Pure × Isaac Lahey

33.

       Stiles's eyes tore open, only slits of dull light on him as he hit his hand against his metal surroundings. With uneven breaths, he began slamming his palm against the reverberating steel. On his sixth attempt, he tumbled out from a locker, suddenly in the high school's locker room.

       He looked up, meeting eyes with himself in a mirror across from him. Still in pyjamas, he backed away and left the locker room. Stiles slowly made his way through the school, bare feet on the cool tile.

      A door lay open, beckoning for Stiles to come closer.

      Although hesitant, Stiles stepped forward.

      Inside the room was trashed; desks thrown to the back, the blinds on the windows torn, nature debris everywhere...

       The Nemeton in the middle of the room.

       Stiles slowly walked up to the moss covered trunk, cautiously reaching down to touch it.

       Roots snapped up, engulfing Stiles' hand and ripping him from his first sleep.

      Stiles lurched up in bed, gasping for air.

      "You okay?" Lydia, woken by Stiles' shout, sat up and put a hand on his arm. "Stiles?"

       Stiles let go of a sigh, his fast paced heartbeat starting to slow. "Yeah, I was just dreaming." He swallowed, looking down as he calmed. "It was weird. It was like a dream within a dream."
   
       "A nightmare?" Lydia softly asked.

       Stiles shakily sighed, resting his hand on top of hers. "Yeah." While taking in another breath, he slowly turned his focus to the strawberry blonde. He narrowed his eyes, his thoughts confused. "Wait a sec, Lydia. What are you doing here?"

       Stiles' attention quickly snapped away, the bedroom door creaking open.

       "Hang on," he told Lydia as he hesitated to get up from his mattress.

       Lydia grabbed his arm, "Stiles, where are you going?"

       "I should have closed the door."

       "Just go back to sleep," Lydia told him as she tried to make him lay back down.

       Stiles ignored her request, "No, no I should close it."

       Lydia held onto his shoulder, "Don't worry about it."

       Stiles pushed himself up from his bed, eyes unwavering from the door. "What if someone comes in?"

       "Like who?"

       Stiles slowly walked towards the door, unable to see anything else but the dark void beyond the crack.

       "Just go back to sleep, Stiles."

       "No," he whispered shakily. "But what if they get in?"

        Lydia watched from the bed, her eyebrows tightening towards each other. "What if who gets in?" She leaned forward as he didn't respond. "Stiles, just leave it. Please."

      Stiles remained where he was, not even a foot from the door.

       "Stiles," Lydia begged. "stiles, come back to bed. Stiles. Please."

      Stiles reached out, his fingers gracing the dark handle.

      "Don't, Stiles. Don't!"

      He yanked the door open, met with a pit of black.

      Tears brimmed at Lydia's eyes as she yelled. "Don't go in there, please, don't! Please Stiles, don't!"

      Stiles stepped through, emerging in the Preserve.

      The Nemeton sat patiently, awaiting Stiles' arrival as the wind blew heavily.

      As Stiles approached the Nemeton, game lights flared on, encircling him with blinding beams.

      "It's a dream," he told himself. "This is just a dream. It's just a dream, get it out of your head, Stiles. You're dreaming. All right? So, wake up, Stiles." He grew angry and scared, clutching his head with one hand. "Wake up, Stiles." He forced his eyes shut, pushing both hands against his head. "Wake up!"

       And he did, from his second sleep.

       Stiles' eyes fluttered open, sunlight pouring in on him.

      Sheriff Stilinski opened the door, holding a mug of coffee. "Hey, time to get up kiddo. Get your butt to school."

       Stiles sat up, letting out a sigh as everything seemed normal.

       An hour later, even Scott couldn't believe what Stiles explained as they walked towards the school. "And you couldn't wake up?"

       "Nope, and it was beyond terrifying." Stiles kept a hand pocketed for a moment, going down the stairs off the side of the parking lot. "You ever hear of sleep paralysis?"

       Scott absently held his backpack straps, "Uh, no, do I want to?"

       Stiles motioned with both his hands, unable to talk without them. "Have you ever had a dream where you feel like you're about to wake up but you can't move or talk?"

       "Yeah. Yeah, I've had that."

       They passed the football field, Stiles nearly rambling in explanation. "It happens because during REM sleep your body is basically paralyzed. It's called muscle atonia. That way if you start dreaming about running, you don't actually start running in your bed."

       "That makes sense," Scott agreed as they went through the under pass.

       "But sometimes your mind can wake up before your body does," Stiles explained on. "So for the split second, you're actually aware that your body is paralyzed."

      Scott heard the music playing distantly, going up a wide set of stairs. "And that's the terrifying part."

       "It turns your dream into a nightmare," said Stiles. "You can feel like you're falling, like you're being strangled, or, in my case, like you're at the center of a grove of magical trees where human sacrifices took place."

      The two boys made it up to the widespread building, going through a set of double doors together.

      "You think it means something?" Scott questioned as he looked to Stiles.

      "What if what we did that night, what if it's still affecting us?"

      Scott hesitated, "Post-traumatic stress?"

      "Or something." Shaking his head, he went into their history class with Scott just behind him. Taking a middle aisle seat, the alpha sat one in front of him. "But you want to know what scares me the most?"

       Neither noticing Mr. Westover about to start class, Scott turned to face Stiles.

      "I'm not even sure if this is real."

      And then Stiles woke up from his third, screaming at the top of his lungs.

      But across town, Elora lurched from peaceful sleep and let out a yell. Her heart slammed in her chest, eyes as wild as a hell storm.

      "I did this."

- I'm finally back! I seriously suck with keeping up with my gigs but I'm trying. I hope everyone had/ is having a great holiday and that you're all safe on new years!
I know this was a lot straight from the show but I think this part was definitely a major point that I couldn't skip over. I hope you're all as excited for 3b Elora as I am! xxxx - Mel