If We Could | Teen Wolf | Theo Raeken

Sick

Walking down the hallway the next day feels like an out-of-body experience. Nothing around me is staying still. The students are swaying, changing form, floating, and the sounds of what I think is laughter sound like hollering.

I have to blink hard for things to go back to normal. I have to run my hands over my face every other second for the sweat to disappear. I have to use all my might to lift my leg and take another step. I have to hold my breath so that people don't notice me panting.

I don't remember shifting to the side of the hallway. I don't notice until a locker door swings open and makes contact with my forehead. I groan and let my weight rest on the locker next to me while squinting my eyes.

"Oh- Sadie," I recognise Lydia's voice exclaiming in surprise, "I'm sorry!"
"It's fine, it's fine," I assure her weakly, removing my hand from my head and opening my eyes to find her and Malia staring at me.

Lydia is tilting her head, examining me. Malia does the same as her nose scrunches up a bit.
A moment of silence goes by.
"Hello?" I say, to which they exchanged flustered and worried glances.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"You look like shit," Malia blurts and Lydia elbows her lightly.

I roll my eyes and then close them again, pressing my head against the lockers.

"I wouldn't say shit but you do look... tired," Lydia suggests carefully, but I know that that's just her way of saying I look terrible.
"Couldn't sleep last night." I shudder as I recall what happened with Theo, and a sense of guilt washes over me as I remember that I can't tell them about it.
"Does that also explain the stench of fear and discomfort?" Malia demands, and I can feel my face fall. I search my mind for an excuse, and luckily, I have the perfect one.

"It's just this whole thing about the masked men and the bodies disappearing. It... I don't know, it's really bothering me."
"Well, lucky for you, we got a little further on that," Lydia says and holds up a book.

The book seems ancient- the paper on the corners is slowly coming off and the green colour is visibly fading. On the cover, the title "The Dread Doctors" is printed in white and yellow letters. Along with that, three figures, identical to the masked men that we're trying to chase are there, too. Or, as I know them, Theo's friends.

She pushes the book into my hands.
"It's the exact same story that's happening to us right now."
"Where did you find this?"
"Tracy's room. Interesting, isn't it?" I hand the book back to her. The bell rings, but none of us move.

The three of us exchange glances, and I feel my stomach turning over slowly, so torturing slowly.

I can't lie to them. Looking at them now, seeing how they're paying close attention to every detail when I know so much more than them makes me sick. If I just tell them one, tiny thing that I know and they don't, then we'll get further.
My fist is clenching at my side as I try to keep the words in.

"Sadie, you're pale. Really pale. Are you feeling okay?"

I feel sick. I can't do this. I can't do it.

The words creep out of my throat like a cough that's been held in for far too long: "I know-"

"Hey, you guys," Theo's voice is clear at my side, cutting me off before I tell them everything. Part of me is thankful, the other part is furious. His shoulder is right behind mine, and his cold presence hangs over my head like a warning.

"Shouldn't you be getting to class?" He asks them innocently, but I recognise the slight bitterness in his tone.

Luckily, their attention is drawn to him now.