'What a day', I thought as I collapsed onto my bed sheets. My body was aching, my mind was exhausted, and I wanted nothing more than to drift away into a deep sleep. So much had happened today, we discovered the identity of the assassins, Lydia and Malia worked out the second half of the dead pool list, and we managed to get our 'previously-champions' asses kicked in a scrimmage.
The past few nights had flown by; with all that had passed I doubt I've had one night's decent sleep since Mexico. Hell, we just don't have time for sleeping anymore. How can I sleep when my friends, when my girlfriend, (well, unofficially anyway), are being hunted down by some super-freaking-natural assassins? I have no idea.
Ripping me from my thoughts, there was a vibration coming from my desk, my phone. Lazily, I dragged myself to my feet and walked to the desk, fumbling for my phone in the darkness. When I finally answered it, it was Scott.
"Hey Sti, listen man, you need to get down here, now." He said, his 'panicked leader' tone shining through.
"Scott, calm down, look, what's going on? Where do I need to be at," I paused and looked at my clock, "at half past one… IN THE MORNING?"
"It's Lydia, she says that she has, well, you know, a 'banshee feeling', and that she might be able to find the next part of the dead pool list, we're meeting at mine."
I slumped into my desk chair at his words, no sleep for another night I suppose.
By the time I reached Scott's, it was nearly two am, and I could feel my eyes forcing themselves open. As I walked into his bedroom, everyone was there: Scott and Kira sat together on the bed; Lydia sat in front of her computer, staring into with her glossed over 'banshee eyes' as me and Scott call them; and Malia stood perched against the wall opposite me. Everybody's eyes shot to me as I entered, apart from Lydia who was in full on banshee mode. Scott and Kira greeted me and Malia gave me a warm smile that said she was glad I was here. I love that smile.
As Scott and I shared what we call our 'Bro-shake', I asked him about the assassin we'd handed over to the Hale's. I mean, they've been tortured plenty of times to know how to do it themselves. He said that he hadn't heard from them yet, but he reassured me that they'll be fine.
After half an hour or so of idle chit chat concerning tonight's failure of a game, Kira and Scott eventually drifted off into their own little conversation, about how well he thought she'd played and how brave she was… That was my cue to go and stand with Malia.
I could tell just by the way she stood that she was nervous, her head leant back to rest on the wall, exposing her neck just the perfect amount, as she twiddled her fingers impatiently. Her eyes locked on mine as I joined her against the wall, sharing a small silent gesture.
"It's okay to be scared." I said, quietly, trying to keep the conversation between us.
I could tell straight away as her expression changed to defensive, "I'm not scared, I'm just nervous." She reassured me, avoiding any form of eye contact.
"Well, not to be a pain in the ass or anything," she turned to face me, "but being nervous is pretty much being of scared of the possibilities." Her eyes narrowed after I spoke, and she glared at me for a good few seconds. "Like I said, it's okay to be scared." I said, offering a smile to let her know that I wasn't trying to call her weak.
Malia was very much full of pride, she won't admit to fear or weakness, she likes people to think she's as hard as nails, but we both know that I know better than that. I'm the only one that's really seen the 'other' side of Malia, in Eichen House especially. But we share something, a connection, a link of guilt. We both feel that we're at fault for something that was, truthfully, out of our hands, yet we take the blame for it. Her with her mother and her sister, and me with Allison, Aiden, and all the others that had fallen at the hand of the nogitsune. But that's why we get each other, with Scott I can't explain to him why I feel guilty, but Malia already knows it.
As her eyes stared into mine and I pondered all the reasons why she's special, I didn't notice a small smile creep up on to my face.
"What?" She asked, finally beginning to lighten up a little bit.
"Hmm… What? Me? Oh nothing, I didn't urm, I didn't say… anything…" I mumbled and rambled on nervously at her question, eventually excusing myself by saying that I need to go and splash some water on my face to keep me going.
Before exiting the room I stopped by Lydia, who was in a world of her own, trying desperately to figure out the code. On the screen in front of her was the second part of the dead pool list, with the blank keyword box below it. Underneath that sat the two previous key words, 'Allison' and 'Aiden'. Whoever this anonymous benefactor was, they definitely knew how to piss us off.
I headed straight for the sink in the bathroom, staring into the mirror above it. I was a mess: My hair was limp and lifeless, my lips were dry and chafed, and my eyes were puffy and bloodshot with a clear set of bags hanging underneath them. This couldn't be healthy, going on the way I am. Getting a couple hours sleep every night, it just isn't enough to get me through all of this.
I turned on the tap and bowed my head, so that I could splash some cool water over my face, the cold air suddenly hitting my skin, giving me that extra spark that I required, being the only human in the group. Everyone else seems to get some supernatural adrenaline rush when they need it the most, but I'm just drained, all the time.
As I lifted my head back up to look in the mirror, I nearly jumped backwards. A scream tore itself from my throat as I saw that figure, the nogitsune, me being possessed by the nogitsune. Malia was at the door in an instant, checking for any signs of danger but looking confused to discover that no one was there. As I turned, I checked every corner of the room, my eyes searching, scanning for it, for anything. But there was nothing.
Scott barged in, clearly ready for a fight. "Sti what's wrong?" He asked, concern written all over his face. He'll be damned if he loses somebody else that he loves.
My facial features soon turned from fear and shock into confusion and bewilderment… What the hell was that? Slowly, I turned back to face the mirror, the figure was still there. As if it were right behind me, stood a clone of my body, the same clothes as I wear now, but with parts of bandages hanging from random places and sections. A chill runs down my spine when Malia steps into the shot. She wasn't a part of this. She didn't see 'dark Stiles'. And I never want her to.
She rests a hand on my back, rubbing it gently as if to soothe me, but I didn't budge, I just stared at it as it stared back at me.
That's when it hit me… "I know what the keyword is."