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[TW: This chapter's contents may not be suitable for some readers. Mentions of suicide attempts and some verbal abuse. View discretion is advised.]
The bus pulled into a dodgy motel in the middle of nowhere. Isaac looked down at Olive, who had fallen asleep on his shoulder halfway into the ride. He grinned, shaking her slightly. She stirred awake, looking up at him and laughing lightly, standing and stepping off the bus.
"Alright, two to a room, you and you, fine, Scott and Stiles, yeah, Danny and Ethan, okay, Isaac and Olly hey- no funny business," Coach narrows his eyes at the two who shake their heads, grabbing a room key and heading up the stairs. Olive opens the door, looking around the room, an amused look on her face.
"Swanky," She grins to Isaac who shakes his head looking around too. Olive blinks a few times before feeling a little light-headed. Isaac turns to her, a concerned look on his face.
"Are you okay?" He furrows his eyebrows and she nods, rummaging in her bag for her wallet.
"Yeah, probably just not fully awake yet. I'm gonna go check out the vending machines, do you want anything?" She reaches the door and leans on its frame and Isaac smiles, shaking his head.
"I'm good," She nods, shooting him a smile before leaving the room and going down the hall. She stops, however, the lightheaded feeling intensifying. She sighs, gripping onto the railing for support. She looks up at the sky, suddenly fascinated with the stars.
"Olly? Are you okay?" Stiles comes up next to her and she turns to him, suddenly in a trance-like state.
"I'm fine, it's a lovely night, don't you think?" She turned back to the sky and Stiles narrowed his eyes.
"What?"
"The stars, they're beautiful."
"If this is some type of trick to get me to say something along the lines of not as beautiful as you, I am not falling for it," Stiles nudges her with his elbow, proud of his joke, but she doesn't seem to notice. She leans further over the railing, trying to get a better look at the sky. Stiles steps forward, tilting his head slightly.
"Hey, you're a little close to the edge, there," He puts a hand on her shoulder, but she grabs his wrist, twisting it slightly. She narrows her eyes at him and Stiles groans in pain. "Olly, that hurts."
Olive suddenly gasps, looking around and furrowing her eyebrows, immediately letting go of Stiles. Stiles looks at her, worry and confusion evident in his gaze and Olive shakes her head.
"I'm so sorry, I- I came out here to- I can't remember," She furrows her eyebrows, shaking her head slightly.
"Um, there's an ice bucket at your feet- were you-" Stiles points and Olive looks down, picking up the bucket and nodding.
"Right, I was going to the vending machine and then getting us ice. I'm so sorry I hurt you," She narrowed her eyes, seemingly still out of it and Stiles shook his head.
"Maybe you should just go back to your room- is Isaac in there or?" Olive shook her head, clearing her throat.
"I'm fine, I'm just gonna go get the ice," Stiles nods as she pushes past him. He watches her make her way to the ice machine and he narrows his eyes, shaking off the conversation and continuing on his way.
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Olive sighs as she pulls open the icebox and begins pulling ice into her bucket. She shook off whatever just happened, chalking it up to exhaustion. It had been a long day and she was never one for road trips unless she was driving. She thought back to when she was younger and her parents took her on a trip to Seattle. She hated every second of the long car ride, but they stopped frequently throughout California, seeing some amazing sights. Of course, a seven-year-old version of Olive didn't really care, but looking back on it is still fun. She smiles at the memory and goes to close the freezer, but the smile quickly fades when she hears a familiar voice whisper her name.
"Olly," Her eyes widen as she leans in closer, making sure she'd heard it right. "Olly."
"Oh my god," She gasped, dropping the bucket to the ground and beginning to rummage through the ice frantically. She dug faster, the voice not stopping its taunts until she brushes across a chilling sight.
"Dad?" She whispered as she moved the last few pieces of ice out of the way, revealing none other than her father's dead body. His head turned to her with wide eyes,
"Don't leave me, Olly," Her breath quickened as she slammed the freezer, not worrying about the ice bucket or even bothering to go to the vending machine. She ran up to her room, quickly unlocking it, and rushing inside, locking the door and settling against it.
"Isaac?" She called out, voice shakey, but no one was in the room. She sighed, sitting on her bed and gripping the room key tightly, still shaken up. Suddenly, the clock radio behind her clicks on and Olive snaps her head around to look at it. Light static comes from the small box and Olive stares at it, a puzzled look on her face. She shakes her head, pushing the button to turn it off but the radio turns right back on, no static this time, just silence. She goes to turn it off again until noise begins to come out of it.
"I wanna go see the wolves, mom!" A younger version of herself begins to talk, the same one from that trip she was remembering earlier.
"What about the butterfly exhibit, don't you think that would be fun?" Her mother's voice rings out from the box. Olive tilts her head, coming closer to it.
"No, I wanna see the wolves."
"Olly, wolves are dangerous. If you ever see one run in the opposite direction, do you hear me?" Her father was now speaking, she suddenly remembered the trip as if it were yesterday. Olive let out a shallow breath, now knowing what she knows, everything fitting together.
"But, I suppose since they're in a cage here, we can go see the wolves," Her father continued and the radio turned to static again, as if it were changing stations.
"You didn't listen, did you?" Her father again, this time a lot grimmer. "You just had to go against everything your mother and I have spent your entire life protecting you from!"
"What?" She whispered, getting closer to the radio.
"This is your fault. You caused all of this, all of it."
"All of it?"
"Yes."
"No, no it's not my fault," She shook her head, pushing the power button again and wiping the tears she'd let slip. The radio clicked back on instantly and resumed.
"You're never going to make me proud, you'll always be just another monster we have to hunt now," Her father's voice spat out like venom. She furrowed her eyebrows, shaking her head. "You did this to yourself, you caused all of our problems you-"
Olive grabbed the radio, unplugged it, and slammed it to the ground, causing it to shatter. She sits back on the bed and sighs, closing her eyes.
"You didn't actually think that would stop me?" She opens them, turning to the bathroom doorway. Her father was leaning against it. She shook her head, more tears falling. "This is all you, this is your weird fever dream, breaking a radio isn't going to stop it."
"Please just go away," She whispered, avoiding eye contact.
"Oh, you made sure I did, didn't you?"
"What is that supposed to mean?"
"I'm dead, Olly! That's what it means!"
"That wasn't my fault, Gerard killed you!"
"You might as well have been holding the sword," He approached her, sitting next to her on the bed. "You're a disgrace to my family now, Olive. There's only one way for you to fix that."
"What? I'll do anything, please, I don't want you to hate me."
"What do you do when a dog goes rabid?" He asks her and she turns to him, remembering the night in the warehouse depot, and what Chris had said to her.
"You put it down."
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[TW: Suicide Attempt, skip this paragraph if you are sensitive to the subject]
Olive looked up and she was standing in the bathtub, holding the hotel safe. She turned around, but still no Isaac. She sighed, kneeling down and sitting in the tub, placing the safe on her chest. She sighed and leaned back falling underneath the water and closing her eyes. After a few minutes she heard voices frantically speaking above her, but she couldn't make out what they were saying. Then suddenly, heat rose to her face and she seemed to wake up from whatever trance she was in, suddenly panicking. She pulled the safe off her chest and shot up, taking in a large breath. She stood in the bathtub, pulling in large breaths and dripping water.
[RESUME HERE]
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"I'm sorry, I- I'm sorry," She stuttered out, still seeming slightly far off. Stiles shook his head, wrapping her in a towel and coaxing her out of the bath. She let a few tears fall as she walked out of the room and sat on the bed.
"You're okay now, you're okay," Stiles said, making sure she was fine otherwise. Then he turned to Lydia, who was pointing under the bed. Stiles rolled his eyes lightly and grabbed another flare and kneeled down. "Hey, Isaac, I've got a present for you."
Suddenly, Isaac leaped out from under the bed, having a similar realization that Olive had moments before. He looked around the room, confused, and then his eyes landed on Olive, who was staring at the floor.
"What happened?" He turned to them frantically and Stiles and Lydia both shifted uncomfortably on their feet. Isaac turned to the bathroom, saw the safe on the floor, and put two and two together. He shook his head, sitting next to her and wrapping her in his arms. She cried harder, still unsure of what had just happened.
"I'm sorry," She said again and Isaac shook his head, placing a kiss on her hair.
"It wasn't you, you're okay now," He hugged her tightly and Stiles and Lydia both sighed.
"We shouldn't stay here, we need to find Scott," Lydia looked between everyone in the room and Stiles nodded.
"You know what, you two stay here, get all your stuff together, and we'll meet back on the bus, okay?" Stiles looked over to Isaac who nodded. Stiles and Lydia left the room, but Olive and Isaac didn't budge.
"What did you see?" Olive asked, her voice still small. Isaac sighed and shook his head lightly.
"My dad," He whispered, and then Olive nodded.
"Me too."
"Come on, let's get the hell out of here," Isaac let her go, grabbing his bag and heading for the door before noticing Olive's state. "Do you wanna change first?"
"Yeah, um, I didn't really pack, so," She shook her head, grabbing her bag and turning back to him.
"Here, at least put this on?" He handed her a familiar sweatshirt.
"Is this your lacrosse sweatshirt?" She narrowed her eyes at him and he nodded, smiling sheepishly.
"It's all I got," He shrugged and Olive grinned, motioning for him to turn around. He did, and she pulled off her wet shirt and pulled his sweatshirt over her head.
"You're good," She smiled, looking in the mirror. It swallowed her, but she didn't mind. She looked in the mirror, seeing the familiar lacrosse logo on the front, and turning around to see Isaac's last name and lacrosse number on the back. He smiled at her and then grabbed her bag.
"Ready?" He asked and she nodded, following him out of the room and down to the parking lot.
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[TW: Mentions of suicide, skip this if you're sensitive to the subject]
There they saw Scott standing in a circle of gas, holding a flare. Stiles was trying to talk him down. They approached the group and Stiles shot them a look, warning them to stay back.
"All of this started the night I was bitten. Remember what it was like before that? You and me were nothing, we weren't popular or good at lacrosse. We weren't important. We were no one," Scott stops for a second, a far-off look in his eyes. "Maybe I should be no one again."
"But you are someone, you're my best friend," Stiles looks down at the circle of gasoline, approaching it. "You're my brother. So I guess you're gonna have to take me with you."
With one careful step at a time, Stiles approaches Scott, taking the flare out of his hands.
[RESUME HERE]
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Everyone sighs in relief as Stiles tosses the flare aside. It lands away from the gasoline, but a strange gust of wind blows it back, igniting the trail.
"No!" Lydia yells and everyone ducks for cover as the flames grow behind them. A large ball of fire erupts and Lydia seems to see something within the smoke. She looks terrified, following her line of sight, Olive sees a mangled face, looking like it had been scratched by claws over and over again. But, gone as soon as it came, it shrieked and the flames disappeared. They all sighed, turning to each other, processing the events of the evening before Stiles speaks up.
"I think we should sleep on the bus," He sighs and the rest of the group nods. Scott moves to pry the doors open and the six of them climb onto the bus, finding seats close to each other and settling in. Lydia and Allison sit next to each other near the back and Stiles and Scott take seats in front of them. Olive turns to Isaac, who rolls his eyes and gestures for her to follow him into the seat. She grins, settling in with him and drifting off.
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The sun poked through the bus windows and Olive began to stir awake in her seat. She opened her eyes to see Coach and the entire cross-country team standing before them. She nudged Isaac next to her and looked around noticing the rest of her friends were beginning to wake up as well.
"I don't wanna know, I really don't, but in case you missed it this morning, the meet is canceled so pack it in, we're going home," Coach gestured toward them before finding a seat as the rest of the team settled. Boyd passed the two of them, wiggling his eyebrows at Isaac, who flipped him off as he passed them. Olive laughed lightly, turning to Isaac who was clearly not ready to be awake.
"Still sleepy?" She tilts her head as Isaac nods slightly, sighing. Olive grins at him and turns to the rest of the group who were filling in the seats around them. Ethan approached them with a nervous look on his face.
"I don't know what happened last night, but I know you probably saved my life," He sighed, folding his hands behind his back. Scott shrugged and Stiles shook his head.
"Actually, I saved your life," Ethan glared at him and Stiles put his hands up, shaking his head. "But um, that doesn't matter, really. Minor details."
"Anyway, I'm gonna give you something," He turns to Olive and Isaac and then back to Scott. "We're pretty sure Derek's alive."
"Wait what?" Olive's head shot up and Ethan held his hand out, signaling that he wasn't finished.
"But he killed one of ours, which means one of two things can happen. He joins our pack-"
"And kills his own," Scott narrows his eyes and Ethan shakes his head.
"Or Kali goes after him and we kill him. That's the way it works," Ethan shrugged and Stiles rolled his eyes.
"Your little code of ethics is kind of barbaric, FYI," Stiles says as Ethan walks away. Lydia seems to notice something as he's walking away. She stands and turns to Coach.
"Coach, can I see your whistle?" Before he can respond, Lydia yanks it from his neck and sits back in her seat.
"I want that back," He says to her, but she waves him off, taking the whistle and covering it before blowing into it. When she moves her hand away, purple dust litters it.
"Wolfsbane," Stiles widens his eyes and turns to Scott, who has a similar expression on his face.
"Every time Coach blew the whistle in the bus, all of you inhaled it," Lydia nodded to them and Olive turned to Allison, watching a lightbulb go off.
"And when we got on the bus-"
"I inhaled it too," She furrows her eyebrows and turns to Isaac who shares her expression. "We were all poisoned by it."
"That's how Darach got into our heads," Scott narrowed his eyes and Stiles shook his head frantically, grabbing the whistle from Lydia and tossing it out the window just as the bus was taking off. Coach turned to him, staring daggers into him and Stiles rolled his eyes.
"I'll buy you a new one," Coach rolled his eyes and went back to whatever he was doing. The group settles and Olive turns to look out the window, deep in thought.
"Uh oh, what are you thinking about?" Isaac asks, nudging her slightly. Olive turns to him and sighs.
"Do you ever regret it?" She asks and he widens his eyes, unsure of what she means.
"Regret what?"
"Letting Derek bite you," Isaac raises an eyebrow and nods, getting what she meant. He didn't hesitate with his answer.
"Hell no, I'm much cooler now, if you haven't noticed," He wiggled his eyebrows and Olive laughed lightly. Isaac furrows his eyebrows and tilts his head slightly, adjusting himself so he's facing her.
"Do you regret it?" Olive turns to him and shrugs.
"I don't know, I just feel like a lot more wants to kill me now, including my own parents at one point," She laughs lightly.
"I would never let anything happen to you," Isaac shakes his head, but Olive narrows her eyes, turning to him.
"I would rather me get hurt than you."
"Oh, come on, Olly, I can take it," He nods and she laughs, shaking her head.
"It just seemed a lot simpler last year."
"I can't believe the time when we had a pack war that involved a giant lizard was simpler," He laughed and she rolled her eyes.
"You know what I mean," She narrows her eyes at him and he just stares at her, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth. "What?"
"I don't regret it, I never will," He shakes his head, still staring into her eyes.
"No? Why?"
"Cause I never would've met you," He says and she smiles, turning away slightly to hide the blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"Well, when you put it that way," She turns back to him sighing. "Yeah, I'll never regret it either."
Isaac smiles as she rests her head on his shoulder. He sighs, leaning his head on top of hers and the two fall back asleep for the rest of the ride home.
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