The economy class was quiet, except for the sound of Coach's voice. He stood at the front of the classroom, talking about money and jobs. Stiles and Scott were sitting together, trying to pay attention. In the seat next to them, Jacob was fast asleep.
Jacob was dreaming. In his dream, he wasn't in a boring classroom anymore. He was on a beautiful beach. A very pretty girl with orange hair was looking at him, her eyes full of admiration. The dream was so real that he forgot where he was. A smug smile spread across his sleeping face. "I know I'm very handsome." He mumbled. "But there's no need for you to feel insecure, Nami. You're pretty enough to be one of my women…"
Stiles heard him and elbowed Scott, pointing at Jacob with a huge grin. "Not only is he sleeping peacefully, he's even dreaming about some girl. I think it's Nami from the One Piece anime."
Scott smirked. "I heard. He's even more narcissistic in his sleep."
Coach had heard Jacob too. His eye twitched. Slowly, he walked down the aisle toward Jacob's desk, raising his hand to smack him awake.
But just before the hand landed, Jacob's eyes snapped open. He caught Coach's wrist with one hand, still half-asleep, and yawned. "Coach? What are you doing?"
Coach yanked his hand back, surprised. "What am I doing?! I'm waking your lazy ass, of course! How many times have I told you? Do not sleep in my class!"
Jacob rubbed his eyes. "Sorry, Coach. I was haunted by a beautiful ghost last night. I didn't get much sleep."
The class went dead silent—until Stiles burst out laughing. Scott joined in, while Allison and Lydia smirked from their seats.
"Alright, funny guy." Coach said, crossing his arms. "Here's the deal. You can go to the principal's office right now for detention, or you can join the lacrosse team and play in our next game."
Everyone expected Jacob to choose lacrosse. Instead, he grabbed his books and stuffed them into his bag so fast he almost dropped them. "You don't have to tell me twice. I'm going to detention." And before Coach could say another word, Jacob bolted out the door.
Stiles laughed again, shaking his head at Jacob's quick escape. "He didn't even hesitate!"
Coach, who had failed to make Jacob join his team, turned his anger on Stiles. He glared at him. "Stilinski! Go to the principal's office too. Now."
Stiles's smile disappeared. "Wait—what? I didn't even do anything!"
Coach pointed at the door and shouted. "OUT!"
Stiles sighed, knowing it was pointless to argue. He got up slowly and followed Jacob out of the classroom.
Coach watched him leave. The room was silent again. He needed to feel better. He looked around the classroom until his eyes landed on one specific student.
"Greenberg!" He barked. "Your face is annoying me. Explain the law of supply and demand! Now!" He held up a hand before the nervous Greenberg could even open his mouth. "On second thought, I don't even want to hear you talk. Just go stand in the hallway for ten minutes."
Greenberg stood up nervously. In his rush to get out of the classroomroom, his foot caught on a desk leg. He stumbled and fell flat on the floor with a thud before scrambling back to his feet and hurrying out the door.
Coach watched him go, a small smile finally appearing on his face. He was starting to feel a little better.
Scott, Allison, and Lydia just shook their heads, feeling sorry for Greenberg.
---
Outside the classroom
Jacob strolled toward the principal's office, still yawning. 'Seems like Coach really wants me to play that stupid game, but he's just dreaming. I will never play.' He thought.
Stiles soon caught up with Jacob. "You were dreaming about Nami from One Piece, right?"
Jacob glanced at him, surprised. "How did you know?"
"Because you were talking out loud in your sleep, idiot." Stiles said, smirking.
Jacob blinked. "Wait… really? Did Lydia and Allison hear me?"
"The whole class heard you." Stiles said with a grin. Then, leaning closer, he whispered. "So… are you in trouble?"
Jacob sighed. "Not really. But Allison and Lydia will definitely ask who Nami is and try to use the opportunity of me dreaming about another girl against me to get me to do something."
Stiles raised a brow. "Really? They get jealous even over dreams?"
"You are so naive, buddy."
"What do you mean?"
"They're girls, Stiles. They'll use any opportunity to get what they want. So even if they aren't really jealous, they'll act like they are until they get what they want."
Stiles said. "So are they going to control you from now on?"
"No, they won't ask for something unreasonable. They'll just ask me to go shopping with them, or Lydia will probably make me watch stupid romance movies with her, and Allison will probably make me watch romance animes with her. I hate that I introduced her to anime; now she's even got Lydia hooked on romance anime too."
Stiles chuckled.
Jacob changed the subject. "What about you? Found a girlfriend yet?"
Stiles groaned. "No. Every girl in school only has eyes for you."
Jacob shrugged. "Not all of them. And I'm not interested in any of them anyway."
"Yeah, but they're still interested in you." Stiles complained. "Didn't you say you'd introduce me to someone?"
Jacob snapped his fingers. "Oh, I forgot. The girl I want to introduce you to is Erica Reyes."
Stiles stopped in his tracks. "What? She's… you know…"
Jacob said calmly. "I know she has epilepsy, but trust me, she's beautiful, and she has a crush on you. What I want you to do is get to know her, okay? Hang out with her from time to time. If you like her after hanging out with her, I will ask Derek to give her the bite after he becomes an alpha. He owes me one for saving his life."
Stiles blinked. "Wait… you're saying turning her into a werewolf would cure her?"
Jacob nodded. "Yes. Which is why you should focus on knowing the real Erica before she becomes confident and beautiful. But don't tell her yet about the werewolves and that she'll be cured if she gets the bite."
Stiles hesitated. "Wouldn't that be… I don't know, taking advantage of a sick girl? People will start talking."
Jacob waved him off. "Don't worry about people talking, Stiles. They'll regret it when they see the beautiful, healthy Erica. So just focus on her and try to get to know her."
Stiles said. "I'm not sure about this."
Jacob narrowed his eyes. "What's there to be unsure about? The girl already likes you. Just go after her. If you won't, I'll go after her myself."
Stiles panicked. "No! I'll talk to her! Just... just stay away from her."
Jacob smirked. "Good. Don't mess it up. She might be the only chance at love you'll get."
They reached the principal's office, and Jacob knocked.
"Come in!" the principal called.
Jacob stepped inside with Stiles trailing behind. The principal looked up at the two of them and groaned. "Why am I not surprised? You two again. It's only been a month, and you've already been in my office twelve times. And that's not even counting the detentions where you didn't bother coming here first. Seriously, you two need to stop making trouble."
Jacob dropped into a chair casually, while Stiles sat with a dramatic sigh. "Principal, I didn't do anything this time. I just laughed, and because Coach was pissed he didn't succeed in making Jacob join the lacrosse team, he took his anger out on me and sent me here."
The principal turned his gaze to Jacob. "And what about you, Alexander?"
Jacob leaned back, unfazed. "I was sleeping."
The principal pinched the bridge of his nose. "You two are good students. Why not just focus on your studies instead of making trouble all the time?"
Jacob shrugged. "Sorry, Principal. I can't focus more than I already do. I've got ADHD, remember? Stiles is even worse than me."
Stiles nodded quickly. "Yeah, not only do I have ADHD, but I also have anxiety, so it's hard for me to focus in class."
The principal gave them both a flat look. "ADHD and anxiety don't explain sarcasm or sleeping in class. That's mostly why you two come here."
Jacob smirked. "Don't worry about that, Principal. Instead, why don't you tell us about your first girlfriend in high school? How'd you ask her out?"
The principal blinked. "What? Is that really something you ask your principal?"
"Come on." Jacob said with a grin. "We're practically friends at this point. We visit your office at least four times a week."
Stiles leaned forward eagerly. "Yes, Jacob is right. We can be considered friends. Instead of giving us boring chores or making us sit here in silence, tell us about your high school days."
The principal stared at them for a long moment. Then, surprisingly, he chuckled. "Fine. But only if you promise not to get into trouble for the rest of the week."
Jacob raised a brow. "We'll try."
Stiles nodded. "Yeah, sure. Promise."
And just like that, the principal started talking about his teenage years. Soon an hour had flown by. The bell rang for lunch.
The principal straightened up. "Alright, get out of here. And remember—no more trouble."
Jacob smirked as he stood. "But you didn't finish your story. So you might see me and Stiles here tomorrow."
The principal's eyes narrowed. "Get out. And if I see you here tomorrow, I will have you clean the library."
Stiles and Jacob left, and on their way to the cafeteria, they spotted Jackson cornering Scott near his locker.
Jacob and Stiles walked over. Stiles raised an eyebrow. "What's this? Scott, are you trying to replace me as your best friend with Jackson?"
Scott looked panicked. "No! Jackson… he said he knows what I am. He's threatening me. He wants me to turn him."
Stiles frowned. "Wait. He actually knows?"
Jackson smirked confidently. "Yes, I saw him changing when you guys were on the lacrosse field. Two guys came to talk to you that day, and one of them did something to Scott's neck. Scott fell to the ground and started changing. I saw everything."
Stiles crossed his arms. "So what happens if Scott refuses to turn you?"
Jackson's smirk widened. "Then I tell his mother."
Stiles blinked. "That's it?"
"Yeah." Jackson said smugly. "She'll hate him once she finds out he's a monster."
Jacob, who had been silent until now, stepped forward. His eyes narrowed as he sniffed the air. "You don't smell right. Scott, do you smell it too?"
Scott said. "Yeah… he smells rotten."
Without warning, Jacob shoved Jackson against the lockers and yanked back his collar. On the back of Jackson's neck were claw marks—the ones Derek had left. The wounds were red, inflamed, and oozing faintly.
"You should get this checked out." Jacob said, his tone calm. "It smells bad."
He released Jackson and turned to Scott. "Since he wants to be like you, just tell him how. No need to panic. And if you don't feel like telling him…" Jacob smirked. "Just wait until after school, shift into your full wolf form, drag his ass into the woods in front of everyone, and kill him. Problem solved."
Scott was wondering what Jacob was talking about—after all, he couldn't shift into a full wolf. But Stiles understood that Jacob was scaring Jackson. He smirked and added fuel to the fire. "Yeah, Scott. I think you should kill him. No one will ever know it was you. Everyone will just assume a wolf killed poor Jackson."
Jackson's confidence crumbled. He stumbled back, eyes wide. "McCall, I-I'm sorry! I was just joking. Please don't kill me! I'll never bother you again!"
Scott finally caught on after several of Stiles's exaggerated winks. He slammed Jackson against the lockers, careful to block the view of passing students. His eyes glowed yellow, and his fangs grow. He leaned in close and whispered. "I think I will just kill you tonight."
Jackson's face went pale. His lips trembled. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! Please don't!" His eyes welled with tears until he broke completely, sobbing in front of everyone.
Scott let him go with a shove. "Stay away from me. Or you'll regret it."
Jackson, humiliated, wiped his tears and stammered. "I swear… I'll never bother you again." He turned, walking quickly down the hall, one hand covering his face as students watched him leave and whispered to each other. He suddenly spun around and snapped. "What are you looking at?!" The students scattered immediately.
Jacob chuckled. Reaching into his pocket dimension, he pulled out a banana peel and handed it to Stiles. "Here. Think of someone, throw it, and they'll feel an irresistible urge to step on it."
Stiles took the peel and grinned at Jacob.
Jacob grinned back at him. "But use it on me, and I'll make sure you regret it."
Stiles raised his hands innocently. "Of course I won't use it on you. What made you think that?"
Jacob said. "Like I don't know what you were thinking."
Stiles smiled and, after making sure no one was looking at him, threw the banana peel discreetly.
Jackson, who was about to leave the hallway, suddenly turned back and ran straight toward it, scaring a group of students in his path. He ran straight to the banana peel, stepped on it and slipped spectacularly, his arms flailing like a cartoon character before crashing flat on his back.
Jacob, Stiles, and Scott burst out laughing, leaving Jackson sprawled on the floor, staring at the ceiling and questioning his entire life.
---
After school, Allison, Lydia, and Jacob said goodbye to Scott and Stiles before meeting Cogman, who picked them up in the silver Rolls Royce. He drove them to the mall, where they shopped, had dinner together, and caught a movie.
When they were done, Jacob called Cogman again, and soon they were back in the car, heading toward Allison's house.
But as the car turned down an empty road near the woods, Cogman suddenly slammed the brakes.
Jacob instinctively pulled Lydia and Allison against him, steadying them.
"Cogman? What's wrong?" Lydia asked.
Cogman said. "Someone placed spike strips across the road. We're being ambushed."
Just then, five SUVs came out from the woods, surrounding the Rolls Royce on all sides.
To be continued… 😊