Stiles and Scott go through such a rough time in their friendship this season, and it makes me sad because they're basically brothers.
——————————
✧･ﾟ:*Riley*:･ﾟ✧
A yawn escaped me, only to be cut short by Stiles putting his hand over my mouth.
"He's a werewolf with super hearing, remember?" He scolded.
"And I'm a Sylph who wanted to be in bed an hour ago."
I proceeded to let my yawn out as slowly and quietly as possible, Stiles not looking away from me to make sure I wasn't making noise.
When he was satisfied, he turned back to Theo.
"I told you guys he was up to something."
Theo had driven out to the Preserve in the dark and was now retrieving an item from the boot of his car. He took a moment to glance around him as the door to the boot closed shut.
Liam looked rather unimpressed, "We just spent three hours watching this dude play video games in his bedroom. He better be out here covering up a mass murder."
"You're the one who decided to sneak into the Jeep, stowaway, so don't bitch," I told him.
"You were just complaining."
"I'm not a stowaway."
"My God, I'm partnered with children," Stiles mumbled beneath his breath. "Let's just find out what he's doing."
Stiles was moving before I got the chance to defend against the 'children' comment. Liam lead the way, tracking Theo by scent so that we didn't have to get too close to him. The last thing we needed was him seeing us basically stalking him.
"You still got the scent?" Stiles asked the boy.
Liam shrugged, pointing to the ground, "Don't need it."
My eyes followed to where he was pointing, to find that Theo was leaving behind footprints. "Don't you think that if he were up to something, he probably would be trying harder not to leave tracks?" I asked quietly.
Stiles was about to answer, when we both noticed that Liam had stopped walking.
"What? What's wrong?" My boyfriend asked.
Liam looked over his shoulder in no particular direction, before turning back to us. "I forgot. I was supposed to meet Mason at the school gym."
"Okay, why didn't you just tell him?"
"Tell him what?"
I frowned, feeling bad for the kid. Stiles and I knew what that was like having to lie to those around us.
"Anything, Liam. Anything is better than nothing at all. Trust me."
The boy sputtered as he looked at me, "I can't just tell him anything."
"Why not?" Stiles asked.
"Because I haven't. . . I haven't told him everything."
"Still?" Stiles and I were both confused by this. "We said it was okay."
The beta nodded, "Yeah, I know, but it's not that easy. It's a lot to accept."
"He watched my dad blow up a Berserker with a land mine. I think the groundwork's been pretty thoroughly laid for acceptance," Stiles pointed out.
"Scott, Riley and I have been through this. Okay? More than once. It's always been better when they know."
I thought back to my mother and how we had both been keeping secrets from each other. It had driven a wedge into our relationship and it never really healed from that.
We started walking again, not wanting to lose Theo, but Liam wasn't done with this conversation.
"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. . ."
"Finally," I mumbled as he stopped talking.
Except he hadn't just stopped talking. The silence was followed by a loud thud. With a sigh, Stiles and I both stopped walking. Turning around, I couldn't see Liam. However, there was a rather large hole in the ground now.
Walking over to the edge of the hole, Stiles and I looked down to see Liam at the bottom. Stiles threw his hands up, shaking his head. "What the hell are you doing?"
Liam just shrugged, not really knowing how to reply.
"I swear-"
"Stop," I said quickly, grabbing his arm. I could hear footsteps in the distance, growing closer to us with each second. "He's over there."
Stiles looked from me to Liam, "Hurry up. Stop screwing around."
The two of us walked ahead, listening to the rustling sound of Liam climbing out of the hole. We stopped at a tree where we were close enough that we could see Theo, but not far enough that we couldn't tell what was going on.
When Liam finally rejoined us, Stiles instructed him to get the boy's scent. The beta took a moment before answering, "Soap. It's nice. It smells good."
I shut my eyes for a moment, taking a breath. "Not his soap, Liam. Chemosignals. Emotional state. Remember?"
"Oh, right, sorry. Okay." Liam focused again, eyes trained on Theo.
"I. . .he's sad."
"He's sad?" Stiles repeated, doubt lacing his tone.
"Well, not just sad. . . It's more like grief."
"Grief?" Stiles echoed again. I turned to see his eyes narrowed, trying to think why the boy he thought was keeping secrets would be grieving.
I tried to do the same, watching Theo carefully. He wasn't really doing anything, just standing on the bridge all alone. After a moment, he unwrapped something in his hands. He then proceeded to pull a white lily out of the wrapping, holding it up before him. He stared at it for a second, before delicately dropping it into the water below.
When the lily hit the water, it was like something clicked for Stiles. "Oh, my God!" The boy gasped quietly.
"Stiles? What just happened?" I whispered back.
"Go! We have to go."
The boy grabbed Liam and I by the arm a each, dragging us away from the tree.
Liam didn't go easily, confused by Stiles' sudden mood shift. "What? Why?"
"Go! Right now. Just go."
"Stiles, you need to tell us what's going on," I told him firmly, but still obeying and walking away.
"That's the bridge where they found his sister," Stiles explained quickly. "The one that got lost and died from exposure. He's leaving a flower for her."
Liam only grew more confused. "That doesn't sound evil."
"I know."
Before Stiles could say any more on the matter, someone jumped down from the tree in front of us. After landing squarely on the ground, they stood up slowly to reveal themselves to be Theo.
"What are you guys doing?"
"That little landing was a bit dramatic, don't you think?" I asked, trying not to seem too unnerved by the boy.
As Theo approached us, Liam let out a warning growl, stepping in front of Stiles and I. Stiles put a hand on the boy's arm, holding him back.
"Whoa," Theo chuckled drily, holding his hands up in mock defence. "Why do I get the feeling this kid's tougher than he looks?"
"Only when we let him off his leash," Stiles responded.
It took everything in me not to outwardly roll my eyes at the ridiculous canine joke he had chosen to make. Honestly, if he was trying to seem intimidating, it wasn't working.
"Stiles, we were in Little League together. Why are you so suspicious of me?"
"It could be the fact that you've been acting totally creepy since you got back, but that might just be me," I mumbled beneath my breath, fully aware that he would be able to hear me.
Stiles hesitated, before reaching into his jacket and revealing the pieces of paper that we had previously shown to our Pack. "Because of these."
Theo accepted the sheets, unfolding them curiously.
"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," Stiles narrated as the boy examined the forms. "They're different."
"Huh," Theo replied simply, comparing the two. "Yeah, they do look a little different."
I had to admit, the fact that he admitted to it so easily threw me off. What was his endgame here?
"No, they're totally different. Signed by two different people," Stiles insisted with a shake of his head.
Theo laughed quietly, "So my dad's not my dad? Like he's an imposter?"
"Yeah, something like that," Liam confirmed, not sounding all too confident.
"Who do you think I am?"
"If we knew that, do you think we'd be out here?" I asked sarcastically.
Theo shifted, smirking, "Want me to give you a DNA sample or something?"
Stiles held a hand up in disappointment. "No. I don't have anything from the fourth grade to match it to."
The boy's smile fell when he realised that Stiles was being completely serious and that none of this was a joke to him.
"You know, Stiles, I came back here for Scott. . . but I also came back for you."
This night just kept getting stranger and stranger. Was this the real Theo or not?
"Someone like you. Someone who's willing to walk into the woods in the middle of the night to protect his friends," Theo clarified.
"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 a part of this pack."
When no one said anything and we began to fall into a somewhat awkward silence, I grabbed Stiles' hand and Liam's arm.
"Well, this was. . . fun. Let's not do it again, okay?"
I began to walk, dragging the boys with me. I took one last glance over my shoulder, to see that Theo was watching us go. There seemed to be the shadow of a smile on his face, but it was hard to tell in the dark.
When we reached the Jeep, we saw Scott leaning against his bike waiting for us to get back. "Find anything?"
Stiles shook his head, avoiding eye contact with our friend. "Nope."
Liam smiled a little as he looked at Scott with a nervous chuckle, "I fell in a hole."
I gave the boy a small smile, seeing that he was trying to take some of the tension out of the situation. It didn't do much good, but the effort was there.
Stiles didn't add to Liam's response, just climbed into the Jeep and shut the door behind him.
Scott walked up to the window, hands in his pockets. "It was the bridge where his sister died, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was. Very embarrassing," Stiles responded as he put the keys into the ignition. "So we are gonna leave now."
My boyfriend spun the key in the ignition, but the engine only sputtered in response, struggling to start. Stiles tried again, but still nothing.
He let out a heavy sigh, "Son of a. . ." he trailed off as he ran a hand down his face.
"Liam, just do me a favour, get in the car and turn the ignition when I say," Stiles instructed as he climbed back out of the Jeep.
Liam did as he was told, replacing Stiles in the driver's seat. Stiles headed around to the front of the vehicle, popping the hood. He stuck a hand in and began to adjust something near the engine, trying to fix whatever was stopping Roscoe from starting up.
"Stiles?" Scott asked quietly as he and I approached.
"Be with you in a sec."
He looked up form the engine and faced Liam's direction, "Try it!"
The boy did exactly that, doing his best to kickstart the engine. When nothing happened, my boyfriend lowered his head between his arms as his elbows held him up. I rested a hand on his shoulder to try to keep him at ease.
"Stiles," Scott said, trying to get him to focus on him and not the car.
Stiles looked up in frustration. "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?"
He finally turned to face our friend, "None of this is new information."
"You're not gonna try to at least give him the benefit of the doubt?"
"Scott, leave it alone," I warned. Stiles was already so bothered at the moment, and I knew that if Scott kept it up this wasn't going to end well.
Stiles held a hand up defensively, "I give people the benefit of the doubt. I've given a lot of benefit to a lot of people."
"Like Derek?" Scott asked gently. "Kira? Liam?"
"I was right about Peter," Stiles responded, giving me an apologetic look before adjusting something under the hood. "Try it again," he called to Liam.
When the Jeep sputtered again, I gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "Let's just go, okay? I'll call Charlotte and we can come back for the Jeep in the morning."
"No," Stiles said, shaking his head. He turned to Scott, what little patience he had left waning, "You know, I bet you still think that there's something about him that can be saved," Stiles said, referring to my birth father.
"Maybe," Scott answered.
Even I was surprised by this answer. Peter had legitimately tried to kill Scott not that long ago, but he still thought he could be saved? He was my father and I didn't even believe that.
And besides, Stiles was right a majority of the time. Between Peter and Matt, I still believed that he was right about Theo.
Stiles grumbled as he moved something and then shouted to Liam to try it again. Liam turned the key, but again the engine stalled.
"Come on, I'll call Charlotte," I insisted, trying to be a voice of reason while he was stressed.
He almost looked like he was going to concede, when Scott apparently decided that he wasn't done. "Why can't you trust anyone?"
"Because you trust everyone!" Stiles shouted, pulling away from me and slamming his hand down onto the Jeep
I winced at the sound as I jumped back somewhat, watching as he bit his lip to keep from letting on that he had hurt himself. Keeping a small distance, I wished that I could remove his pain; but that wasn't something a Sylph could do.
"Are you okay?" Scott asked the boy carefully.
Stiles took a breath before nodding, "I'm fine."
"You could've broken it."
"It's not broken."
"Let me see it," Scott insisted, reaching towards him.
"I'm fine."
Even though I was annoyed at Scott for pushing Stiles far enough that he did that, I wasn't about to let him just stand there in pain. "Stiles, let him help," I said quietly.
My boyfriend looked at me, hesitating, before gingerly holding his hand out. Scott placed a hand below and above Stiles'. The boy's veins went black as Scott drew away the pain.
After a few moments he let go, Stiles examining his hand in a silent gesture of thanks. The boys looked at each other, but I wasn't sure what they could say.
Suddenly, the headlights of the Jeep turned on, as I'm sure they were both thankful. Stiles shut the hood of the Jeep before heading over to the driver's side, getting Liam to move into the backseat.
I went to go to the passenger side, when Scott called my name, reaching for me. I put a hand up to get him to stop, "Don't, Scott. We'll talk later."
He barely nodded, before I went and got into the car beside Stiles. Scott got on his bike and rode off, and we drove away.
♧♤♢♡
✧*:･ﾟStiles･ﾟ:*✧
It had been a few days since the 'incident' in the Preserve with Theo. Scott and I hadn't really talked about it again.
Theo was definitely still on the murder board, I wasn't about to just drop my investigation because Scott seemed to think that every person could be innocent or saved. Riley was still on my side, and for now, that was enough.
But right now, it was almost like things were back to normal. Except for the fact that my Dad was about to go on a date.
"Oh, I should've got a haircut," he said as he looked at himself in a handheld mirror.
I stepped to stand in front of him as he lowered the mirror. "Well, you know someone your age should be happy you still have hair to cut," I pointed out with a smile.
"I think you look great," Scott grinned from behind me.
"You really do, Noah," Riley added.
My father nodded in appreciation of them both, "Well, thank you, son I should have had. Even your girlfriend knows how to give a compliment."
My mouth fell open a couple times in confusion, "I thought that was a compliment. . ."
"This is a terrible idea," he said, going to undo his tie.
I quickly grabbed his shoulders before he could finish undoing it. I pushed the tied back up, neatening it and straightening his coat. "What, Dad. . . Dad, it's one date, okay? The town of Beacon Hills won't implode while you're out with one woman. Or man."
"It's a woman, Stiles," he assured me.
"Okay."
"A very beautiful woman."
"Who is it, if you don't mind my asking?" Riley questioned politely.
"That's my business," he chuckled. "None of you need to know."
I narrowed my eyes, watching him carefully. "I want to know."
"Stilinski!"
We all turned, hearing someone shouting from outside of my Dad's office.
"Stilinksi!" They continued to scream.
Scott, Riley and I followed my Dad out of his office to see what was going on. When we walked out, we saw a boy being held back by a couple of deputies, a man in a suit standing beside him.
"I'm going to kill you," the boy said as soon as he saw my Dad.
My father sighed, straightening up. "Donovan, if you think that shocks me, remember it was well-documented in your Anger Expression Inventory. Deputies, escort the prisoner out."
"I'm not angry like I'm gonna throw a brick through your window," Donovan said before the deputies even attempted to walk him away. "I'm angry, like I'm going to find you, I'm going to get a knife and I'm going to stab you with it until you're dead. And when you look at me and you ask me why, remember right now. Because, this is why."
The man's lawyer had his head face in his hands, and everyone seemed to be lulled into a morbid silence. But I wasn't about to let this kid feel tough for threatening my Dad.
"Wow, that was awesome," I told Donovan, breaking the silence. My Dad looked at me in surprise, but I wasn't stopping. "That was awesome. That was great. We do one more? Give us another one, maybe like Christopher Walken this time, you know."
"Stiles, don't," Riley said gently, quietly suggesting that I stop.
I took her hand in mine, squeezing it gently to tell her it was fine.
"Okay, you know what? She's right. It's fine. You'll have plenty of time to work on it when you're in your tiny, little cell, you know. Just stuck there, forever."
My Dad looked at me again, this time with frustration. Riley, however, was biting back a chuckle.
Scott was watching him too, eyes studying the boy. I wondered if he thought Donovan could be saved, too?
Donovan nodded, seemingly about to walk away, before he threw his body forward to try and escape the deputies.
"Get him out of here!" My father growled.
The deputies dragged Donovan out before he got the chance to say anything else.
"What the hell's an Anger Expression Inventory?" Scott asked as he watched Donovan go out the door.
"It's a test you take when you're applying to be a deputy," I answered with a sigh.
Riley's eyes went wide as she turned to me, "A deputy? That guy wanted to be a cop?"
"At least now he's getting the full law enforcement experience," I pointed out.
"That's one way of looking at it," Riley scoffed.