Work Text
Scott
"You've gotta be kidding me, you were possessed? Like
possessed
possessed?"
"Yep, head spinning, projectile vomiting, 666 on my forehead, the works."
"Intense."
"Stiles, you were possessed by a
fox."
"A fox?"
"It was a-a demon fox, ok?"
"Still intense."
"Guys." I said holding back a laugh, "I promise you it was a lot more terrifying than it sounds."
Everyone laughed and resettled around the bonfire.
"There was also this one other time when I chained Scott up on a full moon and gave him a dog bowl to drink out of because he pissed me off."
Laughter erupted again and I stared with an amused and disbelieving face at Stiles and punched him in the shoulder, trying to hold back my own laugh and save what was left of my dignity.
"That was kind of my fault, I have to admit."
"How, Lydia?"
"Well, I may or may not have kissed Scott and made Stiles jealous."
"You
kissed him?"
"Yes, Liam. We were petty little sophomores then."
"Intense."
Malia shoved him over chuckling, "Mason, quit saying that."
"He can't help it, it's his catchphrase. It's cute"
"I've told him it's annoying, but he won't listen to me."
"Well, it's better than saying "I fell in a hole" over and over again."
"Hey!"
"Yeah, you should really retire that Liam."
"You could also use a haircut too, babe."
Once again, everyone was rocking back and forth in their chairs clutching their stomachs as our laughs echoed the trees of the Beacon Hills Preserve.
I looked around at everyone. Hayden resting her shoulder on Liam's shoulder, Mason and Corey sitting thigh-to-thigh with interwoven hands. Lydia and Malia sharing a bench, and Stiles on my left, bouncing his right knee like he always does. Everyone with soft smiles, yet I couldn't help but feel my own was a little forced.
Liam tilted his head, "Scott? You good?"
I shook my head bit, "Huh?"
"You look like you're zoning out."
"No, I'm fine. It's getting a little late though, I think we should head out before we get attacked by something that'll ruin our summer." I said with a smile.
Nodding and chuckling, everyone reached into their pockets to check the time and started collecting their things. It wasn't long before everyone exchanged hugs and goodbyes when Stiles and I were the only ones left.
"Ready to go?" I asked putting out the last of the fire.
"I don't know, are you?"
I looked over and Stiles had reclaimed his seat, swinging keys on his finger and looking expectedly at me. I raised an eyebrow. He nodded over to where Liam had been sitting, "What was up with that?"
"I told you, it was just getting late…" I trailed off, looking away. Stiles sighed and patted the seat next to him. Somewhat reluctantly, I plopped down on the hard chair and rested my elbows on my knees, Stiles doing the same. "You know it's pretty amazing how you think you can still lie to me after being friends for…how long has it been?"
"Um…12? 13 years?"
"My point. I know you Scotty. Just because we were apart for a couple of months doesn't mean I've forgotten to tell when you're not being straight with me." He smiled and pointed waywardly, "So, what's going on up there?"
I took a breath. Not really knowing where to begin.
"When you were still taken and we were trying to remember you to get you back. Malia said something about how…you were scared at the beginning of the year of losing touch with everyone when we graduated."
"Yes, that's accurate."
"Well…that hadn't hit me until we all walked across the stage today and got our diplomas. And when I was looking around at everyone. I mean, are we going to still have
this
five, ten years from now? It's all changing way too fast and…I don't know, I guess I'm just not handling it well."
Stiles sighed again before resting a hand on my shoulder. "You know, at first when I was taken into the Hunt, I was panicking that I was never going to get out, that I was never going to see Dad, or Lydia, or you again. But then I realized…we've been through a shit ton of worse things together. I had faith that you guys would figure it out. And you did."
"What's your point?" I said. Inwardly wincing at how unintentionally forceful I sounded.
Stiles didn't seem to notice. "My point, Scott, is that if we can survive the Wild Hunt, Alphas, Kanimas, psychotic Kitsunes, and a trio of steampunk wanna-bees then we can sure as hell survive a couple of months of college, man." He lowered his head down, smiling, trying to make eye contact. It was only until my eyes met his that I felt something.
It had only been a week since we rescued Stiles from the Ghost Riders, and I soon realized how much I had missed my best friend. How much of a hole his absence had caused in my life. But we felt different. Not a bad different just…different.
"You're right." I whispered.
Stiles put a cupped hand up to his ear, "What was that? Did you say I was…right?"
I couldn't help but snicker at his feigned surprise, "Yes, you are right, Stiles. You are always
always
right."
He squeezed my shoulder, "And don't you forget it. Now, come on. It might be June but I'm still freezing my ass off."
*…*
Stiles
Please don't break down, please don't break down, please don't break down…
I patted the dashboard of the Jeep, "Come on, baby, we're almost home, come on…"
Scott threw me a ridiculing look and you bet your ass I gave him one back, "Hey, don't look at me like that, I missed Roscoe more than any of you other motherfuckers."
He laughed heartily and, as much as I hate to admit it, I missed that laugh so much. The time I spent in that train station without any of my friends or my dad was unbearable. Instead I was stuck with Peter, which is a punishment in and of itself.
It wasn't long before Scott re-familiarized himself with my CD collection and blink-182's "What's My Age Again?" was blaring through my crackly speakers. We banged our armrests to the beat and belted the lyrics in an assortment of different keys. I missed this. I missed this so much. My eyes flitted between Scott and the road, watching him dutifully try to hit the high notes, eyes shut and fists clenched. I couldn't stop smiling.
I looked back over at the road and did a quick double take. Something or someone was standing far away at the end of the road just before the turn into Scott's neighborhood. Even though I was getting closer to the turn, the figure was somehow the same distance away. I turned down the music to Scott's dismay, "Aw man, what'd you turn it down for?"
I pointed, "Look. There at the end of the road."
Scott leaned forward, looked around for a bit and shook his head, "What?"
"There."
I jabbed my finger at the windshield,
"At the end of the road there's something there." I looked over and Scott shrugged. "Wait, you don't s-" my eyes returned to the road and that's when I saw it: a Ghost Rider, arm outstretched and pistol pointed straight at me.
"SHIT!" I screamed. I jerked the wheel as hard as I could at the sound of a gunshot. The Jeep ended up spinning into the lane going the opposite direction and a black Toyota had to swerve out of the way to avoid a collision.
"Woah, woah, Stiles! What are you doing? We're in the wrong lane!" He reached over and grabbed the wheel, steering us back into our lane and into Scott's neighborhood. Without even shutting Roscoe off, I threw the door open and stumbled out, wobbling over back near the main road. I pointed at where I almost ran into the Ghost Rider, "Did you see that? It was them! It was them!"
I heard the car door slam behind me, "Stiles, what's happening? What are you talking about?"
"It was THERE, Scott. It was a-a Ghost Rider, they're back. I-I almost ran into it, it-it was g-going to shoot at us, it was there, I swear!" I whirled around and Scott stood there looking at me with a concerned look plastered all over his face. "A Ghost Rider?"
My arms started waving in frustration. "Yes! Yes, Scott a Ghost Rider, do I have to remind you what they are. We just spent the last three months fighting them, do I need to draw you a fu-"
"Stiles, listen to me." He walked closer and grabbed my wrists. "Listen to me. Ok? You need to breathe before you throw yourself into a panic attack. Ok? Just breathe."
Nodding, I bowed my head and controlled my breathing through my nose. My heart was pounding and I had broken into a sweat. I squinted up at Scott, "Why aren't you freaking out? Didn't you see it?"
He shook his head, "Stiles, I didn't see anyone, man."
"Well, then they didn't want you to see me. When I was taken, Lydia couldn't see them either. They're gonna take me again, Scotty. They're gonna take me again."
"Stiles, listen. They can't take you again, ok? There…there wasn't any thunder or lighting. It hasn't even stormed here since they left?"
I yanked my wrists from Scott's grip and glance back over at the road.
"Then why the hell did I see one about to shoot me."
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
CHAPTER 2: WHISKEY
Scott
The Jeep slowly rolled into my driveway and stopped with the familiar sound of the old, squeaking brakes. My eyes darted over to Stiles looking straight ahead, eyes glued to the windshield. I unbuckled my seatbelt and hesitantly reached out a hand to put on his shoulder. He had broken out into a cold sweat and his knee was bouncing harder than ever.
"Stiles?" I whispered.
"Hm?"
"You okay?"
There was a pause. It was apparent that he was trying to make up his mind on whether to lie to me or not.
"I will be," he said curtly.
I squeezed his shoulder, "You want me to stay over tonight?"
Stiles shook his head.
"You sure?"
He nodded.
I sighed and patted his shoulder, "Alright. Good night, man. Call if you need anything, ok?"
"Yeah."
The last thing I wanted to do was leave. My hand hovered over the door handle; I didn't want to get out of that car. But it was extremely obvious Stiles wanted to be alone.
Reluctantly, I swung open the door, hopped out, and watch Stiles back out of the driveway and kept an eye on his brake lights before he turned and disappeared back out onto the main road.
I walked in and immediately zoned in on Mom's heartbeat. Slow and steady. She must've passed out after the double she pulled. Trudging up the steps up into my room and not even bothering to brush my teeth, I yanked off my pants and shirt and sank into bed, eyes fixed on the ceiling.
Should I have left him like that? What if he was right and the Ghost Riders really
were
back? No, they couldn't be, there was no storm, no lightning. But…Stiles definitely saw something. Something I didn't. Was what he saw even real?
So many questions that I don't know the answer to.
Someone does, though.
I reached over into my discarded pants and pulled out my phone.
"… Hello?"
"Hey, I'm…I'm sorry it's so late."
" Yes I'd say it is. Is everything ok?"
"It depends."
" On?"
"Well…Stiles was driving me home just now and…y'know everything was fine and then he suddenly just…swerves for no reason. We didn't hit anything, there was nothing in front of us. And when we got out he said that he…he said that he saw…"
" What did he see?"
"He said he saw a Ghost Rider."
" A Ghost Rider?"
"He thought he saw one of them shooting at him,"
" So you don't think it was actually a Ghost Rider."
"I mean, there wasn't any lightning. There was nothing to suggest there was one even there in the first place."
" Hm."
The line was silent for a couple of seconds.
"Should we be worried?"
" Come by the Animal Clinic tomorrow. With Stiles. We'll talk about it then, ok?"
"Ok. Thanks, Deaton."
*…*
Stiles
"You got I.D.?"
I fished around in my pockets for my fake license and held it up to her.
She raised her eyebrows, "A bit young-looking for 21, aren't you, kid?"
"A bit young-looking to have wrinkles. What're you going through, a pack a day? Two?"
The clerk took a long look before pushing the bag of booze my way.
I put down a 20.
"Keep the change." I muttered.
Summer nights in Beacon Hills were always cold. The wind always chilling and the smell of the trees always seemed to permeate the whole town. Though freezing your ass off is a definite possibility, there was something comforting about the cool night air nipping at my skin.
I set the booze down on the floor of the passenger seat. There was rarely ever any police out this late but it was better to be safe than sorry. Getting arrested for illegal possession of the booze I desperately needed was not on the to-do list tonight.
Putting one hand on the steering wheel and the other jamming the keys into the ignition, I quickly realized that I didn't give any thought as to where I could go to get shit-faced. Going to the preserve was a no-go, that place is scary as shit at night. The school? Yeah, I might as well turn myself in now. Sneaking booze up to my room under Dad's nose wouldn't be too hard. Wait, what am I, 13?
You know what, screw the 'No Loitering' sign. It's 2:00am after all; no one will give a shit. My arm reached over into the bag and pulled out the bottle of Jack Daniels. I took a long swig and felt the familiar burn of the whisky in my throat.
What in the hell did I see? An actual Ghost Rider seemed unlikely but then again Beacon Hills was never the most predictable of towns. Were they back? Did they just take a week off and decide they weren't done shooting people into oblivion? Scott said they couldn't be. The Hunt had moved on and with Herr Douglas in tow. There wasn't a storm but who knows if that's even a requirement for them to make a house call.
After a couple of gulps, the buzz in my chest was already starting to make an appearance. My left hand, white-knuckled and gripping the steering wheel was shaking. Laughing derisively, I took another swig and before I knew it, the bottle was empty. I threw it out the window and heard the bottle shatter.
My mind flashed back to the night the Ghost Riders took me and the last thing I saw was Lydia's panicked face, forever etched into my memory. I said I loved her, and then they pulled me out. Next thing I knew I was in that goddamn train station.
Remember that I love you.
Remember that I love you?
Wait. Since when did that become a question? I did love her; I've always loved her. No, I
do
love her. I…yeah, I love her.
Great. Along with worrying about Ghost Riders attempting to kidnap me in my sleep, I'm also having an existential crisis about my girlfriend. Then again worry and existential crisis is my middle name.
I eyed the second bottle of Jack.
Well…not tonight, at least.
*…*
Scott
Someone was gently nudging my shoulder. I looked over, morning sunlight filtering in through the blinds.
Mom was sitting at the edge of the bed, eyebrows raised in amusement, "Morning. Or should I say…afternoon?"
"Afternoon?" The clock on my bedside read 1:48pm. I buried my face in the pillow, "Ugh. I hate waking up this late. Makes the day feel shorter than it actually is."
"What time did you get home?"
"It was almost 2."
"Uh-huh and what time did you actually go to sleep?"
I scratched my head, "It was almost 4."
"Everything ok?" she asked, head tilted in her trademark concerned-mother face.
"I'm about to find out."
She smiled sympathetically. "You want some coffee first?"
"Coffee sounds great, thanks." I smiled.
She wasn't even out the room before the phone rang from her pocket, shooting me a glance before she accepted the call.
"Noah? Hey, what's up?"
Slipping on a pair of sweatpants, I sat up and tilted my head to the left. The way I always do when trying to listen in.
"No, I haven't seen him, w-…he hasn't been home yet?"
Her eyes locked with mine. "It's Stiles."
I launched across the room, pulled on a sweater and grabbed my phone. "Tell him to call Deaton. I'll get the pack out looking for him."
"Give me a minute I can look too."
"No, stay home in case he comes here," I pocketed my wallet, "can I borrow your car?"
"Keys are on the table."
*…*
Come on. Pick up, pick up.
"Hello?"
"Liam! Liam, it's me. Listen, I need your help. Stiles didn't come home last night."
"Stiles didn't come home? You mean he's missing?"
"No. I mean, yes? It's too early to send anything out."
" Ok, what do you need?"
"I need you and Hayden to look through the preserve. Get Mason and Corey to go to the school."
"Can you get a scent?"
My heart dropped; I didn't think of that. I rolled down the window.
Shit.
"No…no, shit I'm not getting anything."
" Ok, Scott. It's gonna be fine, we'll get to the preserve as soon as we can."
"I know, I know. I'm ju-"
Jesus. Christ.
" Scott?"
"You've gotta be kidding me," I slammed the brakes and pulled over.
" What is it?"
I sighed and rubbed my eyes, "Never mind, Liam."
My eyes were glued to Roscoe parked in the trashiest gas station Beacon Hills had to offer.
"I found him."
__________________________________________________
Hello! For anyone who missed it, it was just announced yesterday that Season 6B will premiere on July 30th at 8/7c! Can't wait to see what this season has to offer. In other news, I hope to not have you guys wait more than a week for chapters to be posted. However, giving that I go back to school in a month and there's a lot of preparation for that, who knows, but I'll definitely do my best. As of now, the overall plot is pretty flexible so please your reviews! I always find them extremely helpful to get a feel of where everyone is.
Cheers!
Argo Lane xx
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
CHAPTER 3: HULK
Scott
As soon as I swung open the door of the Jeep, my nose was assaulted with the smell of alcohol. Stiles' head rested on the steering wheel, with an empty bottle of Jack Daniels gripped in his right hand and the shattered remnants of another one outside the car, next to a small-ish pile of vomit. There was no way I could've picked out his scent from all of this crap.
I didn't know how to feel; concerned that Stiles had downed two bottles of whiskey or angry that Stiles had downed two bottles of whiskey. I grabbed the empty bottle from Stiles' fist and the movement seemed to stir him awake.
"Huh…s'wha…Sco-?" he moaned.
I shook him gently, "Hey, wake up, man."
Stiles swatted my hand away, "I'm awah…awake." He opened his eyes and immediately shut them and covered them with his hand, "Ahhh…Jesus Christ."
"Do you know where you are?" I said, noticing the bite in my tone.
"The sun?" he groaned. "You mind steppin' a little to the right, your head makes a great solar eclipse."
"Do you know where you are?"
I said a little louder.
Stiles winced, "Ay, ay, keep it dow', you might as well take a hammer to my head. An' no, I don't-I can't remeb'r."
"You're at a gas station, Stiles."
"Oh…yeah, yep, it's coming back to me, yeah."
"Get out, let me drive." I stood aside as Stiles stumbled out, around and into the passenger seat, before pulling out into the main road.
"You need to call your Dad, he's worried sick." I said.
Stiles rummaged around and pulled out his phone before tossing it into the cupholder.
"S'dead."
My hand reached into my pocket and I handed him mine.
He put it up to his ear, "…s'ringing…hey, Dad, hey. Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Yeah. No, don't worry about it. Yes, don't worry about it; I'm fine that's what counts. No, yeah, I'm good. I'm heading over to Scott's place."
I looked over at him. He waved his hand dismissively.
"Yeah, I'll see you for dinner. Ok, bye." He sighed as he handed my phone back. "I don't wanna go home jus' yet, if that's cool.
I shrugged, "Don't care."
Stiles scowled at me, "Who shit in your corn flakes."
"I'm looking at him."
His scowl deepened, "What the hell did I do?"
"What made you think it was a good idea to drown yourself in whiskey in the seediest part of Beacon Hills, a
gas station
of all places? I mean, Christ, Stiles you couldn't get drunk at home?"
"You know I couldn't."
"Would save your dad the anxiety of wondering where you are. Especially since you've been gone-"
"God dammit, Scott, can you stop bringing that shit up. I remember very clearly, I don't need you reminding me every waking moment of every day. Ow…" He held his head in pain. Stiles sighed, "I'm sorry, I'm just hungover."
"This have to do with what happened last night?" I said, eyes skirting back and forth between the road and Stiles.
Stiles started to fidget with his thumbs, "…maybe."
"Stiles, you know they can't be back."
"You can't know that for sure, Scott."
I shrugged, "Well, if it's any consolation, Deaton doesn't think they're back either."
"You talk to him?"
"He said to swing by the Animal Clinic so we could talk about it."
"So, let's go."
I shot a raised eyebrow, "You don't want to sober up a little?"
"No, just take me there." Stiles said dismissively.
*…*
Stiles
Never again. Never, ever, ever,
ever, again. My head felt like someone took a sledgehammer to it...multiple times…and that someone is the Hulk. To be honest, getting plastered in a shady gas station in Beacon Hills in the middle of the night probably wasn't one of my best ideas (hangover aside).
Fuck,
my head hurts.
Scott was pissed. I knew he was, he's terrible at hiding his emotions. His hands gripped the steering wheel and he didn't make eye contact; classic textbook Scott McCall angst. But, there wasn't anything I could do. I just had to wait it out.
It wasn't long before Scott pulled into the Animal Clinic. At this point, my senses were slowly but surely coming back to me. My head was still pounding but my eyes had already adjusted and I was no longer dizzy. Even despite my assurances that I was okay, Scott still opened the door for me and helped me climb out.
Deaton appeared behind the desk and widened his eyes a bit at the sight of me. I rolled my eyes, "Hey, Deaton."
"Hello, Stiles…I think?"
"Wow, do I look that bad?"
"No…no, not at all. Please." He waved us over to the back.
I plopped down on a metal chair. Deaton cleared his throat and nodded his head to the table.
I rolled my eyes, "Seriously?"
Deaton shrugged his shoulders, "Scott insisted."
I looked over at him with his arms crossed. I sighed, "Seriously?"
"I texted him after you agreed to go. I was just worried, Stiles."
"You're acting like this is the first time you've seen me hungover." I threw back at him.
He sighed and looked away, shaking his head.
Deaton lifted both of my eyelids and shined a light in my face, took a stethoscope to my chest and back, the works. Honestly, I don't know what he was expecting to find.
"Well, your vitals are…passable."
"I have a hangover, I'm not dying." I slid off the examining table. "This what you wanted to see me for?"
He shrugged. "Partially. Scott tells me you've been seeing things? He said you saw a Ghost Rider…which I assume is why you took to some heavy drinks last night?"
"You guessed right." There was pause. I crossed my arms and shrugged, "Can they be back?" It sounded more of a statement than a question.
"Once the Ghost Riders come through a town, they can't return to it. Only something supernatural like the Nemeton could reset something like the Wild Hunt."
Scott stepped forward, "Are you saying they were in Beacon Hills before?"
Deaton pursed his lips, "It's possible. The Wild Hunt has been here since the beginning of time, and the Earth is but so big. It's inevitable that they would have to cross the same territory more than once. But their visits are separated by several millennia, and, like I said, some sort of supernatural reawakening would be needed to bring them back."
"Is it possible that someone "reset" the Nemeton?" I said.
"It's very unlikely, Stiles. Though the theory I have is perhaps more probable."
"What's that?" Scott and I said simultaneously.
"Well, you were holed up in a supernatural alternate dimension. There's bound to be some repercussions." He said morosely.
"Wait, so why didn't Scott see them? Or anyone else in the pack?"
"You were in there for three months, Stiles. The longer you inhabit an alternate dimension, the more consequences there are going to be. It's like when you, Scott, and Allison sacrificed yourselves for your parents."
I rolled my eyes, "So what, am I just not gonna have a heart at this point?"
"No, but…you're going to have some trouble for awhile discerning what is real and what is not. Hence, your…hallucinations…of the Ghost Rider last night." Deaton said with a tone of finality.
"How long is awhile?" Scott said.
"Could be weeks. Maybe months."
"Months?"
I said incredulously.
"You have to understand, Stiles, that no one has gone into the Wild Hunt and come back alive. This situation is unprecedented and I can only help you but so much." He said with earnest. "But I will help you with whatever I can."
I caught Scott's eye and he looked just as worried as I felt. It felt like the room was getting smaller. Mumbling something about going home, I went out the back door without looking at Scott or Deaton.
Scott
"Stiles!" I went to go after him but was caught in the shoulder by Deaton's hand
"Scott, let him go."
I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows, "Let him go?"
"You need to give him some time to process this," he said.
"I'm just trying to help him!"
"I know, but maybe this is something Stiles needs to do alone."
I shook my head, "He has me. He doesn't have to do this alone."
Outside, Stiles was leaning against the side of his Jeep, crossing his arms and shaking his leg against the door. Our eyes locked when he heard the door slammed shut behind me. I walked over to his side and mimicked him by crossing my arms and leaning against the Jeep. None of us said a word. It was only a little after 3pm but the sun had already started to dip, the evening afterglow was starting to take over the afternoon sunlight and the air had already started to cool slightly.
My shoulder nudged his, "You ok?"
"Head still hurts," he muttered.
"You know what I mean."
Stiles sighed and shrugged in response, "I'm not thrilled about going through months of LSD trips without the LSD."
I couldn't help but chuckle, "Well…that's one way of putting it, I guess."
Stiles fell silent again and I sighed. "Listen, whatever this is, we'll just get through it. We've faced worse, remember?"
"That's easy for you to say. Months, Scott?
Months?
I'm gonna be in college and still worrying about looking up and seeing a Ghost Rider in my dorm! How the hell am I supposed to live with that?" he said kicking a rock away from him in frustration.
"We'll figure it out, man. We always do." I said.
He scoffed, "Yeah, alright."
"Stiles, I'm just-"
"Yeah, I know you're just trying to help." The disdain in his voice was impossible to ignore. I frowned, "Do you…not want me to help?"
"I don't know," he said abruptly, "I don't know, ok Scott? Everything's just a shit-show right now."
There was a sudden tension between us, a tension that I hadn't felt since the time we were dealing with the Dread Doctors. Am…I the problem?
"Well…if you want that help, just shoot a text." I started walking out towards the main road. I heard Stiles behind me, "Where are you going?"
I turned around and shrugged at him, "I have to go back and get Mom's car."
"I can give you a ride, man."
"No, it's…it's cool. I'll let you be alone for awhile."
And with that, I turned on my heel and took off at a sprint.
Hello, everyone!
Hope you enjoyed this new chapter. Thank you so much to everyone who has left reviews and comments! They really help speed along the process and get the next chapter out sooner!
Much Love,
ArgoLane xx