'Oh, sorry' Stiles muttered in a rush as he bumped into someone.
He didn't bother to look at who it was, he was too busy interrogating Scott but the person he bumped into did notice. She rubbed her forearm with a confused look and for the rest of the day she followed him all around school.
After lunch, Scott and Stiles split up to different classes. Stiles had begun feeling a little light headed before lunch, but after sitting down to the cafeteria's famous 'Taco Tuesday' he thought the light headedness had gone. It was only when he reached the door of his next class when it returned, with a vengeance. He had to support himself against the wall just outside the door. He blinked his eyes, trying to focus on the spinning hallway that stretched out in front of him.
'Are you okay?' he heard a voice ask, but couldn't see who it was.
Before he could answer, he heard another familiar voice.
'Stiles? Urgh, how many times have I told you to stay away from Taco Tuesday', he heard Lydia scolding him.
'I'm okay, I just need to sit down for a minute', he tried to protest.
'You, my friend, have food poisoning', Lydia continued.
Stiles tried to move, but his legs gave way under him.
'That's it, you're going to the hospital' Lydia insisted.
'I'll help you', he heard the first voice again.
Stiles felt himself being hoisted up and his arms wrapped around someone's shoulders. He knew Lydia was on one side, he would recognise her perfume anywhere but there was also another fragrance, one he did not recognise.
They ushered him into the back seat of Lydia's car, but he fell right over and started gagging, as if he was about to throw up.
'Stiles, do not puke in my car', Lydia said angrily.
'I'll keep him upright, he might choke', the other voice said.
'Great. Who are you again?', Lydia asked, only vaguely interested.
'Uhm, Kaitlin' the girl said as she started pushing Stiles into an upright position.
Stiles frowned. He didn't know that name. He felt her hands gently push his head and shoulders upright. Her touch was warm on his skin, almost scorching. But he couldn't focus and felt his consciousness slipping away.
'Stiles? Oh, come on Stiles! Why is he so heavy?' Stiles heard the words Lydia was saying, but it didn't make any sense to him.
'He needs electrolytes, that's why his muscles are too weak to hold him up', he heard the other girl explaining to which Lydia had very witty 'I know what electrolytes are' reply.
The girls half carried Stiles into the emergency room where a nurse immediately helped them put him in a wheel chair.
'Lydia? Is everything okay?' Melissa McCall asked anxiously when she saw Stiles propped in the wheel chair.
'Taco Tuesday', Lydia explained with a meaningful look as she walked towards the nurse. She hated hospitals and the quicker she could get out of this one, the better.
They both turned around to look at Stiles, but he, and Kaitlin, were nowhere to be seen.
The strong smell of the freshly cleaned hospital hallways was strong enough to shock Stiles awake. He looked around confused, not sure if he remembered feeling sick, or if he had just fallen asleep in class and was dreaming.
Realising that time was running out, Kaitlin anxiously looked around for an empty room. She peeped into every door and found a room that had no bedding sheets on. Perfect, she thought as she wheeled Stiles into the room and closed the door.
'Your name is Stiles, right?' she asked as she spun the chair around and looked at him with her hands on the armrests of the wheelchair.
'Ye…yes', he managed weakly.
'Okay. Stiles, listen to me. You do not have food poisoning. When you bumped into me this morning, something happened…something that hasn't happened ever before…' Kaitlin was stunned, she didn't know how to explain it to him.
'What? What are you talking about?' he asked as he tried to get up out of the wheelchair.
He felt himself being pushed back down.
'There isn't time to explain', Kaitlin said with a worried voice. He was becoming paler by the second.
He tried to get up again and she pushed him back down in the chair and without any further hesitation she took his face in her hands and started kissing him. Stiles' eyes immediately shot wide open as he felt her lips on his. After a few seconds she pulled her lips half an inch away and stayed frozen, looking him straight in the eye.
Anyone who would have looked through the little glass window in the door would have seen the strangest sight ever. As Kaitlin pulled away from Stiles, a stream of blue light came from her mouth and flowed into his.
Stiles felt his energy and consciousness return with every second that ticked by. After a solid minute, Kaitlin straightened up, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand.
'That was too close' she whispered.
Stiles jumped up out of the wheel chair.
'What the hell was that!' he demanded.
Kaitlin only looked at him with big eyes. She opened her mouth to say something, but the face in front of her became unfocused and she staggered back, catching herself against the wall.
'Hey, ooh, are you okay?' Stiles asked concerned, regretting his outburst.
'I'm fine', she said as she shook her head to pull herself together.
'You cannot tell anyone', she said with earnest as she put her hands on his shoulders. He stared at her with disbelief. 'Promise me', she said with meaning, looking straight into his eyes.
'Uh…yeah…okay' Stiles agreed reluctantly.
'Good. They won't believe you anyway', she said with a sigh.
Stiles was taken aback by her comment and she used the opportunity to quickly vanish out the door.
A very confused Stiles headed back out into the hall where Melissa found him.
'Stiles! Where have you been? Are you okay?' she asked, putting the back of her hand against his forehead.
'Yeah…uhm…I just had to go to the bathroom', he said, quickly thinking on his feet. 'Hey, did you see a girl out here just now? Black jacket, glasses…' he asked, looking up and down the hall.
'No sweetheart. Are you sure you're okay? Lydia thinks you might have food poisoning', Melissa said, putting her hands on his shoulders and turning him to face her.
'Oh…uhm…yeah...uhm…no...I… I feel so much better now', he said, rubbing his hand on his stomach and giving the nurse a meaningful look.
'Oh' she said surprised, but happy that he was all right.
'I really need to get back to school', he said suddenly.
'Are you sure? I can give you a sick note', Melissa pressed.
'No, thank you Melissa. I'm fine. Really. I just need to get back to school', he said and ran down the hall towards the exit.
'Dude, my mom just sent me a text. Are you okay?' Scott asked when a very out of breath Stiles stumbled into the locker room and fell down on the bench next to his best friend.
'Dude, you will not believe what just happened to me', he started.
...
'And she just kissed you?' Scott asked confused.
'Yeah man. And her eyes were glowing, like this really really…blue…colour? Or maybe it was purple, I don't know' Stiles explained.
'Dude, that means she could be one of us!' Scott mused. 'And you said her name is Kaitlin? I don't think I know her'.
'I know I've seen her before though' Stiles scratched his head as he tried to think.
For the rest of the school day Stiles looked into every classroom he passed and harassed every girl with a long, dark ponytail, looking for Kaitlin. He had to give up when the last bell rang, but resolved to continue his search the following day.
After a restless night, tossing and turning, Stiles bolted out the front door with a simple 'See you later, Dad!'. Sheriff Stilinsky only smiled and shook his head, hoping there wasn't any ominous reason for his son's eagerness to get to school.
The first two periods went by in a daze as Stiles was scanning every face he could see.
'What are you doing?' Scott finally asked.
'I'm looking for Kaitlin' Stiles whispered urgently. He was beginning to get very annoyed. He knew that he had seen her somewhere before, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
'Well, good luck with that' Scott patted him on the back as he walked into Spanish class ahead of him. Stiles dragged himself to his desk and fell down in defeat. 'She has got to be here' he whispered to himself as the teacher started the class.
'Can anyone give me an example?' the teacher asked whilst writing the last word on the blackboard.
There was no immediate reply and the teacher turned to look for any raised hands. 'Yes?' she said, finally pointing to someone at the back of the class.
Stiles wasn't paying attention. He was going over his class roster, trying to remember where he had seen the girl from the hospital before, when he heard someone answer the teacher's question.
'Él es un idiota'.
'Yes, thank you, Kaitlin', the teacher said with a smile, the class stifling their giggles.
Stiles nearly fell out of his chair as he spun around. He thought he recognised the voice, but when the teacher said the name as well, he knew it had to be her.
She was sitting in the last row, playing with a strand of her long, dark pony tail and writing something in her notebook. When she looked up at the board again, she noticed Stiles staring at her with an open mouth. She froze for a second, her eyes locked with his, until she blinked a few times and went back to writing, sliding down in her chair and shielding her face with her hand.
Stiles swung back in his seat. It was her! He tried to get Scott's attention, but when he couldn't, he quickly pulled out his phone and started typing.
When the bell finally rang, a poised Stiles jumped out of his seat like a rocket and ran out the door, stopping to wait just outside where he could ambush her when she came out.
Kaitlin suspected as much. She pulled her pony tail free from the rubber band and threw her hair over one shoulder, trying to cover her face, and quickly headed in the opposite direction when he reached out to draw her attention. Kaitlin turned the corner towards the girls' bathroom and sighed with relief when she looked behind her and saw nobody following her. But she came to a sudden stop when she turned back and walked into what felt like a solid wall.
'Hi there' Scott smiled down at her and she knew there was no escape.
...
'You guys are nuts! I wasn't even at school yesterday', Kaitlin protested.
Scott and Stiles had cornered her in an empty classroom. They were missing class, but neither of them cared. They had to know if there was someone new and strange in town, and they had to know if she was good or bad.
'Oh, come on!' Stiles exclaimed, but Scott put a hand on his shoulder, urging him to calm down.
'We won't tell anyone', he tried to reassure a very scared looking Kaitlin.
'Yeah?' she asked sarcastically, fidgeting with the strap of her bag that was she was clinging on to as if it were a life preserver in the open ocean.
'Really' Scott said with glowing, red eyes.
Kaitlin's backpack dropped to the floor, the sound echoing ominously through the empty classroom.
'You're an alpha!' she whispered in disbelief.
'No, no!' she shook her head. 'You are much too young to be an alpha. What are you?' she asked, taking a step back with every sentence.
'Scott's a true alpha, okay?' Stiles defended his friend.
Kaitlin looked from Scott to Stiles and back to Scott again and straightened her back. 'In that case, I need to speak with your druid', she said firmly, the expression on her face changing from fear to resolution.
...
'Doc! Are you here?' Scott called out as he held the back door open for Kaitlin and Stiles to enter as well.
'Scott? Is everything okay?' Deaton asked apprehensively, seeing the young girl with them. He didn't know her, but seeing the look on the boys' faces, he immediately knew something was up.
'Doc, this is Kaitlin' Scott said, and then Kaitlin spoke before he could continue.
'Mi estas Kuracanto', she said with a blank face.
'Well', Deaton responded with surprise.
'I must admit I thought you were only the stuff of legends', he said as he put down the vials he held in his hand.
He unlocked the medicine cabinet where he kept all the secret ingredients and medicines he used as a druid, and took out a small, black bottle.
'May I?' he asked Kaitlin as he walked towards her.
Kaitlin eyed him suspiciously until she saw him pour the purple powder into his hand. She closed the final step between them and tilted her head to the side, offering her exposed neck. Deaton held his hand towards her neck and lightly blew on the powder in his hand. When the powder came into contact with her skin, it revealed a hidden tattoo.
Scott and Stiles' mouths hung open.
'What. Is. That?'Scott said the words one by one.
'Violet. It's used to reveal the truth', Deaton explained.
'Wait, she said, Kuracanto' Scott remembered.
'It means healer. This symbol' Deaton pointed to the tattoo on Kaitlin's neck' is Cho-ku-rei – the Reiki symbol for physical healing. Its use represents "awakening of the light from within and from above"' he explained.
'Your knowledge is impressive, Druid' Kaitlin said.
'Oh, well, I'm afraid my knowledge of the Kuracanto don't go much further than this', Deaton admitted.
'Whoa, hold on a second' Stiles protested. 'The light from within?' he asked, pulling a face.
'When we bumped into each other yesterday, I...somehow...took almost all of your life force' Kaitlin explained.
'Why would you do that?' Stiles asked with disgust.
'I can't explain it. I'm really sorry, it's never happened before. It wasn't intentional', she tried to apologize, but Stiles only looked at her with disbelief.