Liam went missing and Scott was the first to notice, more because he had been keeping a very close eye for these kind of things, Stiles doesn't budge when he's asked which only makes it harder to find him:
"He's not answering his phone." Scott informed but Stiles only blinked back. How could he be so nonchalant?!
"Stiles."
"What?"
"I talked to Mason" he arched an eyebrow "he said you were the last person he talked to." Stiles' eyebrows shot up at the information:
"Really?" he asked.
"Yeah, didn't he say where he was going?"
"I thought he was headed home, I didn't ask though." Scott walks away, frustration eating away at him.
He lied.
._._._.
Liam still wasn't answering his phone and all the people he's asked so far, except Mason, denied knowing anything, Scott couldn't sniff out the whole town for him but he got a better idea.
His Howl.
After all he is Liam's alpha, It's this or going to the sheriff who knew absolutely nothing about the number one suspect (or did he?) and Scott isn't going to be subtle about it, as much as he hates blaming people out of the blue, fingers he doesn't even own are pointing that Stiles has something to do with it.
Scott only had to do it once before Liam turns up at the hospital, with a broken leg.
"What's wrong?" he asks his mom as soon as he spots her there, but Melissa shakes her head and pulls him aside.
"Isn't he supposed to be healing?" she asks, tone reflecting worry, Scott's eyes widen considerably:
"It usually depends on the wound" he says "I have to see him."
"This way." She leads.
._._._.
Liam was lying on the hospital bed and for Scott, it was a major déjà vu, the last time his beta had been in this position, he was still human.
"I got caught in a trap." Liam explained as soon as he saw him, with tired eyes and pale faced "your howl helped a lot get me out of there."
"I thought they removed all of them."
"Apparently not." He winced, Scott did too, internally, because he's Liam's alpha, he just knows when he's lying to him, he doesn't even need a heartbeat heard.
"I have to tell you something." He said, voice thick with something, was it guilt? "I told the sheriff about Stiles."
"Liam..." Scott said but didn't have an ending for that sentence.
"I thought he knew something."
"You should've waited." He said "does Stiles know yet?"
"Probably." Liam answered and things cleared up a little for Scott, so he managed to be sympathetic and ask:
"Liam, you can tell me."
Scott doesn't want to look at the leg, but he also doesn't want to be lied to his face so he looks at Liam's hands, they're by his side from where he's lying on the hospital bed (the irony) and they're almost completely healed.
"I told you."
Scott shakes his head after Liam closes his eyes and quietly leaves the room. Stiles' confession got him wondering a lot about what secrets other people still hid, and if they'd ever tell. Maybe he's just paranoid, but Liam, he's sure, lied.
._._._.
So Scott called for a meeting in his house, determined to uncover the truth. Liam -whose healing process quickened thanks to his alpha- showed up and Scott immediately noticed the change, he was sitting close to him, almost as if seeking protection, it almost looked like he was avoiding Stiles' company at all costs, and if their eyes met, it was always Liam who lowered his gaze first.
Stiles on the other hand didn't seem all that fazed, he didn't keep his distance and wasn't scared, but whenever Liam and Scott were talking he looked warningly at the beta until the conversation died out.
Aside from the tension, there was Malia, who as soon as she heard that Liam got caught in a trap, had a few questions of her own:
"Was it a coyote trap?" He nodded.
"Ouch." Stiles grimaced out of nowhere, from where he was sitting next to Kira.
"Do you remember where it was, exactly?" Scott turned to Liam, he knew Malia wanted to ensure everyone's safety with these questions but little did she know she wasn't going to get any real answers:
"No, it was dark." She raised her eyebrows at that:
"I used to have a very good memory of where the traps where situated, sometimes my muscles would remember for me, and that's how I'd know." Liam stayed quiet after that and Scott realized that this is familiar: Theo was like this and to this day they haven't actually seen each other or, talked about what really happened at school.
"Stiles, It's time you start answering questions." Scott pulled himself out of his thoughts and demanded gravely, taking matters into his own hands "and don't lie."
"Okay" Stiles relaxed into his chair and said "shoot."
"Do you still have a copy of the original files?" Lydia started and Scott kept an ear just for his heartbeat, he should know better than to lie this time.
"No, the dread doctors probably retrieved them when they came back, I haven't seen them anymore."
"And you didn't think to make a copy?"
"The last thing I wanted was for you to find out, I was gonna throw them away but Deaton insisted that they would serve as evidence for when, you know, the time comes." He sighed, visibly trying to shake the nervousness away "but now they're gone."
"Too bad we'll never find out what you are then." Malia commented and Scott noticed that she sounded annoyed, she probably even felt betrayed, he couldn't blame her though, he related.
"You think it's that easy, don't you?" To his surprise, Stiles shoots back with heat, his heartbeat increasing with each pronounced word "that I could just- confess that I've been stabbing you guys in the back repeatedly and that everyone would be happy about it, right?" He looks at all of them in a row then settles on his beta "Liam get out."
beside him, Liam freezes and Scott does too momentarily until he realizes what he actually said:
"what?" Liam asks.
"Get out, seriously, leave." he glares at the beta and Scott sees a glint in his eyes, after that, Liam stands up:
"Wait, are you serious?!" Lydia said, completely baffled but he just squinted his eyes:
"Yes, I am, and for the love of god Lydia don't start making assumptions when you have no idea what's going on."
"It's about your dad isn't it?" Scott remarks out loud "you knew he told him."
"you did?" Kira said but Liam didn't have a chance to confirm.
"Yeah, yeah he did," Stiles said "he just had to ruin everything and not even consider asking me first."
"Your dad had the right to know." Scott defended, which only seemed to make Stiles angrier, judging by the fist by his side:
"Not like that!" He exclaimed "you should've seen him freak out last night, acting like he didn't know me anymore, like he ought to be afraid of me."
"I can see why he would be." Liam mumbled next to him and Scott inhaled a breath of realisation.
Stiles looked like he was trying to physically retrain himself from punching Liam, the swing landed on the wooden table and he stormed out with no more words, Scott didn't want to try and stop him.
No one moved for a good moment after that. Kira was the first to unfreeze:
"Lydia" she said "I think we should stop our research" and just when her friends were about to protest she added:
"I think I know what Stiles is."
