The song for this chapter is Delta Spirit – The Wreck

MALIA'S POV:

Scott and I walked until we were a few houses away, still in hearing range if anything went wrong, but far enough away for privacy. I could tell him being in there with Allison wasn't a good idea. He'd never hurt her, but she was hurting him. Clearly, he wasn't over her. Her remembering Isaac, but not him. Hell, I'd be hurt, too. She was his first love, his first everything. Talk about a punch in the gut.

"You want to talk about it?" I nudged his shoulder with mine.

His head shook.

"Okay," I looked ahead. "Do you want to punch something? I'll let you punch me and I won't hit you back. Promise." I gave him a hopeful look.

He looked down at me with a furrowed brow. "I'm not going to hurt you, Malia."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

He looked to the ground and gulped. "I want to talk to Kira. I want to hold her one last time."

My heart hurt for him. I shoved my hands into my jean shorts.

"Do you really think she's not coming back? I mean, she wouldn't just leave you waiting around for her. She has to come back or reach out."

"Kira doesn't have to do anything." His voice filled with an anger I'd rarely seen from Scott.

My hand pulled his arm to a stop as we stood in the street. "Wait, are you mad at her?" I hit his shoulder. "You just said you missed her. And this is her personal journey, she needs this."

His sad brown eyes averted from mine. "Why'd you bring me out here? I was fine in there."

I caught his eyes. "You're lying, Scott. Don't forget I know you."

We spent a lot of time together, all of us, to not know everything about each other. Being that Scott was the Alpha I relied on him a little more than the others with the big things in my life.

His jaw hardened, he searched my face. "I never said you didn't." He sighed. "I just don't want to talk about this. It's too weird."

"Scott, come on. It's me."

His hand rested on my shoulder. "I know it's you, but I can't talk about this with you. It's too confusing."

What did that mean?

My head shook. "Trying not to take offense here."

He gave a quarter of a grin. "Fine, with Allison being back it's brought back some old feelings and with Kira gone I'm not so sure how I feel anymore."

I shrugged. "Was that so hard?" I punched his shoulder.

"What do you think I should do?" He ignored my question. "You heard Allison. She remembers Isaac and not me. That's a sign right?"

Would I take it as a sign? Yes. Should Scott?

"I don't know, Scott. As lame as it sounds only you'll know what's right for you. Besides, what if Allison does get her memories back? What if she does chose you? And what if Kira comes back?"

He backed away with the thought, his hand ran down in his face. "How about we talk about you? Didn't I say I'd help you plan your future?"

My lips pursed. "Yeah, you did. But we're not talking about me, we're talking about you."

He pulled me close with his arm draped over my shoulder, his mood lightened. "No. No, we're talking about you." We slowly started back to Lydia's house. "Where do you picture yourself in ten years?"

I was glad for his sudden mood change, but was still worried about him. I blew out a heavy sigh. "I don't know. Still hanging out with you guys, still hanging out with you, I guess."

He grinned. "What do you want out of life?"

I shrugged. "Happiness. That's my only requirement."

"How do you feel about working a Vet?"

My eyes widened. "You mean with you and Deaton? Do you think he'd really hire me?" Excitement filled me. I wasn't sure why, I never expressed interest in working there before, but it could be cool. Plus, I'd get to spend time with Scott and pet some animals.

He laughed at my happiness. "I'm sure Deaton wouldn't mind. We could use an extra hand around there."

With a big grin plastered on my face I danced around the street, really getting in some good moves. "You want some of this?" I beckoned him to the dance floor. "Don't be scared Scottie."

"You don't want that, trust me." He stood his ground, his thumbs hanging from his jean loops. It was a good look for him.

My eyes rolled. "Is the big Alpha scared?"

He tried to hide his smile as he moved towards me. "Okay, you asked for it," He kicked his leg out like Michael Jackson.

I almost died of laughter.

He hit me with some moves I've never seen before.

"Alright." I grinned. "You've got moves. I'll give you that."

"Oh, you have no idea, Lia."

My heart dipped as I pretended I didn't hear him giving me a nickname. No one's ever given me a nickname before. Not even Stiles. I liked it.

He stopped dancing as he looked at me, like he knew what I was thinking.

"Scott!" We heard Stiles say from the house.

It didn't sound like he was worried, but just in case we rushed over.

We arrived to find Isaac on the floor with Stiles laughing at him.

The rest of the evening went kind of as planned, save for Allison having like a psychic vision or whatever. Chris trained us and gave us weapons. I eyed the crossbow, but Allison grabbed it first. There was a sword that caught my eye, but I wasn't sure if I'd be good at it, if it was the right fit for me. It was definitely heavier than I thought it was. How did Kira handle this thing regularly?

Scott handed me the Katana with a supportive look. "Let's see what you got."

I handled it as best as I could, trying my best to imitate Kira, but I felt like I looked like an idiot and an imposter. Lydia sent me an encouraging smile, then she turned back to drooling over Stiles as he chatted with her mom.

Chris watched me as I stabbed the sword forward. My mind went back to when the Gahiji stabbed me, then I instantly dropped the weapon.

"Malia, are you alright?" He asked.

I quickly picked up the sword, determined to not let this affect me. I thought about that night over and over a thousand times. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He glanced back at Allison for a second. "It's okay if you're trying to work through something, but you can't let it take over. Clear your mind for five minutes."

Shame filled me that I was so transparent.

"I don't need a break." My jaw clenched.

He nodded. "You have to learn the difference between what you need and what's best for you."

"I said I didn't need a break." My voice rose.

Everyone looked at us.

He nodded again. "Okay." He backed off and moved onto someone else.

I could feel Scott's eyes on me, wondering what happened, but I couldn't look at the Alpha and let him see shame in my eyes. I failed everyone that night. If I hadn't been so wrapped up in turning Isaac human, then I would've heard the Gahiji's coming and Corey wouldn't have died.

After we all had dinner, I was the first to leave. There were too many people there. I loved the pack, but sometimes I craved time by myself. I'd grown so used to it as a coyote. Now it was almost impossible to be alone. Except in my hideout. I often went back to my cave. Besides Scott and Stiles, Theo was the only other person that had been in here. I foolishly let Theo Raeken get to me. When he showed his true colors anything I felt for him crumbled.

I let out a bitter laugh as I slid down to the damp ground. This was home, no matter where I went this was always home. Despite all the bad events centered around my cave I still came here when everything became too much, which was often. No one knew about it.

Needing to clear my head, I laid my forehead on my propped up knees. If I was being honest, I was scared that the pack wouldn't want me after we graduated. Everyone would be in different directions. What would they need with Malia for? What would Scott need me for? I tried to kill my mom. How did he even look at me? Stiles killed Donavon on accident and they had a huge falling out. So what was so special about me? Why did he give me a break?

If I didn't figure out my future soon I'd go crazy. My dad would miss me, but it wasn't like we had the best relationship. I couldn't exactly tell him about all of this. He tried to kill me when I was the coyote, just like my mom. I didn't blame Stiles for leaving me, it would've happened sooner or later. We were too different.

Unwanted tears filled my eyes. Nobody wanted me. There it was. My biggest fear. Soon my face was slick with tears as I shook.

Warm arms pulled me close until I was sitting on a lap. When I smelled Scott's scent I relaxed and I rested my head on his broad chest. As if his presence amplified my feelings, I cried harder in his arms.

"You're going to be okay, Lia. I'll make sure of it."

He let me sob on him without protest. I hate that he had to see me like this, but I didn't want him to go. A part of me was glad that he was here. I could tell that he didn't know what was going on with me lately and vice versa. So this was nice.

He rubbed my back, creating a tingly warmth throughout my body. I nestled my head on his shoulder now as my breathing calmed down. His presence was actually relaxing me more than I thought it would.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

With a huff, I said, "I'm scared."

"Of the Gahiji's?"

My head shook. "Of senior year ending. I don't know what to do with my life. You probably don't want to hear this. I know you have it all figured out. You're Scott McCall, you have everything figured out."

"Have you seen my life, Lia? I have nothing figured out."

"Well, besides that your life is perfect compared to mine."

"What are you afraid of right now?" He asked softly.

Currently, other than becoming too comfortable in this pair of arms, a lot of things. I moved out of his lap and wiped my face off. I turned to find him watching me carefully.
"What? Is there a bugger on my face?"

He grinned. "Actually, yes." He wiped it off with his sleeve, then wiped his sleeve on the wall with a yuck face.

"Gross." I laughed.

He looked at me with those puppy dog eyes and my heart just about melted. I really hoped Kira came back. He deserved to be happy more than anyone. He bore the responsibility of all of our lives, of all of Beacon Hills. I didn't know how he did it. "Do you feel better?"

I nodded. "Thanks. How'd you know I'd be here?"
He looked a bit embarrassed. "Uh, I followed you."

Oh.

I gave a grateful grin. "Well, if you hadn't I'd probably still be crying."

"Why were you crying?" He didn't miss a beat.

I huffed. "Everything just piled up on me. A lot happened in the last few months and I haven't really talked to anyone about it." I tucked my long hair behind my ear.

He grabbed my other hand. "Why didn't you talk to me?"

I shrugged as I met his eyes. "I don't know. I guess, I hoped that if I didn't talk about it that it didn't matter."

"Does Stiles know about this?"

I gave him a look. "Stiles? We were never really friends to begin with. Not like him and Lydia."

His forehead creased. "So you think that means you can't talk to him? You have to know he's worried about you. We all are."

I really didn't want to admit this, but bottling things up hadn't work so far. I turned my body to him and leaned my head on the wall of the cave, careful not to come into contact with the bugger. "Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love Lydia. I just get tired of competing with her for Stiles' attention and affection." I gave a wry smile. "We all know it's not a competition. She wins. And there was no more room for me."

He looked as if he hadn't even thought of that as he turned to face me, his head on the wall, too. "I'm sure that's not true. Honestly, I don't think Stiles even realizes what he's done. When it comes to Lydia everything else just goes over his head. But I'll talk to him about it."

My hand hit his shoulder. "Don't, you idiot." I cracked a grin at him. "I guess, you'll do instead."

He held a hand to his chest in mock heartache. "You really know to break a guy's heart."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Sadly, I don't think my love life will be exciting for some time."

His brow rose. "What about Braeden?"

I stilled. "What about her?"

"Come on, I have eyes. You two are a good pair."

"What?" I laughed. "Me and Braeden?"

He nodded with a grin. "Yeah."

I didn't really know what to say about that. I mean, we had grown closer because of her helping me with The Desert Wolf and sure she was attractive, but I didn't think we would ever go beyond friendship.

"So maybe hope's not lost for you."

My head shook. "I don't think that's an option. Even if you're right, she's still hung up on Derek. I think that's the business she had to attend to out of town. If it is then good for her. I don't want to stand in the way of anybody being together. Besides, I'm not ready to be with anybody yet."

He nodded. "How about we both just take a break from the dating world together and see where that gets us?"

I held my hand out to shake on it. "Deal."

His strong hand wrapped around mine. "Deal."

A/N: How do you guys feel about Scalia's friendship? I actually really ship Shelley and Tyler in real life. I saw a post on Instagram that someone thought Tyler was in love with Shelley and I watched some interviews and was like maybe he is haha. So I converted that onto Scalia. I know it won't ever happen on the show, but I like their friendship so much on the show. It's not obvious like Stydia, but I think if given the right circumstances Scalia could happen as a slow burn on the show, but we obviously don't have that kind of screen time left! Anyways, sorry for the short chapter. Please take the time to leave a comment/review Thanks for reading yall!