𝗧𝗔𝗦𝗧𝗘 𝗢𝗙 𝗬𝗢𝗨 ── 𝘚.𝘚𝘛𝘐𝘓𝘐𝘕𝘚𝘒𝘐

♡ 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗣𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗦𝗜𝗫𝗧𝗬-𝗢𝗡𝗘 ♡

Just as he predicted, the Dread Doctors scoured the hallways. Their boots slid against the plastic flooring and lights flickered above them while Dallas swallowed down the lump that had formed in her throat. No matter what she did, the thoughts and memories she tried so hard to keep supressed fought back against her. 

Stiles pulled Dallas closer to his chest as they passed by the open door. She felt his heartbeat thump wildly against her ears and his breathing grow heavier with fear. 

However, while he awaited for them to turn the corner, they never did. 

The lights faded back to their warm tones and the flickering came to a stiff halt. The chalky smoke that coated their feet misted away and now, all that was left, was the close proximity between Stiles and Dallas. His hand still rested over her lips until he gently pulled his palm away and smeared her shiny lip-gloss underneath. 

She hated the way he looked at her - especially since it brought up all the pesky emotions she tried to keep buried. While they were both in drastically different situations.. a change in looks, demeanour and style, the gaze stayed the same. 

Seemingly lost in thought, Stiles took his thumb and pulled at her lower lip to wipe it away. Although, instead of reading those thoughts, she let them linger in his head like wasted daydreams. "What did Scott promise you?" His voice was coarse and low which made the goose-bumps rise on her bare arms. 

The question had her taken aback. That wasn't what she had anticipated him to say in their current circumstances. The upper ceiling lights beamed down on his broad shoulders and lit up every shaky breath he exhaled.

"Stiles, I don't really think now is the time for that-"

He interrupted her with a much sterner tone. "What did he promise you, Dallie?" The Stilinski boy took notice of her silence and clenched his jaw with an unreadable expression. "You're not here because of a 'lot of convincing.'" he used air-quotes, which Dallas would've usually laughed at, if he wasn't so angry with her. 

Still trapped between him and the wall, Dallas had no choice but to look at him. Throwing Scott under the bus wasn't something she was particularly against.. but Dallas didn't want to be the one to drive a wedge in their friendship. Humanity or not, she still understood those boundaries. 

"What does it matter?" The Siren scoffed as she watched him run a hand through his hair and grunt with deep-rooted frustration. "I'm here, aren't I? Does it really matter why?"

"Are you kidding? Of course it does." He finally looked up at her with a bewildered expression. "You have your secrets. I get it. It just really fucking sucks when I'm on the other side of them." he paused to gather his thoughts from the sheer exhaustion his rambling gifted. "I wish you wouldn't cut me out like this."

"I don't cut you out-"

There he was again, interrupting her but this time with a much gentler tone. "Yes you do, baby. You do it all the time." While a large portion of him knew the Dallas he wanted to talk to was miles beneath the surface, she deserved to hear it anyway. "You make these big decisions like you're doing everything yourself. You don' tell me you're hurting and you flipped your switch like that'll solve everything. But it won't.. and you're not. I'm here, Dallas. I'm right here."

Stiles slid his hands from her skin and stepped away from her which in retrospect, made her feel a lot colder than she was willing to admit. With everything laid out for her like that, it was hard for her to ignore how right he was. And how guilty she felt for making him put up with the supernatural disaster that she was. 

Dallas slumped her shoulders as the floodgates of her humanity caved. They had taken a beating and she wasn't ready to flip yet, however, she wasn't too sure if she could control that either.