**Disclaimer** I do not own Teen Wolf so umm yep.
Panic was beginning to set in. I frantically pushed around more people until finally I felt a pair of arms holding me back. I fought my brother's grip, trying to wiggle out so I could continue the search for Stiles. I had to find him. I had to find him to prove all of the terrible thoughts in my head wrong.
I felt like I did the night of the winter formal after Peter took Stiles. Only this time, I didn't know who he was with. My hands shook and Eric had to hold me on my feet since my legs seemed to go weak. My breathing was becoming raspy and I was doing my best to fight the panic attack that was about to hit me. I need to stay calm. I need a level head if we're going to find him.
Maybe I'm just over-worrying. Maybe he just headed to the locker rooms right away because of all the attention or something, though I know that's not like him. I had to believe something that didn't involve him getting hurt.
"I'm going to take Melanie home," said Dad, after Eric finally got me to calm down enough.
"We'll stay here," said Eric. I was crumpled up in his arms and unable to speak for myself. "Let us know if Stiles comes by the house by chance,"
Dad nodded before escorting a frightened Melanie off the field and back to the car. Eric ushered me around to the other parking lot closer to the school, the one where all the players park. My legs felt like noodles, making it difficult to walk.
"His jeep's still here," sighed Eric.
I took a deep breath and peaked in through the windows. It was empty aside from a few random articles of clothing that had collected over the lacrosse season. I opened up the passenger door, not surprised that Stiles had left it unlocked. I grabbed the sweatshirt from the seat and handed it to my brother.
"Think you can get a scent?" I asked.
He held it up to his nose, taking a whiff. "I can try," he said with a small grimace.
I noticed the majority of the lacrosse team leaving the locker room. I didn't, however, see Scott or Isaac. Grabbing my brother my the arm, I drug him into the school. We dodged past the last few players to trickle out before heading into the boys locker room. I've been in here twice and both times I almost died, so this should be interesting.
Just as I expected, Scott and Isaac were standing in front of Stiles' locker. The door had been completely ripped off and both of them had one of Stiles' personal items held up to their face. Guess they had the same idea about tracking him by scent.
Scott jumped when Eric and I walked in. "Woah," said Eric. "It's just us,"
"Did the Sheriff get anything?" I asked.
"No, but he has an ABP out on Stiles," said Scott.
I let out a puff of air through my nostrils. I felt Isaac staring at me and I responded with a glare. Pushing the memories of how he manipulated me, I turned back to Scott. "Where would he have gone?"
Scott shook his head. "I'm not sure he if went anywhere, at least by choice,"
"You think someone kidnapped him?" I asked.
Scott's eyes drifted behind me and I furrowed my brow before turning around to see what he was looking at. Derek stood before us, his hands tucked behind his back. A scowl made its way onto my face and Eric took a step in front of me.
"We need to talk," said Derek.
Then, my heart nearly stopped as Peter stepped out from behind a wall. "All of us," he said.
"You have got to be kidding me," I said.
I know that we talked about it, but actually seeing him alive in person made it all seem unreal. He couldn't be back. There's no way. You can't just cheat death like that, at least not without consequences.
"What the hell is this?" Scott said.
"You know I thought the same thing when I saw you talking to Gerard at the Sheriff's station," said Derek. Why would Scott be talking to Gerard?
"Okay, hold on," said Scott. "He threatened to kill my mom, and I had to get close to him. What was I supposed to do?"
"I'm with Scott on this one," said Peter. "Have you seen his mom? She's gorgeous,"
"Shut up!" Scott, Derek, and I all shouted at the same time.
I could feel the anger bubbling within me as I looked at both of the men who betrayed me and my family. It made me sick to my stomach. These two people were as good as family, yet they turned around and stabbed us all in the back and come begging forgiveness. But, it's not that simple.
"Who's he?" Isaac asked.
"That's Peter, Derek's uncle," said Scott.
"Yeah, a few years ago he killed my mom and little sister then used me to heal himself so he could be the big bad alpha he always wanted to be. Then he tried to kill us all so we set him on fire and Derek slashed his throat." I said, giving Peter a scowl.
"Hi," he said with a small wave.
Isaac nodded. "That's good to know,"
"How's he alive?" Scott asked.
"Look, the short version is he knows how to stop Jackson," said Derek. "Maybe how to save him,"
I know how to stop the person controlling the kanima, not actually how to stop one itself. Matt was an easy task, but Gerard, Gerard is an entirely new story. The man is unpredictable and beyond dangerous.
"Well that's very helpful except, Jackson's dead," spat Eric.
"What?" Derek asked, his eyes widening.
"Yeah, it happened on the field," said Scott. Derek looked back at Peter, who was staring at the ground.
"Okay, why is no one taking this as good news?" Isaac asked.
"If Jackson's dead then it didn't just happen," said Peter.
"Gerard wanted it to happen," I finished. Peter raised his eyebrows at me, but I made him look away with another glare.
"But why?" Derek asked.
"Well that's exactly what we need to figure out," said Peter, walking towards us. I kept a firm stand on the ground beneath my feet as he neared me. "And something tells me the window of opportunity is closing, quickly."
☾
Eric, Scott, and Isaac had all gone to the hospital after getting a call from Melissa about something that was happening to Jackson. I however, had been sitting in the passenger seat of Stiles' jeep for the past thirty minutes. I held his sweatshirt in my lap, playing with the strings.
My phone was resting on my leg on full volume. I'd already called him ten times without an answer. He wasn't replying to my texts either. He wouldn't do that unless something were wrong. If he'd just run off because of all the attention he would have at least told me. I know he would've.
I had to stay positive. I just can't bear the thought of losing him; it's too much. Another tear slid down my cheek and I felt foolish as I wiped it away. I'm pathetic. I'm sitting here in his jeep waiting for him to call when really I should be out searching for him myself. Yet, something keeps me here being useless as always.
The sound of my phone going off caused to jump and nearly send it crashing to the floor. My heart skipped a beat when I realized that it was Sheriff Stilinski. Clearing my throat, I brought the phone to my ear and answered, "Hello?".
"Emma?" The Sheriff asked on the other line.
"Yes, is everything alright?"
I heard him let out a heavy sigh. "Stiles is here,"
A hand flew over my mouth as I stifled a happy sob. "Is he okay?" I managed to get out.
"A little beat up, bu the's alright," he said.
"I'm on my way,"
With that, I left Stiles' sweatshirt in his jeep and began running towards his house. It was only ten blocks, and besides I had adrenaline pushing me. I had to see him. His dad said that he was a little beaten up, which made me wonder what really happened to him, and not the story he told his father.
My lungs were burning and my feet ached considering that my riding boots aren't necessarily made for running. I didn't care though, I had to get to Stiles and I had to do it as quickly as possible. He was worth a little running.
Finally, out of breath and my forehead dotted with sweat, I made it to his front step. I knocked on the door and waited until Sheriff Stilinski let me inside. "He's in his room," he told me. I thanked him and walked down the hall to Stiles' bedroom, where just a few hours earlier I was giving him the encouragement he would need for tonight's game.
I wiped the sweat off my face before knocking on Stiles' door. "Dad, I said I'm fine," I heard him say from behind the wood. Taking a deep breath, I knocked again.This time I heard footsteps. "Come on, Dad, how many times do I have to - "
Stiles stopped talking when he opened to door to see me standing there. My bottom lip quivered slightly as I took him in. The left side of his face was beaten and bloody, as well as another wound on his lower lip.
"Hi," I said, somewhat unsure of myself.
"Hi," he said. I took a small step forward, and I could tell he knew I was staring at the marks on his face. "It's, it's nothing,"
I shook my head. "Who did this to you? And don't feed me whatever lie you told your dad,"
I took another step forward and slowing raised my hand to his face. I rubbed the pad of my thumb slowly across the wounded area. It wasn't working as fast as it had been before, but it was still working. Stiles' skin was mending beneath my touch.
"Gerard," he said, so quiet I could barely hear him.
I knitted my eyebrows together. "Gerard did this to you?"
"Look, Emma, it's fine, okay? I'm fine," he said.
I healed the last bit of his beaten skin. "You're not fine, Stiles,"
"Well, neither are you," he said, just as another tear slid down my cheek. I wiped it away and brushed past him and into his room. He closed the door before quickly coming back over to me. "Woah, I didn't mean - "
"I thought I lost you, okay?" I said. His mouth gaped open and for the first time in his life he was at a loss for words. "I thought that someone had taken you away from me again only this time they weren't just going to let you go like Peter did. I...I had to go through that all over again,"
Before I knew it his arms were wrapped tightly around me, and I was sobbing quietly into his chest. "I can't lose you, Stiles," I whispered.
He pulled back, still holding me close to him, and looked me directly in the eyes. I took deep breaths, getting a hold of myself. He wiped the wetness out from underneath my eyes, a gesture that caused my heart to swell.
I brought my hand up to heal the cut on his lip as well, but he stopped me. "Wait, I want to try something," he said.
I held my breath as he leaned in, and within the moment our lips were together. It was slow and tender, and I could feel him wince slightly from the pain when our lips first met. Within ten seconds, I could feel the skin of his lips mending. I pulled away and let out a small laugh of shock at what I'd done. I guess I can heal with my lips too.
A smile spread across Stiles' face and it brought back the joy of seeing him win us the game earlier tonight. He rubbed a finger across his lip, making sure that it was, in fact, completely healed. I still could hardly believe it.
"It worked," he said. I gaped open-mouthed at my accomplishment.
A beeping sounded from his desk. I turned to see his phone lighting up with another message. I raised my eyebrows, but he glanced away. Rolling my eyes, I strode over and grabbed his phone off the desk. I saw the ten missed called and eight texts from me.
"You have seventeen missed messages from Scott," I said.
"Yeah, I know," he sighed.
"Shouldn't you let him know that you're alright?" I asked.
"Well, I mean..."
His phone buzzed again and out of curiosity I opened the message. My eyes widened at what it said. "Well, you may want to read this one,"
I showed Stiles the message Scott sent about Jackson being in some kind of cocoon. I remember my mother telling me a story about this, though it's vague. She knew just about everything there was to know about all mythological and supernatural creatures.
"Do you know what's happening?" Stiles asked me, having the same reaction as me to the message.
I sighed, beginning to pace back and forth. "I think...I think what we've seen of the kanima so far has only been its beta shape,"
"Beta shape?"
I froze in front of Stiles. "Meaning it turns into something bigger and badder,"
Stiles' eyes widened. "How big and bad?"
"I'm not entirely certain, but I'm pretty sure it has wings," I said.
"Wings?" Stiles exclaimed, bringing his hands up to his face.
This was bad. This was really, really, bad. I should have expected something like this from Gerard. I guess I just didn't think he'd do something this insane and absurd. As much as I dislike Jackson, he doesn't deserve this. He especially doesn't deserve what he'll turn into next if Gerard's plan follows through.
"We have to do something," I said.
"But what? Can we really trust Peter to try and save him?"
"No," I said. More bits and pieces of my mother's story began drifting in. "But I think I may know how too,"
"What? How?" Stiles asked, holding his arms out as a gesture for me to explain.
"It's a long shot, especially with Jackson, but it's the only way I've heard of." I said. I threw a hand over my face. "Oh god this is going to sound really cheesy,"
"Emma, just say it!" Stiles pressed.
"Okay okay," I said. I let out a huff of air. "It's love. We have to reach his human side through his heart, and love is the clearest way in."
Stiles was furrowing his eyebrows, just as I'd expected. "Okay, but if you haven't noticed Jackson doesn't have much of a heart,"
I shook my head. "There's one person,"
Stiles thought for a moment before the light bulb clicked in his head. "Lydia,"
"You go pick her up while I go find Scott, Isaac, and my brother," I said. I turned to rush out of the room, but Stiles grabbed my arm and pulled me back.
"There's no way I'm letting you go by yourself," he said.
"I'll be fine, okay?" I said. I moved to leave once again but Stiles pulled me so that our faces were nearly touching.
"Do you remember the night of the formal? You thought you lost me and I did lose you, Emma. Even if it was only for a short amount of time I thought you were gone. I thought that the first girl I ever loved was going to die right there in my arms without me ever having the chance to tell her how I felt,"
I didn't know what to say. I guess I just try to push the fact that I died out of my mind so much that I forgot I actually did. I died right there in his arms and I can't even imagine what those few moments must've been like for him.
When I didn't reply, he continued on. "I know you don't care about getting hurt because you technically can't, but I almost lost you once. Who's to say the next time won't be so lucky? I'll be devastated and if you die I'll literally go out of my freaking mind!"
His raised voice caused me to shrink back.
"You see, death doesn't happen to you, Emma, it happens to everyone around you. Okay? To all the people left standing around at your funeral trying to figure out how they're going to live the rest of their lives without you in it. Huh?"
"You think I of all people don't know what it's like to lose someone?" I hissed back. "God, Stiles, I lost my mother and sister, two of the most important people in my life. And, to top it off, I wasn't even supposed to live! It should've been me, not Zoe,"
Stiles shook his head. "Don't say that," he said. He took a step towards me, but I took one back.
"But it's the truth," I said, my voice shaking. "Zoe would have had the power to change the entire world. Look at me, I'm useless,"
"No you're not,"
"Aren't I?" I said. "What can I do? Heal a few cuts and scratches here or there? I can't cure incurable diseases. I can't save the people who deserve to be saved,"
"You saved me, Emma," said Stiles. "You saved your brother,"
I shook my head. "That's not the same thing,"
"But isn't it?" Stiles took another step closer to me, and this time I let him. "You can't save everyone, no one can."
"I have to do something,"
"But you don't have to do it all," he said. "And you sure as hell don't have to do it alone."
He took both of my hands in his and gave them a light squeeze. I never really thought about this, and it made me feel stupid that I hadn't. I guess I just learned to be independent after Mom and Zoe died because I wanted to work myself through their deaths on my own. I pushed people away because I was afraid to lose anyone close to me again. If I was simply best friends with myself, dying wouldn't be so bad.
But Stiles was right. I shouldn't have tried to get over Mom and Zoe's deaths alone. In a time when I needed my friends and family more than anything, I shut them out. I guess that's kind of what I'm doing now. If I push people away then maybe them getting hurt wouldn't be so hard to swallow. I can't be that way anymore, especially not with Stiles.
"I'm scared," I said. The two words were frail as they escaped my lips. It was the first time I'd ever admitted it out loud.
"We all are, Emma," said Stiles. "But that's why you have friends, family...me,"
"I love you," I managed out even with my dry throat.
Stiles gave a soft smile. "I love you too," he said, pulling me into him. After a moment, he held me back at arms length. "Now, come on, we have a teenage boy to save."
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Thanks so much for reading!
I literally couldn't get this scene out of my head all day. It was going to drive me mad if I didn't get it all down soon.
Next chapter will be the finale and the conclusion of book/season 2. But don't worry, I have some things planned for my post-book two week hiatus. I think you guys will like it :)
I really wanna hear what you thought about this chapter so let me know. It was a lot of dialogue compared to the last one...
Thanks again and don't forget to comment, vote, and follow! (I literally write fan every time why)
GIF not mine...but dang.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxx
-Alyssa