Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf or any of the characters associated with the show.
How did she let them talk her into this? Shopping. It was one of her least favorite activities. Malia could recall the first time she'd gone shopping perfectly. It had been with Lydia. She'd spent her formative childhood years in coyote form. After the fatal car accident that had killed her adoptive mother and sister, Malia Tate being the culprit as her transformation had been uncontrollable and the deaths of her family purely accidental. The pain had kept her from transforming back, or even wanting to. The fact of the matter was that she didn't even truly know how to transform back into her human form, that was until Scott came, helping her back into human form. Then there was the issue of clothing, which she didn't have, and her father was at a loss for how to shop for a teenager. Scott, the alpha, - who Malia had wondered how anyone could find him threatening with his sweet face, and dimpled smile - had suggested his friend Lydia take her shopping.
Lydia, with her flowing red mane, and her near perfect porcelain skin had been an absolute whirlwind of words, and it had already taken Malia quite a while to adjust to speaking again, to understanding things like idioms, and turns of phrase. Yet here she was in a car, which was a feat in itself after the accident all those years ago, with this near genius woman, speaking using large words at a rapid pace. That experience had been absolutely horrible for Malia. Trying on clothes, over and over. It had felt like a chore.
Now, here she was, under different circumstances with Lydia and Kira at the mall. Malia had been feeling quite off lately, plagued with nightmares each and every night. Those nightmares were always filled with dreams of Theo. Dreams that sent a chill down her spine as if she was in a cold, dark, desolate place that had currently held him. Each time, he simply stared at her, never moving from his spot, never speaking, and then she was gone back to her bed, comfortably sleeping the rest of the night through. It was exhausting, as if she were actually somewhere else, when in reality she had always been home.
"Hello, Earth to Tate," Lydia said, waving a hand in front of Malia's face.
The stunning beauty and half korean, half Japanese teen, Kira Yukimura laughed. To which Malia rolled her eyes. "What's been up with you? Sleeping in class, sleeping during movie night with the girls, zoning out during shopping? What's going on with you?" Kira asked.
Malia just shook her head. She had yet to tell her friends of her dreams, the ones that always kept her up at night. She didn't even tell Stiles, and most nights he was there with her, holding her, hoping to keep her from waking in fear or a cold sweat. The action was futile, seeing as regardless, she kept having the same dream repeatedly.
"Is Stiles keeping you up?" Kira asked with a cheeky grin. The normally bashful girl at times was coming into her own with the group, especially when she was with the girls.
Malia noticed how Lydia quieted and didn't comment on that particular portion of the conversation. For a girl that always had something to say, she grew fairly quiet at the mention of Stiles. "Oh...no. Not that," Malia answered finally. "We're taking things slow. We haven't even exactly said we were back together. He just...spends the night sometimes, and vice versa for me. That's definitely not happening. Just because you and Scott…"
Lydia lifted her hands then, stopping whatever Malia was about to say. "Please don't finish that sentence."
Laughing, Malia agreed, "Fine, I won't." She sent a wink Kira's way, to which the she blushed.
The girls had gone into shop after shop, it was as if they both got together and decided to torture Malia today, forcing her to try on her clothes and then the worst of all, a prom dress. They'd waited until they got to the mall to announce that in order to fully be "normal" they'd all attend the senior prom this year. As she exited the dressing room, in a dress that wasn't her style, Lydia brought back the conversation from earlier. "You never said what was going on with you, and don't say nothing. You forget I'm a banshee, I know things."
Brown eyes rolled in their sockets as Malia heard this. She knew for sure that it wasn't true. That just because she was indeed a banshee, didn't mean she knew what was going on with Malia. "I thought that you predicted things like death and heard voices. I'm pretty sure the voices have better things to do than to talk about what I spend my time doing," she added, calling Lydia's bluff. "I'm going to go take off this god awful dress." It wasn't horrible, just not her style, too frilly.
As soon as she walked into the dressing room, she felt herself growing dizzy. The feeling was overwhelming and completely taking her off guard. Malia lost her footing and stumbled over clothing. As she went down, her vision faltered, seeing only darkness. She yelped just before going still.
Suddenly she was cold, freezing and her vision had returned. It was happening again, except this time she hadn't been dreaming. She had been wide awake. It was almost like a forced dream state. Instead of just staring at Theo, she actually spoke. "Why am I here?"
Theo hadn't known how long he'd been there. Time, it was that concept again that evaded him, but he figured that it was night every time Malia visited him. It had become an every night thing. He'd seen her every night for what seemed like two weeks now, which meant that he'd been in this place for maybe three. Constantly, he relived his past. He'd seen each of the horrible things he'd done, over and over again. He'd been able to pick apart the exact moments that his decision making was altered. He realized that completely blaming the Dread Doctors for everything he'd done was wrong. He was to blame, just as much as they were, but his reward after these penseive moments was Malia.
He never spoke a word to her, but just seeing her face for a time was enough for him. It wasn't that he had feelings for her, it was that she was the only person connected to his world here somehow. Seeing her made him feel as if he weren't going crazy. Maybe he wasn't losing his mind afterall. Seeing her, made him feel as if he were actually going to get the opportunity to rejoin the world that she belonged to.
This time, however, she'd come to him on purpose. Or rather on purpose against her will. Theo's sister had told him how to conjure Malia to this place. It had to be the person that had a strong connection to him, and thus far it had only been Malia. If he thought of her, really concentrated on her, she would come. The first time it had been his sister bringing her to him. After that, it had been Malia, thinking of him before sleep and in her subconscious mind that had brought her to him. This time it was Theo. His sister, had left him. Sometimes she did that. Sometimes she left him alone. This time, when he had the opportunity, he'd thought of her called her forth to his world.
"Why am I here?" She'd asked.
"Sometimes when you're sleeping you think of me, and you arrive. Sometimes my sister brings you here. This time, it was me," he asked simply.
"I wasn't sleeping, you jerk. I was shopping. Now I'm on the floor in the dressing room, or at least I was." She looked down at herself, still wearing the frilly dress.
Theo smirked, even let out a chuckle, which sounded quite foreign to him. "Nice dress. What is it? Prom or something?" He wondered. It sounded about right. School should almost have been done, so prom was yet to come.
Malia rolled her eyes once more. "Unfortunately. Am I really here?"
"No. Just your spirit. I'm here, mind, body and everything, but you're not. You're probably still on that floor in the dressing room," he sufficed.
"Why am I here?" She asked once more, annoyance in her tone.
Theo simply shrugged. Why was she here? "I got bored," he stated, which had been sort of true.
"Gee, all of this nothingness, who would have thought. Shouldn't you be working on...something?" She didn't know what, but he was here for a reason, and that reason was definitely not bringing her here to speak to him.
"I do that. Work on things every second practically. I wanted to talk to someone for a changed, believe it or not. And I suppose since you're the only one that seems to be able to come here, tag, you're it." Maybe it had been selfish to bring her here, but whatever. He was working on redemption not his selfishness. That would be another battle for another day. "Is that the dress you're wearing? Didn't take you for a frills kinda girl."
Malia looked down at the bubble gum pink dress that she was currently wearing. It was poufy, and had many layers of useless fabric. "Joy, yay me." She rolled her eyes. "Yeah? What kind of girl do you take me for?"
"One that would rather wear a dress that was more form fitting." Theo walked closer to her. "One with more skin showing or a plunging neckline." As he spoke the latter, he touched her, drawing the deep V of a plunging neckline and causing her to gasp as his eyes widened. She could feel his touch and he could feel her soft skin underneath his finger tip. He hadn't moonlit as a fashion designer, but he knew what he'd want to see her in, what would look good on her. There it was again, that selfishness.
She straightened, taking a step back from him all of a sudden. "I might try to look for something like that."
"When you do, will you show me?" He didn't know what compelled him to ask, and she didn't know why she'd nodded in agreement but she did. He was about to let her return to her place in the here and now, when he blurted out. "You're the key, Malia. She said that you help me, but only if you want to." He threw in that last part for himself. Maybe he was starting to change, giving her the option to help him or not. Not demanding that she does.
Theo had enjoyed their few minutes of conversation. It wasn't the most pleasant, nor the most warm of conversations, but it was conversation no less.
"Malia! Tate!" Lydia was speaking frantically next to her ear as she shook her. Malia's eyes opened and she frowned as Lydia came into focus and Kira standing over her in the small dressing room. "Oh thank God. When you didn't come out we knew something was wrong. What happened?"
A frown creased her brows. "I fainted, I guess? I'm okay," she lied about the fainting. She was okay, but she knew why she was on the floor in dream land. "Maybe I need to eat. Let's pick up here after food?" She asked, sitting up finally before getting to her feet. She knew that the ladies would press the issue, but for now, eating was going to be the best excuse she could come up with.
Notes: Thanks, for those who read and review! It really means a lot to me to read your thoughts on the chapters!
