Love's Spiral

Spencer woke up to her alarm, really not wanting to go to school. She knew that she couldn’t get close to Scott because he would find out that she was a werewolf. She wasn’t sure how ready she was for that. Stiles was also being avoided because of everything that happened at the dance and the hospital. She was humiliated and a little confused. Stiles had called Spencer out on her feelings for Derek. Sure, she’d done the same thing to him about Lydia, but she felt as if she was gentler about it. Thinking further about it, she realized that Stiles never really did anything in his life gently.

Spencer sighed and rolled out of bed to decide on clothes. Her mind was telling her to go for some sweats, but her gut told her to spice it up. Wear something she hadn’t yet worn or would probably ever wear. She smiled and dug to the back of her closet looking for the clothes from Lydia that she’d hardly touched since she got them. Spencer chose a dress that had an animal print on it, thinking that it was a little funny.

Spencer threw it on and looked at herself in the mirror. She liked it. She liked how it fit her body, hugging the curves that she had. She fluffed her hair a little and decided to lightly curl it so it had a little bounce to it when she walked. Spencer liked that she looked like someone else. In a big way, she was. She wasn’t innocent, puny, defenseless Spencer anymore. She had power.

She sighed realizing her thoughts. “Just don’t let it get to your head, Spencer.”

“What’d you say?” Amy asked, peeking her head into the room. She took in her daughter’s appearance. “Where’d you get that?”

“Lydia.”

“And Lydia’s parents let her wear something like that to school?”

“They did. In ninth grade. Her new dresses are probably shorter.”

Amy studied her daughter. “Since when did you start dressing like someone else? You’ve always dressed the way you wanted.”

“That’s because I had no other choice.” Spencer snapped.

Amy looked away for a second.

“Did you want something?”

“I was wondering what you were going to wear to your father’s funeral.”

Spencer sighed, and turned back to the mirror to add a tiny bit of eyeliner to her lids. “I’m not going.”

“Why?”

“Because it won’t make things better. And I don’t like funerals.”

“You’ve never even been to one.”

“Maybe not, but I can imagine. And I see no point in grieving over someone who didn’t want to know me.” Spencer said, walking from her bathroom around her mother to go for her backpack.

“He wanted to know you.”

“You don’t know the whole story, Amy. You can’t possibly know what he wanted.”

“I think I knew my husband enough to know what he wanted.”

“You didn’t know him at all.”

Amy shook her head at Spencer. “When did you get to be so cruel? You aren’t acting like Spencer, my daughter.”

“Well, see when ‘mommy’” spencer mocked, using her fingers as air-quotes, “chose ‘daddy’ over ‘daughter’ I had to grow some balls.” Spencer looked at the phone that had just buzzed in her hand.

It was a text from Isaac. “There was an attack at the graveyard. I’m okay, though.”

“I’ve got to go.”

“Spencer, I think we should come up with some rules of the house.”

“I’m not going to abide by your rules, Amy. I’ve not had any since I was seven. I don’t need someone telling me what to do.”

Amy looked at her daughter, seeing all the damage she’d done over the years. “Alright.”

Spencer walked out of her room, texting Isaac back, asking if he was still there. When she received the confirmation that he was and that the cops were on their way, she raced to the graveyard. Spencer arrived to the cemetery a little after the cops had since they were just setting up their perimeter. She had managed to convince a rather young deputy to let her into the crime scene, saying that she was only there to talk to the sheriff who was practically her father. She runs across the yard, thankful she hadn’t chosen the heels as shoes this morning.

Spencer saw Isaac immediately and called out to him. “I’m glad you’re okay. God, can enough bad stop happening in my life.” She quickly hugged him.

Isaac was a little rigid, unsure how to act with this girl when his father stood right next to him. The fact that she was with him at the yard the other morning was the reasoning behind his latest black eye.

“Spencer?” the sheriff asked.

“Hey, Pops. Sorry for interrupting. Couldn’t help myself. Had to make sure that he was okay.” Spencer moved to the side of Isaac, bravely putting herself between him in his father. Isaac had tried to force her to the other side, for her safety, but he couldn’t do much.

“I-it’s Lahey. My name is Isaac Lahey.” Isaac said, answering the question he was asked before Spencer had arrived. He wanted to get on with the interrogation so that he could get Spencer away from his father.

“Right.” The sheriff said, flipping the pages in his notepad. “You work for your father, Isaac?”

“When he’s not in school.” Mr. Lahey answered for him. “Which is where he needs to be in twenty minutes.” He stressed, standing with his arms crossed.

“Yeah. I understand that. I’ve got kids of my own.” The sheriff said, looking to Spencer.

She smiled back at him.

“However, I’ve got a missing teenage girl, and our K-9 unit led us here. She’s not wearing any clothes, and if she’s out here tonight, and the temperature really drops…”

“You think Lydia came here?” Spencer asked the sheriff. “Why would she come here?”

“I’m s-sorry. I-I didn’t see anything.” Isaac said, pushing the interview along.

“Trust me.” Mr. Lahey blurted. “If he saw a naked girl outside a computer screen, he’d remember.” He laughed, bumping Spencer slightly with his elbow, like he was joking with her.

Spencer went stiff, a little nervous.

Isaac cleared his throat, noticing her discomfort, and slightly stepped towards her.

“How’d you get that black eye, Isaac?” Papa Stiles asked, eyeing Mr. Lahey.

Mr. Lahey looked up at Isaac with a warning stare.

“School.” Isaac answered simply.

“School fight?” The sheriff pushed.

“Nah, lacrosse.”

“Lacrosse?” This perked the sheriff’s interest. “You play for Beacon Hills?”

“Yeah.”

“My son plays for the team.”

Spencer raised a brow, and cleared her throat to the comment.

“Well, I mean, he’s on the team. He doesn’t typically play. Not yet, anyway. It’s…” The sheriff paused, noticing Isaac staring off. He turned to where Isaac was staring.

Spencer moved her line of sight around the sheriff to see what Isaac saw. When she saw nothing she turned back to him. “Isaac, you okay?”

“Something wrong, Isaac?” The sheriff asked.

“No. Oh, no sorry.” Isaac shook the thoughts from his head. “I was just remembering, I actually have a morning practice to get to.”

“C’mon, Isaac. I’ll drive you.” Spencer said, hooking her arm in his and pushing him forward.

“Just one more question.” The sheriff said, stopping them. “You guys get many grave robberies here?”

“A few.” Isaac admitted. “Usually, they just take stuff like jewelry.”

“What’d this one take?”

“Her liver.”

The sheriff turns to look down into the grave at the body. He stares at it, trying to figure this out in his head.

“Pops,” Spencer interrupted his thoughts, “Sorry, can we get to school?”

“Yeah, Spencer. Go ahead. Be good.” He quickly hugged the girl, kissing the top of her head.

“I’ll see you later.” she said, reaching for Isaac’s arm and pulling him away from the scene. “Are you okay?” she asked, once they were out of earshot.

Isaac nodded, shrugging himself further into his jacket, wishing he could disappear.

“Isaac, don’t hide from me. What happened last night?”

“I’m not sure. It - It happened so fast.”

Spencer sighed. They came upon her truck and both climbed in it. Isaac made sure that he had his bike in the bed so that he could get home without needing her help. “What happened for you to get that one?” Spencer asked, once he was in the car.

“Get what?”

“Your black eye. I know it wasn’t a lacrosse hit. You’ve not done a lot of hard playing.”

Isaac shrugged his shoulders.

“Was it because I was there yesterday?”

Still he didn’t answer.

“Isaac, you can tell me. I’m not going to go running.”

“You should. You should stay away from me.”

“I’m not scared of your father. Sure, he creeps me out a little bit, but I’ve dealt with meaner bullies. I’m not gonna stop being friends with you. I could totally kick your father’s ass.” Spencer said.

Isaac laughed a bit.

“You think I’m joking. But you don’t know how serious I am.” The rest of the car ride was silent.

Isaac kept glancing at the clock on the dashboard. He sighed in relief when they arrived at the school. “C-can you just d-drop me o-off close to the l-locker room?”

“Sure.” Spencer smiled. She pulled up to the sidewalk and stopped. “I’ll see you in chemistry.”

Isaac nodded, jumping out of the truck and closing the door, lacrosse gear in hand.

Spencer sighed, watching him walk up to the school. “Now for a fun-filled day of avoiding my two best friends. Should be great.”

!@#$#@!

Spencer had been sitting in Harris’ classroom for a good minute watching the doors. She’d hoped that Stiles and Scott wouldn’t come trolling through them. She knew that her hopes were too high, but she had to dream. The second they stepped foot in the room, she held a breath quickly and then tried to get an even heartbeat. If Scott even suspected something was up, he’d figure out what she was hiding for sure. Stiles paused before taking his seat at the table next to Spencer. She didn’t meet his eyes, staring down at her unopened textbook. The bell rang and everyone was in their seats. Harris immediately began passing out a pop quiz that needed to be done. Spencer focused on her paper, hoping Stiles wouldn’t try to ask her for help that he really didn’t need.

“Alright, it’s causing me severe mental anguish to say this,” Stiles started, “but he’s right.”

Spencer couldn’t help but listen in. Who’s right? she asked herself.

“I know.” Scott answered back.

“What if the next body part she steals is from someone who’s still alive?”

“This is a pop quiz, Mr. Stilinski.” Mr. Harris informed. “If I hear your voice again, I may be tempted to give you detention for the rest of your high school career.”

“Can you do that?” Stiles asked, seriously.

“Well, there it is again. Your voice. Triggering the only impulse I’ve ever had to strike a student repeatedly and violently.”

Spencer tried to stifle her laugh, covering her mouth.

“I’ll see you at three for detention.” Harris said.

Scott turned around to see a shocked look on Stiles’ face.

“You, too, Mr. McCall?”

“No, sir.”

Spencer sighed. She really couldn’t deal with this for the rest of the semester. She got up from her stool and walked up to Harris’ desk.

“Yes, Ms. Garner.”

“I was wondering if there was anyway I could switch partners. I can’t really focus next to Stiles.”

“I completely understand. It’d be a miracle for anyone to focus next to him. Who’d you have in mind?”

“Well, considering that I tutor him, I was thinking Isaac. I think the both of us would really benefit from the change.”

Harris thought. “Excellent idea.” he looked up from the class. “Mr. Greenberg, would you mind switching seats with Ms. Garner?”

Greenberg shook his head, and got up from his seat, moving next to Stiles. Spencer took her new seat next to Isaac. She smiled, glad to be by her friend and across the room from the people she was desperate to avoid.

The room was quiet for another second until she heard a voice from the back. “Dude, your nose.” She recognized the voice as Danny. Spencer turned her head and saw that Jackson was bleeding. Or at least it looked like it was bleeding. He was oozing black liquid from his nose. Jackson quickly asked to be released from the classroom and he was granted it. He ran from the room, clutching his nose.

Spencer thought for a second, wondering what it could have been. She pulled out her phone from her bag and sneakily texted Derek. “Did you bite Jackson?” she asked him. She knew he’d been after the bite and that Derek would be willing considering he needed a pack.

“Did he tell you that?”

Spencer sighed. “No. I put it together. Does it mean something is wrong if he’s bleeding black blood?”

“Yes.” Derek answered simply.

“Spencer, no phones.”

Spencer’s head shot up from her phone. “Sorry, it’s my mom. She’s asking about arrangements for my dad’s funeral.”

Harris stopped, shocked. “Very well. Sorry for your loss. Maybe you should wait until after your quiz to text her back.”

Spencer nodded, putting her phone at the corner of her desk. “Yes, sir.”

A minute later she heard Stiles’ voice. “Was she lying?” he whispered.

Spencer didn’t have to look their way to know that Scott nodded back in response.

!@#$#@!

During lunch, Isaac and Spencer sit together. Isaac watched her carefully as she ate her sandwich. She’d been a little off today.

“S-so, what’s with t-the dress? I-isn’t that a little, n-not you?”

“A little. I guess. But it felt right this morning. I kind of feel like a completely different person this morning. I guess I’m trying not to let things get to me anymore.”

“Like what happened with Stiles?”

Spencer nodded slowly. “Like what happened with Stiles. It’s hard to avoid the both of them. Nearly impossible when we have all the same classes.”

Isaac furrowed his brow. “W-why are you ignoring S-Scott? It’s n-not like he went t-to the f-formal with L-Lydia.”

Spencer thought, not wanting to bring up the werewolf thing. “He’s not supposed to be dating Allison. Her parents are really against it. Not exactly sure why. But he’s pushing that they still should. I think it’s just asking for trouble. It’s never going to work out.”

“A-are you sure you’re okay? W-with everything?”

“I’m perfect, Isaac. I’ve never felt better, honestly.” Spencer smiled.

Somehow, Isaac could tell that she wasn’t telling the whole truth. He wished he could make things better for her. He wondered if she knew about the werewolf thing. She was friends with Derek, how could she not? He wondered if he should ask her opinion on him getting the bite. Would she hate him if she knew what he would become? Would she fear him? He didn’t want that. Not when she was really his first friend in high school. The first person, besides his brother, who knew what his dad was capable of. If he was a werewolf, he’d be able to protect himself and Spencer from his dad. It was thinking that, that he was sure what his decision would be.

!@#$#@!

Derek’s underground subway hideout was not exactly homey, but it was one of the few places that Spencer felt like she belonged. Even school, which used to be a good escape for her, was feeling a little suffocating. Spencer found Derek in the main hun, beating on a sandbag that he’d hung from the ceiling. “How many others did you bite?”

“No one who wouldn’t benefit from it.”

Spencer sighed. “Look, I know I’m not your equal. I’m just a beta, I understand. But I still think I can be your emissary. If that’s going to work and you’re going to continue biting people I think I need to be in the loop.”

Derek stopped his punches and looked at her. “It was just Jackson. I’ve only bitten Jackson and you.”

“Good. How’s Jackson?”

“I think his body is rejecting the change.”

Spencer’s heart dropped. “Does that mean he’s going to die?”

“Probably.”

“Oh…” Spencer trailed off. Sure, she didn’t like him much, but she didn’t want him to die. Lydia was still really in love with him, whether or not she wanted to admit it. “Well, I was on my way to work.”

Derek nods and starts hitting the bag again.

“I think that you should go find Scott. I think he was going to stop by the Argent Funeral. And I’m pretty sure that that will end badly.”

“Go check on Jackson after work. If he’s still alive.” Spencer’s stomach dropped. She didn’t like the idea of finding Jackson dead.

“Alright I will.” she said anyway, knowing it was the right thing to do. She ran up the stairs and back to her truck so that she wouldn’t be late. She said hello to the doctor and started on her daily tasks, and Scott’s since he wasn’t going to be in that day. In working, her mind wandered. An hour into her shift, she got curious. “Hey, Doc?” she said, as she entered a room where he was examining one of the dogs. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

“What would happen if someone’s body rejects the bite?”

Deaton paused in his work. He looked at her. “I’ve not seen it happen personally, but I know that it causes a lot of pain for the person. Their body starts to ooze a black blood.”

“There’s nothing we can do?”

Deaton shook his head. “But you do have something that can take their pain away.”

“In my book?” Spencer asked. “Is there something in there?”

Deaton nodded. “Why doesn’t you look it up? I’ll go put this one back in the kennel.”

Spencer goes to her backpack to retrieve her book. She joins Deaton back in the examination room and puts her book on the table. She put her hands over the book and tries to magically find the page, but the book didn’t budge.

Deaton watched her carefully. “You were bit.”

Spencer nodded, looking up through her bangs.

“I should’ve known. Derek needs a pack and you’re the closest thing he has to a friend.”

“We’re friends.”

Deaton nodded his head, agreeing with her. “Your powers will not go away completely. You will be able to do certain things, but they would take a lot out of you. I wouldn’t recommend doing them.”

Spencer bit her lip and started to manually flip through the book until she found a remedy. . “Do you think I made a mistake?”

“I think whatever made you do this was your gut. You’ve got a good instinct and I’m glad that you trust yourself enough to follow it. However, this is quite a responsibility. You can see exactly how it affected Scott.”

“Scott and I are different. I asked for it, knowing the dangers and risks. I wanted the abilities. I don’t understand how Scott doesn’t like feeling faster or stronger.”

“Scott also hasn’t been through the trauma you have, with your father.”

Spencer sighed. “Do you think you could help me with this?”

Deaton smiled and nodded.

!@#$#@!

After work, she pulled into Jackson’s driveway. She wasn’t sure what she was doing here exactly. She didn’t even really like Jackson, but she felt bad for him. She sighed and pushed herself out of her truck, carrying the brown bag that held the elixir that she made with the help of Deaton. She rang the doorbell and a minute later a woman appeared at the door.

“May I help you?”

“Hi, Mrs. Whittemore.” Spencer said with a smile. “I’m sorry for disturbing so late. I’m Spencer. I’m a friend of Jackson’s. I heard today that he wasn’t feeling so well at school and decided that I would bring him by soup.”

Mrs. Whittemore showed Spencer a smile. “How nice is that?!” she exclaimed, opening the door wider. “Why don’t you go and give it to him? He’s upstairs first door on the right.”

“Thank you.” she said, smiling. She walked up the stairs. She knocked on the door.

“I’m fine, Mom.” she heard through the door.

Spencer rolled her eyes and opened the door anyway.

“I said, I’m fine.” Jackson sat up in his bed to face the door.

“Yeah, well, I’m not your mom.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jackson asked.

Spencer is too distracted and disgusted by the tissues that were all over the floor to answer. She just looked around and shakes her head.

“Hello? Are you deaf?”

“No, just a little weirded out.”

“What the hell are you doing here?” Jackson repeated, hoping to get answer this time.

She cleared her throat. “Um, Derek bit me, too.” she said, softly.

“So? Did he tell you to check up on me?” Jackson grabbed another tissue and held it up to his nose, feeling the wetness seep down his face.

“Yeah. But I also wanted to.”

“Why? I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Spencer. We’ve been in the same class since Pre-K.”

“Right. You hang out with Tweedles Dee and Dum.”

“If you want to put it that way, sure.”

“Why are you here?”

“I can help you.” She said, holding up the bag in her hand.

Jackson looked at the bag then back at her. “I’ve been nothing but terrible to you and your friends. Why would you help me?”

“Trying to make what I can do worth having.”

“You changed.”

“I think so.”

“Am I going to die?” he said, a flash of horror going through his eyes for a brief second.

“Surprisingly, I hope not. But probably.”

Jackson paused. The two stared at each other for a minute. “Alright. What do you got?”

Spencer handed him the bag. “Alright. You drink that. I will go and find something to clean this mess up.” Spencer went to walk out the door.

“Spencer.” Jackson said, stopping her. “Thanks.”

Spencer nodded, continuing out the door, in search of a trash bag.