**Disclaimer** I don't own Teen Wolf and I'm running out of creative and clever things to add to this.
I drove myself home from school for the first time. I finally felt comfortable enough to drive myself around without getting lost. A part of me was sad that I drove because then I could ride home with Stiles. I had to remind myself that he got me a detention.
The house was empty when I arrived. My father hasn't been home much lately. He's always out with his girlfriend. I think he's afraid to introduce me to her because I only learned that my mother and sister died a couple of weeks ago. It's been three years, and he seems happy. I want to meet her. She's the closest thing I have to a mother figure.
I went directly into my room and plopped onto my bed. I was hoping to squeeze in a nap before the lacrosse game. Once again, I didn't get much sleep last night. All I could think about was Stiles and how, for some reason, I feel that he's connected to my memories. I thought about his mom and what it must have been like for him. I wanted to call him, but decided against it for the sake of my pride.
Sleep was moments from taking over my conscious mind when I heard a tap on my window. I groaned, but was pleasantly surprised to see Isaac crouched on my roof once again. I wonder how he even gets up there.
He gave me a smile as I opened the window to allow him to hop inside my room. I felt a sliver of guilt for once again pushing him out of my mind, but it should be understandable with everything going on around here. It's not like I mean to, it's just that there are more pressing matters to pay mind to.
"Hey," he said, slightly out of breath.
"Hey, fugitive," I said. I gave him a playful nudge and he chuckled. "How's that working out for you by the way?"
"Oh just wonderful," he said, exaggerating. "I love being on the run,"
I giggled and without realizing leaned into him. I look up from his chest, as he is much taller than me, and met his eyes. They were a soft blue, unlike mine. They were breathtaking. They glanced to my lips before finding my own eyes again.
I barely know this kid, his wanted for the possible murder of his father, and I think that I may be going insane. Yet, here I am, about to kiss him. Maybe he's just what I need, a way to get my mind off of everything. A distraction.
He wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to him. His free hand cupped the side of my face, his skin calloused and slightly rough against my jawline. Unsure of myself, I draped an arm over his shoulder and used the other to cling to his. He was so warm; it's like his body was radiating heat.
I licked my lips and in one smooth motion they were pressed against his. I didn't care what I was feeling, because at this point in time, nothing mattered. I didn't care that something about his lips felt off to me, somehow they still managed to seem right. I was kissing him, and I was enjoying it.
He walked me backward until legs met the edge of the bed and my knees buckled, sending us both down onto it. My glasses turned crooked and Isaac took them off for me and set them on my nightstand before putting his lips on mine again. We both giggled into the kiss. As his tongue traced the inside of my mouth, one of his hands caressed its way around the back of my thigh and over my waist. I bit my tongue to suppress a moan as his lips moved to my neck. This is felt so amazing. His kisses were so soft and delicate, it was beginning to send me into a frenzy.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, but something else popped into my mind. It was my mother, looking just has she did in all of the pictures my dad had shown me. She's been popping into my head for a while now, but more now than ever. It's only for a few moments and she always says one thing, "Stiles."
"You okay?" Isaac had stopped kissing my body and was hovering above me, straddling my hips. His face was blurry without my glasses.
I didn't realize that my bottom lip had been trembling. "Yeah, I'm fine." I ran my fingers through his mop of curly hair and smiled at him. I pushed his head back down to mine and met his lips halfway. I needed him to keep kissing me, to keep distracting me.
I snaked a hand up his shirt and grazed the skin on his side with my fingernails. Unfortunately, after about another minute of kissing, he moved his lips back to my neck. As good as it felt, my mind was already beginning to drift to other thoughts.
Why did I keep wanting to think about him when I have Isaac's lips all over me? He just kept pushing his way into my thoughts no matter how hard I tried to block him out. I wanted it to stop, but another part of me was wishing that it was him instead of Isaac in my bed right now. That it was Stiles.
Suddenly, Isaac pulled away and glanced around the room in alarm. I tugged on his wrist, trying to ease back into kissing me. He looked back at me with wide eyes. I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Your brother's home," he said.
"Shit," I muttered, grabbing my glasses and putting them back on.
We both hurried out of my bed and I looked out my window to see Eric walking up the sidewalk with...Stiles? What the hell is he doing here with my brother? And how am I going to get Isaac out of here without anyone seeing him?
Isaac and I exchanged worried glances. I looked back out the window and didn't see either of them. I assumed they must have come inside. It was now or never.
"Go now," I said to Isaac in a hushed voice. He nodded and gave me one last swift peck on the lips before climbing out the window. I watched as he jumped down onto the grass with ease. It was impressive. He kept an eye out for people seeing him as he sprinted down the street and out of sight.
I released a breath and closed the window. It was pretty chilly out and I didn't want too much cold air getting into my room. It was going to be torture sitting out at the lacrosse game tonight. I made a mental note to dress warm.
A few minutes passed and I was surprised that neither of them had come up to greet me or anything. Curious, I left my room and climbed down the stairs, following the voices from down the hall.
"There's nothing here," I heard Eric say. "I would have seen it. I went through every one of these books the other night,"
"Well," Stiles sighed. "We better hope that Allison can get something from Gerard,"
They were both leaving the home library I had discovered only a couple of nights ago. Eric shut the door as they talked. Their conversation came to an abrupt halt when they spotted me standing at the bottom of the stairs.
"Emma," said Eric.
"What were you two doing in there?" I asked, my voice stern.
"Uh...Eric was trying to find me this book on a mythological creature for a class project, but we didn't have any luck." Stiles said.
I was suspicious of his answer, but accepted it none the less. I wanted to talk to him more, in private. I wanted him to tell me about his mom and help me bring back more of my suppressed memories. The painful churning in the pit of my stomach prevented me from speaking.
"Well I, uh, should get home and get ready for the game," said Stiles. He scratched the back of his head. "See you two there?"
I nodded wordlessly. He smiled at me as he walked past and my mother whispered his name into my mind. It made me want to stop him, but I didn't. I let him walk him walk away and a large feeling of guilt washed over me.
"You'd better get something to eat," said Eric. "We're leaving in an hour."
☾
Even with my thick coat, gloves, and scarf, I was still freezing sitting out at the lacrosse game. Eric was sitting next to me with only a light jacket and wasn't shivering in the slightest. He even felt somewhat warm. He must have gotten the internal heater of the family.
Our team was getting their butts kicked right now. There was some ginormous player on the other team -- who I can't believe is a high school-er -- hammering our players to the ground and causing them to drop like flies. I winced as another player was smashed by the guy wearing number forty-two on the opposing team.
Seeing him take down players like that made me glad that Stiles primarily sat the bench. Maybe I don't entirely like the guy, but that doesn't mean I want him to be paralyzed at the waist by that thing. No one really deserves that.
I was staring at the back of Stiles' head when someone appeared next to him. Mom? She was wearing the same thing she'd been wearing in all of my visions of her. She looked from me to Stiles, who was biting on his glove as he watched the disaster of a game play out before him. She whispered the same thing once again. "Stiles,"
I blinked, and when I reopened my eyes, she was gone. One moment she was there, and the next she wasn't. This is all too much. I really am going out of my mind or something. I needed out of here, to get some space.
"I'm going to the bathroom," I said to Eric. He simply nodded and winced as another player was tackled to the ground.
I found myself walking to the parking lot instead. I could feel the tears burning at the back of my eyes and it hurt to much to hold them in. I dug my keys out of my coat pocket and unlocked my car, sliding into the driver's seat. The moment I closed the door the tears began to fall.
It felt good to cry. I deserve to. Everything weird and terrible that's happened lately all bubbled to the surface. Not only have I lost all of my memories, but I think I've lost my mind as well. I can't remember anything about my mother, yet I see her multiple times a day. Why does everything always come back around to Stiles? I fell and gave myself a brain injury, there's no possible explanation for why he would be tied to all of my memories.
My car was beginning to get stuffy, so I rolled down the window a bit to let some fresh air in. I took deep breaths, trying to get a hold of myself. I wiped the tears from underneath my glasses. I wanted everything to just go away.
"Hey,Emma, what's wrong?"
Even him. I began rolling my window up when Stiles approached my car. He was actually the last person I wanted to see right now.
"Emma," he said, knocking on my window. "Come on,"
"Just go away," I said. My voice cracked through my sobs.
"What's wrong?"
"Look, I don't need anyone seeing my cry," I said, wiping more tears as they fell. "Everyone already thinks I'm a big enough freak as it is."
"Oh, come on, Emma," he said. He gave a heavy sigh. "Look, you shouldn't care if people see you cry, alright?"
I took in a deep breath and looked at him, feeling a sharp pain in my chest. "Why?"
"Because I think you look really beautiful when you cry,"
My lip quivered when he said that. It touched my heart and suddenly my sadness seemed to fade. I wiped my eyes again and rolled the window back down, releasing the barrier between us.
I looked at him, my voice brittle as I spoke. "You're going to think I'm crazy,"
"Emma, if you can trust me on anything, you can trust me on this. There is nothing that you can say to me that'll make you sound crazy. Literally nothing,"
I glanced away. Seeing your deceased mother say this boy's name over and over again isn't crazy? He would for sure think I belong in the nut house if I told him that. I swallowed hard and glanced around my car. Sounds of the lacrosse game echoed in the background.
"Could you just give me five minutes?" He asked. I gave him a confused and slightly annoyed look. We were about to have some deep and meaningful conversation and now he needs five minutes? What could possibly be that important? "I know, I'm sorry, but just stay here, um...continue crying - "
I looked away from him and rolled my eyes.
" - or not crying, if you want or whatever works for you. Just, uh, stay here and I'll be right back and then we can talk. Okay, just five minutes,"
I couldn't believe it as he ran from my car and into the school. I really did want to talk to him, but about more than just my crazy hallucinations or whatever they are. Another sob escaped my lips. He better only be five minutes.
What he said only moments ago was still ringing in my mind, however. He said I looked beautiful when cried. He thinks I'm beautiful and for some reason that sends a shock of warmth throughout my body. Not even Isaac has said I'm beautiful, let alone when I cry.
I thought I didn't want to talk to Stiles, but it turns out he's the one I need to talk to the most.
☾
Over two hours had passed, and still no Stiles. I don't know why I've even been sitting here this long, just waiting for him when he obviously doesn't care enough to come back. I guess there's just a little flicker of hope inside me that keeps saying to wait just a little while longer. Just wait a few more minutes and then we can talk for as long as we want.
I really thought that he would come back.
I knock on my window caused me to jump. I hoped it was Stiles, but I was met with my brother instead. I rolled the window back down. I don't even know where he's been the past two hours. Does no one care?
"I thought you went to the bathroom?" He said.
"Two hours ago," I lied.
"And why didn't you come back?"
"I-" I sucked in a breath. "I just needed to be alone for a moment."
He was about to reply when we switched his attention towards the school. He didn't even look back at me before setting into a dead sprint inside. "Eric?" I called out. I got out of the car and ran inside as well. First Stiles and now my brother? What the hell is going on?
"Eric?" I called out again. I followed the sounds of splashing down the hall.
I walked into the doorway and held my breath at the scene before me. Scott and my brother had just pulled Stiles and the dark-haired man from the hospital out of the water. Not only that, but now they were both crouched on all fours, bearing razor-sharp fangs, hair alongside their face, deformed features, and pointed ears. They were almost...wolf-like.
All of the sudden a reptilian-like creature came off of one of the walls and threw my brother into the wall. I gulped and pressed myself against the doorway, unable to take my eyes off of what was happening. This couldn't be real. I have to be dreaming. I fell asleep in my car and now I'm dreaming.
The lizard-thing then attacked Scott and let out a horrid screech. I placed a shaking hand over my mouth. Scott growled at it, but it wrapped a tail around his ankle and threw him into the mirror on the opposite wall, causing it to shatter. Scott somehow got up and faced the creature. He grabbed a shard of glass and held it out as a weapon. The giant lizard neared him and I saw that Scott's eyes were glowing a golden color, as opposed to his usual chocolate brown. What the hell is going on?
I was having trouble steadying my breathing when the creature, out of nowhere, jumped off of the wall behind Scott and flings itself out of the skylight, sending glass into the pool below. Hot tears slid down my cheeks as I slumped into a ball on the ground.
"Emma?"
I heard footsteps nearing me, but I was in a daze. I couldn't wrap my mind around what I had just witnessed. It wasn't real. It can't be real. All of those books I read on werewolves and mythological creatures, that's all just theory, isn't it? It's all folktales and legends. It's not real.
"Emma, oh god,"
Someone had taken me into their arms. They were wet and cold, but it still felt nice to be held. I looked up to see that it was Stiles. Beads of water were still sliding down his face. My lip trembled as I began hyperventilating again.
I removed myself from his embrace, scooting away on the cold floor. "Wh-what is this? What a-are all of y-you?"
Scott was helping walk Eric over to me. Both of their faces had gone back to normal. The man from the hospital walked behind them, soaking wet like Stiles. I couldn't remember his name.
"Wh-what was that, that thing?" I asked, growing more and more impatient. I pointed at the place in the ceiling where the giant lizard has escaped. I added the next question in an almost whisper. "And...and why am I not as scared as I should be?"
☾
If I thought that the ride home after the ice rink incident was awkward, it was nothing compared to this drive home with Eric after what I'd just seen. He said he would explain everything when we got home. I was still struggling to wrap my mind around the whole thing.
My father was waiting in the living room with his face buried in his hands when Eric and I got home. I assumed Eric must have called him and told him about what I'd just witnessed. "Emma," he said, standing up when he saw me come in.
I shook my head and began marching up the stairs. I wanted an explanation, but not from them. They lied to me. I slammed my bedroom door behind me and pressed my back against it. My eyes were sore from all of the crying. I'm so tired of crying.
"Emma, just let us explain," I heard my brother say. I sucked in a sharp breath and ignored them, letting out a sob. "Emma, please,"
I swung the door open, revealing both my brother and father standing outside. "When were you going to tell me, huh? Or were you just going to hope that I would never find out?"
My brother is a freaking werewolf, or at least that's what I think. Scott is one too. Is everyone in this town a werewolf? Is that the cause of all the murders? I don't know what to think about all of this anymore. My gut is telling me that I should be terrified, yet I don't feel that way.
"You weren't ready, Emma. All of this is far more complicated than you think," said my father.
"Complicated? Eric is a damn werewolf!" I exclaimed. I ran a shaking hand through me hair. "I-I can't do this,"
I closed the door even with their protests. "Just let us explain!" Eric said.
"I can't believe you, either of you," I said.
I heard a loud sigh on the other side of the door. "Fine, then we'll bring you someone you will believe."
I released my breath when I heard them walk away. I slid down into a heap on the floor. This is all too much. I don't know if I can handle this all at once. I wished it would all go away. I wished that I could just have a normal life.
I finally got a hold of myself enough to take off my coat and scarf. I moved to the window, the one Isaac had climbed in through hours earlier. The moon was merely a glow behind the clouds. My breah fogged up the glass in front of my mouth and I wiped it with my sleeve.
Images of what I witnessed earlier at the pool replayed in my mind. The werewolves didn't frighten me as much as the lizard-thing. Everyone else seemed terrified of it too. I still couldn't believe that it was real. Creatures like this don't exist. It's not possible. It's all a bunch of legends passed down through cultures. All of those books in that room downstairs don't hold true facts.
I pinched myself. It didn't work. This is real life. This isn't a dream. I really did just see my brother transform into...a werewolf.
A knock on my door pulled me from my thoughts. "Go away," I said.
"Emma," The voice didn't belong to my brother or father. "It's Stiles,"
I was surprised at how fast I got myself to the door, or that I even opened it. Stiles stood before me, a forced smile on his lips. He'd changed clothes and dried off. I felt a sudden drop in the pit of my stomach at the sight of him.
"I promise that I'll tell you everything, but you have to believe me, okay?" He said.
I nodded, unable to speak, and moved to the side so he could come in. I closed the door and walked over to him, shortening the distance between us. I found myself fighting the urge to hug him. So I did.
His body jerked slightly when it collided with mine, but then he relaxed. Something felt right about this. With all these weird and terrible things happen lately, this is the first time I've felt a genuine happiness. I pulled away with reluctance and held in my smile at the look on his face.
"I thought you hated me," he said.
"So did I," I said. I licked my lips and took a step backwards, tugging on the sleeves of my shirt. "So, are you going to explain or not?"
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Thanks so much for reading!
Uh-oh Emma knows. Goodness this chapter was fun to write. Things are going to get very interesting from here on out.
Now, because my New Years resolution is to get in shape, I'm going to do ten crunches for every vote that I receive on a chapter. I'm not doing this to get more votes or anything, because I don't believe in that, but just because you guys are a great support system for me and I want to use this as motivation. Let's get fit together!
Anyways, thanks again and don't forget to comment, vote, and follow!
GIF not mine.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
-Alyssa