CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE:
RISK AND REWARD

ELAINE WALKED INTO THE HOSPITAL, a bag of food in her hand as she looked around. Scott and Stiles had went off to a party, and Lydia and Allison were trying to figure something out about a mark that had been placed on both of their wrists. Meanwhile, Elaine decided to bring her mother some food and eat with her. Melissa walked towards the front desk when she saw Elaine, giving her a questioning look before Elaine held up the bag of food.

They sat down in the cafeteria, pulling out the Chinese food and starting to eat in a comfortable silence. Melissa glanced at her daughter before noticing the black ink that lined her wrist. The woman cocked her head slightly before deciding to ask.

     "Is that. . . a tattoo?" Melissa questioned.

     Elaine glanced at her before glancing down at the ink, before looking at her mother once more and nodding her head. "Uh. . . yeah, it is." She carefully showed her wrist to her mother who carefully grabbed onto her child's wrist, examining to for a moment. "Are you mad?"

     "No, I'm not mad. You're almost eighteen. If it were the biggest tattoo in the world then hell yeah I'd be mad, but it's small, and I like it. What made you decide to get that one in particular?"

     Elaine pursed her lips for a moment before letting out a soft sigh. "Mom. . . there's something I didn't tell you." Melissa frowned and Elaine swallowed thickly. "Something happened to me last year. And it's the reason why I became what I am."

     "I thought being a. . . a witch was in your blood line?"

     "No, it is." Elaine nodded. "But my powers weren't supposed to come to me until I turned eighteen."

     "I don't understand. . ."

     "Mom, I was killed." Elaine quickly ripped the band aid off, watching as her mother's eyes grow wide. "Before you ever knew about the supernatural, and before I had ever become a witch, the Alpha was attacking. Scott was there. And I didn't want the chance of him getting hurt, so I jumped in, and the Alpha clawed my throat, and I bled out." Elaine closed her eyes before muttering a spell, revealing the three slash marks that were scarred across her neck. Melissa covered her mouth in shock and Elaine quickly made them disappear again.

     "Then how. . ."

     "Rebekah brought me back." Elaine told her. "I know that you've just gotten used to the whole supernatural being real thing, but I don't know how much longer I could've kept that from you. You're my mother, and you deserved to know the truth. So, that's what the tattoo means. The heartbeat to prove that I'm alive, and I'm still here. The saying means. . . well, exactly what it says. To just take one day at a time. It means a lot to me."

     "I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you." Melissa whispered, tears in her eyes.

     "Mom, don't cry." Elaine shook her head, reaching over and wiping the tear from her face. "I'm here now. And I want you to know that I am me. I'm still your daughter even though I did die for twenty-four hours. I hope I didn't put too much on you. . ."

     "No." Melissa shook her head. "Not at all. I'm glad you told me."

     Elaine offered her a small smile. "I love you, mama."

    "I love you too, baby."

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     "I don't see anything." Derek spoke. Derek, Elaine, Scott, Stiles, Allison, and Lydia all stood in a classroom with Allison and Lydia standing in front of Derek, holding their wrists together in hopes of him recognizing the symbol that had been imprinted on their wrists. Elaine sat on a desk beside of Stiles who had her hand in his, mindlessly messing with her fingers.

     "Look again." Scott urged.

     "How is a bruise gonna tell me where Boyd and Erica are?" Derek deadpanned.

     "It's the same on both sides! Exactly the same."

     "It's nothing." Derek denied.

     "Pareidolia." Lydia suddenly spoke, making the group look at her. "Seeing patterns that aren't there? It's a subset of apophenia." Derek ignored Lydia, his eyebrows raised as he looked at Scott.

     "They're trying to help."

     "These two." Derek asked, pointing towards them. He then focused his attention on Lydia. "This one, who used me to resurrect my psychotic uncle―︎thank you." He then pointed towards Allison. "And this one who shot about thirty arrows into me and my pack?"

     "Okay, all right, now, come on. . . No one died, all right?" Stiles spoke, making the group look at him. "Look, there may have been a little maiming, okay? A little mangling, but not death! And that's what I call an important distinction."

     "My mother died." Allison spoke.

     "I almost died." Elaine rose her free hand and Stiles was quick to bring it down.

     "Your family's little honor code killed your mother, not me." Derek snapped.

     "That girl was looking for Scott. I'm here to help him, not you." Allison snapped back.

     "You wanna help? Find something real." Derek walked away and Scott followed after him, silently talking to the man whilst Elaine laid her head on Stiles' shoulder. However the boy seemed to frown. Remembering the words the he and Heather had shared the night of the party, he needed to talk to Elaine. But that would have to wait till later.

Later that day, Scott, Elaine and Stiles entered Coach's class, having questioned why the Alpha pack wanted Erica and Boyd, and putting into question if this Alpha pack were recruiting or not. Elaine sat down in her seat beside of Stiles, the girl biting down on her lip as she stared down at her tattoo, mindlessly rubbing her thumb across is.

     "The stock market is based on two principles―︎what are they?" Coach questioned. Scott raised his hand. "Yes, McCall, you can go to the bathroom. Anybody else?"

     "Uh, no, Coach―︎I know the answer."

     Coach started laughing before noticing the look on Scott's face. "Oh, you're serious."

     Scott nodded. "Yes. Risk and reward."

     Coach looked at him in surprise before a wide smile fell on his face. "Wow! Who are you? And what have you done with McCall?" He glanced towards Elaine. "What happened to your brother?"

     Elaine smiled proudly. "That's all him, Coach."

     "I like you better! I like you better!" Coach widely smiled. "Does anybody have a quarter?"

     "A quarter, yep." Stiles spoke before his hand fell from his pocket and instead of a quarter flying out, a condom did. Elaine's heart stopped. Her throat ran dry, and suddenly she wanted to cry. Immediately the boy started to panic, and Scott glanced between Stiles before looking towards his sister with wide eyes. He knew the signs for when the girl was about to cry, and they were all there, but she was trying to hide it.

     "Stilinski, I think you, uh. . . dropped this." Coach placed it back on the boys desk and Elaine clenched her jaw before raising her hand. "Yes, Elaine?"

     "May I got to the bathroom?" Elaine carefully asked, keeping her voice steady.

     "Yes." He nodded and the girl grabbed her bag before walking out of the classroom. She wasn't going to cry over this. She refused to. So, she stood in the bathroom the rest of the period, a few tears escaping without her permission before she swallowed thickly and wiped them away, walking out as the bell rang. She entered the library where she found Allison and Lydia, sitting down beside of her strawberry blonde friend.

     "Elaine, is everything okay?" Allison asked, looking up from the drawing of the symbol she had been making.

     "I'm fine." Elaine assured, nodding her head and offering the girl a tight smile. She was fine. Stiles wasn't her boyfriend. He could be with whoever he wanted to be.

     "I want one." Lydia spoke, making the two glance towards her before following her line of sight towards the twins that stood there at the bookshelves.

     "Which one?" Allison asked, raising an eyebrow.

     "The straight one, obviously." Lydia answered. Elaine turned her attention back towards Allison before watching as the girl furrowed her eyebrows, focusing her attention on her laptop.

     "What if it's not a symbol? What if it's actually a logo?" Allison asked before looking up only to see Lydia no longer there. Elaine sighed before nodding her heads toward the girl who was now standing with one of the twins, more specifically the one she had eyes for. Allison scoffed in amusement before turning back towards her screen, whilst Elaine pulled out her book of spells, deciding it would be the best way to pass the time.

     When school let out, Elaine walked towards her car, pulling the door open and throwing her bag in. She was about to get in before Scott spoke up. "Hey, we're going to Deaton's to help Derek and Isaac with finding Boyd. You gonna meet up there?"

     "I think I'm going to just stay home." Elaine admitted with the nod of her head. "but keep me updated, won't you?"

     "Of course." He was about to walk away, Elaine climbing into her car and closing the door, cranking it before he turned on his heels and knocked on the window. She glanced towards him before rolling the window down, raising an eyebrow at her brother.

     "Yes?"

     "You okay?"

     "I'm fine. Why?" Elaine questioned. Scott opened his mouth, but Elaine beat him to it. "If it's about what happened in Coach's class, I'm not mad. I don't have the right to be. Stiles and I aren't together. He can be with whoever he wants. I just. . . need a breather."

     Scott looked at her for a moment before nodding his head. "I'll text you."

     "Alright." Elaine nodded before watching as he backed away from her car, the girl quick to back up and pull out of the parking lot. Elaine parked her car in the driveway of her house before getting out and dropping her bag off inside before deciding to go for a walk, she kept her phone and keys on her, glancing at the words that Scott had sent over and over. Isaac had spoken about a dead body, and he said that it was Erica.

     "Beacon hills national bank?" Elaine frowned. "They're trapped inside a vault. Jesus. That's a little harsh." Elaine sighed, shaking her head. That's when Scott called her. "Hello?"

     "We're doing some research over at Stiles', to help. We have to save Erica and Boyd, we just need to figure out how." Scott told her. Elaine bit her lip before sighing, nodding her head.

     "Alright, I'm on my way now."

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The three had been doing research all night long until they had fallen asleep. Scott fell asleep in Stiles' chair, Stiles fell asleep with his legs on the bed and the rest of his body on the floor. Elaine had fallen asleep with her knees pulled up to her chest and her head leaning against the wall. Papers surrounded them, scattered all along the floor with the amount of research they had forced themselves to cram in. Stiles and Scott had shot up from the sound of Noah's voice, but Elaine stayed as still as a rock.

     "Is she breathing?" Noah asked, making the two turn towards the girl.

     "Yeah. She's just a really heavy sleeper." Scott answered, nodding his head.

     "I gotta get to work. You two? Get to school. And wake Elaine up." Noah told them.

     "Dad!" Stiles shouted, and Elaine's eyes snapped open. The girl blinked a few times before groaning, running a hand through her hair. "Heather?"

     "No. Nothing yet." Noah sighed, shaking his head before walking away.

     "Ten hours and nothing." Stiles sighed with a frown.

     "Wait, Heather?" Elaine questioned. "As in the girl you grew up with as a kid?" Stiles nodded. Elaine's mouth dropped. "That's the one―︎" She cut herself off, shaking her head. "Nope. Ignore everything I just said."

     "We're gonna find something." Scott assured him.

     "Finding something doesn't make Erica any less dead, or Boyd any less about-to-be-dead." Stiles muttered.

     "Well, we still have time."

     Stiles narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Is this whole, like, 'remain optimistic in the face of complete and utter disaster' thing a part of the Be A Better Scott McCall Program?"

     "Uh, not if it doesn't work."

     Stiles shook his head, sighing. "No, it works." He then paused, looking at paper in his hand. "Oh, Dad! Dad!" Stiles quickly ran out of the room and Elaine scrambled off the bed, looking at the paper Stiles had handed Scott. It was a picture of Noah putting someone in a cop car. But that's when she realized that it was at the Beacon Hills National Bank, making the two siblings exchange looks with one another. The three got to school, Elaine pulling up beside of Stiles' jeep before getting out of her car and standing with the two boys.

     "All right. So, we meet at Derek's at five to go over the plan, and then we don't get started until dark."

     "Okay. What do we do 'til then?" Stiles asked.

     "Right now?" Elaine questioned. "Boys, right now, we've got English."

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Elaine sat on the hood of her car, her legs crossed over her chest with an apple in her hand as she read the new book she had bought for herself the other day, deciding now would be a good time to start it. She was so engrossed in the novel that she hadn't noticed when Stiles made his way up to her. He stood there, looking up at the girl.

     "Hey, Laney?"

     Elaine looked up, swallowing the bite of her apple before closing her book and jumping down, landing in front of the boy. "Yeah, Stiles?"

     "Uh, can I talk to you?"

     "That's what you're doing right now." Elaine joked, but the boy seemed to be serious, making her joking smile falter. She frowned. "Stiles, is everything okay?"

     "Yeah, everything's―︎no, you know what, it's not okay." Stiles shook his head and Elaine furrowed her eyebrows.

     "Stiles, what's wrong?"

     "This." Stiles answered.

     "I don't understand. . ."

     "You and me." He cleared up, motioning a finger between the two of them.

     "You and me? Did I do something?" Elaine frowned.

     "Yes, in fact, you did."

     "Stiles, whatever it was that I did, I apologize for it."

     "You don't even know what you're apologizing for."

     "No, quite frankly, I don't. So, please do enlighten me."

     "The way that you left, was just very. . . I was angry for at least two out of the four months that you were gone." Elaine frowned. Stiles sighed. "You can't just drop a bomb like that on me, kiss me, and then leave for four months. Who does that?"

     "I didn't think you really cared?" Elaine spoke, cocking her head slightly. "You seemed to be getting along very well with that Heather girl at the party you went to. And I hope that we find her so you can continue whatever that is."

     "You're mad?" He rose his eyebrows.

     "No, Stiles, I'm not mad. I don't have the right to be angry nor upset with you. You aren't my boyfriend, you can be with whoever you want." Elaine shook her head. "You have every right to be angry with me, and I understand why you are. It was a heat of the moment thing."

     "A heat of the―︎Elaine, you don't say 'I love you' to someone as a 'heat of the moment thing'" Stiles told her.

     "Well, what do you want me to say, Stiles?" Elaine questioned, sighing. "Can we just, not talk about this right now?"

     "This is going to be the only chance to talk about it, so, we're talking about." Stiles told her. "Whatever you think happened at that party, didn't happen. Heather kissed me when I first walked in, and she told me she wanted to not be a seventeen year old virgin."

     "Are you telling this to make me more upset?" Elaine questioned him, clenching her jaw.

     "No. If you would let me finish." Stiles sighed. "We didn't do anything. We talked, instead."

     "About what?"

     "About how Heather could always see how much adoration I had for you since we were kids." Stiles answered her. "And she told me to go and find you. And I was going to do that until Lydia and Allison appeared at the party with the bruise."

     "Stiles, why are you telling me this?" Elaine asked with a sigh.

     "Because, I want to know if you meant it." Stiles told her. "If you meant what you said."

     Elaine looked at him for a moment before she nodded her head, her voice soft as she spoke. "Of course I meant it, Stiles. You're the only person that I've ever loved. Why do you think I haven't had any girlfriends or boyfriends?"

     "I just thought you didn't like anyone." Stiles admitted. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

     Elaine gave him a sad smile. "Because, you were in love with Lydia. And I couldn't get in the way of that."

     Stiles shook his head. "I don't think I ever loved her. Liked her, yes. Major crush on her, definitely. But I never actually loved her." Elaine bit the inside of her cheek, glancing down to her feet as she closed her eyes tightly, almost questioning if this was really happening. Stiles walked closer to her, carefully placing a hand under her chin so that she would look at him, but her eyes were still closed. "Laney, look at me." She did as he asked, her blue eyes meeting his brown ones. He searched her eyes for a moment before leaning in, and before she knew it, another kissed had been shared between them. They pulled away, and Elaine met his eyes.

     "Elaine McCall, will you be my official partner in crime?"

     A smile fell onto the girl's face as she nodded her head. "Yes, I will." He smiled at her response before the two shared one last kiss with one another before pulling away, and walking towards the school with her arm around his waist, and his arm around her shoulders.