-DISCLAIMER-
I do NOT own Teen Wolf
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"I love you, too," Stiles said, his face entirely serious.
It's not what you're thinking, either.
Unfortunately.
"End of message. Now, Scott and I were talking, and I figure that the thing we're looking for is a bestiary," Stiles continued.
Allison chuckled beside me, "I think you mean beasti . . ."
"No," Stiles was quick to cut her off, "I mean bestiary. And the two of you, I don't want to know what's going on in your heads."
"Me neither," I quickly threw my hand up, holding back a laugh.
Allison pursed her lips, "Okay. Can you describe this thing?"
Stiles got back on track, readjusting his bag strap on his shoulder. "It's probably, like, a book. Old, worn . . ."
"Like, bound in leather?" Allison suggested, eyebrows raised. After Stiles nodded, Allison grinned. "I've seen my grandfather with a book like that."
Stiles eyes widened in excitement that we were actually getting somewhere with this, before realizing what that meant. He sighed, before running off to find Scott.
After he left, Allison and I turned back to our homework.
"So," Allison said, dragging out each syllable as she started to write in her notebook. "You obviously haven't told him yet."
I took a breath and put down my pen, looking up at her. "And how is it obvious?"
"Stiles is here and not avoiding eye contact."
I laughed and nodded, "Fair enough."
She continued to write in her book, beginning to ease into the topic further. "I still think you should tell him."
"I know what you think, and I also know it's not happening."
Suddenly, Stiles was leaning against the table, huffing loudly as he attempted to catch his breath. "Where does he keep it?" He managed to get out.
Allison sighed in thought, "It has to be in his office. I don't think there's any other place he would keep it."
Stiles took a deep breath, before running off once more.
I watched him run off, smiling a little. I stopped as soon as I realized that Allison had seen me staring.
She chuckled, before looking back down at her book, "You are just smitten, aren't you?" She muttered.
"No," I said a little too quickly, before hunching my back and repeating in a whisper, "No."
In just a couple of minutes, Stiles was back once more, taking a deep breath from what I could only assume was Scott's old inhaler.
"You know, drug dealers have been using disposable cell phones pretty successfully for years."
Allison shook her head, "My parents check ever call, email and text message I send. Trust me, they'd find it."
"All right. Can you get the book?"
"Not without his keys."
After remaining silent the whole time, I decided I'd chip in. "And how in the hell are we going to do that?"
What? I didn't say I had any positive thoughts to contribute.
♡♢♤♧
The plan was put in to motion that night, taking place at the lacrosse game. As I stood with Stiles, Allison was getting her grandfather to come to the game. If everything goes to plan, we should have the bestiary by the end of the night.
Finally, as the game was beginning, Allison took a seat beside her grandfather up in the bleachers.
I stood beside the bleachers, waiting for Stiles so we could do our part. He was going to break into Gerard's desk whilst I kept watch.
The game was now in full swing, just as a boy from our team was thrown to the ground with great force. That 'great force', was a player from the other team, a behemoth of a boy.
The crowd groaned in unison with the boy, who was flat on his back in pain.
"Come on!" Coach shouted to the refs. "Is that even a teenager? I wanna see a birth certificate!"
After his rant he went and sat down next to Stiles. Since I had stood close enough to Stiles to be able see him get up, I was able hear them talking.
"Who or what is that genetic experiment gone wrong?" Coach asked Stiles as his plopped down beside him on the bench.
Stiles leaned forward slightly, hands in his pockets fighting the cold. "Eddie Obomowitz, Coach. They call him 'The Abomination.'"
"Oh, that's cute," Coach sneered. I chuckled, shaking my head at Coach.
'McCall. What the hell are you waiting for?' I heard an echoing voice, as if it was carried on the wind. 'This is the semi-finals. Bring that roid-head into the ground'
I searched for Scott, figuring the person was talking to him. I saw him standing across the field, speaking in hushed tones to Jackson.
I decided it was best to not question how I could hear them, let alone mention it to Stiles or Scott.
'Me? You're the one who said I was a cheater,' Scott hissed, clearly annoyed at Jackson for suggesting it after how he had treated him the year prior.
Jackson shook his head, 'And that freak of nature being on the field is fair? Do something.'
'I can't,' Scott insisted. 'Not while Allison's grandfather is here.'
As the game went back into play, I looked up and over to Allison, giving her the signal to do her part.
"I knew I should have brought a warmer jacket," Allison said indirectly to her grandfather, trying to get the ball rolling.
"You're cold," Gerard claimed, leaning forward to remove his jacket. "Here, take my coat."
"Are you sure?" Allison asked, trying to make it seem like that wasn't what she wanted the entire time.
He insisted, getting her to turn so that he could put her arms through the coat and pulled it up on to her shoulders, asking her if she felt warmer.
She nodded and smiled, before they both sat back down. I noticed her hands slowly sliding into the pockets, rummaging quietly as she looked ahead.
After a moment, both of her gloves hands went and sat in her lap. Knowing this to be my cue, I walked over and stood beside the bleachers she was in. She was sitting up at about my shoulder height, so she looked down slightly to make sure I was ready.
"Good God, is it always this violent?" Allison's grandfather asked her as a player from the other team body-slammed someone from Beacon Hills.
Allison did nothing more than raise her eyebrows, too nervous to do anything else.
With slow and calculated movements, she dragged her hands across her lap until they were on the edge. I lifted my hand up, and then she let one of hers sit beside her, before she held the keys out. I grabbed them quietly, walking away from the field.
Once I was no longer beside Allison, I turned back to signal Stiles. As we had planned, he had been looking back every couple of minutes to see if we were ready.
When he saw me, he got up from his seat calmly, not drawing attention, and walked towards me. I started walking again, knowing that he wouldn't be too far behind.
'I can't feel my legs' I heard in the background.
There was no way they were going to win that game if Scott didn't hurry up and do something.
Stiles caught up with me just outside the car park, slowing his jog as he came up beside me. He placed a hand on my shoulder to get me to stop, panting since he was a little out of breath.
"Hey, slow down," he breathed.
I scoffed a bit, "We're kind of in a rush here, Stiles. I don't want to be the one to have to explain to our new principle why we are going to be rummaging through his office. Do you?"
He opened his mouth to reply, before shutting it just as quickly. "I see your point."
With a nod, we both continued through the front car park and towards the entrance of the school. We were about ten meters from the front steps, when I heard crying coming from somewhere close by.
Stiles and I both stopped and looked around, before I spotted a car with it's interior lights on. Lydia's car.
Stiles realized at about the same moment did. He began to walk towards her, before stopping and remembering that he had something to do.
He stood there for a minute deciding, before walking towards Lydia's window. I followed behind him, knowing it was the right thing to do. She was my friend, and no bestiary was going to get in the way of that.
He started to knock on the window, "Lydia, come . . ."
"Just go away," She sobbed, dabbing her eyes with a tissue.
I stepped forward. "Lydia, please, just tell us what's wrong?"
She shook her head, "Look, I don't need anyone seeing me cry."
Oh, come on, Lydia," Stiles sighed, leaning against the window. "Look, you shouldn't care if people see you cry, all right? Especially you."
I felt my throat tighten and my teeth clench as I looked at the pavement.
"Why?" Lydia sniffled.
I already knew what he was going to say, but that didn't make hearing it any easier.
"Because I think you look really beautiful when you cry," Stiles said softly.
I had to bite my lip to avoid any sounds escaping. That was not what I wanted to be hearing that moment.
Lydia wiped her eye, before winding down her window. Once it reached the bottom, Stiles leaned on the window frame.
"You're gonna think I'm crazy," Lydia insisted, mascara running down her cheeks.
I scoffed quietly, "That's unlikely."
Stiles nodded in agreement. "Lydia, if you can trust me on anything, you can trust me on this. There is nothing that you can say to me or Riley that will make you sound crazy. Literally nothing."
The sudden cheers of the crowd had caught the attention of Stiles and I. We gave each other a look, knowing that we had to do what we were originally on our way to do.
"Can you just give me five minutes?" Stiles asked cautiously, already stepping away from the car.
Lydia turned to look at him, complete bewilderment all over her face.
"I know, I'm sorry, just . . ." Stiles began. "But just stay here. Continue crying or not crying if you want, or whatever works for you."
She looks back at the dashboard, shaking her head in annoyance.
"But just stay here and I'll be right back, okay?" Stiles kept talking. "And then we can talk. About anything. Yeah?"
She didn't respond.
"Sorry, Lydia. I'll explain later. Maybe."
I grabbed Stiles arm and pulled him away before he was able to dig himself any deeper.
"Just five minutes!" Stiles shouted back to her as I continued to drag him away.
I let go once we reached the steps and we both ran inside, making our way to Gerard's office.
Stiles stuck the key in the handle and unlocked it, swinging the door open.
"Alright, go and look for that book, because I really don't want to be in here any longer than necessary," I whispered.
He nodded quickly, rushing over to the desk and pulling open a drawer. He searched through it as fast as possible, before moving down to the next drawer.
"Book, book, book," Stiles muttered to himself. "There's no book."
As Stiles grabbed his phone out of his pocket to send a text, something felt off.
I walked out into the hallway to make sure everything was okay, walking about halfway down the hall. It wasn't okay.
Right there, with all her new found confidence and self-righteousness, was Erica.
"Oh shit," I muttered. I spun around to go and warn Stiles, but Erica was faster.
She grabbed my arm with one hand, and used the other to cover my mouth. I tried to scream, but it was muffled.
Erica leaned in next to my ear, whispering, "Let's go for a little walk, shall we?"
She started walking, pushing me along with her, until we were standing at the door to Gerard's office.
"Hello, Stiles," Erica trilled.
Wanting her to take her hand away from my mouth, I bit her. She shrieked, yanking the hand away quickly.
"Try it again, and there'll be blood next time," I hissed. I wasn't just going to stand here and let her make me the damsel in distress.
Her face contorted in anger, as she shook her hand a little. Not letting go of my arm, she stepped forward and snatched Stiles ear between her fingers, pulling him out of the room.
♡♢♤♧
Stiles groaned in pain the whole trip to the swimming pools, while I quietly let Erica drag me along behind her.
"Ah. Yeah," Stiles said, sounding unpleasantly not surprised.
One look forward, and I could see why. In front of the pool stood a broody Derek, with a basketball in his hand.
"Tsk, good sport, wrong location. Maybe we could take this conversation outside . . . where there are witnesses," I grinned.
Derek's brood somehow seemed to get deeper as he glared at me. "Stiles. Riley."
"Derek," Stiles and I said in unison as Erica let us both go to stand beside the Alpha.
He focused his gaze on Stiles, turning the ball in his hand. "What did you see at the mechanic's garage?"
"Uh . . ." Stiles groaned, trying to think of anything but the truth to tell him. "Several alarming EPA violations that I'm seriously considering reporting."
I couldn't help but laugh at Stiles' comment, which immediately received a glare from both werewolves. Biting my lip, I looked down, avoiding eye contact.
Derek chuckled humorlessly his head slowly nodding, retracting his claws and digging them into the basketball.
"Holy God!" Stiles exasperated as the air hissed out of the ball.
I allowed my hands to rest on my hips as I shook my head, "You obviously don't realize how expensive basketballs are. Especially a good one like that."
Derek dropped the deflated ball to the ground, giving a vindictive smile. "Let's try that again."
Stiles looked at me, and I just shrugged with a frown. We both knew that Derek wasn't going to let us leave until he got what he wanted.
"All right," the boy sighed. "The thing was pretty slick looking. Skin was dark. Kind of patterned. I think I actually saw scales. Is that enough? Okay? 'Cause I have somebody I really need to talk to."
My shoulders tensed as I looked up, waiting to see what Derek would say. As long as there was no more talk of Stiles wanting to go to Lydia, everything would be fine.
Derek didn't bother saying anything, just gave him a look as if to say that he knows that wasn't enough.
Stiles grunted in frustration, but gave them more information anyway. "All right, fine. Eyes. Eyes are yellowish and slitted. It has a lot of teeth. Oh, and it's got a tail, too."
While Stiles was describing, I had my eyes focused on the werewolves before us. They were listening intently, up until they seemed preoccupied with something else.
Their eyes traveled above our heads, widening as they focused in on something. I turned to take a look at what they had seen.
"Are we good?" Stiles asked.
I tried to speak, but was too shocked to be able to say anything. I had never seen the creature before today, and I couldn't say that I was happy to have broken that cycle.
Stiles was confused, while the rest of us were standing as still as statues. "What? What, have you seen it? You have this look on your faces like you know exactly what I'm talking about."
"S-Stiles," I stuttered.
He turned around to look at me, and I just pointed upwards. His eyes followed my finger, resting on the creature as it hissed at us all.
The creature growled loudly, before jumping down from the top of the stairs.
Now that the light was on it, I was able to see it properly. It looked exactly like how Stiles had described, right down to the slitted eyes.
Derek leant down and bared his teeth, whilst the creature swung at Erica, throwing her against the wall. She was immediately knocked unconscious as she tumbled to the ground.
"Run!" Derek shouted to Stiles and I. We did as told and began to step backwards, preparing to leave.
But, just as we were about to sprint away, the creature managed to cut Derek on the back of his neck.
"Derek, your neck," Stiles informed him.
He stood up straight, allowing a hand to probe the back of his neck, where there was now a cut. Moments later, Derek was falling to the ground
"Stiles!" I shouted, stepping forward and catching Derek. I almost toppled over, until Stiles finally made it over to help me hold him up. We began to carry him away from the creature, walking between the pools.
"Where is it?" Stiles asked me and Derek. "Can you see it?"
I looked over my shoulder while I tried not to fall on my face. "I don't think so. It's too dark in here."
"No, just hurry," Derek agreed. "Call Scott."
Stiles brought out his phone, but fumbled and dropped it.
As he leant over to pick it up, Derek went toppling into the pool. "Stiles, you son of a . . ."
The water cut him off before he got to finish, splashing out onto the dry concrete.
"Stiles," I gulped, "What do we do?"
He looked between the pool and the phone, trying to prioritize. Finally, he decided, diving in after Derek.
While he was finding Derek, I picked up his phone. I quickly typed in the password and searched his contacts for Scott's name. As I hit call, Stiles bobbed above the surface with Derek in his arms.
"Come on, Scott. Come on!"
The phone rung out, and Scott's message tone began to play. "Damn it!"
I was running out of time, I didn't even know where the creature was. I started ringing again, but once again, he didn't answer.
"You two need to get me out of here," Derek demanded.
Stiles shook his head, drops of water falling from his short hair. "Did you notice the thing out there with multiple rows of razor-sharp teeth?"
"Did you notice that I'm paralyzed from the neck down in eight feet of water?"
I took the phone away from my ear, "Do you guys think that now is really the most appropriate time to be arguing?"
After looking around, Stiles told us that he still didn't see it, and began to paddle towards the edge as I tried to call Scott again.
"Wait, wait, wait. Stop, stop," Derek said quickly. "Riley, it's coming up behind you."
I spun around, to see it skulking towards us slowly. Us, but mostly me.
"Shit, shit, shit, shit. What do I do?" I asked them, my heart rate beginning to speed up.
The creature hissed as it grew closer.
"You're going to have to jump," Stiles suggested.
I looked down at my outfit. I really should have worn cloths that I cared less about.
"Seriously, Riley?" Stiles shouted. "Jump already!"
I groaned loudly, before putting the phone on the ground so it wouldn't get wet, and jumped into the water.
I heard the splash as the water cascaded around me, drenching every piece of material on my body. Floating to the surface, I took a deep breath of air, pushing the strands of hair out of my eyes.
The creature went to come after us, but as soon as its scales touched the water, it retracted its hand. With a hiss, it backed up several meters.
"Wait, do you see that?" Stiles asked, eyebrows stitched together. "I don't think it can swim."
The creature started to circle the pool once more, giving us no chance for escape. "So, now we're all in here, any bright ideas?"
"Okay, okay," Stiles spluttered against the water. "Well, you have a point. I don't think I can do this much longer, and I doubt you'll be able to hold Derek up."
Stiles eyes were directed at the phone that I had left behind.
"I tried that already, Stiles. He didn't answer."
"Then we'll just have to try again."