On the way to Lacrosse practice that afternoon, Stiles kept trying to convince Scott to forget about his plan to make first line. The one good thing about being benched at every game was that he wasn't alone. He and Scott could watch all the players and make bets about who scores and who gets clobbered. But now that Scott was determined to play, being a bench warmer would be a whole lot miserable. He supposed he could talk to Isaac Lahey who was also stuck on the bench, but it wouldn't feel the same.
Scott was determined though so he walked to the field while Stiles stayed and sat on his patented bench. He didn't know why, but the boys sitting next to him smelled worse than usual. Like they spent the night in the boy's locker room while sleeping in the pile of dirty laundry where a family of skunks were hiding. Casually, he took a step away from them and made a mental note to get Coach to put up air fresheners in the locker room. Or issue gas masks for everyone.
When Coach made Scott stay in goal, Stiles crossed his fingers and hoped for the best. Scott's future in Lacrosse would be determined by how well he guarded that goal, he'd love to say that Scott's determination wouldn't be enough to get him a spot on the team, but he couldn't. Not only because Scott was his best friend, but also because he's seen Scott improve drastically over the summer. He may not be a star player but Stiles was pretty sure his summer practice would be enough to get him on first line.
The Assistant Coach blew the whistle and Stiles cringed as he covered his ears. What the hell was that? It was like a banshee screaming right into his ear. Shaking it off, Stiles turned his attention to Scott as the first player threw the ball.
The first save was terrible and Scott got hit in the face, but the next shots were surprisingly better. Of the nine players that aimed at the goal, Scott blocked six of them and the crowd cheered for him. Each time Scott caught a ball, Stiles cheered the loudest. Happy that his best friend would get his wish.
Then Stiles watched Jackson Whitmore step forward and prepare to take his shot, he could have sworn he heard Scott mutter 'Oh God'. But that was impossible because Scott was all the way out in the field and Stiles was stuck in the bench.
Predictably, Jackson scored. But Stiles was sure that Scott's performance was enough to get him on first line.
Then it was his turn to get on the field. Scott stayed in goal and all the players not on first line prepared to shoot some goals. Stiles was fourth in line with Isaac standing behind him.
"How did McCall get that good?" Isaac asked him.
"He's been practicing all summer." Was all Stiles said, "He really wants to make first line."
"Well I think he's got a pretty good chance."
In front of him, Greenberg was doing some weird warm up thing that had Coach snapping at him and asking if he was having a seizure or if there was just a spider in his pants. Everyone laughed at their unfortunate teammate and laughed even more when he horribly missed his shot. The ball actually went into the cheering stands straight into some guy's nose.
"You're dead Greenberg!" Screamed the guy while holding on to his bleeding nose.
Coach just shook his head and asked himself for the millionth time, why that boy was even on the team in the first place.
When it was Stiles' turn, he flexed his fingers and lightly turned his lacrosse stick. He looked at Scott and the goal. More specifically at the top right corner.
Stiles was never able to explain how he did what he did. It was like everything got quiet and the only thing he could see was that corner of the goal. When he threw the ball, it looked like it was heading for the left side of the net so Scott dove for it, but the ball curved midair and went into the top right corner of the goal instead.
The whole field was quiet as they stared at the boy and at the goal. None of them could believe it. The boy himself couldn't believe it! Spastic Stiles just made an incredible shot! The silence was broken by Scott who dropped his lacrosse stick and started cheering for him. Everyone else followed suit and even Coach looked impressed. Well, everyone but Jackson who was glaring at him from the bench. Even the new girl, Allison Argent got up to clap for him. But all Stiles saw was Lydia Martin in the stands clapping and cheering for him.
"He's definitely making first line." Stiles beamed when he heard Coach say those words. This was awesome! Lydia was cheering for him, and he and Scott were both making the team. The actual team!
"That was a lucky shot Coach." He frowned when Jackson's complaint reached his ears.
"Lucky shot?" Coach looked at the team Captain, "So what do you suggest we do?"
"Let me watch the goal. McCall's hardly any challenge so if Stilinski over there can make it past me, then we'll see how good he really is."
He could hear the challenge dripping out of Jackson's mouth and Stiles was immediately furious. He gripped his lacrosse stick harder and growled at the boy standing several feet away from him by the bench. The boy didn't hear him however and just continued to convince Coach that he just got lucky.
"You okay man?" Isaac asked, but he didn't hear him. All he could hear was Jackson's voice telling Coach that he wasn't good enough. Not for the team and certainly not for Lydia. He didn't even notice that his eyes flashed gold for a split second.
"Stilinski!" Coach called out, "Do it again!"
Jackson replaced Scott in goal and Stiles got ready to fire again. He was going to show that Ken doll wannabe how good he really was and then he was going to punch the smirk right off his stupid face.
"Come on Stiles." Scott was saying on the bench and it fuelled Stiles' determination.
Breathing deeply, Stiles threw the ball with all the strength in him. It hit Jackson square in the chest but the force of Stiles' throw was too much and he lost his balance falling straight into the goal.
Stiles just scored again!
The Assistant Coach blew his whistle and the crowd exploded! Scott pumped his fists in the air and cheered for his best friend. Lydia was clapping enthusiastically in the bleachers. Coach guffawed and slapped the assistant coach on the back. Except for Jackson who glowered at him as he stood up and rubbed his chest.
The positive aura in the air seemed to have drained Stiles of the earlier aggression he was feeling. It was like a flip has been switched and now he felt like King Kong on cocaine!
Jackson looked angry and dumbstruck but Stiles didn't care. He was over the moon and nothing could bring him down.
OoOoO
After lacrosse practice, Jackson stayed behind in the locker room after the rest of the team had gone home. He's known McCall and Stilinski his whole life and not once have either boy shown promise in sports, now all of a sudden they're outperforming him?
He stood in front of the mirror and rubbed his chest where a big red imprint was sure to bruise. He could still feel the impact of the ball as it hit him. He shrugged off the impact, pretending that it was nothing but the truth was it hurt. It almost felt like he got sucker-punched by a big brute despite the thick chest protector shielding his chest.
No, Scott McCall wasn't the issue. His sudden improvement in lacrosse was weird but it was nothing compared to the change in Stiles Stilinski. If his performance today was more than just a fluke, and if he continued to play like that, there was a great chance that Coach would make him Captain for the new season.
Right then he swore to find out what was going on with Stilinski. He wasn't going to let this fluke take away the one thing he could be proud of.
AN: First Jackson POV! How does everyone feel about seeing through the eyes of our favorite jerk?In the original version, it was Danny who watched goal on Stiles' second try, this time I changed it to Jackson to create a better premise into their rivalry.And the creature Dr. Rollins mentioned in the previous chapter is a manananggal. Like he said, they are Filipino mythical monstrous creatures that severe their bodies at sunset and fly over towns at night looking to kill. According to the lore, the only way to kill them is to find the lower half of their body, pour salt and garlic on it, and watch it burn. Once the lower half of their bodies are gone, the upper half won't die yet, but they will be stuck in their monstrous state and burn when the sun hits them.Updated: May 25, 2021