𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

Scott and I stand with Stiles as he sits down on the large MRI machine used to scan brain patterns. I gently reach out and take one of the boy's shaky hands into my own, causing him to look up at me from his lap.

"I'm not sure I know how to pronounce this or if it's not actually a misspelling" The doctor says to the Sheriff and my mother.

"Just call him Stiles" Sheriff replies.

"Okay. Stiles, just to warn you, you're going to hear a lot of noise during the MRI. It's due to pulses of electricity going through metal coils inside the machine" The doctor explains to the Stilinski boy "Uh, if you want we can get you earplugs or headphones"

"Oh, no, no, I don't need anything" Stiles answers him, his hand slightly squeezing my own.

"Hey, we're just on the other side of that window. Okay?" Sheriff assures his son.

"Okay" Stiles nods.

Sheriff and my mom both give the boy a reassuring smile and Stiles pats his fathers back as they turn to exit the room with the doctor.

"I- I'll give you boys some space" I tells them, making a move to walk away but Stiles holds onto my hand tighter and tugs me back.

"You don't have to leave just yet" He objects.

I glance at Scott who is still looking down at his clasped hands with a sad expression on his face like he has been doing since we arrived here.

"You know what they're looking for, right?" Stiles says to his best friend.

Scott nods timidly and I nod too, allowing the pale boy to play with my fingers to distract himself.

"It's called frontotemporal dementia" Stiles explains "Areas of your brain start to shrink. It's what my mother had. It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers"

"And there's no cure" He adds.

Scott quickly wipes a stray tear away in hopes that neither of us see it but we both do, sharing a sad frown.

"Stiles, if you have it, we'll do something" Scott assures the boy "I'll do something"

Stiles let's go of my hand and grabs my brother, pulling him into a warm embrace. I take a step back, watching the tender moment between the two boys that i've known my whole life with a worried sinking feeling in my chest.

They pull apart with tear stained cheeks and Scott pats Stiles' back encouragingly before walking to the exit without another word, leaving me alone with the Stilinski boy.

The boy opens his mouth to speak but I cut him off by throwing my arms around him and nuzzling my face into his neck. He's taken aback at first, but melts into me and wraps his arms around my body, grabbing fistfuls of my denim jacket.

"You're not alone, dork" I remind him.

❦ ❦ ❦

"You know the stuff you were telling me about chemo signals earlier?" Scott speaks up from his seat opposite Derek and I "It reminded me of the time you were teaching me to use anger to control the shift"

"I think you ended up teaching me more about that" Derek smiles in amusement.

"Are you teaching me again?" Scott asks curiously.

"Think of it more like sharing a few trade secrets" Derek shrugs "You know, I took Cora back to South America, right?"

"Yeah" I answer with a nod.

"It's where she spent most of her time after the fire. But that's not the only reason I left" Derek explains "I needed to talk to my mother"

"Your dead mother?" Scott and I retort in unison, sharing a playful glare.

"She told me something that changed my perspective on a lot of things. She said that my family didn't just live in Beacon Hills. They protected it" Derek tells us.

"This town needs someone to protect it. Someone like you. Both of you" He adds, glancing at us both.

"And someone like you to teach us a few trade secrets" Scott counters.

Derek nods his head slowly with a soft smile and I lay my head back again the wall, exhaustion starting to kick in.

"I'm gonna head home, okay?" I tell my brother, getting up and walking over to him.

"I'll let mom know" Scott assures me, giving me a quick hug.

"Later, Derbear" I smile warmly.

"Later, little witch" He replies with a matching expression.

I start making my way through the hospital, taking the elevator down to the ground level and as I'm walking through the hallway, the lights start to flicker wildly. I pause and my brows furrow in confusion when I spot Stiles leaving a hospital room now dressed in his own clothes.

"Stiles!" I holler and he freezes.

I run up to him and grab his arm, causing him to turn his head to look at me.

"How are you done already?" I ask him in confusion.

"The power went out so they have to do it again later" He answers and I nod, that makes sense.

"Where are you headed?" I question.

"Home" He replies simply.

The boy takes a few steps away from me before pausing and slowly turning to me, a smile tugging at his lips.

"Do you need a ride?" He offers.

"If it's not a bother" I nod.

"Come on" He replies, walking away.

I jog a little to catch up with him before walking by his side until we reach his Jeep and I climb into the passenger seat.

Stiles starts driving and find my eyes drifting towards the unusually pale boy next to me. I notice the dark yellowing circles around his eyes that almost seem unnatural and the mess his hair is in, disheveled atop his head.

My gaze drifts from this to his pink lips, wet from his tongue darting along them every few minutes and the moles scattered across his face that travel down his jaw and neck.

I realise that i've been staring at him for a while now and I shake my head, looking out the windshield. Hoping that the boy hadn't noticed me checking him out.

"You okay, Natty?" Stiles asks me and I turn my head to see him glance at me.

"Yeah, I'm good" I smile softly.

"Are you sure?" He questions and I nod "Because you keep staring at me"

My blood runs cold and I notice an unusually smug smirk on the Stilinski boy's face.

"I was just wondering if you're okay" I shrug, trying to act nonchalant.

Stiles parks the Jeep and I notice that we're at my house.

"I'm okay, gorgeous. You don't have to worry about me" Stiles replies and my eyes widen slightly at how confidently the pet name rolls off his tongue.

"Gorgeous?" I question, an amused smile tugging at my lips.

"You don't like it?" He grins, leaning back in his seat in a way that makes him look so effortlessly good.

"I didn't say that" I counter.

There's a short silence before I unbuckle myself and sit up on my knees with a grateful smile.

"Thank you for the ride, dork" I say, leaning in to peck his cheek.

At the last minute, Stiles turns his head and our lips meet shortly. I quickly pull my head back and look at him in surprise, inhaling sharply. I open my mouth to apologise to the boy but he has other plans clearly, grabbing the back of my neck and pressing his lips to my own.

The pale boy doesn't even wait for me to kiss him back before he's grabbing a hold of my jacket with his free hand and tugging me towards him. I kiss him back, trying to fight for dominance which is something i've never had a problem with Stiles but he seems to be a little extra confident today.

I end up straddling Stiles' lap with my fingers in his hair and his hands gripping onto my waist. The feeling of his hands on the bare skin between my crop top and the waistband of my skirt causes a fuzzy warmth to start growing in my lower stomach.

One of Stiles' hands travels up to my hair and he tightly tangles his fingers at the roots, tugging my head back roughly. A dull pain throbs in my scalp but the heavenly feeling of his lips on my neck makes me forget about it.

Shaky breathes escape my lips and I continue running my fingers through his hair until a pain rips through my neck. I cry out in agony and pull his head back by his hair before grabbing at my neck, warm liquid meeting my palm.

"Why would you bite me?" I snap at him as he licks the crimson off of his lips.

"Did it hurt?" He counters, a hauntingly twisted smile on his face.

"Yes, it fucking hurt" I answer, climbing back to the passenger seat.

I open the passenger door and turn to get out of the Jeep but Stiles grabs my wrist so I turn to look at him.

"I'm sorry, Natty. I didn't mean to hurt you" He states but he doesn't sound all that regretful.

"I'll see you later, Stiles" I reply.