DISCLAIMER: I Don't Own Teen Wolf. I do own Ellie, though, so don't try to take her.
Stiles and Scott were often hard to be around when they were engaged in one of their 'best friend' conversations. They had a lot of history, and that could be intimidating to those unfamiliar or unaccustomed to it.
Ellie Argent didn't find it particularly off-putting, however. Scott was her boyfriend, and she knew that they had their own bond, and Stiles - well, Stiles was Stiles, it was hard not to like him. As they drove away from the auto-shop, she had to stop herself from badgering the teenager with questions. From the look on his face, he would refuse to give any answers before the werewolf was present.
They picked up Scott on the side of the road, and he seemed surprised - and hurt - that Ellie was the one driving. Seeing the wounded look on her boyfriend's face was upsetting, and she had to clamp her mouth shut to stop herself from rushing out a guilty explanation. It honestly wasn't her fault that she couldn't meet him. If Gerard caught her, he would've been much harder on her than Allison. She was the 'problem child' after all.
Stiles didn't need to be asked to speak. He twisted his body in his seat to face both Ellie and Scott, and gave them his most serious expression. Tension coiled in the air around them all; Ellie pulled the car over to the side of the road.
"You were right," the pale boy began. "It's not like you. I mean, it's eyes were almost like... reptilian. There was something about him..."
Scott frowned. "What do you mean?"
"You know when you see a friend in a Halloween mask, but all you can actually see are their eyes? And you feel like you know them, but you can't figure it out you it is?" Stiles tried.
"Are you saying that you know who it is?" Ellie asked in disbelief.
"No," he denied. "But I think it knew me."
;
It was safe to say that the journey back to each of their houses was a silent one. They were too busy mulling the new information over in their heads to talk normally. In fact, Ellie didn't say more than a few words at all for the rest of the night, or the morning after.
School the next day crept up in the girl like a tiger, but it was as graceful or beautiful. Allison seemed to be slightly off, muttering about trust, and she almost bit her cousin's head off when she teased her about Stiles.
"I don't like Stiles like that anymore, Ellie," Allison scoffed. "I don't need a boy to distract me."
Ellie spent the rest of the morning in a state of almost paralytic confusion. Her phone gave her a short message from Stiles saying 'thank you', and she didn't hear at all from Scott. The odd creature that had attacked her was still crowding the back of her mind, leaving her frowning and earning a detention from Mr Harris for not paying attention.
Before lunch, Ellie stumbled her way to Scott on shaking legs. Stiles, who had been loitering around the werewolf as if waiting for either of them to come up with supernatural theories, nudged his friend before jogging away.
"Hi," he said hesitantly, sitting himself on the stairs behind him.
"Hi," Ellie replied, taking a place next to him. "Look, I'm really sorry about last night. I wanted to talk to you, but I couldn't without being caught by my grandfather and that wouldn't have ended well for either of us."
"It's fine," Scott smiled sweetly. "I know that you wouldn't have stood me up on purpose."
She sighed in relief, resting a hand on his shoulder in the only gesture of comfort she could manage without letting people know they were still in a relationship. They were known to be just friends now -in fact, everyone was under the impression that they had remained broken up since the night in the school all those months ago.
Ellie said, "We'll get through this - we all will. I know that because I love you, and I trust you to do the right thing."
"I love you, too," he replied. "Are you coming to the game tomorrow?"
"Yeah, of course," she shrugged. "I enjoy lacrosse, and I like watching you play. Why wouldn't I come?"
"I would've thought your uncle or Gerard would stop you," Scott closed his eyes, shoulders drooping. "I hate that they don't want approve of us."
"I hate it too, Scott," she kissed his cheek lightly, standing up. "I have to go, but... find me if you figure anything out, okay? And tell Stiles 'thanks' for giving us some time alone. He's a good friend."
"An amazing one," Scott agreed. "I'll see you later."
It took a lot of her willpower not to look back at him, but she managed. She floated through the rest of the school day on a plane of thought much too important to focus on school. After classes finished, Allison apologised for how she'd acted earlier.
"It was just something Gerard said. It got to me." She said uneasily, "He started talking about trust, and if he could trust me, trust us, and it's all I've been able to think about. Gerard has a way with words, I'll give him that."
Ellie told her it was fine, understanding their grandfather's manipulative tendencies.
And then an out-of-breath Stiles was in front of them, hands on his knees, panting. Tiredly, he explained what Scott had helped him understand, and about how Gerard could have a 'bestiary' which was supposedly an encyclopaedia of the supernatural - like John Winchester's book, or Bonnie Bennett's grimoirs.
Giggling, Allison started: "I think you mean -"
"No, no I don't mean bestiality," Stiles scowled. "And I don't even want to know what's going on in your head, Argent. Or Scott's, he thought the same thing."
Ellie raised her hand, smiling. "I knew what it was."
"And you are the only person I know who keeps me sane," he closed his eyes. "So, uh, do you think you've ever seen one? Either of you."
"Can you describe it?" the taller brunette asked, forehead crinkling in thought.
Stiles straightened his mouth into a thin line. "Um, it's probably like a book - old, worn..."
"Like bound in leather?"
"I guess," he nodded. "Have you seen anything."
"There's this book Gerard has," Ellie explained. "I saw it a few times when he was planning my parents' funeral. It fits that description exactly - he never lets it out of his sight."
Stiles shook his head animatedly, flailing his arms. "No, he wouldn't be able to keep it with him at all times. A book is too big. Where could it be?"
Ellie shrugged, wrinkling her nose. "Uh, his office. The one here."
"Can you get it?"
"I can," Allison volunteered. "Ellie can't get in more trouble with our family and Gerard thinks he can trust me... but I can't get in without his keys."
"You got a plan, Sparky?" Ellie raised an eyebrow, recognising Stiles' 'thinking' face, that was a mix between wisdom and constipation.
"I got it!" he announced, "Allison, listen up..."
;
Ellie had no part in Stiles' scheme. His exact words had been 'just sit there and act normal'. How could she act normal when they messing with the Termin-Hunter?
The plan commenced the next day, at the lacrosse game. Everyone would be squeezed together enough to make some key-swapping totally unnoticed. A cover of nightfall just added to the dramatization of the event.
Resignedly, she forced herself to sit alone, closer to the player's bench and far enough away from the spot she and Allison had discussed to ensure her grandfather didn't notice her.
In front of her, she saw Jackson, Danny and Matt stood together; examining a tablet like it was the most important things ever. The sight of Jackson made her feel slightly sick, but she smiled at Matt when he met her eyes. He beamed back, nodding his head to her in a greeting.
The game started quickly after the trio disbanded, and she found herself moving down to sit between Stiles and Matt, both of which gave her strained smiles. Beacon Hills was being crushed. Opposing team members were twice the size of the BHHS lacrosse team, towering over them like people over ants. As more and more of the team were thrown to the ground, Coach Finstock grew increasingly frustrated.
"Is that thing even a kid?" he demanded, though no one could hear him over the yelling of the crowd. "Who or what is that genetic experiment gone wrong?"
Ellie cleared her throat awkwardly. "Eddie Abomowitz, coach. They call him the Abomination."
Fisntock stared at her for a moment, seeming to be contemplating whether or not to yell at her to get back to the bleachers, but seemed to decide against it. "That's really cute," he muttered sarcastically, scowling.
Stiles patted his arm in an awkwardly comforting gesture, and Mat turned to give Ellie a small smile. "Glad I'm not out there," he admitted.
"Yeah, those kids are... intense," her eyes crinkled at the corners. "Everyone out there is going to come out with more than a few bruises. You being down here means that you won't get hurt, huh?"
"Would you care if I got hurt?" Matt asked suddenly, blue eyes brightening in a manic way that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.
"Of course," she said slowly. "I wouldn't want anyone to come out of this game with a piece of them missing or something." Letting out an awkward laugh, she glanced at Stiles in a pleading way.
Matt was never normally creepy. Why was he suddenly being so now?
Stiles simply gave her a confused look of his own before standing, winking meaningfully at her. He walked back toward the bleachers, a forced, casual stroll that made Ellie smack her hand into her face in second-hand embarrassment, even as she shuffled away from the other boy next to her.
Matt got to his feet too; looking flushed, and lopped a camera around his neck. "So, um, I'm going to get some pictures of the game. Sorry if I was weird... I can get that way when I'm nervous."
Oh.
"Oh, that's fine," Ellie smiled. "And are you on the yearbook, or something? I always see you photographing things."
"Uh, no," he shuffled his feet. "I just take pictures a lot. It's a hobby."
"Anything specific you're interested in?"
An odd, intense gleam manifested in his eyes. "Anything that catches my interest. I'm attracted to beauty; I have to capture it."
"That's nice," Ellie said honestly. "It's your passion; I hope it works out for you."
"You do?"
"Yeah, everyone deserves to accomplish their dreams." Making a face, she added, "Oh that was cheesy. I'm sorry, I sound like an after-school special. Tell me when I say really embarrassing things like that, okay?" She laughed, "Sometimes I don't catch them and I don't want to seem like an even bigger butterfly than I do already."
"I like butterflies," Matt told her, cheeks going red. "I'll catch you later."
"Not if I catch you first," she said obnoxiously, shaking her head. "Gosh, I don't know what's up with me tonight. My nerves are shot, and I've barely slept so..."
"It's okay, I don't mind weird."
"Go," she waved him away. "Be free, I release you from this conversation. Go take your pictures."
Matt nodded, stumbling away from her to do just that, and she returned her attention to the game. Boyd was called to play because of Stiles' absence, and Ellie had to stop herself from yelling at them that they were making the wrong decision.
Her phone buzzed and she looked down to see a message from Stiles:
Stiles Stil / 07:38pm Feb
Nothing here.
If they couldn't use a bestiary, what could they use?
"Scott," she whispered, knowing he could hear her. "There wasn't anything. Stiles didn't find anything in Gerard's office."
Ellie glanced back, looking for Stiles' head through the throng of people. He wasn't there, even though he should be - the boy was an oddly fast mover for someone so uncoordinated.
"Where is he?" she muttered. "Something's not right."
And then Scott was running with the ball, aiming and... scoring, just like he always had. The crowd erupted into wild cheers, even as Scott was tackled and left sprawled on the grass. Ellie grimaced, sprinting to him and crouching at his side.
"I'm fine," he groaned, sounding decidedly not-fine. "I'm healing, it's okay."
"Your leg!" she yelped, "It's broken. God, it's broken. This is bad."
"Help me up!" Scott gasped, "They can't see it!"
She did as asked, letting him drape his hand over her shoulders and stretch out his leg. It crunched sickeningly, but his face barely gave away the pain.
"I'm fine," he repeated, staring at the coach and his mother who had both appeared in front of him.
Melissa sighed. "How is that possible? I could've sworn I heard bones breaking from where I sat!"
"Heard it?" Coach scoffed, "I felt it."
"Seriously, guys, I'm fine." Scott shrugged, "False alarm."
Neither of them missed the odd looks they were getting from the other teenagers on the field, or Gerard, who was staring intently at the werewolf.
Ellie choked slightly, not knowing what to make of the look on his face. Gently, she disentangled herself from her boyfriend and walked to her grandfather and cousin. Allison looked almost as terrified as Ellie felt.
"Maybe we should go..." she tried.
"No, no," Gerard looked at Scott. "Scott - how would you like to come over for dinner?"
a/n Hello peeps! Sorry this isn't great, but it's better than the last one at least. I'm going to try to update again on Friday because IT'S MY BIRTHDAY ON FRIDAY! I'll be the big 15.
Thanks for reading!
xxx
p.s this is eight sorry typo