Chapter 17:
The foreboding that lingered in the pit of his stomach was overwhelming the more he thought about his dad being taken. Stiles had felt so useless watching Jennifer— who turned out to be the Darach — take his dad from the school recital last night.
What made him even more distressed was that Melissa had also been taken from the hospital last night when they were being chased around by the alphas. That was two out of the three sacrifices needed already.
He had been trying to not think about especially since Chris had a plan apparently. It didn't help less the worry he had though especially since the man's last name was written on the elevator which was obviously a warning.
At the moment, he had just arrived at school where he planned on meeting up with Lydia in hopes that she might be able to find his dad and Melissa before it was too late. He got out of his jeep, still feeling uneasy as he headed for the front door of the school.
Only to freeze in his steps on the sidewalk when he heard his name being called and turned his head, his eyes wide when he saw her.
Emily stared at him with guilty expression and he couldn't help but feel relieved to see her. Without her around, he didn't have anyone. His dad was taken which he was trying to ignore and his best friend left with Deucalion which he was also trying to ignore. So her standing in front of him brought him some peace of mind and comfort.
"I should of been here." She blurted out, the remorse evident in her voice as she spoke.
He shook his head, not liking how she was instantly blaming herself for being around to help. "You had no way of knowing." He told her gently, not asking who told her about what happened. The only person he could guess was Lydia.
"It doesn't matter." She said, her hazel eyes staring at him. "Because I'm never leaving." He couldn't stop the flusted smile on his lips as his caramel orbs lit up at her words and was surprised by how much more softer she was. "I promise I'll help you get your dad back and kill that crazy bitch english teacher while I'm at it."
Stiles suppressed the smile that threatened to appear on his lips, she definitely hadn't gotten soft. At least her trip to wherever she went helped her in someway. "We're not killing anyone." He told her, pulling her along and felt his heart swell when he saw the bracelet still wrapped around her wrist. "We have to find Lydia who can hopefully help find my dad and Melissa."
She furrowed her brows. "I thought Lydia didn't have any control over the bodies she found?" She muttered, feeling confused as they stepped into the hallway.
He internally winced at the mention of bodies, at least she didn't say dead bodies. He had to have hope that Chris, Allison, and Isaac would find his dad and Melissa. "She doesn't but maybe she can try."
"You kissed Cora."
He halted in his steps, his body tensing as he looked back at her and saw her staring at him with a blank look. "W-What?" He stammered, he never kissed Derek's sister. "I-I mean my lips did touch hers but that was only because I was giving her CPR." He swallowed thickly.
He didn't want her thinking that he was someone else especially when they still needed to discuss everything that had gone unsaid after she left. There was the hinted at confession she gave him and the kiss he gave her. He internally shuddered at the idea of being with another girl that wasn't Emily.
"Hm." She hummed, still staring at him.
"H-How do even you know that?" He questioned nervously. He wanted her to say something.
Her hazel eyes flickered to his hand on her wrist as she pulled away. "After I killed my father, I got his gift which is the ability to see another's memories from skin to skin touch. I don't have much control over it and the memory of everything you've done since I left came to my mind which included the so called CPR you gave Cora." She explained bluntly.
"Oh." He blinked a few times. He suddenly turned red. "You didn't see everything I did while you were gone right?"
She rose a brow, a flicker of amusement and curiosity in her hazel orbs. "No. I only saw glimpses." She mused, crossing her arms over her chest. "Were you having naughty thoughts about me, Stilinski?" She stepped closer, leaning into his ear and he inhaled sharply. "Or were you perhaps doing something else with those naughty thoughts?"
"What?" He squeaked, jumping back and his whole face turned a tomato red. "Of course not!" He denied, even though it was pretty obvious that he was lying.
She spared him his shame. "It's alright. I don't mind." She teased. "As long as I'm the only girl you have dirty thoughts about, that's okay."
He flushed red as she lightly laughed at his embarrassment. He really had no way to respond to that comment. He forgot how much of a tease she could be. He wasn't sure he would ever build an immunity to her teasing and flirty nature.
His phone buzzed and he checked. He felt the blood drain from his face as he read the message from Isaac. All joking quickly gone.
Emily noticed how pale he got all of a sudden. "What's wrong?"
"It's from Isaac. Jennifer, she t... she has Allison's father. She took him. She's got all three now." His hand shook as he tried to shove his phone in his pocket.
His heart began to pound and everything suddenly felt so overwhelming. He felt as if he was drowning and it was starting to get harder to breathe.
The brunette stiffened, taking notice of his distress and his jittery movements. "Stiles, what's happening?" She asked in worry, hearing his hurried breaths and accelerated heart rate. "What's wrong?"
"I-I think I'm having a panic attack." He gasped, breathing rapidly and grabbing at his chest as he grimaced in pain. He could feel himself beginning to sweat. The fear of losing his only parent becoming too much to handle. "E-Em." He choked out, looking at her for help.
She glanced around to see the other students walking around and quickly grabbed him before taking him to the locker room. "Okay. Stiles, what do I do? How do I help you?" She was unsure of what to do. She had never had to deal with something like this but, she couldn't just tell him to breath slower or give him her blood to heal. She watched him stumble to the floor, breathing quickly and he was shaking. "Just try and think about something else, anything else."
"Like what?" He breathed out in between his panting.
She looked so unsure and lost on what to do. She kneeled down in front of him, suddenly getting nervous as she rambled. "Uh, happy things. Good things. Things that make you happy and bring you joy? Like...uh, friends and family?" She winced, seeing his face twist into a pained expression. "Not family. Definitely not family. Um... uh... maybe you should try slowing down your breathing?"
He shook his head. "I can't. I can't." He was hyperventilating.
"Oh god." She could feel her own heart feeling as if it were about to burst out of her chest with fear as she looked at Stiles who was struggling. "Come on, Emily, think." She muttered to herself quickly. "There has to be something." She furrowed her brows thinking back on a memory that had seemed insignificant until now.
Her eyes lit up and she quickly turned to the struggling teen and grabbed his face. Staring at him for a second before quickly connecting their lips, enjoying the way his lips felt against hers.
Stiles was definitely stunned by her actions and quickly as if on instinct began to kiss her back with more passion. Only for a beat later for her to pull away, their eyes still fluttered shut as they could feel their faces inches apart.
They slowly opened their eyes, he stared at her with a tender look when he saw her tinted pink cheeks.
"How did you.... How did you know that would work?" He breathed out, his heart beginning to slow down and the shaking stopped.
She licked her lips, avoiding eye contact. "Remember when Lydia was in the hospital after Peter bit her? Well while I was in the waiting room, there were these pamphlets and one was on panic attacks." She paused, looking at him. "It said that holding your breath could stop a panic attack. So when I kissed you... you held your breath."
He furrowed his brows. "I did?"
"Yeah, you did it when you kissed me." She reminded him, he was still staring at her with that tender look in his eyes. She swallowed thickly. "You actually do it a lot around me."
"Really?" He murmured quietly. "It might be because how nervous you make me." He saw her surprised look. "In a good way obviously." It did surprise even more though that she actually remembered all that about him. "Thanks." He felt an outpour of emotions for this girl who he loved and had helped him during his distress.
She smiled at him. "You don't need to thank me. Just promise that you won't do that again because that was actually really scary." She muttered under her breath as she stared into his caramel orbs.
"I'll try not to." He grinned at her, really wanting to kiss her again but their moment was interrupted by someone clearing their throat and he quickly pulled back.
The two were startled by Lydia's presence in the doorway of the locker room. The genius wore a mirthful smirk on her lips as she eyed them both. "As much as I hate to be the one interrupting your moment, we need to figure out how to find your dad and Melissa and Chris." She said, reminding them of the situation they were dealing with.
Stiles nodded, standing up and held out his hand to help Emily up. "But, where do we even start?" Emily questioned them both, ignoring the marks on her best friends neck that were obviously from almost being strangled to death. "Do you know why that crazy English teacher tried to kill you in the first place?"
"She called me a banshee, but I'm pretty sure that's not the reason why she tried to kill me." Lydia said, trying to not think about almost dying last night.
Emily rose a brow at the information. "You know, banshees are known as the wailing woman and have the ability to predict death." She said, furrowing her brows. "Hold on, isn't Morell the alpha packs emissary? Can't she help?" She was aware that the woman was a guidance counselor at the school.
Stiles's eyes widened at the reminder. "That's it!" He exclaimed, quickly grabbing Emily's wrist and glancing at Lydia. "Come one!" He led the girls towards Morell's office.
Lydia glanced at her best friend as if saying, is this really the guy you're in love? Emily merely shrugged, used to his weirdness.
oOo
"Morrell." Stiles burst into the woman's office, startling the girl sitting in one of the chairs. "Are you here for Ms. Morrell?"
Danielle, the girl in the chair gave him deadpan expression. "No, I thought this was gym class."
"Sweetheart, we're not in the mood for your jokes." Emily said, giving her a look of annoyance while crossing her arms over her chest "Do you know where she is?"
"If I did, I wouldn't be waiting here for 20 minutes." She retorted. "So how about you three back out the door and wait your turn?"
Lydia saw her best friend look as if she was ready to kill the girl and quickly spoke up. "We're not here for a session."
"Well, I am." Danielle said rudely, crossing her arms over her chest. "And I've got some serious issues to work on."
"Hey, wait, wait." Stiles interrupted, noticing why the girl looked so familiar. "You're Danielle. You're Heather's best friend."
"I was Heather's best friend." She corrected him as if to remind him that the blonde had died. "We've been working on that issue three times a week."
Lydia blinked. "Hold on, did you say Ms. Morrell's 20 minutes late?"
"And I don't know why either." The girl huffed. "She's always on time."
"I was seeing her at the beginning of the semester." The strawberry blonde glanced at her friends. "She was never late."
"Then she's not late." Stiles sighed. "She's missing."
Emily furrowed her brows, looking at the flannel wearing teenager. "What if we're not the only ones who think she knows something?"
"Then I want to know what she knows." Stiles muttered, rushing over to Morell's desk and began digging through her files.
"What are you doing?" Danielle exclaimed in shock.
"Trying to find her." Stiles told her, his mind filled with different ideas of what Morell could've known about the Darach and how it would help find his dad.
"Those files are private."
Lydia nodded. "Yeah, she's kind of right."
"That one's yours." Stiles held out a file.
"Let me see that." The girl quickly grabbed it, ignoring the amused look her best friend gave her.
Emily eyed the different pages the girl flipped through and something quickly caught her eye. "Wait, Lydia, that's your drawing." She had definitely seen that before.
"Yeah, I know." Lydia said, eyeing her drawing. "It's a tree."
"Yeah, good too." Danielle complimented.
The genius blinked, giving her a kind smile. "Thank you."
"No." Stiles furrowed his brows, sharing a look with Emily who also looked surprised. "But that's the same one, though."
"Same as what?"
"The same one I always see you drawing." Emily murmured, recalling all the times she had seen the same exact tree being drawn but never really put much thought into it until now. It looked oddly familiar.
"It's a tree." Lydia didn't understand what they were going on about. "I like drawing trees."
"No, but it's the exact same one. Don't you see?" Stiles insisted, standing up and went for her bag. "Give me your bag. There, see?" He opened the notebook that showed the same exact tree inside. He began to flip through it, leaving them all stunned as the same tree kept on popping up.
Danielle pursed her lips, eyeing the strawberry blonde with a wary look. "Okay, you can have my session. You got bigger issues." She muttered before quickly leaving.
"What is this?" Lydia breathed out, feeling her heart racing with fear and unease. She hadn't realized that she had drawn so many until now.
Stiles furrowed his brows, slowly turning the notebook so the tree was upside down. A flicker of realization passed through both Emily and his eyes.
"I know where they are."