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SHOCK IS SOMETHING THAT HUMANS ARE USED TO. You're shocked when you get a bad grade back when you thought you did well on a test. You're shocked when something happens to one of your favorite TV characters that you've grown attached to. You're shocked when something happens to you or someone important to you, good or bad. Olivia would like to think she'd be immune to shock by now, given what's already happened to her and her life. Seeing something horrifying or witnessing the start of something horrifying is at first, shocking. You don't know what to do, shocked into stillness.
Olivia hoped that if there came a time if something were to happen, she wouldn't let shock run her to the ground.
Her body was exhausted. Her limbs were weightless, nerves seemingly fried. Nothing sounded better than a bed and some food to Liv as she stood so still— she could give a statue a run for their money. She should have expected that after her little stunt in the girls bathroom that she would be sore or possibly achey, but never did she imagine that directing her powers would take this much of a toll on her physically.
At first, she was fine, adrenaline fueling her body all the way to the boys locker room, where she currently was, and then she just crashed at some point. Scott was trying to get a hold of himself, his eyes flashing a supreme red uncontrollably. It seemed that everyone was having some sort of issue with themselves and their own unique abilities. Mr.Yukimura was with them as well, trying to keep them all "supervised".
Apparently, there was some virus going around in the school, somehow only affecting the supernatural beings harmfully. Olivia had guessed that something was wrong. She didn't normally have any episodes like earlier when everything was partially alright. Something had to have triggered her. So, it wasn't that surprising.
"You guys have to stay out of sight. We have to quarantine you from the quarantine." Stiles prompted from her side. Olivia didn't think it was such a bad idea, if anything, it was probably the best. If she had to guess, she would put her money on this being another assassination attempt by an unknown assassin.
"Yeah, but where? I mean, what if they get violent?" Kira asked.
Scott, who was still sweating and heaving with heavy breaths decided to speak, Olivia betting at least a dollar mentally that he'll pass out before her. "We should not stay here. Not in the locker room."
"A classroom is not going to hold us." Malia interjected.
"What about the basement?"
"Too many ways out. We need someplace secure, some place no one can find us."
"The vault." Olivia heard Stiles murmur under his breath.
Now, Olivia didn't know this school like the back of her hand or anything like that, but she would like to think that she knew it to an extent. She would've liked to have known about the vault hidden underneath the school. The Hale vault to be exact.
That seemed to have gotten everyone's attention, all eyes on Stiles (including Olivias). "The Hale vault."
"There has to be another way in." Scott's eyes were now normal, no red or violent fangs hanging out from his mouth.
Then, the group started to move and that was when Olivia cursed so many profanities, God would have her sent straight to hell. There was no way she could get herself to move from this spot because if she were to simply move one step, she would most likely fall over and just stay crumbled on the ground. She could turn her head just fine, it was the balance that was the issue.
It was kind of a lose-loss situation either way, she just made the decision to let whatever happens happens.
One foot, the next. She repeated that process until she got to her destination which was, luckily, only a few feet away. Olivia didn't really remember how she got to be standing next to Stiles, but she was just glad she was still standing upright.
The familiar feeling of burning in her legs occurred, making it nearly impossible to ignore. Maybe she needed to start doing trials to see how much her body could withstand-
"Liv, are you alright?"
Her eyes snapped right back open. She didn't realize that her eyelids were shut. She turned to Malia slowly so she wouldn't fall backwards, "Uh, yeah. Just lack of sleep." she responded.
Malia eye'd her down. And then, almost reluctantly, she gave a little nod.
And then Olivia really looked at Malia– really looked. Sweat was beading at her forehead, cheeks flush with color. The areas around her eyes were red and watery. She didn't notice how much she was being affected by this virus, only focusing on remaining conscious. "Are you alright?" she whispered back, her eyes continuing to search for bruises on her skin.
The girl scoffed at that, "I'd be much better if there was an ice bath nearby." she said as she wiped some sweat forming at her chin.
Taking her sarcasm as a hint she wasn't too far gone, Olivia let relief color her features, attempting to tune back into the conversation that was happening around them.
"This is where the school sign is, so the vaults got to be right about here." Stiles was pointing at a map that was laid across the desk. It showed all the school's interior work along with outside areas.
The brunette strained her eyes to look at the labels, but her focus was as good as tv static at this point. It all just looked like black blobs. She blinked several times (probably looking like a lunatic while doing so) but nothing cleared. Defeated, Olivia just listened to the conversation, locking her knees in place as a last resort.
"I suppose if there's a second entrance, it would probably be acces...in..."
"It's...somewhere...hall..."
Before Olivia could even process what was happening, a force bumped into her side and that's all it took for her to go tumbling down to the ground along with the other person. As light as a feather, she was pushed back. She landed hard on the tile floor, scrunching her eyes in pain as her head pounded like a marching band drum. Opening her eyes, she could barely see anything besides colored spots dancing around in her vision, unfocused blurred figures surrounding her. A pressure was on her stomach, yet it was...moving?
Craning her neck to try and decipher the color blob next to her, she immediately recognized the teal hood and brown messy hair. A groaning mess, they both struggled to get back up on their feet.
"...shit." was all Olivia could say as someone yanked her up with superhuman strength. Instead of landing on her feet again, she fell forward and into someone's arms. Malia was keeping her up straight, noticing how she had no capability to be on her two feet anymore.
"Liv?" Malia held her by her forearms, studying her lazy facial expressions. "What the– you're being affected too?"
She didn't know what to say. Of course, it was a possibility that her body was suffering from the assassin virus going around, but Olivia didn't really know which one was causing her to suffer the most. The virus or the exhaustion from using her abilities back in the bathroom.
Blinking more than once, still attempting to clear her spotty vision, her words fell from her mouth. "I think? I-I'm not sure." But she was sure. "I'm just really tired." She said, and that wasn't necessarily a lie. In fact, she was so tired she felt as if she could fall asleep just standing there in Malia's grasp.
Concern laced the Tates face as she studied her lazy eyes and practically limp body. "Okay, that's definitely not concerning...just keep your eyes open?"
Her eyelids felt like weights and lifting them only made her struggle more.
"It's happening to you too– both of you. You're all getting sick." Mr. Yukimura's voice broke through the silence as he pulled Stiles's sleeve up to reveal a burn-like mark. Olivia's eyes traveled down the mark and they widened at the sight.
"When did you get that?" she asked.
He stammered around, still looking at his hand with timid eyes. "I-I don't know."
Taking this opportunity to check herself, she leaned against Malia and subtly checked her arms, legs, any exposed skin she could find, yet she found no such thing. Her body was clear from those marks.
"I don't have any, but I'm still being affected?" She voiced her thoughts aloud.
The man turned to her, seeing her limp figure resting against Malia. "I believe that everyone is being affected differently according to their abilities. You may be suffering from the virus, but differently than others. I suggest you all keep an eye on each other for the time being." he said wearily, eyeing each and every one of them.
That being said, Olivia and Stiles's eye's connected.
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Stairs are satan himself Olivia decided. She could barely maneuver her legs on her own. Malia was her crutch and she couldn't be more thankful for her. Somehow they made it down the stairs without Olivia falling and possibly breaking her neck in the process of doing so, and now they were all huddled around one another. As much as Olivia wished she could help and search for some sort of entrance with them, she was stuck, immobile, next to Malia. Fortunately it didn't take long to find the entrance.
They both hobbled over to the wall where Stiles stood. Him and Scott moved the storage racks which revealed a circular design on the wall. "Looks like the entrance outside, it only opens with claws. Anyones claws, right?" he almost sounded desperate at the end. Why? Olivia didn't know.
There was some interaction between Scott and Stiles in that moment of tension filled silence. Even though she was weak as fuck at the moment, she could still detect what was occuring between the pair.
Scott turned around, sweat still dribbling down his face. "Malia, can you try?" he asked.
Olivia didn't think much of it, only thinking that it was because her claws were "permanently" out and no one else wanted to risk a full-on werewolf.
The girl looked around. "Why me?"
There is definitely something going on.
Olivia made eye contact with Kira who was just observing the situation. They both had the same confusion and suspicion painted on their faces.
As Olivia thought, "I don't have control." Scott said, but the response didn't satisfy her.
Malia gave in, shrugging her shoulders like it was no big deal while Scott and Stiles looked like the weight of the world was taken off their shoulders. But just as it was taken off, it was put back on, almost crushing them. "But first, tell me what you've been hiding from me."
They gawked at her.
She sighed, "I know you're trying to protect me, but I can handle it."
Olivia was as clueless as her. She watched as she leaned on Malia, seeing how Scott and Stiles both were struggling to form an answer which only made her more nervous. Then, unexpectedly, Malia answered for them. "I know i'm on the list." she revealed.
Olivia instantly knew that was not what they were hiding from her. The way the two boys didn't answer for a moment and just stayed still as stone.
"...yes." Stiles was as quiet as a mouse.
"So, how much."
"How much what?"
"How much am I worth?"
"Four million."
Olivia struggled to hold in a laugh that was going to explode out of her mouth. It was like she could see the thought process of what Malia was thinking right as they spoke.
Stiles stepped forward, concerned while Olivia was turning blue from holding in such a laugh. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah. I mean, Scotts worth twenty-five, Kira's, six–" She then looked down at Olivia, still glued to her side. "...kinda pissed you're not on it 'cause then you would definitely be more than me." She mumbled. "They'll take all of you out way before me."
There it was.
Olivia's laugh was too much. Somehow, ever since she's known Malia, something about her survival instinct or animal instinct, plus her blunt comments, made her world much brighter. And she loved her for it.
The Tate looked down at her, "Why are you laughing?"
Liv rolled her head on her shoulders so she could see her face. "N-nothing, you're just funny."
"I could drop you right now and leave you on the floor and wait for the assassin to find you."
Her laughter ceased at once. "Please don't."
Since Malia had to open the door, she passed Olivia's semi-limp body over to Stiles who tossed one arm over his shoulders and wrapped another around her waist. The contact had her stomach doing jumping jacks, yet she ignored the feeling and pushed it down, far into the depths of a bottomless black pit.
To her surprise, Malia opened it. It was a Hale vault, she knew that. But what didn't make sense was that not just any supernatural with claws should be able to open it. It would be a faulty lock then. Only Hale blood should be able to-
Oh. Oh.
Realization washed over her body in a matter of seconds. She was so, so, so stupid to have looked this over. Olivia hadn't seen Malia's name on the list, specifically her last name. All she knew was that her parents were dead...supposedly.
By the time she had caught up with the fact that Malia was Hale blood, Stiles was already moving, practically dragging her body.
Stiles and Scott knew.
She didn't know whether or not to be angry at them or to just ignore it. They could have found out when the rest of the list came out and just forgotten to tell her, but that seemed to be unrealistic...
Before she knew it, she was being placed on the ground. Taking a look at her surroundings for the first time since the vault's doors opened, the first thing to hit her senses was the stench. It smelled like sewer mixed with clorox, but in an unusually odd clean type of way. In front of her were racks among racks of storage with strange items placed on them. All she thought was that the Hales needed to do some spring cleaning.
"This place smells like shit, but in a good way." she pointed out to Stiles.
He looked at her. "How can anything that smells like shit, be in a good way?"
"Just an observation." she replied. "How long will we have to be here?"
Stiles didn't have a watch or a phone, he couldn't even give her an answer. "Top being one or two hours." he guessed.
A sigh left her lips. "Great." The thought of being locked in this place for a strenuous amount of time was not ideal.
"Are you comfortable?" Stiles's voice cut through her thoughts.
"Me?" Olivia looked down at her position and realized that it wasn't the most comfortable in the world. "Oh, um-"
"Here." Not letting her finish her sentence, knowing she was definitely going to deny it, he wrapped his arms around her once more and started to turn her body to face the wall. In a second, she was pulled down slowly to lay on his lap.
Suddenly it was like there was no more oxygen left in the room, sucked out by a large vacuum of some sort. She had a direct personal view of his face, no way of avoiding him. She didn't blush at the intimate position, instead she was just in shock— frozen.
Noticing her rigid body, "I-Is this alright?" Stiles asked hesitantly, only now just noticing the odd positioning. He could literally feel the blush consuming his face, praying that it wasn't noticeable.
Olivia stared up at him. His eyes looking down into hers. No words were able to describe the comfort that his hazel ones bring her.
"Yeah, this is gre— fine. It's fine."
He visibly relaxed at her reassuring words.
There was a single moment where they locked eyes, a gravitating force making them unable to disconnect. The new position was comfortable, in fact, she could easily fall asleep right there, like his lap was made specifically for her. The connection didn't last long unfortunately. Stiles ended up looking away, clearing his throat...
...nervously?
Suddenly she wasn't worried about the assassin anymore.
"That's where the money was." She could feel his voice vibrate throughout his whole body to where she was laying in his lap. Everyone but her turned to see the vult that was in the corner, but Olivia was more focused on connecting the moles that dotted Stiles's jawline.
"One hundred and seventeen million in bearer bonds," he said.
"How do you even change bearer bonds into cash?" Olivia heard Kira speak from a while away from where she laid.
Stiles shifted momentarily, "Bank I guess? They just let it sit here the whole time collecting dust– they're basically extinct."
"Why does it matter?"
His mood changed in an instant. Olivia watched as his eyes looked everywhere but in front of him. "You know how many problems money could solve?"
"For you?"
The thought of money surfaced in her mind. She hasn't thought about the situation of her parents' bank account other than she had to wait till she was eighteen to inherit the family money since there was really anyone else who could take it.
"Me, my dad..." he trailed off in thought, sadness weighing his features. "The Eichen House and MRI Bills are crushing him."
The Eichen house bills.
Had Melissa been paying for her trip to Eichen house all this time? Guilt had overcome her in that moment, her head slightly tilting to meet Scott's eyes, but they never did. There had to be some way to pay them off herself, the medical bills were enough as it was. Could Melissa take her parents' money and use it to pay her bills off? Surely she had to take it since she wasn't even her own blood.
"Mom does this thing," Olivia's eyes snapped up to Scott's who never met hers. "She writes down all the items in our budget and how much they cost, then she figures out how long we have until–"
"You'll lose the house?" Liv whispered, almost in denial.
Scott's gaze remained on the floor while she processed the fact that they were going broke. He should have told her so she could have picked up a part time job– she could handle it. If anything, she'd want a job, something normal in her life. It saddened her that she was burdening them when she could easily move out and find a place to stay.
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Olivia didn't know how long she stayed in his lap, passing the time by counting each tile in her head that was on the ceiling. Strangely enough, she found her strength returning, but unfortunately not to the point of fighting and such. At most she could stand without falling and walk without toppling over.
"I'll be back." Stiles broke the silence that hung between them.
"Wait, where are you going?" she asked.
His eyes softened just for a moment. "Just over there with Scott for a minute."
Suspicion rose in her chest. She couldn't do much about it other than try and listen in to their whispers, but she let him go, watching as he walked over, almost tripping over his two feet while trying to get up. She worried that his body wouldn't be able to handle the virus, a virus intending to kill a supernatural. She was willing to use the last of her strength to go and catch him if he began to fall– probably tease him about it later.
They did nothing but place their ears against the wall that separated them from the school's basement, probably trying to listen in on the conversations of the cops and disease control.
Time passed, when did it not? Olivia felt partially energized and could walk or run if she needed to. Fight? Well, if the time came for it, it would be a fifty-fifty situation. She was still on her back, arms on her stomach while her head was starting to grow sore due to the cement below her. Instantly adjusting herself, Olivia pulled herself up off the floor and sat upright and against the wall. Refreshing.
Maybe she closed her eyes for a minute, a second, an hour– who knew, but she did know that the next time she opened them, Stiles was right in front of her, shaking her subtly awake.
"Hey," his voice was soft and low. "I gotta leave for a few."
A crease formed at her brow, "You're leaving?" was all she could ask.
Stiles seemed to have faltered for a moment, a small moment that she tracked. He looked down at the floor and then back at her. "Whatever's happening, it's worse for you guys–"
"Oh, I'm fine. Can I come?"
"What– no. Didn't you just hear me? You're more compromised than me, you're not coming." he finalized.
"You're the one who passed out."
"And you're the one who couldn't stand."
Olivia sighed and her eyes turned to slits at him for being so sassy at a time like this. "Stiles, I'm not letting you go up there without backup. If you don't come back or get hurt because you went alone– I could never forgive myself. That assassin is still up there and most likely knows that you're associated with the names on that list, so if anything, you need me to come with you for...protection." she stated.
The boy looked at her once again, eyes trailing up along her arms and the sides of neck which were suddenly hot at his glance. "I'm not putting you in a position where you would have to fight when you might not be able to protect yourself," he said.
She was angered at his stubbornness, but could see his concern. It was true that her energy wasn't at peak level or at least at normal level, but she would gladly use it for him. And if she had to lie to get there, so be it.
"I can fight, Stiles. How would you feel if the roles were reversed? If you were the one who was compromised and I was the one who had to go do whatever weird shit you're going to do just now? You would definitely annoy my ass until I let you come, that's for sure. So, just make this a lot easier for yourself and give up now." she let a small, short smile make its way across her face in hopes of increasing her chances.
He wavered for a moment, then spoke. "Okay, fine. You can come with me, only because I know that you're just going to annoy me otherwise."
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"Wait, so what are we actually doing 'cause I don't really know."
It was only a few minutes after Stiles and Olivia had gotten out of the vault and they were heading towards the containment center where the rest of the students were. It was slightly funny that she volunteered to come when she didn't even know what she was doing or looking for.
Stiles's pace was slowing down too, she could tell. His eye bags were extremely evident and dark purple, sweat coating his face. She was worried that he was just going to stop moving at one point and just drop dead.
"First let people know that we're here, but not let anyone know where they are in case the assassin is around and then try and find an antidote if that makes sense..." he was rambling and then he just stopped. Stopped in the middle of the deserted hallway. He turned to her with a perplexed expression upon himself and a pointer finger in the air. "Wait, you're not on the list?"
Olivia almost fainted from that. "No, for fucks sake. I've been telling and stressing to you guys about this for like a week!" she exasperated.
"That doesn't make any sense though? I mean, I guess that the assassin's disease is harmful to anyone, but wouldn't it affect you differently?"
"Oh, it did."
He stopped. "Huh."
"Yeah, I messed up the girls bathroom on the first floor." she admitted, wanting it off her chest. Then she replayed that sentence in her head and caught her stupidity and word choice, "Oh my god, not like that. I mean with my powers." she groaned.
Stiles just stood and thought to himself with that same perplexity sitting on him. "Yeah, I guessed that...when did it happen?"
"When Kira and Malia were in line to get blood drawn. I ran to the bathroom and, like, really fucked up a stall in there... or the whole pipe line system– actually, I don't want to think about it anymore, It's technically the assassins fault so they can pay for it."
"Are you okay?"
Warmth flooded her body. "For the most part. The bathroom? Not so much." She didn't really know how she was feeling. Her body was slowing down but she hid it with fast moves and quick walking. The last thing she wanted was for Stiles to get all wiggy about whether or not he should have bought her or not.
He just nodded in response, a hesitant nodd, but then kept walking like he would think on it.
The pair continued to walk until something caught Olivia's eye. They were passing by coaches room and it was empty. Something didn't let her walk away or move from her spot as she stood, confused. "Hey, I think I'm going to look in here for a minute." Olivia talked as her eyes traveled around the very cluttered room.
The boy turned back, "Why? Is there something in there?" he asked.
"I, uh, maybe." She paused as her thoughts couldn't keep up with herself. "Wasn't Coach the first adult to catch the virus?" Olivia spoke her thoughts aloud.
"I think he was the only one, actually." Stiles looked like thinking was beginning to be too hard for him to do.
His features were drawn down and it was starting to be a concern for her. She was more than glad she came just because of this reason. Instead of having the both of them go down and waste more energy and possibly have them both pass out from exhaustion sooner or later. "Alright, my plan is that I'm going to look in her for some answers and then you go down to the main center and do what you need to do..." her words were sloopy and unorganized, her head hurt, but she bared it until he left.
Olivia could see that he was struggling to respond with a reason to stay and not split up, but in the end he caved and ran (which probably wasn't a good idea in his condition) down the hallway, out of sight.
"Just don't be stupid." was the last thing she heard him mumble back.
Now that she was alone with her thoughts, they overcame her. Looking at his office from the door, it was a lot. She always had wondered what went on in Coach's brain, now she kinda had an idea. Everything was disorganized and misplaced, papers stuck out from shelves and had, like, a purpose to give her several paper cuts.
Moving was becoming harder, her strength still draining out of her while her vision was becoming muddled. Coming to his desk, it was somewhat clear. For the most part it had little clutter which was only signature slips he seemed to have been stamping for approval.
Her eyes never left the slips or desk. Her intuition caused her to be curious. Ignoring her shaky hands, she picked up the small slips of papers and looked through them. It started off normal until the ink from the first colored stamp ran out and Coach started to use a dark black one.
One she recognized.
"Are you suggesting it's something worse?"
"I guess we'll have to see, won't we?"
Moments upon realization, the sound of shoes hitting the floor– definitely dress shoes by the sound of it if Olivia had to guess, became closer and closer until they stopped right at the doorway. There stood the test instructor. Cleaning his gun that had a silencer on the end of it.
Fuck, was her only thought inside this fried brain of hers.
The clues were all there, littered in every word he spoke, every movement he made– Olivia was just too obtuse to notice. With the fatigue and all of the events from today, she totally forgot about her prime suspect. The guy in front of her, the one who's holding the gun right at her face now.
"I was wondering how that idiot got sick." Olivia didn't spin around or make any sudden movements that could possibly trigger his pointer finger that rested ever so lightly on the metal that could end her life. "I'm also wondering where your friends are. In order to get paid by the Benefactor, I need to have proof that they're dead, but I just can't seem to find them." he finished as he checked his gun for intimidation points.
She's been held at gunpoint before, not necessarily a good memory at that, one she's tried to forget time and time again, but here she was once more. Still as stone. Fear mixing with anxious productivity. She wanted to run out of the office and never look back, but that would ceal her death.
Her feet were glued to the floor. Could she move? Could she even fight in her state? She didn't know that she would actually run into the assassin alone, cornered even, she just wanted to come along and make sure the other idiot who was somewhere in this school didn't die.
Testing her fingers ever so carefully, they twitched at her side. They were shaky, nerves wracking her entire system as she failed to process that this was actually happening. It brought back too many memories that consumed her restless nights and devoured her whole. The faint touch of the pistol lightly resurfaced as did the event. The barrel was cold and was being pushed heavily into her temple to the point of blood. She was fighting, screaming–
"I'm going to need you to step out of the room for me." The instructor's voice broke her spiral. Her hands didn't move at first, just staying stationary against her legs. Then she forced them up high and above her head so he could see them.
It was hard to walk out of the room, hard to see straight, hard to think right, it was like all of her training went out the back door once that gun was aimed at her. It brought back too much.
It was like waking in a haze through the door frame, out into the open where heavy rain could be seen through the windows, where adults stood but didn't know what was happening at this moment. A sudden jolt in her back sent her into panic. The gun nudged her harshly in her middle back causing her to stumble.
"Feverish much?"
No, it's just the gun pressed into my back. Her mouth stayed clamped shut.
"The virus won't kill humans, you'll get better. Your friends, not so much." His voice was monotone and plain as he talked and Olivia wanted to rip his vocal chords out.
Three things that stood out to her then and there. One: Stiles would live since his human. Two: She's supernatural and her organs are most likely going to shut down. Three: This man doesn't know she's supernatural.
"So, tell me where they are. Shouldn't one of you get to live?" he prompted.
"Funny thing is, you're talking to a dead person walking."
She spoke, her voice hoarse yet loud enough to be audible and clear. She couldn't take it back.
The gun moved to her shoulder and spun her around so Olivia was now facing him. His features indicated he was confused, but most likely too stubborn to admit it. He fought with his pride instead, whether or not he should ask for what reason.
"Now, I wonder what that means."
"I bet you do."
ohmygodpleaseshutupforonceOlivia.
He seemed to be more agitated now, eyes slightly twitching at the statement. "Do you really think you should be talking this confidently to someone who could easily end your life right now?" he asked.
Olivia didn't know what had gotten into her. Her regard for herself dropped and she could suddenly feel her fingers again. "You won't kill me because I'm the only one who knows where my friends are. If you kill me, they're gone. No money for you." Olivia was boring holes into his eyes. She was determined to let this man think that she was the only one who knew where everyone else was.
Just god forbid that Stiles Stilinski walks back into this room.
"Do you think you're scaring me right now? That I'm worried that my life will end at this moment? I've been on borrowed time for a while, and it just seems that I've run out." Olivia was light in the head, bound to fall at any moment from exhaustion, fear, stress– all of the above. But the one thing she wasn't really nervous about was the gun. It was suddenly the last thing she was scared of... even death itself.
Maybe it would hurt, the gun that is. She hadn't been shot before, well, she's been shot at, but that's different because it never hit her. It's never fatally wounded her before. Does it hurt to die? Will her family be waiting for her? Are they watching right now with Allison? Was there even an after life or was it just an eternal darkness?
Would they be disappointed if she gave up after all this time? She's been through so much just to be shot like this. Dead in the head.
"You're really getting on my nerves. How about this, I'm going to count to three and then pull this trigger." The gun trailed to her forehead where it rested.
She was scared...or was it relife? The confusion made it even harder to think properly.
Olivia knew that she would rather die than give up where her friends and Stiles were, that is something that she could die with and be proud of. But she could move. She could fight– to an extent, but there was a way out.
Would she choose it?
"One..."
It echoed around the pair held in suspense.
"Two.."
Another number that meant nothing to Olivia who stood in perplexation. Time stood motionless to her. She had a solid second before her brains would be blown out and splattered onto the boys lacrosse equipment.
Did she really want to die?
It was at that moment, Olivia Flynn had made her decision. But it was one moment too late.
"Three–"
There was a shot. The sound lingered in the air along with the smell of gunpowder.
Her eyes were closed. There was a substance on her face. In her hair, on her eyelids, on top of her lips.
She didn't want to open her eyes.
Her fingers were wrapped along a metal rod. She could tell what it was just by the haunting weight it had. Her finger wasn't near the trigger, arms were outstretched.
She couldn't hear anything, just white noise. The need to snap her eyes back open overwhelmed her and just as she did, the corpse of the assassin fell right in front of her and onto the ground with a clean hole through his head.
As his body fell to the ground, he revealed another figure behind him, two, but Olivia didn't care about the second, only the scrawny boy with the teal jacket.
Shocked into stillness. That's what she was.
The boy came running up to her and his hands were on her cheeks, in her hair, asking questions that she couldn't answer. Finally the events were registering in her mind. She was almost killed. Stiles Stilinski was back and had just saved her life.
"I told you not to do anything stupid." he mumbled into her hair (the part that wasn't lathered with blood and brains) and held her so tight Olivia didn't know if she could breathe. The gun in her hand dropped to the floor and she hesitated to hug back.
What the fuck just happened? Was Olivia's initial thought. The only thing she knew was that this was the safest spot for her. Right there in his arms with his breath on her neck.
"S-stiles? What–" she stammered over herself and could feel tears building up, glossing over her eyes.
He broke the hug and his hands were sturdy on her shoulder. He looked absolutely wrecked and disheveled, like he had just run a marathon and came in first place type wrecked. He was shaking more than her, eyes unable to stay in one place. "You're okay, you're fine, but we need to go back down and get the...the, um."
"Reishi mushrooms, Stiles." a voice boomed behind them.
Olivia didn't even notice the obnoxious yellow hazmat suit behind Stiles. It looked to be Scotts dad?
So, so many questions.
"Wait, what're y-you doing here?" Olivia asked and practically fell forward into Stiles at the motion.
He propped her back upright instantly. "I'll tell you all about it, but we have to get those mushrooms. It'll save everyone. Just, you need to stay conscious until then. Can you do that?" he was completely sincere with the question.
Olivia nodded shortly. "Y-yeah, I can try."
"There is no try, only do!" Stiles yelled as he pulled her along and the pair bolted with olympic speed down the hallway, retracing their steps back to the basement.
Olivia's brain was completely fucked over. There was no way she knew what was happening anymore. She was just blindly following Stiles and holding his hand as tight as possible. With each twist and turn, they were finally at their destination, out of breath, but there.
Olivia couldn't see straight anymore, all that holding out had taken a toll on her physically and she slid down the wall. "So, you're saying that the thing to help heal all the supernaturals that were hit by the virus is in the vault." she breathed out.
Stiles was banging his hands against the wall, "Yeah, that's right."
"But I'm out here."
The banging stopped. "Okay, that's a problem." He turned over to her now extremely frazzled. She hasn't seen him this stressed since...well, since ever. He was practically pulling at his hair. "Shit, shit, shit! You'll be fine, they'll open the door and the smoke or whatever, it'll reach you and you'll, you'll be fine." The more he talked the more he sounded like he was the one trying to convince himself rather than Olivia.
Stiles resumed the slamming of his hands to the point of redness, yelling for Scotts name and pleading for the door to open. Olivia couldn't tell whether her eyes were closed or if her vision was just blank.
A moment, then two passed where she was just propped up against the wall and vulnerable.
A low rumbling began underneath her finger tips and it traveled alongside the wall. She couldn't guess what was happening until Stiles picked her up and dragged her limp body to where the wall opened to the vault. Her scenes were flooded with a new odor. The more she inhaled the better she felt.
Must be the mushrooms he was rambling about.
Coughing was unavoidable. Her lungs felt brand new and sensitive. Her functions returned in less than a minute and then her vision. She found herself face to face with Scott who looked like he was beaten and brought back from hell.
To her side, Stiles laid half conscious with his hands still on the wall. She wondered what had occurred upstairs, how he got someone else– with a gun no less, to follow him to her direct location. Then a thought occurred to her. Did he hear any of the conversation before? There was no other way he could have known she was in danger other than accidentally walking in on it.
"I've been on borrowed time for a while, and it just seems that I've run out."
-
holy shit guys. 19 pages for one chapter. If you're wondering why I switched Olivia and Stiles's scene was because it was a pivotal moment for her regarding death since it's such a big plot point for her and her character. It demonstrates her constant debate with living and how her decision was just one moment too late if it weren't for Stiles. Wonder how she'll reflect on that...
till next chapter... hehehe
I'm so ready. The build up is insane.
Also lemme know what yall think of these long chapters, like if they're too long or sum.
next update is valentines day for all yall single fucks<3