Don't Take Yourself So Seriously

The bed squeaked as Allison sat on the edge. Her face was filled with terror and shock, so she just watched Kinsey pace back and forth, tearing out all the bobby pins. Steam was pouring out of Kinsey at every opening. Her lips twitched every time she tried to say something, so she gave up. Her hair was a wild mess, flopping every way when she turned.

Kinsey threw the last pin onto the floor, finally breaking the silence. “I can't believe they tried to run him over! Of course, that's the only logical test, huh? Ugh!” She stared down Allison, waiting for her reaction. Allison didn't give one, though.

Allison was trying not to cry. She tried distracting herself, so she told Kinsey to sit on the floor between her knees. She took out a brush and started untangling Kinsey's hair in silence.

Downstairs, Chris was screaming. No one needed super hearing to listen in on his shouting match with Kate. He was making valid points; Kate never should have told Allison the secret.

Allison gulped. “Did you know?” she quietly asked.

It was about Scott. Did I know? Of course. He told me right away. I immediately rushed to spill that he was a werewolf. I'm the one that figured it out for him! I'm the one who told him I was too! I'm the one who swore to keep it a secret to all the hunters!

“. . . Yes.”

Allison wouldn't tell. That wasn't like her to betray her friends. Kinsey leaned her head back into her lap. She looked up at Allison, who was still fighting tears.

“Stop crying.” Allison bit her lip, sniffling. “A lot is about to happen. Be brave, and stop crying. It's not going to help you. Just . . .”

That was where Kinsey's speech ended. She was about to tell her not to fight for them, to not be a killer, but Kate knocked on the door to tell Allison to pack her bags. Chris didn't want them to stay in town anymore. “Kinsey, you're dad just wants you home.”

Kinsey cursed her whole way down the stairs, stomping loudly. Kate sauntered behind her, a scary smile on her lips.

She was still in her dress, but the memories felt fake. It was like happiness had been a dream, and the nightmares were real. Kinsey wiggled her shoeless toes on the porch, trying to remember dancing with Stiles. It was supposed to be a fun night. Nothing seemed to be working out well. Ever.

“Snap out of it,” Kate said, putting a hand on Kinsey's back. “Bad stuff happened tonight, huh?” It wasn't comforting to hear from her. Kinsey squirmed underneath her touch. “It's odd to think you had no idea your best friend was a werewolf.”

Kinsey sighed. Interrogation was already beginning. “Good thing he didn't tell me,” she said flatly. “We might have had to kill him.”

Kate's eyebrow raised. “So, you had no clue?” Kate took her hand off, zipping up her jacket in the cold air.

Kinsey faked shock. “Me? No way. I wouldn't have stayed his friend.”

Kate couldn't finish airing out her suspicions because Kinsey's mom rolled up in the van, ushering Kinsey to come inside.

After the awkwardly silent car ride, Kinsey had wished she'd stayed on the front steps. Her mom parked the car but turned to say something to her daughter. Kinsey already bailed, not ready to hear the “We're giving up relations with your cousin” speech.

“I'm going to bed,” she mumbled, closing the car door. “Please, don't bother me.”

Her parents stayed downstairs, discussing how they could possibly cure him. They were talking nonsense cures from France that they knew for a fact weren't going to work. Kinsey was listening in, simultaneously stripping out of her dress.

She threw her earrings on her bed and found some clothes lying around. It wasn't until she broke a shoe lace that she realized how angry she was becoming. Kinsey threw it on the ground hard, taking a moment to lean against the wall. She put her head in her hands.

It wasn't time to rest. Scott could have been captured already. Hunters wouldn't kill him, but they'd torture him until he told them where the alpha was.

Kinsey bolted out the window.