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damn-stark · 3 years ago

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Return of the cub pt.2

Isaac Lahey x Hale!reader

Requested by anon “Can u please do a teen wolf imagine where y/n is a hale sister who was in the fire and peter helped her get out but when she did get out she got taken by Gerard and she had been kept with him being tortured by him for 6 years (and obviously she’s assumed to be dead by Derek and peter)and it’s at the end of season 2 where everyone is in that wherehouse place and Gerard says something like “Derek I believe I have something that belongs to you” and brings her out and she’s weak and tied up and stuff and his reaction and maybe peters to to seeing her alive again. And maybe it could be in a few parts where it’s the start of season 3 (no Cora in this)and how she has been adjusting obviously she is pretty traumatised and angry so only really talks to a few people Derek, Peter, isaac and boyd but Scott being the sweetheart he is is trying to help her too but she is wary as he hangs around with Allison and she obviously has a strong hatred for Argents and doesn’t trust Allison at all or Scott cause he dated her and maybe when y/n goes back to school Derek tells Scott and stiles to keep Allison away from her or else she might attack her or something and she is closest to isaac and he actually really likes her and even though she can protect herself he grows protective over her and her over him too.”

Warning- talks of ptsd, angst and some fluff

Episode- 3x01

———-

There were too many sleepless nights. Well it’s been mostly all of them since you’ve returned home, because everytime you close your eyes you're scared you’ll wake up back in chains, back in the hold of Gerard Argent. No matter how much they’ve tried to convince you that he wouldn't hurt you anymore, you still couldn’t wrap your head around that solace, not yet, not after years of pain under his hand.

Sleepless nights weren’t the only problem though, beside the nightmares, adjusting to this new life you got a second chance at was difficult too. But you were trying to start living what you had lost, that’s what counted.

“School?” Peter questioned sharply, sounding as if that was the most absurd idea ever. “Really? You escaped imprisonment and you want to return to school?” He scoffs and shakes his head. “Why don’t you take this chance to explore the world or something?”

You shrug and smile faintly, “this is like exploring. Right? I mean I’ve never been to high school, I’m exploring that part of my life.”

Your uncle Peter shoots you a pointed look and just shakes his head as he takes a sip of his drink, letting Derek jump into your defense. “If she wants to go to school she’ll go to school, if she wants to leave then she’ll do it. The only thing that’s weird here is you. What are you doing here?”

You snicker and turn to face your uncle taking a seat on the couch, seeing him shrug and remain unaffected by your brother's constant remarks. “I’m here to help my niece, can’t I do that?”

“No, that’s why she has me.” Derek counters. “I’m all she needs. I can help with her anger and her transformation.”

“Can you help answer the reason why she can’t fully transform?”

At your uncle Peter's question, you curiously look between both men and remain quiet to wait for an answer, seeing that your brother had grown stiff and his eyes avoided yours.

“I’ll tell you why,” Peter continued smugly, “trauma. That’s what is keeping her from transforming into her wolf form. Which is why,” he said as he stood and began walking towards you. “It’s a bad idea to go to school. You’re not in control of yourself, y/n, you need to learn control first.”

You raise your head and smile. “That’s why Isaac is going to school with me. He’s going to help me.”

Peter narrows his gaze and scoffs. “An even worse idea.” He looks at Derek to continue pressing on the matter. “So tell me how—”

“I’ll do it,” Derek cuts him off, “we don’t need your help.”

“Have you asked y/n that?” Peter asks.

You left out an irritated huff of air and answered for Derek. “You killed our sister, I don’t need you anymore.” You cross your arms over your chest and lean back in your seat. “Thank you.”

“Fine,” Peter says as he raises his hands, “fine. Go to school, get angry and lose control,” he glares at Derek and walks back towards the door. “After you do, call me, I’ll help after I rub it in your face Derek.” A feigned smile spreads on his face before he turns to slide the door open; in that moment scoffing as he sees Isaac outside the door attempting to walk in before the door opened.

Once Isaac does walk in, he looks at Peter over his shoulder before the door closes behind him to silently question the man’s behavior. He didn’t question it out loud though, instead he proceeded to raise the bags of food he was sent to pick up. “Anyone hungry?”

——

“So what would you rate this?” Isaac asks as he bites a spoonful of food he had brought.

“Hmm, well,” you smile softly, “I’ve tried this before. A long time ago.” You mix the food on your plate and shift in your seat to face him better. “But I’ll entertain you because I haven’t had it in a long time.” You tap your chin with the end of your fork and come up with the first number that came to mind. “Eight.” You nod, “definitely eight and a half.” You put the bowl down on the table and ask him. “What about you?”

“This is my favorite, so ten.” Isaac answers before taking in another spoonful of food, munching quickly to swallow fast. You watch him with your eyebrows knitted together and snort at his actions. “So it’s a shame you rated this so low.”

“Low?” You quiere, “I rated it an eight. It’s a rational rate.” You smirk and study his face, only grinning wider. “You’ve got a little something right there,” you point to the corner of your lips to let him know where you were pointing at on his own face. When he lifts his hand and tries to wipe off the food he misses. “Nope, a little bit more to your right.”

Isaac tries again, but once again he misses and begins to smile.

“No, just let me.” You lean in and wipe off what he had on the corner of his lips, sharing a short yet lingering look before you cleaned your fingers on the napkin. “We could,” you sigh and avoid his gaze. “Continue rating movies? I like when we do that. Maybe,” you say as you sit on your knees, “we can finish those funny movies of the vampire, and the girl with her werewolf friend.” The corner of your lips twitch and you catch the small smile on Isaac’s face before he adds another question.

“How are you adjusting? I mean I know I ask this a lot, but I just want to know you’re doing okay.”

“Well,” you exhale softly, “it’s weird you know. Everything is. I look at my brother and it almost feels like I’m looking at a stranger,” you drop your eyes to your hands and sigh. “I mean I’m getting used to him now, slowly, but I am. My uncle Peter looks the same, he didn’t feel as strange to be around, but after I found out he killed my sister, I don’t know….”

“It’s weird?” Isaac interjects. “Yeah, it should be. It’s normal, he’s a killer.”

You chuckle and nod, “yeah you’re right….” you trail off as you stay quiet for a moment, resting your elbow on the couch and then resting your head on your hand to raise your eyes to meet his gaze. “I don’t know how to even explain how I feel, but this all makes it feel a bit better. Trying to recover this lost life. You. But it’s like you said, step by step right?”

“Right,” Isaac nods. “And I’ll help you with every step, like Scott helped me, like Derek did.”

“Thank you,” you smile, “again.” You sit up and grin smugly, “oh and by the way, before you have to leave and go wherever it is you're going to, come shopping with me. Derek and my uncle Peter have been kind enough to give me money. I know there will be a lot of people, but I know I can trust myself with you beside me.”

Isaac sighs deeply but nods in agreement. “Fine. Fine.”

——

“Remember, call me if anything happens,” Derek tells you from the driver's seat. “Or actually if you still need time we can go home.”

You look out the window from your seat and watch all the students pass by and walk into the building, you hear every voice and every single step taken on the floors. All the sounds echo in your ears and begin to make you feel nervous, they cause your heart and mind to race, the feelings make you want to accept his offer, but you don't. You had to do this.

But not without Isaac.

“Where’s Isaac?” You ask as you sink back in your seat. “Why hasn’t he come back.”

“He’ll be back soon.” Derek tries to assure you. “Don’t worry about him.”

“I don’t know anyone else,” you mutter.

“Scott.” Derek points out as he actually points to the boy walking into the building. “And…Stiles,” he finishes with a groan.

“They’re not the same.” You look over to Derek and huff. “Where did you send him anyway? He wouldn't say.”

“He’ll be back, now go, or let’s go home.” He suggests making you hesitate. But you then remember what you had talked about with Isaac, you remember that you want to prove your uncle Peter wrong, so you move to open the car door, hesitating for a second more before you finally step out.

“I’ll see you later.” You wave at Derek before you close the door and head towards the same building everyone else was going into, stopping as you reach the doors. You have the temptation to turn back, after all the boy who had promised to help, who was the only one who could help was nowhere to be seen but instead you walked in further and felt like the tiniest person amongst a sea of giants. Everyone was a complete stranger and every beating heart felt like a tigger.

“Y/N,” a voice says as hands hit your shoulders. “You’re here.”

You look over your shoulder and see Scott McCall, while on your other side you see Stiles Stilinski—you nod stiffly, “yeah I am. Have any of you heard from Isaac?”

“I’m doing good too, thanks for the concern.” Stiles remarks.

You roll your eyes towards him and scoff. “How are you Stiles?”

“Good,” he nods, “thanks. You?”

“On a verge to lose control,” you breathe out as you clench your fists tightly, causing Stiles to take a cautionary step away from you.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Scott begins to try and assure you. “You’ll be okay, no one is going to hurt you here.”

You nod slowly and draw in a deep breath, avoiding looking at every single person passing in the halls and repeating under your breath, “Alpa, Beta, Omega,” in a whisper until you feel calm and in control.

Not like that calm moment lasted too long because as you walked into the first class you were assigned to, after you sat down, you saw the girl who once again tipped you over the edge; Allison Argent. Seeing even the slightest bit of her angered you all over again, getting the whiff of her as she walked in made your blood boil, you knew she wasn’t her grandfather, but the knowledge that she was an Argent made you want to tear her throat open with your claws and teeth.

Seeing her eyes reminded you of Gerard and caused your mind to race with painful memories.

“Hey, y/n, claws,” Scott whispered as he leaned towards you.

You drop your eyes to your hands digging into your table and you notice what he had pointed, causing you to then whisper. “Alpha, Beta, Omega,” to yourself.

Only that didn’t work. Not with the Argent in the same class, not without the solace of the only person who brought you comfort. “I can’t.” You groan before you storm out of class.

“I can’t.” You whisper again as you storm into a nearby storage room, sliding down to curl yourself into a little ball and holding your head between your hands. Albeit that wasn’t the solution you wanted, you felt at the verge of losing control; you could feel your claws and fangs growing out with the rest of your transformation. Blinding anger began to consume you. But before it could, other emotions took over instead.

Your anger was still there, but it didn’t fully consume you. Instead you cried to yourself, you didn’t know how long, but you did until through your clouded mind, you managed to read a text sent by Derek.

“I know where Isaac is.”

#teen wolf #Isaac lahey #isaac lahey fanfiction #isaac lahey imagines #isaac lahey imagine #isaac lahey x y/n #isaac lahey x reader #Isaac lahey x Hale!reader #teen wolf fanfiction #teen wolf imagines #teen wolf imagine #teen wolf requests #Derek Hale #Peter Hale #scott mccall #Stiles stilinski #allison argent

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princeescaluswords · 3 years ago

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"Boyd and Erica were foolish and stupid to believe there was another pack out there!1" Maybe they *were* naive, but remember folks, they were TEENAGERS and who's fault is it that they weren't aware? Derek's. He canonically did not tell people about the Alpha Pack. He didn't teach his betas about the "sun, moon and truth" meditation in favor of medieval devices to restrain them. As much as apologists deride Scott not listening to Derek.... Derek was never exactly forthcoming with knowledge and information. He didn't mentor him. He menaced and threatened and broke arms and phones before yeeting into the distance. He never sat people down and calmly explained anything. He's supposed to be the experienced born werewolf, but you wouldn't know it from how he acted. Kinda shady if you ask me

There is nothing like a Derek Hale Apologist. A particularly shameless example happened on another one of my posts. A defender claimed that Derek's point in Wolf Moon (1x01) was to comfort Scott. Because when I want to comfort someone, I steal his party date's jacket to lure him out into the middle of the woods, instead of -- I don't know -- talking to him any of the two days prior to the party while I was stalking him to find out about the party. Or talking to him at the party. Or following him after I see him leave the party in distress.

We all know that Derek wasn't trying to help Scott in the first season. He was trying to use Scott to find the alpha who killed his sister, until he found it was his uncle, after which he turned on Scott like buttermilk under a sunlamp.

And he kept using children, just as Kate used him. His Season One behavior is nothing compared to what he did to his own betas and tried, once again, to do with Scott. There are two scenes that bookend Season Two and underline, without a doubt, that Derek was a scumbag villain.

The first is from Omega (2x01):

Derek: Look. Look. Look at them! You see what they do? This is why you need me. Why we need each other. The only way to fight them is together.

Scott: What are they doing?

Derek: Declaring war.

The second is from Master Plan (2x12):

Peter: Why do you think Derek was in such a hurry to build his pack? So eager to strengthen his power and his number? When there's a new Alpha, people take notice.

Isaac: People like who? What is this? What does this mean?

Derek: It's their symbol. And it means they're coming.

There is no wiggle room here for Derek-stans. Derek understood that the Argents were going to come after him, so he bit Jackson, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd to have soldiers with which to fight them. He tried to convince Scott to join his pack as well, even though, according to Peter, Derek knew the Alpha Pack was coming and, as we saw in Unleashed (3x04), he knew that Deucalion would try to get him to kill his own pack.

Think about what that means.

There's a reason that Derek is a villain in Season Two. He was willing to risk the lives of teenagers for power, and it doesn't matter if he wanted power to assuage his fear and loneliness. He didn't have a plan to stop the Argents. He didn't have a plan to stop the Alpha Pack. He just didn't want to be alone, and if Jackson got turned into someone's puppet-lizard-killer and Erica and Boyd died, well, those are prices Derek was willing to pay.

The same commentator said that it was unfair to blame Derek for what Jackson did as a kanima because Jackson begged to become one. Let me give you an analogy. If a sixteen-year-old boy begs me, a 53-year-old man, to buy him a bottle of whiskey and then turns around and plows his car into an SUV because he was driving drunk, I share some of the responsibility don't I? Or, here's a better analogy, if I know that this 16-year-old boy is emotionally immature -- like Derek pegged Jackson in Co-Captain (1x10) -- and angry and I give him an automatic weapon with which he shoots up his school, do I not share some of the responsibility? It doesn't really matter if I'm 53 or 22, does it? To quote Chris Argent in Raving (2x08): "What you know makes you responsible."

Even if, as I suspect, Derek-stans didn't pay enough attention to that while the characters were played by adult actors, they were clearly intended to be teenagers, but even if they weren't, Derek knew what was coming and they didn't. He knew what Gerard intended, he knew what the Alpha Pack would do, he wasn't surprised by their violence or the danger they posed for his pack. He didn't tell any of his victims how much danger they would be in, and he didn't do that by accident. As Boyd said in Battlefield (2x11) "You didn't say it would be like this!"

There's a reason Derek didn't have time to teach them control but he did have time to run combat drills. His plan was to use his betas to fight his wars for him. He had a pretty good idea what they were going to face with the Argents and the Alpha Pack, just as he had a pretty good idea what he thought was going to happen when he believed Jackson was rejecting the Bite and ghosted on him for three episodes.

What. You. Know. Makes. You. Responsible.

Derek was a villain. He was just as much a villain as Gerard Argent and Deucalion, because he put what he wanted above the lives of people who didn't know any better. As I've said before, I love Derek's redemption arc, but redemption arcs require something to be redeemed from, and there's no getting around that.

No amount of gotcha games and whataboutism or declarations of love for a hot white woobie is going to change that.

#anti derek hale #anti derek stans #teen wolf fandom problems #fandom racism #scott mccall defense squad

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liliaeth · 4 years ago

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Fix it’s for Teen Wolf

I can think of a few things that would have made Teen Wolf better.

1. I wanted more focus on Scott’s emotional response to what happened to him. I don’t mind that Scott isn’t the type who complains about getting hurt. The problem for me was that the show rarely dealt with the consequences of Scott’s pain, and thus to the casual viewer often made it look like he simply didn’t mind, that being hurt didn’t bother him at all. Or worse, that nothing all that bad had happened in the first place.

Doing this undermined many of the hallucination scenes. For example, in Season 2’s Party Guessed, we get hallucinations for Stiles, Jackson, and Allison which give us a view into psychology, letting us know their issues without spelling them out. For Scott, we got Allison making out with kanima Jackson. Compared to the others, it felt shallow and confusing. The writers couldn’t even bother to give us dialog. He received the same treatment in Season 5, when they read the book designed to trigger their memories about the Dread Doctors. Stiles gets yet another scene about his dead mother who has been crucial to his story since Season 1. Lydia sees her grandmother and her connection to both Lydia’s powers and Eichen House, as well as foreshadowing her treatment at the hands of Valack. Malia about her Mom and sister’s death at the hands of the Desert Wolf, which is her entire arc. And Scott? He gets a nightmare about a dog that was never mentioned before and would not be mentioned after.

2. I wanted more focus on Scott’s trauma in general. In Season 1, Scott was repeatedly mentally and physically violated by Peter, terrorized and abused by Derek, and hunted by the Argents, and it was taken as a given. Even the recaps at the beginning episodes in other seasons barely show any of that. For example, Gerard attacking Scott in clear view at the hospital, stabbing him, and threatening his mother, never appeared in any of the recaps, even in episodes where it would have been important to remind the viewers about it.

While the show had no issue showing us over and over again how Stiles or Derek or Isaac or Allison or any white character really was hurt, they did not focus on the pain Scott was put through, and thus let the viewers conclude that those events didn’t matter.

The show literally had Scott try and kill himself, twice in less than two days, first in Frayed, by refusing to let himself heal, and then again in Motel California, yet neither of those suicide attempts are mentioned even once afterwards. And this while it would have been a good call back in s5b, when Scott is once again not letting himself heal after Theo killed him. and yet again, no mention whatsoever.

3. I wanted more consequences for certain characters. I liked that Scott and to a lesser extent Derek were confronted with the consequences of their actions. When they screwed up, they got called out on it. When they did something wrong, it wasn’t excused. Then they made up for it.

In contrast, certain characters, especially Stiles, got to do whatever they wanted and it was either dismissed as funny or used to make them look sympathetic. Stiles got to be mean and cruel, and the narrative still treated him as if he were the best friend ever. He got to assault people, hurt them, and it was treated as if somehow he was the victim.

For example, I would have liked Stiles a lot better, if when he tortured Scott with lacrosse balls, punishing him for who-knows-what, if someone else had called him out on it or if Scott had got to defend himself, instead of just taking it because Stiles was angry. Scott allowing Stiles to hurt him to maintain their friendship was a pattern between them, just as much as Scott taking responsibility for things that aren’t his fault. He keeps on doing it over the course of the show, but it would have been nice if the show at the very least had made it clear that that didn’t make Stiles behavior acceptable.

Just like I wish that Peter had actually faced consequences for his actions – and/or shown some kind of true remorse for his misdeeds--instead of the others just letting him hang around after all the horrible things he’d done or reduce it pettiness.

4. I would have liked more time spent on Melissa and the McCall family in general, especially on Melissa’s initial reaction to Scott being a werewolf. In the show, they barely spent two minutes total on Melissa’s reaction to finding out her son has been turned into a werewolf. By the end of s6b, she was barely even behaving like a mother anymore. Even to the point where we don’t even get a conversation between her and Chris about his attacks on her son before the two of them start dating. Now don’t get me wrong, I liked Chris and Melissa in a relationship, but it was missed opportunity to humanize both her and Scott that they didn’t bother to show her finding out about that and her reaction to it.

Instead we got the whole horror reaction, of her being horrified at seeing her son’s other face, the reaction that any LGBT kid fears when they come out to their parent. Which could have been a great metaphor, especially if they had then made it clear that Scott was bisexual.

5. I would have liked more focus on Boyd. The production time spent on Isaac and Erica, while Boyd’s arc was treated as almost an afterthought. We barely even got any hint on his past, in the episode before they killed him off. They started out with Boyd as the one who wanted to be like Scott, and then never explained it. Why not focus more on that, and their relationship?

(similar complaints go about Mason, and how little we knew about Mason, outside of him being Liam’s friend. Like... what was his relationship like with his parents? What is Mason interested in, what does he want to do with his life... how did he deal with the after effects of the Beast...

6. I would have liked more focus on Alan Deaton. The show had such huge potential with this character’s backstory, not just with the Hales but as an emissary in general. There was this whole mythology about druids that they barely even delved into.

To not even start on how little we knew about his personal life? Why did he and his sister have different last names? What was their relationship like?

Does he have any romantic relationships? Friendships, relationships in general?

Or how about more time spent on his role as a father figure to Scott, we got so few crumbs of their relationship when we should have gotten so much more

7. I would have liked more focus on Scott and Theo’s interaction in Season 6. I get that in 6a, they had Scott primarily focused on getting Stiles back, but I’ll never understand why they then didn’t use 6b, to deal with the fact that Theo had tried to murder Scott and was trying to make it up to him and the pack for what he’d done to Scott and the others.

I don’t mind Theo interacting with Liam. Those scenes were great, but they should have at least one scene with Scott and Theo dealing with the issues between them. For Theo’s sake, as much as Scott’s.

8. I would have liked a complete rework of Season 6A in its entirety. If you’re going to focus a season on an actor who isn’t available, then you have to make it about his impact on the others. Show us what difference this character made, by showing us the effects of his absence, rather than just try and make it about a romantic ship. (I’ve written a post about this already in greater detail, so limiting it to that, but seriously, that season was such a huge wasted opportunity.)

9. Actual character growth for Stiles. For a character who had as much screentime as Stiles did, it’s shocking just how little character growth Stiles had over the course of the entire show. This contrasts in a really bad way, when you look at how much every single other character grew and changed over the course of the show.

Just look at the last four episodes of 5b, to give an example. After almost an entire season of watching Stiles at his worst, focusing on emotional scene after emotional scene with him, he suddenly got relegated to comic relief. Why? Because they didn’t want Stiles to grow, because unless he grew, there was no way for him to go but down. If Stiles had taken responsibility for his actions, then they’d have had to admit that he did wrong in the first place. And they couldn’t have that happen.

10. And last but not least. More moments of the kids being kids. Even if it’s just proms and beach parties. Moments where we see the characters spend time together, when they aren’t trying to stop some bad guy. Where we can see them be friends, hang out with kids their own age. Even just to remind the audience just how young these children are. And where the viewers along with the characters can rest in between the horror, because doing so makes the horror hit far more strongly in contrast to the light.

11. Also, a better lighting budget, pretty please Davies, were a few more light bulbs that much to ask for?

#teen wolf #scott mccall #anti stiles #teen wolf fandom problems #alan deaton #vernon boyd #mason hewitt #theo raeken #melissa mccall #anti peter hale

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teenwolffanclub-me · 4 years ago

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Season 2, Episode 3: Ice Pick

Pairing: Stiles x Psychic!Reader

Notes: okay we finally have some ✨relationship development✨ and I hope you’re as excited as I am :-)

Tag list: @that-winged-rat @trustfundparker @rainbow-unicorn69 @good-vibes-and-glitter @x-give-em-hell-kid-x @prevostsasha @bobo-bush

————————

“I’m telling you, it was like a-a big...lizard or something.”

I blinked slowly, trying to comprehend the words she was saying through the buzzing of the cafeteria. Allison’s eyes widened, as if only then realizing how crazy that sounded. She quickly diverted her attention to Scott, who sat beside her, and bumped her shoulder into his.

He cleared his throat, glancing around the table and squirming nervously in his chair. “Yeah, it was weird. I didn’t get a good look at it...”

“Well, what did you see?” Stiles huffed, shifting forward in his seat to lean over the table as if that would help him hear better.

The two of them had spent almost the entire lunch period trying to explain something they encountered in Isaac’s house the other night. They honestly weren’t making much sense, but they both seemed utterly freaked out, which wasn’t helping to calm my nerves.

“I-I don’t know.” Scott shook his head with a troubled furrow of his brows. “It was fast. Really fast. It walked on the ceiling, and it was...hissing at us.”

“So there’s yet another supernatural monster in Beacon Hills. Awesome.” I slouched back into my seat, a feeling of defeat washing over me. We’d barely just come out of our troubles with Peter and Kate. The last thing we needed was a new threat to deal with already.

“I’m not sure it’s bad, though. It just ran away when I got upstairs.” Scott tried to reason, his overactive conscience striking again. He always tried to see the good in everyone. Even a lizard monster, apparently.

“Yeah right.” Allison scoffed, picking at the food she had yet to start eating. “Who knows what it would’ve done to me if you hadn’t stepped in.”

“Okay. First, we need to start by...” Stiles voice slowly trailed off as his attention locked onto something across the cafeteria.

His jaw went slack, his eyes widening in wonder. A frown pulled at my lips as I let my gaze sweep toward whatever had him so transfixed. Scott and Allison turned around in their seats to see for themselves as the entire room went silent.

There was a girl, only vaguely familiar, strutting confidently into the room. I quirked an eyebrow curiously as everyone craned their necks to watch her slow entrance. My eyes shifted to Scott, an amused chuckle bubbling in my chest as I saw that he had the same awestruck expression on his face.

“Is that Erica?” Allison’s voice rose in surprise as she spun back around to face me, her eyes wide.

“Didn’t she have a seizure in the middle of your gym class yesterday?” I recognized the name from this week’s rumor mill. With a closer look, I could tell that it was, in fact, Erica. Scott whipped around to glare at me and my brows rose in question. “What? It’s not like she can hear me.”

“I’m not too sure about that...” He muttered, his gaze sweeping back toward her as she grabbed an apple off a random guy’s tray and took a bite.

She’d had a complete transformation overnight. The grey, sickly quality to her skin was gone, replaced by a healthy glow. Her dark circles had vanished and she walked with a self-assurance I’d never seen in her before. She usually did her best to remain unseen, ducking through the halls with her head down. Now, she was parading with an almost arrogant smirk on her face.

“She’s with Derek now, isn’t she? Like Isaac?” Allison’s lips pulled into a frown as she easily put the pieces together. It was the only explanation for her extraordinary overnight changes. He must’ve turned her.

Scott glanced at the tray of food in front of him, swallowing thickly as he avoided her prying gaze. I glanced toward Stiles, who just looked back at me with a sheepish shrug.

“You can’t get caught in the middle of this.” Allison continued, her voice a quiet plea. “Don’t you feel what’s happening? My grandfather coming here? Derek turning Erica and Isaac? It-it’s like battle lines are being drawn.”

I chewed on my bottom lip as my eyes flickered between them. She was one hundred percent right, and it was terrifying. It was almost impossible to predict what her family was up to, since they don’t tell her anything and my visions are completely worthless. The one glaringly obvious thing, though, was that something big was coming.

“I know.” Scott sighed, finally catching her gaze with a worried expression of his own.

“There’s always crossfire...” Her eyes glistened as she looked up at him, silently pleading with him to take a step back.

His jaw ticked a few times, his brows pinching as he looked down to the table again. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t just stand by. I can’t pretend to be normal.”

My lips pulled into a frown, unsure why he felt the need to interfere with every supernatural problem in Beacon Hills. For some reason, he felt personally responsible for making sure that nothing catastrophic happens around here. There were so many other people better equipped for the job. The Argents, who’ve trained for centuries to hunt anything that “hunts them” and Derek, who’s been a werewolf since birth, to name a few.

“I don’t want you to be normal.” Allison huffed, seemingly offended that he’d assume that’s what she meant.

She stood abruptly, taking her still full tray with her. She made it a single step before turning back with a sigh. Her eyes met Scott’s, wide and shining with so many intense emotions. It was clear that she was scared, and nervous, and even a little angry. She left just a few parting words before spinning on her heel and stalking away from us.

“I want you to be alive.”

———————

I let out a tired sigh, adjusting the strap of my bag on my shoulder as I walked down the hall. It was just after the dismissal bell, and I still needed to grab my chemistry book from my locker.

I’d nearly made it all the way outside, where Stiles was waiting to drive everyone to an ice skating rink—which he apparently got the keys to by paying off our classmate, Boyd, who works there—before realizing I’d forgotten it. The date had been Scott’s idea, because, and I quote, we all spend way too much time on supernatural bullshit and haven’t done anything fun in forever.

The halls were mostly empty, since the rational portion of my classmates always book it out of here the second the bell rings. All was normal until I passed by one of the janitors closets and the door sprang open unexpectedly. I staggered back in alarm, my entire body stiffening as a hand jutted out and clasped around my bicep.

I was swiftly hauled inside, the door slamming the second I passed through the threshold. My breath caught in my throat as I jerked my arm free and scrambled away from whoever had grabbed me. I winced as my back rammed into a wooden shelf, my chest tightening with anxiety as I glanced around the dimly lit room quickly.

A moment later, I sighed out a long breath of relief as my eyes focused on my attacker standing a few feet away. “Fuck, Stiles. What the hell are you doing?” I gasped out, putting a hand on my chest as I tried to catch my breath.

His lips twitched into a sheepish smile, one of his eyes squinting shut as he scratched at the side of his head. “Sorry. I wasn’t trying to scare you.”

“What were you trying to do?” Of all the ways he could’ve gotten my attention, that was the most unnecessary. I crossed my arms as my heartrate slowly dropped back to normal.

His gave me a small smile as he took a couple slow steps forward, coming to a stop once there were only a few inches left between us. One of his hands came up to push a stray clump of hair behind my ear, his honey eyes dancing around my face quickly.

“I haven’t had a minute alone with my girlfriend in days.” He murmured lowly, his head dipping down as the hand that was now tangled in my hair guided me toward him.

Despite being the one to initiate the kiss, he was still hesitant as we inched closer together. Our noses brushed in a feather light touch, his fingers twitching against the back of my head as if he wanted to do more but was afraid to. I leaned up to brush my lips against his just once before pulling back.

“Well you’ve got me...so now what?” I couldn’t help but grin, my voice a low whisper as I teased him.

It’d honestly been eating at me all week, so it was reassuring that our time apart had bothered him too. Everyone was so focused on figuring out what the hell Allison and Scott ran into at Isaac’s, that he and I hadn’t had any time to ourselves.

It was way too easy to get sucked into the supernatural world and all of it’s problems. That’s why we were all going ice skating tonight. To try our hand at being normal teenagers for once.

Stiles’ eyes darkened to that warm chocolate color I’d only ever gotten a glimpse of in these more intimate situations. His free hand slid around my waist, his palm resting against the small of my back as he pulled me into his chest. His lips brushed against mine gently and I returned the kiss immediately, leaning up into him and fisting the collar of his flannel to bring him closer.

He quietly groaned against me when I let my tongue trail across his bottom lip. He let me in right away and our tongues explores each other’s mouths for several long seconds. My hands moved to the sides of his head, a chill rolling through me at prickle of his buzzed hair against my palms. He suddenly turned us around and took a few steps forward, slamming my back into a nearby wall.

A surprised grunt fell past my lips, and he instantly pulled away. His eyes flickered over my face quickly, wide with alarm. “I’m sorry. Are you okay? I didn’t mean to do it that hard.”

I couldn’t help but giggle at his overreaction and let my arms wind around his neck to keep him close. “It’s okay. I kind of...liked it.”

My skin erupted with heat at my own confession. I’d always secretly enjoyed the small moments he let himself go like this. I didn’t want him to be cautious and gentle all the time. He still acted like he was afraid to break me when we were intimate, and it wasn’t helping me feel any more normal. His eyebrows rose fractionally, giving away the surprise he was trying to contain.

A slow smile pulled at his lips just before he slanted them over mine again. I arched up into him, sighing as a calming tingle washed over my skin. The feeling only intensified as our kiss became more heated, both of us moaning and gripping at each other almost frantically. It was only when my temples suddenly throbbed painfully that I realized something was wrong.

My brows furrowed as an image flashed in my mind, too quickly to comprehend. I pulled away from Stiles with a gasp, rubbing at my forehead as the pain only increased.

“What is it? What’s wrong?” His voice rose with worry as he clasped a hand on each of my shoulders to steady me.

I forced my eyes to stay open, hoping the vision would pass. Instead, I was overcome with the overwhelming urge to get out of the small room. Maybe if I put some distance between us, it would go away. I quickly whipped around and shoved the door open, stumbling out into the now empty hallway. I heard Stiles’ shoes on the tiled floor as he followed me out, and waved a hand in his direction dismissively.

“I’m fine.” I wheezed out, suddenly finding it hard to breathe. “It’s just...”

I made the mistake of blinking slowly, instantly succumbing to the vision once my eyes were closed again. I was still standing in the hallway, just as before, but Stiles was nowhere to be found. Come to think of it, I wasn’t even in the same hallway. I let my eyes trail over the space as I turned all the way around, finally realizing that I was by the main office.

I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sight of a man standing in front of the trophy case just down the small flight of stairs behind me. My eyes trailed down his frame slowly, a strange familiarity tugging at the back of my mind as I took in his weathered leather jacket and dirty, bare feet. My heart started racing as a feeling of complete and utter dread washed over me.

I blinked a few times to clear my vision, jumping again when the man was no longer there. Now, standing in the same exact position, was Lydia. She was unmistakable even from the back, with her strawberry blonde hair, bright blue dress, and high heels that were definitely not school appropriate. When I moved to take a step toward her, I felt myself being pulled back into the present with a jerk.

My eyes popped open and I sat up with a start, one of my hands instantly moving to my chest as I tried to catch my breath.

“Y/N! Oh my god. What the hell was that?” Stiles’ wide eyes bored into mine from above as he clutched my biceps and shook me gently.

I sputtered silently for a few seconds as I got my barings, not knowing what to say. My head moved from side to side slowly as I took in my surroundings. I was back in the hallway near my locker, sitting on the floor with Stiles crouched down in front of me.

“I have to—” I swallowed thickly, my heart still beating erratically. “I have to go find Lydia.”

Stiles huffed in annoyance, giving me a incredulous glower. “Are you kidding me right now? You can’t just pass out in the middle of the hallway and then—what are you doing?”

His wide eyes tracked my movements as I shoved myself up to my feet. Despite looking like he wanted to strangle me for mot staying put, Stiles helped steady me with the hands still wrapped around my arms.

“Going to find Lydia.” I drawled slowly, seeing as I’d just said that, and brushed his hands away.

My knees wobbled slightly as I made my way toward the office. I pushed through the nausea brewing in the pit of my stomach that only seemed to grow with each step. Something felt very wrong. I couldn’t place it, I just knew I needed to find Lydia as quickly as possible.

“Y/N, just slow down for a second.” Stiles’ voice grew hard as he gripped my elbow and forced me to a stop. I sighed, a spark of annoyance igniting in my chest at the delay, and turned to face him. “Whatever the hell just happened back there was totally not okay. I mean you can’t just pass out one second and then run away from me the next and expect—”

“I think I have a good excuse.” I bit out, sounding more harsh than necessary. He pursed his lips, his shoulders stiffening, and I rolled my eyes. “Just trust me?”

After a few long moments of hesitation, he nodded slowly. With that, I turned on my heel and continued on my way, Stiles trailing behind. Less than a minute later, I staggered to a halt at the top of the staircase outside the main office.

My eyes instantly landed on Lydia, standing in the same position I’d seen her in moments ago. A strong sense of deja vu washed over me at the sight. My breathing slowed as I took a tentative step down, nervous that this was all a dream that I’d be waking up harshly from again.

“Lydia?” My voice was a hesitant whisper as I approached her slowly. I didn’t want to startle her, but she stood impossibly still in front of the trophy case, not even flinching at the sound of her name.

I came to a stop beside her, my eyes flickering over her profile quickly. After a few seconds of standing there and getting no response, I followed her wide-eyed stare through the glass. My breath hitched as I caught sight of the words that were engraved into one of the trophies closest to us.

My heart plummeted into my stomach as realization washed over my like a thirty foot tidal wave. There wasn’t much to it. Just two words with captain beneath it.

It was kind of funny, in a terrible way, that two simple words could make such intense dread fill me to my core. It was a name I’d be more than happy to never see again, but couldn’t seem to escape.

Peter Hale.

Lydia suddenly breathed out a shaky sigh from beside me, and I let my eyes sweep back to hers. They were wide and bloodshot, filled to the brim with tears as she gave me this terrified, almost vacant look. All I could do was stare back at her, this whole weird situation only confirming my worst fear.

Peter’s bite had done something to her. She’d been acting different ever since turning up at the edge of the preserve, she was just way too good at hiding it. I was probably the only one that noticed the subtle changes in her, but I knew there had to be something going on beneath the surface.

Now, we just needed to figure out what.

————————

“God, could it be any colder in here?” Lydia muttered, shivering dramatically as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

We’d barely made it two steps into the ice skating rink, and she was already complaining. I guess her little episode at the school hadn’t effected her all that much, and we hadn’t spoken a word of it since. Stiles and I shared a quick glance before he dropped his bookbag from his shoulder and unzipped it to pull out a random long-sleeved shirt.

“Here.” He offered it to her and she curled her lip as if it were the most disgusting thing she’d ever seen.

“I’m wearing blue. Orange and blue...not a good combination.” With a dramatic huff, she quickly strutted off toward the bleachers.

Stiles gaped at her back, his jaw falling slack at her words. “But it’s the colors of the Mets...”

Scott clapped a hand on his back reassuringly as he and Allison passed us by, giggling about who knows what. I rolled my eyes as Stiles huffed in offense and shoved the shirt back into his bag. We joined everyone on the stands a moment later, quickly sliding our skates on.

About thirty minutes later, I stood against the edge of the rink, my hands propped against the wall to keep my balance. All I could do was watch in awe as Lydia skated circles around every last one of us. I was seriously wracking my brain for anything that this girl couldn’t do. She seemed to be great at everything she tried.

She twirled around too many times to count and came out of it smiling proudly, even raising her eyebrows at me expectantly when she saw that I was staring. She skated away and my attention shifted to Allison as she practically dragged Scott across the ice, moving backward so she could keep him steady by holding his hands.

I couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight. He’d talked a big game on the way here, saying he’d have no problem ice skating even though he’d never tried it before. The whole werewolf thing was starting to go to his head, apparently. Suddenly, a warm hand closed around mine as Stiles approached me from the side.

“Come on.” He urged, gently pulling me away from the wall.

My knees instantly locked up as I lost my grip on the only thing keeping me upright. It’s where I’d spent most of my time since getting onto the ice. I’d only skated a few times before, and I was absolute shit at it each time. Stiles though, in all his spazzy glory, was surprisingly well balanced.

I let him guide me along, yelping in surprise when he unexpectedly wrapped an arm around my waist and hauled me against him. My hands gripped his shoulders so I wouldn’t go tumbling onto the hard ice as he grinned down at me before planting a quick kiss on my lips.

A relaxed smile overtook my face as I gazed up at him, completely at ease in his arms. Despite being slightly terrified of getting hurt, this was actually a super fun date. It was nice to let go for a little while and enjoy doing something utterly normal with my friends. There were no monsters, no alphas, and no psycho family members here. Just a bunch of teenagers sneaking into an ice skating rink after hours.

After Scott flailed to the ice for what must’ve been the thirtieth time, he and Allison disappeared into a photo booth around the other side of the rink. I let Stiles pull me around in big circles, still wanting to be close to the wall just in case he bailed on me. I couldn’t help but grin as his brows furrowed in concentration and his tongue swept across his lips when he gave me pointers.

He’d been critiquing my form, telling me to bend my knees, keep my feet straight, and so many more random things that were going in one ear and out the other. I wasn’t interested in being perfect, I just wanted to not fall on my ass. After making it all the way around for the first time successfully, I jumped into his arms, proud of myself.

“Whoa...” He chuckled, nearly falling backward as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

I closed the distance between us quickly, capturing his lips in a gentle kiss. He instantly tilted his head to deepen the kiss, swiping his tongue along my bottom lip slowly. I eagerly let him in as his arms tightened around me, momentarily forgetting where we were until I heard the unmistakable swoosh of someone falling on the ice.

I pulled away from Stiles and peered over his shoulder, wincing as I saw Lydia down in a low crouch. I was honestly surprised that she fell at all, considering how well she’d been doing the whole night, but didn’t think much more of it. I moved back to Stiles, who waggled his eyebrows at me with a dopy grin. I couldn’t help but giggle, wrapping my arms around his neck again to pull him back in.

Just before my eyes fluttered closed, something strange caught my eye. I jerked back, fumbling a little as I moved Stiles to the side so that I could see Lydia fully. There, poking out of the ice just a few inches in front of her, was a single stalk of wolfsbane. It was unmistakable even from this distance, the deep purple leaves contrasting against the stark whiteness of the ice.

“Oh my God. Are you seeing this?” I breathed, my heart skipping a beat anxiously.

“Yeah,” Stiles nodded from beside me, one of his arms still around my waist to hold me steady. “She’s definitely not okay.”

My brows furrowed as I watched her lift a hand to brush against the plant gently. Her head cocked to the side as she inspected it closely, her eyes wide with disbelief.

“No, not that.” I huffed in annoyance, pointing toward the wolfsbane. “That wasn’t there before, right?”

Stiles instantly stiffened against me. I let my gaze sweep to him slowly, slightly afraid to see his reaction to my words, but his face was unreadable. His eyes were swirling with worry as they peered down into mine. He swallowed thickly and cleared his through before speaking.

“Y/N, there’s nothing there now...” His voice was delicate, as if he were afraid that speaking any louder would make me dissolve into a complete nervous breakdown.

My head whipped in her direction once again, my pulse jumping at the sight of her frantically wiping her hand against the ice. Her eyes widened as she peered down into it, her face dropping in terror.

Without warning, she suddenly let out a long, bloodcurdling scream. I winced at the shrill noise, my palms jerking up to cover my ears. When she didn’t stop after a few seconds, I knew I had to do something.

I broke away from Stiles, who was staring at her as if she’d grown a second head, and shakily made my way toward her. I let myself slide down onto the ice when I was close enough, and wrapped my arms around her shoulders. She thrashed against me, her hands pressed firmly into the ice as she continued screaming. It almost seemed uncontrollable, like she physically couldn’t stop.

My head jerked upward as I heard quick footsteps approaching. Scott and Allison stood at the edge of the rink, watching the scene unfold, their faces a mix of horror and curiosity. Lydia finally stopped screeching and sagged back against me, her ragged breathing reduced to harsh sobs as tears streamed freely down her face.

My eyes widened in alarm at the sight. I’d never seen her express such intense emotion before. She always kept that mask of perfection firmly in place, never letting it slip for a second. She hadn’t even been this outwardly upset after wandering around the woods for a week.

As if that weren’t bad enough, a realization slowly dawned on me as my eyes flickered around the ice. Just as Stiles said, there was nothing there. No wolfsbane. Not even a stray leaf. I sat back on the cool surface, letting out a heavy sigh. The nagging sense of dread that’d been slowly drifting toward the forefront of my mind was ever-present now.

And I had a feeling it was only going to get worse from here.

———————

I glared down at the textbook in front of me, rubbing at my temples as I tried desperately to focus. I’d been attempting to study for hours now, and it just wasn’t working. Believe it or not, it hadn’t taken long for me and the guys to get further wrapped up in the current supernatural bullshit.

One of our classmates, Boyd, has been missing for several days. It just so happens that Isaac and Erica are equally as M.I.A., and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what happened. Derek was still turning people, and he had a clear pattern. He was picking through the outcasts first, choosing loners who wouldn’t raise much suspicion if they just suddenly stopped coming to school.

What he didn’t count on was coach Finstock alerting the team of Boyd’s absence. After school, Stiles went to his house to check on him, while Scott was on a mission to find Derek. That left me here, all alone in my bedroom struggling to study.

I’d been trying to get ahold of Stiles for the last hour, but he hadn’t answered any of my texts. I didn’t want to be that clingy girlfriend, but I was honestly starting to get pretty worried. If Boyd was caught up in this mess, there could easily be hunters on his trail already. There’s no telling what Derek is up to, either, and that made me incredibly nervous.

Just then, something thumped against my window. I jumped at the unexpected noise, my eyes instantly darting toward it. My shoulders relaxed a moment later as I saw a familiar face, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. I popped to my feet and walked across my bedroom before sliding the window open.

Scott tumbled to the hardwood floors, rubbing at his forehead with a grimace. “Why is your window closed?”

“It’s forty degrees outside.” I huffed, shoving the glass pane back down as a gust of freezing wind blew inside. “What, am I just supposed to keep it open incase you decide to crawl in?”

He rolled his eyes at me, brushing his clothes off as he quickly scrambled to his feet. I crossed my arms over my chest, quirking a curious brow in his direction.

“Stiles isn’t answering me so I need your help.”

I was about to make a snide comment about being his backup plan, when his words finally sunk all the way in. If neither of us could get ahold of him, something was probably wrong.

“When’s the last time you heard from him?” I pressed, my stomach twisting with worry.

“At school, but we’re gonna have to figure that out later.” He rushed the words out quickly, clearly anxious. “I know where Boyd is.”

“Is that really what’s important right now?” I gaped at him, honestly surprised that he would choose to pursue the Boyd issue when his best friend might be in trouble.

“He’s fine, okay? I need to stop Derek before this gets out of control.” His voice hardened as he grew impatient with my stalling, but I didn’t give a single fuck. I didn’t want to be wrapped up in this supernatural shit anyway.

“You don’t have to do anything, Scott.” I threw my hands up in exasperation. “No one’s expecting you to fix all of Beacon Hills’ problems.”

“Are you gonna help me or not?” He pressed, moving toward my bedroom door expectantly.

I let out a long sigh, not even having to consider my answer. Of course I would help him, because he’s way too strong-willed to see that one of these days he’s going to get himself seriously hurt. I gestured for him to open the door and he gave me a triumphant smile before stepping into the hallway.

About twenty minutes later, we made our way into the ice skating rink cautiously. I guess it made sense that he’d be here if he ran away. Scott wouldn’t tell me how he knew to come here, because he didn’t understand it all that well himself. He said he just knew and that it was a werewolf thing.

It didn’t take long to find him, since he was driving around the ice on a huge zamboni. It was kind of hard to see in the dimly lit rink, but it was definitely Boyd on there.

“Boyd!” Scott called, his voice echoing through the large space.

He didn’t even move an inch, just continuing to stare ahead and ignore us. Scott stepped onto the ice easily and made his way toward him. I followed suit a lot slower, my knees wobbling as I tried to stay upright. My arms flailed at my sides as I slid slowly in their direction.

“I just wanna talk. Hey, come on Boyd, please. Did Derek tell you everything? And I don’t just mean going out of control on the full moons. I mean everything.” Scott tried again, this time earning a visible sigh from our classmate.

He turned his head slowly in our direction, his face completely devoid of any recognizable emotion. “He told me about the hunters.”

“And that’s not enough for you?” I snapped, nearly falling flat on my ass as I shakily came to a stop beside Scott.

“Whatever you want, there’s other ways to get it.” He added, looking up at Boyd earnestly.

I admired the way that he cared for everyone, even if he didn’t know them well. I’d only seen him talk to Boyd a handful of times all year and yet, here he was, going out of his way just to try and change his mind. It was a bit misguided at times, but still admirable.

“I just want to not eat lunch alone every day.” Boyd’s voice dropped sadly, his frustration at being a loner clear. My heart went out to him, it’s hard to make friends in high school, but that doesn’t mean you take a crazy persons offer to turn you into a werewolf.

“If you’re looking for friends, you can do a lot better than Derek.” Scott scoffed, rolling his eyes at the idea of anyone being friends with him.

“That really hurts, Scott.” Both of our heads whipped toward the entrance of the rink at the sound of a deep voice. My eyes flickered over Derek, Isaac, and Erica as they all stood in a line several feet away. It was honestly impressive that the three of them managed to get all the way here undetected. “I mean, if you’re going to review me, at least take a consensus. Erica, hows life been since we met?”

She hummed lowly, a smirk pulling at the corner of her lips as she twirled a strand of long blonde hair around her pointer finger. “In a word...transformative.”

I almost snorted at the accuracy of that word, but my amusement was quickly cut short as she barred her sharpened teeth and growled our way. My eyes widened, shocked at the level of control she already had. It took weeks for Scott to learn how to shift only certain parts of his body, so Derek must be focusing heavily on training them.

That wasn’t a good thing.

“Isaac?” His head cocked to the side arrogantly as he addressed the other beta behind him.

“Well. I’m a little bummed about being a fugitive, but other than that, I’m great.” He tilted his head back nonchalantly, his tone dripping with boredom.

“Wait, hold on.” Scott clenched his jaw and grabbed one of my hands before pulling me behind him. My legs wobbled as I slid across the ice and I gripped his arm for stability. “This isn’t exactly a fair fight.”

“Then go home, Scott.” Derek drawled before jerking his head toward Isaac and Erica.

They both instantly shifted, snarling and growling like wild animals. My heart jumped in my chest and I moved further behind Scott instinctively. I honestly forgot how terrifying newly turned werewolves can be. They had this unhinged energy, like they’d rip a thousand people apart without even batting an eye.

Scott suddenly dropped my hand and gripped my hip instead. I barely had time to glance at him in question before he was forcefully shoving me away from him. I instantly lost my footing at the unexpected move and flailed down onto the ice. Every muscle in my body stiffened as I continued sliding for several feet, only stopping once I slammed against the outer wall of the rink.

All the air rushed from my lungs in a huff at the harsh impact. I blinked a few times to clear my head and shoved my hair out of my eyes just in time to see Scott smash a fist into the ice. My jaw dropped as it easily shattered beneath his fingers. I knew he was strong, but damn was that impressive. It had to be at least a foot thick.

When his head jerked upward a moment later, he was completely shifted into his werewolf form. “I meant fair for them.” His voice was thick and guttural as he forced the words out through a tightly clenched jaw.

He roared loudly, the whole building rattling from the sheer volume of it, as Isaac and Erica came barreling toward him. He easily picked Isaac up by the lapels of his leather jacket and threw him clear across the rink like a ragdoll. I couldn’t help but wince as he hit the plexiglass barrier harshly, but it didn’t faze him in the slightest as he popped right back to his feet.

Erica came at Scott’s back, but he whirled around before she could land a hit, slamming her into the now parked Zamboni that Boyd was still sitting on. Isaac growled before sprinting forward, managing to shove him up against the large vehicle.

He was only caught off guard for a split second, but that was enough time for Isaac to throw him over his shoulder, sending him a few feet in the air. Erica pounced on him the second he hit the ice, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly.

He easily shook her off by slamming her back into the Zamboni, landing a bone-crushing punch to Isaac’s stomach. He lurched forward with a grunt and Scott smashed his elbow down onto his back, making him fall to the ice in a crumpled heap.

I staggered to my feet as both Erica and Isaac laid there for several seconds, motionless. It looked like Scott was quickly losing control of his anger, and I didn’t want him to do something he might regret. Fighting them off was one thing, but situations like this could go south in the blink of an eye if he didn’t reel himself in soon.

I only made it one shaky step before a hand clasped around my bicep, stopping me in my tracks. My head jerked to the side to see Derek’s disapproving face only inches away. I pulled against him aimlessly, knowing that I wouldn’t be moving an inch as long as he didn’t want me going anywhere.

“Let go.” I hissed, my eyes narrowing into a harsh glare.

He quirked a brow, seemingly amused that I’d try and stand up to him. “Yeah, can’t do that.”

At the sound of a pained groan I twisted back toward the fight, just in time to see Scott kick Isaac in the face as he struggled to get to his feet. My eyes widened as he whipped around and threw Erica down onto the ice harshly.

I tugged at my arm again, needing to stop him before things got even uglier. When Derek’s grip only tightened, I faced him and shoved back against his chest harshly. “He’s going to kill them!”

His eyes swept across the rink before slowing making their way back to me. He lifted one shoulder in a noncommittal shrug and I gaped at him, shocked at his lack of compassion. He didn’t even give a shit that the two people he turned into werewolves were getting their asses handed to them.

“God, is being a huge asshole part of becoming an alpha?” I snapped, finally managing to pull myself free. I staggered back a few steps, not expecting him to actually let me go, nearly falling down in the process. “What are you even trying to do?”

He made no move to respond, his lips twitching up into a slow smirk as his gaze flickered over my shoulder. I slid myself around to see that Scott was standing over Erica and Isaac’s unconscious bodies, his chest heaving with ragged breaths.

“Don’t you get it?” His voice echoed off the walls as it rose angrily. “He’s not doing this for you. He’s just adding to his own power, okay? It’s all about him. He makes you feel like he’s given you this gift, when all he’s done is turn you into a bunch of guard dogs!”

He suddenly slammed a hand down onto Isaac’s back and slid him across the ice toward us. He stopped right at Derek’s feet, just before Scott did the same Erica. He rose to his full height slowly, narrowing his eyes into a hard glare.

“It’s true. It is about power.” Derek stalked forward slowly, jerking his hand down to his side to reveal his sharpened claws.

His head snapped in all directions as he transformed, his eyes flashing bright red as he stopped only a foot away from Scott and snarled. Without warning, he headbutted him harshly, sending him stumbling back a step. He took the opportunity to slash his claws against Scott’s stomach and I gasped, instantly covering my mouth to stifle the sound.

My heart lurched in my chest, panic surging through me as Derek landed blow after incapacitating blow. Scott was too weakened by the fight with Isaac and Erica to do anything about it, which I now could see was what Derek wanted the whole time.

A painful realization washed over me just then, as Scott fell to his knees. All I could do was watch as one of my best friends was beaten to a pulp right in front of me. I was utterly useless. Not only did I not have any heightened senses or reflexes, but I wouldn’t even know how to use a weapon if I had one.

Within seconds Scott was laying flat on the ice, clutching at Derek’s leg as it crushed his airway. He coughed and sputtered as Derek finally moved off of him a second later, not even gracing him with any parting words before walking away as if nothing had happened. I instantly started sprinting as best I could, falling onto my knees at Scott’s side a moment later.

My eyes widened as I took in his battered state. Blood was spilling from the sides of his mouth, and the gashes in his stomach were clearly visible through the tears in his shirt. I didn’t know how fast his healing was supposed to work, but it didn’t look like it was getting better at all.

I saw movement in my peripheral and turned to see Boyd walking toward us cautiously.

“Don’t.” Scott coughed out another few drops of blood and tried to sit up, only stopping once I put a firm hand on his chest. He wasn’t in any kind of shape to be moving at all. “You don’t want to be like them.”

“You’re right.” Boyd nodded, slowly lifting his shirt to reveal an almost completely healed bite mark above his hip. My stomach twisted anxiously at the sight. We were too late and this dumb fighting was all for nothing. “I wanna be like you.”

With that, he turned to join the others as they made their way toward the exit. My head jerked back to Scott as he let out a series of pained grunts. His eyes caught mine, shining with worry, as his head fell back against the ice. I could only assume we were both thinking the same thing.

We were so beyond screwed.

Episode 2

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asterekmess · 4 years ago

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(I was gonna save this for tomorrow, but FUCK IT) Eyyy, still being salty over here. Pls block the tag ‘rant’ if you don’t wanna see anymore of these. Or maybe ‘anti-scott mccall’ though, tbh, I’m not sure how much fun it would be to follow me if you aren’t anti-scott mccall. I’m pretty vocal abt disliking him.

ANYWAY.

I wanna talk about the concept of Derek being a ‘creeper’ because of all his wandering around the lacrosse field, at lydia’s party, etc. And by talk about, I mean ramble about incoherently. By which I mean, please know that I’m not trying to insult or fight anybody who makes this joke or uses this concept in fic or whatever. I’m just ranting bc I love this boy and his trauma makes me sad.

ANYWAY. (This is insanely long, so I’m adding a “Read More”)

I just have a lot of feelings about people seeing Derek as a stalker/creeper because he keeps showing up at lacrosse practice and in Scott & Stiles’ rooms, etc. It gets mentioned in loads of fics (I see a lot of “Creeperwolf” which I think is supposed to be an endearment?) (And there’s lots of fics that talk about how ‘you used to be/are really creepy, following us around’ Again, not judging) (Dude it’s even a whole tag on AO3 ‘Creeper Derek Hale’) and it’s joked about a lot in fandom (the vine with the ‘every step you take’ song and the swans on the building comes to mind). I see it a lot, and dude, it hurts me.

Let’s look at Derek’s current mental state and what he’s been dealing with, going all the way back to Paige. (Or, tbh, his birth) Derek is a werewolf. He was born a werewolf, to a family of werewolves. He grew up within the supernatural world, in a whole different culture to humans (honestly, my fury at the lack of werewolf culture/history/worldbuilding is worthy of its own post. Let me know if by some ungodly chance, you actually wanna hear my thoughts on it.) and presumably the number one rule in all of werewolfdom is “Keep the Secret.” Now, Derek’s fuckin’ 14/15 (I put his birthday on Christmas, like most of fandom, and if his house burned down when he was 16, in the spring, and he was dating Kate for a while before, he would’ve dated her when he was 15, and we don’t know how long there was between paige and kate, but let’s give him a summer of mourning. So. 14ish with paige) and he starts dating this human. He’s kinda shit at keeping the secret, implying that either he’s only dated werewolves before, or she’s his first girlfriend ever (also implying that maybe some of the people on his basketball team are werewolves, bc they don’t seem to notice his weird way of talking [pack members maybe? fuck, my heart]) and he’s maybe not as careful as he should be. (More implications arise, and we begin to build our own history. If Derek was never taught not to say dumb shit like ‘i caught a scent’ then was he even in public school before freshman year? Were the Hales all homeschooled before high school to help keep the secret? How soon do wolfy abilites arise? Do they hit with puberty? Fuck, I digress.) He says some dumb shit, and Paige gets suspicious. Of course, he doesn’t know that, and he has some kind of meltdown about her eventually finding out his secret. We hear from Peter (who’s villainized, so we’re not supposed to necessarily believe what he says, but what we see in the flashback doesn’t make a huge amount of sense either so *shrug*) that he enlists Ennis to bite Paige, believing that if she is bitten she won’t spill the secret and she’ll be more inclined to accept that Derek is a werewolf. Now, she fucking dies. Paige dies in Derek’s arms because of this, and he finds out at the last second that she already knew the secret. He feels guilty enough abt getting her killed but now he’s got a whole new batch of guilt from finding out that apparently he’s so bad at keeping the secret of his ENTIRE SPECIES that she found out he was a werewolf. She could’ve exposed them all at any time. He had to be terrified. Next, he’s 15/16 and he meets a gorgeous older woman who presumably showers him in affection, and all the horrors that go with that whole situation (I don’t wanna go into detail, because obviously). But again, whether Derek tells her himself or she just knew or she finds out, whatever it is, Kate knows Derek and his family are werewolves. AND SHE KILLS THEM ALL. Derek has no clue what the fuck is going on. All he knows is he is the only link between Kate and his family, which must mean that it’s his fault she knows about them. Once again, he’s revealed the Big Secret and people Died. He and Laura bolt to NY for six years, where presumably they live in hiding thinking the Argents are coming after them to finish off the Hales. Then Laura gets sent a funky letter and goes back to Beacon Hills. Now, we have a lil more confusion (i’ve got a whole buttload of issues with the timeline, but let’s not get into that now) because he says he came looking for Laura, but later he mentions that he knew she was in Beacon Hills and was searching for...whoever burnt down their house...that whole plotline confuses the shit out of me (derek knew kate did it. he blamed All the argents, but he knew kate was involved. So why was Laura looking for the pendant. and if he didn’t tell her then why was he looking for the pendant?? And what did the pendant have to do with the deer and the spiral?? Halp.) but whatever. He shows up and finds his sister dead, the hunters arrive in town the next day, and suddenly there’s an angry alpha Attacking Humans.

We’re finally in the present. Derek has lost what little family he had left, except for a catatonic uncle. He already has two instances in his past where the worry of keeping werewolves a secret has caused deaths. And now there’s this teenager. No, actually, two teenagers. One who was bitten, and one who shouts out “You’re a werewolf!” in the middle of the preserve, instantly figuring out a centuries-old supernatural secret. Derek is fucking terrified, and things are only getting worse. This kid who got bitten? Derek follows him to see if he’s really a wolf, to find out if he knows what’s happening to him, if he believes the other teen. He finds the kid JUMPING OVER PEOPLE’S HEADS in broad daylight in front of everyone. Derek might’ve had a couple verbal giveaways but this is just ridiculous. Then, even better, the kid goes on a date on the FULL MOON with THE YOUNGEST ARGENT. There’s about a billion reasons to follow Scott to the party. It’s a FULL MOON, for one. HE’S WITH AN ARGENT for another. And of course he can’t just walk into the party. He’s fucking 22 for fuck’s sake. This is a high school party. He’d get arrested. And of course he doesn’t introduce himself to Scott beforehand. He has no way of knowing if this kid is on the Alpha’s side. He’s the Alpha’s Beta, it would make perfect sense for him to be obeying the Alpha. OR since he’s with the Argent, maybe he’s working with them. Maybe he’s a plant of some kind. a hunter pet. Laura was used as bait to catch Derek, why not Scott too? But he sees quickly that Allison has no clue what’s going on, at least with Scott, and he takes her home and steals her jacket to lure Scott into the Preserve where he can’t hurt anyone. Then, when he sees Scott get chased by the hunters, with no Alpha coming running to protect him, he decides “Alright, guess this kid’s my ally. Gotta protect him.” Yeah. He says some weird shit. But the evidence points to Derek not knowing much about bitten wolves. He tells Scott that he doesn’t know how to train a bitten wolf, but he does know how to help Scott recover memories (the memory loss appears to only happen in the early days of shifting, which lends more credibility to the possibility that born wolves don’t start shifting properly until later in life [puberty being the most likely milestone] and he therefore has experience with that, but not with the kind of control Scott needs, that he’s known his whole life). Born a werewolf, he’s never considered the bite anything other than a gift. He also just lost his entire family, so sue him for trying to find some kind of connection between them. (It honestly makes total sense for him to use the term ‘brothers’ bc he KNOWs Scott won’t understand the concept of ‘pack’ yet) So, now that’s decided to help Scott, to protect him, he goes back to the school. SURELY now that Scott knows what he is and how dangerous he is when stressed, he’ll reign himself in during lacrosse, or even just back out of it altogether. There are lives at stake here, be them human, or if Scott exposes the secret, werewolves. SURELY this kid wouldn’t put everyone in danger over a fucking game. But no. Not only does he keep flaunting his abilities, but he SHIFTS ON THE FIELD. If Stiles hadn’t Dragged Scott out of there, the entire supernatural world would be EXPOSED by this ONE KID. Derek passed Terrified about a hundred miles back. He’s gotta be fucking out of his mind with fear. I don’t blame him even a little for threatening Scott. If Scott’s not gonna do the right thing on his own, then threatening him is worth it if people don’t DIE. Then, bc Scott’s a pissy baby and goes to shout at him and be a fuckwad, and Stiles is nosey and neither of them have boundaries (I love Stiles, but fucking seriously, digging up a grave?) Derek gets ARRESTED. He pleads with this lanky teen who is brave enough to climb into the cruiser with a WEREWOLF. Who’s FRiends with a Werewolf. Who figured it out so quickly. He pleads with him to understand how dangerous this is, to stop his friend. And Stiles looks like he’s gonna, but Scott bolts bc of the wolfsbane (Which...listen if I’m being really salty, a deep bitter part of me genuinely wonders if he was that freaked out, or if he overheard Derek beg Stiles not to let Scott play, and Scott ran away from Stiles so he wouldn’t get told no, bc he wanted to play.) and by the time Stiles finds him he’s already dressed for the game. And DEREK WAS RIGHT. Scott DID lose control. He DID shift on the field. At LEAST one human saw him shift, and the coach for the other team knew something was up too. He DID expose them, and he did it further bc Jackson is suspicious now. Now, I’ve reblogged a gifset of it before, the moment when Derek shows up at the lacrosse field and finds Jackson standing in it after Scott’s run off, staring at a glove with a claw hole in it. He is watching his worst nightmare come true. Scott has exposed them and Jackson is going to figure out werewolves, just like Stiles did. He knows right that instant that people are going to die. I’ll reiterate what I said in the tags on that gifset. It’s extremely likely that Derek bit Jackson out of self-preservation. Jackson had been threatening to tell the hunters and the entire world if he didn’t get what he wanted. The safest thing to do was give Jackson the bite so that at least he would be putting himself in danger too if he exposed werewolves. He forced Jackson to have to keep the secret for himself because he knew Jackson wouldn’t do it for anyone else. (And he knew Jackson had some self-preservation, compared to Scott, and wouldn’t want to expose himself.)

Listen, I just. I just get so sad watching Derek sneaking into people’s rooms and standing on the edge of the field and showing up in the locker rooms. He’s trying to help. He’s trying to protect. He wants to be there in case Scott does something stupid (which he does, again and Again) to protect him, even after Scott REFUSED to help him stop a SERIAL KILLER because there wasn’t anything in it for him. Even after Scott fucking blackmails him by leaving him hanging on a grate with wires plugged into his side and his abuser on their way back to hurt him, he still helps him protect Allison (who watched him be tortured and did nothing. [He still has the capacity to acknowledge that it’s not her fault. That she couldn’t save him. He doesn’t blame her for it and he certainly doesn’t want her to die.]) He wants to keep his Betas safe. He stands in the parking lot waiting for them to test Lydia because he doesn’t want them to have to go through with killing her alone (and he only tries to kill her because she DOESN’T pass the test [although I admit it’s a dumb test] and because the kanima is KILLING people. More people have died and I don’t know how the fuck Derek manages to keep standing, let alone having such capacity for empathy and optimism and sarcasm after everything he’s dealt with. He’s constantly being hunted by hunters or humans, or fuck even Scott himself, since every time Scott gets upset he blames Derek for everything (I’m still fucking disgusted that he turned up at Derek’s place and accused him of murdering his own sister.) And STILL he shows up. No matter how many times he’s shoved away and ignored and yelled at. He shows up and he stands on the fringes and he waits for the chance to help.

And what’s creepy about that?

#personal #rant #Fuck i love Derek and I'm so fucking sad #i have a lot of feelings okay?#like I said #i'm not judging people who use the concept in fics or who make the jokes or whatever #i'm just talking about my own feelings #anti-scott mccall #Meta Ramblings

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usermischief · 4 years ago

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https://princeescaluswords.tumblr.com/post/636127260781559808/that-post-about-ill-keep-reading-a-fic-that#notes

https://princeescaluswords.tumblr.com/post/636131295754354688/empathy-intelligence-and-judgment#notes

I know next to nothing about Dick Grayson, but in what kind of alternate universe is Teen Wolf’s Scott McCall an “empathetic caregiver”, or has “high emotional intelligence”, or is “an excellent strategist”, or “excels at strategy, quick-thinking, repeatedly out-maneuvering even other noted strategists, and displays a quick grasp of new information and an ability to see how and where and when to put that information to use in practical applications” exactly?

Also: “The same happened on Teen Wolf. The production presented it as a failure in leadership for Scott to actually believe that Stiles could very much kill someone to protect his father, when there were 68 episodes suggesting that Stiles would be comfortable with killing someone, with Stiles lying, and with Stiles engaging in violent actions to protect his father. (At the same time having refused to distrust Theo, who has proven his good intentions by helping save every member of the pack, against Stiles’s accusation based solely on a gut feeling.)”

Correct me if I’m wrong, but Scott’s the one who threw a temper tantrum when Derek didn’t let him assassinate Peter in Season 1, conspired with Gerard behind everyone’s back and used Derek as his murder weapon because “He threatened to hurt my mom! I had no choice!” in Season 2, lied to Kira about her fox in Season 5A, plotted with Deucalion to assassinate innocent chimera victims Josh and Tracy in Season 5B, played up an injury that had long healed just to convince his friends to help him and not abandon him again in Season 5B, and wanted to sacrifice Tierney and Jiang to a mob boss to save himself in Season 6. Seems to me like there are at least 68 episodes suggesting that Scott would be comfortable with killing someone, with lying, and with engaging in violent actions (such as premeditated murder) to protect himself and his mother

*PS: and Theo’s fake parents’ fake signature and him creeping into Kira’s (Scott’s girlfriend) room to record her sleeping without her consent were actual facts and proof of Theo’s shady behavior, not just “a gut feeling”

---------

mischief: When he lied to Kira about her fox, when he didn’t respect Allison breaking up with him, when he told Derek that the Argents must’ve had a reason to kill his entire family, when he asked Stiles if he’s dating Malia after he showed him his scratched back, showing clear discomfort, when he was hurt because Liam was angry that Scott broke the promise he made; that all sounds very empathic to me, right? And I guess the excellent strategist part comes from all the times, he lets Stiles come up with plans, or that time Scott wants to turn him into a werewolf so he can come up with the plan. I mean, that is a great strategy.

The thing is, the antis don’t understand the difference between what is said and what is shown. Stiles might have suggested murder a lot, but he never followed up on his words. He saved everyone he suggested to just “let die” at least once in the show.

And, to be fair, I wouldn’t even be bothered by Scott wanting to kill Peter and Gerard, if they used his “we don’t kill people!!!!!” in s5 as character growth. But they didn’t. Scott is a jerk to Kira and kicks Stiles out of his pack because they killed someone, and next thing you now, he schemes with Deucalion, which gets two teenagers killed, he’s fine with Theo being sent to his potential death (while Deucalion was allowed to live in 3a?), and, to top it all off, is fine with throwing two teenage werewolves, who just lost their entire pack, to the mob of hunters, and the person who stops him is the sheriff (who the antis hate as well because he’s not punishing Stiles enough or whatever).

Also, gut feeling? Yes, maybe not trusting Theo was a gut feeling at first, but why doesn’t Scott trust Stiles’ gut feeling? How often did Stiles say something and was right? He identified Matt as evil. He correctly assumed that Lydia is innocent. He knew something was up with Kira. He knew something was wrong with himself. Stiles knows this shit. He just does. And he had proof for Theo being shady. It’s not Stiles’ fault Scott didn’t take the fake signature seriously, because Theo saw it as big enough of a problem to break his fake father’s hand with a hammer. ´

But, hey, ignorance is bliss.

#the messy shit tag #long post #submission

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andavs · 5 years ago

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18 + 52: Circus + Marriage of Convenience for @drgrlfriend

You really don’t make it easy, do you?

Okay, so circuses go a lot of places, right? So it makes sense to join a circus if you want to also go places. Otherwise restricted places.

Actually no, this is just going to turn into The Circus at the End of the World by @mad-madam-m, but with a convenient marriage.

Okay, starting over.

Running from a circus! An evil circus! An Argent circus?

The obvious route here is Derek is a forced circus attraction as a werewolf because...money? Maybe it’s an indentured servitude kind of deal, paying off a massive debt that he will never actually pay off in his life. The Argents have made sure of it because he’s a crowd favorite. He’s attractive and angry and he does shirtless backflips with fangs.

And there’s a clause in their contract that only a Hale can pay off the debts. No wealthy good samaritans can step in and pay the bill for him, as if anyone would ever offer. No one just hands over that kind of money to a shady circus for an adult, orphaned werewolf.

Maybe a cute child orphaned werewolf, but not a twenty-five year old angry werewolf who glares at everyone.

Scott is...a werewolf activist. Because even though indentured servitude is illegal, werewolves weren’t really known by the general public when the law was written, and it makes the unfortunate distinction that a human cannot be owned in such a manner. Horrible people jumped to exploit this loophole and the government is slow to close it because...reasons. Maybe they use it to keep werewolves in the military fighting their wars? They know they should close it, but it’s also very convenient for them to just leave it in and ignore all of the articles and documentaries about the issue.

So Scott is the passionate activist, he’s become the face of the issue, and Stiles is his Rusty Ryan. Like, Ocean’s Eleven Rusty, the one who takes the grand ideas and figures out the logistics and makes them happen.

After some bad press about their use of less-than-willing werewolves in their circus, Gerard and Kate Argent invite Scott and his team to see the performance. Let him see how happy their employees are and how willing they are to be there. Prove that they enjoy performing for their adoring fans, and that they wouldn’t rather be anywhere else.

(Note: Allison and Chris are not involved in this circus, and Allison is the one who blew the whistle on their practices.)

Except Scott can immediately tell that Derek is miserable and angry, and probably abused in some terrible way because Kate and Gerard. He’s a werewolf, he can sniff it out, as well as see it written all over his face for anyone who cares to look a little closer.

“We have to get him out of here,” he whispers to Stiles in the middle of the act, and Stiles starts his planning.

Still seated in the loud and excited crowd, Scott tells Derek to meet them that night, and as he takes his final bow, Derek’s eyes meet his and he gives a subtle nod.

First, they offer to just give him the money he needs to buy his freedom, but he shoots that down. The money has to come from a Hale, and as the Argents withhold 95% of his pay, they would know there would be no way he could save that much.

“It has to come from a Hale?” Stiles asks, clarifying, with a gleam in his eye that Derek isn’t sure how to interpret. “That’s how the contract phrased it exactly?”

Derek nods, unsure of what’s happening because he feels nothing but despair and acceptance of his fate. He’s the last Hale. The Argents made sure of it. He tells them this.

But Stiles shrugs and says, simply, “So someone with the money needs to become a Hale.”

(Another note: Allison is dating Scott and people know this, so clearly the only option is for Stiles to do the marrying.)

He reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out the twist tie from the bag of popcorn he bought at the concession stand, twists it into a shoddy ring, and holds it up with a grin.

“Will you marry me, Derek Hale?”

Sidenote: everyone should read The Circus at the End of the World by @mad-madam-m, because it’s a masterpiece.

Side-sidenote: I want an Ocean’s Eleven AU.

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1989dreamer · 3 years ago

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Chapter 20 of Looking for a Place to Call Home

This has been on AO3 for forever, but I’m starting to push to finish this story. Look for chapter 21, coming soon!

~ * ~

Boyd and John sit at the table long after the dishes have been cleared away. They’re making plans to go to New York, to see if they can find Laura’s daughter.

Laura wants to go too. Derek’s not sure they’d be able to stop her. An alpha on a mission is hard to deter.

He doesn’t feel healthy enough to accompany them—too many hunger pains among other pains.

“It’s decided, then,” John declares suddenly. “I’ll book the tickets. We leave in two days—plenty of time for me to practice my aim. I used to be the best shot on the force.”

“Are you going to be allowed to travel with a firearm?” Boyd asks.

“Disassembled and in different or locked cases, yes, as long as I declare it. You know, there’s a competition out in New York. I might just be registered for it.”

“How many of us are going?” Erica asks. She looks at Laura, Cora next to her, both of them staring at John and Boyd, and then at Derek, hiding behind his sisters.

“John, me, and Laura,” Boyd says. “I’m sorry, Cora, Derek, but I think it’d be better if you stayed behind. Erica?”

“I’ll stay. Someone has to look out for them.”

“Perfect. I’ll get those tickets booked tonight.” John’s smile is broad, happy. Derek wants to warn him about the hunters and what they do to people who oppose them, but he remembers that John was their emissary before his parents were killed. He should know about hunters already.

“Will you be mad that I won’t go?” Derek asks Laura.

She hugs him. “No, I’m not mad. I’d rather you stay here, where it’s safe.”

“I can fight,” Cora interrupts. “Why can’t I go?”

“Because we barely got out last time. In fact, we weren’t even free until that deputy shot Kate.”

“But you’re going back. I want to go back too!”

“No.” Laura doesn’t shout, but her eyes go red, and Cora cowers down, eyes on the ground, neck bared.

Laura lets the red fade away. “I’m sorry, Cora. I don’t want to lose you if the hunters are swarming. I’m not even sure we’ll be able to find my daughter.”

“We’ll do our damndest,” John promises. He yawns, making Erica yawn too. “I need to get back home now.” He picks up his bag, heading for the door. “I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow so that you can tell us about where you were held. How to get in and out.”

“Good night, John.” Erica closes the door on him. She claps her hands, turning to the rest of them. “Early to bed tonight. That way we can be up early.” She shoos Boyd toward the kitchen. “Dishes, honey. The rest of you, teeth.”

There’s only one bathroom and it’s crowded. Cora and Laura keep bumping each other while Derek and Isaac stand back, brushing their teeth in sync.

Next to Isaac, watching his sisters roughhouse reminds Derek strongly of his family when his cousins visited.

He can’t remember if they all were there that day when Kate took him. He should, but he can’t.

“Hey,” he says, spraying toothpaste everywhere. “What happened to our cousins and aunts and uncles?”

“They died,” Laura says sharply. She glares at Derek in the mirror before throwing her now broken toothbrush away. “They came to help us look for you and then our house was burned down, all of us trapped inside.” She stomps away, anger swelling in her wake.

Derek rinses his mouth and brush, setting the brush in a cup labeled with his name. Cora and Isaac finish quickly, too, and Derek grabs Cora’s arm before she can escape to the room she’s sharing with Laura.

“I didn’t know,” he says. “I’m sorry.”

“We told you, didn’t we?”

“If you did, I don’t remember. Sorry.” He thinks he should have known, but Kate had broken his bonds, and when they’d left California, he hadn’t been able to sense his family.

Derek curls up on his bed, wondering when he’s going to feel normal. When he’s going to find his even keel, as his Aunt Miriam liked to say. He’d thought the whole time he was in New York that he was going to escape or be rescued and then come back to California to live with his family. He’d thought the bonds were muted with magic, not snapped entirely.

He hasn’t even properly mourned the loss of his family, too bust trying to heal from the damage Kate inflicted.

He covers his face and whines high in his throat. Isaac sinks down onto the bed with him, stroking a hand down his arm. He doesn’t say anything while Derek cries.

Nearly an hour passes before Derek stops sobbing. He breathes harshly through his mouth, nose too clogged to be of use.

“Do you want some water?” Isaac asks. Derek nods, and Isaac goes to the bathroom to fill a cup from the tap.

Derek sits up to drink it, and Isaac watches him with a curious look on his face.

“What?” Derek asks when he’s finished the water and set the cup, the one his brush was in earlier, on the bedside table.

“What’s it like being a werewolf?”

Derek pauses, thinking about it. Before Kate, he would have talked about his enhanced senses, the way they can heal minor wounds in seconds and major ones in hours or days, the way pack became attuned to each other, all of them striving to help each other. Now, he doesn’t know what to say. Does he tell Isaac that the hunters aren’t worth the trouble of being stronger, faster, or more resilient than a human?

He opens his mouth to ask Isaac what he means, but Isaac beats him to it, saying, “I guess what I mean is, I might like to become a werewolf someday.”

Derek looks at him curiously. “How do you know that we can turn you into a werewolf?”

Isaac shrugs. “Can you?”

“I can’t. I’m just a beta.”

“What about Laura? You defer to her, so she’s in charge?”

“Yes. She’s the alpha. Only an alpha’s bite can turn others, but,” Derek lifts a finger, “there’s a chance that the bite might not take. When that happens, the bitten dies.”

“How do you know if the bite will take?”

“Before giving the bite?” Isaac nods. “I don’t know.”

~ * ~

Stiles brews a fresh pot of coffee while he is on gold with the National Registry of Missing Persons. It’s late, he’s tired, and he still doesn’t know whose body they pulled out of the preserve.

He’s waiting on the okay to talk to Peter Hale, but his lawyer, none other than the famous defense attorney, David Whittemore, is dragging his feet. Possibly because Stiles interrupted his dinner with his visiting son.

Stiles doesn’t care. Jackson Whittemore, real estate mogul, is as unimportant to Stiles now as he was in high school when he was head jock and dating the most popular girl in school until she dumped him for her best friend. Jackson never quite recovered after Lydia’s public breakup, and he’d seemed to blame Scott and Stiles for his misfortune.

God damn, high school never ends, Stiles thinks bitterly.

“Still there, sir?” the NRMP employee asks, and Stiles confirms he is. “Okay, so there’s too many results to go through tonight, so I’ll have to give you an update in maybe a week. I’m sorry I can’t be of more help.”

“No, it’s okay. It was a long shot anyway. Thanks.” Stiles hangs up and tries to ignore the welling frustration. Getting angry won’t help anyone. He sinks into a chair, running both hands through his hair and down his face. “Crap,” he says. “What’s next?”

The man’s face is going on a bulletin tonight to run on the early news tomorrow morning to see if anyone recognizes him. His DNA and fingerprints are with the proper departments, but that could take months. Dental has also been sent out, but unless he was local, within a one hundred mile radius, they won’t have an answer back for weeks or months.

All of this can be narrowed down if Stiles can just find who they’re looking for.

He lets his head drop to the table, staring cross-eyed at the grain of the wood.

He is so exhausted, and they’ve only been on this case for two or three days. God, what if it drags on for days.

The coffee machine beeps, and Stiles hauls himself to it to grab a mug. He pours enough milk in it to cool it down, and then drains it in one long swallow.

At this point, coffee is useless. Stiles needs sleep. But before that, a shower. He’s feeling a little ripe right now.

All deputies keep a change of clothes here in case of emergency, and Stiles grabs his on the way to the showers in the basement.

The hot water helps him relax, and he spends a few minutes just letting it soak him.

He thinks again of the man stick on the tree. What if Peter isn’t the only Hale who knows who he is?

Stiles shuts off the water and dries off quickly. Derek spent three years in New York under Kate Argent’s thumb. Laura and Cora were with a different faction. The man obviously had some connection to them all since Peter had killed.

Stiles silences the tiny voice of doubt about Peter’s guilt. The man would have been partially eaten if it were a wild animal, and he wouldn’t have been skewered onto the branch as if a large creature had lifted him and set him there.

Stiles decides he needs to talk to the Hale kids tomorrow. For now, he’s going to go over the Hale fire papers and research every name that ever ended up being associated with it. Sleep is the last thing on his mind even though it’s his body’s only thought.

He runs into Kincaid and Ramirez on his way to the evidence room.

“Acting Sheriff Parish said we were to escort you home,” Kincaid explains, Like Stiles gives a rat’s ass.

He pauses thinking. Six eyes is better than two. “I’ll go home,” he says, “if you help me with something first.”

The rookies exchange an apprehensive look. Stiles takes mercy on them. “I’m working on identifying the body we found out in the preserve. I’ve got an idea that he had something to do with the house fire out that way three years ago.”

“Why do you think that, sir?” Ramirez asks.

Stiles shrugs. “It’s too much of a coincidence. The body was located near the house.”

“So you think this guy set it or something?”

“I don’t know yet. I don’t even know his name.”

“But you think it’s in the file on the fire.” Ramirez and Kincaid exchange another look, far less apprehensive this time. They shrug in unison.

“We’re in,” Ramirez says. “I’m guessing you just want lists of names with how they relate to the fire?”

“You guess correctly.”

~ * ~

MP, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

#Teen Wolf Fanfiction #Derek Hale #Stiles Stilinski #My Story/My Writing #LfaPtCH

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wheredidhiseyebrowsgo · 5 years ago

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hey! thank you for everything that you do! you are awesome. im just wondering if you any fic were Stiles is fae? thank you!

We sure do. - Anastasia

till the moon has taken flight (to the waters and the wild) by WindyRein

(5/10 I 1,426 I Not Rated I Steter)

It's not fair! But he knows already that life isn't fair, doesn't he? He can feel the bitter smile curling his lips.He, if there is such a thing anymore, floats and is torn apart and doesn't exist. (but that would be kind, wouldn't it?)

Bloody Secrets by cywscross

(1/1 I 3,085 I Teen I Steter)

Stiles has silver in his veins.

Peter could’ve done without finding out this way though.

Somewhere to Start by Lissadiane

(1/1 I 3,352 I Teen I Sterek)

Stiles has always known that he isn't quite human - the plant life that tends to sprout around him whenever he gets upset or excited gives it away. He's never really fit in among the regular people in Beacon Hills and is determined to wait it out, go to college, and find somewhere to belong. He's forced to abandon those plans, however, after he desperately agrees to enter into an arranged marriage to save his father's life.

An arranged marriage with an angry, sometimes furry dude with trust issues. It's all very Beauty and the Beast, without the singing candlesticks.

Dance Under the Moonlight by Therapeutic_Steter

(2/2 I 3,440 I Mature I Steter)

Fae!Stiles saving Peter from Pack's stupidity and washing his hands of them. Please?

The Other Side by Green

(1/1 I 3,769 I Explicit I Steter)

Stiles doesn't know anything about his father, only what his mother told him, that he's human. Despite her words, Stiles has had his doubts. So when the queen sends him through the veil, he's nervous and isn't sure what to think.

Seven Years Falling by InfiniteAlexisA

(1/1 I 3,880 I Not Rated I Sterek)

“I don’t mean to!” Derek yelled throwing his hands in the air.“DON’T YELL AT ME!” Stiles screeched, his entire body going up in flames.This is what Derek gets for dating a fire elemental.

we're not so different (you and i) by colferstilinski

(1/1 I 5,621 I Explicit I Sterek)

For many of the fairies that lives here, Utopia is their sanctuary—haven, in other words—and why shouldn't it be? It never rains on this stretch of meadow, the clouds in the skies always pink with interest and it smells like the breaking of spring every dawn and dusk.

Stiles detest it, the least to say.

It’s too much and he hates swinging along with the status quo with the other fairies. Yeah, with their blooming shades of colours and the shimmering, silken tunics they don on and fuck, the limitless sparkles. There’s even a new trend going on with the younger generation where they gather allium blooms to form a flower crown, oh—with added glitter!—and it makes Stiles wants to roll his eyes.

Or the fic in which Stiles is a fairy and wants to escape the horrendous, boring world of fairyland to have an adventure. And by adventure, he means meeting Derek. The plant. Or... not-so plant.

Cold Iron by the_problem_with_stardust

(5/5 I 5,641 I Teen I Sterek)

Derek thought the disaster that ended with Kate Argent almost burning down his family home was a relationship worst-case scenario. So, when Dr. Deaton reveals that his current girlfriend is not what she seems, Derek is ready to swear off romance forever. In an attempt to escape his well-meaning (but insanely overbearing) family, Derek volunteers to take over remodeling the small cottage that was left to the Hale siblings in his grandmother’s will. Connemara is nothing like California, and Derek feels like his luck just might be looking up.

salt and a waltz by The Byger (Byacolate)

(1/1 I 7,433 I Explicit i Sterek)

"Not that lubed-up Q-tips aren’t the sexiest thing in the world, but I kinda want to know what it’s like, you know. To be impaled on your huge dick without actually being impaled.”

“It was about to get sexy there, but you shot the mood right in the face.”

In which Stiles is a faerie and Derek is sick and tired of not being able to fuck him.

Don't You Wanna Be My Sky? by WhoNatural

(1/1 I 9,420 I General I Sterek)

Stiles got ratted out by the Realm Guard for sneaking off with Scott a total of seven times before his dad buckled, promising sabbatical once Stiles reached Faehood, and enough Earth culture in the meantime to have him talking like a born-and-bred Californian teenager.

He just didn’t have the tan.

(Or, in which Stiles is a Frost Fae sent to the Earth Realm on the Fae version of Rumspringa and immediately falls head-first into a Coffee Shop AU)

No Love in Idleness by Elpie (Horribibble)

(2/2 I 11,687 I Explicit I Sterek)

Stiles is the sole grandchild of none other than Robin Goodfellow, the most mischievous faerie ever to wreak havoc among the Folk and Man alike. To the people of Beacon Court, he is at best a merry wanderer of the night.

At first, Ser Derek is inclined to agree, but the little bird on his shoulder has quite a bit to say about that.

Trees are always a relief after dealing with people (except when they aren't) by ravelqueen

(1/1 I 15,889 I Mature I Sterek)

Derek Hale decides to become a hermit before he reaches 25. Too bad he picked Beacon Hills as his retirement home.

(Or the one where Stiles is a wood nymph/pixie/human hybrid who falls in love with his new grumpy werewolf neighbour)

Broken People Get Recycled by poemwithnorhyme

(1/1 I 16,389 I General i Sterek)

Nothing is ever just calm in Beacon Hills. No, something always has to go wrong, and this time, it's Stiles' turn in the spotlight. That doesn't mean he has to like it. Post S2 AUFae!Stiles

The Magic's in the Coffee by xxxillusionxxx

(8/8 I 17,596 I Explicit I Sterek)

Ever since the tall, muscled, leather-clad werewolf had begun his daily coffee routine at the Skullery—a horrendous name in Stiles’s opinion, but his boss was a skeleton who thought he was terribly clever—an impromptu competition developed among the baristas.

When Trust is Everything by hellbells

(12/12 I 27,913 I Teen i Sterek)

For a secret to remain true then only one person can know it; if not then it will come out. Beacon Hills is the converging point of several secrets all wrapped up in the supernatural. For Stiles, the unravelling of several will let him find peace, love and safety in the arms of his true mate. The only question is can he trust a Sourwolf and his pack well enough to show his true self.

It just might be the one thing between Beacon Hills and safety!

(Or observe the really awkward distrustful courtship between a Sourwolf and a hidden Fae Mage)

A Little Bit of Sunshine by 100KlicksAway

(21/? I 29,600 I Mature I Sterek)

Stiles woke with a start, dreams of pixies flitting around his head. He’d dreamed… He’d dreamed that he was a wolf? Or…. He wasn’t sure. Something with fangs… His mouth had been dripping blood in his dream, and when he woke, he could still taste the thick copper taste coating his mouth.

Stiles has been working hard for the pack since Scott was bitten. They leave him out more and more frequently, though, until Stiles realizes that he's strictly unnecessary. Then, the pack's activities throw him into danger and he ends up in a shitty situation with no one helping him.

Stiles leaves Beacon Hills. He doesn't care anymore, he just... Needs out.

The Last Chills of Winter by LeeHan

(1/1 I 42,525 I Explicit I Sterek)

“He didn’t magically charm me,” Derek shot back in his defense.“Oh, so he just regular charmed you?” Laura said with a smirk.“What? No,” Derek growled.“Was he hot?”“No! He just—“ He just had a laugh like a sun shower. Fuck.

We Follow Darkness Like a Dream by GreenasCole

(10/10 I 51,106 I Mature I Sterek)

When a mysterious note is left on the Stilinski's door it leads Stiles and his best friend Scott out into the woods on quest for answers about Beacon Hills's most infamous tragedy. After a surprise encounter with a monstrous wolf the two boys are hurled into an ancient and terrifying world, only for Stiles to discover he was secretly a part of it all along. Will he manage to survive the insanity of Fae politics and avoid the enemies that are suddenly crawling out of the woodwork to find a place in this new world? Or will the very revelation of his existence be the catalyst that plunges both worlds into war and chaos? And why can't Scott just stop teasing him every time he catches Stiles looking at their new "friend" Derek too long?

Laughter in the Dark by Starshaker

(13/? I 56,148 I Mature I Sterek)

Stiles is a fae. A trickster spirit with too much curiosity for his own good and a knack for getting into trouble. When he's just trying to help things don't go to plan and coincidences don't seem to end up for the better.Trapped, isolated and aching to get home, though it's better than what Gerard would have had planned for him initially, Stiles learns to deal with his new set of circumstances.

The Fairy's Wolf by kuki

(57/? I 90,602 I Explicit I Sciles)

In a world where non-humans mingle with humans in public schools until they became of age, about high school age, going instead to a specialty finishing school, a young halfling fae fights to stay with his friends. His fear of losing touch with his best friend, a young Alpha werewolf, has the pair pushing their relationship to the edge; and their relationship has the world on the brink of war.

-or-where I apparently ship Skittles hard now, hate myself with this work load on top of my school work, switch up species because f-u that's why, make up mythology, and try to give Derek a nice life.

Where You Still Remember Dreaming by yodasyoyo

(15/15 I 95,612 I Explicit I Sterek)

“What’s your name? I can’t keep calling you Balto.”

“What’s yours?”

“Stiles.”

Derek raises an eyebrow. That isn’t his real name. There’s no way. But now he thinks about it, he has a vague memory of someone, probably Uncle Peter, telling him that with the fae, names have power. “I’m Miguel,” he says.

“Lie.”

“Are you trying to tell me your real name is Stiles?”

Stiles runs his tongue across his teeth and considers Derek carefully. “Fair enough,” he says, “Miguel it is.”

Grabbing his groceries and pocketing the change, Derek turns to leave; he’s nearly at the door when Stiles calls out, “By the way, Miguel, if you’re interested, it’s two for one on bags of kibble at the pet store down the street.”

Derek doesn’t look back, doesn’t hesitate, just raises a hand and flips him off on the way out.

#teen wolf #sterek #sciles #steter #stiles stilinski #peter hale #scott mccall #derek hale #fae!stiles

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ira-fae · 5 years ago

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Teen Wolf Gives Zero Shits About Isaac Lahey

There are probably about billion things wrong with Teen Wolf. But I think my least favorite Shitty Thing Teen Wolf Did™ is the way they reveal to you Isaac’s backstory. The way they’re so offhanded about the abuse he’s suffered. Let me talk you on a walk back to season two.

So, season two, episode two: Shape Shifted

In this episode we watch That Dinner Table Scene between Isaac and his father. We see the absolute fear in Isaac as he tries to avoid telling his father his grade in chemistry.

We witness for the first time Mr. Lahey’s cruelness. We see Isaac hunched over, his posture pulled in toward himself, where Mr. Lahey is sitting up straigh, full of confidence. Isaac is literally tearing apart the piece of bread he’s eating (I personally tear things apart when I’m nervous). He keeps glancing at his father, looking up for a second and then immediately back down to his plate. And as soon as his father says the word ‘downstairs’ you can see Isaac’s eyes go wide. He looks like he’s panicking.

His father says Isaac will have to do the dishes and clean the kitchen, very calmly. You can actually see Isaac’s shoulders gown down, he sags with relief. But then Mr. Lahey throws his coffee cup. Then he slams his hands down on the table and it looks like he’s going to lunge across it. Isaac flies out of his seat, cowering agains the wall, literally shouting in fear. And then the glass water jug is thrown and Isaac full body flinches.

Of course the rest of the scene is Isaac’s cut healing and him running away. But this is the show’s very first time showing us Isaac’s reactions to his father. He is terrified of him.

And, if you’ve seen the show you’ll know that Isaac’s father is murdered by the Kanima and the police take Isaac into custody.

But see the thing that makes me mad is when Derek takes Scott to the Lahey house. Derek is showing Scott what what he thinks the police are using to keep Isaac in custody.

This scene literally starts with Derek asking Scott, “You wanna learn?” What proceeds is Scott going down into the Lahey basement to find, as Derek literally says, “Motive...” Derek is using this as a teaching moment, to show Scott that you can use more than your sense of smell.

Scott asks, “What happened down here?”

And Derek replies, “The kind of thing that leaves an impression.”

And Scott finds The Freezer. Derek has him open it and Scott’s face, the ominous music, and the bloody scratches all over the inside of the freezer are telling us as the audience something terrible happened here. You pick up on the fact that Mr. Lahey locked Isaac in this freezer. Scott looks horrified. The music sounds horrifying. The visual of the bloody scratches all over the freezer are horrifying.

The scene is spilt up by some Stiles and Lydia Exposition but we cut back to Derek and Scott and Scott seems livid.

He says, “This is why he said yes to you!” Derek agrees with him and starts talking about power. And Scott gets mad at Derek and tells him that he can’t just go around biting people. They have an argument about Derek turning people and how it’s dangerous to be a werewolf. Scott calls Isaac an idiot for wanting to be turned, even after Derek told him about the Argents and hunters.

My issue with all of this is the fact that through all of this, neither of them mention the fact that this freezer they’re standing in front of was used to lock Isaac up as a punishment. The entire scene is about Derek teaching Scott, Derek wanting a Pack, Derek being mad Scott is dating an Argent, Scott not wanting to join Derek so he can stay with Allison, Derek saying that Scott will lose Allison regardless.

See how none of that mentions Isaac? I mean they do verbally mention Isaac a couple of times, but it’s to call him an idiot for wanting the bite. They’re literally standing in front of the biggest piece of evidence that Mr. Lahey physically abused his son and none of the scene is about Isaac. The scene is mostly about Derek and Scott’s conflicts.

To further add insult to injury, Scott has Allison lock him in the freezer to try and keep him under control because it’s a full moon.

And there’s no mention Isaac throughout any of this. At all. He’s not mentioned once. There’s no moment where Scott ponders about Isaac and how he must have felt inside the freezer. There’s no moment where Scott mentions to Allison that this freezer is going to be used for a better purpose than physical abuse. Nope. None of that. Not a single mention of Isaac.

Just lots of Romeo and Juliet tension between Scott and Allison as they both struggled with Scott being a werwolf and how it’s keeping them apart. Allison kisses Scott before she closes the freezer.

This is absolute horseshit. There is a time and place for Romantic Tension. It’s a teen drama. Of course there will be Romantic Tension. Especially between the two Romeo and Juliet leads. But they’re kissing in the freezer that Isaac’s father locked him in to physically abuse him, to the point where Isaac’s scratched it so hard he bled.

It makes me so angry that they’re so flippant about revealing to you how intense the physical abuse that Isaac suffered was. And to use the device that was used to abuse him as a Romantic Plot Point where Scott is being Strong™ for Allison is disgusting.

And the last thing that makes me angry about this episode is Derek’s use of Alpha powers inside the police station. Stiles and Derek have come to break Isaac out of jail, but Oh No, a hunter is there too. Isaac fights the hunter and knocks him unconscious. During this scuffle Stiles hides behind a desk. Derek shows up and Isaac turns toward Stiles, growling. To keep Isaac from attacking Stiles Derek Alpha Roars at him. Isaac curls up agains the wall again, just like he did when his father seemed like he was going to physicall abuse him.

Isaac is trembling and absolutely terrified. And instead of addressing the abuse victim freaking out, they turn to Stiles so he can ask Derek how he did that and Derek can say,

Yeah, cool. That was super badass, Derek. Wanna talk about how you just freaked your Beta out and how he’s cowering against a wall right now?

No? No one wants to talk about any of this? Cool. I’ll just simmer in my anger.

#isaac lahey #isaac lahey abuse #tw abuse #derek hale #scott mccall #mr lahey #teen wolf #teen wolf analysis #isaac lahey analysis #teen wolf kinda fuckin' sucks dude

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ellewritesathing · 5 years ago

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So Close - S.S. XXX

Summary: The universe has a funny way of putting the things you want right in front of you, but just out of reach. Stiles and Y/N have been best friends ever since Scott brought him home, but when Stiles realizes that he might want to be something other than best friends, she leaves to go to some fancy private school up North. Now that she’s back though … maybe he’s got a shot? A Teen Wolf AU in which the reader has always been so close to Stiles and yet so far.

Masterlist Prev. | Part 30

Word-count: 4k+

A/N: kinda wild that we’re on part 30 guys!! hope you enjoy!!

Everyone has it.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this. They were supposed to go to Mexico, save Scott, and come home all in one piece. They weren’t supposed to almost kill Scott, and they sure as hell weren’t supposed to lose you in Mexico.

“Stiles, come on. You have to eat something.” He didn’t need to look up to know that Lydia was looking at him with those big, knowing eyes again. “At least drink something, okay? I’ve got Gatorade.”

No one can lose it.

The bottle thudded against the table as Lydia set it down. She sighed and sat on the bed, and Stiles could imagine her rolling out her neck as she appraised the latest clippings pinned to the board.

“The diner is new. What happened there?” she asked, careful to keep her voice even and not to betray how worried she was. Not careful enough, though, because the worry slipped through.

What is it?

Stiles didn’t realize she’d gotten up until he felt her hand on his shoulder, jolting him fully out of his memories. “I miss her too,” Lydia said. “We’ll get her back.”

“You weren’t there, Lydia.” Stiles’ voice felt unfamiliar. It had been a while since he’d used it. “You’ve never had that thing inside you either, okay? It’s a constant battle that you are constantly losing. And I- I did that to her. She was fine to die, but I couldn’t let that happen.”

A shadow.

“Stiles.” Her voice was gentle as she tried to pry his eyes off the boards and to her. “I wouldn’t have let her die either. We’ll get her back.”

When? It had been weeks since anyone had seen you.

I’m your shadow, Stiles.

---

If someone asked Stiles why he had driven almost an hour across town to have dinner by himself in a suit that he hated, he wouldn’t know what to tell them. Maybe he was hoping that you’d be there, somehow making the past few weeks into nothing but a bad dream. Maybe he didn’t want to spend another night surrounded by people who insisted it wasn’t his fault. Maybe he just didn’t want to pay another cancellation fee.

“What do you mean ‘my party’s already been seated?’” Stiles asked the hostess as she led him through the restaurant. “I am my party, and I just got here.”

“Sir, I-”

Either she stopped talking or his brain stopped processing everything else except for what was in front of him. Probably the latter, because Stiles was never really good at thinking when you were around. And there you were. Sitting, back to the wall, in a black dress and heels with jewelry far shinier than he’d ever seen you wear, and makeup out of a magazine. You fit in almost perfectly in this place.

And then his brain started working overtime. Stiles cataloged every bruise and cut littered across your body; judging from the color, some had started to heal and others were newly torn open, some bruises were dime-sized and others looked like someone had choked the-

“You clean up nicely.” Your voice wasn’t right. None of it was right. “All that snark wrapped up in a nice little suit.”

“I-” Stiles realized the hostess was still there to get her to leave. Half sitting, half collapsing into the chair across from you, he tried to make a coherent thought. Your smile was sinisterly amused by him. “What are you doing here?”

“Same as you; we had a date. Remember?”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Stiles said.

He should be doing something. Calling Scott. Getting Derek. Something. He shouldn’t be talking to you. And yet ...

You tilted your head to the side, hand lifting to get a drink of water. “You invited me here, Stiles. You prayed to me, practically begged me to come back,” you said.

“No, there is no way-”

“And I missed you.”

You could have stabbed him with the steak knife on the table and it still would have been less painful than that. “You missed me?”

You leaned forward in your chair and reached a hand out to him. “There were others before you, Stiles, but none of them were like you. Rhys was fine, malleable, but he lacked a certain … darkness.” Your hand was freezing where it touched him, a cruel imitation of how you’d play with his fingers when you were nervous. “And Y/N isn’t right either. It took days before I had the strength to control her, and you know what she did after we left you in Mexico?”

Stiles didn’t trust himself to speak, but he had to. “What did she do?”

“She tried to hang us,” you said, voice clearly unimpressed. The bruises on your neck. No one attacked you; you attacked yourself. “She’s lucky I was angry enough to save us. Do you remember when she stabbed us, Stiles? No, she’s got an iron will. It would never work like this.”

“If it doesn’t work then why are you still here?” Stiles asked.

“Because your friends tried to kill me, and I want to return the favor.”

You pulled your hand back and smiled at the waiter that came to take your order. Stiles stared at you as you ordered for the both of you. It was your face, but it didn’t look like you. The nogitsune turned back to him, cold and calculating.

“Are you jealous?” it asked in your voice. “Tell me, do you miss me, Stiles? Do you miss the power, the control?”

“No.”

“Never lie to a liar, Stiles.” You said in a sing-song voice before leaning forward on your elbow, like you were about to tell him a secret. “I miss the games we would play. I miss watching your friends try to decide if they should fight for you or kill us in the street. I miss the way she would protect us, even seconds after trying to kill us herself. Do you remember it, Stiles?”

Vividly, and the worst part was that he remembered liking it. When he was dead and dying, and you’d step between him and whatever was trying to kill him-

“Do you remember that night in Derek’s loft when Argent tried to kill us?” Your eyes lit up at the memory. It made Stiles feel sick. “She went up against Argent, the oni, and for a second it even looked like she’d take on Derek for us. Do you think she’d kill him, Stiles? Do you think she’d kill Scott?” He didn’t answer. You leaned back in the chair and sighed. “I wonder exactly how far ‘no matter what’ goes. Don’t you?”

“Why are you doing this?” Stiles asked. His voice was cracking. He hated it.

“Because I have a head full of new memories, Stiles. I know everything about you, and I know everything about her,” you said. “And now I want to know how much pressure I can put on this until it breaks. Until you break.”

“If I agreed to go with you right now, would you end this? If I never went back, would you-”

“I don’t want this version of you,” you said. Another steak knife to the chest. “When I take you back, I want you broken. You tried to kill me, Stiles, and I’m not just gonna let that go.” You stood up and looked at him. You were angry, but anyone looking over would just think you were leaning down to kiss him goodbye. Hovering just next to his ear, you whispered, “I’m going to destroy everything you’ve ever loved, using the hands of the girl you love. And it’s going to be all your fault, Stiles.”

You tapped his arm once, twice, just like you used to, and then disappeared. Probably you just walked out of the building and Stiles was just too much of a coward to follow. Maybe he just had trouble processing it. Either way, the next thing he knew a waiter was trying to set a plate of food in front of him.

“Could I, uh- Yeah, can I get these to-go?” Stiles asked. “My girlfriend’s not feeling too good.”

---

Stiles warned everyone that the nogitsune would be making its move soon - he even called Cora and Lahey down in God knows where doing God knows what - but the problem was that he didn’t know what that move would be. When it controlled Stiles, the plan had been to systematically destroy everything that held Beacon Hills together. From the temporary order of the game would come the complete and total disorder of chaos.

Now he didn’t know the plan.

Should everyone gather together for safety in numbers or would that just make them an easier target to hit? Should they split up to cover more ground or would the nogitsune pick them off one by one? Stiles didn’t know.

They tried splitting up.

It got Lydia hospitalized.

There was always at least one of them with her while she recovered, but the annual summer fair was today and the nogitsune loved anything that drew a crowd. It had been using you to take out small targets until now, but Stiles could feel it in his bones. Something was going to happen today.

Something was going to break.

It happened at sunset. That’s when the Ferris wheel malfunctioned and Liam and Mason were stranded at the top. When the sun completely vanished, more of the games went haywire. Metal went flying, cutting people’s arms and hitting them in the eyes. Any dogs that were brought made a run for it, chasing after something that Stiles couldn’t see.

Then the power went out and the screaming started. And then he saw you, waving him over to the woods. Stiles tried looking for Scott but he would lose you before he found him.

“This is where it all started, Stiles,” you told him, arms spread wide as you twirled around the underbrush. It would have been cute if you weren’t possessed and sirens weren’t filling the air. “This is where I keep coming back.”

“What makes you think I care?” Stiles asked.

You tilted your head at him, stopping any other movement. “Aww, you’re so cute when you’re angry. Getting closer to the Stiles I knew with each and every day.” You took deliberate steps closer to him and he took steps back until he hit a tree. “The problem is-” your hand touched the side of his neck, fingers pressing his head into the tree “- I don’t have the patience for more days. I’m not getting any younger, Stiles, and I want to leave this place.”

Stiles dropped his gaze to your neck. It was a sickly shade of healing bruise yellow, but it was also a reminder that you were still in there. That could take control, even for a moment.

“Are you even listening to me? Do you even care-”

One second you had him pressed up against a tree, and the next you were on the ground, fighting off Malia. Stiles wasn’t sure where she came from or where the others were, but he knew that if he didn’t pull her off then she would rip off your face. Even if you locked away in your own body and you might never come back, the need for Stiles to protect you was too strong.

He was in the process of pulling Malia off when you scrambled back to your feet. You looked ready to bolt but Scott caught you before you could. He caught your arm, twisted it an angle that Stiles was gonna kick his ass for later, and sank his teeth in all in the time it took for Malia to elbow Stiles in the gut.

Stiles didn’t remember screaming for Scott to stop, but he could hear himself yelling as he struggled back to his feet. To you.

“Scotty?” Your voice sounded broken and your legs waivered beneath you, and then Scott’s unnatural hold on your arm was the only thing keeping you up. Blood soaked through your shirt where he’d bitten you. “Scotty, I’m sorry- I’m s-”

You collapsed into a fit of coughing on your hands and knees. When Stiles scrambled over, cupping your face in his hands and pulling you up to look at him, he realized it wasn’t just blood. It was black blood. Black blood coating your mouth. Black blood streaming down your face. Black blood.

“I love you, Stiles. And I’m so … I’m so sorry.”

“Why does it sound like you’re saying goodbye?” Stiles’ voice cracked on the last syllable. “You’re not going anywhere, okay? Listen to me, Y/N-” Your head lolled in his hands “-No matter what. We’ll figure this out, okay? No matter-”

You collapsed.

You weren’t breathing.

The black blood was everywhere. Your hair, your teeth, your clothes. Stiles’ hands. Scott’s shirt when he carried you out of the woods. Underneath Malia’s fingernails. Everywhere. The Jeep’s backseat. Deaton’s stainless steel examining table. Your cold, limp hands. The black blood was everywhere.

---

Stiles wouldn’t let them move you. What were they gonna do - autopsy the girl that had been dead for hours but was still bleeding? Melissa was the only one that agreed with him, but that was probably because she wanted him to stop arguing.

Turns out he was right not to let them take you to the morgue because somewhere between his 3am coffee break and spilling all over Deaton’s waiting room, you woke up. When he ambled back into the exam room, you were sitting on the table, looking haunted with your legs dangling over the side.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

He should call someone. He should call Scott. Deaton was with the dogs in the back. Where was Lydia? He should call Lydia. Stiles called out your name and took some very hesitant steps over. Were you real? The tears in your eyes seemed real.

The second he touched your skin, something inside you sparked. You looked less haunted and more terrified, and then you had your arms wrapped around his neck. You pulled him close, shaky hands cradling his head. He could feel your heart beating out of your chest. You were saying something. What were you saying? It was hard to tell with all the sobbing.

The only thing Stiles was sure of was that this was, undeniably, you.

“Hey, hey, look at me,” Stiles said, using every ounce of willpower he had to pull away from you. You were freezing and all he wanted was to make you warm again. “It’s okay, alright? You’re okay.”

“No, it’s not!” Your voice was raw. How long had it been since you’d had anything to drink? Stiles couldn’t concentrate. Not with your hands moving up to his face before you pulled your hands back, holding them so tightly to your stomach as you shook your head. “Stiles, I hurt you. I- I almost killed Lydia. And Noah- he- It’s not okay. It’s not okay. It’s not-”

Stiles was so busy trying to get you to stop wringing out your hands and shaking that he didn’t notice when Deaton came back with Scott. You froze as soon as you heard Scott’s voice, looking haunted again as your eyes drifted over to him.

“Scotty?” Your hands reached out for him and Scott looked at Deaton for a second before walking over. Your fingers traced his neck. The snap replayed in Stiles’ head as you did. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Scott said. Stiles envied his control in that moment. His calm, smooth alpha voice. “I healed, and so did you. For a second there, I thought you were gonna leave me alone with all this.”

You shook your head. “Don’t be nice to me. I tried to kill you.”

“No, you didn’t.” Even. Controlled. The alpha. “That wasn’t you.”

“Scott-”

“Could you let Deaton take a look at you? I’ll tell the others that you’re not dead and then … then we’ll go home.”

“You don’t understand,” you said. “Scott, I- I hurt you. All of you. I can’t take any of that back. I can’t go home.”

“You are home,” Scott said.

Stiles noticed the strain between his eyes and suddenly he didn’t envy him anymore; being the alpha meant he couldn’t be anything else. But somehow Scott managed to get you calm enough for Deaton to take a look at you, and he went to call everyone while Stiles stayed with you.

You didn’t seem to mind the poking and prodding, but every time Deaton set a tool down or Scott’s phone wrang, you flinched. The noise and the light bothered you more than it should, reminding Stiles of just after the three of you sacrificed yourselves for your parents.

The nerves ate away at his stomach lining until the exam was over and everyone was filling up Deaton’s back room.

You were sandwiched between Scott and Melissa. Liam and Mason were huddled in the corner. Malia, Derek, and Braeden were standing off to the side. Stiles’ dad stood next to him, trying to keep him from unraveling. Argent was in the doorway. Lydia and Kira were holding hands next to him. Deaton had to maneuver around the uncomfortably full room to find a place to stand.

“So, Doc-” you said with a shaky breath. Melissa’s grip on your hand tightened but you didn’t seem to notice. “What’s wrong with me?”

“Are you familiar with the term ‘umbra tetigit’?” Deaton asked.

You shook your head and Deaton was ready to keep talking when Lydia spoke. Stiles couldn’t tell if she was frowning due to exhaustion or confusion. “Shadow touched?”

“Exactly,” Deaton smiled at her before continuing. “When a person has an immense darkness around their heart, it tends to open doorways that sometimes can’t ever be closed.” As he explained, he laid out tongue depressors next to you. You stared down at them, Stiles stared at you. “Now, you’ve managed to close some of them, but the stress of being possessed-” he picked one of the tongue depressors up and snapped it “-tore some of them open again.”

“Okay,” you said slowly. “Then Scott bit me and you- you said my heart stopped?”

“Some doorways only lead in one direction,” he said as he turned some of the tongue depressors. “Others are more fluid. So when Scott bit you, your doorways started slamming shut. Not everyone is capable of unlocking those doors to get back.”

“But, um - and correct me if I’m wrong - I’m still alive,” you said, making it sound like a question. Maybe it was a question and Stiles just didn’t notice because he was too busy noticing how tight you were holding onto the sides of the table.

“Technically speaking,” Deaton nodded. “Because you were undisturbed for so many hours, that time allowed you to do something special. You managed to pry open those broken doorways-” he moved the snapped depressors slightly apart to allow for a small path to trickle through “-and claw your way back through. That kind of determination is … one in a million.”

“Kind of like the determination to become an alpha without killing anyone?” you asked, only lifting your head from the table to steal a look at Scott.

Scott had been unusually quiet since calming you down when you woke up, but he gave you a small smile when you looked at him.

“Exactly like that kind of determination,” Deaton said, drawing your attention back to him.

Then you looked down at your hands, and Stiles knew that you didn’t know what to do next.

“But it’s not like she's the only shadow-touched person out there, is she?” Stiles said, trying to take the heat off you. “Like Scott’s not the only true alpha to ever walk the earth, right?”

“No,” Deaton said, seemingly choosing his words carefully. “But shadow-touched creatures come in many different forms. Werewolves, wendigos, banshees - to name a few.” He took a pause and Stiles’ eyes flicked to Lydia’s for a second. “That being said, every shadow creature is created by an event that allows their minds to be more fluid. In your case, it was a confluence of events. The sacrifice, the nogitsune, the bite.”

“Meaning what?” you asked.

“Meaning that even if you found another shadow wolf, they wouldn’t be like you,” Deaton explained. “Not in the way that Scott is like Liam or that Meredith is like Lydia; they share the same base design - if you will - even though they have special talents.”

“So, what, it’s like luck of the draw?” you asked, pushing yourself off the counter. The room went an eerie sort of still and Stiles wasn’t sure what to do. “You’re telling me that you only have a hazy idea of what’s going on with me, and now it comes down to how lucky I am?”

You were almost never this angry when it wasn’t about someone you love. There was something unsettling in your voice and your eyes.

“There are tests that we can do to find out where your strengths lie, to see how similar you might be to the werewolf base design,” Deaton explained. His resolve to stay unafraid of you only made you more mad, which only made Stiles more confused. “Like that. Scott’s eyes go red when he’s upset, Liam’s go yellow. Yours turn black.”

You blinked a few times and leaned back into the table, seemingly out of it again. Stiles rushed forward to help you stand. Until now, you’d pushed him away almost any time he reached out for you, but this time you held onto his arms until you were steady enough to sit on the table again.

You put a hand to your temple, trying to get yourself to focus. You took a deep breath and looked back up at him. “Thanks.”

“You have heightened sensitivities,” Deaton said. “It’s going to take some time to learn to control them.”

“I’ve gotten pretty good with the-” you gestured vaguely around your head as you spoke. Stiles had to let go of you, but he didn’t want to. “Overloads. They’ve been happening since the sacrifice. I just need … a few seconds.”

The seconds went past and Stiles was acutely aware of all the eyes in the room, all looking at you or sharing looks with the person next to them. He wondered if it was driving you crazy as well.

“I’m really hungry,” you said eventually when you opened your eyes again. The room let out a collective breath, and Melissa even managed to laugh.

“We can do something about that!” Scott said. He sounded relieved to be able to do something. “Lydia and I will make a food run. Burgers? Pizza?”

You shook your head, still looking overwhelmed. “Whatever’s closest.”

“Got it,” he said. He smiled at you before heading out with Lydia, Kira awkwardly following out behind them.

Argent nodded his head to the front and your mom and Stiles’ dad followed him out. Stiles moved out of the way for you to have a moment with the Hales and Braeden, but then it was just you and Stiles. And a very heavy silence.

“I’m sorry for … not understanding,” you said after a minute of Stiles’ head exploding. He didn’t know what to say, but luckily you started talking again so he didn’t have to. “I thought I understood what it was like for you, but all the things I said …” You shook your head. “I’m sorry you went through all that by yourself.”

“I wasn’t by myself,” Stiles said. He started reaching for your hand but stopped, unsure. “I had you, and you’ve got me. No matter what, remember?”

You bit your lip as you reached out your hand, stopping before you touched his hand. Then you shook your head and grabbed Stiles’ hand. “No matter what.”

I wonder how far ‘no matter what’ goes.

Part 31

#stiles stilinski #stiles stilinksi imagine #stiles stilinksi x reader #stiles slow burn #so close #mccall!reader #teen wolf #teen wolf au #teen wolf rewrite

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