chapter sixty five
remembering you

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REMEMBERING STILES.

Though that had been the goal for Odessa Stone since realizing who Stiles exactly was to her, finally getting the chance to remember all of him was a bit scary for her. She was almost intimidated by the task of remembering everything. The good and the bad.

What if her mind had been playing tricks on her regarding her dreams of him? What if he wasn't who she thought he was? What if it didn't work? What would she do then? And while watching Scott break the vault door of the bunker, those negative thoughts only multiplied.

Odessa, Scott, Lydia and Malia all banded together determinedly down to the bunker where they knew of some kind of freezer to help regain their memory. However, they were on limited time due to the impending threat of the Ghost Riders finding them and taking them, making Beacon Hills the next ghost town. They all knew they needed to remember Stiles in the time space that Liam and Stilinski were giving them in their distraction.

The Stone was immensely happy for Stilinski for remembering his son. He looked as though the weight on his shoulders had dropped to completely nothing. He looked lighter, more content. Remembering Stiles did that to him. She just hoped that would happen to her and her friends as well.

She felt almost silly. Odessa had been the one time and time again to defend Stiles and the memory of him and now that she was finally going to fully remember him she was scared and afraid she was going to chicken out? She made a mental note to not let herself get into her own head, knowing it would only hold her back and distract her from the task at hand.

Odessa was going to remember Stiles, whether she was truly ready to or not.

Swallowing thickly, the blonde wiped her sweaty palms on her jeans as she watched Scott successfully open the door to the secluded room. Once everything was locked and they were somewhat protected in the bunker, the four teens walked closer to the person sized freezer, eyeing it warily.

"So, how cold does this thing get," Scott asked as they all surrounded the freezer.

Thoroughly observing the walk-in freezer, Odessa's brown eyes roamed up and down to assess exactly what they were working with. There were multiple random buttons and wires connected to it and Odessa had no one idea what any of them meant or what they could do. And she had a feeling her friends were in the same predicament she was in.

"Cold enough for a Hellhound," Lydia explained as simply as she could, knowing she could've dove deeper in what everything meant, "it's not the same as the ice bath you gave Isaac but, it can lower your core temperature past anything a human can survive."

"So what does freezing our asses off have to do with our memories," Malia asked incredulously, already not liking the plan.

"It'll slow your heart rate, and put you in a trance-like state."

Odessa nodded, reiterating Lydia's further explanation, remembering the ice bath she witnessed back in her junior year, "like hypnosis."

"Hypnotic regression," the strawberry blonde gave her friend an impressed nod, "if we can figure out how to work it."

Bringing her hand up to her mouth, Odessa bit her thumb nail in anxiousness. One thing to know about her, it was that she was always cold. Being in a human sized freezer for however long wasn't the smartest move, but if it meant she would remember Stiles completely, she would do just about anything.

"This says 'start' so, maybe it's not that complicated," Malia pointed to the green and red buttons on the side of the machine. But that seemed too easy of a solution.

Scott seemed to think the same thing, coming to a solid conclusion, "it's complicated."

"So, optimistically, how much time do you think we need to do this?"

"As much time as Liam and Stilinski can buy us," the Alpha nodded in answer to Malia's question. Without a second to waste, he reached up to the lever that held the door to the freezer shut before pushing it down, making the door slide open.

Odessa sighed to herself, there was no going back now, "here we go."

Scott volunteered to go first for many reasons that made Scott... Scott. He wanted to make sure it was safe for everyone else who was going in the freezer to use. He was basically sacrificing himself in going first in case anything went wrong. To help with the drop of temperature he needed his body to undergo, he took off his shirt while the girls got everything ready, which wasn't much. It was mostly them brainstorming how they were going to do any of this.

Just as Malia pressed the green start button, the machine whirled to life, "okay, it's doing something. You ready?"

Only giving the girls a slight nervous once over, Scott slowly walked into the freezer, letting the door shut in front of him. The Alpha could still see everyone, and them him, through the clear glass window. Lydia crouched down to seal the door shut as Odessa took it upon herself to try and keep Scott calm, either silently reminding him to breathe through his anxiety of being locked in a freezer or simply nodding at him through the glass in reassurance that he would be fine.

"Remember," Lydia called his attention as she fiddled with the final lock, "this will get cold enough to kill you. So if something feels wrong or like, it's not working..."

"It's going to work."

The Martin blanched, "I hope you're not saying that because you think I know what I'm doing."

"I'm saying that because I know you can figure it out," Scott's voice was slightly muffled due to him being in the freezer, but his words were heard loud and clear. And soon, Lydia cranked every switch on the machine on. He felt the effects of the freezer instantly as smoke started to surround him, "oh, okay, all right, yeah, that's cold. Really cold."

As he continued to huff at the cold he was encased in, Malia looked to Lydia specifically to ask, "so what are we supposed to do? Talk to him? Help him remember? Wait till he turns into a werewolf freezy pop?"

"We need to guide him. Keep him focused," Lydia nodded calmly before turning her attention to the freezer, raising her voice so Scott could hear her, "Scott, you have to think about him. Concentrate on Stiles. Try to picture him in your head. Think about what he looks like, things he said."

Suddenly, the freezer started to whirl even louder than before, causing Scott to groan, scrunching his face in pain. Odessa cringed along with him, hating to see him in such a state.

"I don't like this," Malia muttered, shaking her head fervently, "something's wrong."

Not taking her eyes off of the freezer, Lydia whispered, grabbing Odessa's hand suddenly, seemingly to keep herself intact, "wait. Give it a few more seconds."

The blonde nearly jumped out of her skin when Scott banged his palm against the glass, not expecting such a reaction from him. Even though she knew it would work from past experience, Odessa couldn't help but start to get nervous as well.

"I'm getting him out of there," Malia reached for the handle that controlled the door, but Odessa quickly grabbed her wrist.

"Wait!"

All three girls watched Scott slowly lower his hand away from the glass, his eyes closed, brows furrowed, causing a crease to form on his forehead. He wasn't shivering or talking, his lips not even moving. It worked. Scott was in a trance. The girls exchanged cautiously optimistic glances before the strawberry blonde of the bunch took over.

"Scott... can you hear me," Lydia was answered with glowing red eyes piercing through the cold smoke. But red soon faded into brown as Scott began to sway on his feet, "Scott, don't fall asleep. You have to keep your eyes open."

"Trying..."

The Banshee pondered, watching him closely, "it's not sleep. I think you're losing consciousness. And if you do that, I think we're gonna lose you."

Watching his eyes flutter for the third time, Odessa stepped forward, projecting her voice, "Scott, stay awake. Scott!"

That seemed to snap the Alpha back into focus, but he gave no verbal response. The girls watched him closely in case there was any indication of him fading once more. Odessa bit her bottom lip so hard she could almost taste blood. She just hoped he was busy in his own memories to assure them he was okay.

After a few moments of no movement, Scott suddenly began to move his head from side to side, looking as though he was searching for something in a frantic panic. His heavy pants started to fog up the glass in front of him.

"Scott," Lydia tried to settle him but nothing seemed to be getting through to him, "try to find him. Try to find him in your memories. Find him in any memory. Good or bad."

"What's happening to him?"

"I don't know!"

"Guys, calm down," Odessa chimed in, dropping her friends from going back and forth while Scott needed their help. She had been racking her brain to come up with anything to help, she just needed others to hear so she could figure it out with them, "Isaac freaked out the same way when he was in his trance until Deaton said something to calm him down, aside from me literally calming him down. Anyway, Deaton told him to go to the place where his memory was so the memory could guide him. Maybe Scott needs to be told something like that so he isn't so lost."

The Martin pursed her lips with a nod, eyes hardening in understanding, "you're right, Odie. I think we have to treat this more like actual hypnosis. They use images to guide you through memories. Like, a stairwell. The steps take you down through one year of your life to the next. That's how they regress you back."

"I get it," Malia announced, though she knew she was still having trouble fully understanding everything, "so he needs to imagine something. What do we tell him?"

Lydia stepped closer to the freezer again so Scott could hear her better, though he was now covering his ears in pain from all of the noises ringing in his head, making it more difficult for Lydia to get through to him, "Scott? Can you hear me? Scott, listen. Imagine this. Imagine you're in the high school. Visualize yourself in the high school, in the corridor where all the lockers are. Just try to imagine standing there. That's where your memories are. They're all in the lockers. They're locked away behind each one. Every memory of Stiles is in a separate locker. Scott, you're there. In the high school. You're standing there now."

Scott's scrunched eyes bursted open with Lydia's final instruction. Odessa held her breath for a moment before relaxing when she realized the normality behind his glazed over hues. It was working. Exhaling sharply in relief, she patted her friend's shoulder, "good job, Lyds."

"Let's hope it's working."

The next few minutes went on with Odessa and Lydia not taking their eyes off of Scott while Malia paced, seemingly in thought about something. The blonde started to wonder to herself in the silence, letting her kind drift off. If Scott was struggling the way he was, how would she handle the freezer? Would she get overwhelmed by her memories and not be able to get all of them back? Would she be the reason the rift wouldn't open?

"Lydia, I need your help," the McCall suddenly called from inside the freezer, his voice still muffled, "I don't think I can do this. I can't figure it out."

The strawberry blonde tried to remain as calm as possible for his sake, "keep looking."

"There are memories, but I don't know which one's the right one. What am I supposed to do," the boy started to panic, causing his heart rate that was being monitored by the machine to spike.

"Find another memory. Just find another memory," just as Lydia finished directing him, she gasped as ice began to form on the glass from the cold, "it's getting too cold. He's getting too cold."

"What if it's not enough to remember him? What if it's some kind of a connection he's supposed to make because of a memory," Malia theorized, dropping her small pace to relay.

Odessa furrowed her brow, crossing her arms on her chest, "like an emotional connection?"

"That could be why it worked for Stilinski, right?"

"He wasn't just remembering someone. He was remembering his son," the blonde nodded in understanding, taking a chance in going right up to the freezer so Scott could hear her, "Scott? Can you hear me? Listen, I remember something. At the start of the year, Stiles was trying to find a place for us to live after graduation. He said we were getting an apartment together? And I remember saying something to Stiles. Something like it's not always a good idea to live with your friend and girlfriend at the same time. Even your best friend. But Stiles said it wouldn't matter because you weren't just friends. You guys were more like brothers."

And though she thought her words would help him, after only a few still moments, Scott's heart rate dropped drastically, sending the girls into a panic. Without hesitation, they pulled the lever down to disconnect the door and pulled Scott out. Odessa practically held him up from how weak he was, pretending to not feel how cold to the touch his skin was.

"What, what's wrong," Scott rasped, leaning into Odessa's embrace, which was warming him up slightly, "why'd you bring me out?"

"Your heart rate dropped. You were gonna die," Lydia stressed, voice breaking while she looked over his body to make sure he wasn't injured any further from the cold.

"We had to."

Scott looked back at the freezer, almost confused, before faltering, "but then, but then nothing happened, did it? It didn't work. I'm going back in."

Before he could get up in time to go back to the freezer, all three girls blocked his path or held him back, knowing that would do more harm than good.

"No, you're not," Lydia guarded the freezer the best she could.

"It was working," the Alpha pressurized, trying to step out of Odessa and Malia's hold on him, "something was happening. I could feel it."

The Martin stood her ground, "but nothing was happening out here. Nothing, Scott. All we saw was you freezing to death."

Malia brought her hand from his forearm to his hand to stop him once again from moving any further, "you're still too cold."

Raising a trembling hand for him to see just how much the cold affected him, Scott sighed shakily, "we can't give up now."

"We're not. It's my turn," Odessa announced, pulling off her shirt to reveal her black bralette. When she saw her friend's wary expression, she shrugged, "I have plenty of memories with Stiles, too. Seeing that he was my literal boyfriend."

Lydia shook her head, the thought of one of her best friend's dying, again, repeating on a loop in her head, "it's too dangerous."

"Not as dangerous as doing nothing," Scott countered, his voice still shivering along with his body, "she'll probably handle the cold better than me."

Bundling up her shirt and tossing it on the table behind her, the Stone pushed her hair back away from her face, "if it's all about connection, then Stiles was my first... everything. He was... is everything to me. I know he is."

Satisfied with her explanation, Scott looked to Lydia, who was noticeably still skeptical, "she'll need a visual."

Closing her eyes with a deep sigh, Lydia reluctantly nodded, knowing she was outnumbered in the decision, "okay, I think I have an idea. But Odie, if your heart rate goes down like Scott's, or if we think you're going to freeze to death..."

"Then get me the hell out of there."

With Odessa's last request and agreement to the plan, she sauntered into the freezer, watching the door shut in front of her. Almost instantly, she could feel the bridling cold surrounding her just from the aftermath of Scott's turn, silently dreading how she would experience her own cold any second.

And boy, did she feel it.

The blonde could feel her entire body start to tingle as the cold air hit her in every direction, but Odessa attempted to pay no mind, closing her eyes and inhaling through her nose and out through her mouth to get herself to concentrate.

Hearing Lydia's muffled instructions from outside the freezer, Odessa willed her mind to listen and only focus on the visual, not the drop of temperature she was currently exposed to. And after a few, very long, moments, she was there.

Odessa entered the dark library with shock as to how messy it was. Book after book laid carelessly on the floor and out of bookshelves, almost as if a tornado violated the entire room.

"Can you see yourself there," Lydia's question echoed through her mind, surrounding her at all angles, "are you in the library now?"

The blonde placed a hand on one of the bookshelves to stablilize herself, seeing as she wasn't stepping on the floor, but small piles of books on top of the floor, "I'm here. I'm in the library."

"Can you see the books?"

"I see them."

"Concentrate on them," the strawberry blonde calmly and evenly instructed as Odessa continued to walk through the room, "the books on the shelves are your memories. Everything that's ever happened to you. Find the shelf that has all of your memories with Stiles. Try to find a memory where you made some kind of connection with him."

Odessa furrowed her brow in concentration, going over to a random bookshelf, picking up the first book she saw and opening it, letting herself be immersed with the memory...

"Do you like it?"

Odessa's eyes made her way toward Stiles Stilinski, who asked the question. This was the first time she had been able to get a proper look at the boy. His hair was long and had a spike to it. His eyes were a light brown, almost hazel. And his expression never wavered from the skeptical features it held since he met the girl. Odessa concluded that he didn't trust easily. She has now made it one of her missions to get him to trust her—it would just take some time.

"I love it," the Stone smiled at the two boys, who perked up at her response, "thank you, seriously."

Her own voice echoed through her mind at the memory before turning the page.

"We gotta do something," the boy stressed before turning to the blonde next to him, "Odie, could you take more pain?"

"I don't know..."

"W-What do you mean 'you don't know'?"

"Stiles, I don't know what'll happen if I take more than I already am," the Stone exclaimed, "plus no matter how much I take—for some reason it isn't helping."

Stiles scoffed, before mumbling under his breath, "or maybe you just don't know what'll happen to you."

Odessa cringed through her teeth, slamming the book shut. That wasn't Stiles' finest moment with her, that was for sure. Her reaction caught the attention of her friends watching her from outside the freezer.

"Did you find something?"

"Nothing too helpful," the blonde threw the book down to the floor and grabbed another one, opening to a random page, only to gasp at the sensation of being pulled into a memory.

"Stiles," Odessa broke her silence, moving toward the boy, "take a breath. They're still out there," she reminded.

"And—and they want her, right? Which means now we don't have her either, so my Dad and Cora are both dead!"

"Not yet."

As the lights flickered above them, the Stone decided to defuse the tenseness of the room, "Stiles, come with me."

The human looked at her, eyeing her hesitantly, before following her with reluctance. She thought that by distancing the boy away from the others, they could focus on Cora and how to help her. As Derek, Scott and Peter surround the youngest Hale, Odessa led Stiles to another part of the room.

The girl looked over him carefully, "Stiles," she gently called, watching him only gaze toward the others, his breath heavy, "Stiles, look at me," seeing her simply talking wasn't working, the blonde brought her hand to his cheek to make him look at her and took her hand away when their eyes locked, "look at me. Breathe."

"Odessa—"

"Breathe."

The boy's face softened, finally letting himself take a deep breath, eyes closing, easing the tension in his body. As his chest lightened, he looked into her brown hues, "how do you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Get me to calm down without using your powers?"

Odessa didn't know how to respond, stammering, "I—"

Page turn.

The Jeep was so quiet the boy driving could practically hear her deep breaths. He glanced to her, "you doing okay?"

"Yeah," she answered after a moment, "just trying not to think about it—trying to distract myself. Nothing's really working," the girl chuckled humorlessly.

Stiles furrowed his brows as her words brought him back to only the day before. Odessa had brought him out of his panic attack with just a question, trying to distract him, and it worked. With that in mind, he released one of his hands from the steering wheel and offered it to her.

Seeing her confused expression while looking at his hand, he spoke, "you can calm people by touch, maybe I can do the same for you."

Odessa's face softened from its visibly uncomfortable state as she took him up on his offer, placing her hand in his, squeezing it when she found herself panicking because of the Moon above her.

New book. Page turn.

"Hey, Odie," he came down to her level, crouching to meet her eyes, "you were doing everything you could to help. And hey, we've been right every time something like this has happened, okay? So don't beat yourself up."

"No scent. No bomb," the blonde looked back down to her string clad finger, "and you got in trouble."

Stiles took her hand in his and started to unravel the string as he spoke softly, "okay, look. Barrow was there. All right? You had his scent and he was there. Okay," he kept talking, not noticing the brown eyes that were watching him the entire time, "and look, if you wanted to, I'd go back to that school right now and search all night just to prove it."

When he looked back up, done with the string, she was already looking at him. Neither of them knowing what to say next—who should say something next.

Page turn.

"Maybe you should sit down. Come on," she reached for him, only to have black veins appear when their skin touched. She pulled back with pursed lips, "you're in pain..."

"It's not that bad," he tried to dismiss, "just more like a dull ache."

"Where?"

"Sort of everywhere."

Giving him a nod, she took more control over his stubbornness in sitting down, "come here," she took his hand and brought him next to her on the couch. Odessa took his trembling and freezing cold hands in hers and first focused on taking his pain. When his shoulders deflated, she stopped. She knew she couldn't take all of it away, seeing as it was his whole body. The Stone then focused on one thing she was dreading, calming him down. She hadn't used her Ember abilities in a while, and the last time she used them, they barely worked. Swallowing thickly, she shut her eyes tightly to concentrate on calming him. After a few moments, it looked to be working. His hands were less shaky and his breathing was somewhat back to normal. She did what she could do for now.

Looking up, Odessa noticed a small tear glide down his cheek. She couldn't help herself, bringing her hand up and wiping the tear away gently, "look at me," she whispered, palm still resting on his cheek. The girl didn't speak until she had his full attention. She smiled softly at the hazel eyes that met hers—the eyes she knew, "you're gonna be just fine. I'll make sure of it."

Page turn.

"Stiles," she trailed in a whisper against his t-shirt, letting go of his face to rest them against his chest, "what you just went through was awful and traumatizing and there is nothing more I wanna do right now then to kiss you... but it's not the right time."

Even though he could feel his heart sink to his stomach at her words, he knew she was right, "yeah," he brought his hands to her arms and gave them a squeeze, "yeah, no, you're right. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Odessa looked back up at him to stress, grabbing both of his hands on hers, "Stiles, I've never felt anything like this for anyone—ever. I've never had a life long crush or even," she scoffed, thinking of how pathetic she must sound, almost bringing tears to her eyes, "I wouldn't be able to remember it if I did. Hell, I don't even know my own birthday, Stiles. But I'm confident enough to say that I wanna be around you, all the time," he wiped a small tear that escaped her eye, "seeing you like that, talking about yourself the way you did... it scared the hell outta me. And I realized you're too important to ever let go of."

The Stone wrapped her arms around his waist to stay close to him as Stiles played with her blonde hair soothingly, wanting to calm her tears, "so what do you wanna do?"

"There's so much we still haven't figured out. There's so much we haven't processed," Odessa thought out loud, moving her eyes from his t-shirt to his face, "let's just... be how we always are. Odessa and Stiles—always there for each other. Except this time with better communication and knowing how we feel."

The Stilinski chuckled at her words, bringing her to his chest, "yeah," he kissed the top of her head, "yeah, I can do that."

New book. Page turn.

With her eyes still closed, Odessa could feel her eyes well up with tears at his words. She dug her face into Stiles' neck to try and conceal her sadness, but he caught on right away. With their hands intertwined on her stomach, she whispered faintly for only him to hear, "it's my fault..."

"No," he could only whisper back into her hair, "no, Odie, it's not. I promise you. It's not your fault."

The blonde didn't have the energy to argue back. All she did was sink back into his embrace and let herself sleep, hoping her eyes wouldn't stay shut forever.

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"Nothing," she waved off, giving him a small smile, pulling her sleeves to her palms nervously, "he just wasn't who I needed after all."

"Who did you need?"

"You," that one soft spoken word caused another wave of silence in the hospital room. Odessa pursed her lips, thinking of the folded picture in her pocket, "I just can't believe it, you know? I should've expected it but... they're dead, Stiles. They're gone."

Stiles sighed, feeling devastated for her. The tears were once again prominent in her waterline, causing him to take her in his arms again, "come here," as soon as her head collided with his chest, Odessa's sobs picked up once more.

"I was supposed to have more time," the blonde choked out, the words muffled from her face being buried in the crook of Stiles' neck, "I don't remember them at all, Stiles. I wish I could remember."

"I know," he calmly cooed, rubbing her back. Stiles placed a kiss on her temple before laying his cheek against the top of her head, "I'm so sorry, Odie. I really am. I wish there was something I could do to help."

Hearing his words, Odessa's grip tightened around him, muzzling her face against the fabric of his flannel, "just don't let me go."

Page turn.

Not paying attention to his shocked state, Odessa kept going with her explanation, getting slightly worked up at reliving the event in the process, "he kissed me, and I pushed him off right away because it felt so wrong, you know? I mean, he kissed me. He was my first kiss. And I wanted it to be you and he just had to spring on me that he was in love with me or some bs and—"

"Say that again."

Odessa's rant halted at his request, not understanding what he wanted from her, "what?"

"Say that again," Stiles repeated, her eyes firm and full of drive. He took a step forward, only leaving a few inches of space between them, "say you wanted to save your first kiss for me... again."

He had to kiss her. He needed to.

Odessa felt her heart beat out of her chest wildly as she glanced down at his lips for a moment before locking onto his hazel eyes that were watching her intently, "I wanted to save my first kiss for you, Stiles," she whispered his name, almost like a plea coming from her lips. A plea for him, and him only.

New book. Page turn.

Listening closely to his heart beat, she heard how fast it had gotten since the phone call began. Taking her hand out of his, she placed it on his shoulder instead, trying to avert his attention back to her, "baby..."

Stiles turned out of her grip, his back to her as his breathing became heavier and heavier as the seconds ticked on, "I can't," he almost whispered, holding his chest, "I can't..."

"Okay, okay," Odessa then took control of the situation, not caring if he would react by yelling at her again. She gently took hold of him and sat him down where he was before the phone call that seemed to trigger him, "Stiles, it's the adrenaline. It's gone and your body doesn't know how to react, okay? You need to breathe."

"I can't—"

"Yes, baby, yes, you can. Just listen to my voice, okay? You're okay," the blonde started to come up with an idea as she continued to coo from in front of him, "you're safe. You're with me. I won't let anything happen to you, okay? Can I take your hand," a faint nod was the only answer she needed. She took his wrist in her hand and placed his fingers on the inside of her wrist, letting him feel her steady pulse, "feel my heartbeat, baby. Feel my heartbeat and try to match it, okay? Just breathe."

Odessa stifled a gasp when, instead of listening to her instructions, Stiles took her hand and placed it on his face. His head leaned into her touch as his chest began to slow its rhythm. As his cheek rubbed against her palm, she was careful to not use her Ember abilities. The blonde never liked using her calming powers on those who were experiencing panic attacks, she wanted them to conquer their anxiety naturally on their own. She only used it for a last resort in situations like this.

After a few minutes, Odessa was relieved to observe her boyfriend coming out of his panic attack. Leaning forward in her crouched position in front of him, the blonde brought her forehead to his in relief, "you're okay..."

Stiles sniffled, "oh, God, Odie," he whimpered as his forehead leaned against hers, "what am I gonna do?"

"We'll figure it out. We always do," she reassured before standing up so she was between his legs. Odessa wrapped her arms around his upper body, letting his head rest against her stomach. Her hands gently stroked through his hair as she whispered, "I'm not going anywhere, lovie. It's you and me."

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"You have to promise me that no matter what happens, we will never change," Odessa continued after a while of silence. She reached out for his hands and squeezed them tightly with hers, loving how his big hands enclosed hers completely, "promise me we'll always be good."

Stiles brought their enclosed hands together and pressed them to his lips, kissing her fingers that were in laced with his, "I promise."

As Odessa moved closer to him to press her lips against his, cupping his cheeks, all the doubt and self deprecating thoughts left her mind instantly. At that moment, it was only her and him. Nobody else. Nobody else and a promise sacred to them and them alone.

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"Odessa," Stiles' voice called out in a weak whisper before coming to his senses as she grew further and further away from him, "Odessa... Odie! Please don't leave, okay? We can talk about this," he watched her unlock her car and open the driver's side door, "Odie, can you just... please tell me we're good. Just tell me we're good! Odie, please!"

Page turn.

Stiles felt his heart sink to his stomach at the sight of his girl's eyes fluttering exhaustively. He crouched back down to grab her face, bringing her to look at him, "hey, hey, hey, Odie. You gotta stay awake, okay?"

"I," Odessa only whispered, not having the strength to try and speak fully, "I'm so tired, Stiles."

"I know. I know, baby, I'm so sorry," the Stilinski felt another tear fall as he looked up to his best friend and Deaton, who worriedly watched him talk to her, "but you have to stay awake, okay? We have so much more to do together. We still have to graduate. We still have to find an apartment and get a dog. You still have to travel the world like you always talk to me about. Remember you told me you were going to take a picture of every single thing you saw and send it to me? So you have to stay awake because... because I still have to apologize, pretty girl."

Odessa weakly shook her head, his words echoing in her ears as they motivated her to keep her eyes on him, "you don't have to..."

"Yes, I do," he didn't know he was going to apologize like he wanted to in front of Scott and Deaton while she was barely awake but he was going to anyway, "what I said to you was wrong and unfair. You are the one person in this world who is always there for me no matter what and I took that for granted and I am... so so sorry, baby. I'm so sorry."

Seeing him cry while sputtering the last couple of words had her crying with him. Odessa slowly reached her IV plucked hand to wipe his tears softly, giving him a small nod while her own tears washed over her face, "we're good, lovie. We're good."

Page turn.

"I love you," hesitatingly, Odessa slowly looked up to see hazel eyes belonging to a boy who stole her heart from the moment they met. Those hazel eyes who had a habit of simply watching her, much like they were doing at that moment, "I love you, so much. I've loved you for so long and I don't think I'll ever stop. You are, by far, the best thing that's ever happened to me and it's okay if you don't—"

Soft hands cupped her cheeks, interrupting her tearful rambling as lips placed themselves onto hers. Odessa instantly wanted to latch onto him somehow, touch him in any way, but still had a hold on the small box so she made sure to stand on her tip-toes to add more pressure to the kiss before they pulled away, pressing their foreheads on each other like they always did. It was a way to not let go of each other in a sense.

"I love you, too."

Odessa opened her eyes at his whispered declaration, she barely heard him say it. She almost felt like she was hallucinating, "you... you do?"

"Of course I do," Stiles could almost laugh at how surprised she sounded, but refrained, keeping his eyes on her, observing every speck of skin on her perfect face, "how could I not love you, pretty girl? You are the kindest, bravest, most amazing person I've ever met. I've loved you since you helped me through my panic attack in the locker room. I've loved you since you took care of me at the hospital and how you stood by my side after everything with Void. I've loved you since you opened up to me about your parents and who you are. I've loved you since you finally became my girlfriend. I've loved you since you walked away from me in the rain. I've loved you since I saw you in the Animal Clinic, fighting for your life. I've loved you since you regained your strength and came back ten times stronger than before. And I've loved you since now. Looking down at you, tear-stained cheeks and all, I love you."

Odessa was speechless. Something she wasn't experienced in being. But he did it. He altered her completely speechless. But she knew what she wanted to say and nothing was going to get in her way this time. Silently, she carefully placed the small box on his desk before going back over to him. Eyes now dry and cheeks still a bit flushed, she leaned closer to his lips and whispered into them, "I'm ready."

Not expecting that, Stiles leaned back by only an inch, furrowing his brow, "are you sure?"

"Yes," she gave him the answer he had been wanting—waiting for. It wasn't an I think so or maybe. It was, "Stiles, I'm ready. I want you."

The Stilinski exhaled shakily, running slightly trembling hands down to her sides, "we go at your pace and whenever you want to stop, you tell me. Okay? Promise me you'll tell me when you want to stop. We won't do anything you're not comfortable with."

Her heart swelled with love, his words making her heart ache, "I promise. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Before Odessa could process everything and reach for a new book, her entire arm started to be encased with icy frost, causing her to gasp at the sensation. As more of her body began to freeze, outside of her mind was a different story. The blonde gasped for air inside the freezer, placing a strong hand on the glass in front of her, alerting her friends right away.

White beams started coming out of the ceiling. Odessa was doing it. The rift was starting to evolve. The machine started blaring loudly, prompting her friends to unlock the door and pull her out.

Odessa gasped her air, collapsing into Scott's arms, teeth chattering and eyes blurring every second. She didn't know what exactly happened, but something did. It was working. Unsteady on her feet, she was helped to a nearby stool by Scott while Malia gave her her jacket, placing it on her shoulders to help get the blonde warm. Or at least start the warming process.

Rubbing Odessa's arms, Scott looked to the side when hearing sounds coming from the freezer, finding Lydia at the source, "what are you doing?"

"It's too dangerous," the strawberry blonde declared once she turned all of the freezer's controls to zero, putting her foot down, "we're not going to save anything by freezing you guys to death."

"But it was working, wasn't it," Odessa looked up to Scott for confirmation, yet Lydia answered.

"There was a light and a strange noise. No Stiles."

Scott shook his head, refusing to give up, "but I remember him now. I can see him in my head. He's more real now than he's ever been. If we can bring Stiles back, we can bring everyone back."

"There's a huge difference in being a vivid memory and an actual corporeal human being," Lydia argued, tone firm.

"I know," the Alpha nodded, eyes pleading, glancing down at the blonde leaning against his chest for support for a moment, "which is why I think Odie should go again."

Lydia instantly denied the idea, "she won't last another two minutes in there."

"Then think of something else. It's all about the connection," he gestured between himself and Odessa, "when I was remembering him, I was also remembering Odie and Stiles together. I don't think anyone had a connection like you guys."

Odessa placed a cold hand on his own that rested on her shoulder, "I'm not doing it without you. We're remembering him completely. Together," she shifted her gaze to her best friend, pleading, "we have to try, Lydia."

"Then we have to do it the old-fashioned way. We're going to have to actually hypnotize you two."

The four teens wasted no time in searching around the room for anything useful in their plan for hypnosis. While Odessa, Malia and Scott salvaged through the bunker to try and find things to use, Lydia grabbed a notepad and a nearby pencil and started to write something.

"My mother had a hypnotist who helped her quit smoking," the Martin shared casually, continuing her writing with her back turned to the three, "she had me see the same one when I was 10."

Scott paused his search through one of the abandoned cabinet drawers, "you smoked when you were 10?"

"No. I bit my fingernails," Lydia scoffed, giving him an incredulous glance, "just find a lighter or a candle, please."

After finding exactly that only a moment later, Lydia placed the flaming candle on the table while Odessa and Scott sat next to each other with the other two girls standing in front of them on the other side of the table.

"What's that?"

"An induction script," Lydia answered Scott after he nodded toward the writing on the paper she held, "I'm going to talk you through this. You guys ready?"

The two werewolves glanced at each other before simultaneously connecting their hands together on top of the table before nodding to their friend to start. If they were getting Stiles back, they were doing it together. Because Odessa and Scott knew there were so many memories that still needed to come to light.

"Take a deep breath and look at the candle," the strawberry blonde started, pausing to watch her friends follow her instructions before continuing, "feel the muscles in your body begin to relax. Your hands relaxing. Your eyelids relaxing. As you relax, imagine you're sitting in front of a TV."

Scott and Odessa opened their eyes, expecting to see the bunker and their friends, but instead found themselves in a dark, empty classroom with a TV in front of the chalkboard. They looked around, startled at the sudden change of scenery. The Stone jumped in her seat when Lydia's voice echoed through the room.

"When you turn the TV on, it's going to play memories from your lives. The remote gives you total control. You can play any memory you want. All you have to do is hit the button."

Seeing a remote appear on her desk, Odessa picked it up, sending Scott a nervous glance, to which he nodded to her assuringly. It looked like she would be the one to control the TV. No pressure there.

Clicking the power button to turn to TV on, the memory started playing instantly.

"So, let me get this straight," her eyes snapped up to meet Stiles' as he spoke, "you were told by someone, who you don't remember, to come to Beacon Hills so that Scott could teach you how to control your... werewolfiness. But you don't know where you came from or who sent you?"

Odessa nodded shortly, "yes."

"You really don't know where you came from?"

"I-I have this branding on my wrist," she answered Scott, bringing out her wrist. The boys moved closer to look at the mark to see two circles, almost like a bullseye target with a line going through on the inner part of her wrist, "you would think it would heal—but it never did. I don't know what it means but I have a feeling I got it from where I came from."

Seeing her nervous expression and the tremble in her voice, Scott sat next to her to make her more comfortable, "what's the last thing you can remember?"

"Running," the blonde answered as she played with her hands, "so much running. I finally fell asleep when the sun came up and woke up after hearing these voices in my head."

Stiles and Scott locked eyes as the former spoke, "what did they say?"

"Your name," she looked up to Scott, "and Beacon Hills. And someone saying 'you got this, Odessa Stone.' Then I woke up," she sighed at their silence, "look, I know how this must look—"

"A complete stranger with no memory but Scott's name? No. Not weird at all."

"Stiles," Scott warned his best friend, his eyes firm but softened when he spoke to the blonde, "do you remember any plans on where you were supposed to stay?"

Her eyes teared slightly at the idea of being all alone. Hating how her emotions were betraying her, she wiped her eyes fiercely, "no. No, I-I don't know."

"It's okay," Scott consoled. His best friend watched with untrusting eyes, but softened when he saw the girl crumble her tough appearance. The Beta didn't think twice to continue, "you can stay with me."

"Scott—"

"I can't let you do that for me," Odessa spoke over Stiles.

Scott nodded, "you came to me to teach you control. I can't let someone I'm teaching sleep on the street. You can take the guest room next door."

The TV started to play memory after memory with each press of the 'forward' button. Button press, new memory.

"Scott," Stiles called to his best friend calmly, catching his attention, "Scott, don't do this. Don't go with him."

"I don't know what else to do."

"Scott, you know if we just stick together, we can find another way to get them back," Odessa tried to reassure with the smallest of smiles. She was nervously watching her friend, she had never seen him at such a loss.

Stiles nodded in agreement as he stammered for something else to say, "we always—we always have a plan B."

The Beta looked back at his friends, and scoffed tearfully, "not this time."

"Scott..."

"I'm gonna find your Dad," Scott nodded before looking over to his blonde friend, "and I'm gonna find Mom. I promise."

Odessa placed a hand on Stiles' arm as he continued to call for his best friend, who kept his back to them, following Deucalion. With glassy eyes and shaky breaths, the two teens looked at each other anxiously. They knew they needed to have a plan B, even if that included or didn't include Scott by their side.

"Try to find a memory of Stiles," Lydia's voice continued to echo, "a memory where you felt a connection with him. Find another memory. Keep looking for Stiles. Find another memory."

Button press. New memory.

"I have a pretty stupid question that I know you guys are going to judge me for," Odessa rushed in speaking while sitting in front of Scott and Stiles during lunch one day, "what's a virgin?"

Stiles spat out his water in utter surprise, careful to not spray it all over the table, moving his head to the side so the water fell to the ground while Scott just sat there with a slack jaw and widened eyes.

The two boys completely took out of account that Odessa had no idea what anything meant, including the idea of virgin sacrifices and virgins in general. Glancing at each other, the boys knew they had their work cut out for them.

Button press. New memory.

Odessa rushed to the stove, pushing Scott and Stiles away from the pot filled with tomato-y goodness, "stop, stop, stop. You're making a mess! Out of my kitchen, both of you!"

That was what she got for trying to teach two goofballs how to cook.

Button press. New memory.

Odessa and Stiles cautiously left the former's room, glancing around the hallway for any sign of Scott. They knew as soon as he saw them, he would know exactly what they did yesterday. They just didn't know if they wanted to face him yet.

"No. Freaking. Way," the couple whirled around to see Scott looking at them with wide eyes, "you guys had sex?!"

Curse his advanced werewolf smell.

Button press. New memory.

"I swear to God, Scott," she hissed, coming into his room. She ignored the two boy's panicked expressions as she traveled into his bathroom, "if you take my body wash one more time, I'm gonna," Odessa stopped short at the sight in front of her once she pulled back the shower curtain. The last thing she thought she'd see would be a familiar freshman laying in the tub with duct tape restraints all over him. She pulled the curtain back to cover the boy, ignoring his muffled protests and shouted, "Scott McCall! What the hell did you do?!"

Odessa could hear quick footsteps coming toward the bathroom. She turned around to face a very frightened Scott and Stiles, staring at her wide eyed at her outburst.

"Odie," Scott started slowly, "I can explain..."

Without warning, the Stone made her way to them to go back into the boy's room, prompting the boys to move back to get out of her way, "I damn well hope so. Because to me, it looks like you kidnapped a freshman. The same freshman who broke his leg because of you not even 6 hours ago!"

"I panicked!"

"Why would you panic," Odessa furrowed her brow, before coming to a realization, "no you didn't. Please tell me you didn't do what I think you did."

"What do you think I did?"

"... Did you bite him?"

"I won't tell you what I did then."

"Scott," the blonde exclaimed, running a hand through her hair, "so you bit him, kidnapped him and brought him here?"

"I panicked!"

Odessa could've sworn she felt her left eye twitch, "get that boy out of the tub. Right now."

Button press. New memory.

Her rasped answer concerned him immensely simply because he didn't know what she meant, "I'm here, pretty girl. I'm not going anywhere, I promise."

"You," Odessa swallowed thickly, eyes droopy but she made sure they were on his figure, "you told me to come back to you... so I did."

The Stilinski felt tears start to pool, and even though he didn't know what she was talking about, he still nodded, pressing a kiss on her forehead, "you did, baby. I'm so proud of you."

Even in her weak state, she specifically remembered two voices calling out to Deaton, "where's... where's Scott?"

"He's here," she watched Stiles glance up to someone she assumed was Scott and motioned for him to come over to stand next to him.

Scott McCall crouched down next to his best friend and tried to hold back his own tears at seeing his sister in the condition she was in, "hi, Odie."

"You're—you're okay," the blonde sobbed, her body twitching uncomfortably with each sob, doubling the pains she felt in her stomach.

"I'm okay," the Alpha repeated, knowing the last time they saw each other, he was detrimentally injured. He had Deaton's instructions in his mind when he asked, "can you tell us what happened?"

Odessa looked between the two boys with blurry vision, only really seeing some features of their faces, "they... they did something to me," she started, tears rolling down from her eyes that were instantly wiped away by Stiles, his thumb catching them. Because her head was resting on its side so she could look at them, her tears were sliding down the side of her face uncomfortably, "they gave me back my memories. I—I don't know why but they did."

The two boys glanced at each other in shock, not expecting that of all things to happen with the Dread Doctors and their experiments. Through his shock and confusion, Stiles kept his gentle tone and touch, "are you sure?"

Odessa only nodded, "I remember everything."

Before the Stone could press the button again, her own body stopped her from doing so. Dropping the remote from her hand, she whispered, "that's when it happened."

Gasping awake from the trance, Odessa opened her eyes to see all three of her friends staring at her as tears welled in her eyes, matching Scott's watery ones. The two glanced at each other knowingly after what they had just seen.

"When what happened," Lydia asked but didn't receive an answer right away, watching the blonde gaze back into the candle, "Odie, what do you mean? When what happened?"

Chin quivering, nose burning, Odessa trembled in answering, "when I escaped the Dread Doctors... and he was there. When I came back to him... that's when it all changed. That's when I knew I loved him," she gasped when his voice echoed in her head, tears flowing and voice breaking, "I saw him. I was there. I was the last person to see him."

"Where," Scott placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning closer to her, "when did you see him?"

"The Ghost Riders, they... when they took him..."

With a heavy heart, Stiles took his key out of the ignition, uttering out, "there's no time," as soon as their eyes locked, he put down the keys and grabbed her cheek, making sure she was hearing his every word, "Odie, baby, I'm going to be erased, okay? Just like Alex. You're gonna forget me."

She didn't know who Alex was but didn't dwell on it. Odessa shook her head, feeling tears start to drop from her eyes, "I won't. No, I won't. I-I can't."

"Baby, you will," he swiped his thumb across her cheek to catch her tears, "just try to remember some way to remember me, okay? Remember how we were each other's firsts? Or how you were the first girl I ever truly loved? Remember how you saved my life?"

Odessa choked a sob, running fingers through his hair, "oh, baby, you saved my life, too. So many times."

Knowing their time with each other was about to end, Stiles brought her hands tightly into his, "just remember... remember I love you."

"No, please," Odessa dropped her forehead into their enclosed hands devastatingly, "please don't leave me. I love you. Please."

"I—"

It all happened in a flash.

One moment, Odessa Stone was with the love of her life, hands enlaced with his. The next moment, she was watching him leave her, a force ripping them apart. The blonde screamed in protest, trying to reach for him before he was gone completely. The door to the Jeep glammed shut. Her memory of him: gone.

The air in the room started to pick up, causing goosebumps to rise on Odessa's exposed arms, "then he was gone..."

A bright green light conquered the room, making all four teens squint their eyes and shield them from the brightness. Suddenly, everything started to shake. The items on the table rattled, the weaponry on the walls started to rumble, items on the shelves started to fall to the ground.

While glancing around, Odessa's eyes locked at the small flicker of light shining from the other side of the door they entered from a while ago. Getting up from her seat, she heard her friends follow her and she carefully opened the door, pushing it open only to be bombarded with a bright, white light coming from some kind of tunnel. She knew what it was. The rift was open once more.

Eyes not wavering from the rift, no matter how blaring the light was to her hues, Odessa stifled a gasp when a faint figure slowly appeared through the light. His face was not visible, only his figure. Odessa couldn't believe what she was seeing. Could it actually be him?

"Stiles?"

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one chapter + epilogue left.
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