Stiles stared straight at the barrel of the gun and slowly pushed his forehead forward.
"I don't care if I die." He said and looked the chemist straight in the eye.
"You have no idea what I've done. What terrible things I've done to people. To my friends! It would be fine by me to die saving them, one last time." The chemist hesitated and began counting.
"One...Two.." All of a sudden a bang rang out and Stiles flinched. He felt blood splatter on his face, but felt no pain. He heard a thud and then opened his eyes. The chemist was on the floor, with a bullet wound in the middle of his head. Stiles looked up at the shooter.
It was his best friend's dad. Scott's dad.
"Stiles, buddy. You've got some explaining to do…" He walked forward and pulled Stiles arm and lead him out of the room.
"Don't look." Stiles looked up at him again and nodded.
"Um. What are you doing in here anyway Mr. McCall? There's a quarantine!" Stiles said. Of course the sickness wasn't going to kill any humans, but the CDC didn't know that yet.
"Everyone seems to be recovering fine. They think it's just a weird virus. They're still checking people out, but I had to get in here and see what was going on." Stiles let out a fake sigh of relief.
"Well that's good! Everyone's fine. No one died. I better get going, I need to find Sco-" Mr. McCall grabbed him by the shoulder.
"Stiles." He looked him in the eye and addressed him. "Do not act like nothing happened back there. I saw what you did, and I heard what you said. Do not try to say it was nothing or it was just a ploy. We both know it wasn't." Stiles fidgeted in his hold.
"Sir. It's nothing really. Please… Don't tell my dad."
"Stiles! The hell I will! You can't keep this all bottled up inside. You can't keep beating yourself up over something that was not your fault." Stiles exhaled.
"Okay."
"I don't care if you think he'll be ma- What? You're not going to argue with me?" Scott's dad looked shocked.
"No. I'm too tired. Let's go." He knew there was no point in putting up a front anymore. He already knew and before long the rest of the pack would know how he was feeling too. His Dad. Probably even Melissa too! Mr. McCall sighed and kept on walking toward the exit. As they passed the lockers Stiles anxiety began to rise.
What if they all think he's going crazy again? I mean he did just submit to being shot in the head and he didn't even care. At that moment he kind of wished the chemist had just finished him off before Scott's dad got there. It was a selfish thought, as it would hurt his friends but they would be better off without him. His breathing became labored and he stopped walking.
"Stiles? Buddy? You okay?" Of course he wasn't okay. He had almost been shot in the freaking head! He slowly lowered himself to the floor against the lockers.
"Stiles. Listen to me. It's just a panic attack. I need you to breathe with me, okay? You got it?" Scott's dad looked scared. That didn't happen often. Mr. McCall was always angry or super nice.
He never got scared.
Stiles put his head between his knees and listened to the sound of his best friend's dad talk to him. He was retelling all the good times Stiles and Scott had when they were younger.
"You remember that one time when you and Scott were playing in the sandbox at the park and you found cat poop and tried to eat it? Those were good times, weren't they?"
Stiles smiled and looked at him.
"Y-yeah, they were." He let out a shaking laugh.
"I don't know what's happening to me Mr. McCall. I feel like I'm still losing it even though the Nogitsune is gone." He dropped his head back into his knees and let the tears fall.
"Listen to me Stiles. You are not losing it. You've been through a lot in the past few months. No one expects you to be back at a hundred percent. You just have to work towards it, and not go on suicidal missions. Okay?" Mr. McCall held out his hand for Stiles.
He grabbed it and pulled himself up and hugged him.
"Thanks. I know things have been tough between you two, but you're a good guy." Mr. McCall hugged him back and then pulled away.
"Let's go find your dad and the others." They walked towards the doors once more and outside. Makeshift CDC tents had been set up and his dad was talking to a few men in hazmat suits.
"Dad!" He called. His dad turned around.
"Oh thank God, Stiles!" The Sheriff ran towards him and took in his bloodied face. "Dear God, what happened, are you hurt? Let's get you looked at…"
"Dad. I'm fine. It's not mine. It's the …" He stopped there. Mr. McCall put a hand on his shoulder. "I'll tell him. You go find Scott and the others, Okay?" Stiles nodded and hugged his dad again and then went on to find his friends towards the vault. He made his way to vault and let himself in.
"Scott? Malia?" He called. He heard coughing. They were still alive!
"Thank god you guys are still alive. I was thinking the worst there for a second." He exhaled again.
"We're fine, Stiles. Are you okay? You're covered in blood…" Scott took a step forward and hugged his friend.
"Oh it was nothing. Just the chemist tried to kill me and I almost let him" He said.
There was a silence. Everyone looked at him and stared.
"You did what?!" Scott roared.
"It wasn't a big deal, you know there was nothing I could do, the gun was to my head, and I couldn't exactly get away." He rambled on purposely not mentioning the part where he wanted the guy to shoot him.
"But you know the important thing is everyone's okay! Yeah!" He lifted his hands up and had a goofy smile on his face.
"Right?" He said again. Scott scowled at him and nodded. "I guess so." He could sense that there was something Stiles was keeping from him. Too bad for him, Stiles had no intention of sharing that with him anytime soon. But then of course his dad would probably tell Melissa who would then tell the pack. He was in for a lecture.
Just not right now. He couldn't take it right now. He just wanted to go home and shower the nasty blood off his face and go to bed, and preferably not wake up anytime soon.
"Well, since all of you are okay, I'm going home. I need a shower. Obviously, and I'm exhausted." He exaggerated a yawn and walked out.
He made his way out to his jeep hopped in and put the jeep in reverse and drove home. It was a long day. On the brightside, he didn't have to finish his test. When he got home he went straight to his room and showered. He let the warm water flow on his back until it ran ice cold. He couldn't seem to get the stench of blood off of him.
It reminded him of the nogitsune. He gagged and rushed out and emptied the contents of his stomach into the nearby toilet. He felt terrible. He wiped his mouth and headed to his bed slipping on some boxers as he went and left the world for a while.
When he woke up it was dark outside. He must have been sleeping for at least five hours. He heard rustling downstairs. His dad was home. He crept out of his bed and slipped on a T-Shirt and headed downstairs.
"Hey Dad," He said as he sat in a table chair.
His dad looked up from his paper.
"Son…" He looked at his son and Stiles swore he could see tears in his eyes.
"Why didn't you tell me you were feeling this way?' He said calmly, like the town sheriff he was.
"I didn't want to worry you dad. I know you were in a bad place thinking that I had mom's disease. I couldn't stand to see you hurting again. Me being sick was hell on you too."
"I don't care if it's hard for me, Stiles. You're my son. I'm here to help you and to listen to you when you need someone. Don't keep those feelings inside. At least tell Scott, or hell even Derek!" His dad sighed. "Just talk to someone. Even if it's not me. I know your old man isn't the greatest." He smiled trying to lift the mood a bit.
"No Dad, You're a good dad. I just didn't know what to do. I'll talk to Scott or Derek. I promise." Stiles actually meant it this time. He was tired of feeling like crap and keeping everything inside. Keeping secrets was what helped the nogitsune feed. He was done feeding that bastard. He sat and talked with his dad for a while and then went back to bed. In the morning, he'd talk to Scott and Derek.