*Third POV*
Stiles hurries around the backyard, trying to make it look the most presentable as he possibly can. He tries to do something with the black burned grass, but it's no use, so he just gets some leaves from a tree and tries to patch up the dead grass. Stiles steps back to see his work. Eh, it's something. His dad shouldn't know the difference, right? Stiles groans and smacks his head against the tree in the backyard. Of course his father will know the difference. Stiles is so busted. He takes a deep breath and calms himself down. He steps away from the tree. He decides that maybe he should practice something that won't end in as much of a disaster. Maybe he could work on shifting? He's getting good at half shifting at least. Stiles balances his weight evenly on both feet and concentrates for a moment, letting the energy build up inside of him. Soon, midnight black claws sprout from where his fingernails usually are and he can feel his teeth lengthen into deadly fangs. Instinctively, Stiles lets out a low growl. He slowly starts walking over to a window and peers at his reflection. He immediately sees that his eyes have changed from their normal human golden brown color to a bright, burning orange, just like a fire. The only missing thing from his half shift are his wings. He smiles in satisfaction that he didn't destroy anything and managed to do this almost completely right. He needs to keep practicing, but at least he knows that he'll have the strength, speed and claws to fend off anyone that tries attack him.
He does the same thing a few times, turning from human, to a half shifted phoenix, over and over again. Stiles starts getting bored of it after a while and the sun starts to set below the horizon. Stiles decides to do something a little bit more fun. He walks away from the house a little and looks up at his bedroom window that is still open. A mischievous grin makes itself present on his face. Stiles bends his knees a little before using all of his momentum to spring into the air. He flies through the air and grabs onto the sill of his window. Stiles uses his upper body strength to pull himself through the window and tumbles onto the floor. Having the ability to jump like that can be really fun, and helpful. Stiles gets to his feet with a smile on his face. Stiles shifts back to human for the final time. He glances over to his mirror just in time to see his eyes fade back to their usual golden brown color.
~~~
Hours later, Stiles hears the front door is opened and he can hear his dad entering the house, the Sheriff's heart beat thumping steadily while Stiles is sitting in his room, reading 'To Kill A Mockingbird'. Stiles is about to go downstairs to greet him when he suddenly remembers that he's still covered in ash. He curses himself for not washing it off sooner. How the hell did he forget? Stiles panics, not knowing what to do. Stiles tries to think of something but the only thing coming to his mind is to just jump on the shower, but that would make his dad suspicious.
"Stiles, I'm home!" His dad calls out from downstairs. Stiles hears him take off his Sheriff coat and boots.
"Oh, hi Dad! I'll be down in a minute!" Stiles replies hurriedly. He runs circles around his room not knowing what to do, a minute later he decides that his dad is going to find out anyways, he always does. That's why he's the Sheriff. Stiles finally decides that he should just own up to what he did. Stiles sighs quietly as he walks out of his room and makes his way to the top of the stairs. He sees his father walk into the living room. Instead of walking down the stairs like a normal person would, because Stiles isn't a normal person, he decides to jump down the entire flight of stairs. His feet land safely on the ground with a loud thud, only to crash into the wall as he's walking towards the living room, he groans in annoyance and a little bit of pain while he rubs his shoulder.
"Stiles, what have I said about jumping down the stairs?" Stiles hears his dad ask in an annoyed tone.
"Not to do it." Stiles responds as he walks towards the living room.
"This house can't take much more of your teenage supernatural tendencies. You're breaking the house. One day I bet I'll wake up to find myself lying in a pile of rubble that used to be the house." The Sheriff says as he sits down on the sofa and turns on the TV.
Stiles timidly walks into the room behind his dad. "Sorry, Dad. I won't let it happen again." Stiles apologizes guiltily, but both of them know it will happen again. The Sheriff chuckles and shakes his head. "It's okay, Stiles." He tells his son as he turns to face him.
Stiles' dad suddenly looks suspicious. "Is that ash? Why do your clothes have holes in them? And why do you smell like a barbecue?" He questions while doing a double check at his son's ash covered body.
Stiles' eyes widen in fear. "Barbecue? Are you hungry, Dad? Because, you know, I could always make you a healthy dinner. Not involving a barbecue. Or fire." He blurts out without thinking. The Sheriff gives his son a funny look.
"No, I got something on the way home from work." He says as he stands up and walks over to a nervous looking Stiles.
"L-look Dad, I'll tell you what happened but first let me get this ash off, it's a bit itchy and annoying" Stiles asks hopefully.
His dad takes a look at him one more time before he lets out a sigh and motions for Stiles to go upstairs.
Stiles thanks him and runs upstairs and trips in the last one, thankfully he catches himself before he crashes to the ground. Hey, supernatural or not, Stiles can be clumsy. He quickly gathers up his things for the bathroom and rushes to it. Not caring about the temperature of the water, he quickly jumps in the shower. Stiles almost groans in pleasure as water starts to drip on his face, getting all the ash off his face and body.
Five minutes passed and Stiles finally managed to get the last bit of ash off him. He jumps out of the shower and wraps a towel around his waist. Ah, it feels good not to have ash covering almost your entire being. His happy mood changed quickly as he remembered why he was showering so fast. His dad is still waiting for him downstairs.
Stiles sighs as he changes into some fresh clothes and walks back downstairs where he finds his dad in the exact same position as he left.
"What aren't you telling me, Mieczysław?" His dad asks in a suspicious voice. Stiles knew he was doomed. Whenever his dad used his real name, that meant that he was in trouble and that his dad has gone full detective mode on him.
"I may or may not have burned a part of the backyard..." Stiles says quickly, hoping his dad won't understand, but of course he does, it's his dad for god's sake. Sheriff Stilinski's eyes widen in horror.
"You what?!" Yup, Stiles was royally screwed. He just wants the earth to suddenly open up and swallow him whole. But nature isn't his best buddy at the moment, so that's not happening.
"I didn't mean to, it was an accident! I kind of lost focus and then there was an explosion. I tried to put it out, which I eventually did, but I did get ash all over me and yes, my clothes got burned, but everything was okay. I was cleaning up when Malia came to the door and-" Stiles tries explains in a hurry, but his dad cuts him off.
"Malia was here?" The Sheriff asks as he folds his arms and looks at his son angrily. Stiles cowers away slightly, hating his dad's bad moods. "Stiles, how could you be so careless? Did she see you? Did she any of this?" Stiles' dad groans in dismay.
"Dad, it's not my fault, okay? No, she didn't see me practicing! I opened the front door and she saw me like I was before. That's all, I promise! She just looked at me like I was a freak, which maybe I am!" Stiles shouts at his dad, tears springing to his eyes. The Sheriff's expression softens for a moment as he sees how upset Stiles is becoming.
"Stiles, you're not a freak." He assures his son in a confident voice. Stiles shakes his head and takes a step back from his dad. "Oh, really? Is that why I have to live in fear of being caught? Is that why I can't tell anyone about what I really am?" Stiles snaps, anger getting the best of him, his eyes flickering orange for a moment. The Sheriff starts to panic a little, but tries not to let it show.
"I don't want you getting hurt! I just want to protect you! There are so many bad people out there in this world!" The Sheriff says, raising his voice a little.
"Then why should I hide?! I could just burn them, right?" The phoenix exclaims, while the tips of his fingers start to let out black smoke without him noticing, but the Sheriff surely does. He gathers up courage and takes a step forward to his son.
"That isn't you, Stiles. You don't want to do that. You don't want to hurt people. Neither did your mother." The human father tries to calm his son down, but bringing up his mother seemed so snap something inside of Stiles.
"Yeah, and look what happened! Mom is dead!" Stiles screams as the tears pour down his face. He isn't sure if they are tears or just water dripping from his still wet hair. He'll just go with the tears.
"She is gone and she is never coming back! You need to accept that!" Stiles continues, his voice breaking a little bit at the end. Unknown to Stiles, he starts to shift. The temperature in the room increases and everything starts to shake. The Sheriff freezes in place, not knowing what to do. He left his gun along with his jacket at the entrance, but there's no way in hell that he'll shoot his own son, even if he could get to his weapon in time. The Sheriff decides to keep talking. Maybe that'll calm his son down.
"I have accepted that she is gone. That is why I'm so protective over you, Stiles! I can't lose you too!" Stiles' dad protests, panic spiking as he watched his son's eyes start to dangerously glow a vibrant orange, his nails sprout deadly long black claws and white sharp fangs making an appearance. His body temperature starts to get hotter until his dad can actually see smoke coming off him.
"I don't see why I can't tell my friends about what I am. I can trust them! I trust them with my life! Especially Scott! He's my best friend, Dad. And I've lied to him all my life. This secret... I don't know how much more I can take!" Stiles yells, his voice starting to sound not quite like his own. It's distorted, twisted, inhuman... It makes Stiles' dad feel very worried, his heart beat going through the roof. The house continues to shake as Stiles continues to lose control of his powers. "Stiles, calm down... Please. Before you do something that you'll regret." The Sheriff pleads with his distraught son. Stiles looks at his dad's terrified expression for a moment, finally realizing what he is doing.
Stiles gasps in horror and looks down at his clawed hands in fright. He starts breathing heavily and starts panicking. How could he do that? He almost hurt his very human dad. Stiles suddenly realizes that he's not a freak after all. He's a monster. Maybe he wasn't too different from the nogitsune after all?
He gazes back up at his dad fearfully. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I didn't mean to..." Stiles tries to choke out an apology as he starts to sob. Slowly, Stiles shifts back to human and the house stops shaking. The temperature drops back to normal in a number of seconds. The Sheriff takes a step towards his son. "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you. I-" The Sheriff begins, but Stiles interrupts him.
"I could have hurt you. I could have killed you without even meaning to." Stiles says in a horrified voice.
"Stiles, I know you and I know that you would never do anything to hurt me." The Sheriff tries to comfort his son, but it's no use. "Can you know for sure, Dad? Can you really know?" Stiles says in almost a whisper. After a few seconds of silence, Stiles spins around and rushes out of the house. "Stiles!" The Sheriff yells in shock and runs out of the house too, but Stiles is long gone, supernatural speed helping Stiles run faster.
"Damnit," The Sheriff mutters to himself as he walks over to his car and jumps in. He starts the engine and reverses out of the driveway. The Sheriff starts driving around Beacon Hills, looking for his only son that he loves with all of his heart. "I can't lose both of them..." The Sheriff whispers as he drives.
"It is really important to have an anchor, Stiles." Claudia tells her son as she helps him tie up his shoelace. "To help keep your emotions in check. Us phoenixes can get quite emotional and lose control of our powers, which could end up bringing chaos to those around us." She elaborates as he looks back up at her beautiful little boy.
"Do you have an anchor, mommy?" Stiles asks curiously, tilting his head to the side a little.
"Yes honey, I do. My anchor is your father." Claudia replies, tickling Stiles' tummy, causing the young boy to laugh hysterically. "I love him very much. I don't know what I would do without him." Claudia smiles as she thinks about her husband as she stops tickling her small son.
"How do I find an anchor? How will I know?" Stiles asks excitedly. He wants an anchor. Claudia wipes a dirt smudge off Stiles' cheek. "You'll know when the time comes, honey. You'll find your anchor when you need them most. Trust me." Claudia tells her son in a soft voice.
"I want you to be my anchor, mommy." Stiles giggles.
"Maybe I will be." Claudia replies with smile.
"But we will just have to wait and see what happens." Claudia informs Stiles.
"Maybe you will find someone even more amazing than me." Claudia winks at her son.
"Never!" The seven year old protests, folding his arms across his chest. Claudia laughs and shakes her head at Stiles, thankful that he is still so young and innocent. "Come on, your dad wants to take us out for dinner." Claudia says as she stands up. Stiles takes her hand and they walk out of the room together, Stiles' head filled with ideas about finding his anchor.
Scott is on the way to the grocery store to get some snacks for the movie marathon that his friends decided to have at his place. He didn't know that they were planning to stay over the night, but he didn't protest. Nor did he protest when they designated him as the person that would buy them the snacks. When Malia came back from her drive to who knows where, she has been in a bad mood for the rest of the night. She won't talk to anyone and she sits a little bit further away from the group.
Scott noticed this and asked her about it, but of course, Malia just scowled at him and didn't answer. Scott hopes it's nothing too serious. Scott guesses if it was serious, she would tell someone about it. Surely she would tell Stiles, her boyfriend about it. For some bizarre and unknown reason, a twinge of jealousy courses through him at the thought of Stiles being Malia's boyfriend. Scott dismisses the thought immediately, deciding to just focus on getting the snacks. He decided to walk so he could have a bit of space from his friends for a while. Besides, it's a bit hard to carry bags of food back to his house on a motorbike.
As Scott walks down the street, he listens to the slight hum of the streetlights above him. It is quite peaceful out here at 11 o'clock at night. It's just him and the night that envelopes Scott's surroundings. And that person who is running right towards Scott. Wait, what? Scott does a double take and looks at the figure that is barreling towards him, clearly having no idea that they are about to run into someone. Scott tries to move out of the way, but it's too late. The mysterious person crashes into Scott and they both fall to the ground. Scott groans in pain and tries to sit up, but there's a heavy weight pushing him down. Scott looks down to see that it is the person that crashed into him. Despite not being able to see his face yet, the person's hair and scent seem very familiar... suddenly, the mysterious figure looks up at Scott with teary eyes. "Stiles?" Scott breathes in surprise.
"Sc-Scott?" Stiles stutters, shaking badly. Scott quickly gets over his shock and focuses on Stiles and the way he's acting. Stiles moves off of Scott, allowing them both to sit up. Scott places a hand on Stiles' shoulder, making the pale boy jump slightly.
"Hey, Stiles, what's wrong?" Scott asks worriedly. Stiles looks over at his best friend, tears still pouring down his face. "It's okay, Stiles. You're safe. I'm here." Scott says in an attempt to calm down his very distressed friend, squeezing Stiles' shoulder comfortingly. It seems to work as Stiles starts taking deep breaths and sniffles before wiping away his tears. Scott gets to his feet and helps Stiles up too. "So, what are you doing out here at this time?" Scott asks Stiles with curiosity and worry.
"Oh, uh, I just needed some fresh air. I had to get away from home for a bit." Stiles answers as honestly as he can. Scott's mouth stretches into a thin line, wondering what could have happened to Stiles at home to make him this upset, but he decides not to push his luck. "What about you?" Stiles asks his best friend in return.
"Um, I'm the designated snack person for the movie marathon. I was on my way to the grocery store before you bumped into me." Scott answers after a moment. For a second, he actually forgot why he was out here. He was too focused on Stiles to care about anything else. Stiles nods in understanding. "Cool. So, is everyone sleeping over at your place, huh?" Stiles questions Scott, who is looking at him in a way that Stiles can't quite describe. "Yeah, they are. I didn't plan it that way, but oh well." Scott shrugs in response. Stiles can't help but chuckle.
"Same old McCall. Always letting others get their way." Stiles says, nudging Scott in the ribs. Scott looks at Stiles with surprise. "What is that supposed to mean?" He frowns in confusion. Stiles rolls his eyes and shakes his head at his friend. "You always put others before yourself. Their happiness and wellbeing comes first. You're happy if they're happy." Stiles explains himself to Scott.
"Oh. Is that a bad thing?" Scott tilts his head slightly, looking like a confused puppy.
"No, not at all, but it's okay for you to want something for yourself, Scott. You don't have to be the selfless hero that sacrifices himself all the time. You're still only human." Stiles says as he looks Scott in the eyes and gives him a small smile. Scott finds himself gazing back into Stiles' golden brown eyes. He returns the boy's cute smile with a grateful one of his own as he gets lost in Stiles' beautiful eyes... Wait what is he saying? What is he doing? Stiles is his best friend for crying out loud! Plus, Scott has Kira, his very beautiful and caring girlfriend that he can admire. Besides, Scott doesn't like guys in that way... right?
Stiles has noticed his friend's staring and starts to get a little worried. "Earth to Scotty? Are you there?" Stiles asks, snapping his fingers in front of Scott's face, making Scott blink rapidly and pull away from Stiles a little bit. "What? Oh, sorry, were you talking to me?" Scott says, feeling flustered. Stiles' notices that Scott's cheeks start to turn a light shade of pink and he can hear Scott's heartbeat rising nervously. Stiles frowns. Why is Scott nervous? "Uh, thank you for that uplifting comment, Stiles. I think I do needed to be reminded that I'm still only human sometimes." Scott continues, wanting to push the conversation along.
"No problem, Scott. I know you would do the same for me." Stiles grins at his best friend. If only I could tell you what was going on with me, Stiles thinks sadly to himself, but he makes sure not to let his expression fall, nor let his heartbeat speed up.
"Are you sure you're okay, Stiles? You can tell me if you're not. I'm here to listen and I'll want to help you in any way that I can." Scott asks again.
"Yeah... yeah, I think I'm okay. Just a lot of stress, you know? I just needed some space." Stiles eventually replies after a minute of solid thinking.
"Yeah, I understand. I was actually glad that I was the one that had to leave the house. I love our friends and all, but it was nice to have a quiet minute to myself, where I could clear my head. I've had a lot on my mind lately." Scott explains to his 'human' friend. "Sorry for ruining that moment for you." Stiles laughs in response. Scott shakes his head quickly and rests his hand Stiles' arm. "No. You didn't ruin anything. Actually, I think you just made this night better." Scott tells Stiles with a smile forming on his face. Stiles looks at Scott uncertainly. "Really?" He asks.
"Yeah. I mean, we haven't spent one on one time together like this in weeks. So yeah, it's really nice." Scott explains. Stiles' face also forms a smile at Scott's comment.
"I agree. This was well needed." Stiles comments with a small chuckle.
"I've missed you." Scott blurts out before he stops himself. On the inside, he is internally screaming at his stupidity and bluntness, but tries to keep a calm expression on his face.
Stiles' notices the slight blush creeping up Scott's face, but quickly dismisses it. "I've missed you too, Scott." Stiles replies with a soft smile. Before Scott can react, Stiles pulls the werewolf into a tight hug. Stiles buries his face into Scott's shirt, feeling safe and secure here with Scott. The werewolf's eyes widen in surprise for a moment, but quickly melts into the hug as well, wrapping his arms comfortingly around Stiles and rests his chin on Stiles' shoulder and closes his eyes. Scott takes note of how warm Stiles is. He feels like a furnace in Scott's hold, which makes Scott feel even more relaxed and even a little bit sleepy. I missed us, Scott thinks to himself, but makes sure not to randomly blurt that fact out loud. That might make things weird, if they aren't already.
The two boys don't move for a good several minutes, both of them happy just to embrace each other comfortingly, trying to take the other's problems away. Eventually though, Stiles pulls out of the hug. Scott notices that his eyes seem brighter than they were before. His mood seems to be happier too. Scott is sure that Stiles has noticed the same thing about him.
"So, are we going to go get those snacks or not?" Stiles asks, tilting his head slightly at Scott.
"Uh, what snacks?" Scott asks in utter confusion, completely forgetting why he was out here in the first place. Stiles chuckles at his friend's forgetfulness. "For your movie marathon, you dweeb." Stiles says, nudging Scott playfully in the ribs.
"Oh. Right. Those snacks." Scott mutters, feeling a little flustered again. What is going on with him lately? Stiles grabs Scott's wrist and leads him down the street until Scott is walking by his side again. "So, why are you coming with me to get the snacks?" Scott asks, feeling like an idiot.
"Because I want to." Stiles replies. He leaves out the part where he really just wants to stick around Scott and forget about all the problems at home. Somehow, Scott makes Stiles forget about all of his problems. When he's with Scott, he just knows that everything will be okay. Scott feels the same way about Stiles. It had become more obvious to Scott after he broke up with Allison.
"Okay, cool." Scott comments. The two teenagers walk in silence for about a minute.
"Hey, Stiles?" Scott asks as he looks over to the pale boy walking beside him.
"Hmm?" Stiles asks as he glances over at Scott curiously.
"Would you want to come back to my place for the movie marathon? You don't have to of course, but maybe it'll help take your mind off whatever it is that is bothering you?" Scott asks Stiles maybe a little too hopefully, completely unaware that the Sheriff is desperately searching the town for his son. Stiles breaks into a grin. "I would love to." Stiles answers. Scott breaks into a grin as well. "Great! I'm glad." Scott replies, his comment coming out a little awkwardly, but Stiles doesn't care. The two supernatural teenagers continue walking happily together towards the grocery store.