Stiles slides over to Scott on the bench. Well not really slide seeing as there is practically no one left on said bench, she gets up and walks over really. Scott is sitting at the far end of the bench away from all the teammates that get to play tonight, and where Finstock normally makes Stiles sit so she can hold all the stopwatches. Well not really, during the games he just like to have someone listen to his babble. Stiles had some very discreet headphones these days.
Scott painted a stark picture. Sitting alone on a shiny bench with nothing but grass to serve as his background. If it had been anyone other than Scott it might have even been a black and white art photo type of moment. He is currently chewing through his gloves and leaving very werewolf looking teeth marks on them. It sort of ruins the bench is slowly emptying of people as each person put out on the field is quickly tackled or checked by one Isaac Lahey.
Isaac apparently is a force of nature, the likes of which the Titans would even tremble. That plus the cheekbones make him a fucking unicorn. No seriously. Isaac's curls are tumblr fan girl worthy, and that's if you just put his hair on the page. Put the rest of him on that site and it would just shut down.
Currently said unicorn is busy breaking bones of people he is on the same team with. It shouldn't be as funny as it is. The shrug he gives the coach might as well have cartoon hearts around it. After this Stiles is going to vomit rainbows.
And who said the team was getting sloppy? This is some of the best playing she has seen in weeks, granted the playing is mostly running from Isaac.
"So Isaac is attempting to maim everyone on on the team why?" She asks giving her friend an accusing look. So yes she is still miffed about what has happened since the whole thing at the police station, but even Helen Keller could tell there was something else going on tonight.
"Because I am benched." He explains. That is the short version clearly. Stiles attempts to convey her disapproval with her eyebrows, clearly it does not work because Scott looks at her like she might be losing her mind. Derek how does he eyebrow?
"Yes I know. I was there for that conversation. I have actually been in the the locker room since before the game. I have seen Geriatric Crazy pants doing his crazy Shakespeare speech. So what are you not telling me?" Scott had been doing that lately. Not telling her stuff. Not telling her anything really.
He just sat there fully suited up to play looking crestfallen for a moment. It was strange because this was a face she had not seen in awhile, not since before he was a werewolf. It brought back memories of the reason she was here, well not here here, but here sitting on this bench. Because she hadn't wanted him to be a benchwarmer by himself. Stiles was on this team so Scott wasn't alone.
But he had left her alone. Scott had left her to deal with everything by herself for the last few weeks, something she had not experience since before they met. Only look at his face now and seeing that expression that once was always on his face.
Stiles reaches out and places her hand on Scott's knee. He pauses in his fidgeting and looks at her. Really looks at her for the first time since maybe the whole werewolf thing started. For a split second it is just them. Stiles and Scott. And they are just the kids that once blew up her dolls because they wanted to be Bill Nye. It's just the two of them against the world, like it has been for years.
It breaks when Isaac somehow manages to throw someone almost half way across the field. They both wince when Greenberg goes out on the field to replace the fallen. The is only one player between Scott and the field now. He pulls a face and turns back to her.
"Gerard is going to use Jackson to kill someone if I don't give up Derek before the game is over." Scott stage whispers. It's how they used to talk to each other, they are back. This is them getting the gang back together.
"Gerard controls the Kanima now?" Stiles stage whispers in return. Why are they stage whispering, there is shouting going on no one without werewolf hearing could hear them even if the shouted.
"Yes." Scott looks pissed. Stiles feels more pissed. This might call for a smack to the head.
"THESE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS I SHOULD BE TOLD!" She shouts at him as the other team scores. They are going to have a talk later about the gang and how getting it back together needs to mean more sharing of information.
"Balinski," The coach shouts as he runs over. Finstock has the worst timing. Its like the universe wants to keep her in the dark.
"Not my name." She sighs. Finstock is determined to never get her name.
"Whatever. Look there have been some..." He groans and rubs at the back of his head. Finstock looks between the two of them like he is suddenly shocked to see them both there. Good chance coach is off his meds. Stiles assumes there are meds. If there are not meds than he is really just like this. "Some feminist extremist from the other school won a lawsuit to let her play on a male team if there was no chick's team."
Stiles blinks at him for a moment. Scott mirrors the motion. They turn like well trained pomeranians and look at each other with cocked heads. If Scott had a tail it would have just stopped wagging. Finstock throws in hands up in the air and turns around like this reaction is somehow a person afront.
"You have to play tonight." Coach says like the first part would have made that clear.
"I'm sorry the lack of sex is rotting my brain and most of my higher functions, I thought you just said that you want me to play, lacrosse, with Jackson on the field." Stiles stared at Finstock expecting for him to turn into a magical caterpillar smoking hookah. Also Finstock had seen the way Jackson would check her for giggles during practice, what was Kanima Jackson going to do to her in a real game?
"You over share way too much Balinski." Finstock shakes his head.
"So do you, and still not my name." Scott even rolls his eyes. Finstock glares and throws pads at her.
"Suit up!" He commands. Stiles is kind of looking at the pads like they might try to eat her when suddenly Isaac is down on the field. There is one of those panicked moments where Stiles is looking back and forth between the pads and Isaac attempting to stand, both things being equaly disturbing.
"Stiles." Scott says with a high pitched whine in his voice. He looks frantically at her and then at Isaac and sprints out onto the field.
"Yeah I know." Stiles mumbled as she slipped the pads on over her track suit.
"Stiles?" Danny asks from the goal.
"Finstock is losing it and apparently the school board got sued a while back and now this is a thing that can happen." She shrugged or tried to, there wasn't really any room to shrug in these pads.
"Yeah I remember reading about that." Danny shuffled back to the goal, now aware that this was all safe and legal.
"Of course he reads local news, how else is he to be perfect like a unicorn." Stiles huffed under her breath. "You make me want to throw myself off a cliff!" She shouted at Danny who just winked, the ass.
It was the nerves talking of course. She was not exactly a real Lacrosse player. Sure when they ran drills she would toss balls or catch the balls. And yes, when Scott used to be bad she would help him practice and check him. But this, this was a real game. The championship game.
The championship game with monsters on the field.
"Oh my god." Stiles gasps when the whistle blows.
The first ten minutes she is on the field it is kind of a complete shit show. She doesn't even have a proper jersey, is just wearing Isaac's spare which is massive. Stiles is convinced that she looks like a complete lunatic on the field right now. But as of yet the ref has not noticed her so apparently its not that bit of statement as she thinks.
She doesn't get checked or pushed over but she ends up being moved around on the field until she somehow is a forward. Or whatever this position is called in lacrosse. She really should know these kinds of things.
And just when she was starting to think that she was just a body on the field, a place holder, the ball slipped out of some one's net. Then there is a ball. Sitting. At her feet. So the stupid part of her brain turns back on and suddenly she is kind of awkwardly skipping and backtracking her way to goal.
There is a pause, a moment wear she doesn't hear a thing and then suddenly the ball flies and the goalie misses. Roars erupts from the stand and the scoreboard ticks in the positive.
"Holy shit!" Stiles shouts as the team surrounds her. Stiles doesn't see Scott but it's okay because the game is back on and they have to get back to it.
The thing is, it happens again.
Or rather the ball ends up in her possession again and somehow through an insane miracle Stiles scores her second goal. Her third shortly after. She turns to see Lydia and her father and Mrs. McCall clapping wildly.
Stiles has won the game.
For one brief shining moment Stiles feels amazing. All the werewolf stuff fades into the back of her mind and for the first time in years she feels really excited. She did something and not just with some magic fairy dust. She did something that other people will remember. This will go in the town records. Stiles doesn't have to be 'the narcy daughter of the sheriff' she can be 'that girl that won the lacrosse championship.'
Stiles turns to see Scott. He is standing far away, back by the stands and he might be the only one cheering. He looks shocked. It puts a nugget of pride in her chest because while Scott might be impressed by her from time to time he is rarely full on shocked. They have known each other for so long that its hard to shock each other.
Scott scans the field and their eyes meet. His face morphs in the exact second that their gazes lock. A huge dopey grin the likes of which she hasn't seen since Allison kissed him. It's a glittering perfect instant. Not like earlier where it was close to perfect. This. This is the friendship they have always had. This is the smile of the boy who she saved from bullies. This is the smile he gave her when he made her the Mortal Kombat costume the one year.
Looking at Scott and seeing his stupidly happy face makes Stiles really truly believe that things are going to be okay. Everything will work out fine because they are in this together. There is nothing to worry about.
Stiles turns when she sees someone else coming towards her. A few of the team members are still joining the glory and Stiles isn't really surprised to see Jackson walking across the field. She waves at him and jumps up and down for a second and then her brain starts to process what is really going on. Jackson's eyes are green and slitted. He is stalking slowly and the stadium lights glint off the toxin on his extended claws.
He is almost on top of her by the time her brain starts to send warning bells. Abort! Abort! Abort! She tries to peddle backwards and out of the way. Only behind her is the team, and everyone there is helpless against Jackson. She can't bring them into this, enough people have died already. So Stiles tries to move forward and hopefully dodge out of the way.
It doesn't work. Jackson side steps and then he is in front of her. He lets out one long hiss and lunges. Stiles feels a scream in her throat try to rip out but it stops with Jackson a breathe away from her.
His eyes shift back to human, his eyebrow knit together expression is broken.
"Run." He whispers.
The lights on the field go out. Someone screams.
She runs, but doesn't make it very far someone or something stops her. It takes Stiles a minute to figure out what the hell is going on because there are hands on her and she is being dragged and at first she thinks it might be Isaac or Scott or her dad. Only it feels wrong. She struggles for a second just a brief shrug to throw this person off, nothing to show panic not yet. The movement alerts whoever is holding her and the grip changes.
Where a moment ago there was just a firm grip on her arm, it's now crushing and the other hand comes over her mouth before she can even think to scream.
Stiles goes dead weight like her father trained her. But the guy counters some how, well he drops her and grabs her again before she can run. The stomp at his insole misses. And her knee goes wide and then there is a force in her gut that doesn't hit as hard as it should because of the pads she has on. He tried to punch me! Stiles was just curling her fists, making sure her thumb was outside, everything went black and it got hard to breathe.
It takes awhile for the truth of the situation to really sink in. For her to come to grips with the fact that there is a cloth bag over her head, probably like those ones always seen in those ransom videos. Stiles gulps, this is everything she had never wanted.
Stiles is not Daredevil and despite some really awesome self defence classes a while back she was shit at telling direction when under a hood. Every jostle scares the shit out of her. She trys to track how far they are from the field but every step makes it harder to breathe.
When the car door opens Stiles cries. Not actually cries with noise or anything, but tears are streaming down her face because a car make all of this so much harder. The car also proves that there is more than one person. It sounds like three from the doors and then the slam into her spine.
"Get in." One of them orders. She tries to comply but flails and is eventually shoved onto the floor where she stays. Stiles does make a go at sitting up but one of them kicks her and then she stays down. They are driving at a surprisingly legal speed. Of course her captors are smart enough to drive at normal speeds.
Stiles has nightmares of this. She has seen all those movies, the ones where the cop's kid is used as leverage. The movies were cool for a while but when night fell she always remembered that they were actually scary. Scary because other cops got hurt, scary because the main character always got hurt and really scary because the daughter was always mistreated by the kidnappers.
When she was little her mom would hold her when he was out on a night shift, bring Stiles a glass of water and hum to her. Her mom would rub her back and make promises about everything being okay. Stiles used to love believing that, she misses being able to believe it.
Her lips feel chapped and salty from the tears staining her face. Stiles tries not to give into panic, tries to remain calm. It was always the daughters that remained calm and collected that were about to help or escape. But part of her is terrified. Terrified that she will never see her dad again. Terrified that she will never really get to make up with Scott or get a better handle on Isaac. Terrified that she will never be teased by Lydia and Allison again. And deep down she is secretly completely terrified that Derek will never know any of the things she feels for him.