

"Attention, students, this is your principal." the speakers blared suddenly. "I know you're all wondering about the incident that occurred last night with one of our buses. While the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled."

"Oh, come on." I groaned. I was hoping to avoid facing Harris today.

"I'm sorry, again." Scott muttered once more as he passed the books to her. She scoffed at him and walked away.

"Guess we have an answer for that." I stated matter-of-factly, pointing at Lydia's retreating figure.

Scott stood up with a smile and raised his eyebrows. "Guess so."

"What the hell?" Just then, we both turned to see Jackson staring at his damaged locker in shock.

He analyzed the damages for a moment before noticing us looking at him.

"What are you looking at, asswipes?! Huh?" He yelled.

We exchanged a knowing smirk before heading toward class.