Stiles POV
I wake up to feel arms wrapped protectively around me. I can't help but smile as my eyes flutter open. I look down at the hands to see that they are Scott's. Memories from last night come flooding back to me. My heart beats nervously at the thought of the dream message, but I decide to push it to the back of my mind and try to focus on the positive: Scott. I'm touched that he came all the way over here in the middle of the night to calm me down and then ended up staying with me for the rest of the night too. I try not to move, not wanting to wake Scott. As my head is leaning against Scott's chest, I listen to his steady heartbeat thumping against his chest. It's very peaceful. I almost want to go back to sleep again, but I decide to stay awake so I can enjoy this moment.
I glance over to the window to see sunlight pouring through the cracks in the blinds. I can feel Scott's warm breath against my ear. It sends slight shivers down my spine. I lie there for a few more minutes, listening to the birds outside and Scott's heartbeat. I quickly glance over to my phone on the bedside table. I carefully and slowly reach out to grab it. I unlock the phone and check the time. It's 8:40am. Good thing we don't have school today. I place my phone back onto the bedside table. I hold one of Scott's hands (which are still wrapped around me by the way) and squeeze it gently. I chuckle as Scott doesn't stir. He is a heavy sleeper. I on the other hand, can wake up to the slightest of sounds if need be. That doesn't mean I necessarily want to get up. Usually, I'll try to ignore whatever I heard and go back to sleep. Still, it's a good survivor instinct, I guess. A good example of that is when I woke up as Samantha hissed at Liam before making her way up the stairs and attempted to kill my doppelgänger. Speaking of which, I'm wondering whether or not I should tell Scott. I know I promised I wouldn't say anything, but my doppelgänger made an exception, so why can't I? Also, Samantha isn't in our lives anymore.
After a few more moments of lying in bed silently, I hear a small yawn come from behind me. I turn myself around to look at Scott, who is starting to wake up. I smile warmly as Scott opens his eyes. I lean in and kiss him on the forehead. "Morning, sleeping beauty." I smirk as I pull away.
"Morning." Scott yawns again with a smile, letting go of me so he can stretch his arms. I push the covers back and sit up. Scott does the same. "Sleep well?" I ask. Scott nods in reply.
"What about you?" He asks me.
"Yeah, a lot better, thanks to you." I wink. Scott blushes slightly.
"I'm glad I could help." Scott smiles at me. I crawl behind Scott, wrap my arms around him and lean my head on his shoulder. "What should we do today?" I ask close to his ear.
"Whatever you want, Stiles. I don't mind." Scott replies.
"If I get to spend it with you, then I'm happy." I admit with a grin, nuzzling my face into Scott's neck. I hear him laugh and feel his body shake lightly from the motion. "That's easy enough then." Scott replies. He turns around in my grip so that he can face me. He cups my face with his hands and pulls me towards him. The kiss is slow, sweet and gentle. All of my senses feel heightened when I kiss Scott. I place a hand on his chest to feel his excited heartbeat. I listen to the ruffle of the bed covers beneath us and the birds outside. I deeply breathe in Scott's scent. My other hand runs through Scott's thick brown hair. Scott licks the bottom of my lip lightly, asking for entrance. I part my lips slightly to allow Scott's tongue to map out my mouth. Our tongues fight for dominance and Scott ends up winning after a few more moments. Eventually, the two of us pull apart, feeling breathless. I grin at my boyfriend. Scott grins back, happiness and excitement lighting up his features.
"I hadn't even brushed my teeth yet." I laugh lightly.
"It doesn't matter to me." Scott says, his goofy grin still on his face.
"Come on, we should get some breakfast." I suggest as I start to get off the bed.
"Actually, I should go home just to tell Mom that I'm okay." Scott says as he stands up. I nod in understanding.
"Fair enough. I'll see you later, okay?"
"Yeah. I'll be back in an hour or something. Then we can figure out what we want to do today." Scott replies as he walks over to my window and opens it. He starts to climb out. "You do realize that there is a front door, right?" I raise my eyebrows. Scott turns and smirks at me. "I know." He says before he jumps from the roof. I race over to the window to see Scott land on the ground. He looks up and waves at me before running off. I chuckle lightly to myself. Werewolves. Always wanting show off. I spin around and walk back further into my room. I decide to get dressed. I quickly walk to my drawers and pull out some clothes. I hurriedly get changed, put my pajamas away and walk out of the room. I make my way downstairs to get some breakfast. I see Kara already there, eating a piece of toast. We dive into a conversation while I get myself some breakfast.
~~~
I walk up the stairs after breakfast, wanting to brush my teeth. I walk into the bathroom and grab my toothbrush. I then pick up the toothpaste and squeeze a blob onto the tooth brush. I put the toothpaste away and lift the toothbrush up to my mouth. I glance up to the mirror and start brushing my teeth thoroughly. "Stiles..." I hear a voice whisper around me. I shriek in surprise and almost jump out of my skin. I can't completely recognize the voice. It definitely isn't Kara, Scott or the rest of my friends. I look around wildly, my heart pounding. I pull the toothbrush out of my mouth and quickly spit the toothpaste into the sink. I wipe my mouth with a towel and also clean my toothbrush before hastily putting it away. "Who's there?" I ask shakily. No reply. I slowly start to back out of the bathroom. Well, that is until the wind or something slams the door shut and locks it. I gasp in horror and race over the door and try to unlock it, but it's no use.
"Come on, open up!" I yell desperately as I pull on the handle. I even try to use my powers on the door, but to no avail. I start banging on the door, crying out for help. "No one will hear you, Stiles..." The voice tells me mysteriously. I try to control my breathing as I begin to panic. Slowly, I turn around, afraid of what I'll see. However, I don't see anything. I frown in confusion. Suddenly, the tap starts running, filling up the sink. With fear coursing through me, I tentatively step towards the sink. Even though I don't want to, I glance into the mirror. All I see is my terrified reflection staring back at me. "Stay calm, Stiles. Stay calm." I tell myself repeatedly. I slowly look down to see the sink is now full. The tap stops running. I gaze into the water, waiting for something to happen. Suddenly, an image appears in the water. It's Vanessa. I yelp in surprise, but I don't move away. I stare at the image of Vanessa, frozen with fear. Her face seems to get closer to the surface. She smirks at me and shows off her sharp and pointed teeth. "I must be going crazy." I shake my head in disbelief.
"You're not going crazy, Stiles. I just want to warn you that your time is running out." Vanessa hisses at me.
"Do you want to see your father die? It sure seems like it." Vanessa tilts her head in curiosity.
"Of course I don't want to see him die, you bitch!" I snap back angrily, my fear starting to sizzle away. Vanessa just chuckles at me. "Your kingdom is gone, Stiles. You can't save it. Atlantia has fallen under my control, just as your father has. You might as well give up." She says in a haunting voice, eyes icy blue. My breathing becomes shaky and rapid as my fear builds again. My vision becomes slightly blurry. "Having a little trouble there processing things, Stiles?" Vanessa asks mockingly. I grip onto the sides of the sink. My knuckles go white from the effort. "Look into the mirror. It'll make everything so much clearer." Vanessa whispers. Reluctantly, I look up at the mirror. At first, all I can see is my freaked out reflection. Soon, that changes.
I peer closer into the mirror to see my kingdom, Atlantia. I gasp in horror at the war raging on the main part of the city. "No..." I say as tears roll down my face. I always knew the war was going on, but seeing it makes it so much more real. I see terrified merpeople hiding in their houses as sharks, sirens, sea witches and other monsters patrol the streets, looking for anything that would get in their way. Suddenly, I'm shown a fight going on in the courtyard of the castle. To my horror, I see that it's my mom fighting off five sharks. This must be a flashback. "No!" I scream, not wanting to see this. However, I can't seem to look away. I watch as my mom fends off the sharks. "Mom! It's a trap! You need to get out of there!" I can't help but yell, wishing that she would hear me. As Mom sends the last shark swimming away, I notice a sea witch swimming up behind her. Vanessa. "Mom, behind you!" I shriek in warning with tears in my eyes. I sob as I watch Vanessa plunge a sword through my mother's back. The sword seems to have something on it. Probably snapdragon. I scream and cry as I watch Mom fall to the ocean floor. Vanessa swims away with a smirk, leaving my mom gasping in pain.
"Why would you show me that? Why are you doing this to me?" I cry out in despair, feeling broken.
"Because, Stiles. You needed to see it. I'm giving you the chance to save your father. You just need to come to me. That's all I ask." Vanessa speaks from the water in the sink. Suddenly, the image in the mirror becomes blurry. I watch as the mirror fogs up. After a few moments, it clears again and reveals Scott's reflection. He's staring back at me, his face covered in blood, eyes red and completely wolfed out. It seems like he was trying to fight off something. He looks at me with fear. "Scott?" I ask in a shaky voice. I watch as Scott places a hand up to the mirror. I place my hand against the cool surface of the mirror where Scott's hand is also pressed up against. I wish I could feel his hand. I wish I could hold it and squeeze it comfortingly. "Is that... Is that really you?" I ask shakily. Scott looks terrified. My breathing hitches when Scott nods in confirmation. I feel like I'm going to be sick. "What did this to you? Where are you? I'm going to get you out, okay? I won't let you get hurt!" I promise my boyfriend, trying to not let myself freak out in front of him. Scott nods quickly. One tear rolls down my cheek.
Suddenly, I see a girl with long black hair appear from behind him. She looks a bit like the girl from 'The Ring'. She starts getting closer to Scott. My eyes widen in horror. "Scott, look out!" I scream, but it's too late. The girl jumps onto Scott and he screams in terror and pain. I stumble backwards as blood splatters against the mirror. Scott's blood. I fall to the floor, sobbing heavily. How could this be happening to me? After a few moments, a weird wind surrounds the room, carrying whispers with it. I quickly get to my feet, looking around me in fear. Slowly, I walk back to the mirror, hoping that it could give me some answers. I don't want to look. I really don't want to look, especially if Scott is dead. My stomach keeps doing flips and I'm barely able to keep myself from having a panic attack. I clutch onto the sides of the basin and look into the mirror. All I see is my terrified reflection, which is now white as a ghost, eyes red and puffy and I am slightly sweaty. Suddenly, Vanessa walks up behind my reflection. She looks like she did when she attempted to kill Scott in the woods. My breathing is very rapid and my heart beat goes through the roof. Tears continue to stain my face. Vanessa smiles at me eerily and grabs onto my reflection's shoulder. At the same time, I feel something grab my shoulder. Nails dig uncomfortably into the skin. I scream in absolute terror and fall backwards onto the ground again. I turn around, but nothing is behind me.
I shuffle to the back wall and hug my knees close to me. "This isn't real, this isn't real!" I repeat as I clamp my hands over my ears to ignore the incoherent whispers surround me. My constant tears almost blind my vision completely. However, I see a pale hand start to reach through the mirror. My eyes widen in fear. I watch in horror as the hand starts to reach further into the bathroom. Slowly, the whole arm is there too. Someone is coming through the mirror! I whimper as I try to back myself further against the wall, but I'm already as far back as I can go. I close my eyes and shake my head furiously, my whole body trembling. "Go away, leave me alone! Please!" I shout through my sobs, my hands still clamped over my ears. I try to count to ten in my head, imagining myself getting calmer each second. By the time I get to nine, the faint noise that my hands can't block from my ears stop. I slowly lower my hands from my ears, but I don't open my eyes. I can't hear anything. I frown slightly. My breathing starts to even out and my heart beat slows down. Slowly, I open my eyes. As soon as I open them, I scream in terror and try to scramble away from Vanessa, who is kneeling right in front of my face. "Hello, Stiles. It's nice to meet you again." She smiles. I manage to get to my feet and back myself up against the door. "No. You're not real... You can't be." I mutter as my heart races in my chest. Vanessa rushes over to me and pins me against the door, slamming my head against it. "Maybe I'm not, but I could do this all day, every day." Vanessa smirks with an evil glint in her eye.
I blink once, but the next time I open my eyes, Vanessa is gone. I hear the door behind me unlock. I let out a shaky breath, looking around me in fear. Everything seems normal. Hesitantly, I walk over to the sink. I look into the mirror only to see my reflection. I stare at it for a few moments, just to make sure. Nothing happens. I sigh in relief. I look down into the sink to see that all the water has been drained out. I quickly rush out of the bathroom, slamming the door shut behind me. I rush towards my room and hurry inside. I dive onto my bed and pull the covers over me. I shimmy my way down so that my head is beneath the covers as well. I curl up into a ball and close my eyes and let a few tears stream down my face.
After a while, once I've calmed down, I finally get out of the bed and wipe my eyes. I walk over to my mirror to take in my appearance. Apart from my puffy red eyes and shaken up expression, I look okay. I take a deep breath to compose myself. I sniffle and wipe my eyes one final time. My face hardens and becomes emotionless once I realize what I have to do. I sigh and turn away from the mirror and walk out of my room. I walk down the stairs and into the living room, where Kara is reading a book from one of the shelves. She turns when she sees me enter. "Morning, Stiles. Did you sleep okay after the nightmare?" Kara asks with a smile.
"Yeah... I slept like a baby." I reply with a grin, not sure if I should tell her about what happened in the bathroom just then. After a few seconds of consideration, I decide that I shouldn't tell anyone about this. Not if I decide to go ahead with what I think I need to do. Kara frowns at me in concern. I suddenly notice that I'm still standing in the middle of the living room, staring at her. "Is something wrong?" She asks worriedly.
"No! No, everything's fine." I try to assure her. Kara looks unconvinced.
"I'm just going for a drive to give me time to think about things." I tell her before I walk out of the room. I rush back up to my room, grab my keys and my phone before hurrying back downstairs and towards the front door. "Stiles!" Kara calls out just before I open up the front door. I turn to her in confusion as she walks towards me. "Just... Don't be too long, okay?" She sighs in defeat. I squeeze her shoulder comfortingly.
"Don't worry, I won't." I lie before I open up the front door and leave the house. I walk down to my jeep and jump inside. I quickly start the engine and pull away from my house. As I'm nearing the Beacon Hills Preserve, I hear my phone start to ring. I sigh in annoyance. I pull over to the side of the road and pull out my phone. I look at the caller ID. It's Scott. I bite my lip guiltily as I answer the call. "Hey, Scott." I say casually.
"Hi Stiles. Um, can you come to the animal clinic? Please?" Scott asks me hopefully. I can't help but smile. It is a relief to hear his voice again after I saw what happened to him in the mirror.
"I thought you were going home?" I raise an eyebrow.
"I did. I just stopped by the animal clinic before I got to your house." Scott replies.
"Why?" I ask.
"I just wanted to talk to Deaton about something. Now I need to talk to you before you do anything irrational." Scott replies simply. I frown in confusion.
"Wait, what?" I splutter.
"It was about the dream message. Deaton explained to me in more detail about what they are. We also discussed why Vanessa would send you something like that. I think I've come to a conclusion. I don't know where you are or what you're thinking at the moment, but please don't go face Vanessa alone, Stiles." Scott says in a serious tone.
"I thought you were the one that said I could defeat her myself." I point out, deciding that it'd be useless to try and tell Scott that I wasn't planning anything of the sort. "You can, I'm sure of it, but I don't like the idea of you going there on your own. That's what she would want. That's what she expects." Scott warns me with slight desperation in his voice.
"I can't let any of you guys get hurt. I don't want you guys to die for me," I say almost in a whisper as my eyes start to sting.
"We're your pack, Stiles! We won't let you go through anything alone, especially me! We want to fight with you! We want to fight for your kingdom! If on the very off chance that we did die, at least we would have died for a good cause. I seriously doubt that would ever happen though. I thought you were on board with all of this. What happened? Was it the nightmare?" Scott exclaims.
"The nightmare is partly the reason why I changed my mind, but, um, something happened when you left..." I mumble. I suppose I should tell him what happened. It'll make me feel better if I tell someone else anyway. It'll get it off my chest. "What happened?" Scott asks worriedly. I sigh before I begin to explain the details of the bathroom fiasco. Scott stays silent for a few moments after I finish explaining. "Stiles... I'm so sorry. I wish I was there for you." Scott apologizes, guilt laced in his voice. "It's okay, Scott. I'm okay." I assure him.
"Please just come to the animal clinic. We can sort everything out there together, okay? I promise. Please don't go off to Atlantia on your own. Don't give Vanessa what she wants. You don't know what you'd be swimming into. You probably don't even have a plan." Scott pleads with me. I swear that he is about to cry on the other end of the phone. My heart breaks, knowing that I've caused Scott to feel this way. "Okay, I'll just go get Kara. Text the others to meet up at the animal clinic." I tell Scott.
"Thank you, Stiles." Scott breathes a sigh of relief.
"I'll see you soon, okay? I love you." I tell the werewolf.
"I love you too." Scott replies. I hang up the phone and start driving back to my house.