A few days passed after the memorable first day of school and things were slowly getting back to normal - as much normal as Beacon Hills High could get.
Whether it was due to the past series of events that had happened in the school or around town, it felt as if everyone was subconsciously on guard - at least that's how it felt like to Tristan as he walked down the hall.
It felt as if everyone was somehow preparing themselves for another gory news. A murder, an unexplainable animal attack, or maybe people hallucinating and saying they saw humanoid monsters fighting at night.
The energy around the school was weird and off-putting to Tristan, but he didn't wave it off. More like he couldn't.
He knew for a fact that the next unexplainable series of deaths were about to start.
It was also because of this that he found himself with Lydia after finding dazing off in Art class.
"You also feel it, don't you?" He asked her after the class was over.
Lydia's facial expression scrunched up as she tried understanding what she might be feeling but ended up with nothing.
"I don't know what's been up with me lately. Sometimes it feels as if I'm walking outside in the dark; completely clueless as to where to go." She said with a defeated sigh.
Tristan said nothing to that and picked up her canvas and looked at it. An empty white canvas.
"Like I said, I've been out of it lately." She reiterated. She looked at the blank canvas and asked softly. "Do you think we are just being paranoid… or someone is really about to die?"
Tristan snorted under his breath. "Someone? Try a good number of people. Humans and supernatural both."
Tristan watched as Lydia deflated and her mood plummeted with her emotions becoming bleak.
He was about to turn around and leave but had to silently stay his feet as soon as Lydia started speaking.
"I've been trying to see if I could predict the deaths on my own but nothing's been working so far. It's like everything went silent after the whole fiasco with Derek and Gerard." She then went on with how she was feeling and how fragile her mental state was getting as of late.
Now Tristan wouldn't consider himself a jerk but he was really considering leaving the classroom as she absentmindedly kept her tirade going.
'Where's Allison when you need her?' She was the strongest emotional pillar in his friend group when she wasn't having her own emotional breakdown.
"… What do you think I should do, Tristan?" She turned around and asked him, hoping he could help her in some way.
Tristan on the other hand just shrugged lazily with one shoulder. "All I can say is don't force it. A go-to answer, cliché and generic even, but it works."
"But people will die?" She retorted a little sharply that she failed to notice.
"People will die regardless of what we do. Even if we know who was going to die, it's not guaranteed that we can stop it. Nature is very fickle that way."
Lydia was about to give a reply when the door of the classroom was pushed open and a head wearing a helmet popped in.
"Tristan, there you are! Coach wants everybody on the field, pronto." The lacrosse player said before running off.
"Don't worry, go." Lydia said, waving him off. "We can talk later after your practice."
Tristan said nothing and just left her there and went to change into his gear, only to stop when he saw Scott McCall standing in confrontation against the twin Alphas.
Last he heard was that they might have a clue as to where Erica was being kept, if she wasn't already dead, and both sides had kept their distance, until now that is.
[Oh? I think we made him angry, Ethan. But what are you going to do about it?]
Sure enough they were goading him into a fight that he had no way of winning.
'But why?'
He didn't intervene as Scott was yet to lose control but it seemed his action of blatantly staring at them made them notice his presence.
"Need something, man?" One of them asked.
Now Tristan, as long back as he knew, would have easily left them to their own devices as he hated doing unnecessary things.
But…
Remembering the taste of an Alphas blood and the phantom feeling of hunger he's been getting lately, he stayed his feet from moving and kept his stare focused on the both of them.
"How about backing off and not trying to piss off a beta. And you're delaying him for practice." For the first time in a long while, Tristan chose to be passively aggressive rather than just reacting after being attacked.
One of them, Ethan, was a little ticked off and tried goading Tristan more. "Or what? What are you going to do if we decide not to back off?"
He took a provocative step forward, a daring gesture to Tristan to ascertain his reaction.
Instead of answering him, Tristan looked at Scott and tilted his head in the direction of the boys locker room. "Get going before Coach blows a top."
It was not that Tristan thought he could take on two Alphas, he knew he couldn't. Rather than his normal logical reasoning, he instead chose to follow his instincts and stared off against both Alphas.
Amused by the beta's false bravado, Ethan took another step forward… and so did Tristan.
When cornered, it is said that even a rat will fight back, and Tristan was no rat.
His paranoia was at an all time high with how many times he had to keep his head down to not be involved with the threats flying around. First with Peter, and then with the Kanima and Gerard.
Beacon Hills High was something he considered his territory, a sanctuary of sorts, where he could escape the monotone of his everyday life. Him having to be constantly cautious and passive in where he considered a safe space rattled him a fierce thing.
Aiden, who had been standing off to the side and watching in amusement, quickly noticed how thick the tension was growing and quickly grabbed his brother's arm.
"That's enough for now, Ethan. Remember what Deucalion said, we only have to keep an eye on them." He didn't bother hiding it because he knew Tristan and his friends already had an idea of why they were here.
Ethan tsked and took a step back, letting the tension bleed away. "I'll be seeing you around, Tristan." And with that they left, leaving Tristan standing there alone.
"Now what was that?" He shook his head and turned to leave. His actions were surprising but to him that didn't matter.
What did was how he felt through it all. How his blood seemed to throb as the tension between them started rising.
And he understood it.
That was his instincts.
Just like Malia fully embraced her coyote aspect and the violent tendencies that came with it, he embraced his for a little bit and he got a taste of what it was.
A primal hunger to taste the most delicious blood he could find.
A stray thought had flashed through his mind during the stare off. 'How would the blood of a pair of young twin Alphas taste?'
It was such a tantalizing thought that he could almost swear he smelt the taste of their blood.
"Hayes! You're late!" Coach's shrill screams blasted his ears drums as soon as he arrived on the field. "Take a long stick. You are on goal for the day."
"…Hell. Yes, Coach." Great! Now he would have to stay put in the small goal and catch an unending barrage of shots all day.
...
Tristan found it hard to pay attention to the lessons being taught the following day as his mind went back to his talk with Satomi the day before after his foolish standoff against two Alphas.
The old Alpha had wisely said that he might be finally experiencing his supernatural rebellious phase, connecting with his primal instincts - she had said.
He wasn't surprised. Not even a single bit when he heard that. He had spent his whole life, as much as he could remember of it, watching and copying Satomi and the others for what he considered as 'ideal' characteristics.
Suppress your true instincts for so long and you'll end up losing control of it when you least expect it, moreso for us werewolves and you, a vampire; those were her exact words.
When she had asked what he wanted to do concerning it, he had given her the same answer he gave Lydia.
He would go with the natural flow instead of trying to force it.
"It's rare to see you so out of it, Trist? Take it from me, being your primal best self is not bad, the opposite even. It feels great." Malia jumped on him from behind as soon as he stood up to leave.
"Weirdly, I actually agree with you." He said, earning him a painful bite on his ears.
"Rude." Malia harrumphed. "Right, before I forget. A girl from a party went missing."
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