Oblivion » Stiles Stilinski |Book One

Dinner Party

"Yes, I saw you!" I cried out as I tried to hide my face.

He leaned over with a worried exppression and wrapped his hand around my wrist.

"What happened?"

"You were-"

"Dinner's ready!" my dad interrupted rather loudly from the kitchen. I shrugged and proceeded to the dining room.  This was going to be a long night.

"So, Stiles... How many girlfriends have you had?" my father asked after we had all sat down at the table. I rolled my eyes and bit onto my fork.

"Oh, um.." he began nervously.

"Oh, come on, handsome man like you!  You must have someone special."

"Dad, enough," I grumbled.  Emily's eyes widened.

"It's just a question."

"Find something else to talk about."

I glanced at Stiles and mouthed, "sorry", because I hated for him to go through that, my dad must have been drinking earlier today.  That would explain his behavior.

"Can you pass the salad?" Stiles asked from across the table.  My dad had made us sit at completely opposite ends, he was so protective.

"I don't know, can I?" my dad joked before sliding the salad across the table.

Dinner was hell.  My dad would ask the most awkward questions such as, "What's your full name?" and "Are you usually this quiet?"

I was about ready to throw one of the glasses against the wall.

"Now, have you ever-"

I slammed my hand on the table, the glasses shaking along with the liquids inside of them.

"Dad, enough!  Can't we just have normal conversation?"  Stiles gulped and my sister's expression remained emotionless.  I could feel my claws emerging as I held them clenched in my lap as I resisted the urge to scrape them across the neat wood table.

"Who wants cake?" Emily asked, breaking the deep silence that was suspended between the five of us. 

"I would love some cake." Stilinski said with a smile, but I knew that this hadn't ended well.

After dinner was over, my dad sent Stiles and I off to the park or whatever so the two of them could talk about work.  I was surprised that he let me go alone with a boy. 

"Sorry about my dad..." I grumbled as we sat ourselves on the swingset on the park, the sun already beginning to sink below the horizon.

"No, I understand, he's just a little protective of you."

"He just isn't used to having boys around.  I hope you at least enjoyed dinner."

"I did enjoy dinner.  I enjoyed your company, too."

A silence broke between us as we watched two children-a boy and a girl, both with dark brown hair-climb their way around the rusting green jungle gym. 

I was wishing so hard that he wouldn't bring up the hallucination again.  It was honestly the last thing that I wanted to talk about with him.

"If you, uh, if you don't mind me asking, what made you come to Beacon Hills?" Stiles finally asked, breaking the silence.

I paused for a moment, actually considering the question.

"There wasn't a life for us in Boston.  My mother... was our life-line.  With her gone... there was no reason to stay."

I gripped the chains on either side of me, the rough metal rubbing against my skin.  Dusk was settling over the town, the moon slowly rising overhead.

"I know what it feels like... My mom's gone too."

I looked over at him and frowned. "I'm sorry..."

"It was... dementia.  She had been dealing with for most of her life, and... she just couldn't take it anymore."

"My mother died of cancer, at least that's what I was told.  I never did see her in the hospital."

Stiles squeezed my hand and rose from the swingset, the seat gently swaying in the breeze.

"Come on, we should get back."

It was late enough that Sheriff Stilinski had already left the house.  My dad had disappeared somewhere in the house, the windows darkening.

"Thanks for dinner," he said as we stood on my porch, occasionally swatting away the mosquitoes that nipped at our skin.

"I'm glad you enjoyed... Sorry my dad was such an..." I looked up to make sure all of the windows were closed,"asshole."

"It's no big deal, don't worry about, okay?"  He grinned and stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"See you tomorrow?"

"See you." I disappeared into the house and looked out the window, but he had already gone.