"Addy" Stiles whisper shouts into my room and I make a noise of acknowledgment while trying to wake up fully as I shift around on my bed.
I release a surprised grunt as he plops half on top of me and I hear his breathy laugh as he starts pulling the blankets away "Where in the actual fuck are you? Would you like some bed with these blankets?"
He makes a few noises of aggravation as he pulls blankets this way and that, covering me more before he continues "Sweet christ, it's like untangling a ball of yarn– ah there we go"
Stiles successfully pulls the last bit of blanket away from my face, causing strands of my hair to fall over my eyes.
He snorts as he tries not to laugh, swiping his hands over my face as he sweeps the hairs out of the way and my furrowed brow frown comes into view.
Stiles smiles brightly "There's my girl– morning beautiful"
I flick my eyes to the clock, raising a brow in my silent question of I had forty more minutes to sleep, so what the hell is going on towards him.
Stiles chuckles and smashes his chest into me more as he reaches across the bed towards my shorter dresser.
"Fine, good morning– I'm awake, stop smushing me" I wheeze out and try to move from under him when he leans back over and shoves an iced coffee in my face.
I stop fighting to move, flicking my eyes between his adorable smirking face and my life's sustinece a few times.
Leaning upwards off the pillow I peck his lips quickly, earning a breathy chuckle as he allows me to sit up more and hands me the coffee.
I take a sip and let out a soft moan as I burrow my back into the pillows more "Soo good, thank you babe"
Stiles clears his throat and moves his arm to drape over my blanket covered legs "We have things to do this morning so you have to stop that"
Biting my straw with my teeth, I smile and lift my free hand in surrender before I take another sip.
Registering what he said, I tilt my head to the side "What things do we have to do before school?"
Stiles makes a face and fidgets with the blanket in his fingers "Oh we just need to stop by the station real quick"
"Because..." I draw out the word laced in suspicion and Stiles shrugs as he doesn't meet my eyes "Because we need to see my dad" he answers quickly, and I level him with a look "You really think he's going to run a background check on Theo?"
"How did you– yes I think he will. He appreciates how in tune with my gut feeling I am" He grumbles lowly in his chest and I raise a brow as I take another sip "Mmhmm–"
Dropping his hands flat on the bed, Stiles makes a noise as he connects his eyes with mine "Come on Adds, you can't tell me you aren't suspicious of him as well"
I shrug "I never said I wasn't suspicious, however I highly doubt a background check is going to bring up anything. I'm more suspicious of another werewolf coming back to Beacon because of Scott, especially after whatever that guy was last night tried to kill him. After everything with Peter, it just seems like weird timing."
Stiles nods, lifting a hand out towards me in complete agreement "Exactly, so you think he's not who he says he is either right?"
"You don't and that's enough for me" I state and set my hands on either side of me to push myself to sit up more.
Stiles sits up as well and furrows his brows as he connects his eyes with mine hesitantly "It is?"
I smile softly and set my hands on the bed, leaning closer towards him "I trust you and your gut instincts completely, Stilinski."
Stiles releases a grateful little breath of air before he closes the distance and melds his lips with mine in a soft, sweet kiss.
I pull away and peck his cheek quickly before getting up and walking towards my closet.
I hear him huff behind me and I chuckle as I pull my clothes off the hangers, throwing my words over my shoulder "Can't be angry I'm getting ready to go along with the whole reason you woke me up at the ass crack of dawn."
Stiles lays his back on the bed, linking his fingers together in the middle of his chest as he scoffs "Just because I was on a mission to get here doesn't mean I wouldn't much rather escape our new threat we need to figure out and just be with you in your comfy blanket fort of a bed."
"I get cold easily" I mumble as I lift my jammie shirt over my head, grabbing my white lace tank and pulling it over my head and down my torso.
After pulling the bottom down of the shirt to its place, I look up when I hear Stiles make a noise, watching as he lays back down and moves his hands to cover his face.
"I know you do, and I'm not complaining. Apart from not being able to find you in the massive marshmallow fluff of cotton, it's so cozy to cuddle with you in– hence why I'm aggravated... now you're in less clothes and I can't think straight" Stiles grumbles behind his hands.
I snort as I quickly pull down my jammie shorts before immediately pulling up my peach colored skirt "I'm decent, resume your thought process"
Stiles moves his hands back to laying on his chest, looks over to me and huffs as he looks up to the ceiling "Yea okay 'decent' and still hot as fuck but whatever my thought process is done."
I let out a laugh as I walk back to my closet and grab my light jean jacket and throwing it onto the bed next to him.
I walk over to the mirror, throwing my hair into a half up messy top knot and brushing my fingers through the bottom half of my waves.
I quickly put on some light makeup mascara mainly since I'm still rocking the summer tan and my skin has a nice glow to it
Grabbing my converse I walk over to sit next to him as I slip them on, I reach over him and grab my jacket, sliding my arms through the sleeves.
I hit my hand on his thigh twice, earning him to make a noise in his throat as he sits up and I stand up in front of him, throwing my arms out to my sides "All ready– let's go"
Stiles smiles and looks me over appreciatively "You look amazing– you need to change" his smile drops and a frown forms between his brows.
I chuckle and move the few steps placing me in front of him, Stiles sets his hands on my hips and pulls me closer in between his knees. My chest bumps into his and I wrap my arms behind his neck as I lean forward.
Not touching my lips with his, they brush as I mutter "Won't have time to be the detective I fell in love with if I have to change" before I connect our lips quickly.
Stiles returns the kiss, breathing in deeply through his nose before he makes a noise of disapproval when I pull away "Fair point– I'll just be glaring at every asshat who looks at you today."
Smiling softly, I roll my eyes with his macho statement "I only have eyes for you, so save your energy and just kiss me every time you want to glare at someone."
"That'll be a lot of PDA violations" Stiles quips as he increases his hold on my sides earning me to laugh lightly as I pull back and slide my hands down to grab his.
I take a step back and pull him with me to stand up as I shrug, walking backwards towards the door while I connect my shimmering with mischief eyes with his "Worth it."
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Noah rolls his eyes with Stiles' request and turns to walk into his office.
I offer a small grimace towards Stiles before he huffs and is walking right behind his dad into the office "I know his family left town around the time Theo was nine or ten, his older sister died in an accident when he was eight."
Stiles closes the door after I walk in behind them and we walk over to Noah who raises his arm with his exasperated statement "Please go to school."
"Dad, this kid's a werewolf." Stiles stresses and Noah couldn't look less like that should mean anything to him, which he then proves with his next words "Your best friend is a werewolf."
I make a face like he has a point when Stiles looks my way before Noah continues "You are dating a banshee who's best friends are a werecoyote, a banshee who we just found out is also her cousin and then Kira, which honestly I'm still confused about what she is."
I nod my head to the side to fill in super helpfully "A kitsune Fox–"
Making a noise and lifting his hand out to stop me, Noah continues "When the flying monkeys come soaring through this station, you will have my undivided attention. Until then, just go to school."
"What did you do?" Stiles ignores everything that was previously said to point towards his dad.
I turn more towards Noah and try to find whatever it is that's different. Coming up with bupkis I flick my eyes up to Noah's face as he scrunches it up in confusion "What? What do you mean, 'What did I do'?"
"There's something different about you." Stiles states again and Noah counters with a little pitch in his voice "What are you talking about?"
Stiles walks past me and quickly up to stand in front of his dad, getting all up in his personal space sniffing around him and everything as he mutters "What is it? What's different?"
I snort and move my lips in between my teeth to hide my smile at the look Noah throws his son, flicking his eyes over his shoulder to me before he scrunches up his face again and softly pushes his son back away from him "For the love of God, Stiles, just go to school."
Stiles moves a few steps back with the push and raises his arms out to his sides "I will go if you promise to do a full background check of the Raekens."
"No. You know what? Just because I'm the only law enforcement officer who knows anything about this, does not make it my responsibility to do something every time you have a minor suspicion."
Noah argues before I shrug and nod towards the window behind us "Except you're not the only one, Mr. S."
Stiles raises his brows, looking towards me before following my line of sight and looking excitedly back to his dad.
Noah throws me a look like he can't believe I'm not on his side and huffs before shouting towards the door "Parrish!"
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Stiles and I hop out of the jeep and he's still radiating aggravation from what we found with the background check basically came up with nothing
Malia walks up to us offering a bright smile before hugging me. She pulls back with her brows furrowed and looks over to Stiles, connecting her eyes with mine as she nods his way "What's wrong with him now?"
Stiles scoffs and rolls his eyes as he looks back towards the school.
I flick my humor filled eyes towards Malia to answer her "Well we went to the station this morning to run a background check on Theo and didn't exactly find the 'case closed he's an awful dickbag who needs to be taken out stat' like Stiles was hoping for."
Stiles again scoffs and looks back towards me "We found something promising."
"It was a speeding ticket" I quip back and Malia looks between us as Stiles continues "Exactly Adds, a speeding ticket signed by Theo's dad eight years ago– it's a start."
"How is that a start?" I question and he nods his head to the side "because who speeds?"
"You do" I answer at the same time as he lifts a hand from his hip to point towards me, talking over me "People trying to get away from something."
Malia furrows her brows and turns to Stiles "Well, how many tickets do you have?"
"None," Stiles states with an innocent shrug and it's my turn to scoff as I raise a brow towards him "Aaaaaaand how many would you have if your dad didn't get you out of them?"
Stiles makes a face as he drags out his answer "Ssssseventeen."
I raise my brows quickly once, shaking my head softly as I chuckle with his answer.
Malia makes a noise next to me before she offers "I don't know, Stiles. I mean, I see why you're worried. He's really hot– he's got like great hair, perfect body. You should definitely feel threatened."
"Thank you. Because I do– now more than ever," Stiles answers, pulling me towards him with a hand on my hip.
I look down at my feet, letting out a little squeal with the action and trying not to fall as my side crashes into his chest.
"You good?" Stiles implores and looks down to me with a smirk. Playfully rolling my eyes, I scoff lightly "Yea that was so smooth, thank you for that."
Chuckling with my remark Stiles bends forward and kisses my temple.
Malia looks up thoughtfully "You guys want me to torture him?"
"No, we don't want you to torture him." I answer back quickly and she shrugs, "I'm pretty sure I can take him."
"I'm sure you could Mal, but no– no torturing is necessary, Sherlock here has a plan," I answer as I lift my free hand to point towards him.
Stiles grips my hip a little harder with his chest puffed up from the confidence with my words "Thank you my dear Watson, I do have a plan– all right, there are steps to doing this right."
"What steps?" I ask cheerfully and Stiles fights a smile as he quips back "I know you're being cheeky, however I appreciate the enthusiasm"
Malia chuckles looking between us as Stiles continues "It's simple– we get the story, verify the facts. We find the piece that doesn't fit and... and catch him in the act. That's how we do it."
Stiles makes a noise, his eyes drawn over just past Malia causing us to look over as well.
We see Theo getting out of a car and leaning in the window to say goodbye to whoever dropped him off.
Theo turns around and smiles when he sees the three of us, he lifts an arm and waves towards us. Not feeling right to just leave him hanging, I smile politely and offer a small wave back towards him His smile looks too innocent, like he's trying too hard
I shrug a shoulder at Malia with her question filled gaze as she looks back to Stiles "Why are you so suspicious of this guy?"
Stiles huffs, looking between us and back over to the guy in question "Because I remember Theo from fourth grade. Okay? That's not Theo."
The warning bell rings, earning Malia to wave as she heads to her class and I pull Stiles with me towards the school "Come on babe– plan can still be in motion as we don't miss the first day."
Stiles smiles and pulls me into his side as we walk towards the front of school "First day of senior year."
I smile and squeeze his side slightly "Last first day of high school ever."
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Lydia and I look over from our Bio table when a book sets down on the table to our left a little loudly.
Scott is getting set up and I smile with his accomplishment of making it into this class.
Kira throws a confused look our way, earning Lydia to furrow her brows over to me as well. I chuckle and nod like he's good to be here as my answer to her silent question.
Lydia makes a noise and looks back over to Kira, they share a silent debate for who should make sure he's in the right class.
I set my elbow on the table, resting my chin in my palm as I appreciate the humor of everything transpiring right now.
Kira nods her head to the side "Scott? Are you in the right class?"
"AP Biology" He cheerfully replies, earning Lydia to make a noise before imploring "Do you know what AP stands for?"
Scott chuckles through his answer "Advanced Placement."
I snort and bump my shoulder with Lydia's "Leave him be, he worked really hard this summer to prepare for the class. He's going to do great"
Lydia makes a hmmm noise before going back to her book while Scott smiles over my way in thanks.
I nod towards him before our teacher walks in and leans against the front of her desk "Welcome to AP Biology. Let's see who's awake. Can somebody tell me what plasmids are?"
I raise my hand and answer as soon as Ms. Finch nods towards me "Circular, self-replicating DNA molecules often used in cloning proteins."
"Nicely stated, Addy. Now, can you tell me what vitamin is absorbed in the stomach via parietal cell production of a glycoprotein?"
"B-12" I answer quickly, earning Ms. Finch to offer a barely there smirk and head nod high praise from her, I can breathe again
Lydia leans closer to me whispering "oh it's on, smarty pants" earning me to smile brightly at her as Ms. Finch turns quickly tp Scott "Mr. McCall, did you know the answer?"
"Um, no." Scott answers as he sits up more and she continues "It's a common test question. What's your number one college pick?"
"Um..." Scott begins, however, Ms. Finch is quick to interrupt "Stop saying, 'Um'."
"Sorry. UC Davis." Scott answers and my heart fills with pride for my brother and his goal he confided in with me this summer as we prepped for the classes he would need to get in Scotty wants to be a Vet and I'm so fucking proud of him
"Good choice. It's the best school on the West Coast for biological and physical sciences. You're in the right class if that's what you're hoping for."
I smile over at Scott white Ms. Finch addresses the class "Who else thinks they're in the right class?"
Everyone slowly raises their hands and she continues "Good– then you should all be prepared for the test tomorrow."
Lydia and I make notes in our planners while we hear groans behind us. Lydia smirks, tapping her pen with mine in a solidarity of we got this before Ms. Finch counters back to the sighs "Don't be so disappointed. This test is specifically to help you determine whether you should actually be in AP Biology. You have two weeks to drop."
Ms. Finch gets up from her lean against her deak to walk across the aisle, stopping in front of Scott and Kira's table and setting her hand in front of Scott's book as she continues "Tomorrow's test will just weed out the ones who shouldn't be here. And that could be any of you." She finishes with a knowing look thrown Scott's way.
He sits up slightly with the insinuation and I can't help but notice the determined look in his eyes– he's going to prove you wrong and I'm going to love every second of it
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"Hey! You– you're coming with us." Stiles whisper shouts to Scott as we quickly walk up to him in the quad.
Scott turns around from his sit on the top of the stairs and furrows his brows "Come on. I've got a free period."
Stiles nods his head to the side "So do we– and so does Theo Raeken."
"Let's go." I state with a quick raise of my brows and Scott huffs but ultimately gets up, grabbing his books and following us back inside the school.
Scott went to ask Theo to come to the locker room and when they both walk in, Theo points towards me "Should you really be in the boy's locker room Addeline?"
"She's standing in Coach's office, and literally is last on your list of anyone you will need to concern yourself with– literally ever" Stiles mutters as he takes a step closer to me.
I smile softly to the side of his face as Theo raises his arms up to his side, smirking while he flicks his eyes between us "Message received bodyguard– what's this about anyways?"
Scott clears his throat and looks from us and over to Theo "Do you mind sharing with us how you got turned?"
Theo makes a face and shakes his head slightly "Of course I don't mind– I was skating in a neighbor's empty pool, trying to do a handplant. Nobody was home. I'm not that good of a skateboarder, but I guess I was feeling pretty determined because I completely lost track of time. I didn't even realize that was night until the yard lights came on. Like I said, I wasn't very good. On my last try I went down and hit hard– really hard. I was sitting there at the bottom of the pool and I realized something. I never heard the board come back down. It came at me fast. I barely had a chance to turn around before it bit me. Right here."
Theo points towards his right side above his hip, drawing Scott's eyes to the spot before he digresses "It wasn't an accident. He wanted to turn you."
I cross my arms over my front ""Right, so why aren't you part of his pack then?"
Stiles makes a noise and elaborates "Exactly why didn't he come back for you?"
Theo looks from us and over to Scott with his answer "Because by the time of my first full moon, he was dead."
Stiles makes a noise and raises his brows "How did you know that?"
"I met another one of his pack a couple weeks later. He told me the Alpha that bit me was killed by two of his own Betas– they were twins" Ethan and Aiden definitely told us a similar event
We all share a silent look knowing it was the Alpha twins, that Theo notices and shifts on his feet.
Taking our silence like we don't believe him, he urges "Scott, listen to my pulse. I'm telling the truth."
Stiles makes a noise and walks closer to Scott "Right– or you just know how to steady your heart rate while you're lying your ass off."
Theo looks between us quickly "Why would I lie?"
Stiles raises his brows and reluctantly fills in his fear with the whole situation as he drops his eyes to the ground "Because maybe you're not who you say you are."
Theo shakes his head as he thinks quickly for something to say to debunk that statement. Seeming to come up with something, he looks over to Scott quickly "Okay. In the fourth grade you had an inhaler, I had one too. I remember this day where I ended up in the nurse's office with an asthma attack. A bad one. I was waiting to be taken to the ER. You were waiting for the Principal. You told me what would happen when you go to the ER for asthma. How they give you oxygen, an IV of prednisone. You made it sound easy. Like everything would be okay."
Scott makes a face like he remembers that occurrence and Stiles rolls his eyes towards me while Theo continues "I've been by myself this whole time. Everybody knows that lone wolves, they don't make it on their own. I swear I'm– I'm that same kid from fourth grade. I was hoping you are too."
The bell rings and breaks the silence of the room. Theo sighs "I better not be late for class. You're not the only ones I need to make a good impression on" He adds with a light smile I don't trust him
Scott nods, returning his smile before Theo nods our way and turns towards the door.
I grab my bag and sling it over my shoulder as the guys walk closer to me, Stiles shakes his head immediately when Scott looks over to us "No. Don't give me that look."
"We have to give people the benefit of the doubt sometimes." Scott argues and Stiles is quick to counter with his disagreement "Not this time, all right? I'm right. There's something off about him. I can feel it."
"Addy's the psychic– not you," Scott points to me before he heads out of the locker room with Stiles arguing to his retreating back "She's not psychic. She's a Banshee. Okay? There's a difference"
I scrunch my nose up softly as I turn to face him, opening my mouth however Stiles beats me to saying something first "I'm right, you know"
Closing my mouth, I take the one step towards him putting me right up against his side as I reach down and link our hands together, laying the side of my head on his shoulder "I know you are, babe."
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Stiles rushes into the library flailing about two pieces of paper before he sets them on the table in front of where Scott, Kira, and Malia are studying.
"So you found something?" Scott questions, earning Stiles to nod and point to the papers "Another signature– this is Theo's dad's signature on a speeding ticket from eight years ago... and this is his dad's signature on a transfer form to Beacon Hills High School from just a few days ago."
"How did you get his transfer form?" Kira ponders before Scott elaborates "Do you break into the Administration Office?"
"You told me you were going to the bathroom" I narrow my eyes over to him and he's quick to deny like the idea was crazy, raising his arm up to scratch the side of his jaw "No, I did not break into the Administration Office."
At the four of our knowing looks he raises his hand out to his side, rushing out "Okay, I might have broken into the Administration Office– can we just focus on the signatures, please... they're different."
"They're sort of different." Malia offers and Stiles makes a noise, pointing to the papers again "They're completely different. Come on– look."
I clear my throat and look over his shoulder before nodding and pointing to the paper "He is right– the garlands don't match, and the undulations of the sinuous stroke are totally off."
Three sets of confused eyes land on me and I shrug "What? This is what we research."
Scott chuckles and shakes his head softly at us before Stiles makes a noise and points to the signature from the transfer paper "Thank you sweets– also look, look at this. Perfect example of the Criminal Tremor."
"So now, Theo is Theo, but his parents aren't his parents?" Kira tries to work through and Stiles nods "Someone's not someone. And when I figure out who that someone really is, someone's in big trouble." Stiles finishes, furrowing his brows now that he heard his statement back.
I snort and drop my chin onto his shoulder before Scott argues "But no one's done anything wrong."
"Yet" Stiles counters quickly before elaborating "If Theo's parents are both psychotic killers then obviously, we should not trust him, right?"
Malia furrows her brows and looks up towards Stiles as she offers "My parents are Peter and the Desert Wolf."
I grimace towards Stiles with his statement being sliced through that quickly and he reaches his hand up to scratch his forehead "Okay... It's fine. You know what? I'll figure it out myself."
I raise my brows watching as he gathers up the papers and continues with a point to the three sitting down with his words "Right? I don't need you or you or you."
I make a face wondering how far he's taking this, which he misses completely since he's on a roll as he turns and continues towards the front doors of the library, shouting without looking back towards our group "I don't need anyone!"
I cross my arms and share a humor filled look with Scott before Stiles stops his steps there it is
Stiles drops his shoulders in an obvious sigh and with his back still to the group, he turns slightly to look over his shoulder at me "Watson, you know you weren't apart of the category of people I don't need."
Smirking his way I lift a shoulder as I make my way over to him, stating softly for him to hear "It's nice to hear that every once and awhile, Sherlock."
Stiles lifts one side of his mouth, while he reaches out and grabs my hand when I stop next to him, linking our fingers as we make our way out of the library and towards the parking lot.
He opens my door and walks around to his side, closing the door and starting the engine to Roscoe.
"What's a Criminal Tremor?" A voice sounds behind us, earning us to jump slightly before I look behind us and see Liam smirking with a brow raised he officially needs a bell
I chuckle now that my heart is back to beating at a normal speed and lift a shoulder with my answer "It's a tiny shake in writing that is indicative of forgery, specifically someone who either knows they're guilty or is terrified of messing up."
Liam makes a face and nods as he grabs his headphone and shoves them in his ears.
I smile softly at the puppy and shift in the seat to face forward again. Stiles moves his wonder filled eyes around my face and I feel a blush rise to my cheeks. Tucking a piece of my hair behind my ear I shrug slightly "What?"
Stiles clears his throat and throws the jeep into reverse with his answer "I love when you talk criminology to me."
"Aaaand just like my parents, you can gross me out with a single sentence," Liam grumbles behind us.
I snort through my chuckle as Stiles rolls his eyes, looking in the back before shaking his head and fighting his smile as he sets his hand on my thigh while we drive out of the parking lot.
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After hours spent with literally nothing but our impersonation of a B99 stakeout episode to show, Theo finally leaves his house in the dark of night.
We follow him out to a spot in the preserve and get out of the jeep to follow the rest of the way on foot.
We hide behind a tree whose branches are hanging down in a slight cover as we watch Theo grab something out of the back of his car and head into the tree line.
"I told you he was up to something." Stiles states proudly, earning Liam to scoff next to me "We just spent three hours watching this dude play video games in his bedroom. He better be out here covering up a mass murder."
Chuckling softly I nod towards where we watched him disappear "Let's find out."
We walk through the trees and down the path Theo went. Stiles grabs my hand as he implores towards Liam "You still got his scent?"
"Don't need it." Liam states as he points towards the ground and we see the footprints in the path that Theo's left behind.
Liam slows his steps, causing Stiles and I to end up a few in front of him before we notice and turn back towards him "What? What's wrong?"
"I forgot, I was supposed to meet Mason at the school gym." Liam states regretfully, earning Stiles to shrug "Okay, why didn't you just tell him?"
"Tell him what?" Liam questions with a furrow of his brows.
Stiles and I share a look before I shrug "Anything–"
Liam looks over to me and shakes his head "I can't just tell him anything."
"Why not?" Stiles asks incredulously and Liam makes a noise as he shoves his hands into his sweatshirt pockets "Because I haven't... I haven't told him everything."
"Still? We said it was okay." Stiles reassures and I offer a nod towards Liam when he connects his eyes with mine.
"Yeah, I know, but it's not that easy... it's– it's a lot to accept." Liam argues which Stiles is quick to counter back "He watched my dad blow up a Berserker with a landmine. I think the groundwork has been pretty thoroughly laid for acceptance."
I clear my throat, gaining his attention before I soften my face towards him "Even if Mason hadn't watched that with his living eyes– we've all been through this. Okay? More than once. It's always been better when they know– trust us. Lydia was our Mason and she wished that we had told her sooner."
Liam closes his eyes and nods, pulling out his phone before Stiles leads us back on the path and Liam chimes in behind us "But what if he freaks out? What if he doesn't want to talk to me? What if he tries to stab me with something silver? Or what if–"
Liam's words stop suddenly and we hear a loud thud behind us. We stop our steps and share a what the hell was that look before we turn around and see him nowhere in sight.
I tap Stiles' arm seeing a hole just behind us how the fuck did we miss that?
We walk over to the hole and see Liam a few feet below us in the ground. Stiles raises out his arms to his sides, whisper shouting down towards him "What the hell are you doing? I..." Stiles shakes his head and looks over my head behind us when we hear footsteps in the distance.
"There he is." Stiles whispers before turning back towards the hole and murmuring "Hurry up. Stop screwing around" down at Liam before he pulls me with him towards a tree branch that we can hide behind.
We see Theo standing on a little bridge over a stream of water with his back towards us.
Liam runs up behind us and Stiles reaches out to brace his chest from crashing into us, pointing his free hand towards the bridge "Try and get his scent."
Liam nods and looks over towards Theo, I shift on my feet and whisper softly "Get anything?"
"Soap. It's nice– it smells good." Liam quips and I smile while Stiles makes a face "Not his soap, his emotional state. Chemosignals, remember?"
"Oh, yeah. Okay. I– He's sad." Liam offers after a few seconds of concentrating, earning Stiles to share a look with me as he mumbles "He's sad?"
"Well, not just sad... It's more like grief." Liam states and I furrow my brows watching as Theo drops a flower into the water "Grief?" holy shit we need to leave
I share a wide eyed look with Stiles at the same time as he figures out what I did and his voice pitches as he states urgently, grabbing our arms and pushing us in front of him "Oh, my God! Go! We have to go."
"What? Why?" Liam tries and I push on his back to keep him in front of me, urging through my own whisper shout "Go– right now just go, bub"
Once we're back on the path Liam again asks what the hell that was and I point over my shoulder as I answer him "That's the bridge where they found his sister."
"What sister?" Liam questions and Stiles continues "The one that got lost and died from exposure– he's leaving a flower for her."
"That doesn't sound evil." Liam states thoughtfully, earning Stiles to sigh through his frustration "I know."
Stiles stops our steps, his hand wrapping around my elbow as we see Theo up on a ridge above us. He jumps down in front of us, smirking as he stands up straight "What you guys doing?"
Liam growls as an answer, moving a few steps and putting himself in front of me quickly.
I set my hand on Liam's upper arm, keeping him closer as Theo raises his hands up to his sides in surrender "Whoa– why do I get the feeling this kid's tougher than he looks?"
"Only when we let him off his leash." Stiles offers in a warning.
Theo doesn't miss a beat, flicking his eyes over to him "Stiles, we were in Little League together. Why are you so suspicious of me?"
Stiles looks over to me quickly, licking his lips and letting out a soft sigh as he digs into his pocket and hands over the folded papers towards Theo "Because of these."
Theo unfolds the papers with confusion while Stiles continues "One's a speeding ticket signed by your dad eight years ago. The other one's a signature on a transfer form to Beacon High– they're different."
"Huh. Yeah, they do look a little different." Theo offers trying to see what we do and Stiles clips back angrily "No, they're totally different– signed by two different people."
"So my dad's not my dad? Like he's an imposter?" Theo states like he couldn't believe that statement less.
I shrug "Yeah, something like that."
Theo snaps his eyes over to connect with mine "Really Addeline, you too? I don't get it you guys, who do you think I am?"
Narrowing my eyes I cross my arms over my front as I answer him "It's Addy, and we don't know yet."
Theo smiles, trying to lighten the mood as he offers "Want me to give you a DNA sample or something?"
"No. We don't have anything from the fourth grade to match it to." Stiles counters back quickly.
Theo takes a second, digesting how serious we are before he looks back up towards us "You know, guys, I came back here for Scott... but I also came back for you two. Someone like you both. Someone who's willing to walk into the woods in the middle of the night to protect their friends. I don't have anyone like that, but Scott does. You all do. I know I'm in the right place. I'm meant to be here. I'm meant to be part of this pack" we shall see how true that last statement is
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The rest of the walk back towards Roscoe is silent as we work through the awkward encounter with Theo.
Stiles' steps falter slightly before he rounds the front of the jeep and I see the reason as Scott questions "Find anything?"
"Nope." Stiles answers as he walks to the driver's side and climbs in quickly.
Liam stops next to me and chuckles through his answer, trying to lighten the mood that's quickly falling over us "I fell in a hole."
I snort and look over as Scott walks up next to us and turns towards the open driver's window "It was the bridge where his sister died, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was. Very embarrassing– so we are gonna leave now." Stiles answers back quickly before trying to start up Roscoe who does not come in clutch as she sputters when he turns the key
I grimace and share a look with Liam as Stiles grumbles "Son of a fucking bitch– Liam, just do me a favor please, get in the car and turn the ignition when I say."
Stiles implores as he climbs out of the seat and walks behind me on his way over towards the hood.
Liam climbs behind the wheel as Scott connects his eyes with mine, following behind his friend and helping him open the hood.
I lean my arm on the side of the jeep near Scott while Stiles leans into the hood and begins tinkering around with the engine.
"Stiles?" Scott tries after a few seconds and Stiles is quick to answer "Be with you in a sec– try it."
Liam attempts to turn the key and we get the same sputtering engine noise before Stiles links his hands together in front of him.
Shifting his feet, he leans his forearms onto the front of the jeep as he sighs in frustration, dropping his head forward and moving his joined hands behind his head.
Scott again tries "Stiles–" earning him to huff out in annoyance, answering back quickly as he drops his hands forward again and lifts his head "Yes. Okay, we followed him out here. What do you want me to say? That I'm a stalker, huh? That I'm crazy, totally paranoid? None of this is new information" he finishes with a slight body turn towards Scott who raises his brows slightly.
Stiles looks between us and I soften my face towards him, letting him know it's okay before he goes back to messing with things in the engine.
I drop my eyes to the ground as I cross my arms in front of me, wanting to be here for support, however also feeling like they need to hash this out.
Scott apparently agrees with the hashing out because he continues through his own disbelief "Not even gonna try to at least give him the benefit of the doubt?"
Stiles looks over his shoulder as he points with his argument "I give people the benefit of the doubt. I've given a lot of benefit to a lot of people."
"Like Derek?... Kira?... Liam?" Scott argues softly and I look back up towards him quickly with my words "You were just as weary of Derek and Liam. I was weary of Kira as well– it's not a bad thing to be on guard with the way our life has been these last few years. Plus Scott, you seriously can't argue Theo showing up after however many years the same night as tar man tried to kill you isn't suspicious."
Scott moves his eyes between mine digesting my words as Stiles points towards me, offering "Exactly what she said– plus we were right about Peter."
Scott looks over to him quickly before Stiles shouts towards Liam "Try it again"
The engine sputtering yet again seems to just fuel Stiles' aggravation. He flexes his hands out in front of him towards the engine before he takes a deep breath and turns towards Scott again "You know, I bet you still think that there's something about him that can be saved."
"Maybe." Scott answers, adding to Stiles' frustration even more maybe hashing this out and working on the jeep isn't a good combination
Stiles fights to hold back his scream, slightly hitting his hand on the front of the jeep before reaching into the engine again and shouting towards Liam "Try it again!"
The engine sputters yet again and Scott takes the worst opportunity to keep pushing with a soft shake of his head "Why can't you trust anyone?"
"Because you trust everyone!" Stiles bellows back finally losing the hold he had on himself and reaches back to punch into the engine.
I flinch back with the action, drawing my brows in with worry as I move my eyes between his hand and his pain filled face.
Stiles draws his brows inward, smashing his lips together as he fights to hold in the scream he wishes he could unleash into the night.
"Are you okay?" Scott asks immediately, flicking his eyes towards Stiles' hand.
Releasing a shaky breath, Stiles breathes out as strongly as he can "I'm fine"
"You could've broken it," I offer softly, earning his eyes to connect with mine as he shakes his head, "It's not broken, babe"
"Let me see it," Scott tries, earning Stiles to clip back again "I'm fine."
"Let me see it." Scott urges again and Stiles makes a face as he slowly moves his hand out towards the space in between them.
Scott steps up next to him and lays Stiles' hand onto his palm as he lays his other hand on top of Stiles'.
Scott grips his fingers through Stiles' and we watch as black veins rise up from Scott's hands and flow up his arms quickly.
Scott raises his brows, clearly shocked with the onslaught of pain he absorbs, and breathes in through a deep breath.
Stiles moves his eyes quickly from their hands and up to Scott's face before connecting his eyes with mine.
I smile softly as Scott removes his hands and Stiles stretches out his fingers, moving his hand in a circle before looking over to Scott.
They share a silent look, they're both still upset and both think they're not wrong– but they're good for now at least, I have a feeling this issue isn't going away
I look over to Liam and nod slightly before he tires the engine again and it roars to life as the headlights shine bright in front of us.
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I walk into Stiles' room and reach out the ice pack towards him. Stiles raises his brows and looks to the pack like it's offending him.
I chuckle and shake it towards him slightly with my words "Seriously just because Scott took away the pain doesn't mean he has the ability to heal you– you'll thank me tomorrow, come on"
Stiles rolls his eyes and uncaps the pen, writing Theo Raeken on his crime board before capping the pen, turning back towards me and grabbing the pack to set on the back of his hand.
I smile and push up on my tippy toes, kissing his cheek before walking backwards to sit on the end of his bed.
Noah walks into the doorway and makes a noise as he looks over the board "Usually, we wait until they do something wrong before we declare them guilty."
"Well, he's guilty of something." Stiles offers through a shrug as he looks towards the board.
Noah looks between us and the board, stating "Accusations require proof– and proof always trumps instinct. It has to."
"I know, Dad." Stiles sighs out deeply and adjusts the ice pack on his hand.
Noah nods towards his son with a little furrow of his brows "You okay?"
Stiles makes a noise and nods "Just a little mishap with the jeep"
I smile towards Noah, earning him to nod and hit his hand softly against the frame before he tries to walk away, however, Stiles stops him "Hey, Dad."
"Mmm-hmm." Noah leans back into the room with his hand on the doorframe again while Stiles walks up to him and continues "I got it. There's something different. I know what it is."
"Okay–" Noah trails off lightly before Stiles points towards his dad's left hand "You're not wearing your wedding ring anymore."
Noah looks from his hand and Stiles' face a few times before he softens his own look towards us "You two sure this kid's guilty?"
We both nod and Stiles states without hesitation "Absolutely."
"Then all you gotta do is wait. If they're really guilty, eventually, they make a mistake."
Stiles shares a look with me, that I return with a determined nod of acceptance before Noah digresses "They always make a mistake."