The next day she woke up still worried about Stiles so she pulled out one of her pre-made cute outfits from last nights' boredom consisting of her signature rolled to the ankle blue jeans with converse, grey tee, and light-weight maroon button up sweater. She applied the usual amount of makeup with her usual two necklaces then went downstairs to grab Stiles' favorite flavor of pop tarts: S'mores.
As she placed them in the toaster she turned to see her father walking out of his office smiling at her again. She rolled her eyes and tried to hide the blush and avoid a repeat of yesterday's interrogation. She watched him sit at the kitchen island where she ate sometimes with that knowing smile of his as he pretended to read the newspaper. Chloe sighed knowing she'll have to tell him eventually and should probably just get it over with already… The pop tarts came out of the toaster surprising her, moment lost… I'll tell him at the dinner party where he can't make a scene or anything. Chloe grabbed the pop tarts and walked out of the kitchen avoiding her father's look
"Bye Dad, love you!" she called behind her leaving the kitchen and grabbing her bag.
"You will tell me one of these days missy!" he called after her with a teasing chuckle. It's like he can read my freaking mind! Chloe rolled her eyes and put that situation behind her as she walked outside and saw Stiles waiting for her. She hopped in in jeep and cautiously looked over at him.
"Morning" she offered holding out the s'mores pop tart. Stiles looked over at her and gave her an unconvinced smile then looked down at the breakfast she was holding
"Oooo my favorite" he said half-heartedly as he grabbed the toaster confection and took a bite. Stiles then pulled out of the driveway and began driving towards school not saying anything else. She could just feel the bad vibes coming off him of being defeated and tired and upset. When they were half way to the school Chloe again tried conversation
"So… how'd you sleep last night after… everything?" she asked concerned. Stiles sighed not looking at her and took another bite. Chloe knew he didn't want to talk about it and could see the darkening circles under his eyes telling her the answer to her own question. She reached over and gently placed her hand on top of the one resting on the gear shift. She looked out the window again knowing there wasn't going to be much talking between them.
Stiles looked over at her and saw her looking out the window. She looked pretty today… and she was trying to make him feel better. She was trying and he knew he should say something. He just felt a little beaten down at the moment. When they pulled into the high school parking lot he turned off the car and looked over at her
"I know you're worried but I'm ok" Chloe looked at him with a concerned glance and he could tell she didn't believe him… even he didn't. "I just feel like we keep getting kicked back down every time we even attempt to stand back up…" He looked down at his hands on his lap as he played with his keys. Chloe slowly and gently grabbed his arm and put it around her shoulders as she rested her head on his shoulder. She let out a content sigh as he tightened his grip around her and let her comfort him. She wrapped her arms around his torso in a nice embrace and they were quiet for a few moments letting everything sink in.
"We'll come up with another plan soon enough Stiles… but for right now I think instead of trying to fix everyone else, you need to focus on fixing you and relaxing…" She felt Stiles shrug slightly and she looked up at him. "We could go on that date?" Stiles smirked to himself remembering how he had asked her and Chloe knew she had gotten through to him. She smiled and sat up a little as she caught his gaze. They stared at each other for a moment before Chloe finally broke the trance
"We should probably get going to class don't you think?" she asked smiling at him. Stiles playfully rolled his eyes and waved the school in front of them off dismissively.
"Class can wait" he told her as he leaned in and kissed her. He missed her sugary sweet taste on his lips as their short but sweet kiss slowly came to an end. Chloe was glad Stiles wasn't keeping her in the dark and telling her everything, even if it was upsetting. Stiles did the move that Chloe loved when they kissed and pulled up against her mouth trailing his lips across hers leaving her wanting more. They finally broke the kiss and looked at each other and Stiles finally gave her a genuine smile before they grabbed their bags to head into the school. As they were walking Chloe grabbed his hand
"Almost forgot to tell you, I'm going with Lydia and Allison after school for a 'girl's night' with shoe shopping in town" she informed him. Stiles looked back at her with a brow raised and Chloe rolled her eyes at him. "I need new shoes to go to the company dinner for my dad on Sunday ok?" she explained. They both knew that being super worried about her looks was not part of her 'M.O.' and very un-like her. Stiles chuckled at her teasingly as they walked into the school. They went to their lockers and Chloe ran into Allison waiting at hers already. She smiled to her friend as she came up to her at her locker.
"Hey Allison, what's up?" she asked. Allison smiled at her as well
"Hey, I was just wondering if you knew anything about what Scott and Stiles found in the woods last night?" Chloe smiled and nodded and informed Allison everything she knew about what happened last night and how both boys were feeling pretty defeated. Allison nodded then asked if Chloe could send her the triangulations of the crash site and the coyote den so she could help find Malia/ware-coyote as well. Chloe promised then asked her what had been bothering her for a while.
"So how are you really? Have your visions or hallucinations about your aunt gotten worse?" she asked in a hushed tone with a concerned look. Allison looked down at her feet and didn't really say anything, which told Chloe all she needed to know. Stiles' dreams were happening more often and he was beginning to have panic-attack type things happen in class while he was awake. Scott's visions were happening more often and losing control of his wolf-i-tude slowly but ever so increasingly. But Allison didn't seem to be fading as fast and that gave her some hope that she might be able to have enough time to save her… she did owe her after all. Allison looked up at her again biting the inside of her lip and Chloe nodded understandingly and didn't press the issue. "Well I guess I'll see you after school then?" she said trying to change the subject to a happier one. Allison nodded and gave her a smile back
"Totally, see you later" she began to walk away and Chloe smiled wickedly as she couldn't control herself as he called out after her.
"Tell Isaac I say 'hi'" at that Allison whipped her head around and looked at the grinning Chloe before blushing herself and continued walking to class. Chloe called those two from the beginning and was proud of her for moving on. She then shut her own locker and went to her one class with Stiles and Scott. After sitting through that snore fest; she and Stiles parted ways she went to her next classes without a hitch until her fifth hour when she realized she had grabbed the wrong textbook from her locker.
She raised her hand to be excused to go to her locker quickly and the teacher wrote her a hall pass before she left. On her way to her locker she heard frantic footsteps and sneakers skid on the tile floor in the hallway to her left. She rounded the corner only to see the boy's bathroom door shut. Curiosity getting the better of her she slowly went off course and walked cautiously towards the recently closed bathroom door. The closer she got she began to hear voices, were those assholes doing something to Jarod again? Did people give swirly's anymore? She stood outside the door and listened trying to find what was happening as she could feel her stomach slowly drop to her feet… something was wrong. She heard the voices sounding panicked and deep agitated breaths resembling a panic attack.
"Come on Stiles count with me…" she heard and her heart stopped for a moment. Stiles was having a panic attack and Scott was with him. She didn't care for social etiquette and barged into the boy's bathroom to help Scott and her boyfriend. She rushed in to see Stiles sinking to the floor leaning against the wall trying to calm his breath while Scott was looking on at him looking worried beyond belief.
"What the hell is happening to me?" Stiles asked out of breath and scared.
"Stiles?" Chloe asked aloud sounding worried and freaked out. She ran over to his side to kneel in front of him next to Scott.
"I don't know man, but we're gonna figure it out, you're gonna be ok?" Scott reassured him.
"Am I?" Stiles asked looking between her and Scott. Chloe's heart broke a little at the sound of his scared voice cracking after coming down from hysteria. Stiles looked directly at Scott before continuing "-you can't transform, Allison is being attacked by her dead aunt, and I'm straight up losing my mind…" he told him then looked back at her for a moment and she watched a single tear slide down his face. Chloe knew he was scared, she was scared for him and it was all her fault. She caught his wavering gaze once more and he whispered to her in a defeated tone
"We can't do this…" He looked away from Chloe's worried-sick eyes that were also beginning to tear up. "We can't… we can't help Malia, we can't…" he trailed off sounding so hopeless that Chloe's heart broke even more over him as her throat constricted but she refused to cry. She had to be strong for Stiles now, it was her turn to save him. She knelt down and put both hands on each side of his face and looked at him
"Stiles…" he wouldn't look at her as he looked down at his lap. She bit her lip keeping her composure as she gently wiped away his tear. Scott sat down on the ground beside her and uttered the words she had been unknowingly waiting to hear him say since the Glen Capri.
"We can try" he said sounding full of hope and Chloe looked over to him and smiled reassuringly and nodded in agreement. "We can always try" he finished and Stiles looked up to him and slowly nodded telling his best friend non-verbally that he was ok. Scott stood up and then looked to Chloe telling her through his eyes to take care of Stiles as he headed back towards the door. Chloe followed him,
"What happened?" She asked him in a hushed tone since Stiles was still on the floor.
"He was asked to read in front of the class when he began to have a panic attack of some kind…" Chloe closed her eyes and took a deep calming breath
"He's been having trouble reading since all this started, being up there probably triggered something" she stated informing Scott of her theory. Scott nodded and glanced back at Stiles worried
"…He thought he was still in a dream" Chloe's heart sank and she froze for a moment before she nodded in understanding having witnessed this behavior from him before unfortunately. Scott then left her and Stiles alone and Chloe locked the bathroom door behind him so no one else interrupted them while Stiles calmed down.
Chloe turned back and saw Stiles with his eyes closed leaning his head back against the wall catching his breath. Chloe walked over and sat next to him on the wall and grabbed his hand not saying anything as she silently comforted him. Stiles' squeezed her hand to let her know he appreciated her staying with him. Chloe squeezed back letting him know she would be here for him as long as he needed her. Chloe watched him catch his breath and the part of her mind that likes to betray her at the most inappropriate times made her gaze wander from his face to his chest and she could see his muscles through his shirt. She saw his toned arms reaching down to hold her hand. She liked how that looked and against her better judgement she smiled to herself and leaned her head on his broad shoulder so he wouldn't see her blush or how she just checked him out.
It was silence between them for a few minutes besides Stiles' breathing before he opened his eyes and peaked down at her expecting to see her silently freaking out and scared of him. To his pleasant surprise she was leaning against his shoulder completely calm and looking forward. Stiles smirked at her, she stayed with him like she always had… god he loved her.
"How'd you know where we were?" he asked her quietly breaking the silence. Chloe adjusted and looked up at his inquiring eyes. She smiled slightly before answering just as quietly
"I was in the hallway and heard you guys" she informed him and he cocked his brow
"Why were you in the hallway during class?" Chloe blushed and looked down at her lap where Stiles followed her gaze to see the text book she was holding.
"I grabbed the wrong book for class so I was going to my locker when…" Stiles smiled at her and she blushed harder looking back out at the opposite wall.
"I'm glad you were here" he told her and she looked up at him and smiled warmly.
"Always" she told him before leaning up and kissing him. He pulled away after a moment and looked back at her smiling
"Shouldn't you be getting back to class with the right text book?" he asked teasing. Chloe giggled and sat up straight
"Shouldn't YOU be getting back to class too?" Stiles rolled his eyes.
"I'm in the nurse's office" he retorted jokingly giving her his valid excuse.
"Hall pass" she said showing the slip of paper. They both chuckled at each other before Stiles stole a quick kiss before shakily standing. Chloe stood after and put a hand on his shoulder to steady him as he held onto the sink.
Stiles quickly splashed water on his face to wake himself up and get rid of the sweat. He turned the sink off and reached out only to have Chloe hand him a paper towel. Stiles smiled at her weakly before drying his face and standing.
"Thanks" he said in an almost murmur. Chloe nodded and then reached up to put both hands on each side of his face.
"I want you to go straight home after school ok? Today is obviously a bad day… I'll come over if you'd like after my thing with Lydia" she told him. Stiles smiled at her
"Yes mom" he jested and Chloe shook her head at him before kissing him again. Stiles on instinct placed his hands on her hips and deepened the kiss pulling her closer. Chloe smiled and leaned against the bathroom wall behind her and continued kissing him. Stiles' tongue slowly skimmed her lips asking for entrance and Chloe happily obliged and let their tongues dance within each other's mouths. Stiles smiled into their kiss and stepped closer to her so they were pressed against each other and Chloe giggled pulling away so she could laugh. They looked at each other both smiling and pressed against each other happy that this wasn't a dream anymore.
"Are you sure you're ok to go back?" she asked still smiling. Stiles smiled and nodded before stepping back and giving her room. Chloe picked up her book and then smiled up at him "Guess I'll go get my book then…" Stiles unlocked the door and held it open for her letting her leave first.
"Go to class" he warned her playfully. Chloe rolled her eyes walking out with him on her heels. Chloe then got to her correct hallway and gave Stiles a sneaky kiss before pulling away and smiling as she walked to her locker. Stiles smiled after her before walking to the main office where the nurse's office was, remembering how serious everything was… he was losing his mind.
He was truly amazed that he hadn't scared her away, he knew she would stand by him losing his mind to the end, whether that was death or sanity, he was just happy she was there. All of this was beginning to happen faster and he felt like he was losing time with her or something… He also still had yet to tell her how he actually felt about her verbally. He loved her, he was positive with no questions needed and he wanted to tell her before something else bad happened. He remembered her asking him for that date on Sunday and figured then was as good as any. He smiled to himself as he began to plan a date for once, instead of a way to save everyone.
Chloe went back to class with the correct textbook and the teacher didn't ask why she was gone longer than expected which she appreciated. Her lunch period came around and she sat by Danny not really contributing to conversation as she was lost in her own thoughts and nibbling slowly away at her cafeteria food. Danny noticed she was out of it but didn't press her on the subject. In her next class she had with Allison she immediately told her what happened with Stiles. Allison got a worried expression before telling her that the police were there because a coyote attacked that Kira girl who told them about 'Bardo' in the locker rooms.
"Malia?" Chloe asked in a hushed tone. Allison shrugged her shoulders before turning to face forward to pay attention. Chloe needed to know more so she raised her hand to go to the bathroom. The teacher gave her a hall pass before she began walking out of the room. She caught Allison's line of sight and saw her give a weary expression before she left. She walked down the hall towards the locker rooms when she saw some police officers escorting a man out of the building. The man gave her a weird look of prolonged eye contact before being ushered out the doors. She shook off the weird interaction before continuing down to the locker rooms. She just rounded the corner when she literally ran into the Sheriff who caught her balance before she could fall.
"Hey Uncle John…" she said smiling innocently and he gave her a look that said 'cut the crap'. She closed her mouth and looked down at her shoes before back up at him.
"Just wanted to know if the coyote that attacked Kira was Malia?" she questioned softly. The Sheriff rolled his eyes at her incredulously
"You too?" Chloe smirked slightly knowing that Stiles had obviously gotten to him already. Chloe looked up keeping eye contact and pleading with them with her stare. The Sheriff sighed in defeat before telling her that Stiles and Scott think that she came to the school searching for a doll they had taken from the crash site… after Stiles' panic attack, which he thanked her for by the way, Kira was being nice and bringing them their bags where the doll was. Chloe nodded taking in this information
"But you still don't believe that there is a little girl inside that coyote?" she questioned him in accusation. The Sheriff pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and let out an exasperated sigh. "Uncle John I know it's hard to believe but Coyotes are survival-instinctive animals, not sentimental ones. Why would a coyote go after a doll that belonged to a past victim? Unless it was her sister…" she stated with reasoning. The Sheriff looked at her upset but purely beaten
"I know there are things that I don't fully understand yet Chloe, but until you can prove it I can't believe anything except for that fact that Mr. Tate, Malia's father, is going crazy over wanting to kill this animal that may or may not be his daughter which would be murder. So for Malia's sake, I hope what you're trying to tell me isn't true." The Sheriff shared with her and Chloe gulped at the thought of a father trying to kill his daughter. "Now get back to class please Chloe" he asked her before walking past her. Chloe slowly walked back to her class and sat next to Allison with a grave look on her face. Allison shot her an inquisitive and worried few glances before Chloe pulled out her phone and stealthily as possible sent Allison a text everything that she had found out. Allison received it and then sent her a quick reply
Scott has a plan for after school for all of us to split up in the woods to find her. I might be late for shoe shopping L
Chloe checked the message then wondered why she hadn't gotten a text from Scott or her boyfriend. She glared at her phone knowing Stiles was trying to keep her out of this so she sent Allison a quick text
We can push shopping back till later, we're all going J
*Stiles is getting good at making Chloe angry, he just wants what's best for her... right?*