Disclaimer: Don't own TW. Only my OC: Zarina.
I shifted uncomfortably on the couch in the sheriff's office. Agent McCall was sitting on top of the desk while Stiles' dad sat in his chair behind it.
"So when did you guys get there?" the agent asked.
"At the same time," Stiles replied from beside me.
"At the same time as who?"
"At the same time as me," Scott answered as the two of us pointed at him.
"By coincidence?"
"What do you mean by coincidence?" I inquired, subconsciously rubbing the burn on my thigh.
"That's what I'm asking you. The three of you arrived at the exact same time," McCall explained. Stiles and I shared a confused glance.
"Is he asking me?" he wondered aloud.
"No, I think he's asking me," Scott said back.
"Actually, he might me asking me," I added.
"I think he's asking all three of you," Lydia pitched in slowly.
"Okay, let me answer the questions," the agent said and I snorted. He sighed and corrected himself. "Let me ask the questions." Stiles pointed over at him and winked smugly.
"Just so I have this absolutely clear," he flipped open a notepad, "Barrow was hiding in the chemistry classroom at the school. Someone had left him a coded message on the blackboard telling him to kill Kira," he read off and I turned my head to Kira, sending her a tight smile. "And then Barrow took Kira to a power substation and tied her up with the intent of electrocuting her. Which blacked out the entire town."
"Sounds about right," Stiles and I nodded in confirmation.
"How'd you know he was going to be at the power station?" he interrogated.
"Well, he was an electrical engineer."
"How did you know he'd be at the substation?"
"Where else would he take her?" Stiles scratched his head.
"That's one hell of deduction there, Stiles."
"Yeah, well, what can I say? I take after my pops. He's in law enforcement," he winked at his father with a tiny grin. The sheriff chuckled, but pretended to clear his throat as the agent looked back at him.
"Stiles, just uh, just answer the man," the sheriff said.
"We made me a good guess," Stiles replied finally, sharing a knowing smirk with me as the agent continued his line of questioning.
"What were the two of you doing?" he asked his son and Kira.
"Eating pizza," Scott spoke up as Kira overlapped him saying, "Eating sushi."
They shared a look and tried again, only to switch up their food choices.
"Eating sushi and pizza," they replied in unison after a few seconds.
"You believe this?" McCall turned to the sheriff.
"To be honest, I haven't believed a word Stiles has said since he could speak, but I think these kids found themselves at the right place at the right time and that girl sitting there is very lucky for it," he responded vaguely.
"But didn't Zarina get electrocuted?" the agent looked at me pointedly and I blanched. "Why aren't you in the hospital?"
"Maybe I don't need to go," I shot back defensively. "I feel fine, so the shock must've missed my heart and brain. Honestly I don't remember."
"You don't remember?" McCall repeated.
"Yeah, well, must've forgot when I passed out. Because of the electricity. In my body," I said this slowly, as if talking to a third grader.
"Kira, is that how you remember it?"
We all leaned towards her as she hesitated, looking frantically at Scott.
"Yes," she nodded, "Can I get my phone back now?"
"Sorry, but no," the agent shook his head. "It's evidence."
"We should let these kids go home. It's late," Stiles' dad said after an awkward silence. The FBI agent nodded and everyone filed out of the room.
Stiles led me outside the station and turned to me as the double doors behind us shut. I bit my lip as I waited for him to start talking.
"Do you want me to stay with you tonight?" Stiles asked, surprising me. I thought he was going to ask me if I was okay. "I mean, with the power outage and all. I know you hate the dark."
"No, I'll manage on my own," I smiled lightly. "Besides, my brother should be back from work soon, so I won't be alone for long."
He pursed his lips and nodded before walking towards his jeep. I hopped into the passenger's seat and he drove in silence. I knew something was up.
"Okay, what's wrong?" I swiveled my head towards him. His eyes were glued to the road, but I saw his jaw clench.
"Nothing," he replied curtly.
"Stop lying," I scoffed.
"Just leave it alone," he barked out harshly and I flinched. He'd never talked to me like that before and now that he had, it scared me. From the corner of my eye, I saw him grimace in regret. "No, wait. I'm-"
"It's okay," I interrupted softly. "I'll just forget about it."
"Don't do that," he sighed out, stopping at a red light and turning to me.
"Do what?" I asked, not looking at him, but instead out the window.
"Act all submissive," Stiles replied. "Please, at least look at me."
I slowly turned my eyes to him and was met with his pleading expression. This was the longest red light ever.
"I'm not being submissive," I retorted.
"Yes, you are. You always are when you think I'm mad," he admitted, looking at his hands in shame.
"Maybe if you told me what was wrong, I wouldn't have to be submissive," I crossed my arms over my chest.
"I almost lost you tonight, okay?" he confessed. "I saw you looking so- so lifeless when I knew I could've protected you. It finally hit me how fragile you are. And that scares me. Because I'm not a werewolf. I can't be there at your side and fight off everything that hurts you. I hate it, but it's true."
I licked my lips and lifted his chin up with my finger so he'd look at me. His eyes were shining with unshed tears and I felt my heart break.
"You're right. You're not a werewolf," I told him and his face fell further, but I continued. "But you know what? You're Stiles. Nerdy, hyperactive, human Stiles. And that's all I need you to be. It's all I want."
"I love you, you know that?" he told me after a second of silence. I laughed softly and nodded.
"You might have told me once or twice," I teased.
The light turned green and I poked his side, signaling him to start driving. Once we reached my house, I gave him a chaste kiss and rushed into my house, shutting and locking the door behind me when I saw my brother's car in the driveway. The inside of the house was completely dark, save for a dim light in the kitchen.
"Hey, Alex!" I greeted, walking into the kitchen. He sat at the table, reading a newspaper in front of a candle.
"Why are you limping?" he eyed me from over the paper and I stopped in my tracks. I didn't even realize.
"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," I replied honestly. "It has to do with the supernatural stuff we talked about before."
"You're still on that?" he groaned, setting the paper down. "I thought we were done with this game."
"Alex, you- I- we-" I stumbled on my own words, trying to find something to say through my disbelief. Then I threw my arms into the air and sighed loudly. "Okay, whatever. If the creepy dreams and drawings weren't enough to convince you, I give up."
"About that," Alex started. "You said you were hearing voices, too?"
"Uh, if you'll believe that, then yes. I have, actually," I raised an eyebrow and he seemed to pale, as if coming to a revelation. "Does that mean something?"
"Uh, no!" he answered, too quickly. "I mean, of course not. I was just wondering. Trying to connect all the information you've given me."
I backed out of the kitchen slowly, slightly disturbed by his weird behavior. "Well, okay. I'm just gonna sleep…goodnight."
"Y-Yeah, night."
I turned on my heel and went up the steps slowly, cringing each time my thigh brushed against my jeans. I lit a candle in my room and grabbed some clothes before getting into the bathroom, using my phone as a flashlight.
Once seated by the bathtub, I peeled off my jeans and inspected my injury. There was a bright red burn half the size of my palm on the side of my leg. I grabbed some burn treatment from the cabinet and gently applied it before wrapping it in a bandage.
Once I finished with everything, I trudged into my room and plopped onto my bed. Everything and anything was buzzing around in my mind. Still, despite it all, I slowly felt myself fall asleep.
"Class starts in five minutes!" Coach yelled into his megaphone. I cringed and Stiles chuckled as he rifled through his locker. "Just because there's no power, don't expect there to be no school!"
"Hey, that was a triple negative," Stiles called out after Finstock, winking. "Very impressive, Coach."
"Copy that," he responded in a low voice through the megaphone and I made a face.
Stiles pulled out another book from his locker, causing his keys to fall to the floor. I picked them up and handed them to him.
"Thank you…" he trailed of as he looked at a specific key on the chain. "Hello, where did you come from?"
I looked down at the key with him, our foreheads almost touching and I furrowed my eyebrows.
"What's this key for?" I questioned and he shrugged.
"I have no idea."
Then, we saw Scott come through the doors and we waved to him, but his eyes locked on Kira. He started walking over to her determinedly and we caught him, not letting him pass us.
"No, no. Stop it," Stiles hissed.
"What? I need to talk to her," Scott pleaded.
"Yeah, no. Someone left a coded message telling Barrow to kill her," I insisted, dropping my arm from his chest.
"Which is why I need to talk to her," he insisted.
"Scott, no way," Stiles grabbed his shoulder firmly. "Until we figure out if she's just another psychotic monster that's going to start murdering everybody, I vote against any and all interaction." His arms flailed around as he talked.
"What if she's like me?" Scott suggested quietly.
"That girl walked through one point twenty-one jigawatts of electricity," I deadpanned, looking at Kira as she retreated.
"She's not like you," Stiles finished.
Finstock's ever-annoying whistle sounded, signaling the start of class. Scott leaned his head back as he walked away from us. Stiles slammed his locker closed and looked back at the key in his hand.
My eyes drifted down the hall. From between the bodies of the student body moving in the long corridor, I saw the gauze-covered face of my tormentor. It seemed to be looking directly at Stiles and I felt my heart drop. I blinked harshly and, when I opened my eyes, it was gone.
Later that night, I found myself sitting with Stiles in his jeep in the parking lot behind the police station. We were waiting for Scott and Kira because apparently, she really needed her phone back. Something about nudes.
Soon, Scott's bike pulled up next to us and they both walked up to Stiles' open window as he fidgeted with the cards in his hands.
"Okay, this one will get you into all of the perimeter doors, this one into the evidence room, and this one's for my father's office," he listed off, handing each one to Scott.
"You didn't steal these, did you?" Scott asked nervously. Stiles and I looked at each other. We'd spent the hours after school making these cards. Illegally, probably.
"No," we said simultaneously.
"We cloned them using an RFID emulator," Stiles clarified.
"Is that worse than stealing?" Scott continued.
"Smarter," Stiles shrugged and Kira bit her lip before tugging on Scott's sleeve.
"Scott, can I ask you something?" she dragged him away from us.
"What the- okay, we'll just…" I called out lamely and we sat in silence until they returned.
"Okay, so almost everybody's out dealing with the blackout," Stiles told them. "But there's always somebody at the front desk. There's dispatch and usually a night shifter or two. You guys are gonna use the service door entrance by the dumpster, alright? Nobody uses it." The pair nodded.
"I'll text you if anyone comes out, but Scott, if you get caught, Stiles or even I can't help you," I warned him. "His dad's under investigation for impeachment because of yours, so, if anything happens, we will run and leave you both for dead."
"Got it. Thanks guys, seriously," Scott said, nodding.
"I'd ask my dad, but you know…" Stiles trailed off.
"No, I know. I get it."
"Alright, just, uh, hurry up," Stiles and I sat back in our seats as they followed his directions to the service door.
"This won't end well at all," I sighed out and Stiles nodded, agreeing.
"Definitely not. This is so not how I wanted to spend my Halloween," Stiles remarked bitterly.
"Yeah, I'd much rather be at Danny's party, to be completely honest," I admitted, shifting in my seat.
"Speaking of that, we should go when this is over."
"Is that your way of asking me on a date?"
"You're already my girlfriend," Stiles retorted. "Dates are overrated at this point."
"Huh, that's actually really true," I hummed.
"Oh no," Stiles mumbled as he looked out the front window. "This is bad."
Stiles' fingers flew across his screen as he texted Scott that his father was here and was going to find them if they didn't leave soon.
"Stiles we have to stop him," I said under my breath.
"God, I said I wouldn't do this," Stiles bounced in his seat and we exited the car. "I'm going to regret ever agreeing to this."
"Atta boy," I grinned as we rushed into the building, stopping Agent McCall just as he was about to open the door to the back office.
"Oh wow! Thank god, you're here! Oh boy," Stiles yelled and the agent looked back at us. We placed ourselves between him and the door so he couldn't get inside. "Thank the lord that you're here!"
"What he means by that is," I intervened. "we have something important to tell you."
"And what would that be?" the agent raised brow.
"I-I-we were just, uh, thinking about the case. Thought we should clue you in on our thinking. What we were thinking. We were thinking….we were thinking this," Stiles stuttered out, grasping for straws. "That Barrow, right, Barrow, received the information about who to kill at the school, right, you know that?"
I saw Scott glance between the blinds of the window and I shot him an urgent glance, gesturing frantically to his dad with my eyes. He nodded and disappeared from the window.
"Right, so we were thinking that whoever gave him that information, check this out, might actually be someone at the school," Stiles completed his thought.
"And that's, uh, my thinking. Our thinking." He wrapped an arm around my waist for emphasis and I grinned rightly.
"You two are right," McCall nodded slowly.
"We are?" I nudged Stiles with my hip, telling him to shut up.
"Yeah, we started looking for links between Barrow, the faculty, and students last night."
"So you already know that stuff. You already thought of that," Stiles nodded.
"Your dad did," the agent admitted after a few moments of hesitation. I vaguely wondered why the FBI agent hated the sheriff so much. What could've possibly happened to start this feud?
"His one useful suggestion," the agent felt the need to add, swiping his card into the slot near the door.
Stiles' grip on my waist tightened as my jaw clenched in anger. The ways I wanted to kill this man were infinite at this point. Stiles stepped to the side to block the agent's way, pulling me with him as he did so.
"You know, this attitude, that you have toward my dad?" Stiles started darkly and I looked up at him in surprise, but he continued.
"You can dress it up to all the professional disapproval that you want. But I know the real reason why you don't like him." The agent just stared down at him, clearly a little scared at his change in demeanor.
"Is that so?" McCall asked.
"Yeah, because he knows something you don't want him to know," he lowered his voice to a whisper and I felt goose bumps rise on the spot where Stiles gripped my hip. "And guess what? I know it, too."
"Go home, you two," the agent gulped. "There's a- there's a curfew."
But Stiles didn't move, therefore neither did I. This forced the agent to have to moved around us before entering the room with a quiet click as he shut the door. I rubbed Stiles' hand on my waist comfortingly, still freaked out by his display.
Wordlessly, he dropped his arm from around me and placed his hand in mine, leading me back towards his jeep. Scott and Kira met us there, breathing hard.
"We did it. All the pics deleted," Scott informed us.
"That was awesome!" Kira screeched. I pursed my lips. "I mean, terrifying. Completely terrifying…but kind of awesome." She laughed excitedly. "I've never done anything like that before. Have you?" The three of us looked at each other.
"Yeah, once or twice," Stiles mused and Kira hummed in approval.
"So, I guess I should take you home," Scott offered and Kira nodded, but I had other plans.
"Wait, guys, it's Halloween. Why don't we go to a party?"
The four of us slid open the door to Derek's loft and were greeted by glowing bodies and loud, ear damaging music. We stepped inside and I shrugged off my sweatshirt, leaving me in my tank top.
"Why is your key glowing?" Scott glanced down at the key in Stiles' hand.
"I'm not sure, I've been trying to figure that out all day," he yelled over the music as we walked further into the crowd of people. "It just showed up on my key ring this morning. I asked my dad if he put it there, but he didn't know anything about it."
"It's just a key though, right?" Scott prodded.
"Yeah, but it's not mine and I don't know how it got there or what it's for," Stiles replied.
"You want to leave so you can figure it out?"
I rolled my eyes at the fact that they were still all business at a party. I took Stiles' hand in mine and smirked, blinking up at him.
"Nope, not tonight. You're mine," I bit my lip and he swallowed, looking back at Scott.
"It can wait," he patted our friend on the shoulder before I dragged him of to the paint table. I immediately grabbed a brush and dipped it in paint.
"You better not try anything funny," Stiles said warningly.
"Aw, I wouldn't do that. Sober," I giggled and started painting the revealed part of his neck.
He shivered under the cold paint and I focused on what I was painting, not failing to notice his loving gaze on me the entire time. With a few final strokes, I put the paintbrush back on the table in content.
"Done," I smiled up at him and he looked into the mirror nearby.
"Wow," he whistled. I giggled and grabbed his hand, pulling him with me to the dance floor.
Our hands were interlocked at our sides as he twisted and twirled me around, the smile never leaving my face. We swayed to the fast tempo, arms flailing around wildly.
I grinned as he started to do some entirely screwed up version of the sprinkler. I didn't even mind how stupid it looked, either. Being with him was more than I could've asked for.
After a few songs, we moved to a vacant wall in the loft, catching our breaths. Our hands were connected and I looked up at him just to find him already staring down at me.
Without hesitation, I snaked my arms around his neck and got onto my toes, kissing him fiercely. He returned it with equal fervor, the two of us getting lost in each other. I jumped and wrapped my legs around his waist, his hands keeping me up as my back hit the wall.
I pulled away slightly to catch my breath and he let me, our foreheads connected as we smiled at each other. My eyes fell down to his key ring and I finally caught a glimpse of the glow.
"You have phosphorus on your keys," I pointed out, but he ignored it, kissing me deeply. Just as my eyes closed, he pulled away, realization striking his face.
"What's phosphorus?"
I maneuvered my hand around my leg as I took the key from his pocket, showing it to him. "It's what makes it glow. Like a glow stick or the paint on everyone in here. The UV light makes it glow."
Stiles thought about this for a second before capturing me in a kiss again, sighing into it. But then he pulled away, talking as he did so.
"How would it get on my keys though?" he wondered aloud. I sighed and unwrapped my legs from his waist, setting myself on the ground. I fiddled with the keys in one hand.
"It could've gotten on from paint, or even chemicals," I informed him. That seemed to trigger a thought in his brain because he got this faraway look in his eyes. "Stiles?"
He took his keys from me gently and stuffed them into his pocket. "Look, I really have to go. God, I hate this so much." He glanced at me guiltily and I tapped my foot on the floor. "I-I have to go. I'm sorry. Just, stay here."
He started to walk away, but I caught up to him, following him closely. "Nope, I'm coming. Whether you want me to or not."
Stiles rolled his eyes, as if expecting this, but didn't protest. We hopped into his car and soon we were speeding off towards the school. I didn't question him as we broke in through the front doors, the sun rising behind us. We raced up the stairs and burst into the chemistry room.
Uneasily, I watched as he inserted his new key into the chemistry closet. It was a perfect fit. He turned it to the side and it clicked as it unlocked.
I looked over at him, but he refused to meet my eyes. He turned on his heel and walked toward the chalkboard, where the coded message for Kira was still written.
I stepped up next to him just as he finished rewriting the final number. I stared at the board, confused, but finally noticed it. The numbers were written similarly. Too similarly. Almost as if he'd written them himself.
With one look at his completely hopeless expression, I knew that he had. I pulled him into a hug, arms draped around his waist tightly. Stiles buried his head into my shoulder as his breathing turned into choked sobs.
I couldn't help but look back at the numbers. It was clear that he had no idea when he'd done this, so how was this possible? But then I pictured the monster that'd invaded my mind and I felt dread build in my stomach.
Whatever it was, it'd moved its sights from me to Stiles. And I was too late to stop it.
AN: Just gonna let ya'll know right now that I won't be able to update until Sunday! AHHHGHGGH. It's so frustrating. I have a two day volleyball tournament 3 hours away from my house, so I may or may not have access to internet, but if I ever do, I'll be sure to try and update.
For some reason I feel like this chapter sucked majorly, maybe cause I'm like half asleep as I type this, but yeknow. The thought that counts. I think that's how it goes lol.
Anyways! Thanks for all the support and love. Please try to continue that if I'm not completely failing at this story. Love you all soo sosososo much. Four for all of you.
Tumblr: sstuhlinski (might start adding this to AN's now cause idk why not lol ily)
xx.