TITLE: In The Blink Of An Eye

BY: Ellie!

I am sorry I didn't update for so, so long. Someone really close to me- my friend- passed away (I couldn't write the story, the similarities were just...am I making any sense?). Things started going downhill from there. It's been hard yeah, but I'm in the process of accepting it so... thanks for waiting, reading, reviewing and putting this story into your favorites.

Also, imagine my joy when I see more than a dozen emails- especially from the Guest 'Sarah' (thank you so much for the persuasion, I love you)- asking about an update, or liking the story and such. THANK YOU SO MUCH GUYS!

Here is the next chapter...hopefully, it'll make up for the delay.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Teen Wolf or its characters.


CHAPTER:2

"Stiles!" Scott couldn't stop the panicked scream that followed when his best friend's eyes rolled back in his head and his knees buckled forward. Struggling to hold his own weight, he tightened his grip around Stiles, all the while swearing colorfully under his breath.

"I told you to stay awake." He pressed, his face screwing up in a mixture of anger and concern, only concern really but pretending was keeping him sane. Breathing heavily as exhaustion sneaked in, he readjusted his grip. What he didn't expect was the pain in his leg to suddenly make itself known and before he could even balance his footing, with another pained groan, he went crashing down to the floor.

Once the two of them connected with the ground, the human's back now leaning heavily against Scott's chest and his legs tangled rather painfully in front of him, Stiles' eyes fluttered open. He groggily looked around him, noticing the familiar arms wrapped around his abdomen. He couldn't feel his lower body anymore and he knew all too well that, that was a very, very bad sign. He swallowed hardly to force his lunch back into his stomach. Calm down! He reminded himself.

Scott peered over his friend's shoulder to spare a glance at his face, breathing heavily. Thank God! He felt a little of his life return to him when Stiles glanced back at him.

"Sorry…I couldn't…." The human groaned, latching onto the wolf's hand when pain spiked in his side, radiating off to his entire body.

"Shhh..shh..don't try to talk." Scott whispered shakily, frantically looking around him. He needed help. He had to call for help. Shivering with panic and the fear of losing his friend, he threw his head backwards in despair and growled. He didn't realize he had already started shifting, his eyes now glowing a bright red and fangs baring.

"Scott…" Stiles panicked upon seeing his friend's state, wincing as the howl only got louder, Scott's arms beginning to shiver with the force. His voice was hoarse and almost inaudible, he hoped his friend had heard him. He then closed his eyes and waited for a response.

Coming back to his senses with a gasp, the desperate growl having weakened him, Scott inhaled shakily. He momentarily closed his eyes before his fangs began to slowly slide back between his gums. He had completely lost control over himself, saving is friend being the only thought spinning around in his head. His shoulders deflated once he was done and his chin tipped forward to rest against his own chest. He was exhausted and his nerves twitched with the rush of adrenaline. Pulling his friend closer, he tried to control his erratic breathing.

A muffled wince escaped Stiles' mouth on the sudden movement and the alpha shook his head. Knowing all too well that it was a bad idea, he took hold of Stiles' hand and started to take his pain away. Black veins snaked their way into his body and he felt like he was set on fire, hot white pain burning his insides. Colorful spots danced in his vision but the persistent frown on his best friend's face disappeared, if anything, making his wolf even more determined. He kept at it for as long as he could before his own eyes slid shut and a loud gasp forced itself out of his throat.

Stiles felt his muscles relax beneath Scott's comforting touch. It was no way near gentle, the alpha's fingers wrapped tightly around his wrist, holding for dear life, but it was still soothing. He closed his eyes and thanked God for having Scott beside him. A pained gasp pulled him out of his trance and he willed himself to open his eyes. He noticed the black veins on Scott's hand, where he had held him tight, and finally joined the missing pieces together. With his heart pounding against his ribcage and anger bubbling inside him, he summoned all his strength and yanked his hand away.

Scott, who had now started to grow paler, gasped at the loss of contact and steadied himself, hurriedly placing his hand on the ground. "What...?" His heart rate was alarmingly fast, breaths coming out in short gasps. "What...are...you...doing?"

"Scott..." Stiles gritted his teeth before continuing, " what do you think you're doing?" he managed to complete.

Scott paid no heed to Stiles' words and simply grabbed his hands again, the black veins re-emerging, this time crawling their way to his arms and neck.

Always so stubborn. Stiles squirmed under the firm hold, "Wait. . Scott, WAIT." He nearly yelled, voice cracking. "Stop." He was practically begging now. He could see Scott's face screwed up in pain, eyes scrunched tight. Much to his annoyance, he couldn't even prevent the deep sigh that escaped his lips after that when the pain in his body lessened to a bearable state. God, how could you be so selfish Stiles? He asked himself.

Scott loosened his grip and swayed uncontrollably, exhausted. He head was spinning, vision slightly blurring at the edges but it was still worth it. At least Stiles wasn't in too much pain.

"Tha...thanks." Stiles whispered after a little while, still a little dizzy and shivering with cold. He craned his neck to look directly into the wolf's eyes, finding absolutely no regret there. Numbness was beginning to settle in his body and he couldn't even think straight now.

Scott buried his face into his friend's shoulder and rocked their bodies gently for a while. He murmured soothing words in his ears, mostly to convince himself. Much to his horror, Stiles was dangerously calm; his heart rate slowing down, eyes staring into nothingness, and hands curled around Scott's. Not good.

Discarding all his negative thoughts, Scott closed his eyes. They didn't know how long they sat like that, it could have been a few minutes, but they were so deep in their thoughts that they even failed to notice the truck driver walking towards them in a daze, blood still dripping down his forehead. His confused eyes quickly found the two teenagers and he immediately rushed over to his mobile phone. With shaky hands, he called for help, watching helplessly as the wounded teenager struggled to stay…alive.

After a little while, which felt like almost an eternity, Scott's head titled to the side. Sirens. He could hear an ambulance quickly approaching. Hope flickering inside his heart and a small smile appearing momentarily on his face, he tightened his grip around his best friend's body. "Help's coming. Just a little longer, I swear." He begged, shaking his friend in his hold. Stiles blue-tinted lips had started to tremble and his face had grown paler.

"Scott.…" Stiles grimaced, then coughed hard- his whole frame shivering.

"What?"

"Looks like…time's up for me…" Stiles' gulped in a long shaky breath.

Hearing those words sent Scott into a panicky state and he quickly stiffened, his breathing growing ragged and more labored. He pulled his brother further into his chest, muttering into his ear.

"No…no…no...don't say that. Help's here…" He stuttered, tears beginning to cascade down his cheeks. 'Stiles, please just hang on…I swear to God, if you clock out on me now, I will kill you." He spoke through his tears, teeth clenched in anger. He knew he wasn't making any sense but he wasn't going to let Stiles leave him...not like this.

"Scotty, its okay.…"

"No..no, NO." Scott pursed his lips and shook his head. "NO...it's not OKAY." He yelled miserably.

"Tell my dad I love him, Scott. Tell him..." His voice shook again and his eyes weakly rolled back in his head.

"Stiles! Hey...please man, hey...wake up."

Said human's head lolled to the other side but he complied, "Damn…now I can't even make you watch…Star Wars with me." He let out a humorless chuckle.

Not liking the waver in his friend's tone, Scott shook his head desperately. "No...c'mon you know I won't….I won't understand a thing without you." He tried to continue the conversation, though all he could focus on now was the ambulance screeching to a halt somewhere behind them.

Rubbing his palms against Stiles' arms, who was now icy cold to the touch, Scott kept up a string of 'you'll be fines' and 'just hang ons', not once pausing the mantra. Though he wanted to sound as calm as possible, his mind was as racing at an incredible speed. None of this was fair. He was still healing. He was still healing but his best friend was dying. Scott hated himself, how the hell could his body still heal, knowing that his best friend didn't have that advantage? How could his muscles still rejoin, knowing that his best friend was bleeding to death? He yelled in the back of his mind, growling in meaningless anger.

His raging thoughts were interrupted when Stiles' breath hitched in his throat and his eyes began to slide shut, his head falling backwards to rest against Scott's chest. "No…no…no…you can't do this to me…Stiles! Stiles? Hey..what am I going to do without you man? Stiles!"' He desperately clutched at his friend. When the human gave no reaction, he continued his desperate efforts. "Stiles….No…no..you're my brother. WAKE UP!" He cried hysterically, shaking his friend's body in his hold.

After that, everything became a bit hazy. He vaguely felt strong arms clutch his shoulders and pull him backwards, while the paramedics rushed to work on his friend. He struggled against the arms wrapped around his stomach, shaking uncontrollably in…Derek's grasp. "Stiles!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, letting his head collide with the older wolf's chest, tears streaming carelessly down his cheeks. His eyes never left Stiles' as they slowly closed, the last breath leaving his body. His vision began to cloud and before he knew it, he slumped against Derek's firm chest, crying himself to unconsciousness.


"Scott? I don't know…he's uhh..he's still unconscious." Derek spoke on the phone, pinching the bridge of his nose tiredly. This wasn't suppose to happen. Scott and Stiles, they were teenagers…they didn't deserve to go through such terrible things in life.

Derek knew from experience that the pain of watching someone you love nearly die in front of your eyes is unbearable. The fear of never seeing them again freaks the hell out of even the bravest of men and Scott, he was only a teenager. A brave one yes, but still not brave enough.

Inhaling shakily, he closed his eyes and replayed the events of the day in his head. It was almost frustrating how things had gone from good to worst in a matter of seconds.

Derek was in his loft when he heard the growl. Scott's wolf was desperate and hurt and that was all that took for him to completely lose it and storm towards his friend without hesitation.

Once he was there, he couldn't get his eyes off of what he saw. Stiles was in Scott's arms, blood clothing the two of them and staining their hands red. The human looked a little too pale and Derek could sense the agony radiating off of him in waves. He had never seen so much pain in Scott's eyes before, the helplessness and guilt gleaming in the tears threatening to engulf him. It took all his might to not break down and cry alongside the younger wolf. Someone had to take care of Scott.

When the paramedics arrived, Scott was unresponsive, continuing to bury his head into his friend's shoulder, begging for him to survive. Derek took that as his cue and shook the younger wolf by his shoulder. Scott only protested, tightening his hold on his brother instead, more tears flooding his eyes. Not knowing what else to do, Derek snaked his arms around Scott's waist and dragged him back so the EMTs could do their work. Tears were pooling up in his eyes but he bit them back, tightening his arms around Scott's waist protectively. This was too much, even for him and he couldn't imagine what Scott was going through.

Scott struggled in his hold, trying to somehow crawl his way back to his friend. "STILES!"

The wolf's heart-wrenching scream, more like a growl, tore through Derek and he allowed a lone tear to trickle down his cheek. Once Scott had cried himself to unconsciousness, his head lying limply on his chest, Derek pulled him closer and watched the EMTs struggle to keep their 'hyper-active spaz' alive, though it sounded weird calling him that when he was so quiet and unmoving.

Derek tuned his hearing to only listen to the boy's heart, flinching every time the defibrillator was used, making his frail body jerk upwards before falling back down on the ground with a thump. He willed himself to count along.

One. Nothing.

Two. 'C'mon'. Derek prayed silently to whoever was listening.

Three. Thump.

It was faint but Derek knew he heard something. A flicker of hope lit in his heart and he focused, blocking all the other noises. Thump.

Relief washed over him and he let out a few desperate breaths, smiling into Scott's shoulder in respite. Stiles was far from okay. He was far from stable but he was still alive. Stiles was alive.

Derek's thoughts were interrupted when a loud scream pierced the air. His heart stopped beating for a second before he snapped out of the shock and rushed back into the clinic, prepared for what was coming next. He had actually expected this, Scott's panic, then why was there a hard lump rising in his throat? Shaking his head with concern as he could hear Scott's pounding heart, he increased his pace, worried that the teenager might end up doing something crazy.

He flung open the clinic door and in a few quick strides reached the younger wolf. Scott was thankfully still inside the room but his whole body was shaking, feet hanging down the metal counter and one of his hands clawing madly at his chest, as if trying in vain to force air into his lungs.

Derek hurried over to him and placed a strong hand on his shoulder, forehead creased with worry. If Scott kept this up, he was going to hyperventilate. "Scott, listen to me." He pressed, cupping said were-wolf's neck with his other hand, prompting him to look into his eyes.

Scott swayed under the weight. His eyes were glued to the floor, shaky hands still lingering in front of his chest, as he continuously whispered, "Derek….Stiles is dead. Stiles….he is…" Tears were pooling up in his eyes and Derek found himself struggling to clamp down his own emotions. A sob forced itself out of the younger wolf's throat and Derek snapped.

"SCOTT!" He yelled to pull the teenager out of his trance. "Stiles is okay. He is okay." He spoke quickly, shaking the boy in his grasp.

Scott immediately stilled, lips trembling and eyes staring at the older wolf expectantly. "What?"

"Stiles is alive." Derek repeated, squeezing the alpha's shoulders, "He is alive."

Scott sighed shakily in relief, wrapping his head around the fact. He weakly nodded and wiped off his eyes with the sleeve of his bloody shirt. As exhaustion slowly seeped in, he slumped forward, Derek's strong arms preventing him from falling down the metal counter and to the ground. He had never cried this much in his life before.

Looking back into the older wolf's eyes pleadingly, he whispered, "I want to see him."

Derek nodded and lightly tapped the boy's shoulder, "Let's go!"


Well? Please review and let me know. I am sorry again for the delay. I hope this chapter was enough as an apology. See you soon then. Thanks again for the encouragement!

-Ellie