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Chapter 14: Airborne
Jamie's blood ran cold as she heard the lock snap on the door downstairs. She had tried to speak quietly with Stiles but she knew her time was limited. She just hoped his dad would get there soon enough. Her heart was hammering, and the only thing keeping her from throwing up was the realization that if she did the intruder was sure to hear her. She quickly gazed around her room - it was dark except for the light coming from her laptop screen. Why hadn't she turned on the light? If she had just turned on the light, then this trespasser would have realized someone was home and would have moved on to another house. What if he had a gun? She looked around the room - she had to hide. Under the bed? Too obvious. Bathroom? Even more obvious. Closet? Pretty obvious, unless…
She pulled up the flashlight on her phone as she slipped into her closet, pulling the door mostly shut. She knew it squeaked in the last fifteen degrees or so when closing - she was not taking that risk. She looked up to her top shelves - they were definitely not sturdy enough. She looked down, seeing the big plastic tub that she used as her dirty clothes hamper. It was about half full. Yes. Perfect.
With as much silence as she could muster, she pulled the clothes out from the bin, thanking God that it was opaque. She curled up as tight as possible in the bottom, pulling the dirty clothes back on top of her. She jumped and nearly passed out as her phone started ringing, the tone loud and Stiles' name on the screen. She reached to silence it but stopped - that would be a dead giveaway. So instead, she reached out and slid the phone into the kangaroo pouch of a hoodie that was on the ground. She could hear the sounds of someone coming up the stairs and down the hallway, trying to be quiet as they heard the phone ring. She pulled the last of her clothes over her, feeling to make sure that all her skin and hair was covered. The door to her room opened, and she began the waiting game.
Surely this invader could hear her heart beating. She heard the light in her room flip on, the fan coming to life. She could hear the papers all over her floor rustling as the breeze hit them. Her phone started ringing again, and she cursed herself for not being one of those people who always had their phone on silent. Footsteps came closer to the closet, the hinges squeaking as the door was pulled open. She held her breath as the person picked her hoodie up, her phone going to voicemail as he grabbed it. She heard a low chuckle as the person tossed her hoodie and phone back onto the floor. She begged her body to be still, to not tremble or spasm or move at all. She squeezed her eyes shut, absolutely sure that this criminal could hear her blink. The door to her closet squeaked closed, and she was left to wait for Stiles to get there.
Stiles was in a panic as he drove to Jamie's house. He pulled his dad's contact up on his phone, hearing it ring as he tried not to speed too much through the streets.
"Yes, Stiles?" his dad answered, sounding mildly annoyed that Stiles would call him during his shift.
"Dad, listen. Jamie just called and said someone's breaking into her house. You gotta get someone there," Stiles said quickly.
"What? And she's in the house with them?" the Sheriff asked.
"Yes! Dad, you have to get someone there!" Stiles insisted.
"Okay, yes, I will. What's her address?" he questioned. Stiles rattled it off to him, hearing as his dad typed it into the computer. "Okay, there's a squad car two miles away. I'll radio them and get them over there for first response."
"Okay yes great. I'm on my way too," Stiles said, realizing too late that admitting that was a mistake.
"You do not go in by yourself, do you hear me? Stay. Out. Side," his dad said sternly.
"Right yea okay bye," Stiles answered quickly, hanging up before his dad could insist anymore. He called Jamie twice more, but she didn't answer.
He pulled onto Jamie's street, stopping the Jeep one house down from hers. He slid out, grabbing his baseball bat and trying to stealthily run to the house. He slowed to a walk as he reached the side, hunched down into the shadows as he moved along the wall. The Darkness throbbed painfully in his chest - it was thriving on all this fear and frenzy. The front door stood open, letting the cold air in – a sign that either the person was still in there, or had fled in a hurry.
He quietly slipped into the house, bat at the ready in case he needed to bash in a skull. He moved very slowly, checking out the dining room and kitchen and media room. He found them to be empty. With slow, deliberate steps, he climbed the stairs to the second floor. He paused at the top, listening for any sign of movement; there was none. He peaked into a bathroom - empty. He made his way to the end of the hallway and the twins' rooms. They were also empty. Finally, he made his way to Jamie's room afraid of what he would find.
The door was wide open, the light on and fan going. Stiles checked under the bed and in her bathroom, still not finding anyone.
"Jamie?" he called out hesitantly. A thump came from the closet. He suddenly had a horrible vision of her tied up in there, duct tape on her mouth. "Jamie!" he called again, this time with more confidence. More thumping from the closet. He ran over, throwing the door open. Her laundry bin flipped over, clothes spilling out everywhere as she tried to untangle herself from the bottom of it.
"Oh thank God," he said, roughly pulling her up after dropping the bat to the ground. He gathered her in his arms, crushing her to his chest. He couldn't tell if his heart was beating that hard or if it was hers. He pulled back, taking her face in his hands. "Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did he touch you?"
"No, no I'm fine!" she said, tears glistening in her eyes. She paused for a second, glancing to the bat on the ground. "Seriously, Stiles, a bat? What if he had a gun? You could have died!" she yelled, smacking him in the arm.
"Don't get mad at me because my weapon of choice to save your life is subpar!" he said back incredulously.
Her face fell back to the scared expression. "Oh my God, you're right. I'm so sorry. Thank you. Thank you for coming," she said, her hands gripping the front of his jacket. Her eyes fell for a moment, then widened. She looked all over her room, her face painted in alarm. "No," she said quietly. "No, no, no no no no no-"
"What is it?" Stiles asked as she pulled away from him, looking around her room.
"My research!" she cried, looking in every direction. "It's all gone! That bastard took it all!"
"What?!" Stiles yelled.
"Freeze!" came a loud, male voice from the door. His gun was pointed towards them.
Stiles, instinctually, grabbed Jamie and pulled her into his chest again, moving her down and away from the gunman. "Jesus fucking Christ Parrish!" he yelled as Jamie helplessly held onto his arms, not expecting to be thrown around like a rag doll. "You can't just fucking wave that around everywhere holy shit!"
"Stiles, what are you doing here?" Deputy Parrish asked, lowering his weapon.
"I came to save my friend," he said, as if it were obvious. He stood back up, helping Jamie to her feet once again.
"You two need to get outside while I sweep the premises. Your dad should be here soon," Parrish said, his voice a little softer.
"Yea, yea okay," Stiles said, holding a hand out as if Parrish were a wild animal that may attack. He took Jamie by the hand, leading her down the stairs. They could see the lights of the police vehicle through the windows. He led her out into the night air just as the Sheriff rolled in front of her house.
"Jamie, are you okay?" the Sheriff asked as he got out of his vehicle, extending a hand to the girl.
"Yea, yea I'm fine," she said, though she didn't sound one hundred percent sure.
"Did you see anything? Did the intruder do anything?" he asked, his hand on her arm.
"No, no I hid from him the whole time. He just stole a bunch of papers I had in my room," she said quietly. Now that the adrenaline was fading from her blood stream, she felt worn out. Stiles wrapped an arm around her protectively after feeling her slowly deflate next to him.
"Papers? With what?" the Sheriff asked.
"Just some notes for school," she said with a shrug, eyes downcast.
The Sheriff gave a look that said he didn't think that was the whole truth, but let it go. "I'm going to go help Parrish sweep. Jamie, I need you to call your mom and tell her what happened, okay? Since she's the home owner, she needs to know."
"Okay I can do that," she said softly. She looked to Stiles as the Sheriff drew his weapon, going inside the house. Her eyes still glistened with unshed tears, but she was trying her best to put on a brave face. "Can I borrow your phone? Mine is still inside."
"Yea, yea of course," Stiles said, fishing his phone out of his pocket and handing it to her.
She nodded her thanks, punching in her mom's number and wandering a few feet off. She had her arm crossed tightly across her body, as if she were trying to hold herself together. He noticed she was shivering, her t-shirt and shorts doing nothing to protect her from the cold night air. Stiles' heart ached to protect her, but the best thing he could think of was to take off his jacket and slip it around her shoulders. She gave him a watery smile in return, mouthing 'thank you' as the phone rang. He stepped back away from her, giving her some space. He ran his hand through his hair, pacing up and down the sidewalk and waiting for his dad to come back outside. A few minutes later the Sheriff and Deputy Parrish came back out with their weapons holstered.
"I'll meet you back at the station," he said to the deputy and proceeding to his son. "So what's going on that you're not telling me?" he asked Stiles quietly.
"Ghosts. Possibly witches. And Lydia is having prophetic dreams," Stiles said shortly, trying to listen to Jamie's conversation from afar.
"Perfect. Of course," the Sheriff sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Don't worry about it, Dad. We've got it under control," Stiles said.
"And why didn't you tell me about this sooner? Whatever it really is. You've still only given me the Spark Notes version," his dad said, sounding a bit grumpy.
"Because you've got enough going on. We can take care of this one," Stiles said with a shrug.
"Stiles…" he paused, looking at the sky before turning back to him, "I'm your father, okay? You can let me look out for you once in a while. We've got to stick together, you and me."
"I know. I'm sorry, Dad," Stiles said, looking at the ground.
"It's alright, I understand," he replied, putting a hand on Stiles' shoulder.
"No, Mom, you don't need to come back tonight," Jamie said, her voice louder than the tone she was using before. "The Sheriff is here, everything is fine. I'm fine," she paused again, seemingly to let her mother talk. "No, listen, it's not that late. I'll just call Bri and see if I can crash at her place for the weekend, okay? Seriously. Just come back in the morning after you sleep for a little while," her voice dropped back down to where Stiles couldn't hear it.
He turned to his dad, a question in his eyes. "I don't like that look," he said before Stiles could even speak.
"Do you think she could stay with us for the weekend?" he asked, ignoring his father's statement. The Sheriff groaned. "Seriously, if this guy comes back - I'd rather be there this time."
His father paused for a moment, looking him dead in the eyes. Stiles stared back unabashedly - for once, there was no lie to detect. The Sheriff let out a long breath.
"No funny business, do you hear me? One of you gets the bed, and the other the couch. No more. No less."
"Got it," Stiles said shortly, feeling relieved.
Jamie came back over, handing him his phone. "I convinced my mom to stay at least till the morning - the drive is like 6 hours long and they just got there," she explained.
"Hey, you wanna stay at our place tonight? Just to be safe?" Stiles offered.
Jamie paused, looking like her thoughts were going a mile a minute before she smiled, relaxing a bit. "If you don't mind, that'd be really nice," she said. She had nothing against Bri - she was her best friend after all - but if it came down to it, she'd choose Stiles for a supernatural fight.
"Excellent. I'll wait here while you two grab your stuff," the Sheriff said, leaning against the cruiser.
Stiles nodded, taking Jamie's hand again as they went back into the house. He leaned against the door to her room as she gathered a couple things, tossing them in her backpack.
"Okay, ready," she said.
"Are you sure you're alright?" he asked softly, gently touching her elbow.
Immediately the tears came back to her, a couple actually managing to leak out onto her cheeks. "Not really," she said as she angrily brushed the tears away. "But that's okay. I'll be just fine."
"Come here," he said, opening his arms.
She nodded, stepping close to him and burying her face in his shoulder. He held her tightly for a few moments, rubbing her back as her body shook with her tears. There was no doubt in his mind that she was a strong, tough girl - but right now, she seemed very fragile, and he wanted nothing but to keep her safe. After a few minutes, she pulled back, sniffling and wiping her face with her hands.
"Wow, sorry. That wasn't cool," she said, shaking her head.
"Hey, totally cool. Everyone cries sometimes," Stiles said with a shrug and a grin.
"Oh yea? Are you a total cry baby?" she asked with a smile.
"Completely. Hallmark commercials, Lifetime movies…don't even get me started on the National Anthem," he said with an all too serious look on his face. Jamie gave a short laugh, grateful for his humor. He extended a hand out to her. "Come on, let's head out. It's late."
She nodded, taking his hand and heading back outside. The Sheriff was still leaning against the cruiser, idly tapping his foot to the tune he was whistling. "Okay kids, I have another half hour on my shift, so I want you to wait up until I get home, okay?" he said as they came back out.
"Yea, no problem," Stiles replied, Jamie nodding in agreement.
"Okay. I'll see you at home in a little while," he said, nodding and getting in the car.
Stiles and Jamie headed over to the Jeep. He opened her door for her before walking across and climbing in himself. It was a quiet ride back to the Stilinski house, even Stiles did have much of anything to say. When they got to the house, he led Jamie up to his room.
"You can drop your stuff here if you want. Shower's right across the hall. I'll, uh, just chill right here until you're done," he said, sitting in his desk chair. He was suddenly very acutely aware that there was a live girl in his room.
Jamie nodded as she grabbed her bag and stepped across the hallway. Stiles then found himself hoping very hard that there was nothing gross in his bathroom. He slouched in his chair as the water cut on, holding his head in his hands for a couple seconds. So much had happened in the past twenty-four hours, and he was exhausted. He suddenly felt very bad for Jamie - all the crazy supernatural stuff was becoming the norm for him, but her - this was all new to her. For a split second he wondered if telling her everything had been the right choice, but a voice in his head that sounded suspiciously like Scott quickly shot that thought down. After all the trouble they had gotten into from hiding things from people, he knew letting her in on it was the right choice. He just hoped that she wouldn't regret it later.
He sat back up as the water cut off, a few minutes passing before Jamie came back in the room. She was in another t-shirt and Nike shorts, her long blonde hair tucked into a braid. She put her stuff in the corner next to the door, turning to Stiles.
"So, um, do you have a couch or-" she asked quietly.
"Oh, no, you're sleeping in the bed," he said, gesturing to his bed and thanking whatever deity was listening that he had washed his sheets a few days ago. She gave him an odd look for a second. "I mean, you can have my bed. To yourself. I'll sleep on the couch."
"Ah, gotcha," she said, giving him a grin that said her scared look had been a joke. She settled cross-legged on the end of the bed as they heard the door open downstairs, the Sheriff calling up to them.
They heard him coming up the stairs, and he soon appeared in the doorway. "Everyone settled in okay?" he asked. They both nodded in answer. "Jamie, do you need anything?"
"No, I'm okay. Thanks Sheriff," she said with a smile. He smiled back to her.
"Alright. You kids hit the hay soon. It's late," he said. They exchanged goodnights, the Sheriff giving Stiles a pointed look as he backed out of the room, heading to his own bedroom.
Stiles rolled his eyes as hard as he could in return. He turned back to Jamie - the girl looked exhausted. The shadows under her eyes were starting to look like bruises. She looked as exhausted as he felt. "Let's get some sleep, yea?" he said softly.
She nodded. "Are you sure it's okay if I sleep in your bed? I really don't mind the couch," she said quietly.
"No no no, you are a lady and a guest. You get the bed," he said certainly, waving at her until she shimmied under the covers. "Listen, I'll be just downstairs okay? Call if you need anything," he said.
"Thank you, Stiles," she said sleepily.
"No problem, Jam," he replied, giving her a smile. He walked out, turning the light off as he went. He made his way downstairs to the living room. And just as he was setting up his pillow and blanket his phone started buzzing. He gave a puzzled look when it said Jamie was calling him.
"Hello?" he said, confused.
"Hey Stiles?" she asked meekly.
"Yea, what's up?" he said, concerned.
"Could you stay with me until I fall asleep?" she said in a very small voice.
"Oh, uh, yea. Of course," he said and ended the call before going back up the stairs. He found Jamie curled very tightly into a ball, her eyes glinting in the moonlight coming through the blinds.
"Thank you," she said, her voice soft.
"No problem," he said. He tried to keep his wits about him, sliding next to her on top of the covers. She immediately rolled over, laying her head on his shoulder as his arm went around her. She snuggled in very close, and he let his arms fall around her in a comfortable embrace. It suddenly seemed very natural to kiss her on the top of the head, but he refrained, instead tucking her further into his shoulder with his cheek.
The next morning, the first thing the Sheriff did was check the living room. He had walked very slowly down the hall from his room, hoping to see Stiles on the couch, but not really expecting it. He loved his son, yes, but Stiles had a bit of a reputation as a rule breaker. He sighed in disappointment seeing the empty couch, the blanket and pillow not even on it. He tried to push any sort of parental anger down, trying to give Stiles the benefit of the doubt, but with every step he took upstairs, he got more and more irritated. He had given the kid one rule - one rule - and he couldn't even follow that. By the time he reached the door to Stiles' room, he was ready to rain down righteous parental fury but instead he paused at the door, his anger dissipating.
Jamie was curled up in the bed, alone. Her arm was draped over the side, her fingers loosely intertwined with Stiles' from where he slept on the floor. The Sheriff grinned. Maybe the kid had some game after all. He started to pull the door closed, but then decided that was too much trust. Instead he left it part way open, just in case. He then went downstairs to get started on his Saturday morning routine of sipping coffee on the porch.
"Claudia, we done good," he whispered as the coffee brewed.
Jamie's mom made it back that afternoon, all in a flurry of hugs and thank-you's and a few tears. Jamie assured her mother that she was just fine, it was just a happenstance. The Sheriff informed them that he'd keep a cruiser in their neighborhood for the next few nights, just to make sure. Mrs. Grant thanked him profusely, glad to have anything to keep her and her daughter safe.
"That's freaking crazy," Isaac said as the boys got ready in the locker room Monday afternoon. Stiles had been able to catch Scott up during the weekend, but Isaac and Allison were unable to be reached.
"Yea. But she's okay," Stiles said, strapping on his gloves.
"But all the research is gone?" Isaac asked.
"Yes, unfortunately all the research is gone," Stiles said, a little pissed that Isaac seemed to be more upset about the research than about Jamie.
"Well, that figures," Isaac said, heaving a sigh before getting up. "See you guys on the field," he said, leaving the locker room.
"We'll still get it figured out," Scott said, sureness in his voice.
"We always do," Stiles agreed, giving his best friend a smile.
Scott smiled back before the boys headed out, getting ready and warmed up for the game. Stiles didn't think he'd be fit to play in the lacrosse game that night, but to his surprise he was feeling pretty good. He had been able to sleep the night before, and his body didn't feel so exhausted. The November air was cool and crisp, his breath coming out in puffs as the team warmed up on the field. The game tonight wouldn't be that exciting - the team they were playing was brand new; half of the players had never played before. Nevertheless, his dad, Scott's mom, Lydia, Allison, and Jamie could all be found in the stands, ready to cheer the guys on. Stiles had been surprised to see Jamie there, but she said practice had ended early that day in anticipation of the team's game the next day. They were all bundled up against the cold, ready to watch some lacrosse.
"I'm not the only one who thinks this feels weird, right?" Isaac muttered as they headed back toward the benches while the captains had a pre-game meeting.
"What do you mean?" Scott asked.
"I dunno. Something just feels…off," Isaac replied.
"As much as I don't want to, I agree," Stiles added. "Maybe we should sit this one out."
"And let the universe win?" Scott asked with a grin.
"She usually does anyways," Isaac pointed out.
"Yea. But hey, it's probably just stress from this weekend. C'mon, let's just play a nice game of lacrosse," Scott said, giving them an encouraging look as Coach came over for his traditional speech.
The longer the game went on, the more Stiles felt like something was wrong. Coach subbed him out about ten minutes in, saying he was running around like a four year old girl playing pony and Stiles found himself too distracted to care about the insult. His eyes scanned the game and the crowd, trying to find whatever was making him feel this way. The Darkness was thrumming about, its dark fingers reaching out in an attempt to take a hold. As the game continued, he noticed two people seemed to be having some trouble - Isaac and Scott.
"Lahey! Get your sorry ass over here, you're done!" Coach yelled, pulling Isaac out of the game.
Stiles immediately stood up, pulling Isaac to the edge of the bench. His eyes were glowing gold, their light hidden from the floodlights on the field. "Dude, what's going on?" Stiles muttered, trying to keep him away from the rest of the team.
Isaac's breathing was heavy, his fists clenching. "Wolfsbane…" Isaac said, his voice a low growl.
"What?!" Stiles hissed.
"There's wolfsbane…in the air…" Isaac said.
Stiles could see his fangs poking out from between his lips. "Holy shit," he muttered, more to himself than anything. Isaac's breathing was growing heavier, until finally he exploded off the bench, sprinting towards the locker room. Stiles whirled around, looking for Scott. He was still standing, but if he looked closely, Stiles could see his red eyes glowing from beneath his helmet. He looked to the clock - there were still eight minutes to go. He panicked for a moment before coming up with a plan, running up to Coach Finnstock.
"Coach, you should probably pull Scott out now," Stiles said casually, standing next to him.
"And tell me, Stilinski, why I should do that?" Coach asked, his voice heavy with an annoyed tone.
"Uh, 'cause we're winning thirteen to three and you don't want your best player to get hurt?" Stiles pointed out.
Coach furrowed his eyebrows, looking Stiles dead in the eye. "Stilinski, sometimes you're smart," he said.
"Always with the tone of surprise," Stiles muttered as Coach called Scott off.
Scott jogged off the field, looking tired. Only Stiles knew better. "Wolfsbane," Scott said lowly, resting on the bench.
"Yea, that's what Isaac said," Stiles said, sitting next to him. "Listen, you gotta act cool, okay? 'Cause this is definitely not an accident."
"Yea, I know," Scott responded, trying to look casual as they sat.
"Is someone trying to poison you?" Stiles asked lowly.
"I don't think so. The dose doesn't seem high enough," Scott said.
"It seemed high enough to get Isaac," Stiles stated.
"I guess that's the perk of being an alpha," Scott said with a sarcastic laugh. He paused for a second, taking deep and purposeful breaths. "I think someone may be trying to out us."
"That's what I was afraid of," Stiles murmured, looking into the crowd. He didn't see any unfamiliar faces - nothing seemed amiss.
"I can last three more minutes," Scott said, referring to the game clock, which ticked down at the speed similar to molasses in the dead of winter.
Stiles' knee was bouncing a mile a minute as he continued to look through the faces in the bleachers, but he couldn't find one that didn't seem to belong. "Just hold out, buddy, you'll be okay," Stiles said, patting him on the back. He watched the clock as it winded down, three minutes seemingly lasting three lifetimes. As soon as the buzzer sounded, Stiles and Scott jumped off the bench, grabbing their stuff and heading towards the parking lot.
"What's going on? Where's Isaac?" Allison asked, catching up with them as they passed the bleachers. Jamie was right behind her.
"Everything alright?" she asked, jogging up next to Stiles. Scott, with all his might, was trying to walk normally away from the field without wolfing out.
"Someone let out some wolfsbane in the air," Stiles explained quietly. "Isaac couldn't handle it, we don't know where he went."
"We just gotta get out of here first," Scott said. The muscles in his jaw were clenching as he fought for control.
"Wolfsbane? Who the hell would make some sort of aerosol wolfsbane? And cut it loose?" Allison asked.
"Someone trying to find the wolves," Jamie murmured.
"Yep. I don't know who it is, but we sure as hell need to find out - and fast," Stiles said, patting Scott on the back as they reached the cars.
"Let's head to my house. Maybe my Dad knows something," Allison said. The others nodded, and Jamie hopped into the Jeep as they all exited the parking lot.
Just another thing to add to the pile, Stiles thought to himself.
Hey remember when I said shit was about to hit the fan? It's on its way up right now.
emele807: BWAHAHAHAHA SUCK IT
Shadow-wolf78: Look at how fast I'm updating! Hope you liked this chapter!
Exuberance of Youth: Misty was an absolute gem. I'm so glad you liked the kiss! I've been waiting sooooo long to write that scene haha. Marta and Nan are possibly my favorite minor characters in this story. And I'm also glad that you like Lydia's story as well! It's definitely a fun thing to write. Now another cliffhanger! Not huge, but juuuuust a little bit! Ah yay I'm glad you like my blog, tumblr amuses me so haha!
Please feel free to leave a review and let me know what you think! They give me life! Also, I'm still wanting to do a question video at the end of this story, so start thinking of things that you wonder about! You can leave them here or on tumblr, where you can find me under the username whindsor.
Love you all!
-XM