"Stella, wake up," I slowly open my eyes to find Allison nudging me.
"No," I groan and shut my eyes again.
"We're trying to save your lover's life, so get up," she says, softly tapping my forehead.
That immediately jolted me awake.Throwing the blanket off me, I made my way to the bathroom. I start by brushing my teeth, then wash my face, and finally put on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. As I exit my room, I find Allison frantically searching around the house.
"What are you doing?" I ask her as she rummages through a closet filled with weapons.
"I'm looking for something that won't harm Stiles," she says, pulling out a shotgun.
"Umm, no," I grab it from her and place it on the desk.
I start helping her find items that won't hurt or kill Stiles. We come across some rope and other objects that won't harm him, but I can't help but think it won't be enough to take down a nogitsune; I know that for sure.
********
"Allison brings in a stash of non-lethal items," Allison says, as she enters the room, setting the assortment down on the office table.
I sensed a purpose behind her actions.
"Take everything," my uncle instructs, eyeing the items carefully.
"What's the plan here?" the sheriff inquires, seeking clarity.
"Our best shot right now is for Derek to attempt to pick up Stiles' scent at Eichen House, especially if he went through something stressful there," Chris explains.
"Should all four of us be heading to the same place?" Stiles' father seeks clarification.
"Where else has Stiles been showing up?" Chris directs the question at me.
"School and the hospital," I inform him, listing the places Stiles had frequented recently.
"Okay, hold on. We've been down this road before. He disappeared, we started searching for him, and it led us straight into a trap at the hospital," Derek interjects, raising a valid point. Each time we searched for Stiles, it seemed to end in disaster, particularly for my well-being.
"He's getting us to repeat the same moves," I echo Derek's insight.
"So, what do we do? Wait for him to come to us?" Allison looks at her father, seeking guidance.
"We can't afford to wait, not if the oni find him once the sun sets," Derek emphasizes.
"Scott's currently dealing with them, along with Kira," Mr. Stilinski informs us.
"That's the problem. We're all trying to outfox the fox," Chris shakes his head, expressing the complexity of our predicament.
"Listen, I'll understand if anyone wants to back out," Mr. Stilinski scans the faces around the table, considering our options.
"It wouldn't be the first wolf to run from a fox," Derek says, though I don't quite grasp the reference.
"I'm an Argent, and we're known for kicking ass," I say, squeezing Allison's hand, earning a grin from her.
"Apparently, I'm carrying the lightsaber," Chris smirks, producing the weapon.
"Dad, you, me, and Derek will head to Eichen House. Sheriff, it's you and Stella at the hospital," Allison plans, grabbing a few more weapons.
"We'll all rendezvous at the school," Chris finalizes the plan, staying behind as we prepare to embark on our respective missions.
*******
We arrive at the hospital and head straight for the elevator. After all the running we've done, I decide that taking the elevator is a sensible choice.
"You know what, I don't know how you guys do it. You're all so strong. You're fearless. Hell, you even manage to keep your grades up," Stilinski mutters, his gaze shifting to me.
"I'm failing Econ," I admit with a half-smile.
"Is that Coach's class?" he asks, and I nod. "Well, I'll have a talk with him."
The truth is, I'm not strong. I've simply learned to put on a brave front because I've never had a good parental figure in my life, except for Chris. I don't even know who my father is. Being in Beacon Hills has only made my life worse, and since I arrived here, nightmares have become a part of my existence. I act like I have everything under control so people won't see my weakness. Every step I take, I'm haunted by the fear that it might be my last. People have left my life so abruptly without even saying goodbye.
"Hey. You okay?" Stilinski asks, and I look up at him, realizing that my vision is blurry, and tears are streaming down my face.
"No, I'm fine," I say, hastily wiping away my tears.
"I may have a son, but I do know that 'I'm fine' often means more than that," he says, offering a genuine smile.
"I'm not... fearless. I'm terrified. I'm always terrified. I... I act like I know what I'm doing just to hide my weakness, but I don't. I don't know if we're going to get the real Stiles back. I don't know if I'm finally making my mother proud. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, and I don't even know who the hell my father is. I don't know... I don't know anything," I confess, my tears flowing again.
"You know what's funny? You sound just like a cop," he tells me. "Hey. You're gonna be okay." He pats my shoulder and pulls me into a comforting hug.
Suddenly, Mr. Stilinski's phone starts ringing.
"What's that?" I ask as we pull away from the hug, wiping away the last of my tears.
He retrieves his phone. "Someone's breaking into my house," he says, pulling up an app on his phone that shows motion sensors and cameras. On the screen, we see Stiles on his bed, waving directly at the camera.
"That's not Stiles, is it?" he asks me.
I shake my head and quickly pull out my phone to call Allison, explaining the situation and instructing her to meet us at Stiles' house.
Hanging up the phone, I press the button for the first floor in the elevator, which seems agonizingly slow.
"Come on," I mutter anxiously, my mind racing with thoughts of what might happen next.
Finally, the elevator doors open, and we sprint out of the hospital to the awaiting police car. It's my first time being in front of a cop car rather than behind the cage.
"What do you think he's doing there?" Mr. Stilinski asks me as we speed towards Stiles' house.
"I don't know. This has to be part of his plan. The nogitsune always has a plan, and it's usually his way or no way," I explain my thoughts.
The car ride is mostly silent as a whirlwind of thoughts races through my mind. One question stands out: why would he go there, where he's completely cornered?
"Can I see your phone?" I ask the sheriff.
He reaches into his pocket and hands me his phone. I open the app and zoom in on Stiles' room.
"Shit," I mutter.
"What?" he asks, glancing over at me.
"He's gone," I say, placing his phone in the cup holder.
"So, should we turn around?" he suggests, stopping the car to look at me.
I consider it for a moment. "No, keep going," I decide, and he puts the car back in gear, continuing our journey.
We pull up to Stiles' house, and it's evident that the rest of the group must be here, as Derek's car is parked in the front.
"How did they get in?" the sheriff asks me as he puts the car in park.
"Your son's hiding place for a key isn't the smartest," I reply with a faint laugh, recalling the time he showed me where he kept it.
******
Flashback
After practice, we arrived at Stiles' house. He wanted to share his thoughts on the Alpha pack with me, claiming I was the only one who truly understood him.
Parking the car in front of his house, we walked up to the front door. Stiles started patting his pockets, and then his eyes widened.
"What did you do now?" I rolled my eyes at him, already accustomed to his occasional forgetfulness.
"I left my key, but luckily, I have a spare," he began to retrieve it but then shot me a cautious look.
"What now?" I sighed, feeling a hint of frustration with his antics.
"Turn around. I don't want you to see my hiding place," he said, a mischievous grin playing on his lips.
I rolled my eyes once more and muttered under my breath as I turned away. I heard him shuffling around and then the click of the door. Without wasting any time, I spun back around.
"Thank you," he grinned.
"You seriously need to reconsider your 'hiding' spot," I remarked, patting him on the shoulder as I entered the house.
He gave me a quizzical look.
"Stiles, you literally put the key under the mat," I laughed.
"How did you...ugh," he muttered, heading back outside to relocate the key where I suggested.
"Don't tell anyone," he attempted to threaten me.
"I'm trembling with fear," I feigned terror, earning an eye roll from him as he headed to his room.
I couldn't help but notice that we exchanged eye rolls quite frequently in our relationship
Flashback Over
"What's all this?" I asked, pointing at the checkers board strewn with sticky notes. Curiosity piqued, I picked up a note with Isaac's name on it that was stuck to the side of the board.
"This is what Stiles used to try and explain all of you to me," the sheriff explained, his gaze shifting between us.
"Well, maybe it's a message from Stiles. The real Stiles," Allison speculated as she peered over the board.
"Do you think there's any reason my name's on the king?" Derek questioned, pointing to the chess piece.
"Yeah, and why am I positioned behind Derek?" I chimed in, lifting my piece for emphasis.
Allison and Chris exchanged a wild glance, while Derek merely shrugged.
"Well, you're heavily guarded. Though I guess the alarming detail is that you're one move from being in checkmate," the sheriff observed, focusing on Derek's piece.
"It's not a message from Stiles. It's a threat from the nogitsune," Chris asserted.
"He's at the loft," I stated simply. Why would only Derek be protected? Perhaps because it's his house. "That's what he's trying to tell us. And he wants us to come there."
"Night's falling," Derek informed us.
"This couldn't sound any more like a trap," Chris noted.
"I don't think it is. I think your opinion might be slightly biased," the sheriff said, and we all exchanged questioning looks.
"Sheriff," Chris raised an eyebrow at him.
"Hear me out. What we're dealing with here is basically someone who lacks motive. No rhyme, no reason, right? Meaning what? Our enemy is not a killer. It's a trickster. The killing is just a by-product," the sheriff attempted to explain.
"If you're trying to say it won't kill us, I'm not feeling too confident about that," I voiced my skepticism.
"It won't. It wants irony. It wants to play a trick. It wants a joke. All we need to do is come up with a new punch line," the sheriff proposed.
"The sun is setting," Derek interjected.
"Thank you, Mr. Sun-Watcher," I rolled my eyes at him.
"Sheriff, what do you have in mind?" Chris inquired, looking at him intently.