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Song:

~ Dust // Hans Zimmer (Interstellar Soundtrack)

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content warning: Mentions of suicide, family member death.

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Charlie practically drags her feet behind the two girls who lead the way to the room, huffing slightly as Coach Finstock disappears out of sight. The unease still rolls in her gut even as she ascends the stairs, hands shoved in the pockets of her hoodie. The cold air blows against her skin, and if she was human she would probably be shivering in response.

She follows the teens further through the complex and then into the old room, which does not dissuade her concern at all. The two single beds sitting in the middle were practically the only thing there except a lone chair in the corner. Charlie stops in the door, a hand resting on her bag as she shifts a little on her feet. 

Both of the girls had exchanged a look and were now staring at her, causing Charlie's jaw to tighten. "I'll sleep on the floor," she states after a beat, moving toward the chair in the corner of the room and sitting down heavily. The girl pulls out her phone to text her godfather quickly before taking a breath and looking up. "Okay, whatever," she sighs before standing back up again. "We haven't met properly so I'm Charlie, Deaton's goddaughter." 

They exchange a look again, Lydia raising a brow at her friend before she steps forward. "Lydia," she reaches out a hand for her to shake. "And this is Allison," her lips purse a little before she tilts her head. "Impressive work with Scott, I didn't know werewolves were able to heal others," she notes. She assumes the girl was filled in by the huntress on the bus. 

"Thanks, but I'm not a werewolf," she smirks a little, pulling back her hand and shoving it into her hoodie. The strawberry blonde blinks in surprise, eyes flicking over her features. "Something else, like you I'm betting," Charlie comments, feeling the awareness tug at her mind at the proximity of the girl. 

Lydia looked even more shocked, turning to look at Allison who smiles a little, recalling their previous conversation. "Something else," she then nods. There a few seconds of silence before Allison walks forward. 

"What you did with Scott," the huntress breaks in, both of them turning towards her slightly. "You don't even know him, but you healed him, so thank you," she makes eye contact with Charlie who now looks uncomfortable, shrugging a little. 

"Isaac persuaded me," she answers after a few seconds, jaw tightening. She should not have healed the werewolf, bad idea. Being nice leads to talking, which leads to personal questions, a big no. "He-" she is then cut off by her phone ringing, the girl frowning a little. She fishes it out of her pocket, eyes flicking over the screen. "Actually, it's my godfather, I should probably answer," Charlie states, both of the girls nodding and she goes outside into the cold air. 

It's not a long chat, just a few minutes of discussion on where they were staying and why, Deaton letting out a 'hm' at the name of the motel. Nothing to suggest anything truly bad but enough to set her on edge a little, adding to her previous uneasiness. 

Charlie ends the call just as she hears the door behind her close, turning to see Lydia walking out with two towels in her arms. "I'm going to swap these towels at reception, do you want to come?" 

The girl shrugs before nodding, nose wrinkling at the smoke that lingered on them. "Sure, I was thinking of finding a vending machine or something anyway," she states and they move to walk down through the halls and down the stairs to reception. They both walk up to the front desk, which was unsurprisingly empty. Charlie frowns a little, eyes flicking around the office before she looks down the hallways, spotting the glow of a vending machine around the corner. 

"Hey, I'm just gonna go grab something while you wait," she motions toward it and at Lydia's nod, she makes her way toward it. Charlie tries to shrug off the bad feeling in the air and is so preoccupied that she doesn't hear the second set of footsteps coming from around the corner. She ends up walking right into someone, eyes going wide as she stumbles a little, shoulder checking them. 

Charlie then blinks once at the sight of Stiles, arms full of snacks with a frown on his face and can barely contain her eye roll. Why does this guy keep turning up everywhere? "Sorry," she grits out before making her way to the vending machine without a second glance despite feeling the boy's gaze still on her. 

She stops in front of the vending machine, frowning again at the sight of the shattered glass, a third of the candy and chips gone. Charlie then moves to grab a pack of assorted candy, pausing before turning her head to see Stiles still staring at her. This time she does roll her eyes, a groan reverberating in the back of her throat. "What are you staring at me for?" The girl's voice is laced with annoyance and anger, eyes slightly narrowed. 

"N-nothing," Stiles keeps a brave face before turning to walk back towards his room. Charlie, never the one to let something slide, shoves the candy in her pocket before heading towards him. She then uses a hand to grip his shoulder tightly, effectively stopping him in his tracks but also practically sending his back into the concrete wall. 

"I helped your friend, he's healed thanks to me," she begins, gaze steady as Stiles averts his away, heart rate increasing. "And despite that, you're still paranoid about me or whatever, so can you just do it a little bit more subtly because honestly, it's pissing me off," Charlie grits out, expression flat and the boy tries to move backwards a little until he realizes he's basically trapped. Against a wall. And there's an attractive girl in front of him. Who is scary as shit and probably evil, but an attractive girl nevertheless. 

His brain short circuits for a second and whether is from panic or something else, Stiles can't tell. But he can't seem to reply, mouth opening but no usual sarcastic quip coming out. 

Charlie pauses for a second before drawing back. He was a fragile human, and she probably just scared the shit out of him. Great. She then actually steps backward, releasing the boy who lets out a breath, eyes wide. The girl then averts her gaze a little, jaw tight. "Sorry," she apologizes again, and Stiles nods a little, still shocked. "I don't love being accused of doing something that I clearly have not done," Charlie replies tightly before quickly walking back to reception, boots hitting the concrete heavily. 

She walks back up to Lydia who was frowning a little, arms full with new towels but her head turning back to reception. Charlie notices but doesn't say anything, both of them walking back in silence. 

Allison was was still in the bathroom when they get back, the girl knocking the door of the bathroom to hand it to her. There are a few minutes of silence until the huntress emerges, frowning a little at Lydia who still had the same expression on her face and was staring at the ground. "Lydia? Are you okay?" At the question the girl looks up, letting out a sigh. 

"At the reception," she begins, voice a little weak. "There was a set of numbers on the wall and the owner...she told me its the number of suicides they've had, one hundred and ninety-eight," it comes out as a whisper. "What motel commemorates that with a framed number on the wall?" She then paces a little, both of the girls standing up to move toward her. 

"All suicides?"

"Yes, all-" she suddenly cuts herself off, breath catching in her throat. Lydia's eyes are wide, shoulders locked as she stares straight ahead. Charlie then begins to frown as well, feeling a chill run over her as she feels her abilities heighten. 

"Which...which one do you want?" A man's quiet voice bleeds into the room, both of the girls straightening up involuntarily. Charlie's nails dig into her palms because she knows exactly what's going on. 

"D-did you hear that?" Lydia's voice drops to a whisper again, fear building in her chest at the words. 

"Hear what?" Allison frowns at her friend who was slowly walking forward towards the other side of the room.

"It's not just you," Charlie replies quietly, voice a change from its usual sarcastic drawl, more serious. Lydia turns around at this, wide eyes locked on her. She then faces the wall again as more of the conversation comes through. 

"I don't know...the smaller one I guess?" A different voice asks, a woman. 

It's okay, smaller's better. There's less kick," the original voice replies after a few seconds of hesitation, tone wavering a little. It's at that point that both of the girls realize what was going on, Lydia smothering a gasp as she moves to step onto the bed. It gets her closer to the grate that the conversation was coming from, Charlie walking up a few steps as well.

"I'll chamber the round. All right so-" he begins but is cut off by his partner's exclamation.

"Wait, wait. When do I...I mean, do you want to count?" The woman asks after releasing a breath. Lydia turns around at this to look at Charlie, horror coating her features. 

"Yeah, yeah I'll-I'll count to three," the man replies, voice a little hesitant. 

"So after three or on three?"

"You tell me," he answers after a few seconds. 

"Lydia? Charlie?" Allison questions, wide eyes flicking between the two as they both begin to get progressively more worried. "What's going on?"

Lydia's chest begins to rise and fall faster, the girl blinking rapidly at the situation that she was hearing. Her hands were shaking as she moves one to touch the grate lightly, head tilted. 

"One, two and then pull the trigger," the woman replies and there's a gap between the conversation for another couple of seconds.

I love you," the man's voice almost echoes through the room. 

Charlie takes in a tight breath and while she wasn't hyperventilating, there was still pressure in her chest, anxiety. A hand reaches up to run through her hair, the girl blinking a few times. She had experienced these things before, sure, but never at this level. Never this situation.

I love you too," she replies shakily. 

"One, two-" twin gunshots cause Lydia to physically recoil from the wall, gasping wildly. Charlie just tenses, expression stony as she reigns in the panic, jaw tight. 

"What is it? What happened?" Allison questions after a beat, frowning even more as the Lydia stares at her with a confused look.

"You didn't hear that?" Lydia asks breathlessly, gaze flicking from her friend to Charlie who was about to interrupt with an explanation.

"Hear what?"

"The two people in the other room, they shot each other," Lydia rushes out before quickly leaving the room without waiting for a reply. 

"Lydia, wait!" The movement snaps Charlie out of it, the girl heading out after her. She's not about to explain, to get the words out before Lydia practically breaks down the door and runs in. 

"I-I don't understand," she stops in her tracks at the sight of the empty room, the entirety of it under renovation. "T-there was a guy and a girl, they sounded younger but they were here," Lydia takes in a trembling breath, wide eyes flicking over the room.

"I believe you, after everything we've been through, I believe you," Allison comforts from behind the pair, hand resting on the girl's shoulder. 

Charlie then shifts in her place, arms crossed. "They were," she replies, voice quieter. The two girls turn around at this, Lydia frowning. "They were here, and they were both supernatural," she swallows once, lips pressed together into a thin line. "It's why I could hear them."

"Were?" The strawberry blonde catches onto the past tense statement, head tilting. "What do you mean were?"

"Those two people, they died here a while ago," she answers slowly. "Maybe even weeks," Charlie gaze breaks from the girl and flicks over the room before returning. "You were hearing two people die in the past."

After this, the trio walks back to their original room, both of the girls turning around to face Charlie who frowns a little, eyes flicking between the two. "How did you know so much about what I heard? What does that even mean?" Lydia was on the offensive, frustrated and scared about what she had heard. 

"I know it because it's been happening to me since I was twelve," she begins, teeth clenched. "For me, the situation is different but I'll hear conversations or feel things related to people that are supernatural," Charlie takes a breath, blinking a few times. "I've never heard anything like that though..."

Lydia relaxes a bit at her explanation but still looks worried. "So it's normal then? I'm not going crazy?" it was still a fear for her after last year, thinking she had gone insane.

The girl shakes her head, trying to give her a comforting look. "It's to do with what you are," she replies and Lydia releases a breath before straightening up. 

"We should still get out of here though, I can't be here all night," the strawberry blonde then replies before walking to her bag and putting things in. 

"Okay, my dad said he could pick us up, I'll call him now," Allison goes to grab her phone and opens the door to ring him. She then jumps a little at the sight of Stiles at the front door, hand raised to knock. "Stiles, what are you doing here?" 

The boy barges into the room, gaze flicking between the three quickly before he shifts nervously. "Is it just me or are all of the werewolves acting strange?" He states with a heavy breath, hand moving up to bite his nail a little. "Scott, he was weird."

"He came into the bathroom," Allison releases a breath, all of them looking at her shocked. "It was when you both were getting towels and I was in the shower. The last time I saw him acting this weird was..."

"The full moon," Stiles finishes with a shake of his head. "It was definitely a full-moon weird with me too, but it was Boyd who was also really off. I watched him put his fist through the vending machine."

"Maybe he didn't have any change?" Charlie shrugs, hands shoved back into the pockets of her hoodie. 

"It's definitely the motel, Boyd's not like that," Lydia releases a tense breath before turning. "We need to get out of here or someone needs to learn how to perform an exorcism fast before the werewolves go crazy and kill us!" She picks up the Bible in the drawer, holding it up. "And these suicides...one hundred and eighty-nine. Something's not right."

"Wait, did you just say one hundred and eighty-nine?" Stiles frowns wildly, walking up the girl who nods a few times. "I just came back from reception and the number on the wall was two hundred and one," his breath catches. "The lady told me that was the number of suicides..."

"It's gone up then," Lydia's breath shakes as she gasps a little. "The number's gone up."

"Wait, wait, wait-" Stiles raises a hand, mind racing as he looks down at the ground. The girls all exchange a look, waiting. "What if it's not just the motel. It's gone up by three. Three werewolves."

"Scott, Isacc, and Boyd," Allison makes the leap, frowning. 

"Maybe we were meant to come here," the inflection in his tone is obvious, this was something to do with the Darach. With the sacrifices. 

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why isn't charlie wearing her classic leather jacket?? is it because it reminds her too much of derek bc she thinks he's dead? possibly 

also we know ur kinks stiles, don't hide it.