You would think that having successfully broken into the police station just a few weeks prior would of boosted Addie's confidence in the whole operation. It didn't. Needless to say dressing like a badass, does not a badass make. Addie's heart was pounding loudly throughout the walk to the metal fence, and not just because Stiles had grabbed her hand. Managing to keep out of the security cameras view, the pair hoisted themselves over the tall fence, Addie more easily than a flailing Stiles who fell as soon as he reached the top.
Once they'd made it inside, Addie's anxiety didn't dissolve. She panicked silently with her lips pressed together so tightly that they started to hurt. The next task was to actually find Loraine Weaving's car, which seeing as there were upwards of a few hundred in the huge lot that served all of Beacon County, was not going to be easy. But Stiles had done his research and knew roughly where they'd find it. He lead Addie through the maze-like lot of scrap metal, junk cars that didn't look as if they'd run, cars that had been towed and finally those that looked as if they'd been in nasty accidents.
Still nervous at the fact that they could very likely get caught, Addie followed a much more relaxed looking Stiles as he scanned the area for any hints. Addie, however, had been in this car almost everyday for the six years that her mom had had it, so when she caught a flash of cherry red, her instinct took over and she followed her gut. Rounding a scraped up Honda, Addie came to a halt when she found it. The bright red Mini Cooper that had been the last place she had ever seen her mother. She'd dropped Addie off at school that morning, Addie none the wiser that it would be the last time had been struggling to keep her eyes open in the early morning.
She let out a shaky breath and stood rooted to the spot, her eyes glued to the back bumper of the car, when Stiles came to stand beside her.
"Are you ready?" he asked softly.
With a kick of strength Addie nodded. "Yeah, let's do this."
Addie didn't know what she was looking for, she had the idea that she'd know when she found it. So after twenty minutes of scouring the cars interior she was starting to worry. Addie's mom was notorious for leaving her car in a complete mess. There were paper strewn across the floor, medical journals lying on the seats and many CDs dotted around the small car. Addie went through everything with a fine tooth comb, searching for something, anything, that would help her, but it was to no avail.
"I can't find a thing." Addie sighed as she leaned back in the passengers seat after emptying the glove compartment. "Not a damn thing. I was so sure we were making progress, that tonight was going to make everything clear." That tonight was going to stop her from feeling so god damn guilty.
Stiles gave a tight, sympathetic smile through the rear view mirror from where he sat in the backseat. "I'm sorry Ads, I thought we'd find something too." He squeezed her shoulder before leaning back and opening the door at his side. "We still have ten minutes before the guard makes his rounds, you have another look and I'll take a look at the outside."
Addie nodded and managed to grit her teeth and hold in the few tears that had gathered in her eyes until he had left and was now heading to the rear of the vehicle. She'd promised herself that she was done crying over her mother, that eleven months later she should have moved on and be living with her grief firmly under control, but Addie couldn't help the three tears that fell quickly in succession. Instead, she didn't pay them any attention. She quickly wiped them away, gave a sniff then went back to work. Quickly the grief subsided and what she felt more than anything else was frustration.
She rustled through the glove box again with her mouth set in determination. Her instincts couldn't be wrong.
While Addie continued her search, Stiles was resolute in the fact that he had to find something to help, she was drifting from him and he didn't think he could stand not having Addie in his life. He wanted to help, even though Addie internally thought he'd done far more than she'd ever dreamed and there was no way she'd ever be able to thank him.
Circling the outside of the car, Stiles inspected every inch of it looking for something, anything. There was no windscreen in the car and the front looked like the metal had been scrunched up like a piece of paper. He couldn't imagine how Addie had felt finding it wrapped around a tree on the side of the road. It was a well known fact around Beacon Hills High that Addie had seen her mother zipped up into a body bag, that she'd been there to see her dead mom. His mouth set, Stiles crouched down to get a better look, some of the red paint was missing, but he did see something that not only set his heart racing but filled him with dread.
"Addie I think we should leave." Stiles said purposefully removing the shaky panic from his voice. "The, uh, guard will be back in five minutes and we still have to get back to the car."
"Yeah, okay." Addie nodded sadly. "I'm sorry I wasted your time. I was so sure..."
"Hey, don't be sorry." Stiles opened the passenger side door and reached his hand out for Addie. She needed the comfort, so she didn't think twice about linking her fingers with his. "Come on."
A dejected Addie took only a few steps with Stiles before she couldn't help but look over her shoulder at the car. It was at that exact moment, when the sun moved out from between one cloud then swiftly behind another in the November sky, that a hint of light shined off the front bumped and brought something to her attention. "Hey Stiles, wait."
Frowning, she tugged on his hand before letting go and walking directly towards the front of the car and crouched down. Behind her, Stiles internally shouted at himself and kicked the air in frustration. He knew what she was going to see and he didn't like it. She couldn't get involved.
Addie examined the silver bumper, running her fingers across the three long scratch marks that ran along it. Claws. Addie's heart picked up for a second and she started to think it through. An animal. Had it ran out in front of her mom's car? Causing her to swerve and lose control of the vehicle on the icy roads? It was January at the time, black ice was entirely possible. Then she'd hit the tree, vehicle wrapped around it and who knows maybe she would of survived if it hadn't been from the ticking bomb inside of her head. The aneurysm that had erupted on the impact. The crash had caused the aneurysm to erupt, not the aneurysm causing the accident.
The mark left on the car was the same one that had been left across Addie's side during the animal attack at the video store. It was gone now, but Addie's hand ghosted across her ribs. Was it the same animal? Was her mom the first in the string of attacks that had been occurring?
But that animal was dead. Gunned down by Mr Argent.
Addie's excitement began deflating when she thought it through. Yes she'd discovered the truth, but she couldn't tell anyone. What good what it do? What was the point in causing any more heartache and pain in her family? To prove she was right? No, Addie would keep this to herself. And Stiles. They knew the truth and that was all that really mattered.
Unknown to Addie she had voiced all these thoughts aloud, so that Stiles heard everything only a few feet behind her. He'd never felt more guilty in his life, because he knew what those claw marks meant and he knew he'd have to lie to her and tell Scott when he could.
"I think you're doing the right thing." Stiles assured her, crouching down so that they were at eye level. He gave a small smile, "You're protecting your family, at least you know now. You can stop blaming yourself."
Addie's head turned to face Stiles and she returned his sad smile. She'd never told him that she felt guilty over her mothers death, but they were so close that it had been impossible for him not to notice. He knew everything about her. "Yeah, I know it's dumb, that it wasn't my fault but sometimes I just-" Addie gave s shaky breath, visibly mingling with Stiles' in the cold air. He reached out tuck some stray blonde hair behind her ear before taking her hand in his, while she continued speaking she had her eyes on their interlocked fingers, watching as they moved within each other. Whenever they held hands they never just left them be, one of them would constantly be tracing circles on backs of hands or shifting around playfully, reminding the other that they were tethered together. "I lied to her. She asked me to get a ride home from school, but I told her everyone had already left, even though Jess had offered. I made her come pick me up, then I got so angry when she was didn't show. It's dumb, I know, but I've always felt guilty."
"It's not your fault Ads, you know that." Stiles assured her, waiting to make sure she agreed, eventually she gave a sniff and a nod. In the back of Stiles' mind he put two and two together. So that's why Addie hated lying, and liars, so much, she'd told the littlest white lie and her mother had died.
With sympathetic eyes, Stiles took in her face. Even when she was sad, she was still the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.
Stiles' audible sigh was enough to drag Addie's eyes from the crushed up Mini, to the boy at her side. He was looking at her that way again. The way that made her insides squirm and her heart flutter. There was a catch in Addie's throat. He really wasn't making any of this easier, with his eyes studying her face, flicking down to her lips every so often. There was a glimmer of hope in Addie as she felt herself begin to close the gap between them, but it was quickly squashed when the words of Scott McCall came crashing through her mind. He doesn't want you. He never will.
Addie flinched and leaned back on her heels where she was crouched, retracting her hand from his. Stiles who hadn't noticed her internal debate, only noticed the flinch and the sudden loss of warmth. He looked at her with his eyebrows knitted.
"I, um, we should go. The, uh, guard will probably be round any minute."
- A Moment of Impact -
The library was fairly quiet, mostly because it was after school on a Friday and everyone was getting ready for the game that night. Addie was sat at one of the tables across from Danny, trying her bet not to throw the Chemistry book far, far away.
"So, how are you feeling? Think you'll be okay for the game tonight?" Addie asked him. She'd seen the slight wince when he'd folded his tall self into the chair, and couldn't help but worry that he wasn't as over the accident as he said he was. Scott knocking him over during practice earlier that week had sent him to the hospital, but Danny swore he was up for playing lacrosse that night.
"Yeah, I should be fine. I don' know what the hell got into Mccall though." Danny shook his head, flicking to the next page of his textbook. Addie had completely abandoned hers.
"I'm sorry we haven't been spending much time together lately." Addie told him, "You're one of my best friends. How's Chris?" Addie tried to make nice talk, even though the thought of Danny's flaky on-off boyfriend left a sour taste in her mouth.
Danny just chuckled. "I'm surprised you got through that with a straight face," they both laughed and it felt like old times, something that Addie felt she was needing recently. "How about you, what's going on with you and McCall's sidekick?"
"I don't know really, it's complicated. Stiles is Stiles I guess." Addie came up with, it was the best she could do. They hadn't spoken in three days. Addie felt like she needed time, their outing to the car depot had left her mind reeling, she was slowly dealing with the fact that the situation with her mom was over. That it was done. But she was also trying to keep her feelings for Stiles from bubbling over, she'd nearly kissed him again at the side of her mother's car, and oh how she wished she had. His lips had been right there for her to capture, all she had to do was stretch another inch, but at the same time there was that nagging piece of he mind telling her to tread carefully, and reluctantly she listened.
"How long have you two been dating? Since that party at your house?" Danny asked, making Addie almost choke on her own saliva. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest, but no words came out. "Ah I get it. You're not together, but you want to be."
Addie slunk down in her seat and groaned. "Is it really that obvious?"
"Only to everyone." Danny offered with a smirk, "So come on, tell me the story. You haven't provided me with any love gossip in a while, not since your 8th grade obsession with Tommy Hill."
"Okay it wasn't an obsession." Addie protested, but Danny just gave her a pointed look for avoiding the question. "Fine. No story, we just spend a lot of time together. I really like him but I don't want to ruin our friendship. So... that's that."
Addie attempted to go back to her textbook, but Danny closed the book in front of her. "Okay, Addie, here's the thing. You're a wimp. A big old wimp. I'll admit I'm not Stilinski's biggest fan, he's probably the weirdest kid I've ever met, but from what I've seen of you two in the halls, yes you're that obvious to everyone, you two are meant for each other. Plus, you're just as weird as he is, I may be one of the only people who knows how much of a secret dork you are. Grow a pair and say something."
Addie was going to protest, but before she could say anything her phone began to sing from where it sat upon the table. Addie peered over at the screen to read the caller ID. Speak of the devil.
"I'm surprised you don't have little heart emoji's next to his name." Danny teased her, and she rolled her eyes before deciding to pick up.
"Hey Stiles, I can't really talk I'm in the library." Addie whispered across the line, keeping an eye out for the librarian.
"Okay I'll be real quick." Stiles assured her across the line. She missed his voice, it had been three days since they'd had a full conversation. "What are you doing?"
"Uh, I'm in the library." Addie repeated. "Studying with Danny."
"Perfect!" Stiles called across the line. "I need some help, think you could both come over?"
"Help with what?" Addie asked
"What are you studying?" Stiles questioned.
"Chemistry." Addie answered. Danny raised an eyebrow in question, but Addie just shook her head.
"That."
"Stiles, I don't think we can come over, I-" Addie's voice trailed off due to Danny grabbing the phone from her ear and putting it up to his own.
"Hey Stiles, we'll be over in ten." Danny spoke with a smile before hanging up. "You're welcome." He told Addie.
"Danny I can't go over there."Addie sighed, there was no way she felt like she could be in the same room as him without becoming a stuttering idiot. Man she had it bad.
"Why not?" Danny challenged.
"You just said it! I'm a complete wimp!" Addie whined. "Plus we're studying. I need all the help I can get."
"Well studying isn't an option any more, the librarian is on her way to kick us out. Come on."
- A Moment of Impact -
When they reached the Stilinski home twelve minutes later, Addie fled to the bathroom while Danny continued into Stiles' room. After giving herself a mini pep talk, Addie lifted her head high and walked into Stiles' room as if nothing was even slightly different.
She stopped as soon as she entered the room. Sitting on Stiles' bed with a heavy book in his lap, was Derek. Addie's mouth opened to ask what the hell was going on, when Stiles stepped in front of her. The last she'd heard of Derek had been Stiles and Scott framing him for murder, the police were still looking everywhere for him. Under the town sheriff's roof would probably be the last place they'd ever check. What confused Addie was why Derek felt able to sit in the room of someone who had accused him of killing not only the school janitor but his own sister.
"Addie! Hey!" Stiles jumped in before she could ask any questions. "I was just introducing Danny here to my cousin. Miguel."
"Miguel?" Addie asked, was he kidding? Her eyes went from an uncomfortable looking Danny sitting in the desk chair to a frowning Derek.
"Yep!" Stiles voice was light, but his eyes were pleading with her to play along. That's when she figured out that this was another on of those things. The ones that she wasn't to ask questions about, because he'd never be able to give her an honest, straight answer.
"Yeah, whatever." Addie muttered, sighing she took a seat next to Derek, giving him a small smile as she did.
"Hey, is that blood?" Danny asked, pointing out a small red stain on Derek's white shirt.
"Uh, Yeah. Yes. Well, he gets these horrible nosebleeds. Hey, Miguel. I thought I told you you could borrow one of my shirts." Stiles waved off Derek and began speaking lowly to Danny in front of his open laptop.
"Hey, I thought you needed help with chem?" Addie asked, pointing to the open textbook on her lap as a grumpy looking Derek got up and went over to Stiles' drawers in search of non-blood-stained clothing.
"Yes! We are, I just-" Stiles looked exasperated with everything in his room at that moment, and Addie nodded quietly going back to her book. "Hey," Stiles spoke quietly and she looked up to find him crouched at her side. "I'm sorry I'm being so weird.-"
"You're always weird." Addie teased him and the corner of his lip twitched.
"Look who's talking, nerd." Stiles retorted, making Addie roll her eyes. "Thanks for coming over, I know Danny's a computer whiz and I need some help tracing a text message."
It was the most honest Stiles had been about his extra activities, so Addie didn't push. "Ah, so you're using me for my friends?" Addie quirked an eyebrow, only her teasing eyes betrayed her serious tone. "You didn't want to see me at all?"
"Hey, you know I always want to see you." Addie blushed at Stiles' words, but they didn't break eye contact. Addie's neck was getting hot until they were interrupted by Derek clearing his throat.
"Uh, Stiles? This. No. Fit." Derek caught their attention in a too tight striped t-shirt and clenched jaw.
"Then try another one!" Stiles told him frustratedly. Turning back to Addie he found that he laughing eyes were still on Derek.
Eventually she returned her gaze to him and gave a small smile. "You go trace your text, I'll help Der- Miguel." Addie stood up from the bed and Stiles gave her a grateful smile before going back to Danny, whose gaze continued to flicker towards Derek.
"Thanks Adelaide." Derek mumbled under his breath as she stood at his side in front of the set of drawers.
"Don't thank me yet, I doubt there's anything in here that can cover all of that." She made a hand gesture to Derek's broad shoulders and muscled chest. Addie looked into Stiles' drawer, the first thing she found being the t-shirt she'd borrowed when she'd spent the night. I Support Single Mom's, it read, and Addie couldn't help the little chuckle that slipped out.
Moving it out of the way Addie's hand slid over some paper, confused she pulled it out and her breath caught in her throat so that she couldn't breathe. In Addie's hand were three piece of paper. The first was the colored in picture Sophie had for him the night they had babysat together, the crayon only edging out of the lines every now and again. The message in the top, right corner was in Addie's handwriting, before giving way to Sophie's where she'd signed her name. To Stiles, Love Sophie.
The second piece of paper was slightly crumpled, but not from age. No, this piece of paper had been crumpled up by Addie on he first day of school and tossed at Stiles' head. Addie flattened it out at the edges and instantly knew what it was. The first, and only, drawing she'd ever give to Stiles. A small, incredibly detailed sketch of an elephant sat in the corner of the paper, she'd doodled it before class started. He'd promised he would keep it, she didn't think he actually had.
Upon looking at the third item she realized it wasn't paper at all, but a card. Addie's breath hitched as she took in the card, white with a large red glittery heart on it reading Happy Valentine's Day! It took a second before Addie found it in herself to open it, knowing what she'd find inside. There it was. In her annoyingly looped second grade handwriting. To Stiles, Happy Love Day! Love Adelaide xx.
"Oh my god." Addie breathed quietly, staring disbelievingly down at the card, completely forgetting where she was.
"Hey Ads, did you find that shirt?" Stiles didn't turn around from the computer as he asked. But when there was no reply, he turned to face the back of an unmoving Addie. "Ads?"
"You kept these." Addie stated in complete shock. She slowly turned to face Stiles who looked more confused than she did. "I can't believe you kept these."
"What do you-" Stiles looked down to the three pieces of paper in Addie's hands then back up to her astonished face. His mouth opened and shut a few times as he searched for something to say. His face turned the darkest shade of scarlet Addie had ever seen as his hand went to the back of his neck, the same way it always did when he was embarrassed or uncomfortable. "Well- I uh-"
"Is this from the second grade?" Addie asked as she held up the card. "And this... this was just a stupid doodle, but you kept it."
Stiles' eyes were glued to the floor as he sifted his weight from left to right. "Yeah- I uh, it was the first piece of your art I ever got to see – the only piece. I,uh, I told you I was going to frame it, I just haven't found the right one."
Stiles looked up to her face to gauge her reaction, but nothing gave her away. There was a flicker of conflict across her features but it was quickly gone. "You kept these." Addie said breathily.
For the first time in a while, Addie Weaving didn't think too much. There was a brief moment of conflict but she quickly pushed it away.
Without letting her brain go into over drive, Addie stalked over to stand right in front of Stiles, so close that their chests were pushed together. Confusion flitted across his face, but she ignored it. Addie reached up on to her tiptoes and calmly looped a hand round Stiles' neck, swiftly pulling his lips down onto hers.
Despite her eyes fluttering closed, Addie could still feel Stiles' wide open eyes staring into hers in confusion and his lips were frozen against hers, she almost chuckled into his mouth. It took only a few seconds before Stiles initial surprise subsided and his eyes flickered shut, his long eyelashes brushing against her cheeks. His mouth started to slowly move against hers, one large hand cupping her face while the other went to the small of her back pulling her even closer against him.
It was kiss they'd both been building up to for a while now, and it didn't disappoint. Stiles' lips glided over Addie's, perfectly in sync like they always were with one another. His lips were soft and warm as they pressed upon Addie's, the taste of mint in his mouth mingling with her cherry lip balm. It was as if the world fell away, there was nothing else that in existence but them, their mouths and the immense feeling of contentment that they only got when they were together. Nothing else mattered. The fluttering in Addie's stomach exploded so that she could feel the electricity through every inch of her body. Through both of their shirts, Addie felt the pounding of Stiles' rapid heart, smiling into their kiss, she took the hand she had balled up in his plaid shirt and gently placed it upon his chest, only to feel it beat even faster. Stiles reached a hand up to tangle in the mess of blonde hair that fell down her back and cautiously swiped his tongue across Addie's swollen bottom lip. Addie barely contained the small moan that threatened to slip form her mouth and she was just about to yield and part her lips even further when they were interrupted.
"Hey, Stiles. I-" Both Stiles and Addie froze, eyes snapping open as they heard his bedroom door swing open and his father's voice, which ceased as soon as he walked in the door. Still attached at the lips, Addie was the first to snap out of her shocked state and stumble out of their embrace. She backed herself over to the other side of the room.
"Sheriff Stilinski! Uh, hi I was just-" Addie's words tapered off when she realized she didn't have a clue what she was going to say.
"Oh, Hi Addie. I didn't know you were here." Stiles' dad smirked after his initial surprise wore off, amusement glowed in his eyes as he looked between Addie and Stiles. Addie couldn't find it in herself to glance over at Stiles. Instead, she kept her embarrassed stare straight forward, focusing on an old poster on Stiles' wall. "I just came in to wish Stiles luck for his first game, although it looks like you beat me to it."
Addie chuckled uneasily. Never in her life had she wanted the ground to swallow her up more. Addie could feel her cheeks redden as she made herself look over to Stiles, who was still rooted to the spot looking flustered with his lips still puckered. It was then that Addie remembered that Sheriff Stilinski wasn't the only one to witness what had just happened. She looked over to Stiles desk to find Danny who looked both incredibly uncomfortable and smug. Derek was no where to be seen.
"Dad." Stiles groaned, managing to pull himself out of whatever trance he'd been in.
"You know speaking of the game, I, uh, I actually have to go." Addie stuttered, hurrying to grab her abandoned textbooks and stuff them into her bag.
"Ads-" Stiles called after her, but she just continued towards the door not looking him in the eyes.
"I'll uh see you at the game okay?" Addie promised, Stiles only had time to nod before Addie raced past the Sheriff. "Goodbye Sheriff Stilinski," she muttered on her way past, embarrassment clouding her mind as she raced down the stairs and out of the front door.
- A Moment of Impact -
And we have lift off! Well, slightly. The first 'Staddie' kiss! What did you all think? I've known that this was the exact moment their first kiss would be since before I even put pen to paper, well typing in word pad haha. Let me know what you thought!
Next chapter is going to be very Addie/Scott orientated, I'm looking forward to it! I've done some calculations, and by estimation AMOI has 8 chaptrs left, maybe 9, so we're on the home stretch. Don't be believing that everything is going to be smooth sailing between our lovely couple ust because they kissed, we still have a ways to go!
I actually have a favor to ask of you all before I finish this note up. I've been considering writing an Avengers fic once this stoy is done. It's a Bruce/OC and I recently posted a summary (fairly long summary) on tumblr, could any Marvel/Avengers fans please have a qick look and let me know if it's something worth continuing? Link to my tumblr on my profile, I've just reblogged it so it should be near the top!
Thank you so much and I'll see you next Friday!
Love Em
xx
