Stiles would've liked to leave immediately, but there was a problem.

Whitechapel was on the other side of the freaking continent, smack dab in the middle of Ontario, Canada.

There's no way he could make it with Roscoe- Stiles hated to admit it, but his jeep couldn't take a road trip of that size. Or any size, really. Not to mention that it would take time, time that Ethan likely didn't have.

The best option here was also the scariest one.

Stiles hadn't stopped practicing magic after he returned to Beacon Hills. Over the years and by pure determination Stiles had gotten better and better, even without Grandma to help him out. The incredible 'luck' Scott and he'd had so many times? All him. Multiple not-quite death experiences? They would've ended worse.

He'd tried short-distance teleportation before, and succeeded, though it wasn't fun. But cross country teleportation was a whole other thing.

Okay, so maybe it took exactly the same effort as short distance in theory because Stiles wasn't actually going really fast or anything, he was popping in and out of existence- not in that order. In theory it was the same. But still, it was nerve-wracking. That didn't make it any less necessary.

Stiles focused on his magic and pictured his destination. He thought of all the memories he'd made there. The great oak they tried and spectacularly failed to climb multiple times. The games, the hot summer days...

"Et iter orientalem." Stiles muttered under his breath. He didn't really need to say anything anymore, but it was still a good focus point and a safety belt when uncertain.

There was a displacement in the air around him, and suddenly instead of wood he felt grass under his shoes. The air was colder than he'd expected, and as he opened his eyes he realized why and felt stupid. While it had been late afternoon in California, here it was already well into the evening and it was cooling down.

Stiles took a few deep breaths, getting used to the different scents and air, and looked around. His grandma's backyard was the same as ever.

You couldn't see at all that the owner of this yard had been away for three years. The great oak still loomed over the long grass, the herbs to the side were still neat and orderly.

The benefits of magic, Stiles thought fondly. An Earth Priestess wouldn't have any trouble getting her overgrown or dying crops back to health.

The click of a door shocked Stiles out of his thoughts and he whipped around, ready to defend himself.

There, in the backdoor opening, stood Grandma, leveling a stern gaze at him. Stiles relaxed out of his ready position and shrunk under her gaze, suddenly feeling like a little kid caught doing something he wasn't supposed to again.

"Hi... Grandma." Stiles said, attempting the same sheepish grin that had never worked even once on this woman.

She walked down the steps briskly and stopped in front of him. Her eyes felt like they were already reprimanding him for something Stiles didn't even know he'd done- though he had his suspicions.

"Ethan told me you had gone missing."

Yep. There it was.

Stiles rubbed the back of his neck, not really knowing what to say. "Well..."

Grandma didn't wait for him to find the words. To Stiles' surprise, he was suddenly pulled him a hug. "It was Social services, wasn't it? Oh Benny, it's so good to see you again."

Stiles felt a shock of familiarity and smiled as he pulled back. "Actually, I go by..."

He trailed off and shook his head. "Nevermind. Benny's fine, Grandma."

The latter gave a small smirk. "That's what I thought you'd say. Now, you weren't here just to see me, were you?"

Stiles' eyes widened, and he straightened, remembering why he'd decided to come here at all. "Right! Have you seen Ethan!?"

A fond smile graced her face at Stiles' obvious worry, but it melted away with her next words. "Oh, I believe he left to take back the school. It was taken over by demons hours ago."

Stiles' eyes widened. Demons?! That was a whole new category, it wasn't even in Grandma's book of spells and creatures or the pack's bestiary! He'd come across them years ago, in a book left in a forgotten corner of his grandma's kitchen- don't ask him what it was doing there.

He'd told Ethan and memorized the spell to send the demon underground- or at least that was the literal translation, Benny had wasted hours of time stressing over if that meant Hell was real and if it was, if Heaven was real, before he'd given up and just went with it.

Grandma nodded seriously at his expression. "Never did like those pesky creatures. I stayed as far away from anything to do with them as I could. I never bothered with the spell to banish them."

She smiled at him amusedly, then. "Jane would've tried it, but she's still in the beginning stages of her magic development, and besides, the book was lost some time ago. Go on, now, I'm sure Ethan would appreciate his friend back."

Stiles shook off the surprise of Jane and magic in one sentence that did not involve fantasy, and he nodded seriously, managing not to salute.

Then he closed his eyes and concentrated on Whitechapel High School, the light halls filled with students, the boring lessons, the zombie apocalypses...

His magic shifted and twisted, and the next moment a warm breeze ruffled the grass and Stiles was gone from the backyard like he was never there. Short distance he'd practiced endlessly, he didn't need verbal reaffirmation to be sure. He barely even needed a thought.

His grandma looked at the empty air before her, eyes bright and proud. That boy never stopped learning.