Beacon ⌲ Stiles Stilinski [1] EDITING

seventeen

The coffee sloshed against the edge of each styrofoam cup as I walked down the hallway of Beacon Hills Hospital with a drink in each hand for Stiles and I.

We had been hanging around the hospital all weekend and I was now used to the cheap stuff they sold out of the machine in the East wing. Personally, I was taking every chance I could get to stay out of the house and to busy myself after the loss of Aunt Kate. It was hard to face any grief I was feeling without getting conflicting thoughts about what she had done. I lost the Aunt Kate that I loved like another sister, but I had also lost the Aunt Kate who had burned down a home with innocent people inside.

Mom and Dad had both been edgy the past couple of days, whispering about 'others' and setting out plans for Kate's funeral. My dull black dress was still hanging on the back of my door.

Plus, I would rather not be at home when Allison had Scott over. She had been coping with her grief by ignoring it as well, finding windows for time with her boyfriend even after Dad had banned them from seeing each other after he caught them making out in the car the other day.

I was supportively on backup to go along with Allison's cover up stories because obviously the forbidden lovers were still together and obviously, as a loyal sister, I was still protecting their secret.

When I reached the waiting room, I noticed Stiles leaning across his chair; using his crossed elbow as a headrest. Judging by the snores and the subtle sleep-talking, it was clear he was asleep.

"Oh just like that," he murmured between snores. "No, no, you first. Me first?"

I wasn't sure what he was dreaming about, but to save any further embarrassment for the both of us, I nudged his leg with my foot sharply.

Stiles gasped quickly and jolted up. I held out a cup to him. "Coffee first?"

"Oh, um, yeah thanks."

His cheeks were burning red now and it made my heart flutter slightly to see him blushing instead of me, for once.

Stiles hadn't prodded too much this weekend and I was grateful for his attempt at being polite, but whenever he looked over at me his eyes suggested that he had a million questions bubbling up at the surface in addition to the few he had sprinkled in occasionally during our conversations.

"Lydia's not-" Stiles looked around and shrugged his shoulders. "-healing the way Scott did. We checked it out."

"Healing?"

He grinned. "Scott's werewolf abilities make it pretty easy for him to bounce back."

"Right," I nodded. "But the doctors said she was getting better so she isn't dying. But the alpha-Peter-said you either turn from the bite or you die. So, she must be turning, right?"

"Well, yeah. But not necessarily into a werewolf."

My eyebrows knotted together. "What else is there to turn into?"

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Stiles shrugged and took a swig of his coffee. He sighed quietly and set his cup down to get up. Sliding his hands into his pockets, he turned back to me. "You want a Reece's?"

My ears perked up at the idea of my favourite combination of chocolate and peanut butter. Just what I needed.

"Of course, just-" my train of thought was suddenly cut off by a flash of hot pain searing across my temples.

I cringed harshly and hissed through my teeth, clenching my hands into fists in a moment of forgetting that one of those fists was holding a nearly full styrofoam cup of scalding coffee. The weak material collapsed under my fingers and the hot liquid spilled over the side, running down my arm and onto my leg.