Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf, I'm just bringing the boys out to play. The cover image isn't mine - no copy right infringement intended.
Scott threw the xbox controller on the floor in annoyance when Stiles won the race for the fifth time in a row.
"What the hell, dude" he exclaimed and huffed indignantly, "you usually can't focus enough to win these things!"
Stiles smiled widely at Scott.
"I know. This new Adderall stuff really boosts my concentration!"
Scott nodded in agreement. That was definitely true! After he started on the new medicine Stiles had been able to stay in his seat for an entire English lesson for the first time in all his years of school.
"Wanna play again?" Stiles asked and bounced his leg up and down.
Scott shook his head no. They had been playing for hours, and he really didn't want to get his ass kicked in every race.
"Okay, well then what do you wanna do?"
"I don't know" Scott said and let his head fall to the back of the couch, "nothing exciting ever happens in this town!" he continued with a sigh.
"Mm" Stiles agreed with an eye roll.
A moment went by in silence before Stiles got an idea.
"My dad bought a new gun cabinet last week. Wanna see if we can borrow his spare gun and try it out?"
"Borrow?" Scott snickered and threw Stiles a look.
"Well, yeah. We're gonna put it back, so borrow is the term" the teen stated logically.
Scott smiled at the innocent look on his friend's face. Stiles hadn't been innocent since he was four! Breaking in to a gun cabinet and "borrowing" a gun was pretty much as far from innocent as Stiles (and Scott) could go, and Scott knew this was a bad idea. A really, really bad idea!
"If your dad finds out, we're dead!" he said, but already knew where this was going.
"True, but he's working all day, so he won't".
Stiles nudged Scott and got up from the couch.
"And if my parents find out, my dad will flay us after my mom makes us clean all the bedpans at the hospital!"
"Well, why would your parents find out that we borrowed my dad's gun?"
Scott let out a breath and got off the couch. Chances were they were going to regret this idea, which was usually the case when Stiles came up with a plan, but when you were 13 and living in Beacon Hills you had to create your own fun!
xxx
Scott sat on an upturned bucket playing with his phone, while Stiles proved his skills as a master thief with an impromptu lockpick. The gun cabinet in the garage had obviously been locked, and after a thorough search the boys had concluded that the key was nowhere to be found. Stiles had seethed a bit, complaining that his father didn't trust him enough, but honestly Scott couldn't blame the sheriff for bringing the key with him when Stiles roamed the house unsupervised.
After some time with frustrated yelling and cussing, Stiles suddenly turned around making Scott look up.
"I am AWESOME!" the teen exclaimed and smiled broadly.
"You cracked it" Scott said, a hint of surprise in his tone.
"No, I just wanted to state the obvious!" Stiles said sarcastically and then continued, "Yes, I cracked it".
The lanky teen turned to carefully open the cabinet door and Stiles removed the sheriff's spare gun with slightly shaking hands. Scott had gotten up and threw the weapon a look.
"Dude, are we really doing this?"
Stiles just raised his brows with a glint of mischief in his eyes before heading outside.
xxx
The gunshot echoed through the forest and Stiles cheered when he saw that the bullet had lodged itself in the painted target on the wall of the old Hale house that Scott had been aiming for.
"Wooo!" Scott roared, adrenaline rushing through him.
He sent his best friend a wide smile and handed the gun to Stiles before taking a seat on a fallen tree trunk. Stiles carefully took aim and concentrated on keeping his breathing even. The sheriff had brought his son to the shooting range a few times, so Stiles knew how to do this thing but he still felt his heart hammering in his chest. The excitement of shooting the gun in "the real world" and the risk of getting caught had his hands trembling a bit and when he fired the bullet ricocheted off the wall and flew through the woods. A loud scream had both Scott and Stiles flinch from dread and they looked at each other, horror evident in their eyes.
"Shit!" Scott squawked and Stiles swallowed a massive lump in his throat. This was so bad!
A series of pained cries reached the teens' ears and Scott and Stiles immediately started running towards the noises. It didn't take them long to find what they were searching for. The boy was on the ground, tears staining his face. He was cradling his right arm and blood was seeping through his fingers.
"Holy shit!" Stiles mumbled almost inaudibly when he saw who the bullet had hit.
The boy on the ground raised his head and spotted the gun in Stiles' hand.
"You shot me!" he ground out angrily through gritted teeth.
"I-I'm sorry!" Stiles stuttered, "I didn't mean-"
"Jackson, are you alright?" Scott hurriedly asked.
Jackson removed his hand from the wound and sent Scott a pained, but seething, look as blood ran down his fingers.
"What the hell do you think, you asshole?!"
"It looks like the bullet just grazed you" Stiles said, sounding somewhat relieved.
Scott narrowed his eyes. He thought it looked like the bullet had done a little more than graze Jackson's arm! Blood was pooling now and Jackson's face had an uncharacteristic white color.
"Dude, we gotta get him to the hospital" Scott said.
Stiles bit his lip and looked at Jackson, who, at the moment, looked ready to faint every second.
"Do we have to?" he said in a low voice and crinkled his forehead.
Next to him Jackson let out a tiny squeak before collapsing on the ground. Scott sent his friend a stern look that had Stiles sigh and avert his eyes.
"Fine!" he said then and whipped out his phone, "But we're so gonna regret this!"
"And you don't think we'd regret it when we let him die in a pool of his own blood in the middle of the woods?" Scott let out incredulously. Sometimes Stiles seemed to lack empathy all together.
"Just call a freakin' ambulance!"
xxx
It didn't take long to patch Jackson up, luckily the bullet hadn't hit any major veins, and Scott and Stiles found themselves waiting nervously for their parents in a set of blue chairs. Melissa had stared both boys down when she heard that they were to blame for Jackson's wound and had promised them the scolding of a lifetime once Stiles' dad arrived.
"Fuck" Scott sighed and buried his head in his hands.
Stiles chewed frantically on his lip and squirmed a bit on his chair.
"My dad is gonna go mental! When he finds out I took his gun I'll be grounded til I'm 30!"
"Well, I'm not gonna live til I'm 30 when my dad hears about this" Scott said, "hell, I won't even live til tomorrow!"
Suddenly the doors opened and a livid sheriff Stilinski entered the hospital. He looked around and when he spotted Scott and Stiles his face turned a deep shade of red. Stiles tensed in his seat when his dad made his way to the boys.
"What the HELL is going on?!" the sheriff hissed.
He crossed his arms and looked down at the two boys, who were now studying the floor closely. At that moment Melissa appeared from around the corner and greeted John with a nod.
"Jackson Whittemore was brought in with a gunshot wound to his right arm. Apparently courtesy of these two!" Melissa explained angrily.
"And exactly how did you manage to shoot your classmate?" Mr. Stilinski inquired.
When neither boy answered he lost his patience. With an echoing smack he clapped his hands, making both Scott and Stiles jump.
"EXPLAIN!" he boomed and Stiles finally looked up.
"We uh..." Stiles started, frantically searching his mind for a plausible explanation, "well, dad, we were just jokin' around in the woods and we found a gun and-"
"You found a gun in the woods?"
Stiles frowned, contemplating whether to lie or not.
"Uhm no..."
"Stiles, I swear to God, if you don't start answering my questions you'll regret it! Where did you get the gun?"
Next to Stiles Scott cleared his throat and prepared for the coming explosion. He shot a glance at his mom who was looking down at him with serious eyes. He was so screwed!
"Well" Stiles said, "it was...we found it, it was in, uhm, it was in your-your gun cabinet"
Near the end of his sentence Stiles nearly lost his voice, and he bit his lip as he shot his dad a quick glance.
"WHAT?!" Melissa yelled, her eyes wide.
"My gun cabinet is LOCKED, Stiles! Tell me this isn't true!"
"Yeah, about that..." Stiles let out in a near whisper.
"You two have got to take the prize in stupidity!" Melissa scolded, "You broke in to a locked gun cabinet, stole the gun, went to the woods and SHOT Jackson!"
"We didn't exactly do that on purpose, mom" Scott tried.
"But you did shoot him! And if that bullet had just hit a little differently it might have pierced an artery, Scott!"
Scott looked down. He didn't even want to think about that. Jackson was a bully and a major asshole, but Scott didn't want him dead. Least of all by his or Stiles' hands. John closed his eyes for a second and took a deep breath to try and calm himself.
"Why the hell did you break in to my gun cabinet in the first place?" he asked then and ran a hand through his hair.
These boys were going to be the death of him, the sheriff thought and waited for an explanation. What Stiles said next sent John's anger skyrocketing.
"We were bored"
"You were bored! You were bo-THAT IS IT! WE'RE GOING HOME TO FINISH THIS CONVERSATION IN PRIVATE!"
The sheriff grabbed Stiles by his shirt and yanked him forcefully from the chair. Scott threw his best friend a look as he was being pulled from the hospital.
"I am so disappointed in you Scott!" Melissa said sternly, "You could have killed someone! And why – because you were bored. Really, Scott!"
"I know mom" the teen said, sounding sincere, "I'm so sorry".
"You better be!" Melissa huffed and grabbed Scott's arm, "When your father gets home you're going to tell him exactly what happened and accept whatever punishment he decides on!"
Scott groaned unhappily as his mom pulled him with her.
"And you're grounded, mister!"
"For how long?" Scott asked.
"Indefinitely!"
xxx
"This has got to be the dumbest thing you've ever done, Stiles!" John said angrily, "what the hell am I gonna do with you!"
Stiles sighed and let his forehead rest on the car window as his dad kept scolding him.
"These harebrained ideas have got to stop or you're gonna land your ass in jail before high school!"
"Oh, come on dad..." Stiles said in an annoyed voice.
"NO! Don't take that tone with me! I might be tempted to lock you in a holding cell, myself! I am furious right now!"
Before Stiles could stop himself, his mouth completely betrayed him.
"Oh really, you seem to be in such a great mood!"
"Are you suicidal Stiles! Cause if not then shut your smart mouth, right now!"
John pulled into the drive way and got out of the car, and Stiles sent his fuming father a worried look. The next second his dad ripped open the door and motioned for Stiles to get out.
When they entered the house John gave his son a light push in the back, and Stiles stumbled into the living room to sit on the couch. John immediately started pacing in front of Stiles, a vein pulsing on his forehead.
"You nearly killed a boy today and you still run that insolent mouth like this was no big deal!" John sneered and stopped for a second to look down at his son. Stiles let out a breath and rolled his eyes.
"I know this could have ended badly, dad. But it didn't. And Jackson's a fucktard anyway, so just let it go already!"
John's eyes grew wide and he was surprised the pumping vein on his forehead didn't rupture right then and there! He knew Stiles used his mouth as a defense mechanism but this was way out of line!
Before even realizing what was happening Stiles found himself upended as his dad hauled him over his leg that was propped on the coffee table. An almighty wallop caught Stiles' ass dead center and rocked him forward.
"Aaah! What the hell, dad. I'm not a little kid anymore!"
"Well, you sure act like a brat, so now I'm treating you like one!"
"Oh, come on!" Stiles muttered to himself and tried to wriggle out of his dad's grasp, but John just anchored Stiles firmly in place by tightening his grip.
The sheriff kept a steady pace and continuously increased the force. A handful of hard slaps caught Stiles right on the sit spots and he couldn't help but whimper.
"OW!" he cried out, much to his dismay.
Stiles would prefer not making a single sound throughout this whole thing, but as the smacks kept hitting their target he couldn't keep quiet.
"Dad, stop! Ahow! Ah m'sorry!"
John righted his son somewhat harshly and with a finger under his chin forced their eyes to meet. Stiles felt his cheeks burn from embarrassment as he looked at his dad. He felt like crying but willed the tears not to fall and instead sniffed hard.
"I'm sorry" he mumbled then, the look on his face almost timid.
John nodded and squeezed Stiles' shoulder reassuringly.
"You better promise me never to do anything this stupid again, or I will repeat this, no matter how old you get! Got that?"
"Yes, dad, got it"
"Good. I can't lose you too, Stiles, ok! I don't want to have to bail you out of a jail cell for something completely stupid or reckless"
Stiles couldn't help himself.
"But you will for something just remotely stupid or reckless?"
He didn't even see his dad raise his hand, but winced as John smacked him in the back of the head.
"Enough Stiles!" he growled, his eyes so serious that Stiles immediately shut his mouth.
xxx
The lanky teen was lying on his bed, nursing his sore ass, when his phone vibrated. He twisted carefully to grab it and answered the call.
"Hey Scott. So your dad didn't kill you after all!" Stiles said.
"Nah" Scott shrugged, "but I might go deaf from all his yelling. And I'm grounded indefinitely. What about you?"
"Yeah, me too!" Stiles sighed "Hey, promise me one thing, dude"
"Shoot!" Scott said and when Stiles started snickering, quickly added "No pun intended!"
"Stop listening to my ideas, they're a pain in the ass. Literally!"
Scott didn't quite know what to make of that comment but promised his friend not to go along with any stupid plans.
And Scott kept his promise. At least until the next time he and Stiles were complaining about the lack of excitement. Which, when you lived in Beacon Hills, wasn't all that far in to the future!
Feel more than welcome to leave your thoughts if you're so inclined.
- RecliningHorizontally
