001 | THREE YEARS
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AVERI'S EYES shot wide open, everything stopped. The dream finally ended. Her ears were ringing, vision blurry in the darkness. And it was cold, incredibly cold.
She used one of her hands to rub her tired eyes, the other to help herself sit up. Only instead of feeling the soft blankets of her bed, she felt a ruff surface, twigs and leaves.
Averi furrowed her brows in confusion, "What the hell?..." she muttered before slowly pulling herself up to stand, cleaning off all the dirt and leaves that was left on her clothes—or at least as much as she could.
It took her a long minute to figure out where she was, the very same woods her dream was set in. How in the world did she get to Beacon Hills Preserve?
Was I sleep-walking? She concluded that as her reason, too tired to think more about it.
The light brunette took out a pack of Marlboros she stole from her uncle, she always did whenever he was passed out. She used to also take the little bit of money he had on him but once he figured out why his cash kept disappearing...well, she learned not to do it again.
You can't really blame her, she was a broke teenager in desperate need of basic household items like groceries and such. It wasn't like her uncle was gonna go buy them. Anyone else in her place would do the very same.
Averi lit it up the cigarette in between her lips using an old lighter she found awhile back, engraved with some sort of flower and only one letter that was too difficult to read due to the strange font and how aged it was—she wasn't even sure if it really was a letter, it could just be a type of symbol. It looked almost like an 'S' or maybe a '5'?
Whatever...
As she was just about to put it back inside her jeans pocket—there was a sudden sound of twigs breaking and inaudible voices in the distance. She started to move closer to it, making sure to light up the flame in her hands again.
"No, because I'm playing this year." Scott spoke with confidence, "In fact, I'm making first line."
Stiles didn't care to turn as he continued walking, "Hey, that's the spirit, everyone should have a dream." his tone covered in sarcasm, "Even if it's a pathetically unrealistic one."
The McCall boy snickered as he rolled his eyes, "Kind of like your dream of finally having a chance with Aves, completely forgetting about the asshole she's dating."
"Okay—seriously, Scott, again? You need to let that go 'cause it's not true." The buzzcut boy defensively denied, "And you know it's not true because—"
"Because you like Lydia." His best friend finished his sentence, although his tone clearly said he didn't believe him one bit, "You also completely forgot that she ghosted us."
"She didn't ghost us—alright? She just- temporarily stopped talking to us..."
"Three years is temporary?"
"You know what— believe it or not, Scott, this year it'll be the three of us again." Stiles persistently claimed, continuing his walk along the woods.
"You said the same thing last year."
"This year's different!"
"Whatever you say..." Scott paused before changing the topic, "Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?" he asked his best friend, keeping his hands in his pockets and hoodie over his head.
"Huh." Stiles hummed, "I didn't even think about that."
"And uh- what if whoever killed the body is still out here?" The dark-haired boy gulped nervously.
"Also something I didn't think about..." Stiles began walking backwards, "I bet if we say her name three times she'll come back to us." he joked, switching back to the topic of their childhood best friend
"This isn't Bloody Mary, Stiles. You're making it sound like she ran away from us or something."
"Averi."
"I miss her too but I'm not that delusional."
"Averi."
"She's probably getting a good nights sleep for school—which if you'd remember, is also tomorrow."
Stiles was still walking backwards, "Averi—"
Well, that was until he felt a back collide with his...
"AHH!" he screamed, his view blinded by the flame being swung at him. He quickly moved back, not wanting his face getting burnt off—which then caused the boy behind to walk straight into his back, whose nose hit the back of his head.
"AHH!" the girl screamed back at the sudden loud noise. Scott had also joined in the screaming, he was confused as to why they were making the loud noise but he still did so.
"Averi?!" Stiles looked as if he saw a ghost, "Did I really— y-you—you're—" his jaw dropped, barely able to spit a word out.
"Holy shit—it actually worked." Scott was in far too much shock to pay any attention to the throbbing pain in his nose. "Were you just trying to burn us?!"
"Did I just summon you here?"
"I thought you guys were a predator!—Wait what-" Averi stared at the buzzcut boy, confused after processing what he said. But she quickly looked down to the ground, pouting when she realized the cigarette fell from her mouth, "I just lit that."
"What the hell are you doing in the woods?" Scott asked, moving next to Stiles who was now completely star-struck at the sight of her standing in front of them.
"I um—was going on a walk."
I think...
"Why are you guys here?" she raised a suspicious brow at the two.
"Looking for a body." Stiles plastered a grin, placing his hands on his hips. "Or half of one."
"Uh-huh..." she didn't look surprised, "Were you listening to one of your dad's calls again?"
His grin fell, "Maybe..."
Before she could say something else, her attention shifted to Scott—more specifically to what he was wearing. It was the exact same outfit the boy wore in her dream. But why would she have such a weird dream of him?
It's probably just a coincidence...
"What?" Scott furrowed his brows when he noticed her staring.
Stiles noticed too, although he on the other hand had to hide his jealousy over the fact that her eyes weren't on him. But his jealousy was just platonic... he liked Lydia. Not Averi.
"Sorry." The girl shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. Then she sensed an opportunity at her hands, "So... are we gonna look for this body or what?" a smirk forming across her face, it wasn't like she had anything better for her back home.
Besides, the boys were like two untrained dogs without Averi by their side.
Stiles smiled with excitement, who looked back at Scott and mouthed 'I told you so.' which earned him a glare. Without hesitation, he began walking again with no care to ask why she would stay with them.
Scott on the other hand, was a bit confused why she did. Not that it bothered him—if anything, the fact that it didn't bother him, bothered him. He figured Averi would just forget about this tomorrow, even though deep down he hoped she wouldn't
But he changed his focus back to Stiles, and his 'very well-thought-out plan' on how they'd find the body, "It's comforting to know that you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail, Stiles."
"I know." The buzzcut boy exclaimed.
"Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?" Scott leaned against a tree as he began to shake his inhaler.
Averi couldn't help but think how surreal everything felt, she considered pinching herself to see if this was still a dream. But reality settled when a hand suddenly grabbed hers, pulling her down to the ground under a curved stick. She noticed how Stiles hadn't let go of her hand just yet, causing a load of butterflies to fill her stomach...weird..
The asthmatic one of the group soon joined the two laying on the ground, leaving Averi in the middle.
Stiles quickly shut off his flashlight seeing many in the distance from the police, also searching for the other half of the body.
"Come on!" the hyperactive boy jumped up, sprinting off.
The Mitchell girl then chased after him, briefly turning back to Scott and yell, "Don't be too slow, Scotty Boy!"
"Averi! Stiles! Wait up!" he ran after the two, struggling to breathe. "Guys! You always do this to me!" he whined.
Averi eventually caught up to Stiles, but both turned around once they realized Scott was left behind. They lost their chance to go back for him as the sound of barking erupted from behind them, the police dog startling both so much that they fell to the ground.
"Hold it right there!" The deputy shouted at the two, shining their flashlight at the kid's faces. Scott at this point had hid behind a tree, trying to make as little noise as possible while rain began to pour.
"Hang on, hang on!" A man called out, it was the familiar voice of Noah Stilinski, "This little delinquent belongs to me." he said looking at Stiles.
"What about her?" The deputy now shined the light on the girl beside him.
He only sighed, "Yeah, I know her too. Haven't seen this pair in a while though, that's for sure."
Averi let out an uncomfortable chuckle, "Hi, Sheriff."
"Dad, how are you doing?" The boy with a buzzcut stood awkwardly, embarrassed at all the eyes.
"So, do you uh, listen in to all my phone calls?" Noah questioned his son, his expression showed no surprise.
"No... not the boring ones."
The Sheriff just nodded, "Since both you troublemakers are here, where's the third little musketeer?"
Scott, who had been listening in on the conversation, was a bit puzzled as to why Noah was so nonchalant about Averi. They hadn't hung out together like this for years.
Truth was, Noah didn't care to question it. If anything, he was expecting them to rekindle their friendship for a while now.
"Who, Scott?" Stiles nervously laughed, "Scott's home. He said he wanted to get a good night's sleep for the first day back at school tomorrow. It's just us two. In the woods. Alone."
Averi whipped her head to him with narrowed eyes, he definitely didn't consider how his words might sound before saying them.
Stiles widened his eyes in realization, "Not like— we weren't—we were just doing— what uh—what regular friends do—"
"Stiles—just stop talking." Averi quickly shushed the boy, who was only making it all worse. And immediately he shut his mouth.
Noah flashed his light into the distance, "Scott, you out there? Scott?" He let out another sigh once he got no answer. "Well, young man." Noah pulled his son towards him, "I'm gonna walk you back to your car and you and I are gonna have a conversation about something called invasion of privacy."
The Sheriff then looked back to the girl standing quietly, holding his hand out, "Give it."
"Wha—I don't have any-"
"Now, Averi."
"Oh my god...fine." she groaned, taking out the pack of cigarettes and passing them to him.
"Uh-huh. You'll thank me one day when you don't get lung cancer." He scolded. "And when I'm done with you, Stiles, you're taking her back to her place."
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Averi put on her seatbelt as the boy started the car, running a hand through his buzzcut. The Sheriff had already made his way back to his other deputies once he had finished his lecture to his son.
Stiles didn't begin driving even though he had started up the vehicle, making it more obvious something was on his mind.
"Just say it, Stiles." Averi huffed, beginning to pick at her chipped black nail polish.
"I just—I don't get it. It's not that I don't want you hanging out with us it just doesn't make sense. I mean—why'd you even stop talking to us?" He hesitated for a moment, "To me? Why didn't you talk to me about it? You know I would've understood."
"I wish I could give you a good answer." Averi turned her head to him, "I wasn't supposed to ignore you guys for so long, I don't know... I guess I just never really was able to come up with a good explanation, what I did was shitty, I know that. And I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." She sighed, "I should've said—or done something sooner. I just felt like there was never a good opportunity." she paused for a short moment, "I've missed you guys. And I really want things between us to be good again."
"We missed you." he spoke softly, "And I'd say this was a pretty good opportunity, I mean—if I knew looking for half a body would get us talking again I would've done it way sooner."
She chuckled at his words, her laugh immediately causing a smile to appear on his face. He never realized how much he missed it, such a sweet melody to his ears. It was the most beautiful sound he's ever heard.
After a few seconds, he began to drive. And every moment Stiles had taken his eyes off the road, they were on her, filled with a load of admiration. He wasn't gonna lie to himself, he thought she was one of the prettiest girls he knows—if not then the prettiest.
But her smile gradually disappeared the closer he got to her house. And he had a strong idea of what the cause could be. Even after all this time, he could still read her as easily as a book, study her like she was a best-selling novel.
Her leg was bouncing up and down rapidly while she fiddled with the rings clad to her fingers, an anxious habit of hers he knew all too well.
And the fact that she was quiet was already a sign that something was off. Yes, she was a generally quiet person, that was well-known but she was never quiet with Scott or Stiles.
Hell, the girl could go on rambling about the most random things when she was with them, sometimes Scott couldn't even keep up with it because Stiles would go on rambling with her.
Maybe the boy was just looking too far into things because, in all honesty, he didn't want her to go home. He didn't want to risk waking up for it to just be another day where they don't speak.
And he especially didn't want to leave her in the same house with a drunken bastard who didn't care about anyone but himself.
"Y'know..." Stiles began, "if you want, you can stay over at my place tonight. I'm sure my dad won't mind." he offered. "We can go by your place so you can get ready for school, it's on the way there anyways."
Immediately, Averi was taken aback. It wasn't like she hadn't ever slept over his place before, she'd slept over there many times.
But it had been so long since then.
"Are you sure?" she questioned, "I don't wanna be a burden for you or your dad."
His brows narrowed, how could she think that she'd ever be any sort of bother to him? "You could never be a burden."
And he meant every word.
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Once they arrived at his house, it was as if Averi had been hit with a wave of nostalgia, memories of the times she hung out with Scott and Stiles flooded her mind.
She slid her hand against the blue walls of Stiles' bedroom, still the same color as the last time she'd been in there. He changed it after his tenth birthday, he insisted because he was soon going to start middle school which meant it needed a change.
Eric helped Noah move the furniture out while Scott and Averi helped out with painting—it was a complete mess. Instead of actually painting the walls, they painted each other.
Noah and Eric learned not to leave them alone with a bucket of paint— more so to not leave Scott alone with Averi and Stiles with a bucket of paint.
Melissa definitely didn't expect to come home finding her son looking like a smurf.
"So um—I'm gonna go shower first, you can go ahead after." He told her, which was probably a smart move seeing as they were cold from the rain. "If you need a shirt to sleep in, you can use this one." tossing her a grey 'Star Wars' t-shirt.
She caught the piece of clothing in reflex, not even getting time to properly react because Stiles had already left the room. She brushed off all his nervous and rushed mannerisms, she figured it was just Stiles being his odd self.
Averi could never figure out what it was about him, it wasn't like she had any feelings for him...but sometimes she wondered if she just made him up and that he wasn't real.
Their entire lives the boy had been good to her, so incredibly good to her. As he was being here, offering to let her stay the night instead of having to go back home where the town drunk stayed. Maybe it was the bare minimum, but it was more than she ever thought she deserved.
Even the way he was so patient with her anxiety, something she'd struggled with almost her whole life, she never felt worthy of it.
Whenever a panic attack was on its approach, he would drop everything just to make sure she was okay.
So when he started to have them, she did the very same.
And so they both found a certain way to get through it. Each time when one of them was at the brisk of having a panic attack, the other would quickly swoop in.
In a way, the shared struggle made their bond stronger.
When Stiles finally returned, his nerves still remained. He kept trying to ignore them, telling himself that they meant nothing.
He would never admit the truth.
Eventually after she warmed herself up from the shower and put on the shirt Stiles lent her, all she felt was exhaustion.
When she made it back to the bedroom, Stiles stood beside the bed with his favorite pillow in hand. "So uh— I figured you can have the bed and I'll just go take the couch."
"We've slept in the same bed before, Stiles. And it's your bed, I can't ask you to do that." she insisted. But if she was being totally honest with herself, she really just didn't want to be alone.
Which is probably why she always ended up sleeping over at Lydia's—that and the fact that her greatest fear was ending up alone.
A light red shade arose on Stiles' face, it was clear he was slightly taken aback. But still, he moved onto the left side of the bed as Averi moved on the right, turning off the light beforehand.
It wasn't completely dark in the room. Through the window, the night sky reflected just the perfect amount of light into the room, just enough for the two to still be able to see each other.
Stiles couldn't help but adore every feature of the girl. How he saw her green-blue eyes as the color of a turquoise sea, or how he insisted that her light brown hair was the color fawn. He loved everything about her, though he'd always deny it.
Averi rested her head atop her hand, eyes meeting his as she asked, "Do you think we could ever be friends again?" her voice cracking through the question.
"I never stopped being your friend, Ave. I always knew I'd get you back someday." it was clear he was being genuine, his voice being mellow and sweet. But even so, he could still see her faltering expression, "And you don't have to worry about Scott. Trust me, he misses you a whole lot more than he'll admit." trying to reassure her.
She didn't respond, too tired to speak anymore.
The next few seconds were filled with silence, a peaceful silence. It was almost relaxing, quite calming to be in such comfort.
It didn't take long for the two to fall asleep, their position still face to face.
✍︎ author's note
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so like i said, i shortened this chapter a bit just because i felt like there were a few unnecessary parts
and a small plot change is staveri's little love trope which was like a mutual pining, but now it's a he fell first and she fell harder
i felt like writing the development of her feelings for stiles instead of them already existing would be funnnn
plus the __ fell first, __ fell harder trope is lowkey underrated and i love it sm