"Stiles?" Scott's incredulous voice broke Stiles's focus.
Stiles had been caught in the action. He had been the one writing the hidden codes, ordering around a murderer. He was responsible for trying to kill Kira. And now, Scott knew. There was no getting out of this one, but he needed to try something. Stiles turned around to face Scott, his hand shaking so bad he had dropped the piece of chalk he was previously holding.
"Scott, I'm not- this isn't- " Stiles searched for the right words to say, but nothing seemed to come out coherently.
The look in Scott's eyes broke Stiles's heart. His friend's once hopeful puppy eyes seemed like someone had shattered the warm core Stiles was so familiar with. And the sad part was, Stiles knew it was his fault. That he was responsible for his friend's hurt. His plan was unraveling in front of his very eyes and all he could do was sit and watch his world burn.
"Stiles, this isn't you! You're the one who always solves these things! Your dad is the Sherriff, for God's sake; who I might add is under watch for impeachment! How do you think the town's going to react when they find out the Sherriff's son was behind all of this?" Scott gestured around as he voice grew.
A sliver of white hot rage coursed through Stiles, and for a second, he thought he might jump at Scott. But when it passed, he knew he never could hurt Scott. All he did was stare at Scott's feet, praying for a way out of the hole he dug himself in.
Scott voice was soft as he started again. "Listen to me, all I want to know is why? Why are you doing this?"
Stiles knew the answer. And that's what scared him. He knew there where voices whispering things to him, but he couldn't do anything about it. He couldn't even tell if Scott was real or not. He didn't know if anything was real or not anymore. And he was terrified.
"Scott… they told me to. The voices." His shaking hand reached up to wipe away a falling tear. "I can't- I don't know anymore. I can't control it. They told me to and I did, but I didn't- Scott, please. Please I- " Stiles collapsed on the ground. His whole body shuddered as sobs erupted from his mouth.
Scott rushed forward and enveloped his friend in a tight embrace. He couldn't believe he actually thought Stiles was capable of something so horrendous! He remembered all the times Stiles had acted out-of-character since the sacrifice. But Scott had never questioned it because he figured it was Stiles way of coping and that he would get better- just like he had. And now this? Scott began to regret every time he dismissed Stiles's behavior recently.
"Stiles, Stiles! It's okay listen to me- focus on my voice." But Stiles was trying to get out of Scott's embrace.
"Scott, get away from me! I'm a monster!" Stiles's voice cracked on his final word.
"No, no you're not. You're my best friend, Stiles, and I'm sorry I didn't try to help you before. But you have to listen to me. We have to get out of here, okay? If someone comes in and finds us, we are going to be in all sorts of trouble." Scott said as he reached for Stiles's clenched hand.
Stiles's face looked up to Scott's. His face held all the emotions Scott wished he would never see in his friend-hopelessness, anger, sadness. But Stiles's hand wrapped around Scott's as he lifted him up to his feet.
"Scott, I don't think you're- you aren't real? The voices, they said this and they haven't been wrong so far about my realities…" Stiles said as he backed away from Scott.
"No, Stiles don't listen to them. Those voices aren't real. They're coming from the open door in your mind, the one Deaton told us about. Now, I need you to come with me? We need to go find out how to close this, no matter how long and how hard it takes to find out how to do it, we need to." Scott's pleading eyes gave Stiles the motivation to go with his friend's offer.
"…Okay…" Stiles said after he argued with the voices in his head. Their hammering voices made it hard to focus on anything but them. Just to be sure, Stiles look down through his stinging eyes and counted his fingers. 5. One hand. 10. Both hands were there. He looked back up at Scott, who held out his hand for Stiles to take.
Stiles reached forward and grabbed Scott's hand, and together, they walked out of the room. Too bad Stiles's reality was neither one his voices or Scott could locate…
