Once in a Lifetime

04

Liam jumped from his chair and as he did so, he knocked the chair over. In turn, the chair jammed into Tabitha's foot and she let out a pained cry. Liam darted out of the room. "Ah! Get him!" Stiles exclaimed.

The two of them ran after him and Tabitha followed to stop the elder boys. Stiles fell to the ground. "Leg! I got him! I got him! I got him, I got him!"

Scott released a deep breath. "Your plan sucked, too."

Liam turned to Tabitha. "Is your foot okay?"

Tabitha nodded. "My foot will be fine. I am so sorry about these idiots."

Stiles frowned. "Oh, so you're nice to her?"

Liam glared at him. "She didn't tie me up and hold me hostage! She's the nice one!"

"She's- No, I won't insult my girlfriend despite that she called me an idiot."

Tabitha nodded and patted Stiles' cheek. "Good call."

---

During math the next day, Kira looked over Lydia's notes. "These are your math notes? No wonder Malia is failing."

Lydia frowned as she read her notes. "Um, some of them are my notes. The rest I think might actually be a code."

Tabitha raised a brow. "I take it by your tone that you don't remember writing it."

Lydia shook her head. "Not in the slightest. But considering my drawing of a tree led us to the Nemeton, I should probably figure out what it means before it tries to kill us."

Kira shrugged. "Maybe it's like the Enigma Code the Allies used. Remember my dad was a World War II buff? And my mom was, well... in it."

Lydia took a moment to think. "I think it's a variation on something called the Vigènere Cipher."

"Do you know how to crack it?"

Tabitha shrugged. "Well, first, we need a key."

As soon as class ended, Tabitha saw Scott and Stiles talking to Liam. She walked over to them and heard Scott say, "Liam... We're brothers now."

"What?" Liam questioned in a confused tone.

Stiles groaned. "Oh, God. That's..."

Liam frowned. "What are you talking about? We just met and you bit me."

"The bite... The bite is a gift," Scott replied.

Stiles shook his head desperately. "Scott, stop. Please stop." He turned to Liam. "You, you, we're trying to help you, you little runt."

"By kidnapping me?" Liam asked angrily.

"Just to clarify, Scott kidnapped you. Okay? I aided and abetted."

"And she untied me," Liam said, pointing to Tabitha.

Scott sighed. "Liam, I've gone through this before. Something's happening to you. Something big."

Liam glared at him. "Nothing's happening to me. Nothing."

Tabitha sighed and shook her head.

Later, they met up with Lydia, Kira, and Malia as they tried to figure out what to do with Liam. He'd survived Scott's bite and was a werewolf. One of them suggested that they use Malia's basement and she frowned. "I'm not sharing my basement."

"Actually, it's my basement," Lydia said. "And my mom noticed how you tore it up last time."

Tabitha glanced at Lydia. "Try to remember she's still learning."