"OH MY GOD, IS STILES ABOUT TO THROW UP?"
Lacrosse tryouts began and Sierra nervously sat in the bleachers next to Malia, Kira beside them. The practice started out with basic defensive drills, which Stiles and Scott both excelled at. But, so did Liam. For a freshman, he kept up with the older boys well, even beating a multiple of them in the mile sprint.
That is what the boys just completed, Sierra looking alarmed as Scott helped Stiles off the ground.
"Oh, he's fine," Malia brushed off Sierra's worry, focused on her math homework. Lacrosse bored her and she took the time during tryouts to finish some practice problems for Sierra to check when they met up later. Her head raised as a new scent caught her nose, and Malia glanced at Kira. "But she's not."
"What? I'm fine," the kitsune defended.
Sierra tore her eyes away from her boyfriend to look at Kira, "Malia's right. You reek with anxiety. I just didn't say anything because you looked lost in thought."
"It's distracting," Malia commented, scrunching her nose. "What's going on?"
Kira hesitated to talk, since Sierra was closer with Scott, but eventually spilled. "Scott and I kind of had this thing happen, but it wasn't much of a thing."
"Oh yeah," Sierra nodded her head. "Scott told me and Stiles about your kiss."
"You've got to be kidding me," Kira groaned, burying her head in the lacrosse stick she held.
"Why are you blushing?" Sierra noticed her red cheeks, smiling at her. "There's nothing to be ashamed of!"
"It just didn't happen like I thought it would," Kira sighed, lifting her gaze. "I wasn't expecting it, and now I'm scared what I thought was happening between us, isn't really happening." Realizing her ramble, she looked at the other girls. "Does that make sense?"
"No."
Sierra elbowed Malia, shooting her a warning glance. "But love never makes sense," she told Kira sweetly. "It's kind of like a wild roller coaster ride actually. And trust me, I know Scott cares for you. He's just been through a lot and wants to move things slow. You guys will be official in no time, I guarantee it."
"I hope so."
"I hope these tryouts are over soon," Malia muttered, her eyes locked on the field where the boys were now lining up for another drill. "Why is it that they're judged on being able to shoot the ball in the net?"
"It's not just their offensive ability," Sierra answered, following her gaze and noticing Stiles talking with Scott at the back of the line. "Coach has a list he likes to follow: offense, defense, attitude."
"Shouldn't attitude be at the top?" Kira wondered aloud.
"You would think."
"Is that Liam?" Malia pointed out the kid who was the first one to score in the drill. "He seems like he's good."
"Scott and Stiles were thinking the same thing earlier. I guess they were right." Sierra couldn't lie and say she wasn't impressed with Liam. He had barely broken a sweat and made every shot he took, adding fancy moves when he could. Anyone could tell Coach loved him through his victorious shouts, but it all fell silent once Scott stepped up.
"Come on, Scotty," Sierra whispered hopefully under her breath. "Show'em how it's done."
Even though Scott had made the shot a hundred times in the past, it seems like luck wasn't on his side that day. The ball bounced straight off the side of the net, falling somewhere in the grass.
His teammates, other than Stiles, chuckled among one another, more than amused at his failure. "Nice, McCall!" A freshman joked.
"Hey, Garrett," Stiles sarcastically called him out. "Shut up!"
Sierra could barely watch as the drill continued, choosing to peak out through the spaces between her fingers. "Isn't the captain supposed to be one of the best players on the team?" Kira whispered to her. "Or even good?"
"Emphasis on supposed," was her reply, wincing as Stiles yet again missed the goal by a mile.
Coach's shrill whistle rang out, the man yelled, "Water break! You have three minutes."
Sierra sat up as she watched Scott and Stiles go off on their own, excusing herself from the girls. "I'll be right back."
Jogging down the steps, she approached Stiles's side, wondering if she could find out if they were alright. "What is wrong with you two?"
"Wow, I just love hearing that after getting our asses kicked, don't you?" Stiles remarked, glancing at Scott, who had thrown his stick down in frustration.
Sierra rolled her eyes. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I just don't understand why you're letting him get into your head."
"Who?"
"Liam," Sierra deadpanned, crossing her arms over her stomach. "Don't even try to hide it; I know you guys spoke to him earlier today without me and I also know, you guys are letting him intimidate you."
"I'm just having an off day," Scott shrugged off her concern.
Sierra raised an eyebrow, glancing between the two boys. "Off day?" she echoed. "Scott, the last time you had an "off day" was before you were a freaking alpha werewolf. You don't get "off days" anymore."
"I don't wanna use my powers this year," Scott explained with a sigh.
"And as much as I respect that, I still feel physical pain watching you," Sierra replied. "What're you going to do?"
"Hey, he's not making any shots either," Scott pointed to Stiles.
Stiles, surprisingly, didn't take offense and took his girlfriend's side. "Hey, that's because I'm terrible though, Scott."
"But you, you're the alpha."
"Not on the field. I'm a human on the field."
"Not to be a downer, but human-you isn't doing too hot," Sierra told Scott honestly. "And I know you think it's cheating, but maybe you could use your some of your senses to at least make a few shots."
"You deserve to be captain," Stiles agreed wholeheartedly. "And I don't like seeing this little freshman come in and steal all of your glory after you worked your butt off. I hate it!"
"Wait, I thought you liked Liam?" Scott looked at Sierra expectantly.
"I do," Sierra confirmed, nodding her head. "But I'm also your best friend who wants to see you succeed. Don't take that the wrong way; I'm not saying to trample the kid and break his leg, but maybe show him why you are such a great captain."
"That's good, that's good advice," Stiles smiled proudly. "This is why I date you."
"For my pep talks?" Sierra asked, amused.
"Well that, and your kisses are pretty nice too," he teased, leaning forward to gently kiss her forehead. "We'll see you after, okay?"
"Kay," Sierra sighed but offered Scott an encouraging smile. "Good luck."
"Thanks, apparently I need it more than I thought."
The two boys jogged back towards Coach Finstock, who yelled at everyone to hustle over. Sierra rejoined Kira and Malia in the bleachers, hoping the next drill would let Scott show his heart and potential for the game. "How'd it go?" Malia asked once she sat down.
"Good, I guess," Sierra replied, wringing her hands together as she watched Coach talk to them. "But I think things are about to turn around for the better."
Kira tilted her head, "Why do you say that?"
Sierra smiled, seeing her best friends head towards the goal together with long sticks. "Because they're about to play together in this two-on-one drill."
"That's a good thing, right?" Malia had given up on her math, her notebook now closed in her lap.
"Definitely."
Garrett was the first player in line and once Coach blew his whistle, he took off running towards the boys. He tried to spin move around Stiles, only to get blocked as Scott knocked his stick.
"Yes!" Sierra cheered, Kira and Malia laughing at how excited she was getting. "Those are my boys!"
Scott and Stiles were in the zone after that, stopping every player from even attempting to shoot at the goal. Coach loved every second, yelling to everyone the pair were like sons to him.
"That's who you do it! That's how it's done!"
And then, Liam stepped up.
"Oh, god," Sierra bit her bottom lip anxiously and turned her head away. "I don't know if I can watch this."
"Good decision," Kira stated only thirty seconds later. "Liam scored."
"What?" Sierra faced the field with wide eyes to see for herself. Sure enough, the ball was in the net and the other boys on the team were cheering Liam on. "Awe, man."
Not liking how upset Sierra had gotten, Malia abruptly stood up, shouting, "That was luck!"
"Oh, no," Stiles noticed her from the field, beside Scott. "Malia don't get involved."
"Do over!" Malia called out, cupping her mouth so Coach could hear her.
Coach Finstock turned around, chuckling, "Sweetheart, there's no do-overs. This is practice."
"Ten bucks on Scott and Stiles."
Never one to back down from a challenge, he instantly replied, "I'll take that action." He yelled at Liam, "Hey, get back in there!"
"Oh, God," Stiles sighed, exchanging a look with Scott before they took their places in front of the goal.
The whistle blew and Liam started to run again, thinking he could outsmart them once more. He dodged Stiles, only for Scott to throw him over his shoulder.
Everyone watching winced and Sierra ignored how queasy she became; she swore she could hear the bone break from her seat. Finstock's whistle dropped from his mouth in complete shock, while Scott and Stiles rushed to take off their helmets.
Liam groaned from the ground, Finstock running over, shouting, "Don't move! Don't touch him!"
"You guys stay here," Sierra instructed Malia and Kira. "Something tells me they're going to need help getting Liam to the nurse."
She didn't wait for their reply, and quickly joined the small huddle that started to form around the freshman. "I'm okay, Coach," Liam attempted to assure him. "I'm alright." However, the second he tried to stand, shouts escaped his lips from the bursts of pain that shot up his leg.
Scott and Stiles helped him, offering support on both sides so he didn't have to put any weight on his ankle. "You guys need to get him to the nurse," Sierra instructed, not even caring about the way Finstock's face scrunched up from her appearance.
"Page, where did you come from?"
"Been here the whole time, Coach!" She replied, calling over her shoulder as she started to walk away with the boys.
He turned to a random player, "Remind me to tell her I want her to be an assistant coach. I keep forgetting."
*^*^*^*
"You know, I'm pretty sure I told you to not break his leg," Sierra stated, annoyed as she stood between Scott and Stiles outside the nurse's office. Liam was in the middle of getting checked out, Scott freaking out over the incident.
"I didn't mean to, I swear," he defended himself. "And I didn't break his leg! It's his ankle."
"You're not helping your case, buddy."
"Do you think it's bad?"
"I'm pretty sure I heard the bone snap," Stiles answered firmly and nodded once.
The door to the office opened, ending their small talk. Nurse Evans appeared with her usual kind smile, but Sierra felt her worry even before she opened the door. "I think you guys need to take him to the ER," she informed them. "It's too swollen for me to even tell if it's sprained or broken, but you can never be too careful."
"Can you give anything for his pain?" Sierra asked hopefully.
"I shouldn't right now," Nurse Evans replied with a frown. "The hospital nurses are going to be asking him to rate his pain. If I gave him aspirin, it wouldn't be accurate."
Sierra sighed, but she understood. "Thank you."
"Of course, dear."
The lady opened the door wider for them to see Liam on the table, anxiously glancing down at his foot. "Hey," Sierra greeted softly, offering him a smile. "You okay?"
"I've been better," Liam replied, wincing as he moved his foot slightly. "Is she going to wrap it up or something?"
"Actually, you're going to ride with me, Scott, and Stiles to the hospital," Sierra slowly informed him. "I know that doesn't sound great, but hey, at least you get to hang out with me!"
Liam cracked a grin, appreciating her attempts to make him feel better. "Thanks, Sierra."
"Of course," she waved her hand. "Now let's get you to the car." Glancing back at Scott, she also mentioned, "Hey, I forgot to tell you Kira wanted to talk."
"Right now?"
"Yes, right now," Sierra confirmed. "She's waiting for you by the stairs. Stiles and I will bring Liam to the jeep and you can meet us there."
"Okay, I'll be right back."
"Why do I have to help carry him?" Stiles complained quietly after Scott left.
Sierra snapped quickly, "Because you are a part of the guilty party!"
"What? Scott flipped him!"
"Because he dodged you," Sierra retorted. "Now, come on. Hopefully Melissa is working so he gets priority when we walk in."
The ride to the hospital was an awkward one, with Sierra in the backseat next to Liam while Scott took his usual seat in the front, Stiles behind the wheel. Liam barely uttered a sound, mostly because he could feel Stiles's eyes on him the entire time through the rear view mirror.
When they arrived at check in, Melissa was one of the first people to see him. After shooting her son a disappointed glance, she helped Liam into a wheelchair. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of you," she promised once she noticed his crestfallen expression, and wheeled him off to get an x-ray.
"As much as we'd like to stay and make sure he's alright, Malia is supposed to meet us in like a half hour to study," Sierra informed Scott. "We have to go over her notes before she gets there."
"Sure," Scott nodded. "I think I'm going to stay though. I wanted to check up on him anyways after the x-ray."
"We don't need to say that this wasn't your fault, right?" Stiles turned back to Scott before they left, holding onto Sierra's hand.
Scott didn't believe him. "I don't know."
"Scott, if you used any wolf power, Liam wouldn't be limping," Sierra stated quietly.
"She's right," Stiles agreed. "He would be crawling back to the other half of his body. It was just an accident."
A sigh escaped Scott's lips and he glanced up at them, "But if I hadn't been so concerned about staying captain, he wouldn't be hurt either."
"It's okay to want something for yourself every once and a while," Stiles told him seriously.
"Whether it's dating Kira or being captain, it's okay that you want to live your life."
Sierra agreed.
"You're a true alpha, Scott, but you're still also human."
*^*^*^*
If you had told Stiles at the beginning of sophomore year that one day he would be making out with Sierra in his bedroom, he would've scoffed and rolled his eyes. But it was the truth, and Stiles couldn't get enough of her.
Spending alone time with her proved to be rare, so every chance he got to hold Sierra or kiss her like he meant it, Stiles grabbed the opportunity.
It started off with them going through Malia's work, making notes on what she still needed help on. They were quietly sitting on Stiles's bed, Sierra resting on her stomach while Stiles supported himself on his elbows.
"I just don't understand why she isn't passing," Sierra threw her pencil down in frustration, causing Stiles to look up from Malia's science homework that he had been double-checking. He watched her take a deep breath and run a stressed hand through her hair, thinking out loud, "I give her notes and she passes the test. Then, I ask Lydia for hers and then Malia fails? Lydia's notes are better than mine!"
Stiles set his papers aside and then leaned closer to brush her hair behind her ear so he could see her face. "Hey, you. Look at me."
Sierra let out a sigh, but turned to face him with her cheek in her hand. His finger traced the slight freckles around her nose, making her scrunch it up with a small smile. "Awe, there's your smile. Absolutely beautiful."
"Stiles," Sierra started but he shook his head and interrupted.
"Nope, don't give me the pout," he warned. "Sierra, I know you want Malia to succeed, I mean we all do, but it's important to remember that a few months ago, she was a coyote living in the woods. She's still new to everything, especially math. I know it's hard, but we can't get frustrated. She's counting on us to help her get adjusted."
"I just thought my system would've helped more," Sierra frowned, more disappointed with herself.
"What system?"
"Here." Sierra moved so he could see Malia's textbook that she had opened, holding up three highlighters. "I might've stolen the idea after seeing your crime board and I think it actually works for her."
She pointed to the certain sentences and formulas, explaining, "Everything in green she completely understands. Yellow represents when she gets the concept but needs more practice and red means she doesn't have a clue."
Stiles studied the book, commenting, "I don't see a lot of red. That's good, right?" Then Sierra turned the page over to the chapter they began last week, almost everything coated in the color. "Oh."
"Yeah," Sierra sighed heavily.
"Hey," he caught her attention again, moving one of his hands to her back to nudge her. As soon as her head turned towards him, Stiles caught her lips in his.
She leaned back, her cheeks burning red, while he raised his eyebrows and asked, "Why'd you pull away?"
"Because Malia is supposed to be here soon," she answered, refusing to glance at him. "It'd be really awkward if she walked in on us kissing."
"Well, it's my room and as long as you want to, I will gladly kiss my girlfriend just because I can," was his response, tucking his fingers under her chin to pull her back to him. Once her blue eyes finally met his, he whispered, "You are incredible, you know that?"
A shy smile spread across her mouth, her eyes lighting up as she stared back at him. It was a look that Stiles wanted to never forget and it was what fueled him to kiss her again, smiling when she didn't pull away.
Their lips fell in sync, both of them instantly moving closer together. Stiles gladly pulled her into his lap, breaking apart only for a moment to tilt his head. Keeping one hand on her waist, he rested the other below her ear as his thumb caressed her cheek. The way she was playing with his hair drove him insane and he wanted nothing more to just keep holding her. Love flooded Sierra's senses and she was so focused on him, the house could've been on fire and she wouldn't have noticed.
Reluctantly, they separated for air but kept their foreheads pressed together, Stiles stealing another kiss after a moment to make her smile. "You know we can always cancel our plans with Malia," Stiles whispered, closing his eyes again to savor the time spent with her.
"Weren't you the one who said she was counting on us?" Sierra questioned back, brushing her nose against his so she could kiss his cheek.
"I'm should've kept my mouth shut," he joked, opening his eyes once a giggle escaped her. "But I meant what I said, about you being incredible."
Sierra fought to keep a smile from overtaking her face but eventually gave up, leaning back to look at him. His face was now being held gently in her hands and she replied, "You're pretty great too."
"Awe, thanks, doll."
A knock on the door caused her to jump, Stiles casting her an amused look. "Skittish are we?" he teased, sitting up fully to peck her lips one last time before Malia came in.
"Are you guys purposely not responding?" they heard her ask. "Cause that's rude."
"Come on in, girlie," Sierra giggled, moving away from Stiles to get her notes. "We need to go over a few problems."
The door opened and Malia's head popped in with begging eyes. "Please don't say its math."
"She won't," Stiles promised, glancing away from his girlfriend as Malia walked in with a notebook and pencil. "So I will. It's math."
"Dammit."
"You did very well on science and your English paper," Sierra complimented honestly, motioning to the assignments she had placed on the ground. "But we still need to work on a few formulas in algebra."
"I brought Lydia's notes like you told me to," Malia held up the notebook, walking over to her.
"Perfect," Sierra accepted it gratefully and started to flip through it, taking a seat next to Stiles on the edge of the bed. "I wanted to see if maybe I told you the wrong chapter." Once Sierra was on the right page, she looked at it completely puzzled. "Wait, Malia, you used these notes?"
"Yeah, but I don't understand them," Malia answered with a frown on her face. "Can you explain them to me?"
"I would, if these were actually math notes."
"What?"
Stiles looked over her shoulder, seeing the random stray of letters, numbers and symbols. "Lydia wrote these?"
"What are they?" Malia asked curiously.
"Definitely not math."
*^*^*^*
Scott hated feeling guilty.
Whether it was from lying to his mom or being late to hang out with Stiles and Sierra, Scott couldn't stand how it attacked his heart. The emotion pulled on its strings, twisting in his stomach until it hurt. And it only worsened as he listened to Liam talk with his stepdad.
"I went up against two juniors," Liam told the truth, not wanting to look him in the eye. "One of them is captain of the team; the other is my tutor's boyfriend. Sierra helped them bring me here."
"I had a feeling she would be the right one to tutor you," his stepdad commented with a small smile. "It's clear she cares about you, otherwise she wouldn't have tagged along. As for the boys, if they're hanging out with her, I'm sure they didn't mean to hurt you. But remember what we always say. You need to play smart, not hard."
"Are you mad at me?"
The older man shook his head, assuring him, "No, of course not." To lighten the mood, he joked, "Your mom might be mad at me for getting you into lacrosse, but maybe we should both wait for the X-ray before we panic. And trust me, I have more reason to panic than you. It's not over yet."
Stopping at the door, the doctor turned back to see his stepson still brokenhearted. "Wait for the X-ray."
Scott turned away from the door as Liam's stepdad left, letting out a sigh of relief once he was gone. He was tempted to go in the room himself, try and cheer Liam up, but got his thoughts interrupted from a buzz in his pocket.
Quickly pulling out his phone, Scott answered the call and pushed it against his ear. "Hey, Lyd. What's up?"
"Where are you?" the banshee demanded, not even waiting to say hello. "I couldn't call...I couldn't get away from the deputy."
Recognizing the panic in her voice, Scott interrupted calmly, "Okay, just slow down."
"You need to get to the hospital," Lydia instructed him. "You need to get there right now. The son, the only one of that family that survived...He's there."
"So am I," Scott replied much to her relief. "I'm at the hospital."
"Then find him. Find Sean Walcott."
Through further explanation, Scott discovered Lydia and Deputy Parrish had found dozens of bodies in a secret room within the Walcott's home. She didn't know what kind of supernatural creature he was, but it didn't matter. All that mattered is that he ate people and he had been in the hospital without food for almost twelve hours.
Scott took off sprinting through the halls, yelling for someone to hold the elevator doors. Unfortunately for him, they shut just before he reached them. He felt his heart racing but he didn't dwell on his fear; he knew he just needed to find his mom.
The moment he heard her scream, Scott transformed but the second he saw Sean attacking his mom, he roared so loud the walls shook. It was enough for Sean's attention to be caught away from Melissa, whose clothes were now covered in the blood from the deputy Sean murdered.
Scott pounced, tackling Sean to the floor. He had him pinned against the wall but at the sound of Sean hissing, he faltered and was thrown into the wood. Sean took the opportunity to escape, Melissa curled into a ball on the floor.
"I'm okay," she assured her son. "I'm alright."
"Are you sure?"
Melissa nodded, still catching her breath from the near death experience. "Go get that son of a bitch."
And that was all the motivation he needed.
Scott followed Sean's scent through the hallways, running up the stairs that lead to the roof. When Scott burst through the doors, Sean was wrestling to keep hold of the hostage he had snatched on the way.
Liam.
They were balanced on the edge and Sean screamed the second he saw Scott, "Get back!"
Liam was full on panicking, not really understanding what was happening. He had left his room at the sound of Scott's roar, but when he turned around, Sean didn't waste the chance to attack him. All Liam remembered was the many rows of teeth but even that faded as he was dangled near the edge of a three-story building.
"You don't need to do this!" Scott attempted to calm Sean down, taking a cautious step forward. "Whatever it is. Whatever you are! We can help you."
"No, you can't," Sean disagreed, his arm still wrapped around Liam's throat.
"Let me help you."
"Wendigos don't need help," Sean spat, his frustration building. "We need food!"
Sean then turned Liam around, ready to attack, giving Scott a moment to jump onto the ledge and push him into a metal structure. Scott leaned over the side and quickly grabbed Liam's wrists, careful to not pierce his skin with his claws. But before Scott could pull him up, Sean appeared behind him, wrestling to pin his arms behind his back.
"No, No!" Liam felt his fingers slipping from the edge and he called out desperately, "Help, please! Someone!" With his broken ankle and exhaustion from practice, Liam couldn't hold on for much longer. "I can't hold on!"
And because Scott was trapped underneath Sean, he committed an action that he needed to do to save Liam's life.
He bit him.