"I'm fine."
When did that become his auto response? Was it during the Nogitsune? No, he had been saying that long before then. It was probably somewhere between all of his concussions. No matter what he was asked, he always gave the same response. It made no difference how bad things were. Stiles could be bleeding out and he would still say those two words.
"I'm fine."
Twice in the same hour Stiles had gotten his head bashed against something. First he felt his head crack on the stairs, and then he hit the same tender spot on a brick wall. The same boy that hurt his father had thrown him into it.
Was he fine? No. Of course he was not fine. His head was pounding, and his ears had not stopped ringing. He gave his best friend, no not his best friend, he had no idea what he was anymore. He gave Scott the same response every time.
"I'm fine."
Stiles knew Scott could tell he was lying. In the past he may have pushed it, but today Scott let it be. Stiles was in a constant state of panic now. His father was dying. His friends were over. He had no one anymore, and very possibly no one was going to need him anymore. Ever since they read the Dread Doctor book, Stiles had been remembering things. He remembered his mother, but he did not know why.
Now when he hit his head hard enough, he remembered her death. He remembered his father being there, not knowing how to handle a child on his own. They had to take care of each other after that. Stiles had to take care of his father. He remembered a few weeks after his mother's funeral, his father sat down at the kitchen table.
"How are you today, son?"
"I'm fine." He stared at his plate.
Stiles would have to be fine, whether it was the truth or not.
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AN: Just a short one-shot I thought of after watching the season 5B premier. Hope you enjoyed!