Stiles sat on the vets table, staring at the floor. Scott had left to go get his phone, leaving Stiles alone with Deaton who didn't look up for conversations. The fucker was vague anyway.
His mind went back to Derek, who had started shifting back before the bullets. Stiles wondered what would have happened if the bullets hadn't interrupted them. Would they have made amends? Would Derek be on his side again, would they hug it out and Stiles scold him for being an idiot and trying to kill Jackson despite how annoying the guy was, would they have kissed and made up -
Stiles stopped himself right there, a hand against his chest to calm his pounding heart. His head shot up when the bell tinkled from the front door. Deaton stepped out of his sight to greet the visitor and Stiles stands, figuring it was time to dress if there was a paitent.
"Mountain ash, that's an old one." Stiles freezes at the voice, swallowing thickly. A loud crash moves him again, walking towards the door to check on the vet.
"Come back at regular hours." The bell tinkles as Peter leaves and Stiles can finally relax a bit, searching for his phone. As he does, he realises Derek didn't catch up with him at all while he was running away. He'd gone in the direction of the hunters. He pulled his phone out of his hole-ridden jeans, calling Scott.
He picked up on the third ring.
"Hey, Stiles, what's wrong? I'm coming back now."
"Good, I'm gonna need my jeep."
"How come?" Scott asked curiously.
"I have to find Derek." He heard a loud sigh and Stiles furrowed his brows. "What?"
"Stiles...I think you should let Derek go."
"What? No! I have to save him, or at least find him, Scott." Stiles scoffed at Scott. He expected him to leave Derek to die?
"No I don't mean - look, Stiles, buddy, I admire your bravery, but you can't save everyone."
"...I'm not a hero, Scott. I just wanna save my friend." He hung up with that, refusing to hear Scott out as he waited for Scott to bring his jeep.
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Stiles sneezed at the sample of perfumes, putting the brand down on the Macy's counter. He hadn't been able to find anything on Derek's whereabouts in two days, and with the Winter Formal coming up, he was pretty on edge. He was probably just going to skip it in general. He had to find Derek, who knows what the hunters might be doing to him? Especially Kate.
He looked up when he noticed a girl by him, finding Lydia standing in front of him.
"Hey Lydia." He smiled. He was happy to see her, even if his days had been a bit gloomy.
"Hey Stiles. I was wondering...if you'd like to be my date to the Winter Formal." Lydia pursed her lips, pink lip gloss looking suicidal even as she asked.
"Uh...Sure. We can go, but only as friends." He knew she didn't feel that way, why would she after all? He felt the need to clarify though, rather awkwardly too.
Lydia looks in shock at the minor rejection. She knew Stiles had a crush on her, but since when had it changed...She remembered back to their kiss in Coach's office, his teary eyes and choked words.
"Stiles, do you still like me?" Stiles flushed lightly, trying to find his words.
"Look, I really admire you Lydia, you're smart and beautiful and funny and amazing but...My feelings are practically a mess right now and you don't deserve to date someone who doesn't completely love you." Lydia could only nod.
"Okay...I'll see you at the Winter Formal. Wear silver so it matches." Lydia noted before going back to Allison, reeling mentally as she wrapped her head around it. Who did Stiles like besides her?
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"You got tricked by a pretty face. Handsome young werewolf mistakenly falls in love with a super-hot girl who comes from a family that kills werewolves," Kate taunted Derek who snapped his teeth at her. "You'll help me track down your pack again, Derek. It'll be history repeating itself." As Kate walked out of the room, the phrase gets stuck in her head.
History repaying itself. Werewolf falling for a hunter. Scott being the beta that falls in love with Allison, a hunter.
She smirked.
"Here I come, Scotty."
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The lights are gazing over them like a million sunrises and sunsets, colouring them in dashes of rainbow as they dance. Stiles has his hands on Lydia's waist, watching the strawberry blonde bob and sway in his arms. He's grinning and everything feels loose for once, freeing as he sang along to pop music he jammed to in his jeep often. Lydia actually looks comfortable around him for once, no expectations or self-consciousness at her actions, afraid he'd fall deep than he already was. It was freeing to both as they danced, uncaring of the proximity for once.
Stiles feels like he's been released of all his stresses for once in the past two months. This is what being a teenager should be like, he thinks, erasing as much of Derek from his mind as he could. He just wanted to sink into this night, pretend he was the perfect boyfriend of the prettiest girl in the school and was going to go back to school on Monday, not even once thinking about tracking a certain burly werewolf, but instead about homework and sports and girls.
Yeah, looks like this was not his night either. Over the cluster of student, he saw his worst nightmare.
Peter Hale talking to Coach. Stiles tensed in Lydia's hold, but didn't dare pull away. Let him enjoy one night, universe! He don't look away from Peter, watching him talk with small smiles and charming gestures. He looks away when someone tapped his shoulder.
"Isaac!" He greeted over the music.
"Hey! Might if I steal your date for a dance?" Isaac asked Lydia with a sweet smile. Lydia fell for his puppy eyes just like Stiles had.
"Oh alright, have fun! I'm gonna go...talk to someone." Lydia's gaze was so obviously on Jackson, who was stag, it hurt. Stiles watched her go, turning back to Peter who had disappeared. He cursed softly, perking up in surprise when Isaac placed a hand on his hip, pulling him closer with a shy smile.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself." Stiles smiled back, sighing tiredly and resting his chest on Isaac's shoulder. With that angle, he could watch Lydia try and find Jackson who had just disappeared from the crowd. It was nice and comfortable listening to Isaac's heart beat contently. Like a tiny drum keeping him awake against the boys warmth as they dance, Isaac for once seeming to absorb his pain.
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"Come on! Come on out and bite me you stupid Alpha." Jackson yelled at the red eyes in the distance. "I wanna be like you. I wanna be a werewolf. So come bite me! Come on, St-hiccott, told me you could me." Jackson stumbled slightly in his drunken rambles.
"I think you should reconsider, Jackson." Jackson froze at the voice, a man coming out of the fog with what he figured was hunters. "Now, where can I find Scott McCall?"
The beta that told you all the secrets.
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Stiles walked away from the punch table when Jackson came back into dance.
"Where's Lydia?"
"I don't know, and I don't care. I need a drink." Jackson shoved past him. Stiles gut twisted in knots. Something was wrong, he could just feel it. Lydia was gone, and so was Peter. He had to find them.
He looked around for Scott among the crowd, only his best friend had disappeared. Stiles had an idea that he was definitely with Allison. A hunter. Crap, what if Allison knew about Stiles from her family?
He ran over to Danny instead, who was chatting idly with a blushing Isaac.
"Danny, Isaac, you have to find Lydia! She's gone and I'm worried and I have to find Scott, but I can't do both at the same time, okay?" Stiles needed to make sure Peter wasn't planning to kidnap either, or worse, kill his friends. He wouldn't be surprised if hunters tried that too.
Danny and Isaac show identical confused expressions, brows pinch before nodded. They could see how desperate the boy was, and if Stiles needed help, they were there. They were his friends after all.
"Thank you! I owe you guys one!" Stiles took off for the exit without hearing their replies.
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The lacrosse field is dark and cold, and Lydia rubs her arms for warmth. She wishes she had brought a jacket right now.
"Jackson! Jackson, where are you?!" She called, careful not to twist her ankles as her heels pressed into wet grass and the soil beneath. She covered her eyes when the lacrosse field lit up, spotlighting her like a celebrity on a stage.
"Jackson?" She squinted her eyes at the approaching figure, unable to make out if it was him or not. As the man's face came into view, dirty blond hair, ice blue eyes and small smile, she realised it wasn't. She slowly backed away, screaming when his eyes flashed red and he pounced on her.
"LYDIA!" Danny sprinted towards his best friends girlfriend, going to cover her but cautiously looked at the man who had just tried to tear into her, deterring him for a moment, hand hovering over her bloody body.
"Where is Derek?" Peter asked, eyes demanding an answer.
"I-I don't know. I don't know any Derek's..." Danny's hands trembled with fear, feeling more vulnerable than he ever had before. Eye to eye with a killer, he couldn't help but want to run. Not without Lydia. Definitely not without his friend.
Peter shook his head with a small tut, fangs elongating and eyes turning red as he went to attack Lydia again.
"Wait! Wait, I can track him if he has any kind of GPS on him! I swear, I'll do that if you let her live." He was bargaining with his life at this point and wanted to scream at Stiles for getting him into this mess. A least Isaac was at the other side of the school. Poor guy would probably be dead by now.
"Come on then." Peter demanded, standing.
"W-What about her? She'll bleed out if we leave her here."
"...Call that nice Jackson boy to pick her up. Hurry up." Danny's eyes widened, wondering how this guy knew Jackson, but took out his phone and trembled his way through a text before standing and following with only a regretful glance to Lydia's body. He hoped to god she lived.
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Scott and Allison lounge along the bus seat with giggly kisses and big smiles, her fingers curled in his lapels as his ran along her hips. It's perfect really, the entire night and moment and just them being together. It had its ups and down, but they loved it nonetheless. Loved each other.
Scott broke the kiss when a light flashed near them, thinking they were caught making out in the bus and would be labeled that couple next week at school.
"Wait here, I'll just say I lost my wallet on the bus earlier." Scott shushed, and Allison giggled, nodding as she let him leave the bus. She peeked outside, furrowing her brows when she saw her fathers SUV. Why was he even here?
Her fathers headlights shone on Scott who squinted, trying to look at the driver. He snapped his head around when the other side was blocked off by another SUV.
"What the...?" He gave a wave, trying to get the drivers attention. Suddenly with a screech of tyres, the two cars drove towards him.
"SCOTT!" Allison screamed from inside the buss, squeezing her eyes closed as tears prickled them. A crunch made her legs weak, breathing in a deep, shaky breath before looking out. She gasped, staring out of the window as a single tear slipped out.
There stood Stiles, both hands out where they held the front bumpers of the SUV's. He lowered his arms, bones mending and cracking into place as he looked at Scott.
His eyes glowed brighter than any firefly, fangs pressing into his lower lip and nose disfigured into a snout. Hair protruded onto his jaws and cheeks, making him look wild.
A werewolf.
"Don't tell them...that you knew about me." With those words whispered to Scott, who stared at him with a mixture of awe and shock, Stiles jumped onto the bus and ran off into the night, exposed to his enemies and friends all in one go.
But now they wouldn't suspect Scott of being the beta werewolf.
16 BITES