A/N: Welcome back to Chapter 2 of this series! I hope you liked the first chapter to continue with the second one! I'm lettin' you know now that the character build and relationships are gonna be quite slow.

Also! Thank you soooo much for all the favorites and follows I got! I was NOT expecting the response I got.

WARNING THINGY!: TRIGGERING DESCRIPTIONS OF CUTTING AND DEPRESSION!

Also smut between male characters in later chapters. ENJOY!

Chapter 2

The morning was an unwelcome occurrence. The alarm on his bedside table blared to life, startling him out of the stupor he'd been in half the night. After waking up from his nightmare he'd clutched the cutter tightly in his grasp while pressing and rubbing his thumb harshly over his bandages. Slowly he'd calmed enough to fall into that trance-like state he was in seventy percent of the time these days. Quickly he flipped over on his bed and slammed his hand down on the off button and the room settled into silence. He didn't want to get up today. There was nothing and nobody waiting for him. What was the point of going?

"Well, my dad for one. He'd throw a fit if he knew I skipped. I need to graduate too. Ugh." Stiles groaned as he contemplated the pros and cons out loud. Sadly the cons of staying home outweighed the pros and he slowly clambered out of bed.

When he shoved his feet into his shoes he realized the insides hadn't dried all the way from yesterday and there was a damp squish as his socks soaked up the frigid liquid. Stiles groaned and stared out at the heavy clouds in the sky through his wet window panes. It seemed everything was trying to make his life Hell. Well, it was working.

Wet tires rolled up into the driveway as Stiles stepped out of his room and shut the door, backpack slung over one shoulder. He was running a little late and so was his dad. There was no time for idle chitchat or breakfast. When he made his way down the stairs he gave his dad a quick pat on the back, a muttered 'good morning', and was quickly out the door into the rain. In his hurry he didn't notice the small package sitting in his passenger seat as he quickly started up the cold Jeep and drove down the slippery roads to school.

"Stiles!" Scott called as he ran towards his Jeep. "I've been calling you since last night and you haven't answered any of my texts! Dude, what's going on with you? Derek said you haven't replied to him either."

Stiles gave him an odd look and reached into his backpack's front pocket to retrieve his phone. When he hit the power button nothing happened. He tapped it a few times but still nothing. Then he remembered the low battery beeps from yesterday and groaned.

"Ah, sorry man. I forgot to charge it since, like, a week ago. I never get any messages or anything so I didn't think about it. What was so important that you had to contact me?" Stiles tried to keep the bitter edge out of his voice.

Scott didn't notice the sharpness and just nodded. "Well, we think there's something new in Beacon Hills. There was a body found this morning underneath a car."

Stiles frowned at him. "A body? But, wouldn't my dad have told me if there was something going on? He didn't say anything to me." He paused and gave a small roll of his head. "Well, I did sorta dart out the door this morning. Damn it. Is my dad in danger?!" he asked quickly.

"Whoa, hey, calm down. We don't know anything for now. Which is why you need to keep your phone turned on at all times and actually talk to us. I don't know much about the body, only what I heard from Derek and you know he doesn't talk much."

Stiles nodded as the trudged across the wet asphalt to the front of the school. The squeak of wet sneakers echoed through the halls as the stepped inside.

"So, you and Derek talk often?" he asked on a side note.

"Uh, well, yeah. We look out for each other and I'm thinking about actually bringing him into my pack. Not just as a consultant or an omega or whatever he is right now. I haven't talked to him about that yet though."

"Oh, ok. Why didn't you tell me this?"

"Because I just started thinking about it these past two weeks and you haven't been here!" Scott pointed out.

"Why couldn't you text me this?"

Scott opened his mouth to answer but his name was called from off to the side. Kira. Stiles gave her a small glare but no one saw. As soon as he was once again ditched he quickly stalked to his locker, wrenched it open and stuffed his backpack inside, grabbing only what he needed before slamming it once more. His thumb immediately started its habitual rubbing on his bandage as he stalked to his first class, praying the day would be done soon.

Math dragged by and since none of the material was new to Stiles he stared out the window as the rain picked up again. The wind howled loudly, whistling past the building and Stiles thought back to the news of the dead man. Was this unusual weather due to a new supernatural creature or was it simply Mother Nature trying to cleanse this Hell hole he was stuck in? Whatever it was it was rough. The trees whipped furiously outside and by the time second period was over the lights were flickering on and off in the building.

Scott found him during passing period looking fidgety next to his locker. "This weather is really starting to freak me out."

"It's just a little rain and wind." Stiles scoffed and slammed his locker shut just as a crack of thunder rolled through the air.

Scott jumped his eyes wide as he stared towards the front doors.

"You going to be ok? Is this weather really that bad for you werewolfians?" Stiles patted his friends shoulder as he stared at Scott's frazzled hair. "Dude, your hair is totally standing on end." He said running his hand through the static-y locks.

"I-I don't know. We haven't had a storm like this since we were small. I wasn't a werewolf then."

Stiles nodded and thought for a second. "Alright then. You should probably call Derek and if he doesn't answer or the towers are down then you should get to his place. Don't want you wolfing out in the middle of class. Take Isaac with you."

Scott looked at him with frightened eyes, dwelling on his every word. "Yeah, ok, I'll do that. Sounds good. How am I going to get there? I rode my bike this morning."

"Just call Derek for now and worry about that later. I've got to get to class. If you really need a ride come get me. Next period is free study."

Without glancing back Stiles strode off down the hallway. Let's see how Scott liked it when he was ditched when he needed it. Stiles sighed at the harsh thoughts but didn't turn back. Scott was really being a lousy friend. He was restless as he hunched over his notes at his desk. The words blurred together until after a while he just sat back and stared out the darkened window at the unforgivable clouds. The time slowly slipped by and after a bit Stiles had fallen into that trance again, his body becoming still as he thought and did nothing. His eyes were open but he didn't really see anything. Only the sound of the wind told him that he was awake.

"Stiles!"

The classroom door banged open and Scott and Isaac tumbled through the door looking beyond feverish. The teacher swiftly stood up and opened his mouth, about to yell.

"Scott! Are you sick again?! Oh man let's get you guys to the infirmary! Sorry teach! I gotta make sure these guys are alright. Let's go guys! Hurry before you barf!"

His teacher's face paled at the thought of vomit anywhere near them and let them leave without a word. The other students stared until they were gone, their sneakers squeaking down the slippery halls.

"I take it you need my assistance?"

"I need you to take us to Derek's. I got a hold of him but just barely. I think the towers went down just like you said. He told me to go to his loft."

They made it to their lockers and quickly dialed in their combinations to grab their stuff.

"Ok. Do you want me to pack your bike in the back of my Jeep or can you come back and get it, like, tomorrow when Nature isn't trying to kill us?" Stiles said sarcastically but with a hint of seriousness.

"Tomorrow or whenever's just fine! Just come on!" Scott whined and Isaac looked at the both of them with terrified puppy eyes as another crack of lightning and thunder made the lights dim, flicker, then cease their lighting altogether.

"Fine, come on. Just make sure I don't get blown away." He mumbled and they made a quick dash for the doors.

The wind was absolutely manic. Stiles had been kidding about being blown away but now it was a complete possibility. They were immediately soaked to the skin in the flooding rain and the wind made it feel like icy needles. Stiles managed to barely keep himself upright with one hand clamped tightly on Scott's shoulder and the other shielding his eyes from the onslaught. Isaac was doing the same to Stiles but it was to steady Stiles not himself and for a second there was a flash of warmth before the freezing rain drowned it out.

They reached the Jeep after 10 minutes of struggling through the storm. Stiles managed to get in without being crushed by his door only because Isaac held it open before it slammed shut behind him. Scott and Isaac climbed in through the other door, Isaac in the middle, before they were shut inside the cold cabin of his Jeep. They were breathing hard and all looked miserable.

"Let's get to Derek's. I need to call my Dad somehow too to tell him." Stiles said quickly before starting his Jeep up.

For a second fear that his Jeep wouldn't start under such conditions but then his Jeep rumbled to life beneath them and he heaved a sigh of relief and put it into gear. It took a long time getting out of the parking lot without crashing into other cars. There were other students also struggling to get to their cars, obviously too worried about the intensity of the storm to stay at school any longer. The roads were slick and the wind blew water straight at them, blinding the windshield even with the wipers at full power. Luckily Stiles had been to the loft enough times to know the route by heart.

After a grueling forty minute drive in the rain and smelling like wet dogs (Stiles laughed at the thought of two werewolves smelling like wet dog) they made it to the parking structure next to the building Derek lived in. The elevator wasn't working so they took the stairs, running up them two at a time. Stiles was the last one to arrive, breathless and hunched over, out of breath. The other two were already pounding on the door practically begging Derek to let them in. A clank came from the other side of the metal door before it was wrenched open.

Stiles eyes went wider than ever before as he took in a shifty looking Derek. Even Derek seemed absolutely freaked out by the storm. When thunder tore through the sky once more Derek's arms flew out and shoved the two inside before grabbing the front of Stiles' soaked shirt and yanking him inside as well before bolting the door shut once more. The giant wall of windows was as covered as possible by blankets and boxes on the sills but the top just couldn't be reached, showing off the brooding storm clouds.

"So, you guys hate lightning, huh?"

"Most creatures hate lightning. A great amount of humans hate it too." Derek huffed as he started pulling clothes out of his drawers.

"What are you doing?"

"You three are dripping all over my floor." He said and tossed a pair of pants and a shirt at all three of them. "Hurry up and get changed."

Scott and Isaac caught the clothes no problem but Stiles fumbled for a bit, dropping the shirt.

"Uh, can I get a long sleeve? Not that I'm not appreciative of your generosity but I'm kinda human, you know…no werewolf heat to keep me warm." Stiles said as he held up the t-shirt. A long sleeved shirt hit him in the face before he even finished his last sentence. "Yeah, that'll do. Thanks." He said as he took off his shoes by the door so he didn't track more water in.

He was about to go towards the bathroom but he realized the light was off and the other room downstairs was also occupied.

"Do you want me to go upstairs to change or wait here for them to get out?" he asked slowly so he didn't irritate the already irate werewolf.

"Just change there!" Derek said, exasperated.

"Alright! No need to get huffy!" Stiles held up his hands in surrender as he set the dry clothes down on the shelf beside the door before turning back towards Derek. "Uh, dude. Are you going to watch me change or something? I kinda need privacy before I bare my junk to the world."

"Jeez Stiles." Derek rolled his eyes but turned around anyways, facing towards his bed, but keeping his back solidly to the window.

Stiles shuffled to the side a little more just to make sure he was out of Derek's peripherals before he shed his jeans and two shirts and donned the dry ones. They were large on him but they were dry and warm so he wasn't complaining. Though it was uncomfortable without his underwear but those were just way too wet for him to keep on. The bandages on his wrist were soaked too but those would have to stay so the sleeve got a little wet.

"'Kay, I'm decent. Sorry but I had to take off my underwear too since they're totally sopping wet. They'd get your sweats all wet which would then get your seats wet if I sat down or it would drip down my leg and I would leave a trail and then it'd just defeat the purpose of dry clothes and…"

"Stiles! I get it! Just…stop talking about it!" Derek shouted at him as Scott and Isaac made their ways back into the room.

"I'll definitely wash them. Twice. Ok, I'm done." Stiles finished and held his hands up again before clapping them once and gathering up his wet clothes and laying them out beside his backpack.

Scott and Isaac did the same and soon the doorway was filled with soggy clothes. Stiles looked down at his pants and realized the outline of his cutter was visible and he quickly stepped over to them, pretending to straighten out the cloth while he grabbed the cold metal and went over to his backpack. He unzipped it and rifled through the wet paper, dropping the cutter in discreetly.

"Ah man! All my papers are wet! Even the inside of my binder is soaked! Damn it! All those notes for nothing! Oh well! I doubt they'll even be having school with this weather! Hey! Maybe it'll last through next week and we won't have finals!"

All three werewolves gave him dark looks and he withered beneath their stares.

"Oh yeah. Wolves no likey storms." He mumbled and gave a weak grin as he zipped his backpack shut and stumbled back around the clothes and to one of the desk chairs.

The three wolves had dumped themselves on the couch, even grouchy Derek sat near them even if he wasn't huddled close to them. Stiles looked at them and sighed before pulling his cold feet up onto the chair and wrapped his thin arms around his knees. He looked away from them, not wanting to dwell on being left out once more and stared down at the concrete floor. He stared at the little divots in the floor and after a while of tracing patterns with his eyes it turned into a grey mesh and the sounds from both the storm and the other three faded away. He simply sat there, cold and tired.

"…iles…Stiles! Stiles! Dude! You alright?" Scott's voice pulled him out of his daze and he felt like the world was shaking.

"Huh?" Stiles quickly looked up into Scott's worried face. "What's up? Why are you shaking me?"

"We were calling you over and over. You didn't respond at all but your eyes have been open this whole time. Are you having that sleep thing again like what happened after the Nemeton?" Scott asked his hand had stopped shaking him but rest upon his shoulder, his grip tight.

"No way. It's nothing like that. I was just really lost in thought and now thanks to you I lost my train of thought." Stiles smiled as if he were just fine, shrugging off Scott's hand. "Oh! I need to call my dad! Are the landlines up?" he asked suddenly and flicked his head around until his eyes settled on Derek who stood beside Isaac a couple feet away.

"There's a service telephone in the parking garage. You can go see if that's working."

Stiles nodded and quickly stood up, his bare feet hitting the cold concrete with a wince. He hopped over to his backpack and grabbed a few quarters from the side pocket and quickly dug through his papers until his hand settled around cold metal before rushing to the door and pushing it open, completely forgetting his shoes. He didn't wait to see if anyone was following him before running down the stairs all the way down to the main level.

The breath in his lungs felt like it was burning him and his body shook as if he were about to have a panic attack. Quickly he ducked around the side of the stairs and crouched against the wall. He tugged the sleeve of Derek's shirt back and ripped one edge of the soggy bandage off. Without taking time to admire the blade like he usually did in his bathroom he dragged the sharp edge down his skin next to the last track mark and waited as the pain settled in and calmed his panic. It felt like he could breathe again, like all the air had been let back into the room and slowly he retracted the blade and held his arm over a puddle in the ground so it would disguise his blood. As soon as he felt calmer he got back up and walked out to the edge of the parking garage where the storm was still raging.

"Well, can't be too picky." He mumbled and stuck his arm out a little until the rain washed away the new blood enough that he could cover it with the bandage once more.

Once he'd tugged the sleeve back in place he walked back through the parking garage until he found the service telephone tucked into an alcove in the back of the garage. He stuck the coins into the slot and quickly dialed his dad. When the line started ringing he thanked all that was good that it was working. The line was full of static when his dad picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey dad! Just needed to tell ya that I'm not at school 'cause I had to drive Isaac and Scott over to Derek's. Turns out werewolves reaaally don't like storms. I'm probably going to be here for a while. Like, a long while. But there's no school tomorrow or the next day so you don't have to worry!"

"Are you sure you won't be able to make it home? How'd you even get to Derek's? And are Scott and Isaac going to stay there with you?"

"Yeah dad they're probably staying here too. I had to drive carefully to get here and I highly doubt I'd be able to make it through the storm in the dark. I'll just stay here for now. Don't worry about me. You shouldn't go in to work tonight either. It's really dangerous."

"I know. I got a call from the station earlier saying to stay indoors and away from the windows. This is one hell of a storm. Make sure you stay safe son."

"I will. Don't worry about me." Stiles said again as the line filled with more and more static. "I gotta go dad! The lines are going down! I love you!"

"…lo…you…t…son."

The line cut out and the dial tone resounded within his ears. At least now his dad knew he was safe and he knew his dad was safe as well so that was a little weight lifted off his shoulders. His feet were starting to ache with cold as he trudged up the steps one at a time, taking his time to reach Derek's floor level. Once he made it he was shivering with cold and he clutched at the slightly warm metal in his sleeve pocket. The door opened as soon as he knocked once. Scott's face was right in his when the heavy metal door was pulled back.

"You took so long I was about to come after you."

"Hah, how'd you know I hadn't just taken off?" Stiles asked as he trudged over to his backpack and shoved the cutter back in before making a show of dropping the extra quarter he had into the pack and zipping it up.

"You left all your stuff here and its storming way too hard for you to make it very far. And it's getting dark too." Scott's voice got low at the end as if he was contemplating something.

"Yeah, that's true." Stiles mumbled and stuffed his hands under his armpits as he continued to shiver.

No one seemed to notice how ridiculously cold Stiles was until he sneezed loudly and messily, sniffing up snot so it didn't run out of his nose.

"Dude, that was seriously gross." Isaac commented and handed him a tissue from the desk.

"Sorry." Stiles mumbled and took the tissue to blow his nose. He turned before he started clearing his sinuses so he didn't gross them out even further.

"You're shaking." Derek said finally once he'd turned back around. Scott and Isaac looked him over as if they hadn't seen him yet.

"It's kind of cold outside and I forgot my shoes in here when I went to make the phone call. Oops." He sniffed quietly and trudged around them to throw the tissue away in the small wastebasket beside the bed.

A blanket was suddenly thrown over his head and he stumbled slightly at the weight. Pulling it around his shoulders he turned to see who'd thrown it and saw both Isaac and Scott staring at Derek who just shrugged and wandered over to the couch and sat there like he'd done nothing out of the ordinary at all.

"Uh, thanks." Stiles mumbled and sat down in the chair again but this time warmer, the blanket snuggled around him.

The other two went back to their positions next to Derek on the couch and this time Stiles just watched as the made small talk amongst themselves. It seemed like a nice conversation at first that turned serious as they huddled in closer, their eyebrows drawing together as they spoke in low voices. Stiles felt the ache of not belonging but brushed it off in favor of just watching them. He didn't even notice when he began to nod off until finally darkness closed over him completely.

A/N: So! Another chapter is done! A little more progress in the story. Depressed Stiles makes me sad but it's so much fun to write! Come on Scott, Isaac, Derek! Realize your poor boy Stiles is suufferiiiing! You nitwits!

Well, again, sorry for any triggers. If you have something against it feel free to rag about it but I'm lettin' you know now that I ain't stoppin' this story! I have a great destiny for Stiles to fulfill! He must fulfill it! He mussssssssst! ~hearts~