I hope you all enjoy this chapter! This is in correlation with my other two stories, Scars and No One Else, so please go read and review those as well for everything to make sense. Some bits intertwine with each other but they're all told at different viewpoints.
Matt was dead.
It was confirmed about five hours later by the coroner. But Natalie already knew it the moment she found the body lying in the river. She hasn't been able to get the image out of her head since.
Natalie honestly didn't know how to feel about the whole thing. She would be the first to say that Matt Daehler was a complete psychopath that deserved to be punished for his wrongdoings.
But to have died by drowning? The one thing that Matt was afraid of the most and what started this entire mess? It was almost cruel.
Almost.
About a week had passed since then. It was weird, trying to pretend that everything was normal when everything was so far from that. That's what Natalie had told Ms. Morrell, who was sitting in front of her right now. The redhead had finally given in and booked an appointment with the guidance counselor upon her parents' request. Only because Stiles had told her he would do it if she did.
Damn her reasonable boyfriend, but Natalie couldn't say no to him.
Stiles had already gone to his appointment before their first class. Now it was after school and Natalie's turn to spill out her feelings. It will never be not hard for her to do so, especially with someone she hardly knew. The fact that that someone wasn't Caroline Maxwell did make things a little better though. And Ms. Morrell seemed nice enough. Although Natalie didn't care for the way she was staring deep into her soul the whole time.
"Are you nervous, Natalie?" Ms. Morrell asked her.
"Me?" Natalie scoffed. "No, of course not. What makes you think I'm nervous?"
"You've been scratching your arm for the past five minutes."
The redhead look down and sure enough, her nails were digging into her forearm, creating a red patch. "Oh." Natalie shoved her hands in her pockets. "Bug bite."
"I see," Ms. Morrell said, unconvinced, "There's nothing to be nervous about, Natalie. You've been doing good so far. I know how rough it must be for you right now. You were the one that found Matt's body after all."
"I've seen my fair share of death all my life," Natalie said, "I'd like to say that it doesn't phase me anymore."
"It's normal to have the death of someone you know affect you," Ms. Morrell told her.
"But it wasn't just somebody I knew," Natalie said, "It's not like Matt was my friend. No… he was a creepy stalker and a criminal on many accounts."
"I did hear that pictures of you and Allison were on his laptop."
"Along with plenty of other girls at this school. I mean, poor Allison because she got the worst of it. I mean, photoshopping yourself in pictures with a girl you weren't even with? And some were pretty graphic too. Who the hell does that? It's gross. That on top of being responsible for so many deaths does not deserve my sympathy. No matter how horrible of a death it was. Like, I'm sorry that people were idiots and tried to drown you, but go to therapy or something."
"Then why did it take you so long to come and see me, Natalie?"
Said girl furrowed her eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"Your parents had called me numerous times to ask if you finally made an appointment with me," Ms. Morrell explained, "They seemed disappointed every time I told them you hadn't."
"Well, better late than never, am I right?" Natalie winced when she felt that same sharp pain in the side of her head.
"Headache?" Ms. Morrell asked when she rubbed her head.
"Just a little," Natalie admitted. The guidance counselor took out an aspirin from her desk and handed it to her. "Thanks."
"Your records show that you had cancer when you were younger. Leukemia?"
"Brain tumor."
Ms. Morrell nodded her head in understanding. "That must have been a tough time in your life."
"It was," Natalie admitted, "But I think the hardest part about it was watching everyone worry about it. My parents, my brother, Stiles… they stressed over me so much. They still do. I know I'm not the easiest child to raise. Not even when it comes to my health. Hell, I even got my dad fired."
"He did get his job back though," Ms. Morrell reminded her.
"Yeah… thank God. But seeing my dad so disappointed when he did find my pills just reminded me of when I was lying in the hospital bed. Like I'm sure he and my mom were thinking, 'what are we going to do with this kid? How are we supposed to handle all of these bills and medications when she's already such a rambunctious child?'"
"And what about Stiles?"
Natalie sighed as she thought about her boyfriend. "He's been the only one who understands what I'm going through. There's been a bit of tension with everyone else like Scott and Allison and even Lydia. Stiles and I sometimes only have each other to lean on. We understand what it's like to feel like no matter how hard you try to do the right thing, everything just falls to shit and you feel like it's your fault and you don't know how to fix it. Everyone else is so strong and it's hard not to feel so weak in comparison. I'm only human after all. I'm bound to make mistakes. But I can't afford to make any right now. Not if I want to survive. I can't be weak."
"Is that why you don't address your headaches?" Ms. Morrell asked, "Because you don't want to appear weak? You think if you ignore the problem, it will eventually go away. But don't you realize all that's doing is just causing you more anguish? You don't want to hold it in because if you do, you'll end up exploding from all that pressure. That's why it's best to diffuse the issue before it's too late."
Now she was starting to sound a lot like Zach. It was kind of annoying. But she also wasn't wrong. Natalie wouldn't admit that out loud though. Maybe it was because of pride. Or just plain stupidity. Either way, Natalie was going to do what she did best- avoid the situation.
"I don't think there is a problem," Natalie simply said, "I'm doing just fine."
"Do you want to look at me when you tell me that so it looks a bit more believable?" Ms. Morrell asked her.
The redhead didn't even realize she was staring at her feet. She snapped her head up at the guidance counselor, who was waiting for an answer. With a little more confidence, Natalie smiled simply.
"Everything is going just fine."
It was the day of the big game, the lacrosse championship. There wasn't any reason for Stiles to feel nervous. Not when he was sure that he wasn't even going to actually play. He hasn't so far this season so why start now?
Maybe it wasn't the actual game that was putting him on edge. Ever since Matt died the other night, Stiles hadn't been sleeping well either and was even jumpier than usual. Like he told Ms. Morrell during his own appointment with her, he kept getting this really bad feeling that something was about to happen. Yeah it was a good thing that Matt was dead, but that just left so many questions unanswered, the main one being what was going to happen with the kanima now that it no longer had its controller.
Everybody was acting weird with each other. He hasn't really talked to Scott since that night. The teen wolf was having his own problems with his mom and Allison, who also had to deal with the death of her mother, so Stiles couldn't necessarily blame him. Things were still off with him and his dad even though Noah wanted to make it seem like everything was okay. Jackson was still not right. Plus nobody had seen Derek and Anabelle or any of their pack either. The betas hadn't shown up to school and were now declared as runaways.
It was almost funny because the only sane one in this town now happened to be Lydia. Who would have thunk it?
There was still Natalie though. Stiles always had Natalie. But even she wasn't acting like herself. She tried, but Stiles could sense that there was something that she was not telling him. He didn't know what exactly, but sleep was nonexistent for her at this point. She was starting to lose weight. Even though Natalie was already smaller, just a few pounds lighter than him, but her muscles were starting to disappear. It was weird since Natalie always had a huge appetite since she was an athlete but no matter what she ate, she was just getting smaller. It was kind of scary.
As much as Stiles wanted to ask her about it, he decided to keep his mouth shut. The last thing he wanted to do was push the one he cared about the most especially now that she was really all he had now. But it wasn't going to stop him from worrying so much.
Stiles pulled up in front of the Henderson house and got out of the jeep with a couple boxes of pizza in his hands. He used his foot to shut the door before walking up the porch and opening the door. Terri was sitting at the dinner table working on her laptop while Zach was playing on his PSP across from her.
"Hello, Henderson family," Stiles greeted.
Terri smiled. "Hi, Stiles. You ready for the game tonight? We're all coming to cheer you on."
"You mean ready to use my butt as a bench warmer? Absolutely." Stiles set down one of the pizza boxes on the table. "I bring an early dinner."
"Yes!" Zach pumped his fist before opening the box and grabbing a slice. "Dude, I could kiss you right now."
"Aw, come here, buddy," Stiles grinned as he grabbed Zach and kissed his cheek exaggeratedly.
"No, I was kidding, I was kidding!" The thirteen year old pushed Stiles away and wiped his cheek. "I may share the same DNA as my sister but that does not mean you can canoodle me."
"Thank you for the pizza, Stiles," Terri laughed, "That's very kind of you. Is your dad coming tonight?"
"Yeah, he's coming with Kurt after they get off work," Stiles answered.
"He must be excited to be the sheriff again."
"Yeah, he is," the boy smiled softly, "He deserves it. He and Kurt do." He looked around the room. "Natalie upstairs?"
"She's getting ready for tonight," Terri nodded, "Poor thing. She's still a little shaken up from the other night. Kurt and I suggested she stay home and try to sleep but she didn't want to miss the game."
Lifting up the second box of pizza, Stiles said, "I'll see if I can try to cheer her up." He started heading up the stairs.
"Keep it PG for those of us who have ears!" Zach called from the table.
The older teenager laughed as he continued walking upstairs. When Stiles entered Natalie's room, he saw that she was still getting ready in her bathroom. She didn't seem to notice him though so he took this time to observe her.
Natalie might not have looked well, but she was still so beautiful in Stiles's eyes. She was wearing a black half zipper placket shirt tucked into her distressed skinny jeans and her signature Doc Martens. Her red velvet hair was straightened and it looked like she was trying to decide on whether to go with a beanie or bandana, both things also known to be associated with her. Finally Natalie decided to go with the beanie and she slipped it over her head.
It looked like she had already put on her makeup. But even underneath it all, Stiles could still see the darkness underneath her eyes. He tried to not worry so much, but he loved Natalie to death. He might have only been human as she was too. That wasn't going to stop him from wanting to keep her safe from all of the madness happening around them. Even though he wasn't sure if he could.
Shaking the thoughts from his head, Stiles rapped his knuckles on the door. Natalie turned her head and smiled when she saw her boyfriend like everything was good again.
"Hey," she said, "Whatcha got there, Stilinski?"
"Just something to munch on before the game," Stiles told her. They sat down on her bed and they each pulled out a slice. They tapped their pizzas together. "To being alive."
"To being alive." Natalie took a huge bite and moaned like she hadn't eaten anything all day. "Although should you be eating anything this greasy before you play?"
"Why does everyone keep acting like I'm actually going to be playing tonight?" Stiles threw his hands up.
Rolling her eyes, Natalie said, "I love you but your lack of positivity is not hot."
"I'm just being realistic, Nat."
"And you don't think realistically your good enough to play?" Stiles didn't say anything and took another bite of his pizza. "You wouldn't have made the team if you weren't good."
"Coach probably just felt sorry for me," Stiles shrugged. Natalie took away his pizza just when he was about to put it in his mouth. "Hey!"
"Repeat after me and then you can have this back," Natalie said, "I am limitless and anything is possible."
"I'd rather not."
"Do you want your pizza back? Then say it. I am limitless and anything is possible."
Stiles sighed. "I am limitless and anything is possible."
"I'm sorry, I can't hear you," Natalie said, "Say it like you mean it, Stilinski." She threw her head back. "I am limitless and everything is possible!"
"God, you're killing me, woman," Stiles groaned. But he still threw his own head back. "I am limitless and anything is possible!"
Cheekily, Natalie grinned. "Good boy." She kissed her boyfriend and handed him his pizza. Rocky ran into the room and jumped on the bed. Natalie wrapped her arms around the Keeshond. "And you're a good boy too, Rocky."
"Although, I am cuter," Stiles said, petting the dog's head.
"Debatable."
After they had finished their food, the couple hopped in the jeep and made their way to the school. They walked hand in hand to the locker room and Natalie leaned against the wall as Stiles changed into his lacrosse gear. She swore the smell just got worse every time she came in there. Had Coach never heard of Febreze?
Her eyes were wandering around the locker room when they fell on Jackson talking to Danny, looking very serious. Uh oh. Natalie smacked Stiles's arm.
"Hey, what's Jackson doing here?" she asked, making Stiles whip his head around.
"Oh, crap," his eyes widening, "That can't be good."
They weren't able to discuss it any further when Coach stood in front of his office wearing an aviator jacket and holding a small megaphone. Boy, Natalie couldn't wait for this stupidity.
"'Good morning'," Coach said into his megaphone, "'In less than an hour, aircraft from here will be joining others from around the world. And you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind'."
"What?" Melissa, who Natalie did not see walk into the locker room, said in disbelief.
"'Mankind-'" Coach continued, "'that word should have a new meaning for all of us today'."
Melissa put her hand on Stiles's shoulder, her other arm hugging Natalie, "What the hell is he talking about?"
"He does this every year," Stiles sighed.
"Seriously?"
"Yeah."
"'We are fighting for our right to live'," Coach said.
The team cheered.
"Wait," Melissa said, "is this-"
"Yep," Natalie confirmed, popping the 'P'.
"It's the speech from Independence Day," Stiles said.
"But as the day the world declared in one voice-'"
"It's Coach's favorite movie," Stiles added.
"'We will not go quietly into the night'!"
"He doesn't know any sports speeches?" Melissa asked.
Natalie shook her head. "I honestly don't think he really cares."
"'Today we celebrate our Independence Day'!" Coach finished, making the team erupted in shouts of excitement. Natalie then made a loud buzzing sound that had Stiles laughing and Coach became furious. "Damn it, Henderson, you ruin everything!"
"Love you too, Coach!" Natalie called, pounding her chest and throwing up a peace sign.
Coach was about to continue to yell at the redhead, Gerard placed his hand on his shoulder. The trio and Melissa grew nervous and angry when they saw the old man.
"Well spoken, Coach," Gerard said, "I might have chosen something with a little more historical value, but there's no denying your passion. And while I haven't been here long, there's no denying my pride in having a winning team for this school. I know you'll all be brilliant tonight, even with only one co-captain leading you."
Wait, one? Judging by the look on Scott's face, he was definitely not expecting this news either.
"Now, I'm your principal," Gerard continued, "but I'm also a fan. So don't think I'll be content to watch you merely beat this team. Get out there and murder them."
Everyone was caught off guard by Argent's choice of words. More so the trio and Melissa. But of course it just hyped up Coach even more. "You heard the man. Asses on the field!"
The team cheered once more, making Natalie roll her eyes. What a bunch of boneheads. But Stiles and she looked at each other as Scott went up to Coach to beg him to play. Something bad was going to happen tonight. And they're not looking forward to see what it was going to be.
The trio sat on the bench on the sidelines as they waited for the game to start. It was the first time they were all together since the night at the sheriff's station. They could all feel the anxiety radiating off each other.
"Are you dads coming?" Scott asked his best friends.
"Yeah, they're already here," Stiles said.
"Same with my mom and Zach," Natalie added. She pointed to the bleachers where all of them were sitting along with Melissa.
"You seen Allison?" Scott asked.
"No, have you seen Lydia?" Natalie asked back.
"Not yet."
"You know what's going on?" Stiles questioned.
Scott exhaled. "Not yet."
"It's going to be bad, isn't it? I mean, like people screaming, running for their lives, blood, killing, maiming kind of bad?"
"Looks like it."
Great, now Natalie was sitting with two Debbie Downers. Although now she wasn't feeling so good about everything either. She laced her fingers with Stiles who sighed.
"Scott, the other night seeing mine and Natalie's dads get hit over the head by Matt, you know, while we're just lying there and we can't even move, it just…" Stiles sighed again. "We want to help, you know, but we can't do the things that you can do. I can't…"
He and Natalie looked at Scott, who nodded his head in understanding. "It's okay," he assured them.
"We're losing, my dudes," Natalie said.
"The hell are you talking about?" Coach said as he came up behind them, making Natalie jump, "Game hasn't even started." He nodded at Stiles. "Now put on your helmet and get out there. You're in for Greenberg."
"What?" Stiles and Natalie looks at each other with wide eyes. "What happened to Greenberg?"
"What happened to Greenberg?" Coach scoffed, "He sucks. You suck slightly less."
"I'm playing?" Stiles asked nervously, "On the field? With the team?"
"Yes, unless you'd rather play with yourself."
"I already did that today, twice."
Natalie faked a gasp. "Without me?"
"But I was thinking about you the entire time," Stiles told her.
"Aw, babe!" Natalie beamed. Scott groaned in disgust.
"Get the hell out there!" Coach yelled.
"Alright," Stiles said as he clumsily grabbed his lacrosse stick and helmet and ran to the field.
"Come on, Stiles!" Natalie stood up and yelled, making Scott flinch, "You got this, baby! You are limitless and anything is possible!" She sat back down next to Scott. "God, that boy is gonna get smoked out there."
Zach was sitting next to his parents, Noah, and Melissa. Natalie caught him up on everything that had been happening since he went back home after Lydia's party. Needless to say Zach was just as anxious to see what was about to go down as the trio was.
But then Lydia sat down next to him and smiled at him. Him! Zachary Henderson! This had to be a dream. So he slapped himself hard in the face. Rubbing his cheek, Zach saw Lydia now looking at him weirdly.
Nope, he was definitely awake. With a now sore cheek.
The referee blew his whistle to signal the start of the game. The first quarter was flying by fast and it was not looking pretty. One of the players threw the ball at Stiles. He caught it, laughing in sheer joy that he actually did it. But then one of the players from the visiting team tackled him, making everyone in the crowd wince at the collision.
"He's probably just warming up," Melissa tried to be optimistic.
"Oh, I got it, I got it, I got it," Stiles said during the next play as he scooped up the ball, "I got it." Then he got tackled again.
"Oh, he's just a little nervous," Lydia told the parents, "Plenty of time to turn it around."
"Seriously?" Zach asked, raising his eyebrow. Lydia just elbowed him.
Down at the sidelines, Natalie was biting her nails as she watched her boyfriend struggling on the field. She had moved from the bench and was just standing there. Stiles went to go catch the ball that was flying in the air but then it fell smack dab on his face. Natalie was getting secondhand embarrassment just from watching him.
During the second quarter, Isaac had shown up, even though Natalie thought he was leaving Beacon Hills with Erica and Boyd. But it looked like he came back for Delilah. How sweet. As he played, Isaac knocked down most of the home team's players one by one. It must have been part of some plan to get Scott back on the field so he could prevent Jackson from killing anyone.
Reckless, but effective.
At least until Jackson knocked Isaac down. He must have gotten the beta bad because he had to be carried off the field on a gurney. It did get Scott in the game. But even he was having trouble. Natalie watched helplessly as her boyfriend and her best friend dropped like flies by the visiting team. It wasn't long until the fourth quarter approached and everyone was losing hope for Beacon Hills. They were losing.
Bad.
And Natalie didn't mean just the game.
Scott left the field at one point for God knows what, leaving poor Stiles on his own. He was shaking like a chihuahua as he gripped onto his lacrosse stick.
"Okay, this is getting ridiculous," Natalie grumbled. She ran to the referee, pulled his whistle off him, and blew it loudly. Surprisingly all of the players stopped at the sound. "Stiles!"
Said boy whipped his head and his eyes widened when he saw his girlfriend running onto the field.
"Henderson!" Coach yelled, "Get your ass off the field! What the hell are you doing?"
"Saving your team from losing!" Natalie called back at him. She stopped running when she got to Stiles.
"Nat, what are you doing?" he asked her.
"No, what are you doing?" Natalie shot back, "Are you even trying?"
"I told you I sucked at this!" Stiles exclaimed, flailing his arms.
"Maybe with that attitude. You gotta remember that quote."
"It's not gonna work, Natalie. Face it. I'm useless."
Natalie grabbed her boyfriend by the shoulders. "No you're not, Stiles. Remember the night at the rave? When we had to surround the building with mountain ash? We did that. You just have to believe in yourself. Just like I believe in you." She kissed him on the lips and then spun him around. "Now go show everyone just how limitless Stiles Stilinski is." She pushed him forward and ran back to the sidelines.
"What you said to him better work, Henderson," Coach said when Natalie stood next to him.
"Oh, it will," the redhead told him, "And when it does, you'll be asking me to be your coaching assistant."
Coach snorted. "Doubt it."
Five minutes were left on the clock. Beacon Hills was just down by two points. The referee blew the whistle and the game resumed. As usual, the home team was getting trampled over. But then the ball rolled over to Stiles, who just stood there as stared at it.
"Stiles, pick it up!" Natalie yelled.
He followed her instructions and started running towards the goal, screaming like a maniac when he saw the other team coming at him. "I am limitless! I am limitless! I am limitless!" When he got to the goalie, he froze. What the hell was he waiting for?
"Stilinski!" Coach yelled, "Shoot it. Shoot the ball! Shoot it, you idiot!"
"Shoot it!" Natalie screamed.
And so Stiles did. And he made it through.
"Yeah!" Natalie screamed along with the rest of the pumped up crowd.
"I scored a goal?" Stiles said to himself in disbelief. Then he started to get excited. "I scored a goal! I scored a goal!"
Stiles seemed to be on fire after that. He scored another goal and the whole place erupted in cheer. The parents, Zach, and even Lydia were getting excited for Stiles's success. Even Coach high-fived Natalie and she was sure he was going to deny it when she brings it up in class next week. But she was too stoked for her boyfriend to care.
Now the score was tied.
It was all or nothing. Natalie watched in anticipation as Stiles practically glided through the field and dodging every single opposing player coming at him. This was a brand new Stiles. One that was starting to believe in himself. He was finally proving to everyone around him, more so himself, that he wasn't a loser. That he could actually be good at something.
He did just that when he scored the goal that broke the tie.
Natalie screamed and jumped up and down as the ball flew into the net. Everyone went berserk for their home team. All of the parents were hugging each other. Even Lydia hugged Zach and kissed him on the cheek. The thirteen year old could have died happily right then and there.
The team praised Stiles, bumping chests with him and patting him on the back. But Stiles had his eyes on his favorite girl. Her eyes were squinted as she was laughing in joy. They locked eyes as they both relished in the victory. Natalie's dark chocolate brown eyes softened but her smile stayed just as bright when he grinned goofily at her. She mouthed that she was so proud of him, even though she would have been whether they win or lose.
She didn't care if he was the hot shot athlete, despite all of the jokes they've made together over the years. Stiles didn't have to be the strongest, the smartest, or even supernatural. He was amazing just the way he was. Natalie always saw that. And she was so happy to see that for one night he could see that within himself as well. Being just Stiles Stilinski was more than she could have asked for.
The final seconds of the clock counted down. When it hit zero, the buzzer went off. They did it! Beacon Hills had just won the championship! Natalie couldn't contain herself anymore and ran onto the field. She flung herself onto Stiles and he caught her. He spun her around a couple times before setting her down. Natalie pulled off his helmet so she could cup his face and kiss him. Stiles kept his arms around her waist as he smooched her back.
"I told you you were limitless," Natalie beamed.
"With you, anything is possible," Stiles told her. He kissed her again.
Nothing could ruin this moment.
Suddenly the lights on the field went off. A woman screamed, but not in happiness. It was in sheer horror. Soon everyone else was screaming and scrambling around the field, trying to get out of there. Nobody knew what was happening but they just needed to find safety.
"Scott!" Melissa called out for her son, "Scott, where are you? Scott!"
"Mom!" Scott caught her when she was about to run past him, "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, I'm fine," Melissa nodded, "But somebody is hurt. Somebody is down on the field."
Finally the lights came back on and they saw a bunch of people surrounding a body lying on the field. Jackson's body to be exact. They ran over to him so they could check him out. Zach and Lydia followed suit and she started hyperventilating when she saw her ex-boyfriend lying there. Coach called for a medic, which fell onto Melissa. She knelt next to Jackson and put her ear on his heart. There was no pulse, no breathing. Melissa lifted his jersey, revealing blood underneath it. There was a good chance the boy was dead.
Noah, Kurt, and Terri then joined in, staring down at Jackson. The sheriff then looked around the field.
"Stiles," he panicked, "Where's Stiles? Where- where's my son? Where's Stiles? Where's Stiles? Where's Stiles? Where the hell is my son?"
That's when Kurt noticed his daughter was missing too.
"Natalie!" he called out, "Natalie, where are you? Natalie!"
Zach looked back at the school, a bad feeling rushing over him. He couldn't just stand there- he had to do something. So he ran towards the building so he could find his sister and her boyfriend.
I hope you all enjoyed it! We're almost at the end of season 2 and beginning of season 3 and that's where all of the drama starts to happen for all of my stories so you don't wanna miss it!
PLEASE review, favorite, and follow all of my stories in my Teen Wolf Saga! These stories are my babies so I appreciate all of the love and support I have received on all of them so thank you very much for joining me! I'll be sure to update soon! Xoxo, Maddie