A/N: Chapter 2 of the Stiles Story as I've labeled it in my head. Hope you enjoy. Check me out on Tumblr if you like.. Chasechick… hope to see you there. Oh… and let me know what you think =)

Chapter 2

Distraction

Stiles battled his growing fatigue with coffee and energy drinks. He pushed himself as hard as he could in class, even in gym class. His teachers often remarked on his new work ethic and commended him for maturing. But Stiles knew that wasn't what it was at all. He needed to keep his mind busy, a distraction from all the heavy things pressing in on him. School was the only thing he had.

He had mused over getting a job to help put away for college but the only job he could find was pumping gas and he couldn't bring himself to do it, too much waiting around and time for his mind to wander. He was waiting for the homeroom bell to ring and listening to Scott drone on about something or other, he wasn't really paying attention.

"Stiles are you even listening to me?" Scott asked in an exasperated tone.

Stiles jumped as if he had been burned. "Sorry man. What?"

Scott rolled his eyes at him and slumped back into his chair. "Seriously man what is with you?"

"Nothing is with me I'm just fine thank you!" Stiles snapped back. Scott looked perplexed at his reaction clearly not expecting the bite in his words. Stiles immediately felt bad for snapping at Scott, he was the only one he really had, if he kept taking digs at him, maybe he'd lose him too. He was just about to utter an apology when the announcements began over the loudspeaker effectively cutting him off. He promised himself he'd make amends to Scott the first chance he got.

Gym class, the last period of the day was the first chance Stiles had to speak with Scott. They'd been busy in their shared classes and both Aiden and Isaac had bugged Scott about something lycanthropic in nature during lunch and Stiles had zoned out. They were split up into two teams to have a friendly little soccer match. It was supposed to be friendly but when you get four werewolves on opposing teams you tend to up the competiveness a peg or two.

Stile took goal and hung back watching Scott battle Isaac for possession of the ball near half field, waiting for a lull in the game to talk to him. He tried to keep his head in the game but he became entranced with a scraggly clump of grass and was scuffing it loose with the bottom of his shoe when Aiden came barreling towards him to take a shot. Stiles, without thinking who he was rushing, ran full force to attempt to slide tackle the ball from Aiden just as he brought his leg back to loft the ball over Stiles's head into the goal.

It was like time slowed down as the collision happened. Stiles realized it was about to happen just before it did and his entire body tensed bracing him for the impact. It felt like a freight train, though he'd never been hit by one. His breath was knocked from his lungs and he lost track of which way was up or down. He found out all too soon as he came crashing back to the ground in an unceremonious heap.

He could immediately taste of copper in his mouth, a taste he'd become all too familiar with in recent months, blood. Other than that and a slight ringing in his ears he really didn't feel any pain, in fact he felt rather numb as his heart pounded in his chest. His mind was foggy as he righted himself and found himself surrounded by what appeared to be the entire gym class.

"Are you alright?" Everyone seemed to ask at once. Stiles brought his eyes up and though Scott looked a little blurry he smiled.

"I'm fine. In fact I feel great!" Stiles answered and then fell back onto the ground and started laughing manically.

"Stiles, are you laughing?" Scott asked as he kneeled over top of him his eyebrows furrowed in worry.

"Yes, I miss laughing." Stiles answered as he continued. He honestly almost felt drunk. God, he was delirious.

The gym teacher had him walk to the bench to sit out the remainder of the class and kept side eyeing him like he thought he'd fall over and drop dead at any given moment. Stiles kept insisting he was fine. Sure a few parts of him were beginning to ache dully but other than that he was fine. Apparently his body had reacted to the adrenaline from the collision and it was something he seemed to be missing. Stiles was used to taking hits and being banged up and bruised, it had become a way of life for him ever since Scott had been bitten. This hit had been like the others and he was surprised how much it didn't seem to faze him.

As the game ended and the group made their way back to the locker rooms to shower Scott accosted Stiles again. "Are you sure you're okay Stiles? That was one hell of a hit!" Scott kept his voice low so the others wouldn't hear.

"I've taken worse Scott. I'm fine." Stiles said tiredly. He was tired of reassuring everyone he was fine. He was tough, he wasn't fragile, he wasn't about to break. He thought he'd been doing a pretty stellar performance of acting nonchalant but apparently it wasn't enough. His father was worried, Scott was worried and he couldn't help but notice glances that everyone seemed to be giving him. He didn't need their pity, he was just fine.

With the excitement of nearly being crushed in gym he hadn't gotten a chance to apologize to Scott for his earlier shortness. But he finally got an opportunity as they approached his Jeep a short while later. "Hey listen, Scott…" Scott stopped walking and sensing the serious nature of Stiles' voice, turned to face him. "Listen, I'm sorry I was short with you earlier today and I've been a little bit of a…"

"Asshole?" Scott finished for him. A smile broke across his lips to show Stiles that he was kidding.

"Well, yea. Pretty much." Stiles answered. "It's just I've been having a hard time focusing on anything. I just keep feeling like something is going to happen and something is following me around, I'm getting paranoid." Stiles said as he opened up the door to his Jeep and climbed in.

Scott climbed in and was quite for a moment before he spoke, "Are you sleeping at all Stiles?"

Stiles was about to give him the same answer he told everyone but he could see the look in Scott's eyes and he knew he wasn't going to be able to get by with the bullshit. "Not really. I sleep a few hours a night if I'm lucky but the nightmares are so bad that I wake up more tired than if I had just stayed awake. Sometimes I do just stay awake. It's easier. You know." Stiles put the key in the ignition and his trusty Jeep sprung to life.

"Stiles that is not okay. Maybe you should talk to someone about it. Maybe Deacon could help or…"

"I am not going to a vet about my human problems. It isn't the first time I haven't been able to sleep. It will go away on its own." He said as he navigated out of the busy parking lot.

He hung with Scott for a while after school finished his homework and they played a few hours of Halo. He'd asked Scott if he wanted to grab a pizza for dinner but Scott's mother had called and asked him to come home for dinner so that his father could talk with him.

"Great." Scott swore as he tossed his phone back down. "I'd rather stay here with you but my father is suddenly trying to parent me again and my mom thinks I need him in my life." He rubbed his face roughly and stood.

"Well good luck with that. Your dad absolutely hates me and I am so loveable… you are so screwed." Stiles joked as he walked Scott to the door.

Scott smiled at him happy to see a little bit of the Stiles returning. "I've missed your insightful humor." He told him as he left the front door to jog the few blocks home.

Stiles shut the door and was again alone in the Stilinski household. He rummaged through the cupboards and found nothing worthy of cooking. He debated just skipping dinner altogether but thinking his father may come home he figured he should just go pick up some groceries.

He readjusted himself in the Jeep for the third time on the way to the store. His body was really beginning to throb from his impact with Aiden earlier in the day. He eased the Jeep into a parking spot and then headed off into the market. He was leaning heavily on the cart by the time he got to the last aisle to toss in a few loaves of bread. He hadn't been paying any attention to where he was going; only thinking about getting home and swallowing some aspirin to ease the ache in his lower back. His cart slammed into the side of another car.

"I'm sorry." He uttered before he even looked up.

There she was Lydia and her mother, with a cart full of groceries looking at him oddly.

"Stiles." Lydia said as she moved forward to put a hand on his arm. "How are you?" She asked. Her mother just smiled at him and pushed her cart forward to the checkout line.

"Lydia." Stiles answered and followed to the checkout line. As usual there were a line four carts deep and only one aisle open so he leaned heavily on the cart and waited. Lydia was never one to wait quietly so she began peppering him with conversation.

"So what have you been up to?" She asked him. "I don't see you anymore."

"Well that's probably because you've been so busy with Aiden, " Stiles answered and attempted to stand straight but the twinge in his back caused him to grimace and remained slouched over the handle of the cart.

"Well you could still say hi to me in the halls, I think you've been avoiding me." She answered as her mother moved forward to checkout and Stiles inched forward, sucking in a breath as another shooting pain shot down his back all the way down his leg.

Lydia noticed his expression and put her hand on his lower back. "Are you sure you're okay Stiles? You look like you're in pain."

"I'm always in pain." He answered as they inched forward again.

"Aiden said he ran into you in gym today, he felt horrible." She answered.

"I bet he was heartbroken." Stiles answered as Lydia's mother paid the cashier and motioned for her to follow.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" She asked as she moved to follow her mother.

"Yea." He sighed softly as he clumsily piled his purchases on the belt. "I'm always okay."

She gave him a sad smile and a small wave as she exited the store leaving Stiles to his errand. He paid with a quick swipe of his debit card and limped to his Jeep.

By the time he plopped the last of the groceries down in the kitchen he was sure the eggs were broke and the bread smashed but all he could think of was the amount of pain he was beginning to feel. Not only was his back stabbing him in agony but his hip and shoulder where he had fallen throbbed in time with his heartbeat.

He managed to get to the bathroom and swallow a handful of ibuprofen and keep from throwing up but he was still sweaty and clammy and still attempting to put the groceries away before they spoiled when his father arrived home from his shift.

He glanced at Stiles then at the groceries and walked toward the hall closet to unhook his belt and uniform jacket. "Thanks for getting those for me. I've been meaning to pick up something for days now but haven't had the time. How was school?" He asked as he made his way to the last of the bags and eyed the smashed bread. When Stiles's eyes met his father he knew that his father could see right through his act. He was about to admit defeat and tell his dad about what had happened when his dad's phone rang.

"We are going to talk about this as soon as I'm through with this. You go up to your room and lay down." His father told him as he accepted the call.

Stiles heard a few snippets of the conversation as he slowly trekked his way to his room. He gingerly sat down and removed his shoes and pants. He was going to put on some sleep pants but when he tried to stand it hurt too damn much. Instead he lay back onto his pillows and shifted to try and find a comfortable position while he waited for his father to get off the phone. His eyes grew heavy and he drifted off before he could fight the pull of sleep.