Hello everybody! Yes, this is a quick update to a story. While clearly not something I've been able to do since my pre-college days; this happens to be a gap in time where I have an opportunity to practice my writing skills. It has been a long time since I've had a proper chance to just sit and concentrate on nothing but my stories. As such, I figured I'd take advantage of the opportunity and craft a new upgraded chapter for this updated story.
That said, I'm also kind of back to my old habits in that this story is being updated at 1AM. I'm still stupidly able to think and write clear when it's towards the dead of night. Don't ask me why; it's just how my brain is wired. At least it gives me a chance to practice my writing skills that have been going stale a bit thanks to the roughness known as life.
Anyway, I hope you guys do enjoy this new chapter. Please don't forget to leave a review before you move on to the next story you want to read. They are not only helpful in keeping my writing morale up; it gives me an idea as to what you guys are thinking as you're reading and whether or not the story is meeting your personal expectations. That said, thanks to orionastro for being the first reviewer on the redux of my story!
Chapter 1
"Thank you for calling the Beacon Hills Police Department. You've reached Sheriff Stilinski. Sorry for missing your call; I'm currently out of the office. Please leave a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can." The familiar beep of an answering machine echoed within the jeep.
"It's me again, dad," Stiles wearily greeted as he ran a hand through his hair. He barely stifled a yawn as he kept his eyes on the road. "This's the fourth time I've called you. What're you doing that's keeping you out of your office for so long? Must be a pretty big case you're working on for you to be constantly out. Still, I'm sure Parrish is around to at least tell you of your missed calls.
"Anyway," he continued while adjusting his phone on the dashboard dock, "I'm just calling to say I'm almost at Beacon Hills. Probably another fifteen minutes of driving before I'm officially in town. Traffic's been unusually smooth tonight, though; wouldn't be surprised if I made it earlier. Did you impose some kind of curfew over the town while I was gone?" he added teasingly.
"But yeah, here I am wasting time while I only have so long to leave a message. Just call me back as soon as you can, okay? You'll probably be glad that I'm coming back to lend a hand if you're this busy. Talk to you soon!" Stiles then pressed the red button on his phone to end the call.
It was pressing the tenth hour since Stiles began his drive home from Sacramento. He had just graduated from the police academy yesterday and was excited beyond belief. The final itself took him through a mix of both written and physical tests. Most nights often ended with him being knocked out the moment he hit his bed. It was demanding enough that he had no chance to call Scott, his best friend, with weekly updates. In fact, the last time he called was almost three weeks ago.
Naturally, he wanted to share this with his best friend after learning he was a certified officer. They have been through everything since elementary school, including the interesting times known as puberty. That was a time when their friendship became cemented into what they consider a brotherhood. After all, it is a true bond when you not only admit that you are bisexual but also want to try being boyfriends with your best friend. While the latter never took place; the fact Scott stayed by his side after that awkward moment was proof of how strong their bonds were. How could he not keep his best friend in the loop of his successes?
However, Stiles found it difficult to contact Scott. For whatever reason, he could not get connected with his number. He then tried to call his house's landline in case his cell was broken. That ended up working, but nobody answered. Then he tried calling his dad's cell but was met with the same connection issues. He did end up getting someone at his home's landline, but there was too much static to even tell who was talking.
After a couple more failed attempts, he decided to just surprise them with a visit. That was how he found himself just at the outskirts of Beacon Hills at almost ten in the evening. He started his trip around twelve noon; he had learned of his credentials the day before and spent that time in vain calling. Apart from the pit stops for food and bathroom breaks; he had been on the road non-stop. The long hours of sitting were starting to make him feel uncomfortable.
Even his poor jeep was starting to protest a bit at the long journey. Twice already he had to fill up gas. He could have gotten away with just one station stop, but he got into an argument with the attendant there about the station gouging people with overblown prices. As such, he chose to fill up a sixth of a tank and search for another gas station. That and the attendant was threatening to call the police on him for being disorderly.
"Don't worry, Roscoe," Stiles said as he lovingly patted the dashboard. "We're almost home. Sorry for pushing you so hard. Guess I got a bit too excited about telling the guys that I just had to come back. Sucks they're not answering or their phones are busted. At least this'll make it into a legitimate surprise.
"Still, it's kinda strange how the streets are empty," he commented as he looked around while driving. "I know this part is more of an uninhabited zone, but there's always some people coming in and out. Then again, there was that blockade a few miles back I snuck past by using an old dirt road," he recalled with a shrug. "They didn't look like the cops from Beacon Hills, though. Guess they're from another county working with us to apprehend a suspect. It'd explain why I can't reach dad at work."
A few seconds later, he passed by an unfamiliar billboard. It only caught his eye when he saw it claiming Beacon Hills the new home for something. That was all he could read, however, as he only had a second to see what it was about.
"Geez, was I gone that long? It's only been six months! Wonder what they're claiming is new for the town." Stiles thought about backing up to get a better look, but he felt it not worth his time. "Eh, I doubt it's that important. I mean, neither dad nor Scott thought to tell me about it. I'll probably run into another sign about it if it's still new."
His phone suddenly ringing broke him out of his musings. Taking a look at the caller ID, he was happy to see it was Scott calling. He quickly pressed an icon on the screen to accept the call.
"How's it going, Scotty?" Stiles greeted cheerfully.
"Stiles, can you hear me?" Scott asked. His oddly frantic tone echoed within the jeep.
"Yep, hearing you just fine. You had a bad connection or something?"
"Oh, thank god! Look, I need to you listen to me!" Strange sounds could be heard in the background. A loud crash, something he assumed being struck, startled Stiles enough to jerk his jeep a bit. "Don't come back to Beacon Hills! Stay in Sacramento! It's not safe here!"
Stiles took a deep breath to steady his driving before responding. "Geez, what's going on over there? You're having a wild party or something?"
"No; I'm not! And don't say this's a joke; it isn't! Just don't come home! You…"
Whatever Scott wanted to say next was obscured by heavy static. Stiles stole a glance at his phone and saw they were still connected. "Sorry, but you're breaking up. Reception's bad for some reason. What'd you say?" All he caught were broken fragments of words. "I seriously heard almost nothing. There's too much interference.
"If you can hear me, I'm already on the road back," he explained in response to Scott's earlier demand. "I'm practically in the outskirts of town. I should be in the heart of town in a few minutes."
"You're what?!" Scott screamed into the phone. Funnily enough, that came out very clear. Stiles had to stop the car so as to recover from the vocal assault.
"Damn dude; what's your problem?!" He shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the slight ringing in his ears. "I'm trying to make it back in one piece, you know? Do you want me to crash?"
"Don't…! …around and…!"
"Okay, this's ridiculous! Look, it's obvious you can hear me. Why don't we meet up at the diner? You can tell me what's on your mind there. I need to grab a bite to eat, anyway. Is that cool with you?"
"No, Stiles! You can't–"
The line suddenly went dead. As if to rub it in, the phone specifically said the connection was lost.
"The hell was that about?" Stiles wondered as he continued to stare at his phone. He only bothered to turn it off when it started making the annoying disconnect tone. "Why's he the one getting hysterical? That's supposed to be my quirk!"
To hear Scott be so frantic was very unusual. The last time that happened was during their high school senior year. The two happened to have a stereotypically idiotic teen moment that involved indulging in certain teenage curiosities. This was compounded further by Stiles being bisexual and Scott being the best friend willing to try certain things out with only his best friend.
Long story short, Stiles almost got caught by the lacrosse coach in the school locker room with Scott balls deep in his mouth. Scott had barely managed to pull up his gym shorts when the coach came around to see what was taking so long. He had never been so flustered in his life; the fact he was horned up made things worse. Stiles managed to save them, however, with his quick thinking of having just told an embarrassing joke. Needless to say, they never tried to pull any public stunts of that magnitude again.
Of course, this recent bout of franticness obviously had nothing to do with being caught horny. They had enough fun with each other for Stiles to recognize the fluctuating huskiness in the other's tone. No, this one was of clear panic. It still was not clear why that was so, but them meeting up at the diner would hopefully clear things up.
"Anyway, time to get back to our journey, Roscoe!" Stiles proclaimed excitedly as he shifted his jeep into gear. "I really want to figure out what's got Scotty so spooked. I'll bet you anything it's a vivid night terror. Won't know until I see him, though." He then pressed on the gas pedal and continued his drive into the heart of Beacon Hills.
And that's it for this chapter. I hope you guys enjoyed it along with the attempts at humor I tried to put into it.
Before anyone decides to ask, I'm not going to portray Scott and Stiles as boyfriends. The way I worded that particular scene should be enough to show they are just best friends who are willing to share some of the more intimate moments of their lives. Even though largely unspoken, it's a fact that some good friends do engage in horny activities. It has nothing to do with being gay, straight, or bi. How far you think Scott and Stiles took their fun, however, is up to your interpretation. That particular portion was clearly meant as a way for me to insert some humor into the story. I most likely won't touch up on it again, though it would most likely be in some attempt at a humorous fashion if it does come up.
And that's all I have to say about that. Again, I hope you guys enjoyed this short chapter. I've learned that chapters don't necessarily need to follow a word count guideline, so I now have no qualms posting short chapters if it ends up being the case. I promise, though, that future chapters will be longer than these two current ones have been.
Please don't forget to leave a review before moving on to the next story you want to read. While it is good for my writing morale; it also allows me to see what you guys think of the story and if it is meeting your personal expectations. Until the next update to this or any of my other stories on here everybody!
