I hope that wasn't super cringe. I'd been avoiding it for ages because I wasn't sure how to write it, but it felt like the right time for both of them, so I hope it wasn't too weird haha (it definitely still felt weird to write)
Question of the Chapter: Who is your favourite ship from the entire series?
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Stiles and I had been laying side by side for almost ten minutes, just blissfully silent. I could feel my heart still trying to steady itself after what we'd done.
Laying there next to him, staring into his warm coffee eyes as he ran his hand gently up and down my bare back, I had never felt safer than I did in that very moment. But the other shoe was always waiting to drop, waiting to ruin every small bit of happiness we managed to find.
"I can't believe we were together a whole year before doing that," Stiles said as he was attempting to catch his breath, his chest heaving.
And yet, even though everything in this town was so uncertain, I knew I could count on Stiles.
"I can't believe we've been together for a year now," I said softly.
He blinked, confused, "Why can't you believe that?"
"Just after everything we've been through, nothing really felt stable. I was worried it would be the same for us," I shrugged, moving closer to him to allow the heat from his skin to roll over me.
"When did you know?"
Stiles frowned as he wrapped his arms around me. "What do you mean?"
"You said you had a crush on me forever. When did that start?"
He smiled as he ran his fingers up and down my spine, leaving fire in his wake. His smile could power cities, his eyes focused only on me.
"When Scott and I met as kids, we thought it was going to be just the two of us. But then, we all got put in the same class. You were this cute girl with pig tails who wasn't afraid to come up to us because you wanted to be our friend.
"My feelings for you. . . they came later. I knew I liked you as more than a friend in elementary school, after my mum had died. I had had that panic attack at school and those other kids were making fun of me and Scott was away. You stuck by my side, yelling at them all to leave me alone. You even shoved that douche Carter to the ground," he laughed.
Stiles looked me in the eyes, arm around me still. "When we started high school, Scott told me it would probably not work out and that it was best to stay friends, but I still kept hoping."
My hand cupped the side of his face, studying him. "I'm glad you did," I said softly.
He put his hand on top of mine, watching me carefully. "When did you know?"
I took a moment to think. When did I?
"I think. . . part of me always kind of knew, but I didn't think it would happen. The point where I really realised, was that day after the full moon where you made me miss class. We were sitting in the courtyard and everything just felt different. I can't really explain it."
"Well, now that I finally have you, you aren't going to be able to get rid of me easily. You couldn't even if you tried."
"I wouldn't want to," I said quietly, looking him directly in the eyes so he knew I was telling the truth. "You're my everything, Stiles Stilinski."
"You're my forever, Riley Winters."
Completely. . . totally. . . desperately in love with you.
"You love trying to outdo me, don't you?" I grinned, before our lips met again, moving in unison. His hands were on my hips, pulling me closer to him. Just as I thought we might repeat our earlier actions, my phone began to ring.
"Ignore it," I said against his lips, not wanting to stop.
But as my phone stopped, Stiles' started, and then mine started again, both of them ringing.
Stiles sighed as we separated, both of us knowing that we couldn't ignore our phones right now. As soon as he lifted the sheets, the cold air hit my skin, causing me to shiver. I whined a little as he answered his phone, already missing his warmth.
Wrapping his sheet around me, I went over to my discarded jeans and pulled my phone out of my front pockets. Lydia was calling.
"Hey, Lydia, what's up?"
"My grandma, I think she was a Banshee, and I think she somehow predicted this. Or she is the Benefactor, I'm not really sure," she said quickly.
"Hey, slow down, okay? Where are you?"
"At my house."
"Alright. If you think your dead grandmother is alive, maybe we need to talk to an adult or something. Meet Stiles and I at the Sheriff's station, his dad is on duty right now. Maybe he can help," I told her calmly.
"Okay," she said quietly. "Okay. I'll meet you guys there."
I hung up after a moment, worry for the girl consuming me. She sounded a bit scared. I couldn't blame her through, especially if she thought her grandmother might still be alive.
Stiles got off of the phone, informing me it had been Scott who had also just been in contact with Lydia. She really needed our help. I told him to get dressed so that we could go and meet up with the girl and talk to his dad about what to do.
Grabbing some fresh underwear from my drawer in his dresser, I got changed back into my jeans. Reaching down to pick up my shirt, I ended up picking Stiles' up instead. Slipping it on, I breathed in his scent. It made me feel safe and warm in a world that threatened to consume us all at any moment.
Tying it so that it was more fitting, I pulled my jacket on over the top and walked towards the door where Stiles was waiting.
"Should I be annoyed by the fact that my shirt looks better on you than it does on me?" He chuckled, pulling me towards him to kiss me.
I reciprocated the motion, before stopping with a sigh. Even though I want nothing more than to throw myself off of the cliff that was my love for Stiles, we were supposed to be meeting Lydia. When he groaned in light protest, I couldn't help but laugh.
"Come on, we have to go."
♧♤♢♡
✧*:･ﾟStiles･ﾟ:*✧
"It's not just that she could be alive," I told my dad as he lead Lydia, Riley and I into his office.
Lydia sighed somewhat, "It's that she would've had to fake her death."
"Which, in this town, wouldn't be the weirdest thing to happen, Sheriff," Riley pointed out from beside me.
God, she looked so good in my shirt.
I looked to where I had attempted to leave a hickey on her neck, only to be disappointed to see that it was gone. Damn supernatural healing.
"Wait, so your grandmother, Lorraine Martin, faked her death?" My father asked with wide eyes.
"Definitely," I nodded.
"Probably," Riley said
Lydia was quick to correct, "Maybe."
I half rolled my eyes as I looked at the girls, "More than likely, yes."
My dad scratched the back of his head in thought, "Oh, I'm guessing you got a story to back this up?"
"She might be helping the Benefactor," Lydia told him hesitantly, aware of the implications of such a statement.
"Or is the Benefactor," I clarified, not wanting to leave any stone unturned when it came to this topic.
My dad didn't even stop to think before nodding, shutting his office door. "That sounds like a story worth hearing."
Lydia began to tell him what she had learnt at her lake house. How her grandmother's ashes were actually the ashes of a mountain ash tree, that she was most likely a Banshee, how she predicted the death of the woman she loved and so on.
My dad didn't interrupt her, only stopping to see if Parrish had arrived yet. Ever since we found out he was on the Deadpool we had been sure to keep him clued in. He was usually quite eager, but for some reason he was running late today.
Shutting the door once more, we went back to our conversation. It was hard to believe, but it was entirely possible that Lydia's grandmother was alive somewhere either creating the Deadpool or aiding and abetting whoever was.
All we knew was that there had to be a Banshee involved, and that narrowed down our search list considerably considering that Meredith - the only other Banshee we knew besides Lydia - was dead.
We were deep on conversation, when suddenly gun shots rang out through the station. I was quick to grab Riley, pushing her behind me in hopes that she wouldn't be in the line of fire. We couldn't see much through the blinds, but there was definitely an altercation occurring outside of the office.
My father drew his gun, swinging open the door with it at the ready. "Hey. Hey!" He shouted, trying to get the attention of the two men fighting on the floor.
The man pinning the other, although covered in soot, appeared to be Deputy Parrish.
Parrish punched the man, setting the gun off again. The bullet flew in our direction, hitting my dad directly in the shoulder. I shouted as I ran over to him, crouching down beside him.
"But you're dead," Deputy Haigh said to Parrish, before Parrish continued to beat him half to death.
Apparently, Deputy Haigh had been mistaken.
♧♤♢♡
✧･ﾟ:*Riley*:･ﾟ✧
I waited out in the hallway outside of Sheriff Stilinski's room. Stiles was in there with him, and I didn't want to interrupt.
After a text to Charlotte, both she and Iris had made their way to the hospital to make sure we were all safe.
"Ri, thank god you're okay," Charlotte sighed as she wrapped her arms around me tightly. "How is the Sheriff?"
"He's alive, thankfully. They're going to book him in for surgery and right now they've just got him on a lot of medication," Stiles stated as he exited the room.
Charlotte released me so that I could embrace Stiles. "He's going to be fine," I told him.
"I know," he replied softly.
"I must say, this is the most. . . interesting town I've lived in," Iris claimed, looking around the hallway.
I looked down at my phone to see that it wasn't too late yet. "And it's only going to get worse and I don't really think there will ever be a good time, so I think it's time to introduce you to Scott."
Turning to Stiles, I squeezed his hand gently. "Will you be okay?"
"Yeah," he nodded quickly. "I'll text you when I get home."
"Do you want me to come by later?"
He bit his lip, running a hand through his hair, "I don't know what time I'll be home from the hospital. Can I just- can I call you tomorrow?"
"Of course," I told him, giving him a quick hug. I felt so bad that he was having to deal with his dad being in hospital again.
He drew back and went back into the room with his dad, collapsing down into the chair. He looked so withdrawn as he watched his father, chin rested in his hand as he leaned on his elbow.
"You take Iris, I'll make sure he gets home at some point," Charlotte reassured me with a smile.
I thanked her, saying good bye, before leading Iris out of the hospital and to my car. We drove directly to Scott's, mainly because I wanted to just do this already so that we could focus on everything else.
I knocked on the door, only for Scott to answer moments later with a shocked look on his face. "Riley? What's wrong? Why are you here so late?"
He knew that I'd forgiven them, so for me to show up out of the blue at his door late at night was probably a bit of a surprise. Mainly because I would normally text him, but with everything going on, I didn't even stop to consider that.
"There's someone I need to introduce you to," I explained, pointing to the woman beside me. "This is Iris Quinn."
"'Iris Quinn,'" he repeated slowly, wheels turning in his head. Then, his eyes went wide, "She's on the Deadpool."
"She is," Iris nodded, "And you're Scott McCall. I've been looking for you and your pack."
♧♤♢♡
"So, you're a Sylph like Riley?"
Iris nodded, her curls bobbing as she did so. "Yes. Riley is stronger, but I am a Sylph, nonetheless."
Scott had welcomed us inside and Iris had told Scott everything she had told me. From losing her Pack, to finding the Deadpool, to searching for our Pack.
It always felt weird hearing her say that I was stronger than her. I didn't feel like it.
Iris Quinn held herself with confidence, she knew who and what she was, and she owned it. I wanted nothing more than to be able to do the same; maybe that would grant me more control.
Charlotte offered Iris the guestroom on a semi-permanent basis, and I took that opportunity to encourage Iris, wanting her to teach me. She didn't hesitate, instead, smiling and accepting the offer, saying she was more than happy to help me.
I didn't have my mother, but I had Charlotte and now I had Iris.
"And you came here to be apart of our Pack?" Scott asked, seeming surprised. "Why?"
Iris smiled at this, taking the shock of the teenager in stride. "Doctor Deaton told me all about your Pack; it's extraordinary how diverse it is. I mean, you don't just have werewolves. You have a True Alpha, betas, a werecoyote, a Kitsune, a Banshee, a Sylph and even a human.
"I wanted to find a pack like my own; a Pack that valued the importance of human life. I apologise for following you all, but I needed to be sure Deaton was right. He may be a friend, but even the best of advisers can be misguided."
Scott seemed to be keeping up, nodding slowly. "Okay. So you being here must mean we passed your test?"
"It wasn't so much a test, as it was me being cautious, but yes. And if you'll have me, I would be honoured to be a part of your Pack."
Scott looked over to me for confirmation of the story, and I nodded to tell him she was telling the truth. He took a moment to think, before nodding. "We are always happy to welcome more people. I hope you're willing to share your experience with us, considering you have been a part of a Pack much longer than the rest of us."
"I'm just here to help," the woman smiled.
"I hope so. We could use all the help we can get right now."
♧♤♢♡
Last night Scott, Iris and I had spent a couple more hours talking. We had taken her over everything that had happened in our lives right from the moment that Scott was bitten.
With every new chapter of our lives, she seemed more and more impressed. I think the fact that we're still alive was what took her by surprise the most. After all, we were just a bunch of teenagers, and at the end of the day we didn't really know what we were doing half of the time.
Isaac joined the conversation at one point, loving the sound of his own voice as he cut Scott off every now and then to make a smart-ass remark. No one minded though; it helped to not let the conversation drift anywhere too dark.
As we were just about half way through the whole Nogitsune chapter of our story, my phone started ringing. I excused myself from the conversation when I saw that it was Charlotte.
"Hey, Char, what's going on?"
"Melissa and I finally convinced Stiles to go home and get some sleep. He's not good, Ri. I don't think he should be alone," Charlotte informed me.
My chest ached at the thought of him being alone in his house, thinking about his father being in hospital.
"Okay. I'm leaving right now. Are you able to pick up Iris?"
Charlotte seemed to stumble for a moment, "Iris. Wh- yeah. Yeah, that's totally fine. I'll get Iris."
"Alright," I said slowly. "Thanks again, Char. I'll see you tomorrow."
We said our goodbyes and hung up momentarily, before I returned to the living room. Isaac, Scott and Iris all turned my way expectantly.
"Stiles is home now, so I'm going to go and check on him. Charlotte is going to come by and she'll take you back to our house, if that's alright, Iris?" I said, grabbing my bag and keys.
She nodded, her curls bouncing as she smiled at me. "Of course. Send him and his dad my best wishes."
"I will," I smiled.
I gave Isaac and Scott a quick hug before heading out the door and driving straight to the Stilinski household. Rapping on the door, it took a while for Stiles to answer.
When he did, I could see his eyes were red and slightly puffy from crying. Without a word, I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around him.
Hugging him tightly, I could hear light sobs escaping him as he held me.
So much had happened to us recently, and seeing his dad get shot was the last thing that Stiles needed. Thank god it was only his shoulder; it could have been so much worse.
Shutting the front door, I lead him back to his bedroom and got him to get changed before climbing into bed beside him. He had stopped crying, his nose and eyes still red.
I held his hands beneath the covers, watching each movement he made.
"He's going to be okay," I said softly.
I heard a sniffle escape him in the dark, "I know. It doesn't make it any easier though."
He was right; I knew that just as well as he did. But like we said after Allison died, we have to find ways to be okay. This is just one of those times where we have to find a silver lining.