[ start of co captain ]

raced frantically toward the field, the scene with Derek and Peter replaying in their heads as they tried to find their two best friends. With Derek on Peter's side, Eleanor didn't know what was possible and what could potentially happen, and her first priority was keeping those she loved safe.

Stiles came to a stop, as did Eleanor as they took a second to scan their surroundings and recollect their thoughts. A trail of the lacrosse team members started to disband out of the locker room doors and toward their cars, leaving the two best friends to search each and every face for Scott and Jaden. They had no luck.

"They have to be in the locker room then." Eleanor stated, stalking into the hallways of Beacon Hill High School, swinging the locker room door open.

Stiles widened his eyes. "Nora, are you even allowed to be in here-"

But she was already in, and so Stiles scrambled after her, joining her in running toward Scott and Jaden's lockers. They both came to a halt as soon as the two boys were in view and Stiles leant against the locker, Eleanor leaning against him as they both sighed in relief.

Puzzled, Scott and Jaden looked up. They too sighed in relief, for they had been trying to find the both of them for the entirety of the game.

Jaden immediately rushed toward Eleanor. "Where the hell have you been and what happened to your arm?"

Eleanor bit her lip as realisation struck that Jaden always felt what she felt, and therefore he would know she had gotten injured during the game. She looked down at where her wound once was, but shook her head. It didn't matter now, all that mattered was keeping the three of her friends safe.

"Listen, something happened, we found out who the Alpha was, and we need to get out of here. They're going to come here - and they, they,"

Scott had stopped what he was doing, and was staring intently at Eleanor as Jaden grabbed ahold of her shoulders, echoing Scott's expression. "Who, Eleanor, who?"

But before she could reply, someone else did for her.

"You know, I really don't get lacrosse."

Peter entered the locker room purposefully, a sinister look in his eye while Derek trailed behind him, crossing his arms over his chest. Jaden widened his eyes and immediately caught on to what had happened while him and Scott were playing the lacrosse game, his grip tightening on Eleanor as he moved all three of his friends behind him.

Peter merely grinned at their reactions. "When I was in high school, we played basketball. That's a real sport. Still, I read somewhere that lacrosse is a Native American sport that was used to resolve conflict. I have a conflict of my own to resolve, but I need your help to do it."

His eyes were cast on his niece, nephew and Scott. Scott turned to look at both Hale men incredulously, casting a look of sympathy upon Eleanor as he realised what had happened during the time that they hadn't been at the school.

"I'm not helping you kill people."

Peter pouted pitifully. "Well, I don't want to kill all of them. Just those responsible. And that doesn't have to include-"

"Allison." Derek finished.

"You told him about Allison?" Eleanor growled viciously, stepping forward. Jaden held her back.

"You're on his side?" Scott questioned, his eyebrows furrowed. "After what he did to your sister? He killed her Derek!"

"It was a mistake."

Eleanor's mouth hung agape in shock, willing herself not to cry for the fourth time that night. Jaden's grip on her tightened, and Scott took a step back.

"What?"

Monotonously, Derek shrugged. "It happens."

"No." Jaden snarled, disgusted by his brothers words. "No it doesn't."

Peter sighed patronisingly, leaning against one of the lockers as he eyed the teenagers in front of him. "I think you kids are getting the wrong impression of us. We just want to help you reach your full potential."

"By killing my friends?" Scott spat, his eyes casting over Stiles, Eleanor and Jaden.

"Sometimes the ones closest to you are the ones holding you back the most."

Eleanor scoffed, staring deep and deadly into Peter's eyes. "If we're stopping him from being a psychopath like you? Gladly."

Peter stepped dangerously close to Scott, his eyes scanning his facial expressions as he smirked at his hands, holding them up to the light. "Maybe - you could try and see things from my perspective."

And before Eleanor, Jaden and Stiles could do anything to stop what was happening, Peter lurched forward toward his young and innocent beta, clawing his neck to let Scott access parts of Peter's memory that he would desperately want to forget.

As soon as it started, it was over. Eleanor surged forward, being held back by Jaden as Stiles ran to Scott's side for support. Her twin brother's grip was tight, and allowed her no room to desperately break his arm for touching her best friend like she wanted to do. Instead, she watched on in disgust as both her uncle and her older brother left the locker room smirking, like they had accomplished something. It made her feel sick.

The twins overlooked the situation and knelt beside Stiles as they watched their best friend struggle, and with one suffocating gasp, Scott sat up, his eyes wide and his mouth pulled into a frown.

They seriously needed a plan.

...

"about Jackson?" Eleanor looked at Jaden in disgust for even suggesting the boy.

The four friends, after their eventful night, had decided that they would spend their weekend together. And so, Stiles had suggested going out to eat for lunch, thus enforcing the idea of a car ride. However, as always, they were with each other all the time and small talk got boring easily, and they were now on the subject of prom dates. More specifically, Eleanor's prom date.

"You're telling me that you wouldn't?" Scott questioned, his eyebrows raised as he looked at Eleanor beside him.

"Never." She vowed, shaking her head solemnly.

"Why not?"

Humoured, she laughed and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "So many reasons. For one, Lydia's a really good friend of mine, I would never be able to do that to her. Second, he's an asshole and totally not worth anyone's time."

Stiles tried to muffle his smile by looking away, although he wasn't sure about why he was so happy with Eleanor's answer. Perhaps it was because they shared the same passionate dislike for the boy, or maybe it was something different. Something that his feelings were always getting in the way of.

Speaking of the devil, the calm and undramatic car ride soon came to a sudden end. What once would have been a breeze past the local gas station quickly turned into one of complete arm and suspicion; all four teenagers noticed Jackson standing with Argent by his car at the same time, and all went into immediate panic.

Stiles swerved slightly, turning his attention back to the road ahead as they neared an intersection. Jaden and Eleanor shared an uneasy look while Scott kept his stare upon the vehicle and the two men, his eyes wide and blinking nervously.

Dazed, he grabbed Eleanor by the shoulder. "We need to go back. We need to get Jackson. What if he tells? What if Argent is suspicious? What if he hurts him?"

Eleanor folded her hand over his reassuringly and nodded at Stiles through the windscreen mirror as if to confirm their redirected destination. She gave Scott an attempt at a comforting smile. "We'll go back, we'll go back and make sure nothing happens. With us there, Jackson will be safe and we'll make sure he doesn't say a word."

However, while Scott had become antsy at the idea of Argent hurting Jackson, Eleanor gazed over at Stiles nervously. The last time she encountered Chris Argent, they hadn't directly crossed paths, and both him and his sister had been watching Stiles in their car from afar. They had suspicions that Stiles was the fourth beta. And now, Stiles would be sat meters away from the man willing to do anything to destroy someone helping the Alpha. It was a surprise that he hadn't tried to exterminate the Hale siblings yet, with the many chances he could have gotten.

The sound of tires screeching into the gas station was loud enough to grab both Argent and Jackson's attention. Chris didn't look too impressed, a monotone stare upon the blue jeep belonging to 'beta suspect one' as it came to a stop beside the pair. Jackson held more of an annoyed but hopeful expression.

Scott immediately hopped out of the jeep, Eleanor following him as Stiles cocked his head forward, glancing over Jaden at Jackson. "What's up?"

"Is everything okay?" The Hispanic boy questioned, curiously peeking over at Jackson's engine.

"Hey, Scott." Chris greeted expressionlessly. "Your friend, here, was having car trouble. I just offered to take a look."

Jaden scratched the back of his neck. "Well there's a shop right down the road, and I'm sure they have a tow truck."

"Yeah, do you want a ride?" Eleanor offered generously, sounding convincing easily. "C'mon Jackson, you're way too pretty to be out here all by yourself."

'Beta suspect one', who Eleanor had suspected had been demoted to 'beta suspect two' due to Argent's great interest in Jackson, tensed visibly at Eleanor's attempt at flirting with the co captain. Jackson furrowed his eyebrows, confused by her change in tone, but nonetheless nodded and started making his way toward the jeep.

A low grumble sounded from the prissy Whittemore's Porsche, and Argent smiled stiffly as all five of them turned back to look at him and the vehicle. He smiled predatorily. "Hey, I told you I knew a thing or two about cars."

Soon enough, he had locked himself into his own car and driven off, leaving the five alone to talk. And as soon as he was gone, the arguing started.

"What? Are you following me now?" Jackson barked viciously, cocking his head forward as he squared up to Scott.

"Yes, you stupid idiot! You almost gave everything away right there."

Jackson took a step back, furrowing his eyebrows as Stiles and Jaden climbed out of the car too. "What are you talking about?"

"He thinks you're the fourth beta." Eleanor mentioned gravely, leaning against the jeep softly as Jackson shot her a questioning look.

"What? I thought Scott and Derek were the only ones?"

Eleanor bit her lip, regretting her mistake as Jaden stepped forward, wincing as he opened his mouth to tell Jackson the truth. "J, Elle and I - we're Derek's siblings, which means - we were born like it too."

Jackson's face dropped."What?"

"That's not the point. He thinks your me!" Scott shouted frustratingly, turning to hit Stiles' jeep, his fist making contact with the metal right by Eleanor's side.

The sudden impact made Eleanor flinch and move away. "Holy shit. Dude, Roscoe."

Scott ignored Eleanor and spun back around to glare at Jackson, who looked on at him annoyed. "I can hear your heart beating from a mile away - literally. Now he thinks that there's something wrong, and now I have to keep an eye on you so he doesn't kill you too!"

Scott curled his hands into fists again, fighting the urge to scream as he turned around again, trying to hit Stiles jeep once more. Stiles shot forward, grabbing Scott's arm, pulling him back over to Jackson to ensure he wouldn't hit the jeep again.

"Okay, how about we step away from my jeep."

Jackson scoffed. "This is your problem, not mine, okay? I didn't say anything, which means you're the one who's gonna get me killed. Okay, this is your fault."

With that, Jackson shoved Scott backwards, once again, into Stiles' jeep. Eleanor furrowed her eyebrows and pushed Jackson away from her best friend.

"Can we stop hitting Stiles' jeep-" Scott pushed Jackson from behind Eleanor, putting her directly in the line of danger as Jackson gave her a deadly look and started towards her.

"Yo, hey, stop! Alright?" Jaden intervened, holding the two of them away from one another, allowing Eleanor to slip from between them and to Stiles' side.

"When they come after you, I won't be able to protect you. I can't protect anyone."

Feeling Scott's eyes one him, Stiles looked up alarmed. "Why are you looking at me?"

"You know, now you have to do it. Get me what I want, and I'll be able to protect myself."

Eleanor scoffed, shaking her head. "No, you won't. Trust me, all it does is makes things worse."

"Oh yeah, really?" He challenged bitterly. "You can hear anything you want and run faster than humanly possible. Sounds like a real hardship."

"Yeah, I can run really fast now." Scott agreed, although his motive behind his speech was different to what Jackson had been trying to say. "Except half the time I'm running away from people trying to kill me. And yeah, I can hear things - like my girlfriend telling people that she doesn't trust me anymore right before breaking up with me. I'm not lying to you! It ruins your life."

Scott had kept his cool throughout his entire statement, moving back to stand alongside his three other best friends in defeat as Jackson shook his head, disagreeing completely. "It ruined your life. You had all the power in the world and you didn't know what to do with it. You know what it's actually like? It's like when you turned sixteen and someone bought you a Porsche instead of starting you out with a nice little Honda. Me? I drive a Porsche."

Eleanor's eyes widened at Jackson's oblivious and cocky reply, and all four of them watched as he waltzed away and climbed into his beloved Porsche, smirking at all of them as he drove away and on to the quiet streets of Beacon Hills.

What the hell had just happened?

...

followed Stiles toward the Stilinski household, smiling down at the screen of her phone as she got an encouraging text from Scott. He had gone to talk to Allison and apologise for the past couple of days.

Eleanor shot Scott a short and sweet reply before pushing her phone back into her pocket, smiling deviously as she rushed toward her best friend, jumping on to his back with ease, catching him by surprise. Stiles grinned upward at Eleanor, wrapping his hands around here thighs to hoist her higher on to his back.

She squealed as he squeezed her knee, a ticklish spot that he knew all too well, and wrapped her arms around his shoulder, leaning into him to bury her face into his neck. "Stop! That tickles."

Stiles just shook his head, chuckling at her quiet mumble, and strolled up the familiar drive way belonging to Noah. The two could already tell that the Sheriff was home from the parked police cruiser, and so they waltzed into the house freely, making sure to shut the door behind them.

Eleanor let out a small giggle at something Stiles had said, but their laughter came to a seize upon entering the kitchen, where Stilinski was sat, his head in his hands as he looked over all of the files he was studying. He was stressed, and in serious need of a second opinion.

The look on Noah's face was enough for Eleanor to slide off of his son's back and plant her feet on the kitchen floor, leaning on Stiles as he leant on the beam of the kitchen door frame.

He coughed, catching his fathers attention. "Watcha doing?"

"Work." He muttered bitterly, letting a piece of paper fall from his hand uselessly, his forehead creasing in mass confusion.

Eleanor slowly walked forward, pulling out a chair as she perched on the edge of the seat, leaning forward. "Anything we can help with?"

"You know." Sheriff started, his eyes travelling from Eleanor to the whiskey bottle sat on the side of the kitchen counter, untouched. "If you poured me just an ounce of whiskey, that would be awfully nice."

Not giving Eleanor a chance, Stiles reached out to grab the alcoholic bottle and a glass from the cupboard. He set the glass on the table and twisted the cap off of the whiskey, his eyes looking up to meet his dad's.

"Any leads?"

"You know I can't discuss that with you." Sheriff pointed out, and his attention turned to Eleanor. "And I doubt you'd be very happy with me going on about your brothers case."

He turned away from the pair and to the cup now half full of whiskey. "Not too much."

The cup was slid over the table and received by the hands of the Sheriff, whom picked it up and drunk it within seconds, acting as if it were a cup of water. Stiles sat down at the kitchen table with his father and Eleanor, eyeing him carefully as his best friend gave the same look. They were worried.

"C'mon, it's us, we wouldn't tell anyone."

Eleanor nodded in agreement and thought over the last twenty four hours and he relationship with her older brother. "And I don't mind hearing about it. In fact, i'm all for helping you out with your case."

The Sheriff glanced between the pair, as if debating whether or not to spill the truth, and then nodded ever so slightly. He glared down at his papers, and Eleanor and Stiles could immediately tell that the drink had begun to take it's toll. Hard.

"You know, your brother - Derek Hale - would be a hale of a lot. Hale of a lot?"

Eleanor almost giggled. Almost. And Stiles bit back a smile as he offered. "Hell of a lot?"

Sheriff nodded in confirmation. "Hell. Yes. He would be a hell of a lot easier to find if we had an actual picture of him. Do you have a picture of him?"

Truth was, Eleanor had. Werewolves, if they were strong enough and knew how to go about it, could repell the laser beam that appeared during photographs, but only if they wanted to. It was a control thing. Obviously, Derek had not used his control during his mugshot photo shoot at the police station. Still, she stayed silent.

Stiles glanced between the two. "Wait. How do you not have a picture of him?"

"It's the weirdest thing." Noah started, his eyebrows furrowed as he held up a picture of Derek to his son. "It's like every time we try to take a photo of him, it's like two laser beams are pointing at the camera."

Eleanor leaned forward intently as if she didn't know how it had happened, but gave her best friend a discrete nod when he shot her a questioning glance. Stiles turned back to his dad and nodded.

Sheriff, almost as if reality had struck, suddenly sat up, his eyes alert as he stared at the empty glass once containing whiskey. He groaned. "Oh god, that ounce hit me like a ton of bricks. I have said way too much - and if you two repeat any of that-"