Within an hour, after stopping off at their own houses to put on warmer, more winter style clothing that are also easier to move in, Derek and Scott are walking into the animal clinic, both to be relieved to escape the freezing wind and the snow that's almost blinding. The walk from their vehicles to the clinic wasn't very far, but it was enough to make them shiver in their warm clothes and shield their eyes from the snow. The bell rings above the door as the two of them enter. Deaton appears to be just behind the counter, staring out the window at the unusual weather with a very concerned expression on his face.
"Deaton? We need your help." Scott announces breathlessly, rushing towards the counter, Derek following up behind him. Deaton turns to look at them with a solemn expression.
"I thought as much. Follow me." Deaton says before turning around and walking towards the back room, Scott and Derek following behind him.
"What's going on, Deaton? How did Stiles just cause an early winter like this?" Derek asks, getting straight down to business. Deaton sighs, looking tired. In this moment, Deaton shows his age and experience with the supernatural world and Scott can see why he wanted to go into retirement, trying to mainly be a veterinarian.
"How do we help him?" Scott asks urgently, stepping forward, still very worried about his best friend. Scott's heart aches at the thought of being the cause of Stiles losing control before. He still has that glove in his back pocket. Scott just thought that Stiles had a weird thing about dirt or germs, and didn't think that taking the glove would be a massive deal, but clearly it was. The whole town might shun him now for his powers, which is not fair, especially since Scott pushed him too far. Scott will have to show the town that Stiles isn't dangerous and that he isn't a monster. Scott doesn't know why he kept the glove, but perhaps it might give him a help in finding a Stiles' scent, if they need it.
"Look, to know how to help him, you have to understand what happened." Deaton begins to explain and looks at the stripe of white hair that Scott has, which makes him a little uncomfortable and tries to tuck the lock under other hair, hiding it from view.
"So... What happened?" Derek asks bluntly.
"Stiles wasn't always afraid of his powers. When he was little, he loved his powers and he was great at controlling them. He was such a playful, mischievous and innocent boy." Deaton explains with a soft smile on his face.
"But that all changed one night. In that one night, he became terrified of himself and what he could do. He wanted to have a way of concealing and suppressing his powers, which I helped him with, but I did warn Stiles that his powers would inevitably come back, much stronger than they were when he was eight, and as this sudden wintry storm proves, I was right." Deaton sighs sadly, looking down at the ground, feeling like he failed Stiles. He should've helped him better.
"What happened?" Scott frowns. Deaton looks back up at Scott with a serious expression.
"Tell me. How did you get that piece of white hair? It's rather peculiar, isn't it?" Deaton asks Scott, making him feel self conscious. "Uh... I think I've always had it as long as I can remember... Mom says it must be some genetic thing from my dad's side." Scott answers, not sure why this is important.
"Well, that's not the truth, Scott. You haven't always had that white lock of hair. You got it when you were eight." Deaton replies solemnly. Scott's heart stops for a moment and his stomach feels like it sinks into the floor as he tries to process this news.
"What? Why? How? Why wouldn't I remember it? Is this some kind of joke?" Scott asks in denial, shaking his head in disbelief.
"It's not a joke, Scott. To understand why Stiles is so afraid and probably decided to run away tonight, you have to understand the truth behind your hair." Deaton sighs, staring at Scott seriously.
"Okay, stop beating around the bush. What happened?" Derek asks for Scott.
"Well, Stiles' parents would always take you and Stiles up to a cabin in the mountains every winter, as you would know." Deaton starts to explain to Scott. The true alpha nods in understanding, following along so far.
"I think it'll be easier to show you the next part instead of explaining it to you. When you were eight, Stiles and his parents came to me with you, and I had to alter some of your memories. I want to show you why." Deaton says, leaving Scott feeling like he might be sick. He also feels really dizzy. He almost falls over, but Derek catches him.
"Why? I don't understand..." Scott says weakly.
"I can show you your old memory as well as my memories from that night, and then we can talk about it after." Deaton tells Scott.
"Wait, how are you going to do that?" Scott frowns.
"Like this." Deaton says as he walks forward and taps Scott on the head. Scott gasps and suddenly everything around him melts away. He can't even feel Derek holding him up anymore. Scott finds himself in a large living room, that looks exactly like the one in the cabin that he and Stiles went to with Stiles' parents every year. He then hears laughing from behind him, so Scott turns around and sees a younger version of himself and Stiles running into the room in their pajamas. Scott was even shorter than Stiles back then. Scott watches with a smile as the scene unfolds until he hears his younger self tell Stiles to use his magic. Wait, did I know about Stiles' powers back then? Why don't I remember it?
Scott watches as Stiles does indeed use his powers, snow pouring down from the ceiling, Scott giggling and laughing in delight, causing Stiles to laugh. Scott notices that Stiles looks a lot happier and brighter here than he has seen him in a very long time. Scott watches as the two kids run around and play in the snow and ice, until he watches his younger self leaping from snow mound to snow mound. Scott starts to get worried and walks over to the younger Stiles, realizing how dangerous this is. He listens as Stiles tries to warn for the younger Scott to slow down, who doesn't appear to be listening. Suddenly, Stiles slips on the ice and falls down, making Scott gasp. He watches as his younger self jumps again and hurtles towards the ground, blissfully unaware of the consequences.
"Scott! The younger Stiles calls out in fear and Scott watches as he tries to make another snow mound, but accidentally hits the younger version of Scott with an ice blast instead. As the ice blast hits young Scott, the older Scott flinches and there is a pain in his head for a moment before it disappears again. As soon as the young Scott hits the soft snow and Stiles calls out his name again in horror, the scene starts melting away as the memory ends, as Scott wouldn't be able remember anything else, being unconscious and all.
"That's when everything changed. You gained that white streak of hair because of that ice blast. That's when Stiles realized how dangerous his powers could be and he suddenly became terrified of himself and ever hurting you again." Deaton's voice echoes around Scott as the memory melts into blackness. Scott looks around, desperately trying to see something.
"But it wasn't his fault!" Scott calls out, his heart breaking for his best friend for blaming himself for that.
"It wasn't his fault..." Scott says again, this time more quieter as the tears slowly drip down Scott's face as it really starts to sink in that this is the reason why Stiles has been so afraid and didn't want to be near anyone for months. Suddenly, the blackness around Scott suddenly disappears and Scott finds himself out in front of a smaller animal clinic, obviously not in Beacon Hills, judging from the mountains in the background. Scott looks around and notices a slightly younger version of Deaton walking over to Noah and Claudia, with an unconscious Scott in Noah's arms. Scott glances to the side to see Stiles hiding behind a pole, looking nervous. Scott also notices that ice and frost is starting to form on the pole. Scott gazes sadly and sympathetically at the small, terrified and confused boy behind the pole.
Scott looks back over to Deaton as he greets the Stilinskis and Stiles. Huh, Stiles has known Deaton a lot longer than I have then. And I didn't know that Deaton used to live near the mountains, Scott thinks to himself as he follows Deaton and the small family inside. He watches worriedly and curiously as Deaton examines and diagnoses the young Scott, while the present day Scott can't help but fiddle with the lock of white hair, having no idea that it could carry so much pain, fear, heartache and bad memories for Stiles and his family.
Scott watches with sadness and feels shocked as Deaton manages to heal the young Scott, but has to take his memories away to do so. Scott feels numb. A whole part of his childhood isn't as real as he once thought it was. What he thought he knew about Stiles and the world was wrong and Stiles has had to suffer in silence, unable to tell Scott about what happened on this night, or his powers.
"Listen to me, Stiles. Your powers will continue to grow and become stronger. There is beauty in it, and perhaps your powers will become useful for you one day. However, it also can be a great danger, if you let fear consume you and be your enemy." The memory version of Deaton warns the young Stiles, who gasps in horror, looking even more afraid. Scott definitely feels sorry for Stiles. He didn't deserve any of this, especially just because Scott was a little too eager and risky.
Scott listens and watches as Stiles pleas with Deaton to find a way to get rid of his powers, and this is the moment where Scott realizes that Stiles grew up way too fast. Sure, even now he acts quite innocent, a little immature and child-like sometimes, Scott realizes that was all just a mask for what happened to Stiles in the past. This moment is where he realized none of this was a game anymore and everything has consequences. Obviously he was too young to learn that lesson, as his fear has only built up over the years.
Eventually, Deaton gives in and agrees to give Stiles the magic tattoo (Scott is very surprised about that, but then it does make sense as to why Stiles was annoyed why Scott's tattoo didn't mean much at the time, although it means everything now) that will suppress his powers for several years while Stiles' parents watch on sadly, the little Scott still in Noah's arms, wrapped in a blanket.
Suddenly, the memory starts to fade away into nothingness and in the next second, Scott finds himself back in the Beacon Hills animal clinic, Derek still grasping onto his arm. Scott gasps in shock and falls over anyway, breathing heavily and shaking on the ground, not knowing what to think about the whole thing.
Derek looks from Scott back up to Deaton in horror and surprise. "What the hell did you do to him?" Derek asks a little bit too aggressively.
"I showed him what really happened between him and Stiles." Deaton answers solemnly without even the tiniest hint of a smile or any emotion on his face, making Derek realize that this is very serious and whatever Scott saw, it wasn't pretty. Him and Deaton did hear Scott mumble a couple of things while he was... Well, out of it, but Derek had no way of knowing what it was about. He still has no way of knowing, and he doubts that Scott would like to talk about whatever he just saw. Still, Derek bends down and helps Scott back up to his feet again, letting him hold onto his shoulder while he regains his balance again.
"Are you okay?" Derek frowns worriedly.
"I... I don't know... It's a lot to take in." Scott sniffles as he quickly wipes his eyes, getting rid of any tears that might have formed and stands up straight, not relying on Derek to help him anymore.
"What do you think of what I showed you?" Deaton asks curiously.
"I guess it makes some sort of sense, and finally gives me an answer on why Stiles would always look at my hair in this certain sad that way I couldn't quite describe, or when he got really uncomfortable when I talked about it, or why my mom was so shocked when I got back from one of the annual winter trips and saw the lock of white hair..." Scott answers honestly, scratching the back of his head.
"So, I really knew about Stiles' magic?" Scott asks Deaton warily.
"Of course. Those things I showed you really did happen. I believe you knew about Stiles' powers ever since you were four of five years old, according to the Sheriff. You were the only person outside the Stilinski family and myself that knew though." Deaton nods in response.
"Okay. Well, it doesn't change anything. I still need to find my best friend and help him through this somehow. We can work it out together. We always work things out together." Scott answers after a moment of silence.
"Are you sure, Scott? It could be dangerous." Derek asks doubtfully.
"Well, we can't keep Beacon Hills in an eternal winter, can we? Besides, I can't let my best friend continue to suffer like this. He doesn't have to go through it alone anymore." Scott replies stubbornly. Derek groans in annoyance, but ends up agreeing anyway, knowing that Scott is right.
"So, do you know where you're going to go?" Deaton asks curiously.
"Yes. I think Stiles will head to the cabin that we always stay at when we go to the mountains with his family. It's far away from here and just people in general. It's also a place he's familiar with, so it makes sense." Scott nods.
"I will advise the both of you to be careful. Don't frighten him. Stiles won't want to or intend to hurt you in any way, but when he feels vulnerable and afraid, that is when his powers are the most out of hand." Deaton warns us.
"Okay. Thank you, Deaton. Come on, Derek. Let's go." Scott says gratefully before grabbing Derek by the arm and pulls him out of the clinic and towards Derek's car. Once they're in, Scott says that he can give Derek directions as they drive, as Derek is in the driver's seat. Derek starts the car, pulls out of the parking lot and starts driving away, the blizzard getting heavier and heavier by each second.