Scott and Stiles had left to take Liam to the hospital that afternoon, leaving Venus and Isaac to their own devices. The boy had promised Malia he would help her study for maths, so they had been upstairs in his room for the past couple hours. Although Venus was almost certain it wasn't just studying anymore. The girl herself had been sat on their porch steps, practicing more plant manipulation, her Economics assignment quickly forgotten behind her.
Over the past few weeks she had finally learned how to make the grass grow faster, as well as how to move it the way she wanted it to. She was currently attempting to grow a flower in their front yard, her eyebrows furrowed and her tongue sticking out a little in concentration.
"What are you doing?" Stiles laughs, looking at her from the sidewalk and startling her.
"Stiles! I almost had it that time." Venus whines, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
"Had what?" the boy sits down next to her on the step, watching as her fingers start to twist over the grass. His jaw drops as he witnesses it grow a couple inches and wrap itself around his ankles.
"Cool right?" she smiles, clearly very proud of herself and Stiles couldn't help but admire the way she got so excited.
He smiles back at her, feeling the butterflies erupt in his stomach as her eyes twinkle in the moonlight. "Very. Why were you studying out here though?"
"Isaac's upstairs with Malia." she explains. "They always say they're studying but I don't think math is supposed to make you moan like that."
"Oh, Vee, gross!" Stiles laughs at her misfortune, his face slightly scrunched in disgust. "Well whenever she's here, you're always welcome at mi casa."
"Thinking about taking another trip to Mexico?" she raises her eyebrows at the boy mockingly.
"You never know when we might need it again."
Silence engulfs the pair as they sit there for a minute, watching the stars glimmer above them in the night sky. Venus always liked to do this every once in a while, picking out the planet she was technically named after every time. Her mother always used to tell her that Venus was always the brightest star in the night sky, the girl now thinking of it always as Willow watching over her.
"What are you thinking about?" Stiles whispers, not wanting to disturb the night air.
"My mom." Venus replies honestly. "See that star? That's Venus. She used to always bring me out here at night just so we could look for it."
Stiles felt warmth fill his body almost instantly at the girls words, he knew it wasn't easy losing a parent but Venus always spoke so positively about death it was hard to think about it badly when he was around her. He admired how she shared things with him so honestly, making him decide he wanted to do the same.
"I actually came over to talk to you about something." Stiles clears his throat, looking into her blue eyes.
"So you weren't just watching me from across the street?" Venus feigns hurt, bringing her hand to her chest. "What happened to my favorite stalker?"
The boy laughs at her acting, trying to remain serious. "It's actually kind of important."
The girls drops her facade immediately, giving him a small smile as an urge for him to continue.
"I know we haven't really talked about it. It's kind of confusing and I don't know what it is but I know that I like it."
"I want to say I understand but I have no idea what you're talking about."
"The night we kissed." Stiles reveals, realization washing over the Nymphs face as she notices what conversation they were about to have. A conversation she'd been hoping for yet dreading.
"I guess I just want you to know that it meant something to me. It meant a lot. I also want you to know that if you've changed your mind about it, then that's okay too. But I- I really like you, Vee."
Venus freezes for a second, staring into his hazel eyes, trying to register everything he'd just said. Her lack of reaction instantly sets the boy into panic mode, his hands already starting to flail around.
"Oh God, you've changed your mind. Now I sound like an idiot. I'm really sorry, I-"
"I really like you too."
"Maybe I should lea- Wait. You do?"
"Wouldn't have kissed you if I didn't, dummy."
The large grin that spread over Stiles' face was incomparable, he almost felt like he was dreaming. A large part of him couldn't believe that this incredibly strong, smart, gorgeous girl across from him could possibly like him. But she did. She liked all of him, his spastic behavior, his wit and the way he was looking at her in that moment.
The two of them start to slowly lean towards each other, each of them feeling the others breath on their cheek. Stiles places his hand in her hair, gently pushing it out of her face as he continued to move closer. Venus' eyes were flickering between his own and his lips, wishing for the gap between them to just disappear.
Her wish was granted, as their lips finally meet. Both of their hearts were beating erratically in their chests, their lips moving in sync with the butterflies. This kiss lasted longer than their last one, it was somehow more meaningful. They both relished in the feeling, in the way his fingers got tangled in her hair and the way her nimble fingers traced the outline of his jaw.
Stiles pulls away from her first, his breath catching too much from the disbelief he was in. Venus let's put a quiet giggle as his fingers continue to brush over her cheek, making the boy smile at her once again. And then his phone rang.
The boy groans, pulling away from her to check his phone, immediately answering when he finds its
Scott.
"Come to your house? Right now? Do I, like, really have to?" Venus laughs from beside him, alerting the boy on the other end of the line. "Yes, I'm with Venus. Fine, we'll be there in ten."
"What did he do now?"
"Something happened at the hospital, I don't know. He didn't say much. Let's go."
•••
Scott pulls open his back door, allowing the two teens outside entrance. The boy was panting, looking like he was in great panic, concerning his two friends.
"So what happened?" Venus asks, following the werewolf through the kitchen.
"I'm still not really sure, but that boy that survived the axe murders last night?" Scott explains. "His name's Sean. He had these razor sharp teeth, his eyes turned plain white when they glowed and he called himself a Wendigo."
"That's impossible." The Nymph shakes her head. "They don't even exist in Beacon Hills anymore."
"Well, that's what he said."
"And what happened with Liam?" Stiles asks as they stop at the staircase.
"Oh God, you didn't tell your dad about Liam, right?" Scott immediately questions, throwing himself back into panic.
The boy scoffs in response looking at his friend like he was crazy. "You barely told me about Liam. What did you do with him anyway?"
"He's upstairs."
"Doing what?"
Scott hums, looking between the two in worry. "Lying down?"
The reply sounded more like a question to Venus and Stiles, following the boy upstairs and being lead into his bathroom for some reason. That reason being Liam tied up with his mouth taped shut in the bathtub. Stiles purses his lips in awkwardness, pulling the curtain closed again before leading them back into Scott's bedroom.
"You kidnapped him?!" Venus whisper yells as soon as the bathroom door is shut. "Are you totally out of your mind?"
"I didn't have a choice!"
"What?" Stiles exclaims. "What situation is there where you would have no choice but to kidnap him?"
"The situation where I bit him."
The two best friends lower themselves onto the bed, Venus standing completely stunned in front of them and thinking back to Arayas threat back in Mexico.
"We were on the roof at the hospital, Sean was holding Liam down." Scott starts his explanation of what happened that night. "He was trying to eat him. Then Liam slipped off the edge and when I tried to grab for him, Sean held my arms back and the only way I could catch Liam was if I bit him."
"How'd you get rid of Sean?"
"I didn't. That's the strange part, this man came out of nowhere. He had no mouth and he threw an axe into Sean's back."
"Well you found the axe murderer." Venus sarcastically congratulated him, sinking onto his desk chair.
Stiles sighs, staring straight ahead of him. "So you bit him."
"Yeah."
"And you kidnapped him."
"Yeah."
"And then you brought him here."
"I panicked!"
"This isn't going to end with us burying the pieces of his body out in the desert, is it?"
The muffled cries grow louder from behind the bathroom door, making Venus cringe. "How about we untie the poor kid?"
"As a reminder, this is why I always come up with the plans. Your plans suck."
"I know. Which is why I called you. So what do we do?"
Venus honestly couldn't believe that these idiots were her friends. She stayed seated on Scotts desk chair, watching as the two boys dragged Liam out of the bathtub and strapped him down to a chair in the middle of the room. The boy was sending daggers through them with his eyes as they stepped back from him.
"Liam, we're going to take the tape off your mouth." Stiles points at the point, trying to seem threatening. "If you scream, it goes right back on. If you talk quietly, it stays off, got it?"
He turns to look at Scott waiting for him to do or say anything, reaching forward and ripping the tape off Liams mouth himself when the werewolf gives no reaction.
"Okay, Liam, you've seen a lot of confusing things tonight and more confusing things are going to happen because of the confusing things that happened tonight. Do you understand?"
"Not really." Liam grumbles looking up at him.
Venus sat with her face scrunched. "I don't think anyone can understand that."
"I don't understand either." Scott admits.
"That's good. Maybe you should tell him."
"Tell me what?"
"Liam, what happened to you, what I did to you- which I had to do in order to save you, it's going to change you."
"Unless it kills you." The sound of Venus' palm smacking onto her head echoes through the room
"Oh my god." She groans, getting up to stand next to the two stupid boys. "Is he crying? Liam, you're not going to die."
"Probably not."
"Stop it." Venus hisses smacking Stiles' arms aggressively. "Both of you, untie him."
Stiles and Scott attempt to apologize to the boy as they pull the tape off of him. However, they didn't get the chance to explain anything further to the boy before he grabs the chair he was strapped to and breaking it on the two boys. Venus lets out a shriek as Liam then proceeds to hit Stiles and runs out of the room. She moves over helping the boy off the dresser checking if he was okay, watching as he and Scott run down the hallway, tackling Liam, the three of them rolling down the stairs.
"I got him! I got his leg!" Stiles yells, Venus blinking blankly at the now two boys lying on the ground fumbling with each others limbs. Meanwhile the front door swings open, allowing the younger boy to escape.
"Both of your plans fucking suck!"