As he burst through the trees into the shallow part of the woods, Stiles looked for any sign of either Derek or the Alpha but he couldn't find either. He stopped and tried to find the same connection he did earlier. The red string of anger that led to the woods. To the Alpha.
He closed his eyes. Just do what Derek taught him.
As Stiles focused on his memories of the stands, the anger, and the red string, he tried to summon up the same pull he felt before. The one that let him know the Alpha was mere feet away from them. He tried and tried but nothing happened. It kept slipping away from him like when he would take an exam and come across a question that he just knew the answer to. He knew the topic and could name which page in the book and his notes he could find it. He could even recall the bubblegum flavor he was eating at the time he read it, but for some reason, that last spark wouldn't come and he couldn't remember.
Frustrated, Stiles opened his eyes and slammed his fist into the trunk of the nearest tree. An action he soon regretted as pain shot through his arm.
"Holy hell!" He cursed, cradling his now injured arm.
With no other option, Stiles picked a random direction and continued his search for Derek. He could already feel his hand healing so that was a good thing. He kept walking, wondering if he should just give up and just visit Derek at the Hale house tomorrow. He couldn't very well look all night, not with his dad and Tara and the twins waiting for him at the game.
Ten minutes. He'd give it ten more minutes and then he'd make his way back. That should be fine, right? Surely if Derek was getting his ass kicked by the Alpha he'd hear something by now.
Just as he thought that, he heard angry sounds up ahead. Growls and the sound of flesh slamming into wood as he had just discovered moments earlier.
Stiles ran at the sound, hoping he wasn't too late and could do something to help his mentor… his friend.
OoOoO
Pride and just a little bit of disappointment filled Noah as he watched the celebration around him. He was more than proud of the team for winning and even more for Scott and his stunning performance. The only dark spot was that Stiles couldn't share in the same victory.
For as long as he could remember, he had imagined the boys winning their first lacrosse game together. No matter, how old they were or even if the game was official, he had imagined they would do it together. Like brothers.
Still, it couldn't be helped and there was always the next game.
His arms were around Scott, congratulating the boy and expressing just how proud he was. He looked around, trying to find Stiles through the chaos but couldn't. Noah frowned but then he remembered Stiles' leg. Yeah, that leg would be in worse condition if Stiles tried to push his way through the masses.
"Come on, Scott." Noah said, "Let's go celebrate!"
Melissa cheered from Scott's other side, "Yes! I've got everything I need for a small celebratory dinner at home."
Scott blushed, "That's great but Jackson said his parents were gathering everyone for a victory party at his house tonight."
"Don't worry, Scott." Noah said, "I already talked to the Whitmores and the victory party was moved to tomorrow so you can all celebrate longer."
The Sheriff tried not to let any unpleasantness color his voice. The discussion with the Whitmores was a fight and a half. Not only were they rich, powerful, and entitled but they also had the backing of Mayor Ratliff who showed up for the game.
OoOoO
The Mayor had interecepted Noah on his way to congratulate Scott. She had both Whitmores with her and Noah cursed. If he'd seen them coming he would have gone the other way.
"Ahh Sheriff." Mayor Ratliff said, "I'm sure you know the Whitmores."
"That I do. Your son was great, you must be so proud." Noah said genuinely. The boy may have been his son's self-proclaimed arch enemy but he was a gifted lacrosse player.
"We are very proud of him. In fact, that's why we came to talk to you." Atty. Whitmore said. "We'd like to ask some of your deputies to work as security for us tonight. Nothing serious, just enough to keep the teenage hormones in check at the party. We'd pay them of course."
Now even more confused Noah asked, "What party?"
Mrs. Whitmore looked delighted as she answered, "Oh! We decided to throw a little victory party for our boy and his team tonight. And you know how teenagers can get with all the rush and adrenaline, some officers to keep them in check is just what we need."
"Tonight?" He checked his watch, "It's half past seven. I don't think two hours will be enough for these kids to celebrate."
"Of course not. But the Mayor has already assured us that she can lift the curfew tonight so we can all celebrate."
Incredulous eyes moved from Mrs. Whitmore to Mayor Ratliff. He couldn't believe her!
"Can I talk to you for a minute, Madam Mayor?"
She looked like talking to him was the last thing she wanted to do, but she had also anticipated that he wouldn't be all too receptive of this plan. She's rather have it out with him in public than risk spreading rumors of discontent between the Mayor and the Sheriff.
Out in the open field filled with excitable teens, the most privacy they could get was underneath the bleachers.
"You can't seriously be thinking of lifing the curfew!"
Ratliff rolled her eyes, "Come now, Sheriff, it's just one night. And no one's been hurt or anything in the past few days. We can use just one night of levity, something to keep everyone's spirits up."
Of course this was just another publicity stunt for her. "No one's been hurt yet but that doesn't mean they won't be. And this party is too much of a risk especially since we don't know yet who's responsible for the two corpses in the morgue!"
"That is why I offered the Sheriff department as security. You'll have a couple of officers in the area and that should be enough to keep people from wandering off. You could even be one of them if you wanted."
Noah had no idea if the woman truly believed that uniformed officers would be enough to persuade teenagers from making reckless decisions. Either way, he wasn't budging. The image of Dooley's spineless corpse haunted him and just the thought of the same thing happening to the kids or Stiles, Scott… he couldn't do it. But he knew Ratliff enough to know that reasoning with her wouldn't be enough. He could throw all the risks a her face and all she'd say is he was paranoid.
"No. Not tonight." He said firmly.
She tried to protest and he cut in, "Tomorrow's a Sunday. You can hold the victory party then where the celebrations can last the whole day. I can assign some uniformed deputies to the party and ask a couple of off-duty ones to help. And since it will be tomorrow, you can prepare the local news to cover the event and show off how proud you are of the team."
Ratliff thought it over, while waiting for tomorrow was really not convenient for her. She'd rather have it tonight so everyone was still hyped. And of course there was the indignity at being ordered around by a mere Sheriff. Despite that though, the allure of having the whole thing filmed by the local news was too appealing. She could even give a little speech that would surely get the voters on her side in a few short months.
"Alright, Sheriff. We'll have it your way. But I'm gonna need something from you." She smirked.
OoOoO
She wanted the Sheriff to publicly back her for the election. For him to talk to the reporter at the party about how great she was and how she only thought of the best for Beacon Hills.
It was a blatant lie, they both knew it, but it was a small price to pay to keep everyone safe. Besides, Noah was always going to vote for her. She may be obsessed with keeping her power and hold on Beacon Hills but at least she wasn't as bad as some other politicians he'd met. She'd agree to anything so long as it made her look good and Noah had used that to his advantage to do his job as best he could.
Noah put those thoughts away immediately. If he focused on it too much it would put a damper on Scott's big night and he wasn't going to let that happen.
OoOoO
Stiles burst into the clearing, eyes glowing gold and fist raised to defend. Adrenaline fired up his veins so much that it took him a while to recognize what was before him. Because there was no fight and Derek wasn't hurt.
Well, he technically was, but that looked more self inflicted than anything.
"What the hell?" Stiles asked.
Derek stopped his assault on the small tree probably only a few years old. Eyes glowing blue, claws and fangs out, he made quite the sight and that was the only thing that stopped Stiles from storming over and whacking him upside the head for making him worry.
"He's gone." Derek growled, "Damn it!"
The poor, abused tree was no match for an angry werewolf and it broke in half.
Stiles approached Derek cautiously, his eyes wide with concern. "Who's gone? The Alpha?"
Derek nodded, his expression grim. "Yeah, he was here but he was long gone by the time I got here. Long enough that I can't even get a damn scent to figure out who he is!"
Stiles let out a frustrated sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Great, just great. So, what now? What do we do now?"
Now, calmer and back to normal, Derek replied, "Now, you go back to the school before your father notices your missing and starts looking for you."
"Seriously?"
Derek rolled his eyes, already walking away, "I'm not having the sheriff on my tail, Stiles. Go back. I'll let you know when I've got something more about the Alpha."
Flabbergasted.
That was the only way to describe what Stiles was feeling right now. How in the hell did Derek switch emotions that fast?
Still, he knew Derek had a point. He was obviously fine enough to be his usual commanding self so there was no need to stick around. He was already grounded and he did not want to imagine how much worse the sentence would be if his dad realised he skipped out after the game.
OoOoO
The first person Stiles ran into as he made his way back to the game was Isaac. He was standing on the edge of the field, just staying away from the crowd. Remembering that he was supposed to be limping, Stiles immediately corrected his walk. To sell the bit just a little more, he went so far as to rest a hand against Isaac's shoulder as if needing the support.
The move startled Isaac so much that Stiles would have tripped if he still had his old reflexes. He would have just brushed off the interaction, maybe even made a joke about it if he didn't catch something else in the air. Beyond the sweaty jocks and hotdogs, there was fear. A lot of it.
He frowned, he knew he was still knew to this whole sniffer-dog-of-emotions thing, but he could have sworn all that fear was coming from Isaac. And all from a simple touch.
"Woah, man, you okay?" He asked, "Sorry 'bout that. Didn't mean to scare you."
Isaac gathered himself and offered a hand to steady Stiles, "I'm fine… I was just lost in thought I guess."
Part of Stiles wanted to press the other boy but truthfully, he didn't know him very well. Maybe he did get lost in his thoughts a lot, Stiles wouldn't know. Besides, the timing didn't seem appropriate for any sort of probing.
"Why aren't you celebrating with the team?" Asked Stiles.
"Why aren't you?" Isaac countered.
Stiles shrugged, "Just needed some air, I guess."
At that, Isaac raised an eyebrow and made a show of looking around the open field they were standing on. A cold breeze swept passed them and Stiles blushed, he really needed to get better at lying.
"Alright, I needed to use the toilet."
The eyebrow raised even higher as Isaac pointedly looked at where Stiles came from. The edge of the woods opposite from the locker room.
"I didn't mean that!" Stiles screamed, "I used the toilet inside and then I went for a little walk."
The corner of Isaac's lips raised as well and before he could even glance at Stiles' "broken" leg, Stiles lightly shoved his face away.
"Alright, smart ass. I wasn't in the toilet. I just needed to get away."
Luckily, Isaac was happy to leave it at that. "I get it, it can get a little overwhelming."
"Tell me about it," Stiles said, "But overwhelming or not, we should head back. We are still part of the team."
The two boys made their way back to the celebrations just in time to see Tara wave them over from her seat beside Erica on the bench. The blond had her hands over her eyes and it looked like the twins were drawing patterns on her back and guessing what they were.
"Stiles, good you're here." Tara said, "Who's your friend?"
Isaac helped Stiles sit and then offered his hand to the deputy, "Isaac, ma'am."
Tara smiled, "Just Tara is fine, Isaac."
She turned to Stiles, "Anyways, I was about to head home, it's past these two's bedtime and I wanted to drop off Erica on my way. We just didn't want to leave without letting you know."
The twins, hearing his approach, left the game they were playing with Erica and hugged him.
"Bye, Stiles!"
Stiles hugged the twins tightly, trying to forget how close he came to hurting them tonight.
"Thank you guys for the poster. I loved it."
"We'll make an even bigger one for your next game!" Tiana promised.
Stiles smiled, "Really? How big?"
"As big as the moon!"
He laughed and hugged them once more. Then he got up and hugged Tara too.
"Stay safe, alright? Text me when you're all home."
Tara frowned at the concern in his voice, something must have shaken him tonight. Or maybe it was the severed body in the woods, the Sheriff had told her that Stiles had stuck his nose into that one too and was helping Derek Hale. If the Sheriff's suspicions about the Hale fire were even remotely true, she worried how much Stiles knew about it.
"We'll be fine, Stiles. See you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay."
It was pointless to worry, Stiles knew, the only danger for them that night was him and going home was safest for them. But he couldn't help it. If anything happened to them…
Unwilling to finish that thought, Stiles turned his attention to Erica. She had uncovered her eyes and was now standing with her back to the crowd as she texted someone on her phone. She put it away when he approached.
"Hey, did you have fun?" He asked, "Sorry, we couldn't really hang out."
"It's fine, I had fun with your babysitter."
Stiles groaned, "She's not a babysitter, she's more of my parole officer. Everytime I'm grounded or sick, dad asks her to watch me and she's so strict."
"I wouldn't have to be strict if you didn't insist on climbing down your window at night with a fever just to show Scott your new pokemon cards." Tara said, having heard the conversation.
"They were limited edition and I got it off a yard sale! Plus, the fever wasn't that high anyway."
Tara rolled her eyes, "And that is why I have to be strict." She sighed, "Anyway, go ahead and kiss your girlfriend goodbye so I can drive her home."
The teens blushed madly and loudly protested but the older woman just laughed as she pulled on Erica's arm. "Bye Stiles."
Stiles watched the four of them walk away, grateful that a few minutes with them was enough to banish the horror he felt in the locker room and the everpresent worry over the Alpha.
For now.
AN: I swear I thought the game night arc would be done in like 2 chapters but more scenes pop up. Next chapter is one I've been looking forward to. I've just finished two weeks of brutal exams so I get only 2 this week, hopefully this means I can have more time to write and upload the next chapter soon.
I had originally planned on having the victory party the same night. But Noah was not having it, he would not risk the students of BHHS just so I can have some more drama so it was moved to the next day.