Forever and Always (Sciles)

39: Shocking News

Stiles POV

"Stiles! Dinner's ready!" Dad calls out from the bottom of the stairs. I close my laptop and shove my homework to the side. Food is more important than schoolwork any day. "Coming, Dad!" I chirp as I get up from my desk chair and rush out of the room. I practically jump down the stairs five at a time. What, I'm hungry, okay? I haven't eaten in hours. Don't judge me. I run into the dining room to see that Dad has already set the table with cutlery, two glasses of water and two plates of vegetables and steak are sitting on opposite sides of the table. I sit down in my usual seat while Dad sits in his. "This looks great, Dad." I compliment as I pick up my knife and fork.

"Thanks. Hopefully it tastes as good as it looks." He replies.

"I'm sure it does." I tell him, leaving out the part that I could eat almost anything at this point because I'm so hungry. My stomach growls loudly to prove my point. Okay, so maybe I shouldn't have missed lunch. It's not really my fault though. As I was going to sit down at the table with my friends, I tripped over my own feet and fell to the floor. My lunch spilled everywhere. Students laughed at my clumsiness, but I didn't really care. I've had years to get used to it. Scott helped me to my feet and asked if I was okay. I smile at the memory of how much concern he had for me, even though it wasn't a big deal. I love how much he cares for me. I obviously care heaps for him too. I'm so excited for our eight month anniversary that's coming up soonish. Just three months away, I think. Anyway, back to the point. I had told him I was fine and then we gathered up my now destroyed lunch and placed it in the bin. Scott and a couple of my other friends asked me if I wanted some of their lunch, but I refused to take their offers.

I quickly dig into my meal, firstly eating the vegetables. Mm, delicious. I am glad my dad decided to go with a healthy option instead of something like pizza. Maybe he's finally taking my advice. Or he wants to talk to me about something. About half way through my meal, Dad gets my attention. "Stiles... I need to talk to you about something." My dad sighs. I look up at him curiously.

"Sure, what is it?" I ask with a piece of steak in my mouth.

"First of all, don't talk with your mouth full. Have I not taught you any manners?" Dad raised his eyebrows at me. I shrug casually as I swallow the piece of steak. "What does Scott think of that habit?" Dad continues.

"He doesn't care about it. Actually, if he's excited about something and can't wait another second to talk, he does it too." I smirk. Dad just chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Anyway, what did you want to talk about?" I ask my dad curiously.

"Do you remember the underwater kingdom, Tritelin?" Dad begins.

"Um, no, not really. Wait, isn't it one of Atlantia's neighbouring kingdoms?" I answer.

"That's correct, yes. Tritelin is not too far away from Atlantia. It's the closest kingdom to us, actually. It's ruled by the Delafontaine family." Dad nods in response.

"Okay, cool. What about it?" I raise an eyebrow suspiciously. I don't really have a particular interest in this topic. I'm a little worried about why Dad seems to have a sudden interest in it. "You should probably know these things, Stiles. Tritelin was one of the kingdoms that came to our aid in the war!" Dad sighs as he rubs his hands over his face.

"Look, Dad... I'm sorry. It's just that I don't know what this is all about." I bite my lip guiltily. I probably should have known about Tritelin if they helped Atlantia try to overthrow Vanessa. "It's okay, Stiles. I get it. You were thrown into a world that was so different from our original lives. You've grown up very differently compared to how me or your mother did." Dad assures me. I nod in acknowledgement and take another bite to eat, waiting for Dad to continue.