Claudia smiled down at Stiles. Her caramel brown eyes were bright and full of life, and her dark hair cascaded down her shoulders. She was wearing a flannel over a black tank top, and was holding a vanilla ice cream cone. She looked so young and full of life, Stiles couldn't believe it. It was the woman who sang him lullabies when he was a young boy. It was the woman whom he shared popcorn with as he watched Star Wars for the first time. It was his mother.

Tears welled in Stiles' eyes. "Mom?"

Claudia smiled, and squatted down. Stiles' eyebrows creased in confusion. But, he then looked down, and saw a young boy. He had a shaved head and was smiling as he licked an ice cream cone. He couldn't have been more than six years old. It took Stiles' a few moments to realize that the young boy was him, and he was reliving one of his happiest memories as a young boy.

She placed a hand on young Stiles' shoulder. "Are you excited?"

Young Stiles nodded excitedly, and took another lick of ice cream. Teenage Stiles' smiled to himself. He remembered this day. His father was away on a trip with his friends, so Claudia decided to surprise Stiles with a trip to Disneyland.

Claudia stood up, placing a hand on young Stiles' back. She walked with him, slowly leading him towards the car. Teenage Stiles' eyes didn't leave her for a second. He took in all the details of her. Her eyes. Her smile. How she always used to wear plaid.

Stiles chuckled to himself. I probably got my fashion sense from her.

Then, he heard her call his name. "Stiles."

Stiles whipped around, looking for the source of the sound. He would recognize his mother's voice anywhere, but it didn't come from the woman ushering her son into the car. It seemed to come from every angle. 

"Stiles?"

Her voice boomed in ears. It was loud - just like the lights breaking inside of Eichen House. His hands went up to his ears, trying to block out the sound of his mother's voice. It was something he never thought he would do, but he tried his hardest to keep his mother out.

"This isn't real," Stiles whispered, as he heard his name being called again. "This isn't real."

"Stiles?!"

This time, it wasn't his mother. The voice was high-pitched, sweet, and full of worry and angst. Stiles would recognize that voice anywhere.

"Lydia?" He whispered to himself.

"Stiles?!"

Stiles' eyes fluttered open. The first thing he noticed were the spiderwebs covering his skin. They covered his hands, ears, and parts of his face. The second thing he noticed was Lydia hovering over him, her strawberry blonde hair brushing his cheek. He looked into her big, green eyes, and was immediately filled with worry, panic, and fear. Lydia's eyes were full of the upmost worry. All the events came flashing back - Valack, the lights breaking, the Dread Doctors coming into Eichen.

Stiles shot up, grasping onto Lydia's shoulder for support. Lydia let her hair fall freely and brush against his face as she held onto him. "Hey, hey, hey. Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Stiles said, brushing off the booming pain in his head and loud buzzing in his ears. There were more important things to focus on. Stiles shifted positions, attempting to stand up, but Lydia pushed him back down. "No, Stiles. You're not." Her eyes looked his body up and down. "What the hell happened out there?"

Lydia swept her hand across his face, brushing off spiderwebs. "What's up with these spiderwebs?"

Shit. Shit. Shit. That one word popped up in his head over and over again. I can't let her know. She can't find out about my powers. He wracked his brain for any sort of lie or alibi to get him out of this situation. Yet, at the same time, he didn't want to lie to Lydia. She was one of his closest friends! He couldn't lie to her.

So Stiles decided to tell her to honest truth. "I have no fucking idea."

"Stiles..." Lydia trailed off, her voice low and quiet. Then, she grabbed his hands, and pressed her forehead against his hands, with a stressful sigh. "You know what. We can talk about this later. There are bigger issues at hand."

She helped pull him up, making sure he was steady. For a split second, Stiles wondered what the bigger issues were. Then, Valack's word flashed back into his mind: "They're here. And you let them in."

Stiles looked at Lydia, his eyes full of panic. "They're here," he whispered. "The Dread Doctors. Oh my god, Lydia, how are we gonna fix this?"

Lydia let go of Stiles, looking at him with worry etched onto her face. "We can't... We can't fix this. We just have to hide and hope they don't find us." Lydia's eyes scanned the room. "That's why we're here."

Stiles hadn't noticed the sudden change in scenery. They were in a dark, cold room. All the lights had broken, leaving shattered bits of glass all around them. The walls were dark gray, and there were fold-up tables lined up against the walls. It was a simple room. Hopefully the Dread Doctors would pass it by.

Stiles nodded quickly. "O-okay. Alright. Let's just stay here..." Scott popped into his head. "Wait!" He said suddenly, placing his hands on Lydia's shoulders. "What happened to Scott? And Kira? And Isaac?"

Lydia shrugged. "I don't know. I don't know!" Lydia absentmindedly chipped her nail polish, staring at the broken shards of glass on the ground. "I heard Scott scream when you passed out. Isaac yelled, 'No!' Kira kept groaning. I don't know what happened." Lydia wrung her hands together, tears of worry dampening her eyes. "I don't want to know."

Stiles felt a pang of worry in his heart. He had heard the screams as well. What had happened to his friends? Were they okay? Did the Dread Doctors get them? A million questions went through his mind. He wanted to run out and look for Scott and the others, but he knew he had to stay here with Lydia.

"I would've gone after them... But I couldn't just leave you there," Lydia said, her voice quiet and shaky.

Stiles gave her a forced half-smile. "Thank you, Lydia." He brushed his thumb across her cheek, ignoring the spiderwebs across his fingertips. "Hey. It's not your fault. I'm sure they're okay, Lydia." He chuckled. "They know how to survive. They have claws! The Dread Doctors will be regretting everything once they try to hurt them... Trust me."

This was it. This was the perfect moment for Stiles to grab Lydia's face and kiss her with every piece of love left in his body. It was the perfect time, and part of Stiles, deep down, wanted to, but there were many things holding him back. First off, there was the fact that he would be cheating on Malia. He just couldn't do that to her. The second thing was the fact that they were in a mental instution. But, the thing that held him back the most was the sound of the Dread Doctors.

Stiles looked over at the door in panic. Should I use my powers to try and fight them? Would that be a stupid idea? It only took him half a second and common sense to realize the answer was no. A million thoughts raced through his head. He and Lydia were the only people in the pack who haven't faced the Dread Doctors. He had no idea what to do. But, one thought stuck in his head: Protect Lydia.

He pulled her back into the corner of the room, securing an arm around her. "Stiles -," she whispered, but Stiles cut her off. "Shhh," he whispered, squeezing her arm gently.

Lydia nodded against his chest, wrapping her hand around his arm. Stiles felt shivers run down his spine. He wasn't sure whether it was from her touch, or from the sound of the Dread Doctors' heavy footsteps. It wasn't as loud as he had expected it to be, but it was still amplified. He could hear their footsteps banging against the floor.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Their footsteps kept getting louder as they creepy closer. Lydia stiffened against his body. He gently squeezed her arm in an act of comfort, for both him and her.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sound of the Dread Doctors' footsteps filled Stiles' ears. Thump. Thump. Thump. It was all he could hear, next to the sound of Lydia's breathing. The sound was loud and booming, and with every thump it felt like someone was hitting his temple with a metal stick.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Stiles' held Lydia tighter. He wanted to bring his hands up to his ears and block out the sound, but he was too afraid to let go of Lydia. Please, he silently prayed, to no God in particular. Please, make it stop. Make it all stop.

Stiles had never been religious, but praying seemed like his last hope. Sure, he'd been in situations much wore than this, but at least he knew what he was then. Now, he had no idea who or what he was anymore. The only thing he knew is that he so desperately wanted to cry until all the sound simmered out.

Thump. Thump. Thump.

Though the sounds of their footsteps were still loud, he could hear them getting fainter and fainter. He could tell when they were right outside the door - for it made blood dribble out of his ear - but now he could tell they were getting farther away.

After a few minutes of silence, their footsteps simply sounded like a dog's paw pitter pattering on the floor. Stiles let out a shaky breath, and loosened his grip on Lydia. We're okay, he thought to himself. We're okay.

Lydia leaned her head back, resting it on Stiles' collarbone. In a low whisper, she asked, "Do you think we're safe?"

Stiles nodded, releasing Lydia. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Yeah, I think we are."

Lydia took a deep breath, her head still rested against his chest. Then, she turned to him, one hand on her hip. "Good," she whispered. "Now we'll find Scott, Kira, and Isaac." Her eyes roamed over Stiles' body, lingering on the spiderwebs still clung to his skin. "Then we'll talk about what's going on with you."

---

Two updates in two days! It's a little treat for you guys, since I won't be able to update for a few weeks. I hope you liked this chapter!

Thank you to everyone who has been giving me support!!! I love reading all your comments, you guys are the best and inspiring me to keep writing :)

Also, 3.2K?? Whaaaaattt?? My reads have been spiking like crazy recently!!! Thank you guys!

- Holli