Stiles and Scott had somehow managed to get Finstock to come back. Apparently the man had been fake relapsing for the past seven months to stay in rehab, something about being too scared of her tying another arrow to the chest. Once he found out it was a charity game that they needed postponed though, he seemed to have jumped at the idea since he hated them so much.
The pack was sat in one of the classrooms, everyone in their lacrosse uniforms except Venus, Malia and Mason as Scott went over the plan.
"Mason, you know your part." the alpha starts.
"Core, Venus and I break into the Devenford bus and search their shoes." the boy replies almost immediately, nodding his head towards the Nymph.
Malia shuffles from behind him and continues. "I take out the TV vans."
"Right before the whistle coach forfeits the game." Stiles finishes off, their plan seemed solid enough except for the fact that they were looking for one specific pair of shoes that should have blood on them that could've been washed off already.
"Just a thought." Isaac clears his throat, Stiles already groaning at the oncoming negativity. "What if this doesn't work? If we find the Beast instead of the shoes?"
"Right, Scott's still healing from what Theo did to him." his girlfriend nods along from next to him.
Kira shakes her head, looking up at the girl. "No, he's not."
Scott confirms the statement, lifting his shirt up to show everyone his fully healed abdomen. A proud smile on his face as he looked at his friends. "It happened the night we save Lydia and Venus. I healed when we were a pack again."
Venus smiles at the boy. "Well that's something we can use to our advantage."
"The beast doesn't have a pack." Liam agrees. And with one last boost of confidence from Scott, the group starts to make their way into the hallway. Stiles grabbed Venus' arm before she could get too far though.
"Be careful, okay?" he speaks quietly, his eyes leaking with worry for her. Since she had been brought back, he'd practically kept her glued to his side and was quite vocal about her not being in his direct line of sight that night. "I just got you back."
The girl places her hands on his cheeks gently. "I won't be alone, Stiles. And I've got two very reliable daggers in the side of my boot, so don't worry."
"I always worry when it's about you."
She smiles, reaching up and placing her lips on his softly for a few short seconds. That was something she'd done a lot since they saved her, she never kissed him for longer than a few seconds. Part of him wondered if she still thought she was in some sick dream and didn't want to give in too much. Her hands fix his hair, admiring how good he looked in his uniform before they parted ways.
She followed behind Corey and Mason onto the parking lot, spotting the white bus pretty easily. The two teen without super strength were on watch as Corey tried to pry the bus doors open so they could get on. The Chimera eventually opens it with a long clang, making all of them cringe at their lost element of silence.
In the distance they could hear the whistle going and the cheers of the crowd. Guess coach didn't forfeit after all. Corey takes the left side of the bus while Venus goes through the right, the girl cringing as she scouted through sweaty male clothes and shoes. Mason was crossing off the names of the team on his phone as the other two teens confirm there wasn't any blood on the shoes.
"Twenty five pairs of shoes and no blood." Corey huffs as they finish going through the last bag a while later. Venus was left slightly winded, perching herself on one of the seats. Yet another side effect of being kept underground as a lab rat for over a week, she tends to get tired quickly now which is why she left with the task of searching the bus.
Suddenly the bus door starts to creak, causing alarm to flow between the trio as they all freeze. Corey quickly grabs Mason and they blend into the scenery, leaving Venus to shove herself under the seats.
A boy from the Devenford teams comes onto the bus, his shoes growing closer for a second to where Venus was lying before he retracts. His arm reaches into one of the upper compartments, grabbing a bag and leaving again, the three teens coming out of hiding.
"Thanks Corey." Venus sighs sarcastically, but instead of a reply she was met with the sight of him and Mason locking lips. That's nice. Cool. Cool. Cool.
The girl coughs awkwardly. "We should probably go. You know, before someone else comes."
The boys nod along, Venus already out the door wanting to get away from the awkward situation as fast as possible. Before she could get too far, a loud screeching sounds through the air, causing her head to ache. She leans onto one of the buses, clutching her ears tight to try to block out the sound.
Through the shadows, she could see a large figure emerge. She quickly ducked behind the bus as she notices the Beast coming right at her at full speed. Her head was already throbbing loudly as it jumped over the bus and she listened as it seemed to have collided with something. The something quickly proven to be a someone as they collapse in a heap next to her.
"Liam!" she screeches, darting towards him. Her eyes widen and her whole body freezes as she takes notice of the slashes across his chest. Her mind instantly flashing back to her own cuts that she had suffered from for a week before she had gotten them cleaned. She quickly shakes the imagine out of her head as she hears another pair of footsteps coming towards them.
"Hey, are you okay?" Stiles takes hold of her, checking her over quickly for any injuries. Venus swallows, nodding her head at him and shaking the emotion from her being. Whatever I'm feeling can wait.
Hayden was now crouched down over Liam, her hands holding onto him in a similar manner as Stiles. The two of them pick him up and they all start making their way into the school where apparently the Beast had run off to.
Venus was walking ahead of them and opening the doors, the other two having one arm each slung over their shoulders as they dragged the beta along. The hallways were full of panic and screams, everyone trying to make their way to safety all at once.
The Nymph leads them into one of the classrooms, pushing everything off the teachers desk to place Liam down. The younger boy was screaming in pain as Stiles pulled him onto the wooden surface, Hayden calling for him in worry.
The older brunette had to step away from them as they ripped open his jersey, the sight of blood making her queasy and flooding her body with panic.
"Is it bad?" she could hear the boy ask, his wound hidden behind Stiles and Haydens bodies.
"No." his girlfriend answers at the same time as Stiles says, "Very."
Hayden shoots Stiles a glare. "What do you guys usually do when this happens?"
"I usually pass out." the Stilinski boy answers, his breathing becoming rapid. "I think I still might do that."
His body slightly starts to limp at the sight of the blood causing Venus to surge forward and grab him before he could faint. The boy looks over at her gratefully, before he comes to a realization.
"Can you heal him?"
Venus was taken aback by the question, her eyes moving to the pained boy on the desk in front of her. Get yourself together, Venus. She takes a step forward, now standing directly in front of Liam. Her hands outstretched in front of her, she closes her eyes and tries to focus her energies onto him but she couldn't. Her mind wouldn't keep flashing her own crimson blood on the back of her eyelids.
She takes a few steps back, shaking her head at the two of them and hanging her head in shame.
"Okay, its okay." Stiles attempts to comfort her. "Um, Scott does it with pain. Pain makes you human."
Venus couldn't help but scoff at the suggestion. "I think he's in enough pain already."
"Maybe adding a little more can help take away the pain."
"I don't think that's how it works."
Hayden had seemed to be ignoring them though, the girl was mumbling to herself before she sat Liam up slowly and pressed his lips against his, taking the couple by surprise. The younger couple pulls apart, Liam in seemingly a lot less pain now.
"Next time I'll kiss him." Stiles speaks, earning himself a shove from his girlfriend. He takes hold of Venus' hand then, knowing she wasn't feeling too good about herself right now and she accepts it gratefully, gently squeezing it.
•••
Mason was the beast. The last person Venus would've expected it to be, the last person any of them would've expected. Apparently, Scott had attacked the Beast and caught its scent which lead him to Masons car. Unfortunately, before they could do anything about it, Corey had grabbed him and disappeared yet again. While Isaac, Malia and Kira took Scott home, Venus and Stiles were in the Jeep making their own way back.
"Can I stay with you tonight?" she asks quietly when he parks the Jeep in his driveway.
Stiles looks at her for a second, slightly shocked due to her recent want of not wanting him close. "Yeah. Yeah, of course you can."
He lead her through the door, up the stairs and into his room. She pulls the daggers out of her boots, placing them on his desk and pulls the footwear off. Her palms were rubbing her eyes as her body had once again became too tired, all the while Stiles was watching her from by the doorway.
"Hey, what was that back there?" he asks softly, shutting the door and seating himself next to her. "When Liam was hurt, you looked...out of it."
The girl sighs, fiddling with her fingers. "I don't know, I just froze. Seeing the cuts and the blood, I guess it reminded me of my own ones. Of the time I spent with...with them. It's stupid."
"It's not stupid." Stiles speaks firmly, taking hold of both her hands. "Venus, I don't know what they did or what happened and I don't expect you to tell me. But I know that whatever it was, was traumatic for you. It's okay for you to feel these things. I just want you to be okay."
He brushes some strands of hair from her face before continuing. "I know you don't want to talk about it, but this is real, okay? It's not another dream, I swear to you. You're really here and safe with us, Vee."
She couldn't help the tears that had flooded her eyes, everything rushing back to her. The painful wounds on her abdomen, the countless scalpels and needles and tests. The kids that died down there because of her. The way she had distanced herself a little from her friends. From Stiles. It all became too much and she just sobbed.
Stiles wasn't sure of anything else he could do but hold her until she let it all out. His heart hurt knowing she was suffering like this and knowing he couldn't help her. Because if he could reach into her mind and pull those awful memories out and throw them away, he would. In a heartbeat.
And that was how they remained, her body curled up in his lap as she cried and he ran his fingers through her hair comfortingly.
AUTHORS NOTE
how funny would it be if she was still down in the tunnels and she wakes up next chapter? haha
jk...unless?
one more chapter!!