Sorry for the late update, had some personal issues to deal with.
That scene where Stiles completed the pack symbol in the show was so cute
What are you guys thinking so far?
——————————
I rushed over to Stiles, lifting him up so that he could sit up against the wall. He groaned as I helped him, his limbs heavy and useless.
"Why did you make me let him go?" I scowled at Scott.
"Because Tracy was going to kill you," he said, throwing his arms up. "What did you expect me to do? Just let them kill you?"
I felt my anger bubbling inside me, the air thickening around me, "You were more than happy to stand by and trust Theo last time."
"Riley, I understand-"
"No, you don't!" I shouted, biting back tears. "I nearly died alone in a fucking box in the ground because you decided you trusted him over us."
"Ri?" Stiles said softly from the ground.
Shaking my head, I ran a hand through my hair. "You can forgive him if you want, Stiles, but I'm not ready for that. I'm going home."
Neither of them said anything as I walked away, heading back towards the ladder. When I reached it about five minutes later, I took a moment to catch my breath. Using my abilities barely one day out of waking up from almost dying probably wasn't my best idea, my body felt drained and tired.
"We need help," I heard Scott's voice say, travelling on the wind and making its way to me. I stopped climbing to listen.
"If Theo's got his own pack now then we need ours. We have to get the others back."
"The others?" I heard Stiles ask doubtfully. "You mean Kira who's currently battling a homicidal fox spirit inside of her, Malia who is barely even speaking to her own sister, Lydia who's stuck in Eichen House, Liam who almost killed you, Isaac is probably the only one left, and Riley who isn't exactly your biggest fan at the moment? "
"Also known as our best friends."
I bit my lip at his words. We all really had fallen apart; not just the pack, but a friendship we had all shared since before kindergarten.
There was a moment of quiet, before I heard Stiles' voice again, "Okay, how?"
"One by one," Scott answered.
"I don't know what you think you're going to say to Riley, dude. She's pissed," Stiles answered. "I'm not exactly happy either, but my dad talked some sense into me. Riley, she's just- she's been disappointed one too many times by people who she's supposed to be able to trust."
"I know," Scott answered. "I'm going to fix it though. She's basically my sister, I'm not about to give up on her."
I left after that, deciding I didn't need to hear anymore.
♧♤♢♡
Later that night I was in my room getting ready to take a shower. I had just finished one of the books on my list for the year and had cried about a character's death for about ten minutes, before picking which book I would start next. I aimed to finish all the new ones I had brought by the time the year was over, but with everything that was happening, that wasn't exactly going to plan.
Once I had chosen the book, I went about grabbing fresh pyjamas to change into. I was currently home alone, Iris and Charlotte out for the night. They had booked a dinner before everything happened, and I didn't want them to miss that just so they could sit around here watching me. So I managed to convince them to go through with the reservation.
As I went into the bathroom, I heard a knock at the front door. Putting my clothes down, I went and answered the door, to see Stiles standing there. "Hey," he smiled softly.
"Hey," I replied. When I saw him putting keys in his pocket, I gave him a confused look. "You have a key - I know because I distinctly remember you breaking in several times - so why didn't you just let yourself in?"
He chewed on his lip somewhat as he looked down at me, "I wasn't sure whether you'd want me just walking into your house."
Sighing, I pushed the door open wider, before I turned and walked back towards the bathroom. "Stiles, I could honestly not care less. You know that."
Stiles followed me inside, stopping at the bathroom door as I walked inside. "I know. Just. . . after everything that happened, I wanted to be sure things were okay. With us."
This made me stop, turning around to face him. "What? Why wouldn't they be? Did I do something?"
"No, no, no," he said quickly stepping towards me and placing a hand on each of my arms. "You did nothing. I just didn't want you thinking that I was taking what happened to you lightly or anything since I'm getting help from Scott."
I bit my lip, considering his words. "I understand why you're asking him for help, I do. And I want to be able to work with you guys. But any time I see Scott, I just. . . I'm back there and. . ."
I found my words trailing off at the thought of the box. The feel of the earth surrounding me, the cold loneliness of the dark space.
Stiles closed the space between us, wrapping his arms around me tightly. I breathed him in as I let him enclose me within his arms. It was the only place I felt safe anymore if I were completely honest.
"It's okay. I'm not going to rush you," he said softly, running a hand through my hair. "And neither is Scott. He never wanted that to happen, Ri. You know that."
"I know," I said softly, sighing heavily.
He took a step back, looking at me. "So you'll come with us to find Kira?"
Biting my cheek, I looked past him, "Stiles-"
"Please?" he begged softly. "We need you. We can't be Stiles, Scott and Riley without Riley."
His words made me laugh softly. I wasn't sure I could possibly love this boy more.
"Okay, fine. Can I still go for a shower?"
Stiles pulled his phone out to check the time, before nodding. "We're a bit tight for time, but I think Scott is still talking to Mr Yukimura, so you should have time. You're probably just going to get dirty anyway, though."
"Stiles, we were just in a gross tunnel underground," I reminded him. "I'm taking a shower."
"Right. I'll wait in your room."
"Unless you wanted to join me?" I suggested with a shrug.
The speed at which his face went red made me laugh, the boy stumbling for words. "Wh-what? Right now?"
Biting back a grin, I shook my head a bit. "As you said, we're on a time limit. Maybe next time," I winked.
The way he reacted made me giggle. Even after all these years of dating, he still got nervous about certain things. It was sweet, and one of the things I loved about him.
"Yes," he answered a bit too quickly, making me laugh. "I mean-"
I went onto my toes to join our lips. His nerves seemed to melt away as he brought his hands to my hips, pulling me right up against him. We moved in unison, my fingers making their way into his hair, raking through it softly.
Stiles took a step forward, leading to me being pressed between him and the wall beside the bathroom door. A moan escaped me as one of his hands moved up to my chest.
I felt him smile against my lips, rather proud of himself. When I began to feel like this was going to go much further than either of us had originally thought, I disconnected from his lips with a sigh.
"Time limit, remember?"
Stiles leaned down, attaching his lips to my neck, leaving kisses beneath my jaw. "I know."
I bit my lip painfully as I put a hand beneath his chin, getting him to look at me. "When we get back from finding Kira, we can revisit this."
"Promise?" he whispered.
Kissing him once more, I pulled away to rest my forehead on his. "You have no clue how much I love you."
"I think I have an idea," he chuckled, before taking a step back. "I'll be waiting."
Running a hand through my hair, still feeling somewhat breathless, I nodded. We then separated, Stiles heading into my room, while I went into the bathroom.
Shutting the door behind me, my chest felt a bit tighter. Taking a deep breath, I pushed past the feeling and began to strip my clothes off.
Turning on the shower, I stepped in and closed the glass door behind me. Our shower was in the corner of the bathroom, with two tiled walls while the other two sides were glass panels; one of which being the door. It was smaller than I remembered it being.
Grabbing my body lotion, I began to wash myself down, closing my eyes as I cleaned my face. The moment I closed my eyes, I felt like I couldn't breathe.
Opening them again, the shower felt even smaller. The space in the cubicle seemed to be almost shrinking. My breathing became laboured, hyperventilating, as my head grew dizzy.
"Stiles," I managed to get out. There was no way he would have heard me through the walls and past the sound of the running water.
My body shaking, I slowly sank to my knees. It felt like I was in the Preserve again, locked in a box just smaller than the shower I stood in.
Trying to slow my breathing, I felt the air around me growing thicker as I let my ability take hold. I didn't need a mirror to know my eyes were glowing. If my hair wasn't wet, it probably wouldn't be sitting around my shoulders anymore, either.
My eyes closed again, and I could've sworn I was in the box and not my house. Gathering the air, I let out a scream like I had when I had been trapped, begging that someone would hear me.
There was a shattering sound, and I felt shards of glass rain down on me. They cut me as they fell, but the pain was more of a relief than anything. There wasn't glass in the box.
The air continued to swirl, lifting small pieces of glass as I collapsed completely onto the tiles at the bottom of the shower, just sitting there, tears welling in my eyes.
"Riley?" I heard as Stiles pounded on the door. The doorknob twisted a few times, but it didn't open. I must have clicked the lock when I closed the door - something I did out of habit.
A moment later, the door burst open. Stiles came tumbling in, having slammed his shoulder into the door, forcing it open.
I watched as he turned to me, seeing the glass and blood on the tiles. He grabbed a towel off of the hook, before walking across the broken glass to me. After turning the shower off, he leant down carefully, wrapping me in the towel and picking me up.
He hissed as some of the glass that had gotten caught in my whirlwind left small cuts on his arms. Carrying me across the glass delicately, he took me out of the bathroom and to my bedroom.
I didn't let him hold me much longer though, struggling until he eventually had to put me down. "Let me go," I mumbled as I climbed out of his arms. I went to the opposite side of my room, trying to get as far away from him as possible.
Stiles took a few steps closer, to which I slid further along the wall, trying desperately to stay away from him. "Ri, I need you to concentrate, okay? Control it."
Shaking my head quickly, I wrapped the towel around myself tighter; more securely. "You need to get out of here before I hurt you."
"Riley Winters, if there's one thing you could never do, it's hurt me," he said firmly.
"Stiles, just go away!" I yelled, my chest beginning to tighten as my panic began to swallow me whole.
He shook his head, stepping closer, "When have you ever been able to tell me what to do? I'm not walking away from you."
Things in my room began to shift with every breath I managed to take. Papers flew from my desk, things were knocked off of my shelf, and Stiles was beginning to struggle to breathe.
"Stiles, please. Please leave," I begged, on the verge of sobbing. I felt myself sliding down the wall until I reached the ground, my ability continuing to spur the air. Down on my knees, I wrapped my arms around myself tighter, unshed tears burning the backs of my eyes as I watched him struggle. "I can't control this."
"Riley, stop trying to be a damn hero and listen to me!" Stiles shouted. He had to stop before he continued, his breathing still uneven. "You are stronger than this and you know it. Now, take control."
"Stiles. . ."
Before I could continue, he was knelt in front of me, struggling to breathe as he placed a hand on either side of my face and forced me to look at him. "Take. . . control," he got out between gasps of breath.
As I stared into his eyes, I knew he wasn't going anywhere. Taking a shaky breath, I nodded. Focussing on the feeling of his skin against mine, the colour of his eyes, and the curve of his lips. But I also focussed on the widening of his eyes, his cheeks becoming flushed, the weakened sound of his breathing, and how it felt like he was more worried about helping me than saving himself from me.
I tied myself to my anchor with everything I had and prayed it would be enough to save him.
We sat like that for a few minutes, until Stiles released a heavy sigh of relief. When he gave a small nod, I knew that meant the air had been shifted back and my eyes were no longer glowing.
The tears I had been holding back began to fall down my cheeks slowly as I looked down at my hands. "I- I- I'm sorry. I- I didn't mean it."
Stiles frowned, before putting his arms around me. "I know, Ri. I know."
He pulled me into his arms, and I found myself burying my face in his shirt, my tears and hair dampening the fabric. "I just- I stepped into the shower and when the door closed. . . it just felt so small in there."
"It's okay, you're okay. I'm here," he said as he ran his fingers through my hair, pulling me closer to him. "Just take deep breaths, okay?"
Doing as he said, I took deep breaths, before turning to look up at him. I reached a hand up, running my fingers across his cheeks, assessing the small cuts. "I never wanted to hurt you," I whispered.
Placing a hand beneath my chin, Stiles made direct eye contact with me. "Look at me, do I look hurt to you? I'm fine, okay."
When I didn't say anything, just buried my face further into his chest, Stiles held me. He kept his arms around me as he whispered me reassurances trying to keep me calm.
We sat like that for a while as I tried to remind myself that I was no longer underground. Eventually, Stiles began to get notifications, no doubt Scott wondering where the boy was.
Sitting up, I ran my fingers under my eyes to clear away my tears. "You should go without me," I informed him, standing up from the ground.
"What?" he asked, standing up also. "I'm not leaving you after what just happened."
I gave him a small smile as I placed a hand on his arm, "Charlotte and Iris will be home soon, I'll be fine."
"I'm not leaving you here alone."
"I'll go and see Malia or Isaac then. Please, Stiles, don't turn this into something about me. You guys need to help Kira," I insisted. "I'm okay, I just freaked out a little."
"You destroyed both shower screens," he reminded me.
Nodding, I pursed my lips, "Which I need to clean up. Go and find Kira; that's the important thing right now. If you're still worried, we can discuss my mental state when you get back."
Stiles frowned, not looking impressed with my attempt at a joke. He was about to say something when his phone started ringing again.
"Scott's waiting. Go. I'll be here when you get back."
He looked so conflicted, but he knew that going after Kira was the right thing. Stepping towards me, he placed a kiss on my forehead. "I won't have any signal out there, so please be careful until I get back."
"Always," I said softly, hugging him. When his phone rang again, I sighed. "Go, before Scott has an aneaurism"
There was more hesitation, before he finally left. I watched from my window as he waved from the front lawn before getting in the Jeep and driving away.
Grabbing out some clothes, I got dressed, figuring that showering in a shower with broken glass probably wasn't the best decision. Even if the cuts would heal.
I spent the next half an hour or so cleaning up my mess, disposing of all the glass. That definitely wasn't going to be cheap to replace.
Grabbing my phone out, I sent a text to Malia, asking if she was home. I went about more cleaning, but after twenty minutes without a reply, I decided to just go.
I was honestly beginning to worry about her. Her hunt for the Desert Wolf was consuming her and I was worried about what was going to happen if she did find her.
When I reached her house, she was already out the front on her way out. "Malia," I called, getting her attention as I got out of my car. "I text you."
"I know," she nodded, continuing to walk over to her car.
Stepping into her path, I put a hand up, "Hey, where are you going?"
"To the one person who has actually offered to help me find the Desert Wolf," she replied bitterly.
I dropped my hand, watching her. She looked so angry. "Malia, firstly, I've kinda been in hospital, but even if I wasn't, this is a bad idea. She wants to kill you."
"That's why I'm going to kill her first."
"And who offered to help you find her?" I asked as she began to walk away.
She stopped, not looking back, but still offering an answer. "Theo."
"Theo?" I scoffed. "Theo, who left me for dead, who did kill Scott. That Theo?"
"This is why I didn't tell you," Malia said as she started walking again.
"Why? Because you know it's wrong?"
"No," Malia spat, turning around. "Because I knew you wouldn't understand. Deaton is missing and it's because of me. She has him. If Theo can lead me to her, then fine, I'm going to let him."
"Malia-"
"I'm going, Riley," she said, getting into her car. "I'll call you after it's done."
Closing her door, she drove off, leaving me in her front yard alone. She couldn't seriously be trusting Theo after everything he had done?
Sighing, I decided to go see if Isaac would help me track her down. I was half-way to my car, when I thought I heard a noise come from behind me. I turned around quickly, but there was nothing there.
My chest felt tight suddenly, and I knew that even if I couldn't see it, there was something there. I began to walk faster, looking at my surroundings as I went.
Turning back to my car, I almost had a heart attack when I saw one of the Dread Doctors standing in front of it. Slowly backing up, I turned to go to Malia's house, only to be faced with another.
Clenching my fists, I brought the air towards me, feeling myself drawing in my ability. I was still weak from what happened in the bathroom, but they didn't need to know that.
I raised one of my hands, drawing the air away from one of the Doctors who was walking towards me. They didn't slow down; did any of them even breathe?
Deciding to change my method, I pushed towards instead of pulling away. This seemed to be working, the Doctor slowing down. But there was two of them and only one of me.
Pushing the closest one away, I made my way to Malia's house, keeping my eyes on the two. When I thought I was close enough to the door, I turned around.
But this time, I was the one gasping, when I came face-to-face with one of the Doctors. Before I could move, he had my head in one hand and was injecting a needle into my neck with the other.