Just as a reminder to all of those who are reading: When the text is written in bold and italicized lettering "like this," that is the part of the conversation had in sign language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf. I also have no claim on any pop culture references that I may use throughout my writings. I only own my OCs. Enjoy the read.

(o.o)

Chapter 2.10

I woke up with a start shivering violently, trying to keep myself warm. I found that I couldn't move much, and there were strong arms wrapped around me, holding me tightly under a comforter. Fuck, did I drink anything at the party? I tried to pull away from whoever had my hold, but it was difficult. They were much stronger than I was. A palm left my arm, laying flat, fingers together and lowering towards the floor.

"Calm." They were saying.

I turned my head, spotting Dere was the one holding me. I let out a deep breath, relaxing in his arms.

Derek let me go, allowing me to turn around, but he kept me wrapped in his comforter.

After looking around, I noticed that I was sitting on the kitchen floor. "What the hell happened last night?"

"Are you okay?" He asked first.

I nodded, wrapping the blanket tighter around my shoulders. "There was a guy. In a black cloak thing. What happened to him?"

"He's gone." Derek put a hand on my chin and turned my head, flicking my ear forward.

"What the hell?" I asked, pulling away from him.

"You have the same symbol."

"Symbol?"

Derek turned his head to reveal what looked like a backward '5' behind his ear.

My hand shot up to the same spot on my own head, feeling what I was sure was a scab. "What the hell? Who was that guy?"

"Shadows," Derek said with a shrug. "Scott's gone to find out what they were. Allison said her dad knows."

"Does everyone else have a mark?"

"Every supernatural being other than Scott. And that girl that was with him."

"That's Kira. She's nothing bad." I assured him. "Not sure what, but - "

Derek nodded. "I know. She's a kitsune."

"A kitsune? What, like Vulpix?"

Derek chuckled. "Uh, kind of, but not really. Same concept."

I rubbed my forehead with my fingers hard, trying to piece everything together. I groaned, looking back at Derek.

"Why were you at a party at my loft?"

"Honestly, I thought you knew about it. I was here with Stiles." I said, feeling the heat rush to my face. Quickly, I remembered that he had left. "Shit." I pulled my phone out of my pocket. There were still a couple of hours until school. I looked up at Derek. "Could you drive me home? I have to get to school."

"I think school can wait."

I shook my head, trying to stand to my feet. I stumbled, but Derek caught me quickly. "I can't wait. I have to go. Stiles said he figured something out. He - he had this key with chemicals on it, and -" I stopped, realizing what I had said out loud. My chills came back, running up my arms. "No."

"No?"

"Oh, shit." I closed my eyes tightly, playing back specific facts. "The door was unlocked. And Stiles, he had the key. And the key, there were chemicals on it. Like from the -"

Derek put his hands on my shoulders, pausing my downward spiral. "CJ, I need you to use full sentences."

"I need to get to Stiles, okay?" I said deep within a full panic mode. "Can you take me there?"

Derek nodded. "Yeah, but first, you need to tell me if everything is okay."

I didn't know yet, but the large pit deep within my stomach told me that it might not be. "I just - I need to talk to Stiles." I insisted.

Derek nodded, "Okay, let's go."

While Derek drove his car through town, I bounced my legs up and down as I sat in the passenger seat. I didn't want to sit still. I couldn't. I was worried about Stiles. I had to be with what I was figuring out and feeling. Before getting out of the car, I asked Derek to watch Scott. If those things hadn't marked him yet, and they had marked the rest of us, they were going after him next.

The car stopped, and I barely told Derek goodbye before I pushed open the passenger door and rushed into the house. The sheriff's cruiser wasn't there, so I went in. "Stiles!" I shouted as I bounded up the stairs. "Stiles!" I turned into his room, spotting him sitting on his bed. I paused at the door, breathing heavily and trying to catch my worried breath.

Stiles looked up at me, his leg shaking anxiously like mine was doing moments before. He didn't greet me warmly or with a smile. He was still, a nervous and confused look on his face. He had his own mental stress, so I did my best to hide mine.

"The key that you had on your keyring that you didn't know what it was… It was to the chemistry closet."

He bit his bottom lip and nodded.

My heart dropped. "How would you have gotten that key?"

"I have no idea. It was just there." Stiles shook his head, running a hand through his hair. "I don't remember getting it."

I could see that there were more things that he wanted to say, but I was sure that he couldn't figure out how. I entered his room, sitting next to him on the bed with one leg, and turned to face him. "Stiles?"

His gaze turned down onto me.

"Trust me." I signed.

Stiles let out a breath. He got up and walked towards his desk before turning back to me. Stiles stood there for a moment before he said anything. "I had the key to the chemistry closet where Barrow hid. And those numbers that were on the board telling Barrow to kill Kira, they were in my handwriting."

I furrowed my brow. "You wrote them? But how? When?" I questioned, getting a dramatic shrug from Stiles. I was with you all day. And when I wasn't, you were on the second floor. This wasn't you, Stiles."

Stiles began pacing, talking to himself. Or at least that was what I assumed.

I got up from my spot and grabbed his hands to stop him. "If you're trying to brainstorm, I know you need to pace, but I can't understand you or help you if you do." I looked at him and his scared face, trying to think of a solution. "Okay, so, whatever's going on, we need to tell Scott. He needs to know that you're feeling this way. He can help you brainstorm and think better. We're both a little wired right now and not thinking clearly."

Stiles nodded, though I could tell that he was still unsure.

I pulled Stiles into me, hugging him around his waist while his arms were loosely around my shoulders. "We're gonna figure this out," I said with a sigh. Goosebumps climbed up my arms when his arms tightened. "I promise." I pulled away from him, remembering that I'd left my sweater at Derek's. "Can I borrow a shirt?"

Stiles left my side to his dresser to grab a t-shirt, and I shrugged it on over my tank top.

"Alright. C'mon, we should go meet Scott."

(o.o)

Stiles burst through the chemistry classroom, walking backward so that I could see him explain everything to Scott. "So, CJ mentions the chemicals and them being on the key, making it glow, right?" He dropped his backpack at the first lab table before heading towards the chalkboard. "And so that made me think of the chemistry closet and the fact that someone had to let Barrow in."

"It was open when we found it, so someone unlocked it." I stood back by Scott at the back of the room, clarifying for him where Stiles' mind was trailing around to.
Lydia pointed out that it's supposed to be locked at all times for obvious reasons."

Stiles paused, staring at the chalkboard.

"Stiles?"

Stiles turned back around to face me. "It's gone, but it doesn't matter." He dug into his pocket, pulled out his keys, and headed for the chemistry closet. "I've still got the key." Stiles stopped at the door, struggling with his keys.

Scott and I looked at each other, knowing that Stiles was spiraling.

Stiles mumbled to himself, turning his keys over in his hand one by one. "I had it. I had it here this morning." He looked up at us. "I swear to god. I had it this morning."

"They key you were talking about last night?" Scott asked.

"I showed it to you, right? Didn't I show it to you?"

Scott shook his head. "No, you just told me about it. I never actually saw it."

"Okay, but I showed it to you, right?" Stiles questioned me. "This morning?"

"The last time I saw it was last night at the party.

Stiles pushed between Scott and me, making his way back to the blackboard. "I was here a couple of hours ago. And the message left to Barrow spelling Kira's name was right there on the board in my handwriting, and I had the key to the chemistry closet.

I joined Stiles, standing in front of him and Scott. I eyed Scott, wondering what he was thinking of everything Stiles had been saying.

"So, you unlocked the chemistry closet so that Barrow could hide in it from the cops, and then you wrote him a message to kill Kira?"

Stiles shook his head, continuing to stare at the chalkboard behind me. "I know it sounds…." He struggled, reaching into his pocket to pull out his phone. "Look at this." Stiles pulled up a specific article, showing Scott the device and allowing me to lean forward to read upside down.

I took a deep breath in, brushing my fingers through my hair to get it out of my face. This was all just far too much for me to process at one time.

"This is the news report that came out about Barrow when they caught him, okay? About the shrapnel bomb that he used. See this?" Stiles asked, pointing to a specific line in the article. "See what he did? He put nuts, bolts, and screws, and then he hid the bomb and the detonator in a box that he wrapped as a birthday present. What does that sound like to you?"

"Coach," Scott said instantly. "The joke we played on Coach."

"But you didn't blow anything up, Stiles. There's a difference." I promised.

"This was my idea. You remember?" He asked, looking directly at me. "I planned this for days. It was my idea. That's no coincidence. It can't be."

Scott shook his head, trying to find words. "I don't want to sound like I'm trying to tell you that you're wrong, but I don't think you're trying to kill people either."

Stiles squeezed his phone in his hand, pocketing it once more. He stared at the board. "It was here. It was all here."

"Dude, are you feeling okay?" Scott questioned. "You're looking really tired."

Stiles nodded, but his hands shook. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping, really."

"More like at all," I said partly under my breath.

Stiles shot me a quick glare, but it softened when he met my eyes. He must have seen the worried look on my face. He reached out and grabbed my hand.

"Why don't you guys leave? Go home and take a sick day or something?"

I nodded and looked up at Scott, getting an idea. "We'll go see your mom." I turned back to Stiles. "We'll go see Melissa and see if she can recommend anything. We need to get you some sleep, babe."

Stiles nodded, squeezing my hand hard. "Yeah, yeah. Let's do that."

"Okay. Go ahead and head back to the car, okay? I'll be there right behind you."

Stiles nodded again, going to leave the classroom, grabbing his backpack on his way.

"Is he okay to drive?" Scott asked after tapping my arm.

I shook my head. "No, that's why we took my car this morning. I had to force him into the passenger seat practically."

"Yeah, he loves his Jeep."

"I know he does." I sighed. "He was underselling it when he said he hadn't been sleeping. I don't think he's slept at all in a few days. I've been in a couple of car accidents too many this year, and I don't want to see another one."

"Good thinking."

I agreed. "What happened with Mr. Argent this morning? Derek said you were going to try and find out who those guys were."

"They got you, too?" Scott asked.

I nodded, showing him the symbol behind my ear. "I was upstairs. Derek found me this morning."

"Isaac, Allison, and her dad went to find out more today. I'll text you as soon as we know something solid."

"You would need my phone number for that."

Scott hid a small smile but nodded, pulling out his phone.

I put my number in and handed it back. "I'm gonna take him to the hospital. Keep in touch, okay? Texts or vid calls."

Scott nodded. "Take care of him."

"Always."

My drive to the hospital was quiet, Stiles fading in and out in the passenger seat, staring out the window. I parked, and we walked through the emergency room entrance, knowing we'd find Melissa McCall there.

Melissa smiled up at us when we arrived at the desk. "Hey, Stiles and CJ? Right?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said politely.

The corner of her lip turned up. "Shouldn't you two be in school?"

I nodded, "We were wondering if we could get some help."

"I need to see a doctor," Stiles said, inserting himself, leaning on the desk.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Melissa wondered.

Stiles nodded, rubbing his hands together. "Yeah, I just need to see a doctor."

Melissa pulls something up on her computer. "Well, Dr. Gardner's not back until next week. Do you want to try waiting for one of the urgent care doctors, or…?"

Stiles backed away from the desk.

I noticed quickly that he was starting to freak out, so I grabbed his hand to hold it behind my back and keep him at arm's length. "Is there anything you can do?" I leaned forward on the counter, trying to get across my seriousness. "If I have to sign something in blood to keep it a secret, I will."

Melissa furrowed her brow, studying Stiles behind me, and stood from her chair. "Stiles?" She walked around the desk towards him. "Are you alright?"

Stiles shook his head. I could feel him trembling in my grasp. "I don't know. I guess, not really."

Melissa nodded at him. "Alright, kiddo." She took him, turning him with hands on his shoulders. "You two come with me. It's okay." Melissa nodded at me and led us down the hallway into a patient room. She grabbed a clipboard from outside the room and pulled a pen from her pocket. "Go ahead and take a seat," Melissa said, gesturing to the bed.

Stiles moved around the bed, his grip losing mine. I walked around with him to stand in front of him by the window.

After placing her clipboard on the bedtable, Melissa looked at Stiles. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about what's going on?"

Stiles looked up at me, and I gave him a quick encouraging nod. "Uh, blackouts, but not for that long. And sleepwalking, which I used to do a lot as a kid." He thought for a moment. "I'm also having some really bad anxiety."

Melissa nodded, writing down his symptoms. "Panic attacks?"

Stiles agreed. "A couple. Oh, and I temporarily lost the ability to read, but that might have had more to do with the giant magic tree and the whole human sacrifice thing."

The woman smiled, "I remember something vaguely about that, yes." Melissa looked back at me, and I tried to give her a smile in return, but I just couldn't feel it. Being in the hospital and talking with her about what might be wrong with Stiles was too surreal. "How many hours of sleep are you getting?"

"Eight."

"A night?"

Stiles met my eyes. "In the last three days…."

I took in a deep breath. I didn't think it had been that bad. I should have brought him here sooner. I blinked what felt like tears away, watching him look down at his fingers. He was counting them. "Stiles?"

"Yeah, definitely eight."

Melissa glanced back at me again, just for a second. She stepped away from Stiles before going across the room and putting on gloves. "Been feeling irritable?"

"Possibly to the point of homicide."

I took in a sharp breath, not liking that answer.

"Inability to focus?"

"No, the Adderall's not working."

"Impulsive behavior?" Melissa questioned.

"More than my usual? Hard to tell."

"Vivid dreams during the day?"

"Okay, basically all of the above."

Melissa walked back to Stiles, holding a syringe with a giant needle.

Stiles stared down at the needle. "Do you know what this is?"

Melissa nodded with a soft smile. "I don't think so."

"Uh, what's that?" Stiles gestured to the syringe.

"Do you trust me?"

"When you're not holding a needle…" he said jokingly.

Melissa pushed Stiles' shirt sleeve up, wiping his arm with an alcohol cloth to clean the area. "It's midazolam," She said, stabbing him with the needle and administering the drug. "A sedative."

"Why'd you give me a sedative?"

The nurse disposed of the needle and her glove. "Because you, Stiles, are one profoundly sleep-deprived young man. You need rest, and you need it now. Lie down," Melissa guided him with hands on his shoulders.

"Okay, how long's it take to…." Stiles' eyes rolled to the back of his head. "Oh, not long at all." His head hit the pillow hard, and Melissa moved the blanket to cover him. Stiles grabbed her hand and looked up at her.

Melissa pet his hand gently. "Get some rest."

"Thanks, mom," He said sleepily before drifting.

Melissa paused, stopping her from leaving the room, and looked back at Stiles. She shook her head, turning to me, gesturing for me to follow her. We left the room, standing right outside the door.

I swallowed my fear. "H-he's gonna be okay, right?"

"Of course," Melissa nodded.

"Okay, because, like, all those symptoms - they sounded pretty serious. A lot worse than just sleep deprivation." I admitted. "These things kind of just switched almost overnight, and I didn't even see it happen. I'm really just -" I shook my head, pushing hair out of my face again. I cursed myself for not grabbing a ponytail holder before walking out of the house. "You know, I didn't have to watch my brother wither away like this, so if he's dying-"

Melissa grabbed my shoulders, centering me and looking into my eyes. "Hey, he's gonna be fine. He just needs some sleep."

I looked at him through the window on the door. He was sleeping soundly, looking more peaceful than I'd seen him in weeks. I let out a huge breath, relaxing my shoulders, and Melissa let them go. "I'd like to stay with him if that's okay."

Melissa nodded, "I'm gonna go call his dad. You want me to call yours?"

"No, I'll call him," I told her with a head shake. "I think it'll be better coming from me."

"I'll be back to check on you guys in a while."

"Thank you," I said with a worried smile.

Melissa put a caring hand on the side of my face, pulling me in to kiss the side of my head.

I appreciated the gesture. The idea that it was the first time officially meeting her and she'd been so caring with me. It was different. I've had friends' parents that cared for me, but non like I've found in Scott's mom or Stiles' dad. I stood outside the door, gripping my phone tightly in my hand. I pushed on my father's number for a video call, and he picked up on his laptop within seconds. "Don't be mad," I said quickly.

Dad shook his head, hiding his worry. "As long as we're honest with each other, then I don't have to be mad. Are you okay?"

I looked into the hospital room at Stiles passed out in the bed. "I am, but I don't know if I'm really okay."

Dad looked around his office, finding his headphones and putting them in his ears. "What happened?" He asked, signing the words instead of saying them.

"Stiles and I are at the hospital."

My father's shoulders rose and fell slowly as he took a deep breath. "Okay…" he said, wanting me to continue.

"It's Stiles. H-he's okay. He's just very sleep-deprived." I glanced down the hallway, spotting some people waiting in the emergency room waiting area. I sighed, holding the phone further away so that Dad could see my hand as I signed. "Scott's mom gave him a sedative, and he's passed out, but -" I shivered as I felt a cold chill rush down my back quickly. The thought crossed my mind how he thought he was the one who left the note for William Barrow telling him to kill Kira. "Shit, I'm worried about him."

"Have you seen anything?" Dad asked, giving me a knowing look.

I shook my head. "Not that I've noticed. I haven't been paying much attention. I don't know if I even want to try with how things have been going lately."

"Try." He stressed.

"What if it just proves that something's really wrong with him?" I asked, feeling a large lump start to form in my throat. "What if-?" I stopped, looking up at the tiled ceiling to force the tears back down.

Dad waved at his camera to grab my attention again. "If Scott's mom is right, and he's just exhausted, then you wouldn't see anything, and he'll be fine. But if you see something, then there's a reason for it, right?"

"That's not how this works." I shook my head. "Carter kept his secrets because he had to. If Stiles is supposed to-" I paused, not wanting to even think about that option. "If I stop it from happening, something worse may happen. There's a balance to maintain here, Dad. I can't just change fate."

"Carter did."

I furrowed my brow, zeroing in on his face. "What?"

"With you, Carter changed everything."

My jaw dropped, and I shook my head. "How do you-?"

Dad put a hand up to stop me. "He didn't tell me everything, but he told me things that mattered. Carter knew he could talk to me like you know you can."

I felt a sob escape my chest. "I thought that was just another thing that I was keeping from you.

"I told you no more secrets and I meant it. I got a letter in the mail from Carter after everything happened. He told me everything. His dreams. The accident. He told me that Derek knew, so I've been talking with him, and he told me you knew." Dad took a deep breath. "I wasn't supposed to be the one to tell you."

I was relieved but ashamed to think I hadn't talked to him sooner. It wouldn't have been such a heavy weight if I had just been honest with him from the beginning.

"Stiles is going to be fine, and if he's not, we'll figure something out."

"Yeah, I know," I said, even though I was unsure.

"You look tired, too; maybe you should also get some sleep."

I nodded at him. "I'll try. Thanks, Dad." I ended the call and put my phone in my pocket. I took a deep breath, willing myself back into the room and over to Stiles. Standing on the side of the bed, I closed my eyes and reached out for his arm. His skin felt cool under my nervous, clammy hands, but I reveled in the touch for a few moments before opening my eyes.

I took a deep breath, opening one eye at a time, and looked around. I saw nothing. The air I didn't know I was holding left my lungs quickly, and my shoulders relaxed back into their normal position. Stiles would be okay.

(o.o)

After seeing that nothing was wrong with Stiles, I finally relaxed in the chair by his bed. I passed out quickly, not getting actual sleep in a few days. It had been a busy few days between Danny's party the previous night and setting up the prank for Coach the night before.

When I woke up, the first thing I noticed was that it was dark outside. Stiles and I had slept all day. I turned to face him, finding him missing from the bed. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and pulled out my near-dead phone from my pocket. I had a few messages from Scott and Derek. The shadows had gone after Kira and Scott, but they both managed to endure it as Derek and I had. They both had the same symbol, too.

The texts from Scott also explained that the shadows were called Oni, and they were looking for a dark kitsune called a Nogitsune.

A chill ran down my spine as my eyes hovered over the word Nogitsune. Could that have been the monster I've been seeing? I wasn't sure I wanted to know the truth to that question.

I finally left the chair and the room on the hunt for Stiles. I first returned to the front desk, looking for Melissa but finding no one. Furrowing my brow, I turned towards the emergency room entrance.

Both Scott and his mom ran in with Scott's dad on a gurney.

I joined Scott's side. "Is he okay?" I asked, and some other doctors rolled his dad away.

Scott nodded. "He will be. One of the Oni stabbed him with a sword."

"Oh, crap. Well, that will be a story to figure out how to tell." I turned to Melissa. "Have you seen Stiles?"

Melissa shook her head, obviously shaken at the state of her ex-husband. "I just got back. I thought he was sleeping."

"He was. And then I fell asleep, too, but when I woke up, he was gone."

Scott put a hand on the back of my shoulder. "Let's go find Stiles."

I nodded, looking up at him. "Thanks for today," I said to Melissa. "He needed it."

"Sure, sweetheart." The nurse responded. Scott squeezed my shoulder to ease me down the hall.

We started walking, and I glanced up at him. "So, Kira's good?" I asked with a knowing smile.

Scott shook his head, the corner of his mouth turning up in amusement. "Yes, thanks for helping with that."

"You did all the work. I just brought Stiles to the hospital."

"He's okay?"

"Your mom gave him a sedative," I said with a nod. "He passed right out."

"Good."

"That's where we were," I pointed to the empty room. "You got a scent?"

Scott nodded, going further down the hallway.

I followed closely behind him, anxious to figure out what happened to Stiles.

The wolf stopped suddenly, turning his head to the right to look into a surgery suite.

"What?" I followed his line of sight, looking through the window to see Stiles standing in the middle of the room. I pushed forward first, entering the room. "Stiles?"

Scott followed me, appearing next to me. "Stiles, you okay?" He asked, approaching carefully.

Stiles turned around. "Yeah, fine," he said with a small smile. "What's been going on?" He took steps towards me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders to lead me out.

"You sleep well?" I asked, looking up at him and wrapping my arm behind his back.

"Like a rock."