The Bones of You

- Lena -

Walking into school this morning I was in a mood. I had dropped Derek off only two hours ago but I hadn't managed to work myself out of the funk yet. Before leaving home, I made myself a strong pot of coffee. After drinking that and another before that, I felt jittery and jumpy. But I had eight hours to go with a bunch of high school students. I needed to calm down.

My mood didn't lighten when Stiles walked into my classroom dragging ass. He rubbed his tired eyes. Derek had given me the run down of the previous night and I guessed he didn't sleep very well. Someone was out to get Stiles. What reason they had for it, we didn't know. Derek thought it was because Stiles was considered the weak link. I disagreed. He was the glue that held everyone together. The normal one who was able to bring them back down to earth and be in situations they cannot. He wasn't as physically intimidating as Derek, but he was strong.

But I was still worried for the boy.

When class ended, I called for Lydia to stay behind. Seeing her primp and check her reflection so many times during class gave me an idea. She was a girl, a girly girl. Her parents had money. I just needed to find out one thing.

“You wanted to see me?” she asked in that signature voice of hers.

“How many kinds of perfume do you own?” I asked while stacking papers.

“How does this relate to biology?” I sighed and looked up at her. Even though she was involved in all of this, she was still trying to distance herself from all the chaos. I didn't blame her. “Do you want just the designer ones or do you want me to include any random ones I thought smelled pretty and foreign ones from no name creators? I have a lot of both.”

I dropped my jaw. How many different kinds did a girl need? My mother is a devotee to Chanel No. 5 and has never worn anything else in the years I knew what perfume was. “Just keep all the big designers and the local ones. Don’t get too crazy.”

“Anything else?” she asked as she whisked herself towards the door.

“Let everyone know to be at my place later tonight. The wolves have some smelling to do,” I said. I went back to my work when I noticed Lydia still lingering near the door. “Lydia, did you need something else? You’re gonna miss all the good food at lunch.” She rolled her eyes.

“I brought my lunch today. Do you have a class right now?” she asked.

“Nope, not until next period. Grab your lunch and a seat. I’m going to go grab some food,” I said. I quickly ran down to the cafeteria to grab whatever looked edible. Lucky for me, someone actually decided to skip the cooking and served sub sandwiches. The only thing that was cooked was the pieces of chocolate cookie cake. I grabbed two, one for me and one for Lydia. Or two for me if she decided it had too many carbs.

When I got back to my room, Lydia had laid out a fancy lunch spread of a gourmet turkey sandwich (or at least that is what it said on the bag) from a local expensive deli, pomegranate lemonade in a bottle with a straw, and soup that she was heating up with a Bunsen burner. I sat in my chair with my cold ham and salami sandwich (real mayo and slightly wilted lettuce) with a bottle of chocolate milk and the two pieces of chocolate cookie cakes.

She kept quiet for a few minutes, eating her sandwich and soup. Did she just want company? Allison was busy with Scott, that was true, but she was still there for her. And Stiles was going to be there for her always. He loved her, whether she wanted him too or not. There was no way for her--

“I kissed Stiles last night!” she yelled. Thankfully the door was closed. I choked on my chocolate milk.

“Okay, and you’re telling me this why?” I asked, pushing my milk away from me in case her next confession was even more startling.

“I just wanted someone who wouldn't judge me or fawn over me for this. I don't know why I'm asking you because I barely know you. You just have one of those faces I guess,” she said.

“I’m not going to judge you. I’m just going to ask you a simple question. How did it make you feel?” She paused at nitpicking at her vividly green lettuce.

“I can’t answer that question,” she said, readying herself to get up and leave. I put out a hand to stop her.

“You wanted an honest opinion but I can’t give it to you without your answer. So either you go to your next class wondering what I would have said, or you fess up and get what you need,” I said.

Lydia’s mouth went into a straight line but she sat back down. She started to talk so many times but went quiet when each syllable passed her lips. It was like she wanted to form her opinion carefully before talking. But I could read her and I knew she couldn't think of damn thing that was going to save her. The image she puts out was shattered and she opened up.

“It felt right,” she finally said.

“Have you told Stiles this?” I asked, resuming my eating. It felt safe now, no fears of choking.

“I don’t know how to tell him that when I kissed him, everything felt like it fell into place finally. I always thought Jackson got me but he never did. Stiles understands everything and wants to be with me, flaws and all,” she said.

“You could just repeat everything you told me verbatim,” I suggested. She glared at me. “When it feels like the right time to tell him, you’ll know. Just don’t drag him along like a lost puppy.”

The bell rang about ten minutes later while we were cleaning up our meals. Lydia was smiling now as she gushed about all my lab equipment. With a promise I’d let her tinker with it all one day, I sent her on her way.

When I finally got home I had to run quickly through the house picking up from this morning. I shoved the dirty dishes in the dishwasher and threw the dirty pajamas from the morning into the hamper. I paused before dropping the shirt, realizing what I was wearing this morning when a sleepwalking Derek sauntered down my lane. It took me almost a month to wash it. I sobbed when I finally had to put it in the washer after getting barbecue sauce on it after a late night of studying let to a craving for chicken wings. That point in my life has passed. I let it fall from my fingers.

One hour later the kids and Derek arrived on my doorstep. I had changed to normal clothes but everyone was still in the same clothes as before. Lydia, Stiles, Scott, Allison and Issac had their arms full of boxes of perfume. Lydia did not exaggerate when she said she had a lot of perfume. Two others fell in step behind Derek. I recognized them from school. Boyd and Erica kept together, away from the group. Together we toted them down to the basement.

An hour later we were all frustrated. Most of the group left to seek refuge upstairs after the basement was filled with the scents of different perfumes. I myself was choking currently, trying to take a deep breath of fresh air from the open egress window. That’s when Allison suggested a break and to let fans run to clear the air. After I felt my lungs clear and grabbed a bottle of soda, I headed back down the sturdy basement steps.

I was rearranging the perfumes when heavy footsteps came down the stairs. I looked up and saw Derek who stopped in his tracks. “I’ll just go upstairs,” he said.

“No it’s fine. I need some help moving these boxes,” I said and pointed to a large stack of already tested perfumes.

He nodded and let me direct him to the alcove by the stairs. For a minute we had to shuffle close by each other to get back out, almost like trying to get out of Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs.

The second trip he set one box down that I realized we didn't test yet. Inside the box were just a few stragglers and I reached for it while I was trying to get out of the small space, just as Derek tried to go past me. The box crashed to the floor. A few curses flew from my mouth and we both shuffled over to retrieve the broken bottles.

“Thank god only one broke. I’m sure Lydia would have my head if all of them did,” I said as I pulled the remaining bottles out of the box.

“Yes,” Derek said quietly.

“Derek that is not very reassuring. A little sympa-”

“No I mean, this is the scent. This is the perfume. Scott! GET DOWN HERE!” he bellowed.

After Scott had sniffed the bottle and agreed that it was the right perfume, Lydia examined the label which had survived being broken.

“This perfume isn't sold everywhere. It’s very rare. And VERY expensive. They keep records of everyone who buys it so we don’t hoard it,” she said.

“They keep records of people buying perfume. I seriously don’t get people sometimes,” Allison said.

“But that’s a good thing! We know who bought it and when. We just have to get the records. Sounds like it’s time for a little breaking and entering,” Stiles said. Derek rolled his eyes.

Even though I had never done anything illegal ever, I was really starting to like this kid.