Melissa McCall plans a lunch date with Mr Stilinski, and is involving Alex in the preparation. Stiles and Derek assess the damage after their wild night. Allison's strange illness becomes an issue. Chris doesn't really know anything about it, but he senses that something isn't right. The conclusion is startling to everybody. Alex is especially concerned.
(I need a first name for Mr Stilinski. Please give me some suggestions. -f)
Melissa didn't know if it could be considered as a date. Not that it mattered so much for herself, but she wondered if Mr Stilinski would see it as such.
To make sure it wouldn't be as awkward as the breakfast they had together the other day, she decided on a picnic in the park. There would be lots of people around them. The play area was always crawling with kids and now – during the summer – the basketball hoop was constantly in use by a bunch of teenagers. She wanted to make sure that they could have something to talk about, and the park would provide that.
She'd often taken her lunch there alone when she needed a bit of fresh air in the middle of a shift. It was never boring; there were always something to look at, and occasionally, someone to laugh at. Melissa knew that if the conversation halted, they would have things to rest their gaze on. It could be a little boy flying a way too big kite, or an old lady feeding the birds.
She was working the night-shift on Tuesday, so when the lunch was over she had to start getting ready for work. It was a safety net in case this proved to be more uncomfortable than she expected it to be. She'd planned to make the food in the morning, just before she left to meet him. That plan got washed down the drain when she remembered the meeting she had to attend.
She could of course buy everything prepacked at the deli, but it didn't sit well with her. She had wanted to at least try to make an effort.
The idea came to her as she got ready for work on Monday. She could get somebody else to make the food. She didn't know how to get a hold of Alex, so she called Scott. He didn't know if Alex even had a phone, but provided her with the second best; Isaac's number. When she eventually had Alex on the line, she asked him straight out. She wasn't sure how to word it, but tried to make him believe that it was work related. She didn't really lie, but she didn't want him to get any ideas.
He sounded thrilled, and immediately he started suggesting a menu. Melissa had to cut him off, telling him that he could concoct it from his own head. After a little back and forth, they agreed that he'd come by the hospital to get some money to buy what he needed.
-o-o-o-o-o-
The room looked like there had been a bloodbath, and it wasn't too far from the truth. Stiles' ripped clothes were bunched up at the foot of the bed, practically soaked in it. They were lying on their backs, holding hands. "You got to be kidding me." Stiles pointed to the ceiling, where droplets of blood were forming a crocked line. "This went a little out of hand."
Derek scooted over and flung his legs over the side of the bed. The linens, that had been cream colored this morning, had a psychedelic pattern of red streaks and spots. Some of them were quite big. The worst part was that the mattress was probably ruined.
The bite-mark on Derek's shoulder was still throbbing a little, but it was getting better. He was amazed about how long it lasted, considering Stiles' lack of fangs. Derek threw a peek at his boyfriend. Stiles wounds were healing nicely, but his body was practically covered in blood.
"I think we need to clean up." He got out of bed and panned the room. "Not only ourselves. I think we need to redecorate." Stiles chuckled a little and followed his gaze. "Didn't we just do that?" He nodded towards some bloodstains on the wall. "Not a very good paint-job, but..."
They looked at each other and sighed in unison. Stiles was right. This had definitely gotten totally out of hand. "We can't, eh. This was not a good idea." Derek shook his head and walked over to the closet to find some clean clothes. He knew that he had been about to wolf out completely on a couple of occasions, and he didn't like losing control. Even with their healing-abilities, this could have been dangerous.
Stiles nodded in agreement. "I know. It was like... I don't know. You scared me a little." He moved to get out of bed too. "I scared myself a little. I'm not sure I was fully alert at all times." Derek knew. He'd seen the faint flash in Stiles' eyes. The weak orange glow deep in there told him that Stiles had been close to transforming.
"Don't get me wrong. It was very arousing and exciting, but I think..." Stiles shrugged. "It was a little too disorganized, you know." Derek couldn't agree more. Inflicting pain could be quite arousing. Being on the receiving end was also a thrill, but this time there was no system to it.
"I guess we had a lot of frustrations piled up in our minds." Derek cocked his head and stared at his boyfriend for a moment. "I've been too busy at the house to take care of you properly after the bite, and I've also done my best to ignore the fact that my status has changed."
Stiles looked up and squinted. "So it does bother you? I got the impression that you didn't really care." Derek didn't reply. He walked over to the door and put his hand on the knob. "Everything will be fine. You know that, right?"
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Alex got up early the next morning, and fed Periwinkle before he took him out for a quick walk. He had a job to do and wanted to get started as soon as possible. When he came inside, he dumped the dog on the bed next to a half sleeping Isaac.
"Hey! What's going on." Isaac startled when Peri's snout touched his cheek. "Didn't we agree on not letting him on the bed?" Alex scoffed. "Yeah right! I'm not the one who picks him up when he whines a little in the middle of the night." He gave Isaac a quick kiss on the forehead. "Deal with it, I have work to do."
When Mrs McCall asked if he could make a picnic lunch for her, Alex had been overly excited. It was almost like a real job; she'd even promised to pay him. He and Isaac had gone to the hospital last evening to pick up some money from her before he went and got everything he needed for this luncheon. She had been kind of vague about how many people it was supposed to feed, so he had to guess. 'Less than a handful' could mean anything, but he decided to make enough for four, just in case. He had two dollars and some change left after the purchase.
He'd promised to cook for the workers at the house, and decided on hamburgers for them. It was easy and wouldn't take much time to prepare. The dough for the buns was done in a jiffy, and would need an hour to rise. After making the patties, he cut some vegetables and stuffed it all in the fridge for later. At the house, he already had some condiments and other things that didn't need refrigeration.
Working in the kitchen took his mind of everything else. Twisting his hand while he was waiting for a call from Mr Stilinski was not an option. He knew it could take time, so he pushed it aside and decided to not worry too much about it. The thought was there but he couldn't let it cripple him.
He'd learned that the hard way living on the streets. Every day was a new struggle, and sometimes he didn't know if he was going to eat that day. He had to get up in the morning and make an effort regardless, even if it could be tough at times. His philosophy had always been to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. Six years out there had made him a pro, and the really bad days became scarce.
That was until he, at the tail-end of his street-life, got hooked on heroin. After that, most days were bad, but he was too oblivious to even know.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Chris was taking a break from the work, and took a round inside the house. Dave was well on his way to be done in the kitchen. The outlets for the appliances were installed; the light-switches only needed covers, and at the moment he was tightening the screws on the ceiling fan. He couldn't do much more in there until all the cabinets were installed and the plumbing was done.
Mouth was working on the downstairs bathroom, while Dave's brother, Carl – or the monkey man that Derek liked to call him behind his back – was tiling the bathrooms on the second floor.
Allison was suppose to come and work on her own room. While waiting, Chris had been busy with the baseboards in the living room. It was practically finished except for that. Alex would bring food around noon, and after lunch, he and Isaac were supposed to paint upstairs. Chris was actually quite amazed about the painting they had done so far. With their less than adequate skills in building, they had really showed to be extremely thorough and fast with the paintbrushes and rollers.
Chris looked at his watch. It was still a couple of hours till lunch, but he'd expected Allison to show up already. He didn't want to call, and they hadn't really set a time, but he was eager to start working on her room. She had specific ideas and wanted to do as much as possible herself.
He'd barely talked with his daughter the last week, and hadn't got a chance to really find out how she was doing. She'd spent most nights with Scott, and at the Hale-house, he'd never managed to catch her alone. She seemed okay, but he could feel that something was bothering her. When he tried to address it, she'd just brushed him off and told him that she was fine.
There was no doubt about the fact that she'd done her best to avoid Stiles. Maybe not so consciously, but nonetheless, she'd never showed up when he was there. Chris suspected that she felt remorse for turning him, and that that was the reason she seemed a little out of it.
There were only one solution to this. Allison and Stiles needed to talk. Chris wanted to explain this to his daughter in private, but she'd so far managed to shut him out.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Allison had promised her dad that she'd be there sometime before noon, but when she woke up, she felt so bad that she decided that she had to face Stiles sooner rather than later. Yesterday morning she'd thought it was over. Scott had made her breakfast in bed, and while they ate they'd watched silly YouTube videos until he had to leave for work.
When she eventually got out of bed she felt fine, and had managed to put in several hours of work at the house that day.
She knew that her dad had noticed the spring in her step, and he hadn't nagged her about how she was doing. Allison knew that he was concerned, but she was pretty sure that he also knew why she'd been a little under the weather lately.
This morning it was back full force. When the nausea hit her, she could see Stiles' face in front of her. The image of his pale skin covered in blood as she bent down to bite his arm, was haunting her.
She pulled up outside the loft and braced herself. Both Scott and Derek had told her that Stiles was doing fine, and that he didn't hold a grudge against her. It was still kind of scary to have to face him. That he had accepted the inevitable was one thing, but would he accept her as his Alpha? She ascended the stairs, trying to stay calm. She'd never wanted this, but with Derek out of commission, there was only one outcome. She really, truly hoped that Stiles was aware of that. Not so much because she was the one who turned him; but she'd taken Derek's spot as the leader of the pack.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
Stiles could hear her; he could even smell her before she was at the door. Allison had done her best to avoid him lately, but now she was here. He didn't know how to deal with it. In a weird and twisted way, he felt bonded to her. He knew exactly why, but he wasn't sure if he liked it.
He'd easily accepted that she had to give him the bite; being dead didn't seem very exciting. Derek had explained why he couldn't do it, so that Allison stepped up was okay with him. That all this meant that she was the leader of the pack wasn't as easy to come to terms with.
He liked her; one could even say that he loved her, but his conscious mind still wanted Derek to be the king of the castle.
Periwinkle ran across the room when she opened the door, but she ignored him completely. When the dog realized that he wouldn't get petted by this newcomer, he whined a little before Alex called for him.
"I'm sorry Stiles. I'm so so sorry." It was the first words out of her mouth as she entered. She held her hands up in front of her and she squinted a little, as if she expected and attack. Stiles shook his head before he looked up at her. "Don't worry. Didn't they tell you that you are forgiven?"
Allison lowered her arms, but didn't meet his eyes. "They did, but I needed to hear it from you." She sighed heavily and peeked at him hurriedly. "I thought that seeing you, and getting a confirmation that you were alright would make me feel better."
Alex and Isaac were in the kitchen, packing the food hey were going to bring to the workers at the house. They seemed like deers trapped in the headlights. They clearly didn't want to be there for this. Alex picked the cooler up and moved towards the door. He gestured for Isaac to follow him. "Get the beer, Isaac." And then, turned to Derek. "We're just going to bring this to the car."
When Peri got up and followed them, Isaac grabbed the leash and snapped it on before the three of them disappeared.
Derek straightened himself up a bit. He was sitting next to Stiles on the couch. "He may not embrace it so much yet, but he knows that you saved his life." He nodded towards the kitchen. "Can I get you something? Coffee, tea, a cognac?" Derek chuckled a little as he got up from the couch. "You look like shit, sister."
Stiles could see a faint frown on Allison's face, but it faded quickly. She came over and slumped down on the recliner. "I've been physically ill since that day, so thank you for reminding me... brother." There was a dribble of sarcasm in her voice, but that too was gone when she continued. "I thought, maybe... eh, hearing it from you, that you..." She finally managed to meet Stiles' eyes. "If I could apologize and get forgiveness, I wouldn't feel sick and nauseous anymore."
As soon as she'd said the words, Derek flipped around and stared at her. "Sick? You feel really sick? Giving someone the bite shouldn't do that. It should make you feel more powerful." He came back and leaned over to look at her more closely. "I thought you just felt generally bad for having to do it. It shouldn't have made you physically sick. You can't get sick. You're a werewolf."
Allison seemed a little confused. She looked at Stiles briefly before she turned to Derek again. "I'm sure it's just a reaction. My body wanted to tell me that I needed to apologize in person." The smile on her lips was loaded with uncertainty. Derek moved away from her, but he didn't avert his gaze.
"That doesn't sound like anything I've heard of. Could you have been poisoned?" Derek cocked his head. Both Stiles and Allison scooted forward in their seats as they looked up at him. "Poison? How can I have been poisoned? I've eaten the same food as you and you're fine." Allison sounded a bit scared, but she was clearly not ready to buy that explanation easily.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-
After hanging by the car for forever, Alex knew he had to get upstairs soon to finish the little catering job he promised to do for Mrs McCall. He'd hope that Allison would get out soon – an apology shouldn't take that long – but he couldn't possibly wait any longer.
He and Isaac had been a little curious, but had both worried that the pack-leading business would come up, and none of them wanted part of that. They had decided on following the strongest Alpha regardless, and feared that they could be put on the spot and asked.
Derek was a very laid-back leader, and it was very comfortable to be in his pack, but he wasn't really trained for the task. Allison would probably be stricter, but she was definitely better in dealing with crises.
Alex looked at his phone. He didn't have much time so he turned to Isaac. "Take the food to the site and fire up the grill. I'll be there shortly." He knew that Melissa would come around noon, and by then the grill would be ready. "I have to go upstairs. I have a job to do."
They parted with a kiss; Isaac took Peri with him, and Alex braced himself before he ascended the stairs to the loft.
The conversation he overheard as he entered didn't make him feel any better. Derek, Stiles, and Allison were talking about poisoned food. He practically snuck over to the kitchen and grabbed the picnic basket he'd found in the cupboard.
"If it didn't come from the food, where could it come from?" Stiles had raised his voice and Alex could see that he threw a peek at the kitchen area. With his back turned to them he kept working, but he could help listening eagerly.
He soon understood what was going on, and it was not comforting. If Allison was poisoned, it was very disturbing news. He knew he could be a suspect, but he hoped that they would know that he couldn't possibly poison one and not the others.
The conversation stopped abruptly when Melissa cleared her throat. "I'm sorry, I knocked, but..." She was standing right inside the door, and had obviously heard what they were talking about. She looked at Allison curiously. Derek got up and walked over to her. "I'm so sorry. I guess you're here to pick up your food." He gave her a quick hug and followed her to the kitchen.
Alex was done packing the basket, and lifted it off the counter. "It's heavy, I'll carry it down for you." He didn't want to be there. Melissa didn't look at him, but she nodded. "Oh, thanks." Then she turned and walked straight over to Allison. "Poison? Are you serious?"
Allison shrugged and threw her hands out. "I don't know." She gave Melissa a quick recap before she shrugged again. "Please don't tell my dad, he's going to want to hurt someone." Melissa grabbed her hands and stared into her eyes. "But you don't know what it is, right? Why don't you come to the hospital tonight. I can draw some blood and try to find out what it could be. Nobody else needs to know."
Alex could see that Allison nodded vaguely as she looked down. Melissa squeezed Allison's hands quickly before she let go and walked towards the door. "See you later then, come on Alex, I'm in a hurry."
Down by the car, Melissa grabbed the basket and put it in the front seat. Alex tried to give her the leftover money, but she pushed his hand away. "Keep it." She opened her purse and dug out a twenty. "I don't know how much I owe you." She kept peeking up at the window high above them. Alex was pretty sure she was thinking about what Allison had just told her. She shoved the money into his hand. "Is it enough?"
He looked at the bill and nodded. The joy he felt for earning his first pay for a decent job, was a little tainted by his concern for Allison, and the fact that they could even think that his food was poisoned. "Oh, thank you Mrs McCall. This is..." He hurried to wipe his eyes. Melissa smiled at him, but it didn't really reach her eyes. "You deserve it. Thank you so much."