Stiles POV
I wake up with my hands instantly hitting a metal locker surrounding me. How the fuck did I get in a locker?
I hit the door over and over again trying to get it open, though it won't budge. I hit it a few more times and the door finally opens, the momentum throwing my body out into the dark locker room.
Completely confused and mildly freaked out, I frown at the reflection staring back at me and turn heading for the door.
Opening it I walk out into the hallway of the school, walking through the shadows of the hallways until I see a door open once I come around a corner.
I don't know what propels me to walk to the open door, however at the same time I don't question it.
As soon as I walk up to the door frame and look inside, I see the Nemeton in the middle of a thrown apart and trashed classroom.
The blinds on all the windows are all messed up, and the desks are thrown to one side of the room to make room for the massive tree trunk of the Nemeton.
Not sure why I'm not questioning the massive Nemeton being in a classroom instead of the preserve where it's been for however many years, I walk towards it– almost like I'm drawn to it.
I reach forward when my toes are a hair away from the roots.
Once my hand is hovering above it, vines snap out of the trunk and wrap around my hand pulling me towards it before I sit up in bed gasping for air, setting my hand on my chest as I try to catch my breath.
I feel the bed shift next to me as I pant out, trying to make sense of the dream when Addy sits up next to me and her voice breaks through my quick breaths "You okay?"
She rubs sleep out of her eyes with one hand while she sets the other on my arm pulling it closer to her when I don't answer her right away "Stiles?"
Feeling her comfort she always brings me, I exhale a deep breath– trying to calm down from the dream that felt so real.
I intertwine our fingers and rub my thumb against the back of her hand "Yeah, I was just dreaming. It was weird– it was like a dream within a dream–"
"Like an inception nightmare?" Her voice is soft yet thick with sleep and I'm momentarily distracted with how amazing it is to hear before I let out a soft chuckle at her reference and I nod towards her "Yeah, exactly like that–"
I turn more facing her, taking in her rustled with sleep waves and my shirt falling off her delicate shoulder. I smile softly at her as I tilt my head to the side– when it clicks, she shouldn't be here "Wait a second, Adds– what are you doing here?"
She makes her signature adorable confused face, scrunching up her nose in the way I have always loved, when the door to my bedroom creaks open– gaining all my attention.
Wanting to make sure she's safe, I give her small hand a squeeze and move to stand up "Hang on"
She stops me, tightening her hold on me– the fear evident in her voice, "Stiles, where are you going?"
"I'm just gonna close the door" I breathe out and she pulls me closer with her other plans "Let's just go back to sleep"
I have to make sure she's okay "No, no, I should close it"
"Don't worry about it" she moves her arm to rest her hand on my shoulder, however, my eyes never leave the door as I let her hand fall while I stand up "What if someone comes in?"
"Like who?– let's just go back to sleep, Sty..."
I keep walking forward as I add just above a whisper "No– but what if they get in?"
I hear her gasp out "What if who gets in? Stiles, just leave it. Please– Sti– Stiles, come back to bed with me..."
Why are my feet still walking to this door? Why the fuck am I not listening to a request like that from her?
My feet continue to take me away from my solace, my comfort, as she continues to plead through a shaky and more frantic voice while my hand reaches for the door knob "Stiles. Please– don't, Stiles. Don't! Don't go out there, please, don't. Please, Stiles– don't!"
Her voice carries away, just as quick as it came, as soon as I walk out the door– though I'm not in the hallway like I should be after walking through my bedroom door.
Instead I'm walking through the dark woods of the preserve, and I notice the tree trunk of the Nemeton once again before lights surrounding the outskirts of the trunk turn on. They're as bright and tall as the lights used on the lacrosse field.
I lift my arms up to shield my eyes from the wind and leaves that have begun to rustle around me and as soon as I get closer to the trunk base I know what's happening "It's a dream. This is just a dream. It's just a dream, get it out of your head, Stiles. You're dreaming. Alright? So, wake up, Stiles."
I set my hands on the side of my head, hitting it once to force myself awake as I continue to shout frantically "Wake up, Stiles. Wake up!"
My eyes slowly open, taking in the sunlight that is shining through my window before dad opens the door "Hey, time to get up, kiddo. Get your butt to school."
He turns to leave and I look down before looking over to the window as I let out a deep exhale at finally being awake.
I'm walking with Addy and Scott down the steps as we head to our first class and I fill them in on the nightmare from last night.
Addy's soft voice pulls my eyes to her as she asks "And you couldn't wake up?"
I feel a blush rising to my cheeks as I look to her, remembering the part of the dream before that one.
I shake my head at her, trying to clear the image of her in my bed as I clear my throat and face forward again "Nope, and it was beyond terrifying. Either of you ever hear of sleep paralysis?"
"Uh, no, do we want to?" Scott looks between us and I continue "Have you ever had a dream where you feel like you're about to wake up but you can't move or talk?"
"Yeah. Yeah, I've had that" they agree and I nod "It happens because during REM sleep your body is basically paralyzed. It's called muscle atonia. That way if you start dreaming about running, you don't actually start running in your bed"
"That makes sense" She agrees with a nod towards Scott before I lift my arms out to my sides to continue "But sometimes your mind can wake up before your body does. So for this split second, you're actually aware that your body is paralyzed"
"And that's the terrifying part" Scott implores and I nod "It turns your dream into a nightmare. You can feel like you're falling, like you're being strangled, or, in my case, like you're at the center of a grove of magical trees where human sacrifices took place" I state as we walk up to the door into the school, holding them open for Addy as she steps past and looks over to me "You think it means something?"
I nod moving my eyes between her and Scott "What if what we did that night– what if it's still affecting us?"
"Post-traumatic stress?" He chimes in and I nod slightly before adding "Or something"
We walk into class and we take our seats before I gain their attention again as I continue with my fear "But you want to know what scares me the most?– I'm not even sure this is real" is the last thing I say before I sit up in bed screaming myself awake.
My dad runs in trying to calm me down like he has every night this week, talking through my terrified screams "Hey, hey, hey. It's okay. It's okay. You're okay"
I'm not okay– I'm losing my fuckin' mind.
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Addy POV
Once I slip my feet into my shoes, I grab my dark grey lightweight coat for another layer and turn to grab my bag.
I hear Isaac's voice in the hall as I step out of my room "Can I ask you a question?"
"Okay" comes Scott's reply before I take a step towards the stairs, however Isaac's next question has my steps stopping as I'm fully invested now "Are you angry at me?"
"No" I let out a sigh of relief at Scott's reply
"Are you sure?" Isaac continues to question before I hear Scott's fast reply "No"
"What does– what's that mean?" Isaac stutters and I fix my coat over one arm before I cross my arms over each other when Scott sighs "I guess I'm not really sure how I'm feeling"
"Okay. Do you hate me?" the worry in Isaac's voice ever present before Scott reassures "No, of course not" well that's something
"Do you want to hit me?" Isaac questions and Scott is quick with his "No" reply.
There's a second of pause before Isaac offers "I think you should hit me"
"I don't want to hit you" Scott clarifies before Isaac continues "Are you sure?"
I snort before I hear the humor in Scott's answer "Why would I want to hit you? You didn't do anything, did you?"
I smirk and lean back on my door frame as Isaac's stuttering voice filters down the hall "No. I mean, um– what do– what do you mean?"
"I mean like you didn't kiss her or anything, right?"
"No! Absolutely not. No" oh but he so wants to, busted
"Did you want to?" Scott voices my inner thought and Isaac replies without missing a beat "Oh, yeah– totally"
It's silent for a moment before my eyes widen as I watch Isaac fly out of Scott's room and crash into the wall across from the doorway, knocking down one of the frames and everything.
Mom rushes up to my side and throws her arms out with her exclamation "Hey!"
Isaac groans as a reply and Scott steps just enough around the frame to show his eyes as mom continues her shouting "You two supernatural teenage boys. Don't test my entirely un-supernatural level of patience"
I snort trying to hide my laugh and she swings her eyes to me and she sets her hands on her hips. She fights her smile before she winks and turns to head down the stairs with me following her.
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I stop talking mid-sentence as I look at the terrified face of Allison who just ran through the doors and into the hallway near us.
Lydia turns and looks back to me before we silently agree to walk up to our friend "Allison?"
"Are you okay?" Lydia leans closer trying to make eye contact and Allison shakes her head "I just saw Kate" she stammers out quickly in between quick breaths and a lick of her lips.
I shake my head and make a noise, stating "Kate? Your Aunt Kate?" before whispering closer to her "Your dead Aunt Kate?"
She swallows thickly and moves her eyes back and forth between mine, shaking her head a few times "Yes– I know– I know how that sounds Addy, but I was just in my elevator to leave the apartment and then I was in the hospital's morgue and now I'm here– with you guys..."
I move my notebook into one arm and set my other hand on her back "Okay– hey I believe you, let's go find Scott and Stiles. See if they're having anything similar okay? Deaton said you guys would feel after effects."
She nods and Lydia shares a look with me as she falls in step next to me how do you cure supernatural hallucinations?
I hear Stiles' voice before we see him in the tunnel "No, you're not. It's happening to you too. You're seeing things, aren't you?"
We walk around the corner and see Scott look surprisingly to Stiles "How'd you know?"
"Because it's happening to all three of you" I state, gaining both of their attentions and I worriedly look between them.
Stiles and Scott fill us in on what they've been experiencing lately and I furrow my brows in slight annoyance that none of them have said anything before now.
Scott notices and sets his arm around me, pulling me into his side "It's been very minor and I didn't want to worry you..."
I scoff and shake my head "Yeah, totally saved me from being worried about you" the sarcasm is dripping into a puddle around me and he sheepishly nods.
Stiles looks guiltily over as well, opening his mouth and shaking his head at a loss for words.
I set my hand on his arm and squeeze once as I look between them "Guys we're past not telling each other something that's happening just to keep someone else from worrying or getting hurt. Let us help, because I'm going to worry regardless"
They both smile softly and nod as Allison drops her head onto my shoulder, letting out a relieved sigh.
We move to walk over towards the doors to head inside towards our first class and Lydia smirks adding a little tilt of her head and pep in her step "Well, well, look who's no longer the crazy one."
Allison scoffs following behind her "We're not crazy"
Lydia spins on her toes and scrunches her brows looking between the three of them "Hallucinating? Sleep paralysis? Yeah, you guys are fine"
"We did die and come back to life. That's gotta have some side effects, right?" Scott offers with a shrug before the bell rings and they all look like they'd rather do anything other than go to class.
"We keep an eye on each other. Okay?" Stiles lifts his hands out with his question before bringing them together and moving his fingers around.
He lifts one hand to point past me, muttering "And Lydia, stop enjoying this so much."
He sets his hand on my back to keep my steps with his as we walk past Lyds who tilts her head to the side at him "What?"
We walk into History and take our seats, Stiles sits in front of me and Scott sits behind me as our new teacher finishes writing on the chalkboard and turns around to us.
He walks around his desk with his hands out to his sides "Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. Yukimura. I'll be taking over for your previous History Teacher. My family and I moved here three weeks ago. I'm sure, by now, you all know my daughter, Kira. Or you might not since she's never actually mentioned anyone from school– or brought a friend home for that matter" and the embarrassment dad award goes to...
We hear a groan before there is a loud bang on the desk diagonally behind us to the left.
I jump with the noise and look over my shoulder, noticing the girl with her forehead against the desk, shaking it side to side softly as her dad continues the embarrassment train "Either way, there she is."
She slowly lifts her eyes up and smiles, completely embarrassed, as a few laughs are heard. I offer her a smile that she returns before her attention shifts to Scott behind me and she gets a more confident look in her eyes.
I smile at Stiles as I turn around and he furrows his brows between the look on my face and Kira.
I chuckle at his confusion to the young love potential and nod my head forward as Mr. Yukimura begins our lesson "Now, let's begin with American History at the turn of the 20th century"
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I just finish putting my notebook for the next class into my arm when Scott walks up and hits his shoulder into the locker next to Stiles' "Maybe we need a little more time to get back to normal."
Stiles sighs and continues to spin the dial of the lock on his locker "Yeah, try not to forget we hit the reset button on a supernatural beacon for supernatural creatures"
I make a noise, closing my locker and turning around to both of them "Exactly– there's a pretty good chance things are never going back to normal for us, guys."
Scott looks to me, absentmindedly agreeing "Yeah"
Stiles attempts to pull the lock, however it doesn't budge. I narrow my eyes in confusion at the look he throws the lock as he turns his head to the side and whispers towards it "What?"
"What's wrong?" I lean closer to the locker, looking between the side of his face and the lock.
He doesn't look up, just continues to move his finger over the numbers as he shakes his head "I must have done the combination wrong"
I set my hand on his forearm and he jumps slightly, I soften my face and move my hand towards his lock "You're shaking, here let me."
He swallows thickly, nodding his head once and rubbing a hand over his mouth as he steps back to make room for me to put in his combination.
"There" I smile and step back a little, Stiles sets his hand on my back as he moves forward and grabs his things before shutting his locker again.
Stiles lifts his eyes from the ground and widens them when he looks at Scott "Oh, dude, your eyes..."
"What about them?" Scott looks between us and I lean closer to him, whispering quickly "They're starting to glow."
Stiles looks around us worriedly as Scott makes a noise in his throat "You mean like right now?"
I tilt my head to the side and level him with an obviously look as Stiles scoffs frantically "Yes, right now. Scott, stop. Stop it."
Scott looks down and starts to pant out quick breaths as he lifts a hand to shield his eyes from anyone walking past us "I can't– I can't control it."
Stiles sets his hand around his shoulder and mutters "All right, just keep your head down. Look down, come on. Keep your head down."
We start to move forward, me walking ahead of them as I find an empty classroom, opening the door for them and closing it behind us once we're all through the doorway.
Scott growls as soon as we're inside, taking off his backpack and his button up shirt, leaving him in his black tank top as he steps away from us "Get back away from me"
Stiles and I step towards him shaking off his demand "Scott, it's okay..."
"I don't know what's going to happen," Scott shakes his head and grits out through his pants as he moves against the rows of desks "Get back, get Addy back"
Stiles steps backwards pushing me behind him and moving us back against the wall as Scott continues to breathe quickly and fight off transforming.
He swings his alpha reds towards us, baring his teeth as lifts his hands up to either side of him, producing his claws before jamming them into his palms.
Blood rushes down his arms while he looks up, letting out a contained to his chest growl as he drops to his knees.
We slowly see his claws on his thumbs retract as well as his teeth before he flops onto his bum on the ground and looks to his palms.
Deeming the threat over, Stiles and I drop our bags and move closer to him. We hear him groan in pain while he lifts his fingers sans claws out of his palms and looks up to us, catching his breath.
He lets out a sigh as we kneel in front of him and he croaks out "Pain makes you human."
Stiles sighs before he adds softly "Scott, this isn't just in our heads. This is real. And it's starting to get bad for me too."
Stiles drops his head forward and I share a worried look with Scott before Stiles continues "I'm not just having nightmares... I'm having dreams where I have to literally scream myself awake– and sometimes I'm not even sure if I'm actually ever waking up"
I gasp softly earning his eyes to connect with mine as I shake my head "What do you mean?"
He makes a face before licking his lips "Do you know how you can tell if you're dreaming? You can't read in dreams. More and more, the past few days, I've been having trouble reading. It's like I can't see the words– I can't put the letters in order."
"Like even now?" I offer already knowing in my gut what his answer is going to be.
He makes a noise and stands up looking over to the chalkboard with a few sentences written on it, before he shakes his head and his voice breaks as he digresses just above a whisper "I can't read a thing."
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I'm walking down the stairs, throwing my hair into a messy top knot bun, when I hear a knock on the door. I turn and head to answer it, pulling it open to reveal Stiles.
"Oh– hey" I answer, completely surprised to see him standing there.
He lifts a hand and rubs behind his neck as he lifts one side of his mouth "Hey– so you're always way better at this and I know we have a lot going on but– would– would you be up for going with me to pick out the flower arrangement for mom?" how has our life been so busy that I spaced that anniversary coming up
I smile and point over my shoulder "Yes, of course I won't leave you in your time of flower need. Just let me go change–"
I take a step backwards, halting my steps when he points at me "Why? You look great"
I snort and look down at my long sleeved black henley and heather grey yoga pants, lifting my arms out to my sides as I lift my eyes to his "I'm basically wearing jammies"
He chuckles and looks to the ground before connecting his humor filled eyes to mine "You are not– come on" he nods his head back towards his jeep.
"If one person so much as asks me how my evening jog was, I'll surprise elbow jab you in the ribs before the night is over" I grumble as I walk over to the entryway cubby and grab my converse.
Slipping them on and grabbing a jacket, I walk past him as he raises his hands in surrender and chuckles out "Deal."
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Stiles carries the flower arrangement we picked out into his dad's office and starts talking as soon as we walk inside "You know, the last time we brought one of these to her grave it was stolen the same day– hundred bucks down the drain"
He keeps his eyes on the flowers, however when we don't hear a reply he furrows his brows towards me before leaning over the desk "Hey, Dad? Hi, what are– what are you doing down there?"
Noah sits back on his heels as he looks up to us before he bends forward towards his piles of papers again "Working. And hey, if somebody wants the flowers that badly, they can have them– it's the gesture."
Stiles walks around me to the side of the desk and points forward looking at all the boxes filled with case files and stickers across the front labeled 'Sheriff's Station Do Not Remove' "Hey, Dad, what is all this?"
"I've been looking over some old cases from a more illuminated perspective, if you know what I mean" Noah mutters between us supernatural enlightenment, yes
I lift up one of the folders that's open on the corner of the desk, reading aloud the incident on the summary report "Umm 'strange sighting of bipedal lizard man sprinting across freeway'."
Noah smacks a stack of papers in front of him "Kanima pile."
I close the folder and drop it onto the stack he indicated and Stiles raises his brows once at me while he scratches the side of his head.
He moves to kneel down to his dad's level "Dad, you're not going back through all your old cases, seeing if any of them had something to do with the supernatural, are you?"
I cross my arms and lean my hip on his desk as he moves his eyes between us and nods "I admit the recent opening of my eyes to the greater mysteries of the universe has got me– reassessing"
Stiles drops his head forward and rubs a hand over his mouth as I make a face of understanding and Noah continues with a point to the folders around us "There's at least one hundred cases here where I look at the details and I can ask myself, 'If I knew then what I know now'–"
"Right, but are you sure you wanna go down that path?" Stiles interrupts and Noah connects his eyes with him adding "Do I have a choice?"
I lift one side of my mouth in an understanding smile, offering a nod as I look around us.
At our silence he stands up grabbing one folder on his way to his feet "There's one case in particular that I can't get out of my head. Eight years ago, when I was elected Sheriff of County, my first official duty was to tell a man that not only had his wife and two kids died in a car accident, but, as best we could tell, the body of his nine year old daughter had been dragged from the wreck by coyotes."
Noah hands the folder to Stiles after he stands up and I lean against his arm to look at the adorable picture of the nine year old girl in question as Stiles digresses "You mean dragged and eaten?"
A sad look crosses over Noah's face as he looks a million miles away with his memories "We didn't find the car until three days after the crash. They had driven off the road into a pretty deep ravine. Two bodies that were still in the car were covered in bites and slashes"
I nod with a shrug "So you're thinking bites and claw marks– probably a werewolf attack?"
Noah swings his eyes to mine as he nods "Maybe"
Stiles makes a noise before adding "But coyotes, they scavenge, right? So, couldn't they have just left the bites and the slashes?"
"Absolutely." Noah is quick to reply before stepping forward and pointing to a particular spot on the page still in Stiles' hands "But guess what night the accident occurred on?"
Stiles tilts his head to the side as he reads "The night of a full moon."
"Yeah" Noah chimes in before Stiles closes the folder with a sigh and points around us "Hey, Dad, where are all these going?"
"Yeah, we, uh– why don't you take Addy home and we'll talk at home yeah?"
Stiles furrows his brows looking over his shoulder at me before I stand up and look at the boxes.
I see a name that makes my blood boil and I swing my eyes back to Noah as I clench my teeth and mutter with a slight shake of my head "What the hell is he doing?"
Noah draws his brows together, raising his hand up as he stammers "Nothing– guys really– it's– it's probably nothing all right. It's late and you guys have school– come on, go on home" fucking bane of my existence Suit
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Coach's class seems to be dragging on especially long today before I'm snapped out of my note taking when he asks if Stiles is paying attention.
Getting no response besides Stiles' arm moving quickly over his page Coach flicks his eyes between Scott and I who are sitting next to and behind him.
We both shake our heads and Coach sighs before grabbing his whistle around his neck and bending forward to exert the shrill noise towards Stiles.
It takes longer than it should for Stiles to react and when he does he gasps loudly as he sits up from his lean over his desk no way he was asleep with how quickly he was just writing
"Stilinski!"
I look to my right, seeing Stiles swallow thickly as he tries to catch his breath and mutter "Uh– huh?"
"I asked you a question" Coach fills in aggravatedly
"Uh sorry, Coach. What was it?" he breathes out as a few laughs sound around us and Coach scoffs "It was 'Stilinski, are you paying attention back there'?"
"Oh. Well, I am now" he swallows thickly and I draw my brows in as worry for him settles even deeper in my gut.
Coach rolls his eyes "Stilinski, stop reminding me why I drink," he begins to turn back towards the board as he mutters quieter "Every night. Does anybody else want to try the question on the board?"
Stiles moves his elbow onto the desk to chew on his thumb nail nervously before he looks over, connecting his eyes with my worried ones.
He drops his hand onto the desk as he shifts back in his seat, shaking his head once to reassure "I'm okay. I just fell asleep for a second..."
I shift in my seat, sharing a worried look with Scott behind him as I shake my head and nod towards his notebook "Sty– you weren't asleep."
He furrows his brows before he looks down to his notebook and sees his writing all over the page– the same two words over and over in different styles and fonts wake up
He grabs his notebook and flips it over harshly against his desk with his frustration.
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We sit down at a lunch table outside and Scott sighs setting his hands on the table on the other side of Stiles, "Okay, so what happens to a person who has a near death experience and comes out of it seeing things?"
"And is unable to tell what's real or not?" Stiles states before Allison, who is sitting across from us, adds "And is being haunted by demonic visions of dead relatives?"
"They're all locked up because they're insane" Isaac, sitting next to Allison, quips– earning my foot to connect with his shin under the table not helpful
He makes a noise and glares at my narrowed eyes, as Stiles lifts a hand to point towards him "Ha– can you at least try to be helpful, please?"
Isaac swings his eyes from mine and over to Stiles, who is sitting next to me, and tilts his head to the side "For half my childhood, I was locked in a freezer. So, being helpful is kind of a new thing for me."
I drop my hands onto the table with a sigh as Stiles makes a noise, setting his elbow on the table and flicking his hand out "Hey, dude, are you still milking that?"
Isaac smirks as he nods towards him "Yeah, maybe I am still milking that"
I scoff and look between them "Guys could we please focus on the bigger issue of–"
"Hi," A cheerful voice to my right comes and I jump before turning my head and smiling instantly at seeing Kira standing next to the table.
She looks from me and over to Scott as she continues "Hi, sorry. I couldn't help overhearing what you guys were talking about– and I think I actually might know what you're talking about. There's a Tibetan word for it. It's called 'Bardo'. It literally means 'in-between state'. The state between life and death"
I smile at her helpfulness before hearing Lydia at the other end of the table "And what do they call you?"
"Kira" Scott and I answer as I offer her a smile when she looks to me.
"She's in our History class" Scott elaborates when he notices everyone else's question filled furrowed brows directed at us.
Scooting closer towards Stiles to make room for her to sit down on the edge of the bench. My close proximity to his side causes him to have to move his right arm off the table and back behind me.
I feel him rest his hand on my lower back/hip when I turn towards her, setting my left elbow on the table once she's settled next to me and I shake my head once "So are you talking Bardo in Tibetan Buddhism or Indian?"
She makes a face and shrugs quickly "Either, I guess. But all the stuff you guys were just saying? All of that happens in Bardo. There are different progressive states where you can have hallucinations. Some you see, some you just hear. And you can be visited by peaceful and wrathful deities–"
Isaac makes a noise across from us, pointing towards her "Wrathful deities? And what are those?"
"Like demons" she states happily as I feel Stiles' body against my left side tense.
I look over my shoulder at him as he makes a face and mutters with a nod "Demons. Why not?"
"Hold on, if there are different progressive states, then what's the last one?" Allison implores and we all turn to Kira as she answers, unbeknownst to the dread it will bring to the entire table around her "Death– you die." well fuck
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We head to Deaton's after Scott is off work to see if he can shed any light on what's actually happening to Scott, Stiles, and Allison.
Stiles informs him of his, in fact, dream he encountered today in Coach's class.
Apparently no one he recognized was in the class besides Coach. They all were silent as they signed the same few hand movements in sign language at him until he woke up sounds just as creepy as you're imagining
Deaton nods as he flips the sign on the door to closed, and locks the door before he turns back towards us "It sounds like your subconscious is trying to communicate with you" he states as he walks past.
We follow behind him and head towards the back exam room as Stiles scratches the side of his head "Well, how do I tell my subconscious to use a language that I actually know?"
"Do you remember what the sign language looked like– the placement and movement of the hands?" I ask, coming to a stop next to him earning confused eyes thrown my way, before Scott shakes his head at me "When did you learn sign language?"
I shrug, crossing my arms in front of me "Last summer I studied some, never know when it will come in handy"
Stiles scoffs, setting his hands on his hips as he shares a look with Scott and swings his eyes back to me "How many things have you learned 'because you never know when it'll come in handy' because I know of at least four things that I'm shocked as all fuck to have learned you know."
"Just show me the signs, smartass" I quip earning a snort from Scott who raises his brows once at his best friend when he looks over to him.
"Okay Watson," Stiles runs his tongue along his bottom lip before he turns towards me and lifts his hands, repeating the movements from his dream "The first one was like this. Then–"
I nod after he finishes the movement "That means 'when'."
Scott shares a look with Stiles who sets up his hands again "Then there was this, twice"
"Alright that's 'door'," I answer and Stiles nods before he does the next movement "And this in between it."
Deaton points forward "That's it?"
"Yeah" Stiles answers and looks expectantly at me as I tilt my head to the side and connect my eyes with his "When is a door not a door?"
"'When is a door not a door'?" Stiles licks his lips and looks like he wants to scream when Scott mumbles the answer "When it's ajar" that's a bingo
"You're kidding me– a riddle? My subconscious wants to tell me a riddle?" Stiles scoffs and Deaton clicks his tongue "Not necessarily. When the three of you went under the water, when you crossed from unconsciousness to a kind of super consciousness– you essentially opened a door in your minds."
Scott looks between us and over to his boss with his next question "So what does that mean? The door's still open?"
"Ajar" I state and Deaton smirks to me with a nod as Stiles croaks just above a whisper "A door– into our minds?"
"I did tell you it was risky" Deaton counters earning me to turn towards him with a shake of my head "Okay, what do we do about it?"
"Well, that's difficult to answer" Deaton makes a face that earns Stiles to point towards him quickly "Oh, no, wait a second, I know that look. That's the 'we know exactly what's wrong with you, but we have no idea how to fix it' look."
Deaton smirks before he answers "One thing I do know is that having an opening like that into your mind, it's not good. You each need to close that door– and you need to do it as soon as possible"
Saying our goodbyes to Deaton, we walk out the back door and head for Scott's bike when headlights shine over us.
Noah gets out of his Sheriff's SUV and walks up to us rubbing his hands together while Stiles lifts an arm out towards him "Dad, what are you doing here?"
"I'm here because– I could use some help," he lifts his hands out to us before he continues "Actually– your help" he points to Scott, who raises his hands to his chest "Why me?"
"Because eight years ago, almost an entire family died in a car accident. One of the bodies, a young girl named Malia, was never found. There's enough evidence to have me thinking that– a werewolf could have caused the accident, and then dragged her body away."
Scott shares a shocked look with us before Noah implores "If you could somehow get a lock on her scent if you could somehow help me find her body, it might provide the missing clue–"
"But what if it was a werewolf?" Stiles offers earning a slight nod from Noah who continues "Well, there's somebody out there who murdered an entire family– someone who still needs to be caught."
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The next day we follow Noah out to the Tate residence. He heads to the front of the house to talk and keep Mr. Tate distracted while Scott, Stiles, and I head across the side of the porch towards a side door into one of the bedrooms we believe to be Malia's.
Stiles reaches for the handle, turning it slightly and we all let out a sigh of relief that it's unlocked. He twists it farther, pushing open the door, however, stopping immediately as the first loud creak sounds.
Scott and I share a grimace before Stiles continues to open the door and succeeding in releasing the loudest of creaks that could be heard from across the fucking country
We walk in quickly and Stiles shuts the door behind us before we walk around, grabbing clothes and stuffed animals for Scott to smell.
He shakes his head after a few attempts and hands the items back to me "All I'm getting is some animal smell."
"What kind of animal?" Stiles asks as he walks towards us before setting his hand on my shoulder to grab a toy behind me.
I stand up straight with our new guest standing in the doorway, whispering "Guys–"
They look to me and jump slightly when they also notice the big ass dog standing in the doorway, that is now growling towards the intruders that we are.
Scott mutters his answer to the previous question of what animal he's smelling "Dog."
Stiles moves the toy in his hand behind his jacket as his high pitched "Hi puppy," fills the room before he leans closer to Scott "Get rid of it."
Scott looks over his shoulder towards us "Me?"
Not moving an inch I hear Stiles mutter over my shoulder "Yes, you. Glow your eyes at it, something, be the Alpha."
The snarling of the massive dog continues before Scott answers "I can't. I don't have control"
Stiles huffs "Okay, buddy, you're going to have to try something"
Scott looks over to us and I make a face of agreement that he nods as an answer and takes a step forward with his hand outstretched "Nice doggy..."
Hating that phrase immediately the not nice doggy barks and Scott jumps backwards into me, causing me to hit back into Stiles who rests his hands on my arms while the dog continues to bark incessantly.
"Apollo!" we hear Mr. Tate shout from the hall and at the continued barking he shouts again "Apollo, shut up! Shut the hell up!"
Apollo listens and snaps his mouth shut immediately before letting out a whine and turning around to leave us be well that was easy
We all let out relieved sighs and Scott moves to stand next to me before I walk forward and pick up a book off the vanity "Here– try that."
Scott grabs it but just looks at it sadly as Stiles calls over his shoulder "Anything?"
Scott shakes his head and nods towards the door "All I'm getting is that dog."
Stiles sighs and sets his hand on the vanity next to me as I share a sad look with Scott Noah needed a win
Stiles stands up a little and digs in his pocket for his phone. He brings up the camera and snaps a photo of the two sisters in a frame on the vanity.
We hear Mr. Tate yell for Noah to "Just get out!" and we take that as our que to leave and head back towards the jeep.
We meet Noah just down the road who is waiting against his car as we get out of the jeep and walk up to him.
Scott shakes his head as soon as we stop walking "I'm sorry. I tried as hard as I could. If it wasn't so long ago, I might have been able to do it"
Noah shakes his head, looking to the ground before back up to us "It's okay. It was a long shot. In fact, it was a pretty terrible idea– I think I just ripped a wound open in that poor man. I never should have brought you guys here. I don't know what I was thinking. Thanks for trying, all right?"
Noah hits Scott on the shoulder before opening his door and calling over his shoulder to Stiles "See you at home."
We offer him sad smiles as Stiles raises a hand out in goodbye and Noah starts the car and drives off.
Scott turns to us as soon as he's gone "Aren't there a lot of cases that go unsolved?"
Stiles shoves his hands in his pockets as he lets out a sigh, looking at the retreating car "Yeah, I just think this is one– he felt like he could've figured out right now."
Scott and I share a look before I turn to Stiles "Why is it so important right now?"
"He wants to be able to solve one more– while he's still Sheriff" he answers and looks back to us as I widen my eyes and Scott makes a noise "What do you mean, 'still Sheriff'?"
Stiles looks between us before settling his eyes on mine "Remember the other night at the station– all the boxes with the cases?" the unsolved supernatural cases, oh no
Not finding the words, I nod my head and Scott looks to me before Stiles continues "Apparently there's an investigation that has opened, looking into why this town– and our Sheriff can't close the enormous amount of cases it has seen–"
"I knew he was up to something" I grumble and Stiles nods while Scott looks confused.
I make a noise and look towards him "'Agent McCall' was on all of the fucking boxes–" I swing my eyes back to Stiles "But I asked what was happening, why didn't your dad tell me?"
Stiles softens his face and shrugs "He didn't want to put you in the middle, Adds."
I scoff and cross my arms over my front "It wouldn't be putting me in the middle when I'm team Mr. S always" especially over our twatbag sperm donor
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Stiles dropped us off after divulging what our asshat of a father is doing to his, which we naturally confronted him as soon as we walked in the fucking door "Kids– I'm trying to help."
I jerk my head back, making a noise before I snap "That doesn't make any sense, Dad. Who are you helping?"
"Just get out" Scott demands earning Suit to lift his hand out to his side "Scott–"
"What? I can't believe that you'd do this to our best friend" Scott exclaims earning a nod from me in total agreement.
I glare towards Suit as he looks between us and shakes his head while trying to defend "I'm not doing anything to your guys' friend. I'm doing my job–"
"Your job sucks" Scott and I state without missing a beat, earning an agreement nod from the Suit "Some days I can't argue that"
I roll my eyes at his stupid answer when mom walks in and sounds up behind us "Can somebody tell me what the hell is going on?"
I cross my arms and fill her in on the scumbag's plan "He's trying to get Stiles' dad fired"
Suit swings his eyes quickly over and points towards me "No, come on Addeli– Addy that's not true."
"What are you doing?" Mom questions as she moves her eyes from me and over to him, earning him to take a moment as he swallows before answering "Conducting a case for impeachment."
I share a scoff with mom who jerks her head back slightly before answering "That sounds a lot like getting him fired..."
"The lack of resolution and ability to close cases is what's going to get him fired. My job is just to collect the information– and it's the job my superiors have given me" he throws the last bit towards Scott and I specifically.
"Your job sucks" mom states with as much disdain as Scott and I did moments ago because we've always known that
I shake my head at him, narrowing my eyes "You have no idea what's been happening here, and no amount of case files you collect is going to change that fact."
He opens his mouth slightly either in shock or ready to argue– however mom's voice interrupts "Scott– sweetheart– calm down" she moves to block Suit from seeing Scott as she lifts up his hands and his claws that are making their presence known.
I drop my mouth open slightly worried at how we're going to keep a wolf'd out Scott hidden from the Suit when mom leads Scott aways and continues urgently "Come over here, right now."
I cross my arms, moving to block the Suit's path as I give him a look like he better not follow them.
He takes a few seconds looking from me and at their retreating backs before he ultimately sighs and turns around, grabbing his jacket and keys off the counter before heading out the kitchen door.
I spin on my heels and walk quickly around the corner, seeing mom trying to soothe Scott "Just breathe and let it go"
"I'm trying" Scott leans back against the banister for the stairs as he growls and his teeth transform into his fangs.
Mom swallows and looks between us "You told me you guys learned a way to control this. You find an anchor, right?"
At our shared nods mom returns with a nod as well and states like it's the easiest solution "Find your anchor..."
Scott shifts his Alpha reds towards us "My anchor was Allison," he lets out a painful groan before he continues "I don't have Allison anymore."
"Then be your own anchor, Scotty– you can do this" I offer quickly with all the faith in the world towards him.
Scott throws his head back with another round of painful groans before his fangs retract as well as the claws in his fingers.
He pants, trying to catch his breath as mom sets her hand on my arm letting out a relieved sigh of her own when Scott nods towards us.
Mom moves closer and sets her other hand on Scott's arm "Sweetheart, let me tell you something no teenager ever believes, but I swear to you is the absolute truth," we look to her as she smiles softly and continues "You fall in love more than once. It'll happen again. And it'll be just as amazing and as extraordinary as the first time. And maybe just as painful. But it will happen again, I promise– and until then be your own anchor."
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I hear a knock on my bathroom door after I just finished getting dressed into our impromptu investigation of the night clothes– aka olive green skinny jeans, a light grey slightly oversized t-shirt and my leather jacket.
I open the door before grabbing my black ankle boots behind it and sit on my bed to put them on.
"Ready?" Scott checks the flashlight in his hand and connects his eyes with mine as I stand up and nod "Yup– let's do this."
Scott and I head over to Stiles', letting ourselves in– in true Stiles fashionbefore we head up the stairs to his room.
We knock before we open the door and Stiles sits up in bed, moving his shocked eyes between the two of us as we come to a stop just inside his room "Hey, what's going on?"
"Addy, you and me– we're going to go out to find a body."
"A dead body" I state with a quick raise of my brows and a smile that he returns as he gets out of bed.
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We follow the map for the crash site on Scott's phone, as I hold the flashlight and we walk through the trees.
Stiles falls in step in the middle of Scott and I as he mutters "You know, if my dad's right, that means there's another werewolf in town that we haven't met yet."
"I know" Scott breaths out before Stiles continues "If it turns out to be something like triplets that form into, like, a three headed hound of hell, I'm seriously not up for that."
Scott scoffs "Yeah, me either. Especially if I can't even control my own transformation anymore."
I hop over a rock as I elaborate "I'm not taking on a hound of hell unless we become besties with the Winchester's."
They chuckle before we hear a distant howling noise that has us all jumping out of our skin and Stiles knocks Scott's phone out of his hand with his flailing arms. The action caused the phone to not only fall to the ground, it also fell down a little cliff we were standing next to and it landed in a puddle of water
Scott breathes out through his nose as he stands up straight, looking over to his best friend who grimaces as he sets a hand on Scott's chest "Sorry, buddy. I hate coyotes so much. They always sound like they're mauling some tiny, helpless little animal."
Scott jumps down the small hill skipping the rocks that Stiles and I have to climb over graceful as ever we are
Scott bends down into the puddle his phone landed in and picks it up admiring "It still works"
Stiles turns around to me "Let me see the flashlight" I reach my hand out and he grabs the light out of my hand, taking a few steps forward as he mutters "I think we found it..."
We head through the big boulders seeing a car upside down just up ahead "Uh– why wouldn't they move it? Isn't it evidence?" Scott questions out as he brings up the rear of our line.
Stiles bends forward shining the light into the car as he throws over his shoulder to us "Probably too much of a pain in the ass to tow out"
He shines the light over the car and I walk closer, narrowing my eyes "Look at this. See those?" I point to the door as Scott and Stiles come to a stop next to me, the former putting his hand up against the slashes as Stiles elaborates "Animal claws would be closer together, right?– a lot closer."
"Then it was a werewolf" I digress incredulously just above a whisper and Stiles nods looking to me "So, my dad was right."
Stiles shifts his feet over to the front door and shines the light all over as we follow and crouch down with him.
Scott reaches between our shoulders pointing to a little hand hanging down "What is that?" it's a whole lot of nope is what that is
Stiles doesn't follow my thought process and instead reaches inside, grabbing the baby doll toy.
We all stand up, looking at it with furrowed brows silently asking for it to tell us what happened that night.
Instead of clues, an electronic voice of the creepy murder doll of the haunted house night cackles out "I'm hungry" before we let out screams, as Stiles drops the doll and we all jump back into each other.
I squeal as I move back and forth on each foot, trying to shake off the creepy murder vibes fucking NOOOO, I hate dolls!
Stiles swallows and sets one hand on my shoulder and the other on his chest "I think I just had a minor heart attack"
I let out a deep exhale, trying to slow my own heart attack breathing when we hear a deep growl from just up the ravine to where we are because why not
Scott lifts his hand out towards us since he's on the other side of the car, and questions "Hey, guys– please tell me you see that"
Stiles and I share a look before he sets his hand on my back and we move our feet closer towards Scott, looking in the direction he is as soon as we can see over the trunk of the car.
I swallow with a nod at seeing the animal eyes in between two trees "We see it" Stiles and I mutter before there's a snarl and the eyes disappear.
Scott wastes no time as he takes off running, with Stiles quickly taking a few steps and calling after him "Wait, hey, Scott! Scott, wait!"