Authors Note: HEYO! XD Please tell me what you think; I would love to know XD I own nothing and no one, apart from the following: Zane,Jason, Emily, Amelia, Arthur, Lily Jones, Carter King, Tina Smith, Lorcan Smith, Cassandra Morgan and James Morgan.
JUST SO YOU KNOW: like everyone else, I have no idea what Stiles' real name is, so I'm going along with what everyone else puts :) and I've made his middle name up XD
You guys are all so amazing and I love you all! In a non-creepy non-psycho kind of way, of course XD
Please, please review XD
DUDES THIS IS MY MOST SUCCSESSFUL FIC SO FAR, AND I LOVE YOU ALL FOR THAT! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING, BECAUSE I LOVE WRITING IT :'D
Chapter 29
Stiles
Leaning against the wall just outside the children's ward, I tried my best not to look as if pain was shooting through me at that very moment.
It was easier said than done... Especially when the people I was trying to convince just happened to be werewolves, whocould smell this kind of stuff.
No one said anything. And to hell if I was going to speak first.
I guess, for now, I could just focus on getting back to my room. The talking could come later... The problem was, how did I get there without the tidal wave of pain in my torso? Leaning against the wall probably didn't help me with that...
For a moment, I glanced at the ten people standing in front of them; all of them seeming like they wanted to help, but not knowing if they should. Not knowing if touching me right now was such a good idea.
To be honest... I didn't know if I would freak out or not...
I mean, at the moment, there was no way of telling what would happen if they got too close. Well, accept for if that person was Derek. If it was Derek, I would be fine. I always seemed to be.
But anyone else? I wasn't too sure what would happen...
I tried to move off of the wall, push up slowly. But pain just ripped through my torso, shooting up my spine. I guess it didn't help that I had a guitar to carry as well.
Slumping against the wall again, I went to get a better grip on the guitar and try again, when Peter's hand slowly came into view and grabbing the neck of the guitar, further down from where my hand was.
I gave the guy a grateful smile before trying to move again, the same fiery sensation crashing over me.
It was then that Derek came closer, standing to my right, while Isaac followed and did the same to my left.
They both helped me walk, while I was focusing on not panicking about the touch...
It was harder than I thought...
Back in my room, on my bed, I was half lying down and half sitting up, the pillows behind my back.
Still, no one had said anything, probably not knowing what to say.
I couldn't decide whether or not I was happy with the silence, or whether I wanted them all to talk – one at a time of course. Since I had woken up, I hadn't heard their voices as much as I would have liked – apart from Derek's – but that didn't mean I would be calm if they started to talk to me.
For all I knew, I would start to freak out again... It was possible!
But there was only one way to tell.
"What were you doing down there?" Jackson asked, leaning against the wall by the window.
Ok, so maybe I don't start this.
"Entertaining." I shrugged, voice going quiet. "Emily, the girl with long black hair and blue eyes...she told me a few of them heard me. The kids were bored; they had nothing to do... She convinced me to give them a little show. So I did."
"Why?" Boyd questioned, shaking his head slightly.
"I like kids. Well, the one's that aren't little shits, anyway. Those four...some of them won't make it to the end of this year."
Sighing, I leant back into the pillows behind me, wincing slightly as I did so. But I should have known better than to believe they would stop with the questions...
"What do you mean?" Erica wondered, leaning further into Boyd as she did.
"Emily...she'll survive the next six months if she's lucky." I muttered. "Amelia has another two, maybe three, years left, if the drugs don't work. Jason will be fine as long as his treatment works, but there's still a fifty-fifty chance... Arthur is the only one who is definitely going to be fine and out of here alive. So, I thought, what could it hurt? To give them what they wanted..."
I wasn't looking at any of them, instead choosing to stare down at my hands.
I could actually feel it this time. Could feel myself starting to withdraw... I mean, if I wasn't, I would have been able to look at them. I wouldn't have been so quiet. I wouldn't have been trying to keep myself neutral when I really just wanted to scream and cry about the fact that those poor children may not make it to see their next birthday.
I could feel it... And I didn't know how to stop it.
"What the hell were you doing there anyway?" I asked, wanting to get the attention off of me.
And, with that one question, I could smell the embarrassment. It was instant. No build up, just full force, hit in the face, embarrassment.
That peaking my interest, I looked up at them all slightly.
While Derek and Peter sat on chairs to the right of my bed – my guitar resting against the table beside the hospital bed –, Isaac and Danny mirrored them on the left. Jackson and Lydia were by the window on the left hand side with Scott and Allison mirroring them on the right, while Erica and Boyd were leaning against the wall directly in front of my. All of them just looked so...sheepish.
That just made me even more curious.
"We were worried." Allison admitted, finally.
"We hear where you were, so we went there." Lydia agreed.
"Well, Derek practically sprinted in his haste, but my nephew has a tendency to overreact with you, my boy." Peter chuckled. "Of course, you remember that. You remember what he was like when you were both young."
And I did.
If I so much as stumbled, Derek would be worrying... I remember thinking that he was just being silly and laughing, but my mom and his family all thought it was 'cute' and 'obvious'. What they thought was obvious, I didn't know...
It made me wonder if Derek knew... Or if Peter remembered...
I'll have to ask.
Glancing at Derek, I saw a tinge of pink on his face, not that his expression changed once. Though it did seem like he wanted to strangle Peter... But that didn't seem like anything knew. I mean, they did have a love/hate relationship...well; it was like that on Derek's side of things anyway. Peter's was more of a love/pester-you-until-you-go-insane type thing.
Yeah, I definitely remember those two!
Even though I didn't talk much, everyone stayed for a couple of hours.
"I hope you're not missing me too much." I grinned, ignoring the sharp pain in my jaw.
That's what I had said to Derek and Peter the day before... But, now? With everyone here? It seemed to be just that...
Did they... Did they really miss me?
No one had missed me before...
I was never away from mom long enough for her to miss me. Dad had said no such thing, ever. I don't think anyone had missed me before. No one had said...
FLASHBACK: Friday, July 24th 1998 – Claudia Stilinski's POV
"I've missed you, Gen!" ten – almost eleven – year old Derek grinned, as he picked my baby up and hugged him tightly.
Genim, my perfect baby boy, was three – almost four. He and Derek had this...connection, that neither of them had with anyone else. It was only with each other.
Oliver – Talia's husband, Derek's father – was convinced that the boys were Mates...
While I could see why he thought so, they both were just too young for us to even be considering such things... But I couldn't have picked a better Mate for my baby than Derek.
I mean, the ten year old loved Genim. And I mean loved him. Whenever I visited with my little boy, the first thing Derek did was race over to the car, say hello to me, before focusing all of his attention on Genim.
No one could get Derek to put Genim down while my baby and I was over at the Hales, the young boy choosing to carry my perfect little boy the whole time. Not that Genim minded one bit.
No, Genim loved Derek just as much as Derek loved Genim. At home, my baby would only talk about 'his Der'. Just all day, every day, non stop talking about his best friend. Genim wanted to spend all his time with Derek, and vice versa, neither of them wanting to be apart from each other...
Maybe Oliver had a point.
"Claudia, I'm glad you could make it." Talia smiled, walking over to hug me.
"It's good to see you, Tals." I laughed. "How are you all?"
"As well as always. You?"
"Everything's just...amazing. With John, with Genim... I wonder how I'm so lucky."
"I know the feeling."
Talia and I grinned at each other, before turning back to watch the boys, the same as the rest as the Hale Pack. I only just noticed Oliver coming over to stand on the other side of Talia, while Peter did the same as me, the two looking at the young boys in front of us and thinking the same thing.
"I'm telling you, they're Mates." Oliver insisted. "They have to be."
"I must agree with Olly." Peter grinned, using the nickname Oliver hated, but sounding sincere all the same. "Friends don't have that kind of spark."
"Spark? What kind of spark?" I asked, glancing towards friend, before turning back to Derek chasing my baby around the opening in front of the house.
"Yes, brother dear, do tell." Talia smirked, loving to try and annoy the hell out of her younger sibling...just like Laura, surprisingly, with Derek.
"The kind of spark that you and Oliver have, sister dear." Peter replied, simply.
And, as I watched as Derek picked Genim up, spinning my baby boy around, I knew what Peter meant.
It was the spark that let people know. Let people know that these two in front of us were it for each other. That they had found the other half of them.
And I really couldn't think of a better Mate for my baby than the young Hale.
"Der, you know what they mean?" I heard Genim ask, his arms linked around the older boys neck.
"You know Gen, I have no clue." I heard Derek reply, shaking his head slightly. "Probably some silly adult stuff anyway."
"Ew."
"Yeah... Come on, I'll race you inside!"
Yeah, Oliver was definitely right.
END OF FLASHBACK – Back to: Tuesday, February 18th 2014 – Stiles' POV
Huh... Some maybe someone had missed me, before...
Maybe someone had told me that they had missed me, before.
And that someone just happened to be sitting to my right.
I glanced at Derek as he responded to...something one of the Betas had said; trying to figure out if what Oliver and Peter had said all those years ago were actually true.
Were Derek and I really meant to be, you know...that?
It was five minutes after the Pack had left, and I was attempting to get some rest, that there was a knock at the door. Looking up and rubbing at my eyes, I found Arthur's father, Jason's mom, both of Amelia and Emily's parents standing there.
For a while, I just stared at them, just like they stared at me, no one saying anything. Know, you think that sounds awkward? Well, try being there! Way more awkward than it sounds.
"Sorry, I would sit up but when you have broken and bruised ribs from getting beaten unconscious, it's kinda difficult." I told them. "Look, I know with everything you heard, you hate me. Hell, there are eleven people in this town that actually treats me like a person. But just because you guys don't like me doesn't mean I'm going to stop singing for your kids. They're the only ones that I know haven't listened to the rumours and, even if they have, they still want me around."
"No, it's..." Amelia's mom started. "We're sorry."
"And we wanted to say thank you." Emily's dad finished.
And that was really not expected...
"Not many people would do what you did." Jason's mom sighed. "We misjudged you."
"We are grateful." Arthur's dad agreed.
"I would very much like to come watch tomorrow." Emily's mom smiled. "Your voice is stunning."
"And the way you handle our children is astounding." Amelia's dad added. "Especially since you pick them up and let them hang off of you if you have damaged ribs."
I didn't know whether or not I should laugh or just stare at them in shock... I mean, how you react when people who just a few hours ago hated you came and apologised... And, you know, all that other stuff.
Since I had come to this town, never had I thought that this would happen... I mean, people actually wanting me near their children, people actually apologising to me, people actually wanting to be near me...
This is really weird...
"Uh... Yeah, that's... That's perfectly fine." I breathed. "Any requests?"
"Do you know A Whole New World? It's my favourite Disney song." Emily's mom grinned.
"And Colours of the Wind?" Amelia's mom asked.
"Under the Sea?" Jason's mom wondered.
The three women found it easy to think up songs, all of them taking only a second to think of a song.
The men on the other hand? They took a while longer.
"Bare Necessities? It's Arthur's favourite." Arthur's dad mumbled.
"Why Should I Worry?Amelia always sings that one." Amelia's father smiled.
"Streets of Gold? Emily used to get me to sing it all the time." Emily's dad chuckled.
Nodding, I made a note of all six in the closest book – one of my sketch books – writing the lightly it the corner, underneath one of the sketches I had made of Derek and Peter.
When I looked up again, I found the six parents looking at the book with wide eyes, but said nothing when they spotted the look on my face.
"I'll, uh, be happy to do them." I told them. "I'll see you tomorrow then..."
As the adults said goodbye and left my room, closing the door behind them, I couldn't help but feel this strange sense of...giddiness.
Was something finally going right?
The next day, I was down at the children's ward early.
Well, it was ten thirty, but that was still kind of early.
The parents were already there with their kids, sitting on chairs as the four children sat in front of them on the floor. Before I walked into the room, I just took a moment to look at them, to see how a parent/child relationship should be...
It hurt. Knowing that I used to have that. Knowing that I would never have that again.
"Are you going to go in?" a voice from my right – Allison's – asked.
Jumping slightly, I whipped my head round, my neck cracking softly as I did so.
Standing to my right was the entire Pack... I knew that they had the rest of the week off while the university dealt with the aftermath of the small fire...but I never thought that they would have wanted to spend that time off here. With me.
"Depends, are you guys going to be creepers and watch from out here?" I quipped, raising an eyebrow – man I had been spending too much time with Derek and Peter...
Instead of replying, Lydia just stepped forward and opened the door, putting a small amount of pressure on my shoulder.
Rolling my eyes, I walked forward, stepping through the doors.
"STILES!" four little voices yelled, running forward.
I was able to hand my guitar to Lydia just in time, before I was attacked by little children.
"Hey guys!" I chuckled, laughing through the pain. "You're excitable today."
"You're here."Jason shrugged, grinning, as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
I couldn't help but smile a little.
"Sti." Arthur whispered, pulling a little on the hospital gown. "Who they?"
I didn't need to look to where he was pointing, the other kids looking that way too. Instead, I started walking them back over to their parents.
"They are my friends." I started.
"The ones you live with?" Amelia inquired.
"The very same. They're going to help me out today."
Looking over my shoulder, I grinned at the ten people behind me.
Yeah, I was going to have a bit of fun with this...
I had easily gotten through four of the songs that the parents – Lily Jones (Jason's mom), Carter King (Arthur's dad), Tina Smith (Amelia's mom), Lorcan Smith (Amelia's dad), Cassandra Morgan (Emily's mom) and James Morgan (Emily's dad) – and now I was on the fifth: A Whole New World, from Aladdin.
The one thing I had to do, ask one of the girls – Allison, Erica and Lydia – to do Princess Jasmine'spart of the song.
So, turning to the girls, I started to ask that question.
"Allison's doing it." Lydia grinned.
I watched as Allison rolled her eyes and moved her chair closer to mine.
As soon as she was ready, I started playing.
Me: "I can show you the world
Shining, shimmering, splendid
Tell me, princess, now when did
You last let your heart decide?
I can open your eyes
Take you wonder by wonder
Over, sideways and under
On a magic carpet ride
A whole new world
A new fantastic point of view
No one to tell us no or where to go
Or say we're only dreaming"
I had actually forgotten how much I used to love singing this song with my mom. It was always so much fun, and she would spin me around as we sang, making it seem like I was flying.
Allison: "A whole new world
A dazzling place I never knew
But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear
That now I'm in a whole new world with you"
Me: "Now I'm in a whole new world with you"
Allison: "Unbelievable sights
Indescribable feelings
Soaring, tumbling, freewheeling
Through an endless diamond sky
A whole new world"
Sometimes I had actually felt like Aladdin. I mean, I had already been homeless, and I guess my Jeep was my own version of Abu...
Me: "(Don't you dare close your eyes)"
Allison: "A hundred thousand things to see"
Me: "(Hold your breath, it gets better)"
Allison: "I'm like a shooting star
I've come so far
I can't go back
To where I used to be"
Me: "A whole new world"
Allison: "Every turn a surprise"
Me: "With new horizons to pursue"
Allison: "Every moment gets better"
Both: "I'll chase them anywhere
There's time to spare
Let me share this whole new world with you"
People saw me as scum, a 'street rat', just like they did Aladdin.
Me: "A whole new world"
Allison: "A whole new world"
Me: "That's where we'll be"
Allison: "That's where we'll be"
Me: "A thrilling place"
Allison: "A wondrous place"
Both: "For you and me."
But, like Aladdin, I had found a place where some people didn't think that... Though I was still feeling myself pull away slowly from the people that had taken me in.
Allison had an amazing voice.
"Well that was fun." she giggled.
I smiled to her as she moved her chair back, before turning my attention back on the kids in front of me.
"Now, Emily." I grinned as the little girl in question looked up at me. "Your dad told me you got him to sing a certain song all the time."
Emily looked back at her dad, her little face lighting up as she did so.
"He hasn't sung it in a while." Emily said. "Are you really going to sing it?"
Instead of replying, I just started playing it.
"Now listen up
You've got a lot to learn
And if you don't learn you don't eat
But if you're tough
And always use your head
You'll feel right at home on the street
When you've got talent ev'rything is free
Watch how we do things, oooh, I guarantee"
When I was living in my car, this song ran through my head quite a lot at night.
"You're gonna see how the best survive
We make an art out of staying alive
If you do just as you're told
These are streets of gold
Ev'ry boulevard is a miracle mile
You'll take the town and you'll take it with style
If you play it brave and bold
These are streets of gold"
It was something that, for some reason, had just stayed with me the whole time.
"To live from week to week
You need technique
So you practice ev'ry day
The only rule is:
Thou shalt not get caught
Get what you can and then get away
Remember all the places you can hide
Remember we are always on your side"
By the way Emily was smiling and singing along, I could tell that she loved the song just as much as I did.
"You're gonna see how the best survive
We make an art out of staying alive
If you do just as you're told
These are streets of gold
Ev'ry boulevard is a miracle mile
You'll take the town and you'll take it with style
If you play it brave and bold
These are streets of gold"
Hell, her dad was singing along too! I missed the days where I could just sit back and do that with my mom.
"When you've got talent ev'rything is free
Watch how you do things, oooh, I guarantee
You're gonna see how the best survive
We make an art out of staying alive
If you do just as you're told
These are streets of gold
Ev'ry boulevard is a miracle mile
You'll take the town and you'll take it with style
If you play it brave and bold
These are streets of gold."
This was actually really fun to do...
Friday, February 28th 2014, the day before I was being released, was when it hit me.
For the second time in my life, my emotions were messing around with me. They were lying.
I wasn't attracted to Derek. I wasn't his Mate!
None of it wasn't true.
It couldn't be true!
Everybody always ends up leaving or hurting me. That's what happens.
No one sticks around.
No one cares enough to stay.
No one wants me around. Unless I'm being used as something to take their anger out on.
That's the way it would always be.
But he kissed me – you...us?
The first was an accident... The second one must have been as well and the third was because of anger and proximity.
But he seemed really into it... And so did I/you/we...
Again: feelings. Lying. To. Me.
No they weren't. They guy likes me/you/us. I/you/we heard what Peter said to Derek: "You really should control your jealousy, nephew. You have nothing to worry about." They were talking about me/you/us! Even mom knew! And Talia and Oliver and probably the rest of the old Hale Pack!
It's not true.
It can't be true.
I'll happen again.
Somehow, it'll all happen again.
And Zane will show up.
And Zane will bring my dad.
And the all three of them will just do to me what dad and Zane did back in Dallas!
They'll laugh.
They'll know how stupid I've been.
They won't let me forget that.
I should just accept that I'm going to die alone.
I should just swear off of relationships.
There was no way that what I was feeling could possibly be true.
March 1st 2014 – Saturday –, at 11:30am, I was finally released.
I had gone to the children's ward, before I was released, to sing one last time for the kids... The parents had actually exchanged numbers with me while I was there telling me that they would let me know if there was any change in their child's condition, or they would call if their child wanted to speak to or see me.
That surprised me... A lot.
Hell, it surprised the Pack a lot too. And Melissa.
Melissa had said that some of the hospital staff – the ones that had seen me with the kids and their parents, as well as seeing me with the Pack – had even started to change their opinions of me.
Only slightly, just by a little... But it was just enough for them to doubt all the rumours.
It was something...
I couldn't even begin to describe what I was feeling as I sat in the passenger's seat of Derek's Camaro, with Boyd and Erica in the backseat. I liked to think that the feelings were good... I mean, I never did like the hospital...
But there was always that nagging feeling in the back of my head, telling me that I had to be careful. That I had to keep watch, because I didn't know when they were going to turn on me.
At the moment, though, I was focusing more on the fact I was leaving a place I had spent a lot of time in through the duration of my life.
At least know I could begin to relax a little, knowing I was out of that place.
When I had first woken up, I thought I was back in Dallas. I thought that maybe Zane and dad had got me good, put me in a coma and I had dreamt up all of it: Beacon Hills, the Hale Pack, the university, Melissa...
And for that first, terrifying few minutes, when they were all holding me down...I thought dad or Zane had gotten into the room to finish the job off...
But then Derek had turned up and he just...made everything better. I still didn't know how he did it, but something he did always managed to calm me down.
I didn't even know where to start with that.
Derek
Ever since the day we had first helped Stiles back to his room, the first day he sang to the four children, he had been acting differently.
Sure, with what he went through, that's a given... But it was more than that.
I didn't say anything, choosing instead to just see what would happen first.
I didn't expect that, three days later, Stiles would revert back to how he used to be. He barely talked, went back to sitting on the ground right by the door... Stiles would spend more time up in his room during the day, sometimes he even went back to asking before doing anything.
This had hit him harder than I thought it ever would...
On the fourth day of Stiles being home – Wednesday, March 5th – while the Betas were at school and Peter was out doing...Peter things, the boy was sitting in the living room, curled up on the floor with his back pressed against the side of the couch, facing the door. He had been sitting there ever since he had come down the stairs that morning...
That had been two and a half hours ago.
I walked out of the kitchen, two mugs of coffee in my hand.
"Here, thought you'd be thirsty." I said, handing him one of the mugs, before taking a seat on the floor, not too far away from him.
"I'm fine, Derek." Stiles mumbled.
Those two words, 'I'm fine', seemed to be his most said words ever since we had brought him back home. Day in and day out, at least forty to fifty times a day, you would hear the words 'I'm fine' leave his mouth.
But his heart always told me the truth.
His heart always told me he was lying.
"Didn't say you weren't." I shrugged. "So, anything you want to do today?"
Silence.
"Anything? Anything at all." I tried again.
Silence.
"Music? TV? Training; we haven't done our one on one for a while?" I pushed. "Running? Or, maybe..."
"I'M FINE!" Stiles yelled, jumping up and cutting off the rest of my sentence.
But as soon as he stopped talking, the boy flinched as if expecting to be hit. Sometimes I wondered if it was only Zane that use to abuse him... But I didn't dare ask.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." he chanted, bowing his head, backing away.
I was only just able to get to my feet and catch him, before he fell to the ground after hitting the corner of the couch.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to yell, please don't hit me." he whispered, voice shaking. "Don't hate me, I'm sorry."
"Stiles," I started, holding onto his arms to keep him in place, and bending slightly to try get eye contact. "Calm down, it's alright. I won't hurt you, I would I never hurt you. I couldn't hate you. Just breathe."
And for a while, there was quiet.
An eerie silence that had used to be filled with the jokes and remarks and the laugh of the boy in front of me. But, now, all of that had been replaced by the shell that I had first met. The shell of a broken kid...
Nothing like the little boy I knew when I was younger.
No, that kid was gone... But, sometimes, I could see him lurking somewhere deep inside, just wanting to break free of the cell he had been placed into. I could see it in the way he would talk to Peter about certain bands, or songs, or movies, or books, or memories... I could see it when he was holding on so tight to that toy wolf cub – Wolfy... I could see it when he smiled and laughed... I could see it, sometimes, when he would look over at me and remember something...
But he had been buried deep.
I just wanted to know who broke him. Who destroyed the carefree kid I used to know. Yes, the death of his mom would have hurt him badly, but it wouldn't have made him like this. It made me wonder if his dad ever did something to him too...
I never met the guy... None of us had. We only ever heard of him.
There's no knowing what the guy was like.
And Stiles had said that they didn't get along...
Could his father also have made him like this?
No, Stiles would have told us. He would have mentioned it.
But, then again, he never told us about Zane.
"Can I go to my room, please?" Stiles asked, voice quiet and broken and tired.
My wolf was almost dying at the sound.
"Yeah." I whispered. "Course you can, Genim."
And, only taking a second to get over the surprise of hearing that name again, Stiles walked passed me and up the stairs.
This had to change.
Stiles
Saturday – March 8th – I was training.
From the moment I finished making breakfast for the others – I skipped it – I just made my way down the halls, until I reached a familiar door right at the end. I only took a proper look around now, seeing the wall next to it wasn't actually a wall... From ceiling to floor, it was just one massive window. I could tell that the glass had been modified, made thick enough to keep the heat it, but to also be strong enough to hold so it wouldn't break as if it was actually made of brick.
You could see out into the woods, could see the sun bounce off of the surface of a river not too far away. This part of the woods wasn't as unkempt as the rest, the area brighter than any other part...
I, belatedly, realised that this was a lower view of what I could see out of my bedroom window.
Anyway, I had stood there for five minutes, just staring, before actually walking into the room, shutting the door behind me, throwing my t-shirt into a corner.
That had been three hours ago.
Derek
Four hours and twenty seven minutes.
That's how long we had waited before going after Stiles.
For a while, we all had believed that he trusted us; that he could tell us anything he needed to. We believed that he was comfortable enough with us to stay relaxed, to stay calm with us.
Obviously we were wrong.
For the life of me, I didn't know what we would say or who would say it... All I knew was we had to get the old Stiles back.
The ten of us easily navigated the hallways, all of us fixated on just wanting to break the wall he had put up again.
Peter and I knew what he was really like. We had known him for five years of his life before he moved, and he was still showing glimpses of that same hyperactive little kid we knew from back then.
The rest of the Pack? They had seen a change from the withdrawn nineteen year old they had first met; to the guy they had seen before he had gotten attacked. Seeing that change, seeing what he could be like, it changed them. It showed them what could be under the surface of a person...
Hell, they should know this already. They met Peter and me!
I just don't get teenagers!
And didn't that make me feel old?! I was only twenty-six – twenty-seven in November... I was still a teenager only seven years ago!
Sometimes I felt so much older than I actually was.
Shaking my head a little, I opened the door, all of us filing in one by one. Stiles was on the punching bag, his favourite way to train. Even when we were younger he had a sort of fascination with it...
Definitely still in there.
"What?" he huffed, not stopping his attack on the inanimate object in front of him.
"Stiles, why are you being like this?" Scott asked, softly, a small whine in his voice.
We waited for the nineteen year old to reply... But he just kept on taking his frustration out on the bag in front of him, this time with renewed vigour.
I could tell this was going to take a bit of time. Everyone did.
So we waited.
Stiles
I was hoping that they would all leave.
Just...give up and leave me alone, just like everyone else does in the end.
But they didn't move. They stayed in the same place by the door, all of them just staring at me. Watching me. Waiting for me.
It hurt too much to even think about turning around and look at them. I just couldn't do it... I couldn't stop my assault on the bag in front of me, I couldn't even being to think of what to say to them...
To be honest, I didn't want to. I just wanted to be left alone to brood by myself. Just like I always had, and just like I always would.
But then I was being dragged away from the bag, the person – Derek, apparently – pulling me into the middle of the room.
"Talk to us." he demanded, quietly, turning me around to face them all.
And I just...snapped.
"Why?! So I can get beaten up? No thank you!" I spat, shrugging his hand off of my shoulder, taking a couple of steps backwards.
They all just looked at me as if I was a foreign object. Or, as if I was talking in another language. The surprised shock and confusion colouring their expressions.
"I mean, apparently, I can't make friends without them wanting to kill me, so it's only a matter of time for you lot!" I argued, hands flailing as my voice rose slightly and started to shake a little. "Something must be wrong with me, can't you see it?! I can't have one fucking friend! Just one! They all use me!"
I turned around, running my hands through my hair, gripping the strands and tugging hard. I could feel the scars on my scalp underneath the pads of my fingers, but I paid them no mind. Right now wasn't the time.
"And why not?!" I yelled, spinning back around. "I am NOTHING! I don't mean ANYTHING to ANYONE!"
Grabbing one of the knives from the table near me, I threw it at the wall furthest away from me, screaming as I did so.
I didn't expect anyone to come close to me.
I expected them all to get as far away from me as possible.
So, it was a surprise when Peter walked over to me, slowly, calmly, hugging me to him, as if I was that three year old kid again. That three year old kid who fell off of his bike and scrapped his hands on the dirt and twigs and cried because it was the worse pain he had felt so far in his life. That three year old kid who clung to the twenty year old who ran over and picked him up, hugging him close and softly singing the newest song he had introduced the kid to, just to calm him down. That three year old kid who clung to the twenty year old like a life line, sticking to him and the guy's ten year old nephew for the rest of the visit.
And, just like that, the dams burst open.
Suddenly, I was that three year old kid, sobbing and practically collapsing into that same now-thirty-six- almost-thirty-seven-year-old guy from sixteen years ago.
I thought it would have been awkward, hugging Peter again... But it was something familiar. Something I associated with good things from my childhood. I guess it helped he hugged the same as he used to – left arm wrapped just below the shoulders, right hand on the back of the head.
One by one, I felt the rest of the Pack make it a group hug, all of them touching me in some way... It was basically a standing puppy pile.
I realised, as we all stood there, that this was the first time in a while that I had properly cried. Not to the point that I was, literally, crying waterfalls...
But, for some reason, it felt nice to just...get it all out.
Just like when I was three, I stuck close to Peter and Derek – mainly Derek.
At one point, Derek had disappeared from the living room for a bit – we were in a proper puppy pile and I was in between Derek and Peter for a change, but Isaac did decide to lie across my legs – so I just moved closer to Zombie wolf, as we all watched random kids programs on TV.
It was a surprise that, when Derek came back down and settled himself on the floor again, he handed Wolfy to me, shrugging slightly.
Smiling a little, I leant into his side, bringing the toy wolf cub closer to me, burying my face into the fur on its back like I used to when I was younger, leaning back against the couch.
Derek smiled fondly, his hand the arm that he had placed behind me on the couch ruffling my hair slightly, while Peter placed his left hand on my right shoulder.
"Thank you." I whispered, conscious of the fact that the rest of the Pack was either sleeping or close to it.
"You have nothing to thank us for, my boy." Peter told me, sincerity evident in his voice, squeezing my shoulder slightly. "You've always been part of the family."
With a quiet 'I'll be right back', Peter stood and walked off in the direction of the kitchen. Pretty much straight away, I shifted closer to Derek, gripping Wolfy tighter. Derek's hand dropped from my hair, his arm coming to rest around my shoulders, his hand gripping my arm a little.
"It's ok to cry, Gen." Derek muttered, using the nickname only I was allowed to use – both as a kid and now. "Remember that. Alright?"
"Yeah, Der." I nodded.
Leaning my head on his shoulder, I turned it slightly so my forehead was against his neck, curling myself up slightly as I felt my eyelids start to drop, slowly.
Not that I fell asleep until Peter was back, his hand on my shoulder once again.
It was strange, but just sitting there with the two Hales felt so much like home... Something I had never really felt when I had moved to Dallas. Something I certainly didn't feel after mom died...
I felt more at home here, with Derek and Peter, than I had in years.
I felt safer that I had in years.
I actually felt cared for, for once...
It felt...nice. I liked this feeling.
DUDES THIS IS MY MOST SUCCSESSFUL FIC SO FAR, AND I LOVE YOU ALL FOR THAT! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I HOPE YOU ENJOY READING, BECAUSE I LOVE WRITING IT :'D
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