CHPT 50: The Worm Slithers....

Wednesday March 29th, Beacon Hills High School.

The rest of Marco's night after dropping off Victoria was a blur. He didn't do much outside of the norm. There was only such much strangeness he could tolerate in a day. So, he got to sleep as soon as he could. Even if that was no better. When morning came, he checked and cleaned his mother-- hoping words were find her, before leaving for school.

He'd been absent for a while.

Surely the students and faculty appreciated it. Anyway, back to the usual.

The usual annoyance.

On que, the school bell rang, screeching through his entire body like a bolt of lightning following a metal wire tied to his nervous system. He got up and slung his guitar case over his shoulder before leaving his homeroom class. Not much was discussed other than the school being without a principle and gymnasium for the time being.

Fine by Marco, he didn't get along with the last one much anyway.

He traveled the hallways, free of the crowded discomfort as the hallways parted for him-- at least that was until someone walked straight into him.

The hit seemed to knock him out of his mind-- that or he was teleported right to the entrance of the Gymnasium. He could smell Scott and Stiles' blood still in the tiles as he turned to look at who hit him.

Lydia stood, eyes horrified and glazed over.

"You..... alright?" When was she ever?

Lydia took a moment to take in his words before straightening herself out, her curled rosy ponytail bounced in unison with her beautiful black dress that was.... dangerously high. "Of course I am, roid-head. Because today of all days, is my day....why wouldn't I be happy? Today's the day a queen was born afterall."

Marco looked up at the massive flashy balloons she held that had the words seventeen floating.

"Right..." A week ago she looked ready to kill. Now that seemed like a fever dream.

The crowd went back to normal. Not that it was frozen before..... or maybe it was. The scorched remains of the gymnasium was throwing him off in the way it contrasted heavily with the rest of the school. The yellow tape flapped despite the absence of wind.

"WHOOOOO! Who's the birthday girl, huh!?" Stiles came out of seemingly nowhere and began circling Lydia, celebrating and fist bumping the sky. "Party time! Party ti--"

Lydia put her entire hand over his face to silence him, "Back off, scrub. You're freaking people out."

"Oh come on, Lydia. I thought you didn't care what people thought?"

Lydia looked him over before letting her hand slowly fall from his face. He enjoyed that a little too much.

"Y-yea.... I don't. Especially not today."

"There you go! Face the world as you are and all that other philosophical shi....." Stiles turned around as Marco coughed.

"Marco!" Stiles smiled and came in for a hug, only to pause after realizing Marco wasn't blinking. He wasn't moving at all. Not a muscle. Like a lion ready to pounce.

Stiles played it off and rubbed his buzzed head. "It's good to see you, man."

"What the hell is going on with this place?" He questioned to himself as someone came to a stop beside him. Another one he couldn't smell like Stiles.

"Derek says the Full Moon in combination with the survival of everything else is making Stiles.....feel elated." Scott whispered so low Marco could barely hear it even though they stood shoulder to shoulder.

"He doesn't know.... about what's coming." Marco realized.

"Nobody but us. They don't need to know now..."

"Sure. Leave them open to surprise, Scott."

Scott clenched his jaw in response to Marco's words but didn't reply. They all began to walk as a group soon after, traveling in the same direction.

"I heard what you did with Alison." Scott started.

"Of course you did." Marco replied.

"What's your angle...why bring a ShapeShifter home on a Full Moon?"

"Recruitment." Marco started as they rounded a hallway corner and found Isaac. He too joined them, if only with a little hesitance. "Victoria is a hunter at heart. She's been loyal to that life for decades. If I'm going to break that I need her to see me as a solution to her new world of problems."

Scott looked up at him, eyes seemingly on the cusp of glowing with rage, "You're putting that whole house at risk for what? Manipulation? If Alison get's hurt because of y--"

"Victoria's strong. She won't lose it that easy-- but she'll see what she's capable of. She'll come back to me, and we'll get to work."

Scott was suddenly reminded that Marco and the Blue Eyed Beast were one in the same. And the Blue-Eyed Beast trained two high school nobodies into near Fully Synthesized Grey Lions capable of taking down multiple WereWolves on their own. His mind was twisted towards things like this.

"I hope you're right because tonight feels wrong. It's not just the moon."

Marco looked over at Scott, finding the burned down gymnasium standing across from them as if they weren't all walking for the past five minutes.

"What the hell?..." Marco muttered in horror.

"It's her. Something's off about her... and it's not just the Full Moon." Scott said while motioning over to Lydia as she spoke with Stiles about her birthday party.