Hey guys! UM WOW. Can we take a moment to revel in the newest episode?! And not that it's related in any way, but Stiles gets sedated and succumbs to the darkness because he can't wake up… WHAT STORY DOES THAT SOUND LIKE?! Jeff Davis and I must be on the same wave length. I can't decide whether that's a good or bad thing…

So, since demon!Stiles is pretty much canon, this is perfect because it's goes pretty much with this chapter. And by the way? This chapter? HOPEFULLY WILL MESS YOUR MIND UP. Not like the first chapters, but I'm kinda hoping I can creep you guys out a bit. (No, I will NOT be singing 'Life is But a Dream' anymore… haha! Different kind of creeps)

Also, there seemed to be some confusion in the last chapter (whoops – bad writer! *slaps own wrist*). To clear things up: Stiles got Scott's shirt because Allison had a few from when they were dating.

So, let's get started, shall we? I get to bring back something I foreshadowed in Chapter 1! Who's been paying attention?

Chapter 10

Once Upon a Dream

"Why is Lydia here again?" Scott whispers to Stiles, frowning when Lydia cast Kira a reproachful look as the two of them went to get sodas. Lydia's giving Kira a little more ice than he would've hoped, but Stiles seems to not care. Well, not even 'not care,' but more 'not notice.' Which is weird: Stiles notices everything. But his eyes are distant and empty.

Scott stares at his friend, a little alarmed at the sight before him. He was supposed to be getting better after everything. Instead, he looks more haggard than ever, deep circles ringing at the base of his eyes that seem to eat him alive. He's clutching his side a bit and gingerly support himself against the counter. "Stiles?" Scott asks, turning his full attention to his best friend. "Are you okay?"

Stiles blinks. "W-What? Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry. I was zoning out."

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately."

"Yeah," he weakly chuckles, rubbing the back of his head. "I haven't been sleeping very well. I really don't want anyone to give me a sedative again. I'm not sure if I could handle it a second time."

Scott grabs Stiles' shoulder. "We'll figure this out. We always do. We'll find a way to close your door and save you."

Stiles gives another weak laugh and closes his eyes. They seem to be lost in such an impenetrable amount of darkness, it scares Scott. Like he's no longer with him. "What if…" Stiles begins, wincing. "What if it's me you need to save everyone else from? What if the thing that everyone needs protecting from is myself?"

"Stiles, what are you talking about?"

Stiles opens his eyes and they're hollow. "Listen man, about what I wanted to talk to you this morning—"

"Here you are, Stiles," Lydia says, handing him a large soda. Stiles seems so startled by her appearance that he almost drops it. "Normally, I'd lecture you on the amount of sugar that is in this size of a Coca-Cola, but considering your appearance, maybe a little extra sugar would be beneficial." Usually a comment like that would be full of snark, but it's soft. Lydia's genuinely trying to make him laugh. Feel normal. Scott looks eagerly to Stiles, desperately hoping it'll work, but then he hears that pained laugh again.

"You know, you could be concerned for my safety without being condescending." Stiles says quickly. His good-humor doesn't fool anyone. "That's an actual thing."

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lydia sniffs, pulling him into the movie theater.

Scott watches the pair of them, unsure of why he never noticed their interactions before. At first, they walk side by side, but he's startled when the two sort of gravitate toward each other. Even though only their shoulders touch, it looks like Lydia is propping Stiles up. Scott's not sure how that's possible. But it finally makes sense why Lydia's here.

She's his anchor.

"Is he going to be okay?" Kira asks, tentatively handing Scott his own drink.

Scott flinches; he didn't mean to be ignoring her – especially on technically their 'first date' – but he can't help but be preoccupied. "Of course," he says, his eyes never leaving the two until they turn a corner and disappear. "He's Stiles. He's always okay."

Kira bites her lip. "Scott, I have to be honest. He doesn't look okay."

"That's because you're new here." Scott sighs when Kira looks down. "Sorry, that's not what I mean. What I mean is, you don't know Stiles like the rest of us. You met him at a really weird time, but I can assure you that Stiles is going to be okay because he's always okay. I mean, he's survived years with a bunch of werewolves, and somehow he's always the one saving everyone. Figuring stuff out. That's why I know he'll be fine. He's always fine."

"But still," Kira says. "If he's always the one saving you guys, what do you do when it's him that needs saving? He's not going to help you figure this one out."

Scott clenches his fist. He knows he shouldn't be mad, but he can't help it. "He will be fine. He's Stiles. That should answer the question."

Kira squeaks. "Sorry."

Scott unclenches his fist. "No, I'm sorry. It's just… hard. To see him like this, you know? But he'll be fine. And I know it sounds stupid and optimistic to say the reason he'll be fine is because he's Stiles, but it's the truth. It's a legitimate answer. And if you knew him better, you'd understand. He's Stiles."

She nods. "He's Stiles."

She doesn't really understand, but Scott appreciates the gesture all the same. "He's Stiles."

Kira looks up at him, holding out her hand half-heartedly, as if daring him to take it. She looks away. With a grin, Scott takes her hand into his and leads her into the movie.

By the time they reach Stiles and Lydia, Scott tries not to look too alarmed. It doesn't help that Kira lets out a small gasp as well. Fortunately, Stiles isn't a werewolf, so Scott doesn't think he heard.

Stiles has propped himself up on his right arm, his head drooping and nodding, jerking every time he forces himself awake. The projection makes his skin look ghastly and it genuinely scares Scott. He considers taking Stiles out of the room and asking him what the hell he needs to tell him, but he doesn't want to alarm Kira, who is excited at his side. He leads her into the aisle, sitting next to Lydia. He wonders if it'd be rude to ask her to sit on the other side of Stiles, but is trying to keep it together.

If only this 'True Alpha' thing came with a manual…

But as soon as the lights dim, he forgets. All he can tell is Kira's next to him and their hands are intertwined. It's nice. It's relaxing. It's… an escape. Scott peers over at her and he can tell she's barely paying attention to the movie, even though her face is firmly fixated on the screen. She's biting her lip, trying to hold back a smile, in that adorable way she does, reminding him why he likes her so much.

"Stiles?"

The only thing that could break Scott from his reverie was the soft, broken word from Lydia. Scott turns, his eyes widening.

Lydia is still seated, her hands raised, trembling. "Stiles, what are you doing?"

Stiles is standing over her, his fists clenched at his sides. His entire skin is a pale, disgusting pallor, but that's not what Scott sees. It's his eyes. His eyes are like voids. Empty, dark, and foreboding.

And they're fixated directly on Kira.

Kira shrinks back in her seat, cowering from him. Scott is too stunned to do anything. He's never seen anyone cower in front of Stiles. It's… Stiles. He's Stiles.

Stiles makes a move toward her. It's sharp, quick, calculated, and aggressive. Finally, Scott's reflexes kick in and he's on his feet. He grabs Stiles' arm and tries to hold him to the spot. "Dude, what are you doing?" He cries.

Except, that's not what scares him. Scott has Stiles own hand in his grasp and is shaking. He's… he's…

Losing.

Stiles – Stiles – is overpowering him and wrenching his hand down. Scott can feel himself trembling. He's so close to wolfing out, it's taking every ounce of willpower within him to keep himself from doing. "Stiles," he murmurs weakly. "What are you doing?"

The lights come on in the theater.

"Is there a problem here?" A worker snaps amid a flurry of angry movie-watchers.

"W-What?" Scott stammers, totally unaware of how loud they were being.

Stiles breaks the grip, stumbling back. His eyes are wide and full of fear. He brings his hands up to his face, his fingers trembling as he does so. Scott can see him desperately counting, but get lost multiple times. His breathing catches. "Oh – my – God—" He chokes, gripping one of the chairs around him when his legs buckle.

"Stiles—" Scott says, reaching out for him, but he pathetically swats his hand away.

"Don't touch me." Stiles says softly. For words so quiet, they're tucked in with fear.

Before Scott can say anything, Stiles brushes past him, sprinting out of the theater.

Scott whirls to run after him, but the movie worker stops him. "You and your friends have received four complaints."

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but I need to—" Scott says, frantic when Stiles disappears.

"I'm afraid that we're going to have to get your information and put you on—"

"That's great, I send it in." Scott snaps, pushing past the worker and sprinting down the movie corridor. "Stiles!" He bellows, running as fast as he possibly can without receiving any suspicion from those around. He can hear Kira and Lydia running behind him, but he doesn't wait. He bursts through the doors of the movie theaters to the parking lot.

Just in time to see a Jeep peeling out.

XXX

"Why are we even here again?" Aidan drawls, leaning against the counter. Deaton eyes him wearily, nudging his elbow away from a few of the supplies. Aidan rolls his eyes.

"We're here because Scott asked us to be." Ethan says.

"We're not even in his pack. Why must we run whenever he calls?"

Ethan shoots Aiden a dark look, which finally gets him to shut up.

Allison runs her fingers through her hair. "I'm assuming Stiles spoke with him and he wants to have a meeting about it." She says, a grim smile on her face. "I knew Stiles would do the right thing."

"What does that mean?" Derek snaps, crossing his arm. "What did he need to talk to Scott about?"

The question hangs in the air when they all hear a slam of the front door. Scott barrels into the room. "Deaton?" He exclaims, his eyes wide and panicky. "Deaton?"

Every ounce of tension from each other dissipates and all of them look at Scott, terrified. When Scott is terrified, it's the last official warning that it's okay to panic. They barely notice Kira and Lydia running in after him.

"Scott, calm down," Deaton states, his voice calm and slow. "Calm down and tell us what happened."

But Scott can't. His mind is travelling too fast and his words aren't stringing together properly. He wants to laugh to himself because he wonders if this is what it's like for Stiles on a normal day, which would make him make so much more sense. But then Scott remembers that 'normal' days are no longer a thing and that only sends him further into a panic.

Allison peeks after Kira. "Scott, where's Stiles?" She waits and waits, but he never appears. "Scott?"

Scott looks up from his panic. With every ounce of focus, he manages to utter one word.

"Gone."

The silence is suffocating.

Allison covers her mouth as a tear rolls down her cheek. Isaac shuts his eyes as Derek's jaw tenses. "What's the big deal?" Aidan asks, snorting. "The dude is like the most visible human on the planet. He drives a shitty-ass Jeep that is less subtle than a tank. He'll be easy to spot."

Without being able to control it anymore, Scott's eyes flash red and he lets out a forceful howl, not stopping until he brings Aidan to his knees. "Shut up!" Scott bellows, barely registering that everyone has their hands over their ears and is shying away from him.

Scott turns, telling himself to calm down, telling himself he needs to be in control because he's the True Alpha, but can't. He's seeing red. He can't calm the fear in his veins, just like he can't calm his wolf-out. That is, until he catches Deaton's eye.

Deaton remains in the corner, his eyes stoic. Calm. Most importantly…

Unsurprised.

"You know." Scott states, his body finally no longer trembling. "You know what's going on."

Deaton remains still. "I have a theory."

Scott steps toward him hotly. "You had a theory and you didn't say anything?" He shouts, slamming his fist against the examination table, making it rattle.

"Stiles never came to see me like I asked."

Scott pauses. "H-He thought he did," Lydia says, her voice small and quiet. "I know all the letters were set fire in Derek's house, but I remember that one. He thought he came to see you and you tried to kill him. You told him he needed to be put down."

Deaton smiles grimly. "Makes sense."

"Makes sense?" Scott repeats incredulously. "None of this makes sense!"

"The best way to control someone?" Deaton states. "Convince the host that everyone who can help they will destroy you."

It takes a few moments of awkward silence until Isaac breaks it. "Controls?"

Deaton nods his head for everyone to follow him, pushing back a few curtains. As the others do, they gasp when they see what he has hiding in his back storage.

A tub.

Not just any tub. A tub filled to the brim with ice. "What the hell!" Scott snaps, storming toward it.

Deaton puts his hand up. "Not so fast, Scott." He says, preventing him from moving any further. "There's quite a few herbs around it that might not work well with your lycanthropy."

"Why would you do that?"

Deaton peers at the tub. "It has to remain cold."

"Can you please just tell us what's going on?" Derek snaps from the back, brushing past the sea of teenagers until he reaches Deaton. "Not in codes, not in weird folklore. What is happening?"

"Peek in." He states simply.

"Huh?"

Deaton nods his head. "The tub. Take a look."

Derek peers over. "It's a tub. It has water and ice. It—"

He stops. Everyone else crowds around it, tilting their heads when they do so. It looks like there's nothing in it. At least, that's what they think at first.

But when they get closer, and when they move to the right spot, something glimmers. Scott tilts his head, moving carefully around the tub. It's so frustrating. What's in it? It has mass, but it's faint. Why can't he make it out.

Eyes snap open from inside the water.

"Oh my God!" Scott exclaims, leaping back. "Oh my God – it's Stiles!"

Deaton peeks in, sighing when he sees the frantic, open eyes.

"He's awake."

A/N: Alright, so how much do you guys hate me right now?

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