Don't Take Yourself So Seriously

Kinsey ran through the parking lot, searching for Scott. Stiles and her split up to find him, and Stiles chose to see if he was home already. Her shoes squeaked as she pushed open the back door to the locker room, where she saw Scott resting his head in his hands. He was in just a towel, although he had dried off ages ago.

“Dude, we have a huge problem!” Kinsey rushed out, stopping right in front of him.

“Trust me . . . I know,” he said, looking up to her. “Derek and Peter just left.” Kinsey looked behind her, somehow hoping they were still there. “King . . .” Scott sounded desperate, so she looked back. “ I saw everything. The Hale fire. Peter changing. The two guys that got killed in the woods: they were setting the house on fire.”

“Wait, how did you possibly do that?” Kinsey asked, too nervous to sit down next to Scott.

“It was his nails! He shoved them in my neck and left me on the floor.”

Kinsey's eyebrows scrunched together, pondering the new details. “What was Derek doing?”

Scott stood up next to her. “Derek barely spoke. And when he did, he sounded . . . off.” Kinsey's face showed her confusion. “Derek said Laura dying was a mistake. 'It happens.' That doesn't sound like Derek at all. He came all the way back to Beacon Hills to get revenge for her; he's not just going to let it go. I don't get why he was acting that way and why he stood with Peter!”

Kinsey took a shaky breath, looking down to the ground. “Scott, I think I have to tell you something.” Kinsey had no clue where to start, leading to a minute of listening to her own heartbeat. “Derek, he, um, he had another reason to be upset. Me.”

“Why would he be mad at you?”

“Last night, when Derek had to stay at my house, we found some stuff out.”

“King, what the hell are you talking about?”

“We found out we like each other.”

Scott's jaw fell to the floor. His chest heaved up and down as he screamed at Kinsey. “Are you kidding me? This can't be real! This doesn't make sense. Why? What? No.”

“That's not why he'd be upset at me. Peter knows everything. He corned me in a room, and shouted out to Stiles and Derek that I was a hunter.”

“But you're not,” Scott stated, sure it was a fact. “ . . . Right? Kinsey, look at me!” Scott grabbed Kinsey's arm, his nails digging into her skin at the tips. “Why didn't you tell me you were a hunter? You're a damn werewolf!”

“I can't share a lot of things, nowadays, and neither can you,” she said coldly.

“This is too much,” Scott whined, letting go and pacing back and forth. “Basically you're telling me, you're one of the bad guys, and you want to bone a psycho. How have you kept all this to yourself?”

“Please, don't tell. It's not going anywhere. Derek hates my guts. It was all a mistake. Hormone, werewolf thing we shouldn't have been thinking about.” Scott promised, but he was disappointed beyond belief.

* * * * *

Jamie was throwing the Poppers onto the ground near the bottoms of the trees. They were Wolf Pack brand poppers, which didn't make Kinsey laugh. She zoned out, letting her sister use up all of them burning tiny holes in the trunks.

“We're out!” Jamie called to her big sister. Kinsey snapped out of her daze, reaching down around her feet and lighting the firecrackers. She threw the big bunch into the road, bringing her sister closer to her side.

Her head was out of it all the way. The fireworks were supposed to distract her mind, but she kept thinking back to Derek. Her first attempt at distraction wasn't working, but she gained hope as Stiles drove and parked in front of her house.

Jamie stole the lighter off Kinsey and set a couple ants on fire. Kinsey wasn't paying attention. Stiles came up and hugged her, lingering a little too long. “Thanks. Really needed to ease my mind today, Derek.”

Kinsey bit her tongue. Stiles let go of her, laughing awkwardly. She apologized a million times. “It'd be hard not to think of him.”

Kinsey backed away. “He hates me with all his guts. Understandably. He was about to kill me with his eyes.”

“Maybe he was just checking you out. I would be.” Stiles had a goofy grin on, which in turn made Kinsey laugh a little. She handed him a firecracker.

Jamie reluctantly gave up the lighter. Kinsey gave her a roman candle, disregarding the way it fumbled in her hands. Best big sister.

Kinsey took the lighter and pulled a belt out of the loops in her pants. Stiles mentioned how big a size that was for her. She didn't say anything in return. Kinsey and Stiles sat down on the side of the road, setting off some more colorful fireworks and watching Jamie irresponsibly aim her roman candles at mailboxes.

By the time Stiles noticed the belt again, Kinsey had ripped it to shreds with her nails.

“Your shoes on fire,” Kinsey mentioned nonchalantly. She patted it down quickly. Stiles looked at the burnt laces.

“Damn it. These were new.” Kinsey laughed. Stiles glanced at her and smiled, a strange look in his eye. “Not funny. Expensive.”

“Hilarious. Expensive.”

Stiles gulped and blurted out something randomly. Kinsey was thrown, expecting some flow in their conversing. “So we kissed before.” She blinked. “That was weird, huh?”

Is your mouth about to get you in trouble? “Not really. Lots of random kissing goes on. I'm surprised it didn't happen sooner. What made you remember?”

“Ah, nothing. Just thinking.”

Sooooooo, you know that moment someone says something off to you? And you get that feeling they like you? That was this moment. The moment saying that maybe Stiles had figured out some clues.

Kinsey vowed right there to stop thinking about Derek.