"Arson," I said, shaking my head. "Why would anyone want to burn down my mother's office? No one besides you and Scott even know what's in there,"
"Unless someone else did know," said Stiles.
I groaned and flopped down onto my back on his bed. He came and sat down next to me, running his long fingers through my hair as I stared at the ceiling. The fire department had just confirmed with me that they believe the fire last night was set on purpose, but that doesn't make sense to me. That means that someone wanted the information in there gone, that someone had snuck into my house.
If someone really did try burning down my house, I won't rest until I find them. Stiles and I were both in there. Sure, I would have been fine, but Stiles could have been killed. That's a line you don't want to cross with me.
"I just wish something could go right for once," I said.
"Hey," said Stiles. I turned my head to the side to look at him. "You're still alive, aren't you?"
"I shouldn't be," I muttered.
Stiles leaned over, leaving only an inch of space between us. "But you are," he whispered.
His lips grazed my shoulder blade, sending a chill up my spine I haven't felt in a while. Stiles and I haven't had much time for things like this, things like his tongue leaving wet kisses along my collarbone. I pulled him up to my mouth by the collar of his shirt, having enough of his teasing.
He threw a leg over my waist, straddling me. My hands snaked up the short sleeves of his flannel shirt and wrapped my legs around his thighs. I found myself getting lost in him, consumed by all that he is.
My hands combed through his hair, pulling at the roots as his lips traveled down my jaw and to my neck. He sucked lightly on the sweet spot he found a couple of months ago and my grip on his hair tightened so much I was surprised he didn't object. I clenched my teeth to suppress my moan. We both knew that the hickey I would get from this wouldn't matter. It was discovered long ago that those heal as well.
"I miss this," I said, sucking in a sharp breath when Stiles removed his lips. He brought his face back up to mine, hovering just inches above me. The flecks of green in his eyes were glowing in this light.
"Me too," he said.
Not even a second later his lips were back on mine. I needed this, we both did. Everything has just been moving so fast and we've hardly had time for each other. This is exactly the release I need when I begin to feel I'm going crazy.
His hands snaked up underneath my t-shirt, his long and skinny fingers rubbing circles onto the skin of my stomach. He left a trace of tingles with his touch. My hands roamed his back, loving the way they can always feel his muscles flex under them.
I was letting him massage my tongue with his own when the ringing of his phone broke us apart. I groaned as Stiles gave me an apologetic look, grabbing his phone from the nightstand. His eyes widened when he read the text on his screen and it caused my heart to race.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Lydia," he said.
☀
"Where is she?" I asked, getting out of Stiles' jeep.
Scott had pulled up next to us on his dirt bike. Right now, I was at the last place I wanted to be, but this is something we're obligated to take care of. Even if it does have to be at the ever so infamous Beacon Hills High School.
"Over here," said Allison.
We spotted the two girls walking towards us and met them halfway. "Lydia?" Stiles asked.
"It's the same thing, the same thing as the pool," she said. "I got into the car heading somewhere totally different and ended up here. You told me to call you if I found a dead body,"
"You found a dead body?" Stiles exclaimed, looking from me to Scott.
"Not yet," said Lydia.
"Not yet? What do you mean not yet?" Stiles pressed. "Lydia, you're supposed to call us after you find the dead body,"
"Oh no I'm not doing that again," said Lydia, shaking her head and holding up a finger. "You find the dead body from now on."
I sighed and rolled my eyes. Stiles and I were interrupted from a perfectly good make-out session for this? Do they not realize how valuable the little time that we get together is? Without me wanting to kill myself or everyone around me?
Shaking my head, I looked away from the conversation going on around me. Then, something caught my eye. I took a step forward, squinting to make sure what I was seeing was actually there. It's hard to tell when I'm hallucinating nowadays. Then again, that could just be the Aderrall I'm sneaking from Stiles.
The more I stared at it, the more I realized what I was really looking at. It made me sick to my stomach.
"How are we supposed to find the dead body?" Stiles asked. "You're always the one finding the dead body,"
"Guys," I said, getting everyone's attention. "I found the dead body,"
There, lying lifeless on the top of the school sign, was the body of a familiar dark-skinned deputy. A massive amount of blood was dripping down the sign, seeping into the engravements of the words Beacon Hills High School. Her arm hung over the edge and the way her eyes stared without seeing flared something deep in the back of my soul.
Not this again.
☀
Stiles and I were sat next to each other in Harris' Chemistry class. We were doing some kind of experiment with setting liquids on fire using organic oils. Of course, Stiles had no idea what he was doing. The kid is smart, but Chemistry isn't his strong suit. Not that it's mine, either.
"Miss Brisbane," said Mr. Harris from his desk. "Would you mind getting the sulfur from the supply closet?"
I glanced at Stiles to share my reaction of rolling my eyes, but he was focused on pouring some salt into our mixture. I brushed it off and stood up, making my way to the supply closet just next to our table. I opened up the door, but it wasn't until I stepped inside I remembered that the light switch was on the outside of the closet. I turned around to go flick it on, but the door slammed closed in my face.
I fiddled the doorknob, but it had locked itself. I shook it again, harder this time, but still no luck. "Stiles?" I asked, hoping he could hear me from the other side of the door. I pushed against it. "Stiles?"
A panic was beginning to set it. I've never really been a fan of small spaces, and a dark closet full of acids wasn't an exception. I had left my phone on the table, since I didn't have any pockets to carry it in, so I had no source of light.
I shook the doorknob again. "Hey? Can someone unlock the door? Hello?" Still, no one came to help me. Surely they weren't just ignoring me, especially Stiles. He wouldn't do that. "Stiles? Mr. Harris? Can someone help me please?"
I gave a hard bang against the door, but still no one opened it. Growing frustrated, I hit against it multiple times. "Hey!" I shouted. Nothing.
My hands were shaking. "Emma?" I finally heard a familiar voice say.
"Stiles!" I said, excitement rising in my voice for finally getting a reply. "Stiles, I'm locked in. Can you open the door?"
"I - I don't wanna do that," he said.
"What? Stiles, what're you talking about? Just open the door," I said, becoming increasingly confused.
"No, no I can't," he said. Something about the way he said it wasn't right, different from his usual tone. "I don't wanna do that,"
I slammed my hands against the door, pushing and rattling the doorknob. "Stiles! Let me out, please," I begged. "Stiles!"
I nearly fell on my face when the door suddenly let itself open. When I stood back up straight, after having caught myself, a shock went through my body. I was no long longer in the Chemistry room. I was in the middle of a forest.
Trees surrounded me. A fog hung above them, one similar to the same fog that followed me the day I killed Brittany. It was dark, but my eyes had adjusted from being in the pitch black closet, so I could still see. I took a step forward, glancing around at the rest of my surroundings.
"Hello?" I called out. No response.
I took another step forward, and my eyes fell on what was before me. A large and eerie-looking tree stump sat in the middle of the small clearing. It felt vaguely familiar, as if I'd been here before. Or as if someone else had.
A small firefly rose from one of the cracks in the stump. It hovered in front of my nose and I narrowed my eyes at it. Then, I stumbled backwards when a loud scream sounded. I covered my ears with the palms of my hands and tripped over a root, falling to the ground. The screaming was getting louder. My ears felt like they were ripping apart.
"Emma! Emma!"
My eyes shot open and I realized that the screaming I was hearing had been my own.
"Emma," said Stiles, holding me by the shoulders and looking at me with wide and frightened eyes. "Are you okay?"
I swallowed hard, sucking in large gulps of air. I looked around, as if to make sure everything was the way it should be. To make sure that I wasn't still dreaming. The thing is, it didn't feel like a dream. The panic and the confusion, it all felt so real. And I swear I could actually feel the dirt of that forest beneath my feet.
"Yeah," I said. "Just...a bad dream,"
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked.
"No, no it's fine," I said. "It was nothing,"
"You sure?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow.
I hated lying to him, but I wasn't really up for explaining a dream like that. Mostly because for some reason it feels like it means something more than just my subconscious mind coming up with ridiculous thoughts that I've suppressed throughout the day.
"Yeah," I said, rubbing his arm and forcing a smile. "I'm sure,"
☀
"Idioms, analogies, metaphors, and similes," said Miss Blake, her heels clinking against the ground as she walked in between the rows of desks.
Being at school was not the ideal scenario for me after finding the body and my dream last night. It just feels wrong. But, I don't really have anywhere better to be. Derek and my brother are still M.I.A. and Stiles and Scott are both here. However Allison, I've noticed, isn't. She's seemed kind of distant lately, ever since that night at the Glen Capri.
"All tools the writer uses to tell their story," said Miss Blake. She stopped next to Lydia's desk, who was sitting kitty corner to me. I looked back to see her sketching in her notebook. "Lydia, I wasn't aware you had so many hidden talents,"
"You and every guy I've ever dated," said Lydia, looking up at her with a brightly sarcastic smile.
Miss Blake raised her eyebrows. "Um, that was an idiom, by the way," she said. Lydia looked less than interested, going back to her drawing as Miss Blake continued paces between the desks. "Idioms are something of a secret to the people who know the language or the culture,"
There was a discomfort in her eyes as she spoke, and it bothered me more than it should have.
"They are phrases that only make sense if you know key words," she explained. "Saying jump the gun is only meaningful if you know about the starting gun in a race. Or a phrase like, seeing the whole board,"
"Chess," muttered Stiles from next to me.
"That's right, Stiles," said Miss Blake with a smile. "Do you play?"
"Oh no," he said, tapping his pen against his hand. "My father does,"
I could tell something was off with him. I know it's because of just who the body was that we found last night. It was Deputy Tara, someone Stiles used to be close with at the station while he waited for his father to get off work. I could feel his pain, knowing what it's like to lose someone close to you for something as tedious as a human sacrifice.
"Now, when does an idiom become a cliche?" Miss Blake continued.
"I think I can get to Ethan," whispered Scott from the other side of Stiles. It pleased me that I could hear this conversation. My senses are getting stronger. "I'm pretty sure I can get him to talk,"
"Look," said Stiles, casually leaning over towards Scott. "What do you wanna do that for?"
"The druids are emissaries, right?" Scott asked. Stiles glanced at me from the corner of his eye. "So what if the darach was an emissary to the Alphas?"
"Okay, first of all I can't believe we've gotten to the point where a sentence like what if the darach was an emissary to the Alphas actually makes sense to me," said Stiles, shaking his head with his usual hint of hyperactivity. "And second of all we're going to have a huge problem getting to Ethan,"
"What's that?" Scott asked.
"Going through Aiden," said Stiles. I wanted to take part in their conversation, but Scott was too far away for subtle whispers. "Ever since he's been back at school they're always together, how are we going to separate them again?"
Scott's eyes widened, and I knew exactly what was going through their thick skulls before they turned around to face Lydia. She cringed. "What now?"
☀
"Why are you even talking to me?" Ethan asked Scott.
He, Stiles, and I tracked down Ethan once we got Lydia to distract Aiden with a nice make-out session in the janitor's closet. We now stood at the top of a set of stairs, myself in between Scott and Stiles while Ethan stood across from us.
I was having a hard time even looking at him. He and his twin are the ones who killed Boyd. They killed an innocent boy - not that I have much room to talk. Still, they're murderers and him standing in front of me is making me uneasy, especially with Stiles around. He can't heal like I can.
"I helped kill you friend, how do you know I'm not gonna kill another one?" He asked, his eyes glancing to Stiles. That familiar flare rose inside of me, but it calmed once Stiles started speaking.
"Is he looking at me? Are you threatening me?" Stiles asked. He stepped off the wall he was leaning on and walked towards Ethan. "You know what I'm gonna do? I'm gonna break off an extra large branch of mountain ash, wrap it in wolfsbane, roll it in mistletoe, and shove it up your - "
"Okay, Stiles," I said, pulling him back towards me. "We get it, a very, very detailed description,"
I kept a grip on his arm as he held me close to his body, his glare locked on Ethan. Although, I kind of liked seeing him get a riled up like that. It was kinda hot.
"We're talking to you because I know that you didn't wanna kill Boyd," said Scott. "And I think that if something like that happened now, you wouldn't do it again,"
Except, he can't take back what he's done. He killed Boyd, a member of our pack. Someone that I wish I would have taken the time to get to know better. Erica's death hit him hard, and I of all people should have been there for him. But, I wasn't. I was off being a killer myself.
"You don't know what we owe them," said Ethan. I noticed Stiles tilt his head. "Especially Deucalion."
"Actually I know a few stories," I said, holding my head high.
"Well maybe you should hear mine," he said.
I tightened my grip on Stiles' arm as Ethan's eyes drifted from me back to Scott.
"We weren't like Kali and Ennis when we met him," he said. "We weren't alphas."
"What were you?" Scott asked,
"Omegas," said Ethan. He took a breath and folded his arms. "In actual packs, omegas are the scapegoat. The last to eat, the ones who have to take the abuse from the rest of the pack,"
None of this was really knew information to me, other than he and Aiden weren't alphas when they met the others. All of this about omegas, however, that's a story I've read a thousand times in Mom's books. Although, it seems I've read them for the last time, considering everything in that office was lost in the fire.
"So you and your brother were like the bitches of the pack?" Stiles asked.
"Something like that," said Ethan, his expression hard.
"What happened?" Scott asked.
"They were killers," he said, sighing heavily. "I mean people talk about us as monsters. Well, they were the ones who gave us the reputation, and our alpha was the worst of them."
"Why didn't you guys just fight back?" Stiles asked, glancing at me. "Form Voltron wolf, you know? Kick everyone's ass,"
"We couldn't," said Ethan. I could smell his impatience. "We didn't know how to control it back then,"
"But Deucalion taught you," I said, piecing bits of it together.
"We fought," he said. "We took down the whole pack one by one, and by the time we got to our alpha he was begging for his life. We tore him apart. Literally,"
"What about your emissary?" I asked, slowly. I wasn't quite sure if I wanted to hear his answer or not.
Ethan shook his head.
"They're all dead?" Scott asked. "Kali and Ennis' too?"
"All of them except for Deucalion's,"
"You mean Morrell?" Stiles asked.
Just as Ethan was about to nod, he winced and grabbed his chest, a moan of pain escaping him. Something was happening.
"What? What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Scott asked.
"Not me," said Ethan, his eyes wide. "My brother,"
The four of us ran, following Ethan as he lead us to Aiden. I could feel it too, the chaos. It felt like a large weight on my chest, threatening to consume me. I looked over at Stiles as we sprinted. I couldn't let it take over, not again.
We ran into the locker room just in time to see Aiden bash Cora over the head with a forty-five pound plate. I rushed over to her side as Scott and Ethan held Aiden back from hitting her again. I brushed her hair back from her face to reveal a harsh cut on her hairline. I wanted to heal her, but I'm still afraid. I don't know if I can control it yet. I heard the plate crash to the ground behind me.
"Aiden!" Ethan shouted. "You can't do this!"
"She came at me!" Aiden yelled back, his fangs barred.
"It doesn't matter," said Ethan. "Kali gave Derek until the next full moon. You can't touch him, or her,"
I rubbed Cora's forehead, but she was struggling to get up on her own. She fell onto her back, her eyes darting in and out of focus. I looked up from her to see Ethan shoving his twin out of the locker room. When I turned back to Cora, I realized that the wound on her head wasn't healing. In fact, I think it was getting worse.
"Guys," I said. "I think she's pretty hurt,"
She can't be. She has to be okay. I really don't think I can make it through losing another person all within a couple of weeks. I can only take so much, after all.
---------------------------------
Thanks so much for reading!
Fun fact: Emma's nightmare is actually based on something that actually happened to me a couple of weeks ago. I went into one of the storage rooms in Wood Shop to grab a clamp and the door shut on me. The light switch was outside so I was left in the dark and it took ten minutes before the teacher could finally get the door open. Worst ten minutes of my life.
Anyways, sorry if it's a bit choppy. There were just a lot of scene changes in this one.
Thanks again and don't forget to comment, vote, and follow!
GIF not mine.
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox
-Alyssa