Til Forever Runs Out

by ScaliaFics94

PART II of Whenever You're Ready. Scott and Malia are in their junior year of college. They've never met, but they instantly feel like they know each other. They can't quite explain how, but the more they figure out about each other the more they want to find out why they know those things. AU/OOC. Smutty. Expect everything to be different.

21. I'm Not The One

Author's Note to help: Hey yall, so this is a key to reiterate who is who. For Summer and I it's fairly easy to distinguish between the two sets of characters for obvious reasons but I know I actually got confused reading earlier drafts on who was who so here is an explained refresher: E1 are my characters, E2 are Summer's (Etherealmindss "Smoke And Mirrors"). I didn't want to use E1/E2 for everything so when I wrote either and didn't specify which set I was referring to it's going to be the pack that goes along with the E1/E2 pov. So if it's E2 Malia's pov and I'm talking about Kira or Scott it's most likely E2 Kira or Scott unless said other wise or previously said it was E1. Idk if that makes sense but hopefully context clues will help and yall know the story lines for each character so use to deduce who is who if you're still confused. Also, let me know. I don't recommend telling me you're confused in the reviews, especially if you're a guest reviewer because I can't get back to you at all. You can message me on Tumblr at Scaliarunsmylifenowareyouhappy for any questions about that.

The song for this chapter is The Art of Sleeping - I'm Not The One

E1 SCOTT'S POV:

Hardly anything else filled the air but the sound of flesh hitting flesh as Stiles' fist repeatedly flew into Isaac's face.

A growl worked up my throat at the sight of him. He looked terrible. Blood caked onto his skin, a swollen eye, a broken nose, a busted lip, multiple cuts along his face and arms, and half patched up wounds that still reeked off fresh blood. His skin was a blend of cold sweat paleness, bruised blue, and sickly yellow. He didn't look quite alive.

Liam tried to stop Stiles but earned a punch to the jaw. He swiveled around, his hand pressed to his face.

Theo fought a smile, he began to say something.

"Shut up," Liam directed.

Kira shot Stiles a death stare that didn't do much damage considering he had one objective in mind. Make Isaac pay for what he did to Allison.

Allison pulled Stiles back, she was the only one to do the job because he would've rocked anyone else intervening.

"You piece of shit," I snatched him up with a rumbling growl. "You could've gotten her killed. You could've gotten Malia killed." I raised my fist in the air and prepared to bring it down on his already torn apart face.

There wasn't fear in his yellow eyes like there should've been. "She saved me," He muttered without energy.

My fist paused. "What?"

His eyes drifted shut.

"Isaac!" I roared, Alpha dominance behind it.

He looked at me, still without much to go off of. "Malia. Helped me escape."

Kira rushed forward. "Helped you escape how?"

His one unswollen eye barely made it to hers. "Deucalion gave her the kill order. She defied him. To save me."

Kira and I shared a half look of relief and fear.

"How'd you end up here?" I shook him when his eyes lowered again.

"She ran me out far enough to get a head start," He wheezed and coughed. "I tried to run then this portal opened up and a guy in a bloody mask grabbed me." His voice lowered. "She said for you to let her go." His eyes shut until he wasn't conscious anymore.

I caught him even though all I wanted to do was live him here to inevitably die. My mind went to Malia. How she had to be hanging on by a thread, that close to Deucalion and under his orders. How she went against him to help Isaac.

Did she really tell him to relay that dumbass message? What a bitch. My bitch. I wanted to strangle some sense into her but I'd also do the same in her position.

I looked down at Kira.

She shrugged. "I'll take him." She scooped him up in her arms.

The smell of heavy guilt rolled off of Liam.

I looked back at him.

He immediately looked down.

E2 Malia cleared her throat. "We have some medicine that should help him." She glanced at her Scott.

They ended up taking care of him, mostly because none of us wanted to.

Allison told them what he did to her. We told them Deucalion had him this whole time and that his leverage was Isaac's older brother. They then understood fully. Inevitably because Scott needed more convincing we had to tell them about Kylie, how Deucalion had got her pregnant, how she took her own life because she couldn't bare having his child, how Malia went with him to save her.

E2 Malia's eye grew heavy with unshed tears and I knew she wanted to ask why we hadn't brought her, but she remained quiet.

Scott put a hand on her back.

She folded into him while he hugged her.

Allison had to pull Stiles off to the side to calm him down, he was so ready to finish what he started.

I walked over to them.

Her hand rested on his forearm while he fumed.

"As much as I want him dead too we can't let you go down that path again,"

Allison and I looked at each other in worry.

He sighed. "It's just one kill. He deserves it. If it were Malia he'd done that to you'd want to do the same."

And I would, in fact, do the same but I didn't have a past with a darkness able to swallow me whole and land me in a mental institution if I killed Isaac. I'm sure I'd suffer a little guilt and PTSD from killing him but nothing on the scale of what could send Stiles down the rabbit hole again.

"You can't go there any more than you already have." I referred to when he pretty much annihilated half of Deucalion's crew when we went to go rescue Kylie. He'd done it with ease.

Allison raised her hand to his face. "He's right. I thought I almost lost you that night. No more killing, even if they deserve it." Her eyes stared into his with intensity. "Malia would feel like she's to blame if you go off the rails again. You don't want that do you?"

His head shook. His hand pressed into hers on his face, then grabbed it as they lowered. "No."

If neither of us could reach him on this I was glad Malia could.

The night dragged on, tensions were still high and everyone was still a lot in awe of the situation but there was nothing to be done as of now. So we split ways. Kira, Theo, and I stayed at E2 Theo's apartment on the couch while Allison and Stiles stayed with E2 Liam. E1 Liam went with Scott and Malia. Lydia went with E2 Kira and Lydia. Before we split I suggested reaching out to Peter for assistance. If this Peter was like our Peter he'd be a lot to handle but he'd still help out if it involved Malia's safety over all.

Rest didn't come easy that night. Maybe not for most of us. Maybe not for any of us.

My mind moved a thousand miles a minute, too worried about everyone and everything I couldn't relax.

As the Sun rose and the living room lightened so did my thoughts. Malia was so so strong that I knew she'd overcome Deucalion's tyranny and remain strong. She wasn't the giving up type. Even though she had given up on us. That didn't deter me because I knew that's what she wanted to say but not what she felt. I could feel her with me with every heartbeat.

Sooner or later the front door opened and in walked Malia. Well, E2 Malia. Her hair was a dead give away had I been confused, which I wasn't. I knew my Malia like the back of my hand.

I sat up on the couch.

She came up to me with cinder block feet. Her eyes just as heavy as her foot falls. Her hands rested in her lap. "What is she like?"

I knew she meant my Malia and I felt comfortable saying it because I knew what she whispered in my ear that morning I tried to go with her to face Deucalion.

"She's like you. Strong, intimidating, such a ball buster, but I like it." I found myself smiling. "I'm assuming you two have some connection?"

She gave a small smile. "I'm not sure what we have yet. It's there, obviously. I just don't know what we're supposed to be." Her eyes so brown and familiar read mine. "What's your connection?"

"Music. We shared music in our other life." I thought about what we shared mentally and wondered if it would work with these other versions of ourselves.

My hand ventured to hers cautiously. "Can I try something?"

She nodded. "Yes," She said knowing I needed the verbal confirmation.

I hummed "Close Your Eyes" by Rhodes in hopes that it would trigger something that could travel across Earth's between us.

Her mind hunted for the proper memories that I worried wouldn't transcend through the multiverse. When her body grew rigid I knew that she had found the proper channel to access our love.

"Was it that bad?" I asked after I finished my mini performance for her.

She shook her head slightly, then tucked her hair behind her ear. "It's not that," She gestured to the guitar. "You were perfect."

There was a moment between us that we both recognized how intimate this had gotten without meaning to be.

"Thanks." I placed the instrument between us. "You know, I come out here a lot now. To think mostly. Or just to stare. The quiet helps with the not knowing, you know."

"Yeah,"

I glanced at her. "You want to tell me something." I straightened up. "What is it?"

"How can you tell?"

I shrugged. "I'm the Alpha, I just know things and feel things about you guys. Besides, I know you, Malia."

Her hand went to her forehead as she prepared herself to tell me whatever it was she had to tell me. "I go back to my cave sometimes."

My eyes widened. "Why?"

"Because I miss it," She said it like it was obvious. "Don't get me wrong, I'm grateful for you and Stiles. For the whole pack, but that was my home for years and years. And you took that from me without my consent."

I never viewed our turning her back to human like that, but I should've. I should've tried to understand her point of view more and accommodated her.

Her other hand came to my arm. "I wouldn't want to go back now that I've felt human things, now that I know what it's like to feel something other than hunger and loneliness, but I do miss the solitude. I miss having the space to breath and think." Her eyes softened. "And the only other time I have that feeling is when I'm with you."

Like a total sucker, my heart stalled in my chest at her confession. I knew that she didn't know the effect her words had on me, but even if she did we wouldn't talk about it.

"Because I'm the Alpha," I agreed to clear the awkward air only I felt.

"No," She looked out to the starry night. "Because you're Scott." Her hand left my arm.

A warmness filled my chest as we sat under the stars.

"You know, I didn't think it was possible to feel this way about a girl before," I started. "I've never had this friendship before." I cracked a grin. "I like it."

"Yeah?" Her brow arched. "Am I your best friend, McCall?"

I playfully scoffed. "Don't push it."

A laugh bubbled from her. "Way to hurt a girl's feelings."

I wiped away the amusement from my face and said, "You're more than a best friend, Lia. You're pack."

She seemed satisfied with that. "Pack." She sunk down on the bench, her eyes closed. "Do you ever think about what your life would be like if Peter hadn't bitten you?"

My head nodded. "All the time, but when I feel deprived of a normal human life I remind myself of all the good we've done, of all the lives we've saved, and of all the family I've made. If he had gone past Stiles and me in the woods that night I never would be the leader I am now. I never would've met Deucalion or Kira or..." I mentally grabbed for someone else important.

"Me?"

I gazed at her. "Or you." I looked back out at the sky. "So I try not to dwell on the what ifs. It only wastes time and makes me angry."

"Why angry?"

"Because I think about what if I were human and Allison and I would've worked out. Maybe she wouldn't have died."

She was quiet for long enough for me to assume she wouldn't say anything on it, so it surprised me when she moved the guitar out of the way to sit right next to me. "Scott, you don't know that things would've played out differently. You can't blame yourself for her death forever."

I shook my head. "I don't anymore, but I still wonder."

Her hand grabbed mine. "I've been wanting to say this to you all semester, but I couldn't find the courage to say it. I'm gonna say it now because you need to hear it." Her brown eyes burned into mine. "You deserve to be happy, Scott. I know that Allison dying felt like the end of the world and Kira leaving was really hard, but you gotta get back out there. There's someone waiting for their Scott McCall. Maybe they've been through the same things you've been through or maybe they haven't. Maybe they know about the supernatural or maybe they don't. Either way, you need to allow yourself to feel that again."

That's what I worried about.

"Why are you saying all of this to me?" I asked quietly.

"Because I want to see you with a smile on your face more and not worried about all of us or Beacon Hills." She stared back at me with concerned eyes. "So just be happy already so I can stop worrying about you."

I put on a smile. "You're worried about me, that's cute." I teased lightly.

Her eyes rolled. "Don't do that. I just owe you a lot and want to make sure you're okay."

My forehead creased. "You don't owe me anything, Malia."

"No, I do. I owe you a lot for turning me back, for helping me with school, for not giving up on me when Stiles and I ended things. For being there for me."

A sigh left me. "Well, I'm doing okay. I'm happy, I promise."

"I don't believe you." She chuckled. "What exactly is keeping a smile on your face?"

I gazed into her eyes. "You for one."

She stilled, then narrowed her eyes. "Me?"

I nodded with a grin. "Duh."

There was a question in her eyes that begged me to clarify. I let her see what I wanted her to see, what I've wanted her to see for some time now. Yet, she didn't look freaked out.

Completely out of character, I leaned the distance down so that my face hovered hers. When she didn't move away my lips found hers testingly. I didn't expect her to kiss me back, but that didn't stop my hand from moving to cup her face as I deepened the kiss. The fact that she allowed me to deepen the kiss hadn't escaped me but when my tongue met hers and she moaned surprise filled me. Before I ruined a good thing, I pulled away.

Her closed eyes slowly opened to gaze at me wordlessly.

We stared at each other low-lidded and breathless.

"I've been waiting a while to do that."

She stared at me with wide and confused eyes, until she shook her head.

Before she could break my heart, I stood to my feet. "I'm going to sleep on the couch. It's late, you can stay in my room if want." I cleared my throat. "Night, Lia."

She stared at me with that same unsure look. "Night." Her voice barely above a whisper.

A pain struck my head but I didn't let go of her hands.

Dear Scott,

This is perhaps the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I don't know where to start. So I guess I'll start off by saying thank you once last time. If it wasn't for you I wouldn't have lived. If it wasn't for you I never would've tasted dill pickle kettle chips. If it wasn't for you I never would've known love. I know that I said a lot of hurtful things to you, but there were all lies. I don't blame you, Scott. I never blamed you. All I wanted to do was protect the people I care about the most, the person that I care about the most. You never wanted me to change who I was. You saw me as your equal. For that, I can't thank you enough. And I hope you think of me in a positive light in the future. I never meant to hurt you, Scott. I wish I had more time. I wish we had more time. I wish I could tell you everything that you make me feel, everything I wanted with you, and everything I would give up to be with you. But I'm gone now so you have to forget everything that we had and move on. I know that this will be hard for you, but you have to let me go. You have to accept that we were never meant to be. And it's okay because I got a taste of what it was like to experience your love. It was amazing. It opened things up in me that I didn't know were there. My music! I started playing music seriously because of you. I wrote a few songs. I wrote you one, wrote us one. If you'd like to hear it, it's on my laptop. The password is Scott1. I know, it's a little obsessive, but what can a girl do when she's in love? And I am. I'm in love with you, Scott. I have been for a while, even if I didn't want to admit it to myself. In case you doubt it, I know you love me too. I wish I had the courage to say this to your face, but I can't bear it. You will always be my Alpha. That will never change. I believe in you. All I ask is for you to go off, get away from Beacon Hills, and do whatever the hell you want. If you happen to find love along the way then know that I'll be so happy for you. Your happiness is all I've ever wanted from the beginning. You remember that night on your porch before you kissed me? I told you that some girl was looking for their Scott McCall. Well, here I am. Or was. I wasn't the first and I won't be the last. Take care of yourself. So just close your eyes.

I love you so much

Malia

Wait, hold on a minute. What did she mean by we could never be together and one day she hoped I saw her in a good light? Where the hell did she go? I supposed that was our separation after high school. We remembered enough to know that we spent a few years apart.

E2 Malia fell back with a gasp. Her eyes hit mine with concern, questions, and fascination. Then worry.

A wetness trickled out of my nose. The back of my hand dabbed at it only to discover black blood on the skin.

She leaned forward, her thumb wiped it away in a path of light fire above my mouth. "That can't be good." Her hand rested on my cheek while her eyes lowered to mine. The inner workings of her mind showed through her eyes, the memories on full display as she stared at me like it was the two of us in those memories. The weight of their feelings flowed between us.

Been there, done that.

I could see inside her that she wanted that just as badly as I did. I could see that she wanted her lips to be on mine for a few moments to test how different it would feel with the intensity of our memories between us. I could see her mouth while it moved toward mine.

The heat of her breath tickled my lips and even though it wouldn't technically be cheating no part of me felt right about this even though I wanted to press mine into hers. She was Malia, but she wasn't My Malia. Her hair was different. The light in her eyes was different. Her walk was different. Her heart was different. She was different. Her different fit with Her Scott. Even if they hadn't figured out what they felt for each other yet they knew they had spoken feelings and with the knowledge of their other selves that they were shaped for each other. That didn't mean they had to end up together in this world but I couldn't ever see Malia and I being just friends on any universe so why start with them.

My hands went to her shoulders to stop her, my mouth hovered an inch away from hers.
"We can't," I told her, even though twenty-five percent of me still wanted to.

She slid her eyes to mine. With a shake of her head, she said, "I'm sorry," She put some distance between us. "I don't know what I was thinking. You've got her and I've got..." She trailed off. She huffed. "How are you separating these feelings from what you feel for your current Malia?"

"You don't. You tell yourself that there's no way you can be with that other person and the one in front of you is the best version there is, the only one that truly matters. They're the one that's going to love you like you want to be loved. Whether you see it now or not."

Her head tilted back in thought.

My arms went to my knees. "He loves you in his own way if that's what you're worried about."

Her sandy blonde locks rustled back. She made a noise in her throat of half ass acceptance. "We're not quite there yet. Or anywhere." She sighed, her eyes met mine. "I don't know where we are."

"Maybe not," I shrugged. "But I do know that if he knew what we were about to do he'd try to rip me apart because he wants you, cares about you, and wants to protect you even though you don't need protecting."

"Maybe I do." She ventured. "Maybe I don't know what's best for myself anymore. Maybe my decisions are getting my friends kidnapped, raped, and tortured." Her eyes grew stony. "Maybe someone with more experience should make the decisions from now on."

My forehead crinkled. "You want to become one pack? You'd follow him and let him be your Alpha?"

Her hands opened. "Why not? What could I possibly have to lose? We all trust Scott. He's not perfect but he's transparent. If there's a Big Bad to be stopped he'll take him down. Or her down. It's 2017. Gender equality and all that."

Her phone buzzed.

She looked down at it in almost confusion. "Uh, I've got to go. I'll see you tomorrow." She stood.

I rose with her.

We approached each other for what should've been a nice embrace but in reality, we danced around each other to finally deliver an awkward hug that melted nicely into a soft hold. Had circumstances been different in any way, this could've been the Malia I was "destined" to be with. She could've been the one that I had to tell face to face that I was in love with and not even her stubbornness would deter me from doing so. Even if I had to drug her myself to do so.

E2 MALIA'S POV:

I met up with Isaac in the middle of campus. His text had me worried. I didn't know much about the mop headed werewolf but I knew he was loyal enough to Scott to not question and he cared about Allison. That made him an okay guy in my book.

He bounced on his feet nervously when I approached.

"What's wrong?"

He stalled at the sound of my voice. He looked at me with heavy blue eyes. "What's wrong? What's wrong?" His voice rose as he neared me. "Look around you, Malia. Are you not seeing what I'm seeing? We're being attacked at all angles."

I thought I was on board, but I wanted clarification.

My hand rose in the air. "By the Black Market Kidnappers? The BMK?"

Oddly it had a good ring to it.

He leaned down to share his intensity. "Not just them, but these other versions of ourselves." He looked around us in caution. "What do we really know about them? What if they're working for the BMK?"

"Why in the world would they do that?"

"Because they brokered a deal that we'd be taken and not them." He suggested but he sounded sure of himself. "Think about it," His hands went to my shoulder. "When did they show?"

I sighed. "Isaac, I know we're all on edge not knowing which of us could be next but you need to calm the fuck down." My eyes searched his. "The only reason we got Lydia and Cora back was because of them."

His head shook as he backed away. "Or maybe that's what they want us to think. I'm telling you, I get fishy vibes from them. Not all but a few."

My brow rose. "Who?"

"Their Theo."

Protectiveness for any Theo flared up in me.

I stalked toward him. "You listen to me, you don't need to worry about what they've got going on in their world. For the time being, they're here to help us stop the BMK, then when they need our help we'll do what we can. I know seeing their Isaac messed up like that has you rattled, but that was on their end, not ours."

"How can you be so sure of any of this?"

A huff left me when I started for the mailroom.

He followed. "Like their Malia is working with their Deucalion willingly so how much could they really need our help?"

I shot him a look. "You heard the same story I did. She had no other choice. She did what I would've done if it meant protecting you all, even your paranoid, delusional ass."

We walked down the stairs and crossed the distance to get to the United Commons, then we were in the mailroom.

He blew out a ragged breath. "Maybe you're right. Maybe what I overheard both Allison's talking about through me over the edge."

The back of my hand stopped against his chest as I turned to him. "What are you talking about?"

He looked at me with fear and abundant nerves, then he pulled me off the alcove we were headed to anyway. "I overheard E1 Allison tell our Allison that she knows she's going to die last night."

I'm sure confusion was written across my face in bold letters.

"She's going to die, that's what she said," He whispered animatedly. "She said she died in their other life and became an Angel. So where does that leave us? Where does that leave me?"

My hands went to his arms. "First off, calm down and breathe. Are you sure you weren't dreaming or something?"

He gave me a look of 'bitch, I'm about to slap you'. "No, I wasn't dreaming! She's going to die!"

"Shhh!" I nervously glanced around us. "We don't know anything for sure. If today has taught us anything is that we don't know anything for sure. So you sit on this and don't open your mouth about it to anyone."

He moved forward. "But-"

"But nothing," I pushed him back. "What they get themselves into is none of our business outside of helping them. If we intervene with their Allison dying what do you think will happen to our Allison?"

He stared at me not able to form words in his doubt.

"Exactly," I went to my P.O Box and turned my combination in. "We don't know. So if you keep your scarf loving trap shut we won't have to test that theory out." I opened my box to find nothing in there. I took E1 Scott's advice to ask for Peter's help and he sounded on board over the phone. The odds of something being in there this early were slim to none, he'd have to overnight it and it'd get here this evening at best.

I slammed it shut and turned to him. "We got a deal?"

He nodded.

"Good,"

We headed for the exit.

"Maybe go get some sleep. You look like shit, Scarf Boy." My mind tugged at distant memories but it was gone before I could comprehend what it meant or what it was.

He nodded, but I could tell he was still losing his mind.

E2 STILES' POV:

"Stiles," The voice of the Nogitsune rang in my head.

My body jarred awake An immediate yawn left me but was cut short from the warmth of a body against mine. A female body.

My eyes went down a sleeping Cora curled up beside me, then they went to six and three-quarters of an inch sized tent in the sheets. I silently cursed.

How could this happen? I mean, I knew how this could happen but I hated that it happened next to Cora of all people. We hadn't known each other long before she left Beacon Hills those years ago but I knew her enough to know I liked her as a person when she wasn't hurting Lydia or making stupid decisions like attacking one of the twins.

I carefully lifted the sheet as to not wake her. I slid one leg out of the bed and onto the floor and worked on the next one, but my foot got caught between the twisted sheet and duvet that I toppled onto the floor. Loudly. And with a groan.

The bed shifted with the noise of her awakening.

The very last thing I wanted her to witness was an erection from a guy she seemingly trusted enough to sleep with in the same bed after being held captive, raped, and tortured for who knew how long. If she saw this monstrosity in my boxers she'd run for the hills and I didn't want that. We just got her back.

"Stiles?" She rolled over to my side of the bed so she could check on me. She peeked over.

My hands instantly went to my boxers.

"What are you doing on the floor?"

My lips pursed. "Uh...I'm doing my morning stretches." I flipped onto my stomach with a groan as my hard on rubbed against the carpet while my arms and legs reached out. I readied myself to do a few push-ups but my arms quaked after three. I tried to think of things that would make it go down.

Cockroaches. Dead puppies. Grandmas. Raisins. Coach. Malia.

Nope, that last one made it worst.

I internally groaned because I was afraid of this happening. My seemingly minor attraction to Malia had unknowingly bloomed into a tiny crush. I was a fool because I knew nothing could or would ever happen between us for multiple reasons. But she had a lot of the same qualities I admired in Lydia, which was probably what prompted the crush. Maybe if Lydia saw me interested in someone other than her she'd see what she had in front of her. And she did, only it was Kira and not me she saw.

"Stiles,"

I dared a peek back at her.

Her dark brow shot up onto her face. "What are you doing?" Her voice thick with sleep.

"I'm on my way to class," I rushed to my dresser and stepped to pants, any pants, then shoved my feet into my chucks. "You can stay as long as you like. I'll see you later." I made a mad dash for the door and shut it behind me before she could finish her sentence.

Crisis averted for the moment but there was still a crisis in my pants. If I didn't do something about it soon my balls would burst. So I made my way to a communal bathroom near my first class. I knew my bulge wasn't obvious to everyone but it sure felt like it.

Why couldn't I be more like Scott? He wasn't pushy, but he was vocal enough about what he wanted that Malia wanted it too. Girls flocked to him because he was nice enough but up front about his intentions. They didn't want to be friends with him, they just wanted to fuck.

Maybe if I gave off that attitude I'd get more girls' attention. Like Lydia's.

Speaking of the strawberry blonde Banshee, she walked side by side with the Japanese and Korean vixen.

They chatted like nothing had changed between all of us like Lydia had never been gone, like she never entertained the thought of us as anything else. And I supposed she didn't. I wasn't good enough for her. I knew she wouldn't agree with that but how else was I supposed to feel when my best friend who was looking for love bypassed me completely because I wasn't up to her standards.

Even from the other side of campus, she could feel my stare, which prompted her to look my way. Her effortless smile fell away from Kira's doings as soon as she saw me. Like I was the trigger that brought back her bad experiences. Because I had a penis? Was that it?

I should've just gone over to them to get an answer but I was too much of a coward. E1 Stiles would've had no problem doing just that. In fact, he would've gotten the girl because his Lydia had the unrequited feelings between the two of them, he was too wrapped up into Allison to see. I couldn't express how weird that was to witness.

"Stiles," The dark, thousand-year-old voice crept over my skin and ran a chill down my back.

My eyes squeezed shut until it went away and I headed back to my dorm. Who thought being a college freshman would be this stressful already?

E2 LYDIA'S POV:

Kira and I walked down the campus on our way to the dining hall for a bite to eat. She'd been great since last night. I still think we were moving too fast and we needed to slow down. I wasn't in a position to be with anyone, even Kira right this moment. Maybe after things were back to "normal", our normal. I was definitely interested in her and her in me. It was weird to see E1 Kira and Lydia not have that same attraction and intrigue we had between us, but then again it was a result of them becoming "sisters" from a young age. That didn't stop E1 Kira from having feelings for her Malia, she didn't need to be present for me to see how Kira felt about her.

What was even stranger was seeing how Lydia stared after Stiles when he wasn't looking, when he was gazing at Allison, when he was just breathing. I couldn't express how trippy it was to see our situations reversed.

That was part of the problem with Stiles. I knew he wouldn't hurt me, I knew he would be initial in my healing process, but I wasn't ready to start hurting him again. Because I knew that look Lydia had when she looked at her Stiles, it was the same look my Stiles had when he looked at me. Seeing both felt like a sledgehammer banged into my chest and knocked the wind out of me.

If I said seeing Stiles with someone else didn't hurt I'd be a liar. It did hurt. Not just because it was Allison, my sister, but because I couldn't remember a time when Stiles wasn't by my side, making sure I was okay, and tending to my needs. For a long time I took advantage of that relationship and maybe I still did, but if seeing the situation reversed taught me anything it was that Stiles and I needed distance. Did I want to give him that? Not really. I missed him.

"Then that's when I fell flat on my face and knew for a fact that I didn't like men the same way the other girls did."

My body felt heavier than normal with a slight flush. I looked up and over to see him walking across campus in the opposite direction, his golden whiskey eyes cut through me from the distance.

Looking at him from across the way I could acknowledge that he was attractive and had plenty of great qualities that I loved. That wasn't the scare. The scare was he still had me up on a pedestal and actually being together wouldn't be nearly as amazing as he fantasized about over the years along with the worry that we wouldn't fit romantically. He thought it had never crossed my mind but it was something I thought about quite often. Reason after reason popped up why we wouldn't work. If I went against my instinct to shrink away near men, even the ones I trusted, then what message would that send him? That our love overcame my abuse and he was the only man that I could relax around? That would only confused him more. If we were ever going to take our friendship to the next level we both had to be happy with other people.

And I could think of one person in particular that held a flame for him a while back that he was too blind to see. The hole in my chest from our separation lessened at the prospect of him being happy someday soon.

We grew further apart further we walked in different directions, our gazes separated in response to the distance.

Kira turned quiet, probably not a fool to the unspoken scene that played out before her.

I didn't know what to say to her about it so I didn't say anything, but I could sense her uncomfortableness.

We arrived at the dining hall.

She held the door open for me, a gesture of inquiry with the way her almond shaped eyes gazed at me.

I passed through with a budding grin on my face, my eyes softened while they connected with hers.

Her brow arched in a way that stirred something below my panty line.

A blush hit my face and quickly spread due to her heated eyes. "Thank you," I muttered.

She closed the door behind her and caught up to me. She looked forward. "You can thank me later." She smirked.

A laugh hit me as we neared the lip of the dining hall entrance.

She joined in.

Like that my morning was back to being laughs and butterflies in the stomach.

E2 STILES' POV:

Screw classes. I was going to play hooky today. It wasn't like I hadn't done it before in high school, I just didn't think my track record would be this consistent this early on in the semester.

I climbed the stairs, wanting to stomp through some closed in frustrations instead of taking the elevator. When I got back to my room I pulled my shirt off over my head and headed for the shower as I unzipped my jeans. I kicked off my chucks.

The bathroom door opened just when I went for the knob.

I was greeted by a wet and towel wrapped Cora.

We stared at each other with wide eyes.

She pulled her towel up a bit more. "What are you doing back so soon? I thought you had class."

I was distracted by the very hot, very naked, and very wet girl in front of me to speak.

She stepped forward in a way that my made my mind tug and think of Malia. "Stiles?"

My head shook. "Sorry," I turned around and covered my eyes. "I-Sorry."

She passed by me. "You don't have to cover your eyes. It's not a crime to look."

I turned toward the bathroom this time and propped my hands on my hips. "No, but it is respectful not to." My throat cleared. "Especially, given your circumstances in the past..." I shut up with the tension in the room. Who was I kidding? When I was nervous I couldn't shut up, so I said, "About this morning, I'm a weird guy in the mornings. Weirder, I should say."

"Stiles, I know you had an erection this morning, I'm not mad. You're a guy after all. That is what happens in the morning and I was sleeping pretty close to you. I'd be offended if you hadn't gotten hard."

My forehead creased. "Wait, so to be clear you're not mad at me?" I kept my focus on the small bathroom of a college dorm.

"Not even a little bit." She rummaged through my drawers for a proper shirt. "Should I be mad at you for having perfectly normal bodily functions?"

Was that a trick question?

She headed toward me when she found a shirt. Her dark, wet hair brushed back. "I never thought this would be the case," She muttered.

My eyes went down to her brown eyes. "That what would happen?" I trained my eyes to her face because I could tell she wasn't wearing any pants. Maybe not even panties.

"That I'm making you nervous."

I didn't know what that meant. I went to get her some pants.

"Why don't you tell me what happened with Lydia?" She grabbed the spare toothbrush in my shower caddy.

I tossed her a pair of skinny jeans I could never muster up the courage to wear. "Nothing happened."

She shot me a knowing look. "You reek of heartache and fear so let's have it." She ran a line of toothpaste along the brush.

My hip leaned against the doorframe as I explained to her what happened this morning. I guess I didn't realize how much I needed someone there to listen to me because they cared. I knew everyone cared, but we all had our own things going on. Scott had more than enough to deal with Malia and their epic trans-universe love story that affirmed their feelings for each other. Asking him to give up five minutes of his time to listen to my problems seemed unreasonable.

"I'm hungry." Cora looked to me after she finished her towel drying her hair and put it up into a chaotic bun.

My thumb gestured over my shoulder. "I've got some Cheez-its under my bed."

Her lip curled into a snarl before she growled at me.

I leaned back.

Feminine prowess and power glowed in her eyes.

"Sounds like you don't like Cheez-its so I'll retract my offer."

She moved for me.

I backed up.

Her brown eyes turned soft when her mouth turned from a scowl into a laugh. "Nah, I'm fucking with you. White cheddar?"

"Of course." I couldn't help but laugh. Because I really needed a laugh and I was about ready to piss my pants a second ago.

She grinned at me. "Don't just stand there," She bypassed me. "I'm way behind on my shows and I could eat my weight in junk food. Twice." She flopped down on my bed and reached underneath for the bin of snacks I kept hidden from my roommate, Jerry. He had hardly been here lately but I still felt the need to keep them to myself in case I got late night munchies. Not that I smoked.

Hell, I should start.

I grabbed my laptop, then joined her on the bed. "Alright, I don't know how long you've been gone but we're about to experience is called Netflix & Chill."

Her eyes rolled. "I haven't been gone that long," Her tone slightly entertained.

We set the bin between us as well, our backs against the headboard. We looked at each other.

"What do you want to watch?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know. What's good?"

"The OA. I don't know if it'll trigger anything, but I think you might like it. I know I definitely cried at the end."

"Yeah?" She started in on the crackers.

I nodded. "What do you say? Want to give it a try?"

She nodded, her mouth full of salty goodness while she unwrapped a ding dong.

The show started and shortly after I could tell her attention was invested. By the end of the episode, I could tell she was emotionally where I was when I was in her place.

She looked at me with chocolate and white filling crusted around her mouth. "Another one."

I played the next episode with a knowing smile on my face. We were in for the emotional roller coaster that was The OA. One could simply not talk about it too much without giving it away and it was too ethereal and amazing to not experience it for yourself.

By the third episode, I noticed she had dozed off to sleep, which I was totally content with because my eyes felt heavy too.

I stopped the episode we were on. My eyes went to her sleeping self. Even if it was only Cora, I had to take a moment to appreciate that in the midst of my Lydia drama someone else that had gone through the same things that were prolonged felt comfortable in my presence. Maybe it wasn't me that she felt comfortable around but I needed to think that to feel better about myself.

Easily, I drifted off into much-needed sleep.

E2 SCOTT'S POV:

"He what?" I demanded as we left our dorm room.

I woke to an empty room this morning. Worried something happened to her I prepared to go out looking but she strolled back in and assured me she went to visit E1 Scott for a talk because she couldn't stop thinking about it. Frankly, neither could I. I was shocked I actually got any sleep during the night.

She trekked ahead of me when I locked the door, she pressed the button for the elevator. She fooled with her almost blonde hair. It seemed it was growing lighter by the day. Or maybe she was growing darker.

"Calm down, It wasn't a big deal."

I went after her. "If the situation had been reversed would it have been a big deal then?"

The air was broken with a ding and a moment later the doors opened.

We stepped inside, the normally big enough space seemed smaller, more compact. More intimate with just the two of us.

She pressed her head into her palm with a sigh. "My brain hurts. I didn't do it to hurt you, Scott. It just happened."

I neared her, my front tapped into her body heat as I stood directly behind her. "Did you kiss him?"

She stilled, then answered several seconds later. "No."

A low growl settled in my throat. My hands went to her hair and yanked hard enough to let her know my sentiment, but not hard enough to actually hurt her. I loosely braided her hair, then wrapped my hand around it.

Her soft moans filled the elevator. She was into it.

I brought her head back enough that I could whisper in her ear. My other hand slid to her neck and stroked it softly. I ground my semi hard cock into her tight ass.

"Don't do it again," I whispered into her ear, the same words she told me when I cheated with Fiona. "Do you understand me?"

She nodded.

My hand wrapped around her throat tight enough so that I knew she liked it. I ground my hips into her. "What was that?"

"Yes," She moaned.

I had half a mind to stop the elevator and slid my hand down into her shorts because I knew she was wet for me. Only me. Not him.

Her arousal hit my nose. My eyes glowed red. My hand around her throat went to her hip. I had no choice but to slam the magic button to halt us in between floors with my other hand.

She practically melted into me with the knowledge at her impending orgasm.

I squeezed one of her tits under her shirt, loving the feel of her soft, supple mound against my rough hand.

"Mhmm," She moaned. Her hand guided my other down to her shorts. She stilled when my fingers parted her pussy lips, dipped into her wetness, and spread it over her hard clit. "Fuck," Her hand stayed on top of mine.

My thumb took over rubbing her clit while my next two fingers shoved into her slick warmth. Her scent filled the air. My other hand pulled on her nipple and twisted. I couldn't help but groan into her ear. My cock longed to be where my fingers where but we weren't there yet. Plus, I didn't want our first time to be in an elevator that smelled like canned cheese.

"Scott," She tilted her head back to rest on my shoulder. Her eyes glared blue.

"I've wanted to do this to you the moment I laid eyes on you." I breathed into her ear while I sped up my fingers in her. "And when you walk around our room in your underwear or those cotton shorts." I twisted her nipple to get a reaction out of her.

Her legs grew weak. "Shit," She groaned.

I pressed her into me more. "Ah ah ah, stand up like a good girl."

She stood up on wobbly legs.

My mouth hovered along her her neck and shoulder without ever touching the skin. "And when you fucked yourself with that dildo while calling out my name..." I shoved a third finger in her which made her cry out loudly. "That was so hot, I wanted to fuck you so hard, make you cum for the rest of the day with my fingers." I sped up. "With my mouth," My thumb sped up on her clit. "With my cock." I curved my fingers against her g-spot.

"Oh God. Uhhh," Her walls tightened around my fingers.

My hand released her nipple to smack her tit. I wrapped that hand around her braid and pulled. "Because I didn't do that I have you flirting with E1 Scott and sharing memories. I know you want to fuck him because you want to fuck me. Isn't that right?" I tightened my grip on her hair.

Her legs dipped.

I pushed us against the elevator wall, then went back to my duties as a man. "Isn't that right?" Alpha authority echoed in my voice.

"Yes!" Her walls became even tighter.

I sniffed the air and groaned. "Do you want to cum on my fingers, Lia?"

Her whole body shook. "Ahh yes! Yes!"

My hand went back to her neck to tighten my grip. My fingers slammed into her harder so she could ride out the orgasm moments away. I tilted her head back to lower my mouth onto hers. My teeth caught her bottom lip and tugged. Seconds later my hand was even more soaked from her cum.

"Scott, yes! Fuck me! Uhhh Scott!" Her legs were complete jello now.

"Remember that the next time you want to flirt with him to make me jealous."

She chuckled as she caught her breath.

I slid my fingers out of her, tasted one, and groaned. "You taste so fucking good, Lia."

"I can't wait to say the same,"

My hand went to her mouth and without having to tell her she knew what to do.

After she sucked my fingers clean and she could stand on her own again I started the elevator back up and we were on our way to the dining hall.

We walked amongst the unsuspecting humans with our secret. They didn't know how good they had because of people like us. If we so chose to stop being the good guys then what would happen to them? I didn't want to think like that but I was tired. We all were tired.

Malia's eyes looked up at me in desire, admiration, and something heavier I was sure if we were supposed to be feeling yet. Which led me back to my original question, what did he show her?

If this whole experience had taught me anything it was that I didn't have to be afraid of what I was feeling for her even though we were roommates right now and I didn't want to lose her to anyone. Not even another version of me. He wasn't good enough for her.

My hand itched to hold hers but I wasn't sure if that's what she wanted. Was she a hand holding kind of girl?

"Do you think we're in control of ourselves?" She voiced, her voice uncertain in a way it hadn't been moments ago.

"Huh?"

Her eyes rolled. "Like do you think we're in control of our own emotions? I'm not saying that I doubt my feelings for you but I keep thinking about what Scott showed me. And I can't help but wonder if we have a say in this?"

"What are you saying?" I stopped mid stride.

She turned to face me, a question of guilt and honesty in her eyes. "That maybe it's a good idea for me to move into Theo's apartment for a bit."

I stepped toward her. "For what exactly?"

She glanced around then lowered her voice. "We don't exactly have clear parameters for our whatever it is we have. Us living together while trying not to mess up our roommate situation but also wanting more is a little confusing and could easily be fixed with my moving out. We need an ounce of space so we know what we want. Am I wrong?"

"Yeah," I stared at her.

Her hands went to her hips. "Well, you come up with a way to fix our problems."

My eyes narrowed. "We don't have problems."

"Yes, we do." She insisted.

I tried to remain calm but my voice bubbled with irritation and worry that we were having an unnecessary fight. "No, we don't."

Out of nowhere, she shoved me back forcefully. "You have sex with Fiona because you didn't want to get involved with me," Her voice now filled with the same fire that danced behind her angry eyes.

I righted myself. "I thought you were over that. We talked about it..."

"How can you actually think I'm okay with that? I tried to be okay with it, to grasp that you had the right to do it because we weren't together but if it were me that slept with some other guy you wouldn't be okay with it overnight so you can't ask me to be. I'm not." Her hands balled in the air. "I'm not okay with it because I don't want you sleeping with other girls or kissing them or making them cum while screaming your name. I know we don't know as much as we should about each other but I want to be the one that does that." She let out a weighted breath as if her stress had left and made a round trip back.

The guilt that never actually went away with our initial talk poked at me. I wanted to be firm in my belief that what I had done wasn't actually wrong but she was right. Had she done the same I would've felt some type of way about it. Had she kissed some guy in front of me I don't know what I'd do but I could guarantee it wouldn't be pretty. So maybe I should be okay with her wanting the time and space she craved to give the idea of us some serious thought.

Our eyes locked.

"What do you want me to do?"

She sighed. "I'm going to move into Theo's. We can go on like the move isn't a big deal or we can accept it for what it is and take one day at a time." She could see that I wasn't a fan of this but that I wanted her to be comfortable about us. She reached out for my hand.

My hand squeezed hers.

"I want us to work, Scott. I do, but sometimes people aren't where they need to be to work just yet."

Regardless of that, I pulled her to me for a tight embrace knowing that she'd hug me back with the same vigor. "I'm sorry," I said into her hair. What I really meant was I'm an idiot and I know we'll make it work whenever you're ready.

Her hands came together behind my back as she tightened her grip. "I know." What she really meant was she knew it didn't mean anything and she knew we'd eventually get there.

Wasn't that all that mattered?

Still, in my arms, she looked up at me. "If you really want to know what I saw I'm sure Scott could show you, too. It'll get a little blurry after but at least then you'd know where I am."

I really had to see what she saw now, I wanted to know just how powerful it was.

We continued on to the mailroom.

She veered off to go to the bathroom a few moments before I caught sight of Stiles.

He headed over.

The moment he neared I got a bad vibe.

"Are you okay?"

His eyes darted around the room but struggled to remain calm. "Where's Malia?"

I reached out to touch his shoulder but he moved out of reach. "Stiles, what's going on?"

He fanned his flannel against him. His usually pale skin held a greenish tint. "Just a little under the weather."

"Is it Lydia stuff?"

He looked at me and stilled. "Yeah, Lydia stuff. What else is new?"

I relaxed. "You know she'll come around one of these days. And if not then you'll find someone equally if not more amazing that sees what a catch you are."

He nodded. "Sure, yeah."

My eyes narrowed. "You sure you're okay?"

Malia exited the bathroom just then.

He answered with a pointed stare.

"Hey," She greeted. "You're looking a bit crackheadish today." She nodded. "It's working for you."

He gave her the finger.

She cracked a grin. "Where's Cora?"

He looked at her like he wasn't taking in her words and trying to figure her out.

She glanced at me. "Stiles?"

He blinked. "Cora is with the Allison's." He gestured toward the P.O. Boxes. "Their

Scott told me you called Peter and he's sending something to help."

We went over to her box.

Out of privacy, I turned my back with my arms crossed. I noticed Stiles paid close attention as if waiting for something to spring out at us.

Once open, I glanced back. Inside was a receipt for us to go up to the counter for her package.

We rounded the troops after we got it and met at Theo's. I almost forgot that there were double of all of us except Malia and Cora. Almost.

We gathered around the kitchen as we stared at the case.

E1 Scott stepped forward. "I'll open it if you want me to."

They looked at each other.

She shook her head. "No, I've got it." She offered an appreciative half grin, then moved to open it.

A tiny bottle along with a note laid inside.

"It's just a vile," Liam commented.

Malia picked up the note.

"What does it do?" He reached for it.

Theo pulled his hand back. "Don't touch that."

She looked around at everyone then back at me. "Theo's right. We need to be careful handling it. It's a form of wolfsbane that's not as lethal." She held up the note. "He basically said mixed with whatever else is in that bottle we need to disperse into the water, into air ducts everywhere on campus."

"What will it do?" Kira asked,

She flipped her purple tipped hair over her shoulder which has Lydia mesmerized.

Malia looked at her. "It'll detect the supernatural. Anyone like us will get a rash on their body, not just any rash.

It'll look black dotted apparently."

Stiles looked back and watched this all with an unusual quietness.

"What are you thinking?" I asked him.

He took the time to gather himself. "That this will only detect who's supernatural. It won't stop the bad guys from taking people."

"We're now calling them the BMK."

Allison held her hand up. "The BMK?"

Lydia looked at her then answered, "The Black Market Kidnappers. That's what they're doing. Kidnapping supernaturals and selling them for parts,"

Cora nodded in agreement.

Stiles looked at her in confusion and interest. "Then why'd they keep you alive for so long?"

She stared at him then shrugged. "I was out of it most of the time I was there, when I wasn't out of my mind I blacked out most of it."

E2 Stiles stepped forward with his arms crossed. "So we do this and it helps narrow down potential targets. We tag them, pull them into what we're doing so they can prepare, help spread the word. The more paranoid they are the better. Travel in packs literally." He looked at E2 Allison. "How many weapons at you willing to part with?"

She met Isaac's eyes. "I'll call my Dad." She pulled out her phone and headed for the living room.

Isaac watched after her in worry.

With the phone to her ear, she shot him a smile not to worry.

He playfully rolled his eye which she laughed at.

E1 Stiles studied the interaction, then turned his gaze back to his Allison.

She walked up to him, their hands entwined.

Had to admit it was weird seeing my former girlfriend and best friend clearly into each other and not shy about displaying it.

E1 Lydia watched on as Allison and Stiles pecked each other's lips in a chaste fashion. She then looked at E2 Stiles as if he held the answer.

He went over to her and stood by her side. They seemed to find comfort in each other's presence.

E2 Lydia noticed their interaction with a hint of jealousy.

This was all so confusing.

E1 Scott blanked out for a few moments. When he came to he stared at Malia in longing and I couldn't be mad at him about it because had it been me in his place I could only imagine how much I'd miss her and I had no knowledge of our other lives.

He looked between the two of us, then looked down.

Allison came back to us. "He's on his way. With Derek and Peter."

Malia and her locked eyes, then they looked at Cora.

Cora pushed off the counter. "Did you tell them what happened to me?"

Allison shook her head. "Not exactly, I figured you'd want to do that."

She looked down.

Stiles moved closer to her. He placed a hand on her shoulder in support.

"Being that its broad daylight we can't do this until nightfall what are we going to do in the meantime?"

"Go to class?" Liam said. "Go on like nothing's changed, same as before."

Theo nodded in agreement. "We have to go work on our portfolio."

Liam glanced at E1 Theo and Liam for a few seconds, then moved for the door.

Theo went after him and they were gone.

"What about the rest of you?" I asked. "Obviously not all of us can be outside, especially if someone close to us is a spy and sees double."

Malia leaned against the counter. "I'll stay here and guard the doppelgangers. Not really up for class." Her gaze trailed to E1 Scott.

He met her eyes and nodded, the two of them had their own language already.

I kept in mind that we know knew in any universe we would be connected. Nothing against him, I liked him, he seemed cool, but if he made a move on her then he wouldn't like me very much. My thoughts went to what his Malia was like. Being a hypocrite, I felt that I'd have an instantaneous connection and if her Scott wasn't around subconsciously and physically I'd be drawn to her.

My hand ran down my face in an effort to control my jealousy nonetheless. I looked at the others when my pack followed me to the door, all except Malia.

We shared a look of trust, of understanding, of longing.

I had to turn my back on her because of her wishes when all I really wanted to do was tell everyone to get out so I could make her scream with my mouth this time.

I caught her smell of arousal just as I closed the door.

E2 THEO'S POV:

Walking together toward Photography could only be summed up into two words; Hella awkward.

Liam and I weren't necessarily fighting but the other versions of us were and that in turn put distance between us. When it seemed like his homophobic tendencies were crawling away because of us they crept back at the sign of trouble and drama. I wished I knew what was going on inside his head.

All I knew for sure was that he had a wall up against me and I hadn't even done anything. I could repeatedly punch E1 Theo for screwing over his Liam.

Last night I had the time to imagine what their lives must've been like. A version of Liam that wasn't afraid to emotionally get close to me. My Liam had no problem getting physical. His problem was that he liked it, maybe it was only when I did it that he liked it in his mind, and he didn't want to. He was afraid of the life he would lead as an announced gay man. He was afraid of the unfair stigmas people would have of him, of the rude remarks that could one day drive a person to kill themself because of self-hate, of the fear of never being able to climb out of the gay male box if he so chose he liked other things as well.

I didn't know how to show him it wasn't like that for me. I liked what I liked. And I liked him. A lot more than I should for someone who didn't want to like me. Not to be arrogant but I could have the pick of the litter and I chose him. Who knew why I wanted the thing I couldn't have. Well, we all did. Just so happened that my thing was Earth 2 Liam Dunbar. I knew enough of my feelings for him that if given the chance I wouldn't hurt him like how E1 Theo hurt his Liam.

Bottom line, my problem was that I knew I wasn't what Liam wanted or needed so I feared he'd never give me the chance when all I wanted to do was give him chances when he'd most likely break my heart. We hadn't had to go through a great deal of things together but just having someone to care about through all of this put my life and his in perspective. What if he had been the one taken that night instead of Lydia? Would we have gotten him back? Would I have gotten him back? I couldn't imagine how Stiles was doing it if Liam came back unable to bear my touch I'd have to rip someone's throat out.

"You're uncharacteristically quiet," He commented.

The door of the classroom came into view.

"I didn't think you wanted to talk."

He looked at me. "Taking pictures together surprisingly involves talking."

I couldn't tell what he wanted me to say so I kept quiet minus a grunt.

Once we were inside class Ms. Osbourne talked to us for about fifteen minutes then sent us out to venture off for our portfolios. Liam and I shared a look of interest that she was a person of interest that we had to keep a close eye on from the letter he wrote me the other day in class telling me something wasn't right. He recognized her scent from one of the crime scenes, which didn't really mean she was a culprit, but it didn't not mean she wasn't one.

We didn't speak for half an hour, nothing but the sound of our cameras snapping shots and the cacophony of campus life behind us. We migrated inside a hallway for more potential shots out of necessity because it was raining outside and there were only so many you could get that wasn't repetitive and without getting our cameras wet.

The blonde girl from the LGBTQ pride community booth approached Liam with a surprise poking of the shoulder. He mentioned her name was Noora.

He was lost in thought so he jumped.

She laughed. "Jumpy are we?" Her adorable Norwegian accent came through.

"Hey, sorry." He gestured to the flyer in her hands.

I couldn't read it upside down from this distance, but whatever it was brought a semi smile to his face when he leaned down to inspect it. I took the shot.

Noora seemed pleased that he liked it, then looked up at the sound of the camera in my hands that captured them.

"Hallo," She gave a red lipped smile.

I grinned. "Hello to you too."

She reddened.

Liam shook his head at me, then proceeded to go into details about what needed changes.

I was confused how he could put himself into the club but not in me. Metaphorically and literally.

A guy came down the hallway. His scent made me look up from my screen. It wasn't that of an animal but it was hot.

He gave me eyes that screamed let's fuck. Normally, I wouldn't be opposed but there was a little twink by the name of Dunbar down the hall that I'd been trying to finesse. He wasn't finessable. Not yet anyway.

The guy still stopped and held out a hand. "I'm Camden."

I took his hand. "Theo," I offered a grin.

"You want to get out of here?" He asked flat out.

My brow rose. "Normally I would but I'm babysitting a pup,"

We glanced down at Liam saying goodbye to Noora.

He took in the two of us talking in proximity, he turned away but I could smell his jealousy if even mild.

"That's the pup?" Camden checked him out, his gaze fell on Liam's ass.

Feeling territorial, I brought his attention back to me. "Are you busy later?" I asked even though I had no intention of doing anything with him. Well, if Liam was up to it...but I knew he wouldn't be. The guy was hot, he reminded me of someone else I couldn't put a finger on.

My ears picked up the sound of light laughter down the hall.

A brunette was up close and personal with Liam, her hand rested on his shoulder.

He grinned down at her.

Oh really?

His eyes met mine, there was a brief challenge in his.

Was he doing this to get a rise out of me?

He leaned forward to touch a few strands of her hair.

"Looks like the pup isn't taking up your attention so much anymore," Camden commented.

I looked back at him. Now trying to block out Liam's obvious display of flirtation several feet down from us I held out my hand.

"Give me your phone," I said.

He chuckled as he handed it to me, his hand brushed mine. "Maybe we could grab drinks sometime?"

I cracked a smirk when I gave him back his phone. "If you're interesting enough."

He nodded with a small laugh. "Oh, I think I already grabbed your interest." He backed away and he looked good doing it. "See you around, Raeken." He turned around to head down the hall.

Someone was cocky. I liked it. But not enough to put him above Liam.

Who was now playing tonsil hockey with the dark haired girl.

My heart plummeted into my stomach. I never thought I'd feel this off kilter from seeing him not only flirt with someone else but kiss them in front of me. Regardless of how little time we spent together or how little we still knew about each other I still felt the emotional punch in the gut.

His eyes looked into mine as he continued to kiss her.

Feeling my anger rise I stalked out of the building before I did something stupid like drag that girl by her hair out of here. I took the stairs as quickly as I could for fear of running back up and slamming Liam into the wall.

"Hey," He came after me.

I was already outside and not up for waiting for his bullshit to hit my ears.

"Theo,"

I wondered how long he'd follow me without a response on my end?

"Hey, I'm talking to you," He grabbed my elbow.

I jerked away. "What?" My animosity wasn't lost on him.

He stared at me. "What's wrong with you? We still have to work on the project."

"You can probably find what you're looking for down that girl's throat." I turned from him.

He grabbed my forearm. "Theo,"

Begrudgingly, I turned back to him. "You tried to make me jealous and it worked. Are you happy now?"

"I don't understand why you're upset. You were doing the same thing."

"Yeah," I shoved him back. "But I didn't kiss him now did I?"

He shoved me back with the same ferocity. "You gave him your number."

I righted myself, almost ready to come to actual blows if properly motivated.

"You know, I don't get you, Dunbar." I got into his space. "You say you're not comfortable with this, with us, with me, but you're all smiles for the LGBTQ club."

"I told you where I was with this," He threw at me.

"But I know from current evidence that that's not true," I referred to our other selves. Although they were fighting they were still without a doubt into each other and unafraid to share it.

With his silence, I let out everything I kept bottled inside the last few days.

"Look, I don't like that guy. I know you don't like that girl. You didn't even kiss her like you liked her. You were staring at me half the time."

His eyes narrowed, he glanced around to see if anyone was listening in. "Shut up." He stepped back a few paces.

"Why?" I demanded. "It's the truth. She can't give you what you need, what you want."

His brow arched. "And you can?"

My feet brought me in front of him again. "I am trying, but you won't let me." My voice cracked under the emotion laced in it.

We stared at each other.

He broke it with a look down.

If he wasn't going to give me an answer straight while looking into my eyes then I had nothing more to say to him.

"We have a project to finish." He called after me.

"Finish it yourself." I threw over my shoulder. "Matter fact, finish yourself off until further notice." I stormed off, not caring who heard the tail end of our argument.

I heard him sigh and let out a curse under his breath.

E1 LIAM'S POV:

Seeing Isaac beaten to a pulp and in the middle of our mess again sprouted the guilt I tried to push down for keeping Theo's secret. He wasn't on our side all the way so why was I keeping it for him?

I refused to acknowledge any feelings I had for him. He wasn't a good person.

My eyes squeezed shut at a headache that wouldn't go away.

Theo was looking out for Theo. I got it, his life had been pretty shitty up until recently, like a constant shit storm. I believed him when he said the only thing that pulled him out was me. Us.

Mom would love him. Hell, she already liked him more than me. His care package was grade A while mine was below average. I knew he needed the nurturing so I didn't mind at the time but I grew more upset with him the more I thought about how he manipulated all of us and made my mom care about him. She was a sweet middle aged lady that didn't deserve that kind of slap in the face and if I decided to tell her everything, and I mean everything, she would feel the sting of Theo's slap of betrayal just as I had.

I was bursting at the seams to deliver the news to Scott. Sure, I'd feel even more like an asshole after the fact but I'd do my best to protect Theo long enough for him to get away. We needed to get Malia back and stop Deucalion once and for all. For the life of me, I couldn't understand why he saw Theo as like a son when Theo literally couldn't stand his guts now.

The problem was that I didn't understand Theo. Or where we'd end up after this all played out. If things were different I would've loved to fantasize about us frolicking off into the sunset - and I could see why I was repeatedly called a twink - but things weren't different so I had to man up and make the hard decisions to put the pack first over my heart.

I lowered my gaze to the floor. I hated that even still subconsciously I knew Theo was my heart even after everything he'd done. I didn't want him to be dammit.

Seeing E2 Thiam interact helped a lot to keep me in check.

Scott gathered around our pack while the others talked amongst themselves.

"Scott," I called, my throat sank to my stomach. "Can I talk to you?"

He nodded and we moved toward a more private section, as private as you could be with a bunch of supernatural creatures in one room with amplified hearing.

"What's up?" He asked.

My sweaty hands ran down my jeans. "Uh," I cleared my throat. "About earlier..."

I thought back to when Theo helped me study for Psych when he helped me with my Lacrosse when he kissed me and made me cum. When he moved out, which I now knew was an attempt to distance us so I wouldn't get as hurt. As crappy as things played out I couldn't deny he had done a great deal to not hurt me.

My instinct to protect Theo pulled me in one direction while my duty to the pack, to Scott pulled me in another.

"Liam?"

My eyes darted to Theo who was enveloped in a conversation with Stiles and Lydia.

"Liam?" Scott asked again.

I blinked several times to clear my headspace but it didn't work. Perspiration dotted my skin. "About..."

Theo met my gaze. He wanted to smile but between us, he didn't have a reason to.

Scott's hand came to my shoulder. "Maybe you should lay down."

My head shook.

No, I could do this. I had to help Malia. She'd do anything to protect any of us, she'd shown that.

Theo assessed the situation and deduced that I was about to out him. He didn't even look surprised, just disappointed, but accepting of his fate.

"I know where we can-"

E2 Theo bumped into my side. His arm hung over my shoulder. "Where we can start looking for clues on the big bads." His grip tightened in warning. "You suggest the sight of the breach right?" He looked down at me with heavy eyes.

It was clear that I was visibly uncomfortable under his touch, but Scott and everyone probably figured it was because of the rift between my Theo and me.

Scott looked to me for confirmation because he was smart enough to know something else was bothering me.

Even so, I nodded. "Yeah, that's it."

My eyes slid to my Theo's.

There was reprieve in his and he knew that his only saving grace was his counterpart saving his ass.

"Let me show you something in my room," He tugged me along.

I went because I didn't want to make a scene.

"You're in the habit of putting your foot in your mouth I can tell." He muttered. He walked over to his extensive book collection, crossed the room to hand me a book.

"What's this?" I turned it over in my hand.

He sat on his bed, then patted the spot beside him.

With a roll of my eyes, I followed.

Our body heat tapped into each other's and I had to scoot over a bit in fear I'd get aroused.

"One of my favorite books. A love story of sorts, unconventional, toxic even, but prevailing. A powerful theme in it is not giving up on people. As humans, as human as we can be, we want to give people chances but when they hurt us we want to dump them like yesterday's trash." He tapped the hardcover. "The love the two characters share in this book demonstrates what happens when you give up on people versus what happens when you don't." His eyes assessed mine. "Some people aren't worth holding onto but if I know half of what you've been through then I know you'd regret giving up this time." He nodded toward the door.

My eyes narrowed. "He talked to you about us?"

He nodded. "Told me everything."

"And you're okay with it."

He sighed. "Okay is a strong word. Understanding is better. Tolerant." He stared forward. "But as a Theo that doesn't have the same emotionally available Liam as he does I have to side with him. You're worth the wait." His eyes turned to mine. "He's not going to give up on you because he needs you whether he says it or not." His unsaid words hung through the air. 'He's damaged and you can help fix him'.

"That's not fair."

"Maybe not," He shrugged. "But it's the right thing to do." He patted my knee then headed for the door.

E1 SCOTT'S POV:

I jumped awake off the couch from my nap with my clothes soaked through from sweat. My mind immediately recalled the reason for my current state. What I wanted so desperately to be a nightmare was nothing of the sort. I knew in my heart that it had been a memory.

A memory of Malia dying. None of this made sense. How could she die then we ended up engaged and assumably married? Was that the several year's separation they experienced? I was so confused.

Being separate on our Earth was one thing but being separated by Earths was another. I felt suffocated here, restricted, literally unable to be happy. There was no happiness here for me long term because there was only one Malia and she didn't fit me in all the ways that mattered.

I didn't want to go back on my word of helping these people out, but I had to get back. I had to find her and show her that no part of me would ever let her go. I had to make sure that her fate never became her original's.

Theo's room door opened. "We're leaving in ten."

I nodded.

For a few moments I mentally composed myself then knocked on the guest room door Kira was staying in then I remembered she was with the girls. So she was probably in Heaven.

E2 MALIA'S POV:

"Show me the titties," E1 Kira threw her hands in the air as the music thumped throughout our Kira's apartment.

Both Lydia's laughed but only one blushed.

My eyes went to Kira's.

She smirked and winked.

We all danced a bit longer then exhausted on all ends we gathered in a circle like it was fact that we were doing a braiding circle. To unknowing ears, it sounded kinky but it wasn't. We literally just sat in a big circle to braid each other's hair.

I was braiding Cora's while she braided E2 Lydia's that braided E2 - You know what, we all just braided each other's hair.

"So Allison," I spoke up. "What's it like to kiss Stiles?"

"Eww," Our Allison made a face.

"Amazingly hot." Their Allison beamed.

They looked at each other and laughed.

"What's it like to kiss Isaac?" She asked.

E2 Allison blushed. "Hot."

"Ohhh, I have a fun game idea." Maybe it wasn't a good idea but I was still gonna share it. "What if we played the kissing game. Not together but like raise your hand if you've kiss so and so."

"Hard pass." E1 Kira said. "That's bound to get messy. We've literally all kissed each other in some shape or form."

"No," E1 Lydia opposed. "I think it would be fun. It's not like we can take it back."

E2 Kira sighed. "Fine. Who's going first?"

I had a fun one. "Raise your hand if you've kissed Scott." I raised my hand.

E2 Allison raised her hand along with E1 Kira.

We all looked at her in speculation.

She shrugged. "It was in another life. I still like pussy." She sent me a wink.

I winked back.

She paused.

I chuckled.

My Kira pulled on my hair. "That's not funny."

"Ow," I turned around to leer at her. "Fucking chill."

She gave me a passive smile that meant cut the shit.

"Who's next?" I asked.

Allison looked at her E1 counterpart. "Did you kiss Isaac there?"

E1 Allison shook her head. "We never got that far. He only showed interest to get me to let my guard down and kidnap me."

Their Kira raised her hand. "We dated in the other life." She gave another sheepish look.

"You were getting tons of dick, huh?" My Kira asked.

` She gave her the finger.

We all laughed.

"That's all the boys, at least the straight ones anyway," Lydia prompted. "So who's kissed girls?"

E1 Kira raised her hand again.

We all died of laughter.

"What?" She threw a piece of chocolate at Lydia. "I remember my Malia kissed me in a club once, wasn't serious. It was fun."

Sooner or later we all ended with popcorn and chocolate hands as we laid about on each other, the room filled with our contagious laughter. It was weird to basically hear echoes of laughter. Each person had a faint distinction but if not closely monitored it would go undetected. I wondered what E1 Malia's laugh sounded like. What made her laugh? She sounded like a woman worth looking up to. I wanted to meet her, but I wasn't sure that was possible just yet.

The front door opened and in walked the boys.

"Well, what do we have here?" Theo asked as he leaned in the doorway and smirked at us. "Ladies,"

There was a collective eye roll.

E1 Liam danced over and plopped down beside his Kira. He played with some of her braids.

"No one braid his hair." His Theo added.

"It's time to divide and conquer," Scott said. "You guys ready?"

My eyes turned blue.

He gave a knowing nod. "Then let's go."

"I'm going to stay and look after Isaac if that's okay," Cora announced.

We nodded in approval. After learning what he'd done none of us really wanted to do it but we did out of human decency.

Scott and I agreed with our eyes that E1 Scott could use a little more time with me. He was a sulky one. Given the circumstances, I could understand.

We had smaller bottles of the divided agent to drop into the air ducts and water systems. We didn't know a damn thing about either but we figured we'd make due with what we could figure out on the spot. If not we had a backup.

"You look like the cat ate the canary," I told him.

He stayed quiet.

I looked around the halls. "You could talk to me, you know that, right?" I picked the lock to the room that held the water heater for the building.

He let out a sigh. "I had a nightmare, a memory really, about Malia's death from the other life." His eyes met mine. "I don't know what it means, how we ended up together, or how I stop it from happening this time around."

I hated to say it but, "What if you're not meant to stop it?"

"No," His head shook. "I don't accept that. We've been through too much, we've sacrificed too much to not have our version of happily ever after."

My shoulders shrugged. "What if you die instead?"

He stilled. "I hadn't thought of that."

To cut down on time we stuck to buildings on the main campus so we could leave in teams of two. No one was going off by themselves when the risk of losing someone was too great.

"Can you show me how to do that? The memory sharing thing."

He looked at me.

"Scott wants to know too."

"Ah," He nodded. "He got jealous."

A small grin pulled at my face. "Why do you say that?"

His eyes took me in with restrained attraction and hesitation. "Because I would've."

We gazed at each other. I recalled how my Scott's hand had expertly brought me to climax in the elevator earlier. This Scott looked more than capable of doing so, just as kinky I hoped. A man with that much power and a woman like me that wasn't as willing to submit to just anyone, that had to lead to some great sex I could imagine. Had they? I mean, they were full on in love with each other and it more often than not required some kind of intimate connection.

He neared. "Yes, we have." His body heat wrapped around me in a sinful caress. "And yes," His breath tickled the hairs on the back of my neck, making my pussy tingle. "We fuck hard."

Oh, God.

I clenched under the long awaited promise from day one that I wanted to constantly ride Scott out of his mind.

I turned my head to the side, a little breathless.

E1 Scott leaned down the few inches.

Our mouths were close enough to press into each others. We knew we shouldn't but the pull was so great. The fact that I was just getting on Scott about this nailed me in place. There had to be some chemical/cosmic reason why we wanted to do each other knowing it'd hurt two of the people we cared about the most.

"It must be some type of cosmic pull," He agreed as he took a step back.

I turned around. "Yeah," I waved off or attempted but I couldn't deny that I was a little hurt and disappointed.

He stared at me, then averted his eyes. "I can't stop thinking about how I left her."

"From what I understand there was nothing you could do, right?"

His head shook. "I can find her, I know I can." He sighed. "I just can't do it here."

I knew what he was about to say and I honestly agreed with him. He should go back.

"What are you two doing?" Theo asked with Liam in tow.

We jumped.

"I thought you were taking the building next to us," I said, a little embarrassed and wondering how much they heard.

Liam went to stand by Scott. "We did. Theo chose to do it by himself without any help." His tone a little bitter.

Theo let it roll off his shoulders so he could focus on doing what we couldn't. "What can I say? I work better alone." His voice clipped, a direct dig at Liam.

I looked at the Beta to ask with my eyes what was wrong with them.

He only dismissed it with a shake of his head and crossed his arms.

"Glad to see nothing's changed between you two," Scott said. "You still fight like an old married couple on any Earth I see."

We grinned at each other.

From what I could tell, Liam had all these preconceived notions about how terrible being openly gay was so he wouldn't allow himself to acknowledge that he was and in the process, he kept pushing and pulling Theo like a rag doll because he didn't know how to commit to the feelings that swirled inside him. I say this knowing exactly who Theo has been in the past, he wouldn't care in the slightest if he did not care about Liam strongly.

A few minutes passed before Theo was done and we communicated with the others to see if they were successful yet. Most of everyone wasn't so instead of using all of what we had we decided to only pump it through a few buildings to see if it actually worked.

When we all gathered back together it just spilled out of my mouth, "Scott's gotta go home, back to his Earth."

His eyes fell heavy on me.

I looked into his. "What we need them for is long term and we can't ask him to stay, not when he's needed over there."

He gave me a look of solemn appreciation.

There was a silence. His pack didn't know whether to follow him or fulfill their promise to us.

His Kira stepped out of the bunch. "I'll go with you. It's getting a bit too twincesty for me," She glanced around. "No offense."

Her and Scott shared a look of silent communication. They seemed fairly tight from what I've seen. I thought it was cute.

Their Lydia shook her head. "No, I'll go. There doesn't need to be two Banshees. If they come up with a half cocked plan I need to be there to warn them. Besides," She rested a hand on Kira's shoulder. "You've started taking care of Isaac, you've got to finish it."

Kira glared at her. "All I did was check on him." She pointed a silver ringed finger at her supposed sister and electricity zapped the strawberry blonde.

Scott shook his head at the girls.

I looked back at my Scott.

He looked up from his phone, an apology already in his eyes.

"What?" I asked.

He pocketed his phone. "There's been a robbery at the shop." He gestured behind us. "I've got to go."

"Now?" I demanded.

"Let him go," My Allison said. "We can handle this." She fought a yawn.

Isaac put an arm around her. "They can handle this, you've got to hit the hay."

I nodded. "Yeah, listen to Scarf Boy."

He gave me a tight grin but it was all in good fun.

"Night guys," They went off to assumably go to sleep but that could've been an excuse to go screw each other's brains out.

My Scott pulled me into a hug. "Sorry, I'll see you back at the room."

"We talked about that." I didn't mean to say it in a bitchy way but that's how it came out.

He gave me a look of knowing I was experiencing a lot so he let it roll off his back. He still planted a kiss on my cheek. "Keep me updated," He went over to quickly say his goodbyes to E1 Scott and Lydia with a salty Kira off to the side.

We decided not all of us needed to be there for Scott and Lydia's departure into the breach so his Kira, Stiles, and my Lydia came along. Everyone else was pooped.

There was fear that we wouldn't be able to find it and it did take some time because we were off by a few city limits, but at last, it appeared for us.

I was half tempted to speed up significantly and drive the car through just to see what would happen but instead, I pulled off to the side of the road.

We all got out and stood a few feet before the electrified open breach. It was that of science fiction. I couldn't take my eyes off of it.

"Stop feeling guilty," Kira told Scott. "We've got this. I only wish I could come back to smack the taste out of Kylie's mouth."

His forehead creased. "For what?"

She shrugged. "For speaking?"

He gave a tired laugh, then hugged her. When he moved for me I actually teared up.

"Don't go soft on me, McCall." I patted his back to deduce the sentiment in our embrace, but it was still there.

"Shut up." He muttered.

I allowed myself to sink into the hug because there was a good chance that we'd never see each other again. If something so happened to the breaches we had no way of contact back and forth.

Stiles cleared his throat. "Are you done?"

I still couldn't get over the fact that Stiles, scraggly, scrawny, weak but kind hearted Stiles was their Hunter. He moved with power and intellect like he was always plotting an escape.

We stared at him.

His hand raised. "I just want my hug."

They moved to each other with huge smiles. They indeed did slap each other's back in that bro way they felt they had to in order to convey masculinity while being emotional.

"You should probably tell Argent about Allison being here because we forget to relay the message."

I laughed. "He's going to kill you."

Scott nodded. "Yeah."

It was time for E1 Lydia and Kira to say their goodbyes. Only they didn't speak. Their hands rested on top of each other's in the air and they visibly saddened as if they were waiting for another hand.

I swallowed the lump of misery they so obviously felt in the absence of their other sister. So I did what felt natural.

My hand went on top of theirs.

They looked at me as if they were about to cry.

Lydia blinked rapidly, then let her long curtain of hair cover her face.

Kira sniffed and wiped her hand over her nose.

"We should probably go before someone sees two Lydia's in the same place," Scott suggested.

We shared a parting look of sadness mixed with joy.

E1 Lydia looked back at her Stiles. She held her hand up to do the Shaka, hang ten, sign.

He did it back with worry in his eyes. "Be careful."

She gave a nod.

Scott and her grabbed each other's hand, then jumped through. There were here one second and gone another. Had we not had most of their pack here I don't think I would've believed it.

"You know, the twincest comment was a joke, right?" Kira announced.

We looked at her.

"What, it was." She defended on the way back to the car.

E2 LIAM'S POV:

To say the least, today had been hands down one of the most awkward and awful days of my life. On top of the obvious going on around us, I'd been a douche to Theo. I was too stubborn to admit it earlier but I couldn't help but feel awful.

I shouldn't be required to take things at his pace and be where he wanted me to be but I also knew that Theo wasn't the type of person to constantly put up with someone's else's crap so the fact that he did with me spoke volumes. And I overheard his conversation with E1 Liam earlier. I wasn't sure what it all meant between them but I knew if I gave up on what he had now then I'd forever be closeted and not willing to explore this side of me.

He was right earlier. I didn't enjoy kissing that girl. The only reason I kissed her was because she looked like Hayden and I figured if I loved Hayden once I had to be interested in that girl, which I wasn't.

Speaking of, I needed to see her. We hadn't seen much of each other lately. When we split she chose to not be a part of the pack as much until she eventually wasn't at all. Sad it came to that.

Some of the E1 crew were staying at his apartment. I wasn't keen on going back to mine just yet. Not until I cleared the air. So I made a peace offering snack.

Like an idiot, I hesitated by his open bedroom door. I had never been in here before and I was kind of jealous that other Liam had before me. It was neat, lots of browns and blacks with some red here and there. He had books for days lining the walls with paintings and photographs. It was cozy. It was him.

I ventured out onto the small balcony section he had by his room with a bowl of popcorn. Literally, all the balcony consisted of was a black iron railing to keep anyone from opening the door on the fourth level and falling to their possible death.

He kept his gaze on the moon before us but I knew he wondered why I was still here when I didn't have to be. He eventually turned around to lean an arm against the railing and face me. His eyes went back and forth between me and bowl.

I held the bowl up. "I like popcorn," I said, hoping he knew what I meant. It wasn't that long ago that I admitted I missed him when some of us went back to Beacon Hills to get Melissa to help Malia's infection. We sat on his couch. We ate popcorn. We had a conversation similar to this one.

"I like popcorn too." His eyes gazed into mine, needing clarification on my end.

A sigh left my mouth. "I need time, Theo. I'm not like you. I can't just jump into this with no fucks given." I went quiet for a few moments. "I wish I could." My voice substantially quieter.

A light buzzing hit my ears as a firefly came into view. It flew past me and into Theo's territory.

I made a face at it.

"You don't like bugs?" He cracked a grin as he held out a hand for it.

It crawled over his hand.

"No," I leaned away. "Kill it."

He chuckled. "I'm not in the business of killing things." He adored the light up bug.

"Well, I'm out." I started for the door.

He pulled me back. He opened his hand and waited for the firefly to move to the center of his palm, then he crushed it. "There," He looked at me. "It's dead now. Will you stay?"

My brow rose. "What happened to taking things slow?" I chewed on some popcorn.

"We can take things as slow as you want, I still want to cuddle with you."

I had to agree that that sounded right for our timing. Plus being wrapped up a ripped guy's arms wasn't the worst way to feel safe in our current predicament. Silly enough, I did feel safe in Theo's presence, like he'd protect me at every cost.

So in the spirit of taking things slow and not being such a closed off bastard to him, I allowed my face to break into a shy smile. "I'd like that actually."

The light that filled his eyes was enough to make me want to say yes to more things, but maybe in due time.

E2 MALIA'S POV:

As soon as the mailroom opened the next morning Stiles and I was there. He was eagerly waiting on a package from his dad. Really I just wanted food from the United Commons and because I was a good friend I agreed to get up this early to talk with Stiles.

"I'm just confused, Malia."

Normally, I'd probably smack Stiles one good time to get some sense into him but given I was in his place the last two days I knew he had to be a mess internally. He had our Lydia pull away from him physically and emotionally, understandably so only to see E1 Stiles and Allison happy as clams while their Lydia essentially pinned in silence for her Stiles. She was good at hiding it so I'll give her that.

"So what do you want me to tell you? Lydia may be into you, I'm not sure, but for now, she's into someone else."

He huffed as we sat on the stairs of the mailroom. "I know. I know I shouldn't wait around for someone that's never going to give me the time of day in the way I want but after seeing the others how I can give up on us when I witnessed her having feelings for me?"

It would be hypocritical of me to say that E1 Lydia didn't have feelings for him necessarily but I didn't know if that were true.

So I said, "With everything going on do you really want to waste what could be your last days waiting around or do you want to find someone else that wants your attention?" I bit into my breakfast sandwich.

"Too bad I don't know anyone of that nature." He muttered.

My eyes rolled. "Yeah, too bad." My sarcasm wasn't lost on him but he didn't acknowledge it.

We finished our breakfast then went to his mailbox.

He got all excited and then deflated when there was nothing in there.

My hand patted his shoulder. "There there."

"Oh, bite me, Tate."

I laughed as I nonchalantly checked mine even though I was sure there was nothing in there.

"Hey, that's not fair." He complained about the slip of paper sitting in the metal cabinet. "You always get packages."

I fixed him with a stare.

"Shutting up."

We walked over to the counter to receive another box.

It was labeled from Peter so it could be anything. But he was arriving with the other's within the next few hours so why send a package overnight?

Not wanting to overthink it because it was Peter Stiles and I went our separate ways. I went to my morning class.

Why did I go to my morning class? I wasn't focused, I was itchy the entire time, and I wanted to crawl back into bed. I couldn't help but worry that the robbery at Scott's job was a message even though he assured me over the phone when he got back that it wasn't.

Once back at Theo's apartment I slid the package onto the counter, grabbed a glass of apple juice because why the fuck not, and closed my eyes at the taste.

"Morning," Liam came out with bedhead and a smile on his face.

My brow arched. "Someone's chipper," I smirked. "Get a little action last night?"

My insinuation didn't even cause his smile to falter.

Theo waltzed into the room in nothing but his boxers briefs, an obvious erection a good foot before him. "Something like that." He gazed down at Liam as he poured two glasses of OJ.

Liam's blush was the cutest thing I'd seen yet today.

E1 Kira stumbled into the kitchen like a zombie. "Something like that," She mocked. "I couldn't sleep on the account of you two yapping all night. 'Oh, Theo. I love the way your hair flips in the moonlight'." Her voice a high pitch to imitate Liam. "'I know, Liam. I know.'." It lowered to impersonate Theo.

I choked on my apple juice.

Theo gave her an amused grin. "How about you go get some pussy and stop annoying us?"

She turned her almond shaped eyes on me with suggestion. "I'm trying to,"

I moved toward her. "Honey, you wouldn't be able to go back to your Earth after tasting me," I loomed over her, not afraid in the slightest of her sexual advances, whether they were lighthearted or not.

Her eyes traveled to my mouth and back up to mine. "You're probably right." She backed away with her hands raised.

"I know I am," I teased.

Liam cleared his throat. "What's in the box?"

I produced a claw. "Not sure." I sliced open the box to find another black case, this time a lot thicker and wider.

"Maybe it's old school pornos," He suggested.

Theo looked at him. "Who still calls them pornos?"

He blushed again.

I opened the lid and immediately jumped back with a scream.

Kira caught me. "What the hell?"

The stench of death and a rotten animal filled the air as we took in the mutilated coyote packed in the box.

"That's definitely not from Peter," Theo said. He rushed forward and snatched the note off the animal's ear. "'You can't stop what's coming for you'." He met my eyes. "It's addressed to you, Malia."

I stared on in horror at one of my own brutally murdered just to send me a message. That The BMK wanted me dead.

Our phones went off that another body had been found and staged on campus. A body belonging to a Hayden Romero.

Liam stared at his phone.

"Wasn't she your first girlfr-" Theo was cut off by the sound of Liam crushing his phone in his hand.

E1 SCOTT'S POV:

Lydia and I arrived back on our Earth hand in hand while we smacked into the cement of the road.

"Are you okay?" I surveyed her.

She nodded.

We stood, knowing we had a long stretch of a walk ahead of us. Our phones while now back in the right frequency were of no use.

"Hey, thanks for coming back with me," I told her.

She shook her head. "It was weird being there with-" She cut herself off.

"With Stiles?"

Her jade eyes met mine and she nodded. "Besides, I meant what I said. I don't trust you and Peter not to do something stupid when it comes to Malia. You especially."

"Haha," I said sarcastically even though I laughed.

She grinned.

Our momentary lightness faded.

"I miss her," I said, even though it wasn't a secret.

She looked at me. "Me too."

In that moment I remembered how much I valued Lydia's friendship in the other life.

Finally back near campus, Lydia said she was going to stay at Malia's apartment. I knew it was out of needing something close of her's.

I headed back to my apartment to find Peter baking cookies and Kylie sulking on the couch.

She rushed forward to hug me tight. "I'm so glad you're back. Peter is the worst."

"I'm right here," He moved toward us.

She sighed. "I know."

He glanced behind me. "That was a quick trip."

"Well, Lydia and I came back early. The others are still there helping."

He nodded. "I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?"

"Just tell me, Peter."

"Argent has a lead, the bad news is their dead. All of them."

I wasn't too torn up about it because it hadn't really changed anything.

"There's more." He moved closer. "Malia's DNA was at the crime scene, not much considering it went up in flames. But it was definitely hers."

Worry filled me. "Any lead if she's okay?"

He looked at Kylie. "Well, there was footage salvaged by Argent. She's on tape killing some Hunters."

My eyes glanced at Kylie's. "Was it bad?"

She nodded, her jaw clenched.

"That's not the worst part,"

What could be worst than Malia going off with Deucalion and killing for him?

"Even if we could find out where she was staying with him through logarithms we can't track them. Something I suspected was true, he has a Witch with him. She's maintaining tracking wards so that not only can we not find them but even if we did we couldn't remember how to get there."

My head hurt. A big sigh left me.

"What more could go wrong?"

They looked at each other again.

Kylie stepped forward. "Actually, your dad is here," She gestured toward to the door. "He went out for dinner and he should be back any minute. We kind of told him everything."

"You what?" I moved for Peter.

Kylie's hand stopped on my chest. Her green eyes stared into mine with the hope of peace. Much like Malia's.

My subdued rage at him surfaced on top of everything else and I reached over Kylie to crack my fist into Peter's jaw. "I didn't want him involved in this! He's the only parent I have left!"

He shoved me back. "And Malia's the only daughter I have!"

Kylie, even though she didn't like Peter all that much looked to him like another father figure because he was her sister's father figure, stared at him in obvious hurt.

He realized what he said and gave his best version of an apologetic look at her, then his eyes settled on me. "Your father is an FBI agent, if anyone can help us with more resources it's him. You have to see that, Scott."

"He's my father, you want me to just put his life on the line?"

He leveled me with a glare. "From what I gathered you were willing to give up everything for her. Has something changed that I need to know about?"

Of course, it hadn't.

"We need him," Kylie forced her way back in between us.

My chest rose and fell in irritation. I gazed down at Kylie in peace. I glared at Peter. "She," I pointed at Kylie. "Is the only reason I'm not throwing you through the window right now."

The door opened. "Scott," My dad froze when he saw me. "I didn't think you'd be back so soon."

I shrugged. "I couldn't stay when I couldn't stop thinking about Malia."

He nodded.

"Peter, out."

He didn't seem surprised.

Kylie gestured toward herself.

My head shook.

Peter closed the door behind him.

My dad gave me a fatherly disappointed look. "Why didn't you tell me about all of this?"

Kylie backed out of the room. The sounds of her practicing against the punching bag Peter must've bought her filled the room.

"Scott?" He called again.

"Why do you think, dad? I just got you back, we're still working on us, and I don't want to lose you like how I lost mom."

He huffed. "You're not going to lose me, son."

My eyes rolled. "Really? Because there's a psychopath that wants to either kill me and all my friends or have us join him, whichever one comes first he's okay with. He's got Malia wrapped around his finger and there's nothing I can do about it because we can't find them. I can't find Malia.." I fumed.

He nodded in understanding as he pulled me in for a hug. "I can't imagine what you're going through, what you've been going through...But it'll get better."

Hot tears hit my eyes and I didn't know whether to scream, cry, or maniacally laugh.

When I pulled away we talked and talked for hours until he was pooped and I went to check on Kylie after she got out of the shower.

Her almost black hair was wet and stringy as she towel put it back into a loose bun.

I stayed in the doorway until she gave me a knowing look and I went to flop down on her bed with a heavy breath.

She placed her unfinished plate of food on the bedside table. "What was she like?"

My arm went over my eyes. "I'm glad you didn't go. It would've been hard."

She sat Indian style beside me. "I've been practicing nonstop."

I rested my arm behind my head to take one of her hands in mine. "You're not wrapping your knuckles properly." They were bruised and torn.

"I'm not wrapping them at all," She took her hand back. "The pain helps me focus." She said when I gave her a worried look. "I've got to feel something even if it's pain or I won't feel anything at all."

My eyes closed. "You're becoming a wise one."

She chuckled. "I wouldn't go that far. In the words of Stiles, 'I'm just a cockroach'."

"You know he only said that to push you further, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But it's true. It's humbling. It gives me something to work toward, not being a cockroach anymore."

E1 MALIA'S POV:

What was the Desert Wolf doing in front of me?

I stepped to the side to make sure my eyes didn't deceive me. A warning growl ripped through my throat. I readied myself for a fight.

"Here to finish the job?"

She stepped a black boot toward me. "Oh no, sweetie. I'm here to get the family back together." She produced a gun. "But I'm going to need your cooperation first." She shot a dart into me.

My mind clouded while my legs felt unable to support me.

The car door opened.

"Did you have to do that?" Deucalion asked.

I tumbled to the ground with a rage that died out with my consciousness.

A/N: Apologies for the long wait. I've been working open to closed almost everyday for three weeks straight with no days off cuz I'm saving up for an apartment and I got a promotion at Draft and a second job at a waffle place called Iron. Good ass waffles.

Anyway, if y'all got confused it's okay cuz Summer and I got confused reading each other's drafts. It can't really be helped. Even watching The Flash where Cisco dumbs it down for us I'm like who's the time remnant and which one is our "original" Barry? Lol Just let us know what's confusing you and how you liked this chapter. It would mean a lot