Stiles POV

Everything was calm before it all went bad again.

…

We had finally made it to senior year…well, not all of us. But most of us, which I suppose is a silver lining given everything we've been through the past few years. At least that's what they keep telling me.

Yeah, I still feel guilty every time I think about her or whenever we're entering a new stage of our lives or basically all the time. I can push those thoughts aside though, I found out that I can still live my life without the guilt taking me over. Which was a huge revelation, let me tell you. Being surrounded by friends and my dad helped bring me through the rough times, they were the ones that gave me the strength to keep on going through the motions.

And that's exactly what it felt like these days, simply going through the motions. I hated to say it, but life was actually boring. School was a drag and all of us were still so caught up with our adventures that we didn't know what to do without them. We had forgotten how to live a normal teenage life, at least I know I had.

I suppose on the outside we looked like any normal friend group at school, we sat together at lunch and in classes, we hung out after school and on the weekends. But mostly we just sat around wondering what was coming next and when, how long we had to just enjoy normality.

That's just it though, it's been six months and we're still sitting around talking about actually having normal lives. So far it's only been talk, nobody has actually made an attempt to try and exist outside of our supernatural bubble.

I guess it's easier said than done though, it just so happens that all my friends are supernatural. You can pretend that everything and everyone is normal all you like, but when it boils down to it, we're still different. And that's never going to change, it'll always be a part of my life too.

It's hard looking towards the future. My future. I know I'm the only one who can truly escape it all. I could be looking at colleges on the other side of the country, so I could leave everything supernatural about my life behind. Pretend it never happened. Make new friends. Sure, I'd been possessed by the Nogitsune, but I was fine now. I could leave that part of my life to haunt my dreams, it was a nightmare after all. It could be a chance at a clean slate for me, remake my life as it should have been before this all started.

Yet, here I was, on my laptop looking at universities nearest to Beacon Hills. I know I could never leave my friends behind like that. I hate to say it, but I couldn't imagine my life without them or the supernatural. It was a part of me now, just as much as any of the others, even if I was the only person in the pack that was human.

' '

'Criminal Justice programs in California'

I couldn't imagine heading in any other direction, career wise, than this. It was my whole life, after all. Not only did I grow up with my dad as my hero, but I've sort of turned into our pack's personal investigator. Not to sound cocky, but I knew I could figure things out if I put my mind to it. Plus, I like being able to bring a skill to the pack, especially one that is actually helpful. It makes me feel like I belong a little more.

So, that is where I'm looking to head with my life. Will I take over when my dad retires and become sheriff of Beacon Hills? I don't know just yet. But a criminal justice degree, I've researched, opens up a wide range of things I could do and career paths that would interest me. So that is where I'm starting. I'm happy that I've always had a general idea of what I wanted to do post-high school. I know I'm lucky in that sense.

Scott still doesn't know what he wants to do next year or even if he wants to go to college. Everyone keeps pushing him to at least start taking some gen ed classes, but I know in the end he'll make his own decision. Lydia wants to major in mathematics, but she's also been planning on earning her PhD since she was ten. After finding out what she was, Kira plans on being an electrical engineer so she can further research her own powers.

And then there's Malia. She was able to be a senior with all of them this year. To be honest though, I think the teachers just let her move on because they didn't want to deal with her again. Of course, I would never say that to anyone, but I can tell what other people think of her. They get tired of her inability to pick up on the most obvious social cues, her intense personality, and even her increasingly poor performance in school. Malia is very into being a human, but isn't into everything that goes along with that like school or work or even looking ahead to the future. The pack has been very excepting of Malia and everyone seems to genuinely like her, they don't mind her flaws and are probably the only ones who honestly accept her for who she is. We're all works in progress really.

I care for her, I really do, perhaps more than anyone else in her life does. But I can't pretend like all the things that bother other people about her don't also bother me. Sometimes it's hard to have to backpedal all the time. I feel like most of our relationship revolves around me constantly explaining things to her. It gets tiring, not being able to have a more intellectual connection. But it's okay. I know our relationship isn't normal, but will anything in my life ever be normal? Nope. So it is what it is and it's not like I'm not happy, because I am, I just…

"Stiles!"

I turn around to see Malia standing in the doorway to my room. I blush, feeling guilty for what I was just thinking about. And also I am thanking all that is holy that Malia's powers do not involve reading minds.

"Hey, what's up? I thought you were out shopping with Lydia and Kira?"

"I hate shopping," she says, coming in and sitting on my bed.

I turn my desk chair around to face her. "I know that. But it was more about, you know, some girl bonding time?"

She ignores my remark, but I'm used to that. Instead she keeps looking everywhere except at me. It's funny some social cues she doesn't understand at all and others she picks up without realizing it.

Trying to probe her and see what she's really up to I ask, "So do you think you're ready for the calculus test tomorrow or do you want to study some more tonight?"

"I'm not going to school tomorrow," she states matter-of-factly.

"Um, you can't just skip school to avoid taking tests or giving presentations. We've talked about this. They're just going to make you retake it the next day. You can't avoid this test."

"I'm not avoiding anything."

"So, uh, I guess I'm not following. Why aren't you going to school tomorrow?"

She finally looks me in the eye. Her eyes are sad. I soften my own hard expression and move to sit on the bed beside her.

I ask her what is going on and she seems to be struggling to find words.

She finally opens her mouth, but looks down at the floor as she says, "I'm not going to school tomorrow or the next day or the next day after that."

I don't say anything for a while. And neither does she. We both just sit there in silence. I really don't know what to say next. Or if I even want to know what she means by that statement.

"I went and talked to Peter last night," she says looking up at me again.

I immediately sigh. I know she'd been getting closer and closer to him over the past few months, going to visit him at Eichen House almost once a week now. And no, I still obviously don't trust him or like him. But Peter is her father, and who am I to stop her from trying to have some sort of relationship with him? The only reason I didn't put up a bigger fuss about it was because he is safely behind bars there and can't hurt any of us. Plus, I know that she wants to find out as much as she can about her birth mother and feels like Peter can help her. But she knows I've been looking into it as well. I've spent most of my free time, which has been plentiful right now, to research the Desert Wolf and try to find any possible connections. So far, I haven't gotten much of anywhere.

She continues, "He said he thought he remembered a name. Someone who may have known my mother. So, I'm going to leave Beacon Hills and try to find this person."

I stare at her. "You have a name. One single name that may or may not have anything to do with your birth mother. My guess is most likely not. And on top of that, it's a name that Peter gave you, and one that he is even unsure of."

"I know you don't like Peter and that you don't trust him. But I have to, he's the only person that I know of right now who has ever had contact with my mother. Besides, what use would he have in lying to me?"

"Uh, were you not around during the berserker fiasco? With Kate? Have you not listened to anything I told you about Peter?" I knew I was raising my voice but I couldn't help it now. She was being absolutely ridiculous about this. About him.

"I understand why you feel that way. But nothing you say right now will change the decision I already made. And that is that I am going, alone, to track down this person. Stiles, I am going to find my mother. I have to find her."

There's nothing more to say about the situation and we both know it. I won't be able to change her mind. Nobody will. She's too determined of a person. I had lost before I even opened my mouth.

I sigh, "Can you at least tell me the name?"

She smiles for the first time since she showed up here, "You know I can't tell you that. Then you'd try and follow me."

"I could help you though, we could both search for this person. The whole pack would help," I start to protest.

"No. I don't want that. This is my journey. This is my mother I'm trying to find. I can't put anyone else through whatever I'll be facing out there, least of all you. I care too much about you guys. And things just started calming down. Everything is fine here. It needs to stay that way. I really appreciate everything you guys have done for me, but you know deep down this life doesn't really suit me."

I can only nod. I knew this would happen, I just thought it might have lasted until after graduation. And I kind of hoped if I could get her to stay that long, she might have finally accept this humanistic lifestyle. It was only a hope though.

"So you're leaving tonight," I state. Of course she would, there's no reason for her to stick around after finding some information.

"Yeah. I came hoping you would walk me to the edge of town, to the woods."

"Well, of course I'll walk with you. I don't want this. You know I don't. But I am glad you didn't just take off."

"I wouldn't leave without telling you goodbye," she says.

And now it's my turn to smile. I knew then that what we had was real, but with all good things, some must come to an end. It's just how it went, it was inevitable.

…

We sit and watch the sun go down at the edge of the woods. It was beautiful really, something I don't take the time to do anymore. And I'm glad this was the last moment we spent together. I didn't know when or if I'd see her again. It didn't need to be said, we both understood what was going on. Malia was a free spirit, and I was the only one that tied her to this one single place.

But I tried not to think about that.

We both stand up and look at each other, long and hard. Neither of us cry, but that's never been us.

She breaks the silence, as it's time for her to leave. "You'll tell the others?"

"Yeah."

"Goodbye, Stiles."

"Goodbye Malia. I hope you find…" is all I manage to get out before she silences me with a kiss.

It felt natural that our relationship ended the way it began. When we finally pulled apart she immediately turned around and ran into the woods.

When I could no longer see her form, I turned and started walking back to my house. Even without her there to see me, I still didn't cry. I'm not sure why but I felt like maybe I could finally work on getting back to that normality we've all been discussing. And I smiled because I knew I would be okay. I had my whole life in front of me and I was excited about what that all meant.

And then I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard that all-too-familiar scream.