Diana was furious. She didn't know what the hell Stiles had done but so far today she had arrived with Lydia and Alison full expecting to be the supportive friend only to have the Lacrosse team all jeer at her about being kinky and liking chains. Lydia who usually was the first to protect Diana had shrunk back not wanting to court controversy more that she was already doing. So that left Diana with one option. Find Stiles.
Stop avoiding me Stiles.
I'm kinda dealing with something here Di. Stiles shot back.
Like what? She asked scornfully.
Like Isaac being arrested. That shut her up. Her anger faded rapidly being replaced by concern.
Oh sure. You're worried about the boy who could be a werewolf but not me. Stiles groused, he had unconsciously sent that to Diana and she was momentarily floored.
Lydia looked at her stunned expression concerned and looped her arm in Diana's.
"Don't listen to them. It's probably nothing." She assured quietly. Diana snapped back to the corridor she was in and nodded.
"At least it takes a little pressure off of you though." Diana smiled at her smaller friend. Lydia blushed a little.
"Yeah the freak who goes missing for days and the kinky one." Lydia laughed, "What a pair we make." Diana laughed quietly.
The day was normal as far as normal can be when you have a teenage boy in your head. Diana herself chose to focus on the lessons and her friend than the goings on of Scott and Stiles, she had tried texting Isaac but she didn't get an answer.
But when the boys deliberately got sent to the Principles office she snapped.
Alright what's going on?
If Isaac turns in the sheriff's office then my dad could be in danger. We need to make sure that we can get him out. Stiles answered immediately.
Then call Derek! It's his wolf child, his problem. Diana shot back rolling her eyes. To her it was obvious as to what to do next.
Busted. Diana rolled her eyes at the chemistry book before her.
What's your dad gonna do? She sassed. She could feel the smirk that Stiles was trying to hide at her comment and smirked herself. Lydia had given up trying to theorise why Diana had seemingly suddenly gone mental. She just accepted that her British friend was a little strange and sat next to her anyway.
Fear flooded the bond.
What's happened? Diana pressed controlling her face this time.
You're really not gonna like this. Stiles said.
Tell me! Diana insisted.
Gerard's the principle.
The floor fell out from underneath her. This wasn't possible, there had to be checks, controls, he would need qualifications.
Diana?
Suddenly Diana couldn't breathe. The world was spinning. Her hands splayed out on the desk trying to ground herself. Then it was gone.
Stiles could feel her panic, her fear. Then nothing. Nothing, scared him more than the intensity of her previous emotions.
"Stiles?!" Scott called but his friend was gone tearing back to the chemistry classroom that he had been sent out of.
The sight that greeted him made his blood run cold.
Diana was sprawled on the floor, her head being cradled by Lydia as she smoothed the auburn hair back from her pale face.
Stiles breathed out a breath of relief as he saw her chest rise and fall. He silently trudged back to the principal's office. Both Scott and Gerard were where he left them stunned at the other boy's actions. Wordlessly he ushered the two teens into the office closing the door behind them.
Diana woke up on the paper covered bed of the nurse's office with a pounding headache and a sense of dread. She held her head for a second as the events of the day flooded back to her. Was this the great change? Was this what she was waiting for?
Diana let out a groan of frustration and pain swinging her legs down from the high bench. She opened her eyes slowly.
"Don't do that again please." Lydia greeted her, a frown covering her pale face. Diana cracked a smile.
"I'll try." She looked at the girl sat of the blue plastic chair then. She was upset about something.
"You okay?" Diana prompted. Lydia smiled tightly,
"Jackson." She shrugged. Diana nodded but that shot pain behind her eyes so she froze clutching at her head again.
"How long was I out?" Diana asked looking around carefully for a clock.
"About two hours, the schools finished by the way, has for half an hour." Lydia replied hugging her jacket a little tighter.
Diana groaned again.
Stiles? She reached out painfully. She reached out for Lydia physically and her best friend shot forward to help the other girl stand.
"Should you be moving? Do you want to go to the hospital?" Lydia fluttered concerned.
"No, I will be fine. I just need to go home." Diana insisted, if she was feeling like this from fainting then the Argent had clearly been by and done a test on her of some kind. The reality of someone testing her magical capability when she was asleep was too disturbing to dwell on so when Stiles' voice entered her head she was grateful for the distraction.
Diana? You're back. Where are you? You okay?
Diana stood and collected her bag and jacket.
You still here?
Detention. Stiles replied.
Could you drive me home? I need to talk to you. Diana asked. She pulled out her phone, four missed calls from Stiles and seven texts asking if she was alright.
Yeah, I get out in half an hour if you can wait? Stiles agreed readily. Relief flushed her system; her partner was by her side. Now she could focus.
"I can take you home now if you want?" Lydia offered. Diana fixed her with a grateful look. She had hitched a ride in with the girl that morning as a way of showing support but now she just wanted to be alone with the one person in the whole world that was swiftly becoming her home.
"Stiles offered to run me home. I need to work on the English project with him tonight so…" Diana explained letting her sentence hang in the conversation. Lydia nodded understandingly her eyes sad. Diana gripped her hand drawing the girls gaze back to her.
"We will have a sleepover like old times soon?" Lydia brightened in response nodding her head as they exited the small medical room.
I'm going to wait outside your room. Where are you? Diana asked Stiles. Panic shot through the bond.
No don't, its detention with Gerard I'll meet you by the jeep.
Good idea. Diana acknowledged.
Diana headed towards the car park moving slowly due to the ache that her body was currently trying to fight. She eventually made it out to the blue jeep and leant against the passenger side door.
She tilted her head back and rested her eyes savouring the late afternoon sun.
"Di." Stiles voice broke through her brain fog. Had half an hour passed so swiftly? She blinked open her eyes. The boy before her was close. Real close. Too close.
"Stiles." She answered, she could see the lighter flecks in his eyes at this distance. "Personal space?"
He stepped back with a scoff,
"Where was that rule when you were in my lap the other week?" He moved over to the driver's side and hopped in Diana following his actions.
"That was different; you were in your own head then." She argued, Stiles just shook his head jokingly,
"Nu-ugh. It's a double standard that's what it is." He jokingly sassed putting the jeep in drive and pulling out of the parking lot.
Diana laughed in reply settling into the worn leather of the Jeep's seat.
Later they lay sprawled over Diana's bed, both their legs hanging off either side their heads next to each other in the middle.
"What happened today?" Stiles asked quietly. They were both exhausted.
Diana cracked an eye open and turned her head to his.
"You told me the man who killed my family is now running my school and I panicked so much I fainted. Then I woke up with a headache so he obviously came into the room while I was out and did something."
"Oh." Was all Stiles responded with. "You think we'll ever get a normal day?" He mused.
"No." Diana sighed, "At this point I'd settle for not life threatening." Stiles barked a laugh making Diana crack a smile returning to look at the sloped ceiling over her bed.
"You know, this may not be as cool I first thought." Stiles said carefully. Diana nodded,
"I thought it was amazing when I first started to develop powers, as it were, but now, I can only protect you." She reached up and with her right hand began to mess with his hair.
Stiles' eyes began to close under the gentle caress.
"My mom used to do that." He said sadly. Diana's hand shot away from his head but he caught it bringing it back to his head.
"I didn't mean stop." He said, Diana moved her head to touch his temple with hers. It was this gentle comfort that made her value the boy next to her, she had known so many posturing toxically masculine idiots that to have Stiles with her was refreshing.
But he's not actually with you, is he? He still loves Lydia. Diana reminded herself.
"How's your head?" Stiles asked ignoring the stab of pain that her thoughts had caused him. She didn't even realise that she had broadcast that one.
"It's better, after a Witch test by a hunter home and familiar is always so good. Like a warm bath after a really tough gym session." Diana explained.
"What did he do?" Stiles asked observing the moving pattern above the bed with a rare focus.
"What we do to our children to identify their talent area. But as he has no ability himself it's clumsy. Think of it like trying to do surgery with a pocket knife." Diana explained as best she could.
Stiles winced, "Ouch."
"Yeah, he probably wanted to know the extent of my powers, but he can't. Not anymore." Diana said smugly.
"What?" Stiles was confused. "Why can't he?"
"You." Diana said happily, "I did some reading the other night, turns out you make me more powerful. The whole feminine protection thing, like when mothers go crazy protecting their babies, I have that for you apparently."
Stiles sat up and looked round at the still horizontal girl,
"Seriously?"
She nodded in reply,
"Best bit is it's totally undetectable because you're so painfully human." Stiles smiled at her and returned to his previous position.
"Okay, that's totally cool." Diana chuckled at his seemingly never ending enthusiasm. She waved her hand above her head and the record player by the 'family mirror' sprung to life dropping the needle on Marina and the Diamonds filling the empty air with music.
"Art is how we decorate space; music is how we decorate time." She mused a few songs later. Stiles turned his head to look into her eyes,
"Who said that?"
"No idea." She shrugged. Stiles grinned at her. She grinned back.
"What are we going to do about Isaac?" Stiles asked her, Diana shrugged.
"My only plan for tonight is getting a head start on my homework and going to bed." She answered honestly.
"C'mon? Really? We need you. You're like the biggest gun we have right now." Stiles moaned. Diana smiled and shook her head.
"You'll be fine. Don't need me getting in the way." She reasoned.
"But we do! Please, get in the way!" Stiles said emphatically.
"Call me if you get desperate. I don't know how many times I can keep sneaking out with you though." Diana said. Stiles nodded understandingly. Then a thought struck him,
"Why am I so calm right now?"
Diana blushed,
"That's me, sorry. I'm kinda blissed out right now due to the test, tea and healing spell I cast."
"I need to call Alison. Need to see what we are doing about Isaac." Stiles said concerned. He loved feeling like this and didn't really want it to end.
"Hey, would this happen if you were on pain meds? If I was on pain meds?" He asked, Diana shook her head,
"Nope, magical connection affected by magical medicine only." She clarified. Buzzing caught her attention; Stiles' phone was by her shoulder on the bed. She looked seeing Alison's name on the screen. "Alison's calling you."
That go the boy moving, he scooped up his phone fumbling to answer.
"Hey, sorry. I've been with Di, lost track of time."
He grew concerned and stood from Diana's bed causing her to miss his warmth.
"Wait, what guy?" Stiles demanded, his anxiety was rising now despite being near the blissed out Diana.
"They're sending him to the station for Isaac." Stiles said looking back at Diana who was now lying with her eyes closed happily experiencing the music coming from her turntable.
"What was it?" He demanded down the phone, Alison sent him a photo; he looked at it with frustration bubbling in his veins.
"Yeah, wolfs bane." He answered tersely. "It means they're gonna kill him." Diana's eyes snapped open at that, Isaac was her friend she didn't want him dead.
I can come with you. We can't let him die! She sent to Stiles, he looked back to her and nodded.
He hung up the phone and collected his keys. Diana forced herself from her increasingly comfortable bed to follow him out of the room and into his Jeep.
"Hey, did you slow him down?" Stiles asked Alison, Diana held the phone near to him as he drove; it was on speaker so that she would be in the loop too.
"You could say that." Alison replied cryptically. Diana pulled a face at her answer.
"All right, well, uh, I'm headed to the station right now." He said nervously twitching. There was a long pause in Alison's response.
"Is Diana with you? Because she fainted today and I don't know how much use she'll be 'round a turning werewolf. I know she's a Witch and for some reason you really love her but I don't trust her." Alison said,
"Don't trust you either, love." Diana replied clearly. "Don't have to trust you to work with you though."
"Where's Scott?" Alison asked breezing over the social snafus.
"Isaacs." Diana said flatly.
"He got a plan?" Alison asked.
"Yeah but not a very good one." Diana said.
Stiles shot her a look but Diana just shrugged,
What? It's true.
Stiles let out an exasperated breath but nodded,
"Unfortunately we don't have time to come up with anything better." Stiles said hanging up on the other girl.
He looked at the moon nervously and drove a little faster. Diana could feel his apprehension and wisely kept quiet.
The Jeep pulled up in front of the Beacon County Sheriff's Department, along the way they had collected Derek who now considered the office with Stiles while Diana gathered herself in the back seat.
"Okay, now the keys to every cell are in a password protected lockbox in my father's office." Stiles explained, Derek just shook his head,
"Tie-Die? You got this right?" He asked the girl in the back seat. Diana adjusted her sheepskin denim jacket and nodded firmly.
"The problem's going to be getting past the front desk." Stiles continued.
"I'll distract her." Derek said confidently moving for the door to the Jeep. Stiles reached to stop him quickly,
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You?" He floundered, "You're not going in there." Derek looked scornfully at the hand now clutching his jacket.
"Be nice." Diana warned as Stiles quickly let the older man go.
"I was exhonorated." Derek argued.
"You're still a person of interest." Stiles countered.
"I'm innocent." Derek pressed.
Stiles scoffed, "Yeah, you, right."
Diana leant forward having had enough,
"He can be very charming when he wants to be, can't you Dare-Bear?" She said lightly. Stiles didn't seem convinced but Derek shot him a smug look.
"See, even your girl thinks that I'm charming." He mocked. Stiles bristled but they all just climbed out of the car.
Stiles and Diana watched with disbelief and pride respectively as Derek wandered into the station and turned his megawatt smile on the helpless deputy.
Stiles just rolled his eyes from next to Diana in the doorway. She had to pinch the inside of her arm as Derek started to charm the deputy, to stop herself from throwing everything by laughing loudly. She could remember when he couldn't really talk to girls without blushing and falling to pieces.
Stiles pushed her elbow, which got her focus back to the task in hand and snuck into the back office with Stiles.
Stiles still wanted to go for the lockbox so Diana waited by the door. He opened the box, it opened too easily and he looked back to Diana. Her face paled when he saw the empty box and heard the link of metal.
"Oh no." Stiles hissed. Together they dove into the corridor where a trail of blood headed to the cells.
Diana's eyes widened,
She's a psycho. You still think we can trust her when she would do this? Diana asked through the bond. Stiles just shook his head keeping low carefully following the trail,
Not now please Di.
Fine. But we will talk about this at some point. She shot back following him.
They rounded the corner at full height only to run into a deputy. He was pale and sweaty. Alarm bells began to ring in her mind.
"Oh, hey, I forgot um." Stiles looked down seeing the snapped arrow protruding from his right leg.
"Oh shi-" Stiles turned to run but the man launched for him grabbing him his hand going over his mouth Stiles struggling the whole time. He threatened the syringe in his hand to Stiles' neck, Diana responded by raising her hands and following him quietly round the corner.
Stiles could see the fear on Diana's face, she hadn't counted for poison in her spells and he could see the genuine alarm in her eyes. Still he flailed about clawing at the walls, it would be up to him to save them both now, she had wormed her way into his life and now the thought of her not being near him and talking to him was unbearable.
His hand hit the fire alarm and he flicked it down. The red lights blaring and the renewed kicks he managed to wriggle free of his captor to the floor of the cells.
Diana dove forward helping him to stand. But her gaze was not on him. The cell door was partially off its hinges. Isaac was out.
A roar filled the air and Isaac slammed into the deputy throwing him into the desk. Diana swiftly pulled Stiles out the way, with some difficulty however as he was trying to shield her with his body.
Isaac tousled with the hunter a little prior to throwing his head back into the wall with the ease of throwing a football to a friend.
Diana felt a sharp push to her back where they were blocking the door, the force of which sent her into Stiles and onto the floor.
Derek stomped on the syringe shattering the glass and catching Isaac's furious attention which quickly turned to Stiles and Diana. His nose flared, he smelt her for the first time with his enhanced senses. His head tilted considering her with a low growl. Stiles began to tremble with fear next to her.
"Isaac." Diana started holding out her hand in a stop motion.
Stiles pulled her hand back to him trying to increase the distance between them and the monster before them. This clearly angered Isaac as he let out a roar.
Derek had, had enough and roared louder. An alfa roar. Isaac shrank back curling into a ball by the wall hiding his face. Diana shot to her feet pulling away from Stiles who scrambled after her. She paused by Derek looking at the new wolf then, in a decision that she to this day could not tell you why she made, she moved to the wolf laying her hand on his back.
"Diana, don't." Derek started concerned for his younger family member, but his concern seemed unfounded as the wolf appeared fascinated by her sniffing her and leaning closer to her shaking. In front of her eyes the wolf turned back to Isaac. A sweaty, pale and terrified Isaac.
"Di-Diana?" He stumbled, she nodded and he launched into her arms. Stiles couldn't lie he knew the emotion that was polluting his body right now was not a nice one, jealously. He wasn't ready to admit why he felt so strongly about Diana holding another man in her arms but he knew he did not like it at all.
Derek could smell it. Jealously was a very distinct sent and right now Stiles was filling the air of the cells with it. He raised his eyebrows shaking his head slightly, that was not something that he wanted to enter into.
"How did you do that?" Stiles asked Derek who had yet to take his eyes off his Beta and his former babysitting charge.
"I'm the Alfa." He said cockily, Diana rolled her eyes extracting herself from Isaac.
"You are enjoying that power a little too much." She told Derek. He just smirked. He moved past her and pulled Isaac roughly from the floor and holding his arm tightly pulled him from the station. Diana breathed out a sigh of release, the tension that had built up in her body was not healthy, her bliss from earlier in the day well and truly gone.
Stiles pulled himself up and stood with her in the centre of the room desperately trying to resist the urge to pull her into his arms.
"I think I have an idea as to how to play this when your Dad comes." Stiles raised his eyebrows,
"How?" He could hear the officers moving closer in the building.
"Like this." She said launching herself into his arms and starting to cry. His arms instantly enveloped her and smoothed up and down her back.
Stiles looked round at a cough. His father stood in the doorway his face questioning.
Diana pulled back from Stiles and hiccupped.
You are really good at that. He said in awe.
Thanks, acting. She shot back quickly.
"I, I, he." Diana blubbed pointing to the now very dead hunter. "He posed as an officer to get to Isaac." She took a deep breath. "Stiles had left the history notes here from another night and we were coming for them." She looked back to the boy in question who was nodding along.
"He tried to get the keys and dragged me in here. I flicked the alarm on the way."
The Sheriff just shook his head. He addressed his officers,
"Get the body to the morgue, and put an APB out on Isaac Lahey." They hastened to do as they were told while the Sheriff returned his attention to the two kids stood awkwardly in the cells.
"Go home." He directed tiredly, "Take her home first. I do not need another dressing down from the Mayor over the safety of his niece."
They shuffled out the building to the Jeep, Diana whipping her face the whole way and sniffing, an act that was dropped as soon as she got into the car.
"You need to tell me how you can do that." Stiles insisted gesturing to her face. Diana beamed,
"One of the women in the Coven is a drama tutor; we had a little training a few years ago where we could play different roles if something went wrong. The role you just saw is one of my best, scared little girl. It works best with law enforcement as they want to protect and feel powerful; it's just a matter of letting them." Diana shrugged.
"What else can you play?" Stiles wondered.
"It depends on the situation." She answered slinging the seatbelt across her body. Stiles started the engine,
"Say you were with a guy, and he was being threatened what would you do then?" He pressed on the road home. Diana looked over at him, she could feel his insecurity.
"I would play the monster Witch. Never doubt that I would protect you Stiles." She insisted. Stiles nervously laughed.
"I could never hurt you or lie to you. Besides, you're too important to me to do something like that." She insisted then barked a laugh, "You'd feel if I was trying to manipulate you anyway."
Stiles looked over at her. He remembered how she looked when he saw through her alternative sight, the fire that was within, the power. To have a person like that in your corner for the rest of his life he suddenly felt very blessed, and very confused. For so long he had loved Lydia Martin, always Lydia. Only now, Diana had waltzed into his life and as it was turning upside down threw everything into order and chaos, all in one beautiful seventeen year old package.
He shook his head and focused on the road, tonight was going to be a long night.
