Fear, Love and Snow

Chapter 4

Stiles shuts himself away from everyone, for fear he might hurt them if they get too close. He stays in his room for the majority of the time. He doesn't even go to school anymore. Stiles basically gets all of his work sent home to him now and his dad has to take it back to school for him. He's still keeping up good grades, so at least that's a plus. All of his friends try to get him to come out of his room ever since the end of the nogitsune, but they have never succeeded. No one is more hurt, sad and disappointed than Scott. He just wants to help Stiles, but his best friend won't let him, always telling him to go away, sounding sad and defeated. Scott always walks away disappointed, hating to see his friend like this. He didn't realize that the nogitsune would affect him this much, but little does he know it's not the nogitsune that is Stiles' fear anymore. Nor does he know about the ice that is slowly building up on the walls and floor of Stiles' bedroom, or how Stiles leans against the door every day with his head in his hands, crying, as his icy powers get stronger and he has no control over them, covering more and more of his room.

One day, Noah manages to get Stiles to open the door and let him in. Stiles is surprised to see his dad holding gloves in his hands. He offers them to Stiles.

"What are these for?" Stiles sniffles, wiping away his tears, still trying to keep his distance from his dad, not wanting to hurt him.

"They'll help you keep your powers in check. Conceal it, don't feel it." The Sheriff tells his son, trying to sound the most convincing as possible. Of course the gloves have no special power to keep Stiles' abilities under control, but the Sheriff knows that if Stiles thinks they do, then they will work. It's just a simple placebo effect. The doctors used placebos a lot with Claudia, since there was no real cure. It attempted to slow down the process of the dementia, but it only worked so much before the sickness destroyed everything.

"Are you sure?" Stiles asks hopefully, his mood lifting at the thought of something possibly being able to help him.

"Yes." Noah replies, handing the gloves.

"Conceal it, don't feel it." Stiles mumbles under his breath like a mantra as he slides the gloves on over his hands. He starts to feel a little more relaxed, repeating the conceal and don't feel phrase over and over in his head, trying his best to make it sink in and start working, like it's one of Deaton's enchantments or something.

"Does it feel a little better?" Noah asks his son curiously.

"A little, I think. Thanks, Dad." Stiles smiles appreciatively. Noah walks forward to give Stiles a hug, but Stiles jumps back in fright, his eyes wide with fright.

"No! Stay away from me! Don't touch me! Please! I don't want to hurt you..." Stiles pleads with his dad, his voice breaking ever so slightly. The Sheriff gazes at his son sadly, feeling heartbroken and hating that Stiles has to go through with this.

"You'll get better at this, Stiles. I promise. Just know that I'm here for you." Noah attempts to comfort his son.

"I know, Dad. I know." Stiles sighs, looking away from his father. Noah gazes at him sadly for a couple more moments before giving up and walking out of the room, leaving Stiles be.

~~~

More time passes and nothing really gets better, even as the teenagers enter their senior year. There are no new supernatural threats, surprisingly. However, Stiles' powers only continue to manifest and he becomes more and more scared, spending more and more time in his room, alone, not talking to anybody. He hates this. Why does he have to have these stupid powers? He hates being so afraid and so alone. He hates crying all the time. He's very lonely and it breaks his heart every time he hears someone knocking on his door, trying to get him to come out. Over time though, people start to give up on trying to get Stiles to come out of his room and help him, leaving him to deal with everything by himself until he feels he is ready to come out. Although, Stiles knows that he will never be ready to go out in public, afraid of accidentally using his powers. He knows people will think of him as a freak and a monster, including his own friends, his pack. Is he even considered a part of the pack anymore? Stiles doesn't know.