The day continued on as it had the first time around with only minor changes. For one, I didn't stare besotted at Allison all day. I did still hear the conversation between her, Lydia, and Jackson though. I still wasn't sure how I was going to handle things with her. I know I didn't want to date her now, but we had still been pretty good friends even after we broke up and we still had each other's backs. However, I am not sure if that was due to the fact that we still had feelings for each other or not. I'm sure part of it was because we both wanted to do the right thing and help our friends, but besides that I wasn't sure.
I was now walking with Stiles to the field. He was talking but it was nothing like the first time. I'm not sure if he was still uncertain about seeing Lydia and I come out of an empty room together or if he was still trying to process what he saw in first period. I knew after school we would have to have that talk. But right now, I wanted to concentrate on try outs. In the grand scheme of things, this should be my last concern but being part of the team, being the captain did help with some of the things I faced before.
"Oh, that doesn't look good." Stiles murmured to me as we stopped on the sideline. I followed his gaze to see Jackson surrounded by his cronies and Danny, laughing, and looking over at me. Sighing I rolled my eyes.
"It's probably not. But Jackson is the least of my worries."
"Yeah, well right now I think he should be your top priority. He doesn't look like he has forgotten this morning, and you know how much of an asshole he is."
"Yeah, I know. Well, I better get out there. Coach is going to put me on goal so…"
"Wait, how do you know coach is going to put you on goal?" Stiles asked, stopping me. Oops. I opened my mouth, but no words came out.
I heard the approach of footsteps and turned just to see coach coming up to us, whistle almost to his lips. Hoping to save my ears, I cut him off before he blew it. I smiled and clapped him on the back.
"Hey coach, why don't I be goalie for drills, take one for the team and all that." I offered. He quirked a brow and blinked.
"Good idea, McCall. Head on over." He said, dazedly before turning and walking away.
"Scott, what are you doing? Do you really want to give Jackson and his lackey's the opportunity to shoot balls at you?"
"Don't worry, I got this." I told him.
"If you say so. I'll make sure to put flowers on your grave every week." He sighed, shaking his head. I laughed as I jogged towards the goal.
I got into position as the others lined up with coach barking out his version of encouragement. In my peripheral I saw Lydia on the top tier of the bleachers with Allison, just like before. Again, I could hear every words said and even though I hadn't paid any closer attention to her, Allison still asked about me. I almost felt bad about that. But it did give me hope that maybe we could at least be friends. At least we could if I could get her parents and aunt to not try to kill me this time around.
"You think you got a chance of stopping a shot, McCall?" Jackson taunted, pulling my attention back to the moment.
"Well, I'm no Danny, but I think I got pretty good odds." I told him, honestly. He snorted as he took position. Danny shot me a grateful smile.
I watched his face change from taunting to determination. The cold set to his eyes showed that he was hoping to either cause me pain or humiliate me as retaliation for this morning, and probably for the Lydia thing. I started to realize that a lot of Jackson's actions over the course of the previous 2 years were a reflection of his own past and the issues he had with it. He was hurting and hurt people hurt people. It wasn't until he was changed and moved away that he started to grow and mature and definitely when he finally freed himself and got with Ethan. I wonder if there was any way I could speed up that self-discovery because I really didn't want to go through this for another year.
The ball came hard and fast but my reflexes, having honed them over time, were just as fast. I caught it without hesitation. The shock on Jackson's face was worth it. He zombie walked to the back of the line giving the next person a shot. The rest of the drill went the same way and about 2/3's of the way through coach blew his whistle marching over to me.
"What the hell was that McCall?"
"What's what coach?" I asked, trying to convey innocence.
"Have you been shooting up or something? How did you do that?"
"I've been practicing. Just wanted to show the game the respect it deserves." I told him.
"Huh. Well now that you have completely made everyone insecure in their abilities, take a seat for the rest of this. Stilinski, get over here." Coach shouted. Stiles perked up before hopping up and tripping his way over to us.
"Yeah coach?" Stiles said, excitedly.
"You're going in for McCall. We need to get confidence back up. Don't mess up and don't die." Coach said before stomping off back to the sidelines.
"I'm going to be crucified, aren't I?" Stiles groaned.
"No, you're not. Just keep your eyes on the ball. Forget about the players and the noise. Stay with the ball. You got this." I told him, trading gear.
"Yeah, okay. Eyes on the ball. Eyes on the ball." He repeated. "I'm so going to get crucified." He moaned as I walked away from him.
I grabbed some water and took a seat, preparing to watch my best friend… not get murdered if I can help it. The first person up was Greenburg, who I remember coach never really liking. Never did understand why. He seemed decent, maybe a bit of a sycophant in regard to coach but still decent. His shot went wild and ended up hitting the post instead of the goal.
"Greenburg that was the most disgusting shot I have ever seen. Try again." Coach yelled.
Greenburg lined up his shot again and this time it went straight into the goal. Stiles tried to catch it but missed by a mile. I could visibly see him deflating.
"You got this Stiles. Concentrate." I called to him.
Shaking himself out he positioned himself and I watched him focus. Next in line was Danny who took the shot. I stood with a shout when Stiles caught it. He looked at his net then looked at Danny then at me. Before jumping with a whoop and punching the air.
"Focus, Stilinski." Coach barked.
Stiles stopped celebrating and went back to focusing. In the end he missed more then he caught but he was able to block a good number of shots. It was better than his usual average. By the time we were done Stiles was in a zone and he was ecstatic that he was actually able to accomplish something. Coach blew the whistle ending practice.
"That's it boys. Get out of here. I'm tired of looking at you. Stilinski, McCall." Coach called, stopping us in our tracks as we followed the others towards the locker room. "Good job. Keep this up and you both might just have a chance at playing this season." He said, but it looked like it pained him to do so.
"Thanks coach." We both said.
"Yeah, yeah. Get out of here."
"Dude, did you see me?" Stiles asked as he skipped along beside me.
"Yeah, I did. Told you, you had it. You did good man."
"I don't know what happened. It's like when I forced myself to concentrate I just did, and I was able to block. I have never been able to do that before." He mused.
"Yeah, I know. But I know that your ADHD makes it hard for you to really focus unless you put your mind to it. That might be partly my fault in this case." I sighed, thinking about the previous timeline where Stiles was so worried about helping me with my supernatural problems that he never really focused enough to help himself. It led to some miscommunications between us, the biggest being Theo.
"What are you talking about, how is it your fault that I can't sit still for more than 5 minutes at a time?"
"It's part of what I wanted to tell you. We really need to talk." I told him.
"Yeah but-."
A throat cleared and we turned to see Lydia standing there with Allison right behind her, self-consciously fidgeting and looking anywhere but at us. Stiles stood by me, his mouth dropped open again at being so close to his crush and having her acknowledge him, kind of.
"Hey Lydia, you remember Stiles, right?" I asked, throwing him a bone.
"Hi." Stiles croaked sticking his hand out for a shake then rethinking it and putting it back down.
"Hi." Lydia said with a wane smile. "This is Allison, she's new here."
"Nice to meet you." I nodded at her. She gave a shy smile and waved.
"Look, my mom is out of town for the rest of this week so I can't ask her about… what we talked about until next week. But I will because I want answers. You just better keep your promise." She said.
"I will. After you talk to her come find me. I will explain everything."
"You better not be jerking me around McCall." She said before turning, tossing her red hair over her shoulder, and walking away with Allison in tow.
"I don't know how you put up with it." I muttered, shaking my head as I watched them walk away, Allison turning to look one last time, her face going pink.
"Put up with what?" Stiles asked.
"Never mind. Come on. Let's go get dressed then we can go back to my house to talk." I said jogging towards the building.
"But don't you have work?" he asked catching up. I stopped and turned to look at him.
"Work. At the animal clinic. With Deaton." I said, remembering that of course I still worked there. I didn't stop until I graduated and was getting ready to head to college.
"Yeah, where you have been working for months now." Stiles reminded me slowly as if I were brain damaged.
"Shit. Deaton. Of course. Why didn't I think of that before." I groaned, smacking myself on the head.
"Think of what? Scott what's going on? You're acting really weird."
"I know. I'm sorry. Let's go get dressed and then you are coming with me to work. I'll tell you everything I swear. It's just a lot to explain and kind of unbelievable unless I show you."
"And you have to show me at the clinic? You just can't show me now and we can talk about it after you get off?"
"No, this is definitely not something I can just show you now. Trust me."
Stiles studied me for a minute before nodding.
"Okay, let's go."
*REWIND*
"Dr. Deaton." I called out as soon as we made it to the clinic, Stiles driving in his usual reckless fashion. "I really need to talk to you."
I found him in one of the rooms with a teacup poodle on the table and the owner standing next to him. Both of them looked up when I burst in, Stiles right behind me. The owner was wide eyed, startled and Deaton, cool and calm as always, just raised a brow in question.
"I'm sorry. I didn't realize you had a patient. It can wait. I'll start on stocking."
"Of course. I should be done in a few minutes." Deaton said. I nodded and backed Stiles and I up out of the room and headed for the storage closet.
"Scott, you are starting to freak me out with how tense you are." Stiles said as I piled a bunch of stuff in his arms before grabbing a bunch more and leading him to another room which doubled as storage.
"I'm know. I'm sorry. I'm actually still kind of freaked out about it myself."
He gave me a confused look but helped me stock up as we waited for Deaton to finish. We were half way done when Deaton walked into the room, removing gloves.
"Alright, what is so urgent?" he asked, leaning against the table.
"First, I apologize for just bursting in like that. I've been kind of on edge all day because I am not really sure what happened or how it happened, and I am not sure what steps I need to take or where to start. But I know you know what's going on kind of, or at least I think you do. And-."
"Scott, calm down and just tell me what's going on." He said in that soothing voice of his. I sighed, taking a deep breath.
"I think it's better if I start off by showing you and then explaining."
"Alright, show me."
Bracing myself I switched my eyes to bright red. He stood up straight staring at me, unspeaking. Stiles blinked next to me.
"Okay, so it wasn't a figment of my imagination before." He whispered.
"When did this happen?" Deaton asked.
"Technically last night. But in actuality it happened about 3 years ago, my time."
"Your time?"
"You definitely didn't have red eyes three years ago Scott. I would remember that." Stiles inputted.
"Okay, let me start at the beginning and give you the full picture. Stiles, remember when I called you after I got home yesterday from the woods, and I told you I had been bitten by something?"
He nodded.
"Wait, you were bitten last night? But your eyes indicate you are an alpha. That's not possible." Deaton said.
"Alpha? Alpha what? What's going on?" Stiles asked.
"I'll explain. Just let me get It out." I said then proceeded to explain about the last three years of my life, leaving out a few things. For one I didn't explain about me dating Allison and I left out the explanation about Malia and Lydia in regard to Stiles. I wasn't doing it to be cruel, but I didn't think it was relevant for this conversation. I'm sure I will explain about Malia to Stiles later. I'm still on the fence about the Lydia and Stiles connection. It's not that I had anything against them dating. It just always rubbed me the wrong way that she could ignore his existence and then, even after knowing how he felt about her, she decided to date everyone else but him until the end of our senior year. He deserved better than that. He shouldn't be an afterthought or a sudden realization.
"… and then this morning I woke up in my old bed, 16 years old again. But instead of being an omega or beta I was still an alpha, a true alpha." I finished.
"A true alpha. I'm not really surprised about that. But I am about the time traveling. And you said you have no clue how it happened. Just that you were dying in the previous timeline then woke up in this one back at the beginning." Deaton said.
"Yeah, I think it might have something to do with the Nematon, but I'm not sure. Have you ever heard of something like this happening before?"
"I have, but not for a very long time. It's called Ad Initium or Back To the Beginning in English. It's supposed to be a very rare occurrence and only happens in the event of situations that would cause total destruction. My guess is the war that you said Gerard and this Monroe started would have continued even after defeating the Anukite, which congratulations for doing that, it could not have been easy."
"It really wasn't. People who shouldn't have died, did and the rest of us had to fight tooth and nail to survive. I lived only long enough to see Peter kill Monroe. Wouldn't that have changed things? I mean with her out of the picture and the Anukite gone then the fear would vanish from us. Her followers would scatter, and they wouldn't have the same traction with both her and Gerard gone."
"Possibly. Unless… and this is just a theory, you being shot was not supposed to happen. Monroe shooting and killing you is what changed the course. You're a fighter Scott, maybe not physically before you were bitten but you have always wanted to do the right thing and help those in need. I believe that if she had just escaped without killing you and without Peter killing her that she would have gone on to recruit even more people and the hunt for all supernaturals would have continued. Which means you would have continued to fight with your pack."
"Okay, so her shooting me change what the future should have been so the Nematon decided to reset time to get it right the next time?"
"Maybe." He said, contemplatively staring at me. "Tell me, what were you thinking before you took your last breath?"
"Uh…" I thought back to that moment. The pain from the bullet and wolfs bane made everything else around me kind of fade to the background. I do remember feeling heartbreak of leaving my friends and mom behind. I remembered staring at everyone wishing it hadn't come to this. That I should have protected them better, protected everyone better. I remember wishing I had embraced my new life better in the beginning instead of resenting it all. "I wanted a do over. I wanted a chance to correct my mistakes and I wanted to be a better wolf and alpha for my pack."
He nodded, smiling.
"That's what changed it. You were gifted this opportunity Scott, for a reason. Who you are, your character and integrity, is why the Nematon chose to make you a true alpha. You have a connection to it, almost more of a connection then born wolves. Your connection to it, your wish for a second chance and the fact that something went off course is what brought you back to this time."
"I…" I had no words for that. I never really researched what being a true alpha was and even though Stiles had tried too there wasn't really any information he could go on unless he asked Peter and that never happened. Looking back, I really wish I had taken the opportunity to learn from Derek before, but I was too stuck in my own head and own issues to do it. By the time I was ready to, it was too late. We were in a battle for our lives.
"Wait, hold up. I'm still having a hard time wrapping my head around this. So, you're saying that you are a wolf, a werewolf. Not only that but an alpha and you traveled back in time, like back to the future style?" Stiles asked.
"Well not like that. I mean I didn't travel in a souped-up car back to now. I just woke up here. And yes I am a werewolf."
"When's the next full moon? I really need to see this to believe it." He said. I snorted.
"Yeah, though the full moon makes us stronger it doesn't rule our change. I can shift at will." I told him.
"Show me." he demanded, hands on hips.
In less than a blink I shifted, fangs, fur, claws, and all. Stiles skitter back, bumping into a side table then reached back and picked up two scalpels, holding them up in front of him in the shape of a cross.
"First, I'm not going to hurt you. I have been doing this long enough to have control over the wolf. And just so you know silver isn't really a deterrent. Stabbing me with those has no more or less effect than stabbing you with them would. And dude, I'm not a vampire, so crosses also not a deterrent. You were actually a lot more excited about this in the last timeline." I told him.
"Yeah, well. I'm guessing the last time line I didn't have a bunch of information thrown at me all at once." He said, putting down the scalpels.
"True. But seriously I'm not going to hurt you."
"Yeah, okay. Sorry. This is just a lot."
"Believe me I know. I'm living it. But now that I am living it. I don't know what to do. I don't know what my next steps should be. There are so many events that are supposed to happen, and I don't know if I should change them, or even if I can. And do I change all of them or just some of them? Which ones do I let just happen as they should, and which ones should I try to intervene in so that they don't happen? If I am getting this second chance then I don't want to screw it up again."
"First, you screwed nothing up. You were dragged into this world against your will and from the sounds of it you have been dragged into situations not of your making. Without proper teaching and leadership, you made the best of each situation as you could."
"Yeah, but my friends and family were only put in those situations because of me. I get that I wasn't given much of a choice for my involvement but involving the others, risking their lives…"
"Scott, dude, none of that was your fault. Despite what you think we all made decisions is seems like. We all decided to fight with you. It was our choice to follow you into each battle. We could have walked away but we didn't. Because just like you we wanted to do what was right as well. And it doesn't sound like it was only our lives put in jeopardy but others as well, including the town as a whole." Stiles said, coming back to my side and squeezing my shoulder.
"I just want to do things right this time. But where do I start?"
"Maybe we start with making a list of the events and when they happened. At least then we will have something to go off of. Then we go from there. Just like before you don't have to face this alone. Human and all I will still be by your side."
"He's right Scott. You are not alone, and you shouldn't face any of this on your own. I think starting a timeline list is a great start. I'll look into things on my end and see what I can come up with to help." Deaton said. Sighing, I nodded.
"Yeah, okay. I can start there." I agreed.
"Good. I think you have had enough for one day. Why don't you head home? Get started on that list then we will come up with a plan on how to handle everything, alright?"
"Yeah okay. Thanks Dr. Deaton."
"Of course. Go on. I'll see you tomorrow."
Stiles and I left and on the ride back, geeked up Stiles was in full effect.
"Man, I can't believe this is real and that I am a part of it. Or I was a part of it. Wait, you said back there that I was possessed. How does that even happen? Well, I remember how it happens but… I mean how?"
I thought over how to answer that. I didn't go into much detail just trying to get as much out there as possible. Details would have slowed me down and probably had Stiles questioning every little detail of every event. But now that I think about it that was one of the worse things to happen. Granted the Beast and Gerard were really bad as well but seeing Stiles suffer like that was almost unbearable.
"Yeah, you were. That was actually one of the worse things that happened. You were terrified and felt trapped, and I was feeling powerless in how to help you. You almost died, Stiles. I mean we ended up saving you, but it came at a cost." I told him, thinking about how we lost Allison in that situation.
"Oh." He said softly, pulling up in front of my house. "I can see how that would worry you. Maybe there's a way to prevent that from happening."
And as soon as he said that my mind immediately went to the one way to save him from that same fate. The reason the nogitsune took over was because Stiles left himself open to it. And sure, a lot of it had to do with who he is and his issues with ADHD and anxiety, he was vulnerable and being one of the only humans in the world of supernatural couldn't have helped.
"Stiles." I said turning in my seat to look at him. "I never offered you this before. We never even talked about it or considered it. I was too stuck in my own head and believing this was a curse. I didn't want anyone else to have to go through it. But now I'm wondering if that was the wrong move before. You were a human in the world of supernatural and you risked your life for not only me but others countless times before. But now I think I should at least give you the choice. If you want, I can bite you."
"What?" he asked, staring at me wide eyed, in disbelief.
"You are my best friend, my brother. I don't want to take the chance of losing you, it was a near miss before. So, I'm asking, do you want the bite? Do you want to be a werewolf?"