Chapter 32 - Try, Try Again
Teagan glanced over on the other side of the bed where a small table was, the one that held the key to the cuffs in it. She groaned out, realizing there was no way she could get to the keys from where she was.
She turned her head back, seeing the other bed side table, and saw her cell phone sitting on top of it. Knowing she needed to do something to get out of the cuffs and save Isaac, she quickly scooped it up and called Avery for help.
"This better be an emergency." Avery stated as soon as she answered the phone. After the night she had, she had hoped to grab some more sleep after Parrish left until the ringing phone woke her up.
"It is. I need you to come uncuff me. Isaac's gone." Teagan said, as she pulled on the hand cuffs again, then cried out in pain when it cut into her wrist again.
"Teagan?" Avery asked confused. She pulled the phone away, looking at the caller id for the first time, realizing it was her best friend calling. A chuckle left her lips, as she placed the phone back against her ear and said, "If Isaac handcuffed you and left, then you two are doing it wrong. No worries, I'll get you a sex book for Christmas, lots of fun games in there or you can just borrow-"
"Avery! This is not a joke!" Teagan snapped. "Something is wrong with Isaac. I don't-I don't know what is going on but he was acting weird and then he cuffed me to the bed and left. He's going after the twins and I'm scared. If he goes after them and they..." She paused for a moment, as tears filled her eyes. She cleared her throat, as she continued, "We just have to stop him before he gets to them."
"I'll be right there." Avery said, as she threw the covers off and jumped out of bed. She quickly got dressed and then grabbed a few weapons, before racing down the stairs and out the front door.
Teagan silently stood by her bed, tapping her foot impatiently, until she heard the front door open downstairs. She called out for her best friend as she heard her footsteps running up the stairs.
"Key." Avery said, as she soon as she stepped into the room.
"Top drawer." Teagan answered, as she nodded her head over toward the bedside table.
Avery ran over to the other side of the bed, pull the drawer open and began to look inside. She pushed other things aside and grabbed the small key once she located it; running back to Teagan she unlocked the cuffs.
"Thanks." Teagan said, as she rubbed her sore wrist.
As Avery nodded her head, as if to say 'welcome', Teagan ran over to her closet, pulling out the first pair of jeans she could find and slipped them on. She grabbed a pair of running shoes, slipping them on, as she walked over toward her dresser to grabbed the daggers that were on top.
She turned around to look at Avery, as she asked, "Do you have any weapons on you? I don't have time to run downstairs to grab more." Her dad only allowed her to keep any in the house if she kept most of them locked up in the basement.
"I grabbed a few before I left." Avery answered, then nodded her head toward the door, as she added, "Let's go."
The two friends ran down the stairs together and headed for the door. Teagan yelled out to Aspen to stay as she grabbed a jacket hanging by the door, before running after Avery and sat down in the passenger seat as Avery pulled out on to the road.
"Faster. You've got to go faster." Teagan said over to Avery, as she tried to reach Isaac on his cell phone. She silently cursed when it went to voice mail.
"I'm already going over 80, T." Avery pointed out. "Besides I don't even know where I need to go faster to! Where would he go?"
"I don't know!" Teagan yelled, as she tried to call his phone again. She rubbed her forehead and took several deep breaths, as she tried to ignore the voice in her head, the one that was laughing at her at the moment. "He-he's going after the twins. Where would they be right now?" She questioned out loud.
Avery shook her head, having no clue, it's not like she and the twins were best friends who hung out daily. She had no idea what they did in their spare time.
"Come on, Isaac. Answer. Answer!" Teagan yelled out, as she tried his number again with no luck. She looked down at her phone, planning to try him again until a text message from Lydia popped up on her phone, she had sent her one earlier asking if Aiden was with her. She gaspped, as she said, "School. Go to school, that's where they are heading."
"Got it." Avery said, as she did a quick u-turn, before speeding down the road toward the high school.
After arriving at school and grabbing more weapons, the two girls ran down the hallway trying to locate Isaac and the twins. They skidded to a stop in the middle of a hallway, looking to their left and then their right, wondering which way to go next.
"Which way should we go?" Teagan questioned out loud.
"I don't..." Avery began to say, as she looked to her left, then paused when she saw a duffel bag laying on the floor. "T..." She said, as she reached out to hit her arm, getting her best friend's attention.
Teagan turned her head, looking in the direction that Avery was, seeing the bag and took a few steps down the hallway toward it. Her eyes widen when she saw something else on the floor. The taser she kept in her car for emergencies.
"Locker room." Teagan stated, realizing where they were.
"You go that way..." Avery began to say, as she pointed down the hallway wanting Teagan to circle around and enter the locker room from the other side. She pointed to the door closest to them, as she continued, "And I'll go this way. We'll meet in the middle."
"Okay, be careful." Teagan said to her best friend, before she raced down the hallway as fast she could.
Avery got into the locker room first, seeing Isaac coming out of coach's office holding a Molotov cocktail in one hand and a lighter in the other one. When she saw him planning to light the handkerchief on the end of the bottle, she reached inside her jacket pocket pulling out a smaller dagger –one perfect for throwing, then threw it toward the bottle causing it shatter in his hand.
Isaac turned his head to the side, seeing his blonde friend standing there. He smirked, as he said, "Not bad. What other toys do you have, A?"
He took a step toward her, causing her to take a step back as she reached into her other pocket and pulled out her nunchuks. She held on to one end of the stick and whirled it around a couple of times, before catching the other end of the stick under her arm. She raised her free arm, getting in a fighter's stance as she waited to see what he would do next.
Isaac quietly growled as he took a few more steps toward her. With his back turned, Teagan ran into the room then jumped up to kick him in the back, causing him to stumble forward and fall on the floor near the twins.
Teagan pointed the crossbow at him, as she called out his name, hoping to reach out to him. He snapped his head over toward her, his eyes flashing for a moment as he growled at her.
"Isaac, listen to me." Teagan said, pleading with him. She noticed Avery walking over to her from the corner of her eye, the two best friends now standing side by side.
Avery's eyes widen when she saw Isaac and the twins stand up, all three wolfing out as they began to walk toward the two girls.
"Isaac... please." Teagan tried again, hoping he would listen to her.
"T... This isn't working." Avery said, as she grabbed her best friend's arm and took a step back.
Teagan jerked her arm away from Avery, not hearing a word she said at the moment all she could hear was her mother yelling at her to shoot. She felt her hand shaking, her finger itching to pull the trigger, as she pointed the crossbow at Isaac.
Avery glanced over at Teagan, seeing the strange look on her face. She yelled out her name, as she grabbed her arm again, pulling her backwards and into coach's office.
Slamming the door shut, she looked over at her brunette friend again as she yelled out, "Desk. Push the desk against the door."
Teagan turned away from Avery, ignoring her as she mumbled to herself, arguing with her mother. Avery shook her head, swearing out loud, as she ran over to the desk using all of her strength to push against the desk but only caused it to move a little bit, nowhere near the door to block the werewolves from coming in.
"Tuer ou être tué." Teagan quietly said to herself, after hearing the phrase over and over in her head, she couldn't stop herself from repeating it. "No, no. I-I can't." She mumbled, as she shook her head, arguing with herself.
She heard her mother's whispery voice saying her name and felt a slight breeze on the back of her neck, almost like her mother was standing behind her –pushing her to do it. To take out her friends. She told her she didn't have a choice. If she didn't kill Isaac and the twins now they would turn on her, then it was only a matter of time before Avery did as well.
"You have enough arrows to shoot all four in the heart right now. Do it, Teagan. Do it now!" Lisa yelled in her head.
Teagan took several deep breaths as she raised the crossbow, pointing it at Avery's back. She bit her bottom lip, holding back a sob. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt her best friend, but she couldn't stop herself. It was like she had no control at all.
"Help me!" Avery yelled out without turning around. "Teagan!" She called, finally getting through to her best friend.
Teagan blinked and gasped as she realized what she was about to do. She quickly tossed the crossbow on the desk, then walked over to stand beside Avery. She laid her hands on the desk, helping Avery push the desk toward the door to lock them inside and away from the werewolves.
The two girls stared out the window on the door, wondering what was going to happen next. Would Isaac and the twins try to break into the room and attack them? Would the desk be able to keep them out?
"Oh my god." Teagan breathed out, when she saw Isaac turn around to face the twins.
"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea." Avery stated, as the twins began to growl at Isaac.
"They're going to kill him." Teagan said fearfully, as she saw one of the twins push Isaac backwards, his back hitting the door and shattering the window. "Isaac!" She screamed, as she raced over to the door.
"Teagan, desk!" Avery called out, letting her best friend know they needed to move the desk before they could leave the room.
Teagan ran over to Avery, the two girls pulling the desk back far enough for them to squeeze out the door. With the crossbow back in Teagan's hand and the nunchuk in Avery's hand, the two girls raced into the room, trying to separate the three werewolves.
Avery faced off against the twins, eyeing both of them as they growled and walked toward her, she twirled the nunchuk around in front of her, then moved it toward Aiden; the end of it smacking him in the face. She turned to her other side, facing Ethan, and kicked him in the stomach.
While he was bent over she dropped her elbow down on his back, knocking him to the ground. She quickly spun around, seeing Aiden coming toward her, she threw up her hands getting into position to fight if he came after her.
"Aiden, calm down. I don't want to hurt..." Avery began to say, then paused, as she smirked then continued, "Actually on second thought, I do want to hurt you. Just give me a reason..."
Aiden snarled at her before rushing toward her, the two beginning to fight each other. He got a few punches in, but the rest she was able to block then threw out several punches of her own.
On the other side of the locker room, Isaac was slowly walking toward Teagan; who kept taking steps backwards and kept the crossbow pointed at his chest, fighting the urge to not squeeze the trigger.
"I-Isaac? Baby, please, listen to me." Teagan began to say, her voice quivering. "Please, Isaac, come back to me. This isn't you." She pleaded.
She took a deep breath, trying to ignore her mother's voice as she whispered, "I need you, Isaac. It's you and me, remember?"
"Do it, Teagan. Shoot him, shoot him!" Lisa yelled in her mind.
"No." Teagan whimpered out, as she shook her head, refusing to hurt her boyfriend. There had to be a way to reach him, like she told him earlier, there were other ways to do things than with weapons.
Afraid she would slip up and shoot him, she tossed the crossbow down, then softly gasp when she saw him dive toward her, knocking them back to the floor.
Isaac hovered over her, as she laid flat on her back. She laid her hands on his chest, pushing him back with all she had as he snarled at her. She wrapped a leg around his waist, then quickly flipped them so she was now on top. She reached into her jacket pocket and pulled out a dagger, then without even thinking about it, placed it against his throat.
Realizing what she done, she quickly jumped up and dropped the dagger with a horrified look on her face when she realized that not only could she have sliced his throat, but for a split second she wanted to. She had wanted to hurt him.
Teagan took a few more steps backwards until her back slammed into something, or rather someone. Avery reached back, grabbing Teagan's hand, as she asked, "T, are you okay?"
When her best friend didn't answer, Avery glanced over her shoulder seeing that Teagan was standing very still, almost as if in a daze. "Teagan, snap out of it! Grab a dagger and fight."
"Tuer ou être tué." Teagan mumbled, repeating the words in her head.
"No!" Avery snapped, as she turned around. She grabbed Teagan's shoulder, turning her to face her as she said, "No. Not kill or be killed. Fight to survive. Have my back, save your boyfriend and let's get through this, okay?" When Teagan didn't answer and just looked at her with a stranger expression, Avery shook her shoulders, as she yelled out, "Okay!"
Teagan blinked, looking at Avery and looking more like herself, as she nodded her head in agreement. She turned back around, reaching into her jacket pocket to pull out another dagger.
The two friends stood back to back, as Isaac began to walk toward Teagan and the twins toward Avery. They stood, weapons out and ready, waiting to see what would happen next but they were surprised when the three werewolves fall to the floor, black liquid pouring from their mouths.
"Isaac." Teagan breathed out, as she dropped her weapon and ran over to him falling down to her knees beside his body.
She looked over at Avery, seeing that she was checking on the twins. "What's going on? What is this?" She asked her blonde friend before looking back down at Isaac, a worried look on her face.
"I don't know." Avery said, as she shook her head. She reached into her pocket, pulling out her cell phone, as she said, "But I think I know someone who will."
~()~
"What happened?" Dr. Deaton asked as he rushed into the locker room at the school, after getting a frantic phone call from Avery.
"We don't know!" Teagan yelled as she sat on the shower floor beside Isaac as he continued to cough up a black substance from his body trying to heal himself.
Avery was hovering over the twins who were having the same reaction Isaac was.
Grabbing Aiden's face, she made him face her as she saw more black liquid running from the corner of his mouth, she shook her head back and forth, "It's like their bodies are trying to heal… but I don't know what from. All of their physical injuries from the fight are healed, I checked."
With a terrified expression, Teagan looked up and said, "A… his body temperature just keeps going up."
Deaton surveyed the room and watched as Avery reached over putting the back of her hand against Ethan's forehead before mumbling they were also hotter than normal.
Looking around Teagan's eyes stopped on the dial for the showerhead above where Isaac was laying on the floor, with his head in her lap. Straining a little she leaned forward and turned the water on cold.
Isaac made a noise and tried to get away from the cold water, but Teagan pulled him back down, shivering as the frigid water started to puddle up on the floor around her and soak into her clothes. Rubbing his damp hair off of his forehead Teagan breathed out, "Shh, you're okay. You're going to be okay."
Tears stung her eyes as she remembered how close she'd came to losing him before as she whimpered, "You have to be okay…"
After the turning the cold water on above the twins, Avery turned around and let out a frustrated scream as she punched the hard tile of the shower wall and yelled, "Damn it! I'm supposed to be able to fix this…"
Turning around she asked, "What kind of emissary am I, if I can't even fix a problem with my pack?" Her gaze helplessly fell to Isaac, and then over to the twins who she still didn't like but accepted they were becoming a part of the pack.
"One who is still learning." Deaton confidently assured her as he stepped into the communal shower.
Avery shook her head back and forth like she didn't believe him.
Looking between the twins his eyes landed on Ethan as he said, "Stand up."
Walking over to them Avery helped Deaton pull the beta to his feet, where Deaton made him open his mouth and looked inside trying to find the cause of what kept weakening and injuring the wolves.
"Okay…" Deaton breathed out as he, said, "Ethan, this is going to be unpleasant, but I need you to hold still."
He started to ask what was happening, but before he could the veterinarian took hold of the bottom of his chin with one hand and started to reach into his mouth with the other.
Avery and Teagan watched with wide eyes as Ethan gagged, and his claws came out, scratching against the tiles until finally Dr. Deaton removed his hand presenting a dead fly.
"Ugh…" Ethan breathed with a disgusted expression as he leaned over still gagging slightly.
Avery turned and helped Aiden up to his feet as the wolf backed up against the wall under the stream of water and shook his head back and forth, "No."
"Stop being a baby." She said rolling her eyes at him as she grabbed his chin the way Deaton had done to his brother, and when he opened his mouth to protest again, she pushed her other hand into his mouth trying to feel around for the dead fly.
Aiden gagged and his eyes glowed blue, which Avery gasped when she saw that and quickly threatened, "You bite me, and I swear to god I'll…"
Her voice trailed off as she finally found what she was looking for and she removed the dead fly lodged in the side of the entrance to her throat.
As she pulled her hand out they both looked at it, and Aiden leaned over holding onto his knees as he coughed.
Avery looked over and saw Deaton trying to get the fly out of Isaac, and telling him to not fight it, as Teagan lovingly rubbed her hands over her boyfriends back trying to calm him down until finally the fly was removed from him also.
"Got it!" He exclaimed as he dropped the fly to the floor and it was washed down the drain.
"Are they okay now?" Teagan asked, as he shut off the shower water.
"Well, the part that worrisome, is that this was most likely just a distraction for what was happening to Stiles…" Deaton said, as he then explained the nogitsune had split from Stiles.
"There's really two of them now? How is that even possible?" Teagan asked shocked, as she looked over to see Avery scrubbing her hands in the sink.
Turning around and grabbing papertowel to dry her hands, Avery angrily asked, "And how the hell was one of them able to walk right past everyone with Lydia?"
"We turned around and they were gone… so was her car." He explained, looking back to where Teagan was holding onto Isaac, thankful he was alright.
"So no one noticed him kidnapping her, right out of the house?" Aiden asked as he walked up to the group.
"Most of us were concentrated on the bizarre sight of a creature, materializing out of the floor." Deaton defended, feeling like the teens were blaming him for the disappearance of their friend.
"Wait…" Teagan breathed, "How you even sure which Stiles is which?"
"That's what they're trying to figure out now." He answered, looking over to where Avery told the twins to go on and help everyone else, that the rest of them would catch up.
Once Ethan and Aiden were gone, Avery looked at Deaton and said, "I need your help…"
"With?" He questioned, surprised at her. She only asked for help when she was out of options.
Isaac wrapped his arms around Teagan and pressed a kiss to the top of her head as Avery admitted, "I need to get back inside of Teagan's head… everything is getting so much worse and we're running out of time."
Teagan pinned her eyes shut and quietly said, "You tried it before and my mom kicked you right out."
"Yeah." Isaac agreed nodding, "The whole thing barely lasted 5 minutes."
"I can do it, I know I can beat her… I'm just not sure how." She said, looking back to Deaton who had a worried expression on his face.
"What you're talking about, doesn't just involve you leaving your body to get into your friend's head. You're talking about facing off with a powerful spirit." He reasoned, thinking the entire thing was a bad idea.
"And it needs to happen now… before Lisa can get any stronger."
"Avery…" Isaac said shaking his head back and forth as he remembered how much the first attempt had taken out of her.
"Don't you Avery me." She snapped looking over at him, then back to Dr. Deaton, as she continued, "I can do this."
"There are a lot of risks that need to be taken into consideration…" He kept trying to warn her against it, but she wouldn't hear any of it, "I don't care."
"Starting with the fact that there is no guarantee you'll make it back to your own body." He spoke loudly, trying to get the point across.
Avery glanced down and swallowed hard as she remembered being lost in darkness after getting into her mom's head before she finally woke back up in her own body.
"What does that even mean?" Teagan asked, her voice shaky as she clutched onto Isaac.
"It means, that if she's not strong enough after the fight with your mother to get back into her own head, then she'll be lost." He answered honestly.
"Like… dead?" Isaac asked.
"No." Avery snapped.
"Not entirely." Deaton explained, "Her body will still be alive, but you'll be lost in a state of unconscious… and there's no guarantee you'll ever wake up."
"That won't happen. I've always came back… I put myself into a state of hyperconsciousness to get to Teagan when she went into that ice bath and I bought myself back. No anchor, no help… I did it on my own, and if you just help me… I can do this too. I can save her." Avery pleaded for his understanding, and avoided the looks Isaac and Teagan were giving her.
"This is infinitely more dangerous than what you did that day." He argued.
"Stop, just stop." Teagan said breaking away from Isaac's hold as she crossed her arms over her chest and said, "You're not doing this… you're not putting yourself through that for me."
"Yes, I am." Avery argued.
Shaking her head back and forth Teagan argued, "A… if something happened and you didn't come back… I wouldn't know what to do."
Closing her eyes and trying to ignore the pained look in her friend's eyes, Avery said, "T, when I shove that bitch out of your head and I get that door shut, you'll be fine, you'll be you again. And you've got Isaac, and your dad… all of your friends. You'll be okay."
"N-no, I wouldn't… not without you." She stuttered out, realizing what Avery was saying to her.
"Teagan." Avery sighed cutting off her protests, "I saw you in the fight earlier… you kept spacing out and there times…"
"What?" Teagan asked, her voice trembling from emotion; she had a feeling she didn't want to hear the rest of her friends argument.
"When the look on your face scared me… and I honestly thought you were going to be fighting against me, instead of beside me."
The brunette gasped, and took a tumbling step backwards but Isaac quickly caught her and kept her upright as everything in her body went weak.
"You can't keep going on like that, T. You're barely functioning anymore, you told me yourself that you don't know how much longer you can hold on… you know it has to happen, Teagan you know I have to do this." Avery said with a weak smile as a tear rolled down her cheek.
"But what if you…" She started to argue, with tears falling down he own cheeks.
"If the situation were reversed, would you risk it to save me?"
Without a moment of hesitation, Teagan nodded her head, her chin quivering more with each second.
"Then you understand why I have to do this." Avery said as she stepped forward and wrapped her friend in hug. Both girls clutched onto each other, crying at the thought of something going wrong and one or both of them not making it out alive.
Isaac took a few steps away to leave them alone as he walked over to Deaton and asked, "There's a chance this plan could really work? That Avery can really somehow beat Teagan's mom and shut the door?"
"There is a chance." Deaton replied, with a somber expression as he watched the girls and said, "But it's going to be excruciating."
"For Avery?" Isaac asked, remembering the yell of pain the blonde had let out when she got into Teagan's head before.
Slowly turning his head and looking at the teenage werewolf, Dr. Deaton admitted, "For them both…"
~()~
Isaac made a right hand turn, turning on to another road and heading for the animal clinic. He glanced over beside him at Teagan, who was quietly sitting in the passenger seat. He saw her close her eyes and take a deep breath, before softly talking to herself. It was so low and so fast, he only caught a few words but he knew without a doubt that she was arguing with her mother.
Keeping one hand on the wheel, he reached out with his other one grabbing her hand, as he said, "It's going to be okay, babe."
"It's not." Teagan whispered, as she shook her head. "We can't let her do this. Avery, she-she can't get back into my head again, it's too dangerous." She explained, as she looked over at him.
"Is that what your mom says?" Isaac questioned, as he glanced over at her for a minute, before looking back at the road. She didn't have to answer for him to know. He knew her mother was putting things in her head, literally; showing her all the ways this could go wrong and trying to scare her.
"It doesn't matter what she says." Teagan said, as she shook her head. "This is too dangerous to do. Too much could go wrong."
"May-maybe it won't." Isaac stated. He couldn't deny that the whole thing made him nervous, she was right, too much could go wrong and both girls were important to him. Teagan was his life, he couldn't live without her and if this made her better he was all for it, but Avery was also one of his best friends.
From the beginning she pushed him to go after what he wanted, to go after who he wanted. He owed her a lot and the thought of something bad happening to her was upsetting. He honestly felt torn, like he had to choose between the girl he loves and a close friend. It wasn't a feeling he liked at all.
He knew he had to be brave though, he had to have hope that Avery could do it, that she could shut the door and make it back. He had to believe that Teagan would be okay, that this would fix her and she'd come back to him. No matter what he couldn't lose either girl, the love of his life or his friend.
He pulled the car into the parking lot, seeing that Avery and Deaton were already there waiting for them inside. He shut off the car, then turned in his seat to look at her as he said, "Maybe this will work. Then you'll be better. No more voices, no more hallucinations, no more nightmares, no more urges to kill. It'll all be gone."
"Yeah, but at what price." Teagan said back, as she turned her head to look at him. "What if something goes wrong?" She softly asked, worried about Avery and herself.
"It won't." Isaac said back, as he shook his head, hoping he sounded braver than he felt. He grabbed her hands, bringing them to his lips, as he kissed the back of them, before saying, "I'll be right there. If something happened I'll pull you back, I'll always pull back, Teagan. It's you and me."
"It's you and me." She whispered, drawing strength from those four words.
"I'll even pull Avery back too. Although we both know Avery Dukate doesn't need anyone to pull her back." Isaac pointed out with a smile.
"That is true. Avery Dukate can do anything." Teagan said back with a small smile, there wasn't much her best friend couldn't do.
"See." Isaac said smiling as he tapped the end of her nose, causing her to smile more. He leaned forward to softly kiss her lips before pulling back and saying, "It's going to be okay."
Teagan gripped his hands tight as she took a deep breath, then nodded her head at his words, holding on to the hope that he had. That everything would work out right and everything would be okay.
He gave her one more quick kiss, knowing she needed it just as much as he did before they stepped out of the car and walked into the building together, hand and hand. Isaac followed Deaton and Avery's hushed voices toward the back of the building; where Deaton tried to talk her out of doing this, explaining the dangers of it again, but she wouldn't listen. He tighten his hold around Teagan, hearing her heart began to race and felt his doing the same as the two stepped into the room and joined Deaton and Avery.
Hearing the other two enter the room, Avery shushed Deaton, then turned her head to watch Teagan and Isaac. She flashed them a small smile, then looked at Teagan as she asked if she was ready to do this.
Teagan turned her head toward Isaac, looking at him for a moment. He squeezed her hand with a smile, as he nodded his head at her, telling her again it was going to be okay. She flashed him a small smile back, then mouthed the words,'I love you', before turning her head back toward Avery as she nodded her head, telling her she was ready.
Deaton sighed, realizing he wasn't going to be able to talk Avery out of doing this. The blonde was determined to help her best friend no matter what. He instructed both girls to sit on top of the long, metal table; facing each other.
Isaac turned Teagan to face him, before pressing his lips against hers for a tender kiss. He pulled back, laying his hands on either side of her face, just staring at her, as if he was memorizing her features, but he knew this wasn't the last time he would see her. He had to believe this wasn't the end for them. They had been through a lot together; a kanima, alphas, ice baths, hallucinations and the list went on. If they could get through all of that, they could get through this.
He opened his mouth to speak those thoughts out loud to her but she shook her head, as if already knowing what he was going to say. She leaned forward to kiss him, putting everything she was feeling into the kiss.
"There's only one thing you need to say. Just one thing that is going to get us through this." Teagan whispered to him.
Isaac softly smiled, as he said, "It's you and me. It's always going to be you and me, Teagan."
"Always." She whispered back, as she reached up to caress his cheek.
When he felt her pull away, he regrettably let go and watched as she walked over toward the table. She nervously spoke to Deaton a little, while Avery took a few steps away slipping her jacket off.
Isaac walked over toward Avery and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say a word, she interrupted and said, "Don't worry, I'm going to fix her. You'll get your Teagan back."
"I was going to tell you to be careful." Isaac stated.
"I just want to save my best friend, save the girl that you love. That is all that matters." Avery honestly said. She didn't care what happened to her, she just wanted to save Teagan. Finally be able to fix her and right one of her wrongs. This was all her fault and she had to be the one to fix it.
"Avery, are you sure you can do this?" He quietly asked, as he glanced over at his girlfriend for a moment then looked back at his friend. He wanted the door closed just as badly as they did, he hated this was happening to Teagan, but no matter how brave he tried to appear the whole thing still scared him.
Avery snapped her head to the side to look at him with raised eyebrows, as she said, "You think I can't do this."
"That's not what I'm saying." Isaac said, as he rolled his eyes. "I know you can do this, but you heard Deaton."
Avery didn't say anything for a moment, as she turned her head to look over at Teagan; who was still talking to Deaton. She nervously cleared her throat then looked back at Isaac as she said, "Whatever happens, just take care of her. She loves you so much, you are her future, and I.." She paused for a moment, feeling tears fill her eyes, before she quietly added, "And I'm not sure I even have a future anymore." She wiped at her eyes, then added with a shrug, "Maybe this is my fate. Saving my best friend so she can have her best chance at a full life. This is what I'm here for. This is my life..."
"I don't believe that." Isaac said, as he shook his head. He placed a hand on her shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze as he said, "You have to come back too, A. For Teagan, for me, for everyone."
"Just take care of Teagan." Avery stated, ignoring what he said as she turned and walked over toward Deaton and Teagan.
Isaac shook his head, a part of him wanting to stop this whole thing but knew it was probably the only way to save his girlfriend. It was no secret that she was getting worse, her mother was getting stronger, if they didn't do this soon -they would lose her. He ran a hand through his hair, feeling torn again. He looked over at Avery, seeing the look she was giving him and knew even if he wanted to stop her, he couldn't.
There was no stopping Avery Dukate.
As Deaton spoke to the girls, Isaac walked over to toward them, standing beside Teagan. She grabbed his hand, giving it a squeeze, then looked over at him the two saying everything they needed to say in one look.
When Deaton told them to get on the table, Isaac laid his hands on Teagan's sides to stop her. Avery; who was already sitting on the table, turned to watch the couple. She opened her mouth, planning to call out to Isaac, thinking he was going to try to stop them but instead he just leaned forward, resting his forehead against Teagan's for a moment before he lifted her up and sat her down on the table.
Teagan laid a hand on the side of his face, giving him a small smile before she turned and scooted to the middle of the table to sit in front of Avery. When she saw tears fill her best friend's eyes, Avery reached out to grab one of Teagan's hands giving it a squeeze, as she assured her,"It's going to be okay."
"You don't know that." Teagan breathed out, as she reached up to wipe a tear away.
"I promise you are going to be okay." Avery stated with a nod. It was a promise she was going to be do whatever it took to keep.
"Avery..."
"Shh..." Avery whispered, interrupting her. She reached forward to wipe the tears from under Teagan's eyes, as she began to softly sing, "Firefly, firefly don't go away..."
Teagan pulled in a deep breathed, before whispering,"Butterfly, butterfly why don't you stay?"
Avery softly smiled. She knew singing the nursery rhyme was probably silly but hoped by doing so it would calm her best friend by reminding her of their history. That no matter what happened, they would always be connected.
Even if they were not blood, they would always be sisters.
Seeing that the two girls were ready, Deaton grabbed a glass jar filled with herbs, then cleared his throat, getting their attention. "You'll need this." He said to Avery.
"What is it?" Isaac questioned, as he lowered his eyebrows in confusion.
"Different herbs." Deaton began to say, as he waited for Avery to hold out her hand. He poured the mixture in her hand, as he continued, "But the most common one is-"
"Chamomile." Avery spoke up, when she recognized the herb.
Deaton gave her a nod and smiled, glad to see she was learning. He had no doubt she would be an amazing emissary to her pack and learn to control herself. It was just going to take time and practice.
"Why chamomile?" Teagan questioned.
Deaton looked over at Avery, waiting to see if she would answer and wasn't surprised when she spoke up and said, "It's a relaxing herb. It helps with anxiety and can relax the muscles. Some people use it to help them sleep."
"It'll help you slip into the type of unconsciousness you need to get into Teagan's mind. None of this is going to be easy or pleasant, but this is a safer way to do it." Deaton explained. He nodded his head toward the herbs as he continued, "The rest of those herbs will keep you grounded. Giving you a better chance to make it back to your own mind."
Before anyone could say anything else, he added ,"Now I must warn you, chances are, Lisa is waiting for you... that she might know what you have planned."
"She does." Teagan softly spoke up. She glanced down at the table, trying to ignore her mother's voice as she yelled at her. Telling her this was a big mistake, that they couldn't stop her. This idiotic plan was going to be the death of her and Avery.
"Meaning..." Deaton continued to say, "She's going to try to trick you. She's going to do anything she can to keep you from shoving her back into that door and shutting it. Be prepared for anything."
"I'm ready for whatever she throws my way." Avery said confidently.
Deaton nodded his head as he took a step toward the table. There wasn't much more he could say, he had already tried to warn the blonde with no success. Now all he could do was hope this worked or hope there was something he could do to fix things if the worst happened.
Avery stared straight ahead at her best friend, seeing the worried look on her face and flashed her a small smile, as she asked, "You ready?"
Teagan glanced over at Isaac, seeing him standing beside her at the table. After he gave her a short nod, she turned her head back to look at Avery, as she nodded her head.
Avery squeezed her hand, holding on tightly to the herbs, then lifted her other hand, placing her fingers on the side of Teagan's head. Like the last time, Isaac saw Teagan's eyes flutter shut as a pained look crossed her face. He balled his hand in a fist fighting the urge to break the connection and end the pain he knew she was in, but he knew he couldn't do it.
Instead he had to stand there helplessly and do nothing, watching it all play out.
He glanced over at Avery, hearing her breathing pick up as she began to moan out in pain. Also like last time, he saw the lights overhead begin to flicker, as she drew power from them.
"Avery..." Deaton softly said, as he took a step closer to her. "Concentrate on the herbs, draw from them." He added, breathing a sigh of relief once the lights stop flickering. He needed her to draw from the herbs, it was the only way to keep her grounded –if she drew from something else it was too unpredictable.
Isaac looked over at Deaton, trying to read his face to see if this was working, but the older man was giving nothing away. His eyes went back to his girlfriend when she let out another pained groan. He wished he knew what was happening now, he wished there was a way to help her but once again all he could do was stand there feeling helpless. All he could do was have hope that this worked, hope that both girls would be okay.
~ A Teen Wolf fanfiction collaboration between Miss E Charlotte and Sage Londyn.~
A/N - ^_^ We both hope you liked the chapter, thank you so much for reading!