#he signed my shoe and I same as when I met Noah I forgot to ask for a hug

[camscendants]

Addison Grace :)

[24stiles920]

Echo House

Teen Wolf Rewrite

Pairing: Stiles x Reader

Warnings: Ages 16+, swearing, suicide, violence,

Words: 9027

A/N: What. A. Whirlwind! I wanted to try something out for this episode that I thought would work. Hopefully it’s not too confusing but let me know if it is! I tried to mark each POV, so… Also, my girl Malia is in this! Woot, woot! Hope you enjoy!

Link to Masterlist on profile!

Y/N

I glanced at the floor, memorizing the wood grain in the laminate flooring that adorned every room of the house. Focusing on this helped me a little bit, but I couldn’t get what was about to happen out of my head.

Stiles was voluntarily signing himself in at the Eichen House, the mental institution where William Barrow came from. I didn’t agree with this plan, in fact, I was strongly against it, but I was outvoted two to one, and what I wanted didn’t matter.

Stiles silently packed, slowly walking around his room and putting whatever he thought he needed into his duffle bag. He put a couple of pairs of gray sweatpants into the bag, followed by simple t-shirts; jeans and button-ups weren’t allowed according to the nurse that Noah spoke with over the phone.

“Don’t forget socks.” I muttered, stroking the light blue cast that was fitted around my broken wrist. “Your feet will get cold.”

“Okay.” Stiles said simply, walking over to his dresser and pulling out a couple pairs of socks.

“They’ll probably give you slippers or something.” I continued, remembering the information I looked up about mental institutions. “No shoes with laces are allowed.”

“Okay.” Stiles repeated, pulling out his pair of Adidas sneakers from the bag.

“And don’t forget your pillow, either.” I sighed, looking from his bag to the floor again. “You won’t be able to sleep without—”

“Y/N, please just stop.” Stiles interrupted me, a hint of pleading in his rough tone.

I looked up sharply, not expecting his harsh reaction. “I’m just trying to help.” I mumbled, looking at the dark circles under his eyes.

“I know.” Stiles sighed, slumping down on the bed next to me. “I know you are and I know you hate what I’m going to do, but I have to do this, baby. I can’t hurt you or Scott again.”

“That wasn’t you, Stiles!” I objected, turning my body to face him. “That was the Nogitsune and Dr. Deaton put it to sleep for a couple of days. We have time to figure something out! What you’re doing is rash and—and—”

“And right.” Stiles said firmly. “What happens when the Nogitsune comes back, huh? Because I know we’re not going to find a way out of this in a couple of days, okay? The Nogitsune is gonna come back and I don’t want you anywhere near it! Look what it did to you! Look what I did to you!”

While Stiles voice had gotten harder and louder, a dull pressure started from behind my eyes; tears had already started to blur my vision and I kept wiping them away, not wanting them to fall.

“Stiles, please.” I begged, grabbing his hand tightly. “Please don’t do this.”

“I’m sorry, Y/N.” Stiles murmured solemnly, looking at me with sad eyes. “But I have to.”

I whimpered and leaned forward, wrapping my arms around him and burrowing my face in his neck. Stiles gripped me back tightly and laid his head on mine, stroking my hair and back with his hands.

“I love you.” I whispered as I pulled away.

“I love you too, Y/N.” Stiles smiled sadly. “That’s why I have to do this.”

There was a knock that came from Stiles’ door and we both turned to Noah, who was leaning against the doorframe.

“Ready to go, kiddo?” He asked Stiles, a frown on his face.

“Yeah.” Stiles sighed, standing up and zipping up his duffle bag before throwing it across his shoulders. “I’m ready.”

It was raining softly as we walked out of the house to Noah’s civilian car, so I had to hide my cast-covered wrist inside my jacket. I clambered into the back seat, and to my surprise, Stiles climbed in next to me, grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers.

It was about a thirty-minute drive to Eichen House, which was on the outskirts of Beacon Hills, and we spent all of the drive in silence. Noah fiddled nervously with the radio while Stiles and I stayed still in our seats, tightly squeezing each other’s hands. When we arrived just outside of the Eichen House gates, we got out and met in front of the car.

I looked up at the building, hearing distinct whispers and murmurs. I decided right then that I didn’t like this place; it couldn’t be good if my banshee instincts were flaring up and I hadn’t even been inside yet.

The loud sound of a motorcycle echoed through the air and Noah, Stiles, and I turned to see Scott pulling up on his bike. He turned off the engine and removed his helmet, getting off the vehicle and walking to where the three of us stood.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Scott asked Stiles. “Why did I have to find out from Y/N?”

Both Noah and Stiles looked at me and I bowed my head guiltily.

“Because we wanted to avoid something like this.” Noah said, sending me a pointed look.

“It’s only seventy-two hours.” Stiles told Scott.

“This is the same place where Barrow came from.” Scott said, as though Stiles didn’t know that already. “The guy who had a tumor inside him filled with flies.” Scott turned to Noah and shook his head. “You don’t know everything yet.”

“I know enough.” Noah replied. “Nogitsunes, kitsunes, Oni, or whatever they’re called.”

“Wow, that was actually all surprisingly correct.” Stiles commented, looking slightly impressed with his father.

“Scott, I saw an MRI that looked exactly like my wife’s and I terrifies me.” Noah said firmly. “I’m headed down to L.A. tomorrow to talk to a specialist.”

“Then why are you putting him in here?”

“He’s not.” Stiles answered Scott’s question. “It was my decision.”

“Stiles, I can’t help you if you’re in here.” Scott sighed, shaking his head.

“And I can’t hurt you guys.” Stiles said, glancing at me quickly.

“Deaton’s got some ideas, Argent’s calling people. We’re gonna find something and if we can’t—”

“If you can’t—” Stiles leaned in closer to Scott. “If you can’t, you have to do something for me okay? Take care of Y/N and make sure I never get out.”

I closed my eyes, trying with all my might not to cry. As I opened my eyes, Stiles stepped back and looked at Noah, who nodded and said, “Come on.”

Noah placed his hand on my back and led me and Stiles to the gate, which buzzed open. I glanced back at Scott sadly and nodded at him; he nodded back. We had to figure something out.

We entered Eichen House and slowly walked up to the front desk. I looked around at the patients; there was a guy in a wheelchair up the hair, his head bowed, and a girl behind a barred door, twitching as she stared at us.

“Mr. Stilinski.” Noah, Stiles, and I turned to see a nurse smiling at us expectantly. She gestured toward a hallway. “This way, please.”

As we sat down in the nurse’s office, she handed Noah a clipboard of entrance papers that he had to sign since Stiles was still underage. Noah reluctantly took a pen and started to fill the papers out while the nurse explained the rules.

“First seventy-two hours there’s no phone calls, no e-mails, no visitors.” The nurse informed us. “We will be taking you from here to a brief physical. In the morning you’ll be assessed by a staff psychologist, speak to a social worker, and attend group therapy.”

The door buzzed loudly and I turned in my seat, looking out the open door. In the hallway, two orderlies were escorting a patient into a room with what looked like handcuffs keeping their hands together.

Noah set the pen and clipboard down. “I feel like we’re forgetting something.” He said, looking disgruntled.

“You will be wearing these, Stiles.” The nurse said, placing a pair of ugly tan slippers on the desk in front of Stiles. “No laces allowed. You don’t have a belt, do you?”

When Stiles shook his head, the nurse went on, “And please empty your pockets in here.” She gestured to a small, white, plastic container.

“Your pillow. Your pillow.” Noah said, nudging Stiles. “We forgot your pillow.”

“Dad, it’s okay.” Stiles assured him as he took off his shoes.

“No.” I shook my head. “You’re never going to be able to fall asleep.”

“She’s right.” Noah agreed. “We have to go back.”

“It’s fine.” Stiles shook his head. “I don’t need it.”

“I can’t believe I forgot it.” Noah continued, a bit hysterical. “I mean, every time that we’ve ever stayed in a hotel, the first thing you pack is your pillow.”

“You can bring it tomorrow. It’s all right.” Stiles said, emptying his keys into the white container.

I flinched as the door buzzed from behind us again. Noises all around me started getting louder and every clink of the change Stiles was putting into the white container made my ears ache. Then the door buzzed again and footsteps were growing louder and louder.

“Stop, stop!” I exclaimed, standing up abruptly. I could feel the eyes of the nurse, Stiles, and Noah on me, but I didn’t care; Stiles couldn’t stay here. “Enough. Stiles, get your stuff. We’re leaving.”

“Y/N…” Stiles sighed, rubbing a hand down his face.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this place, Stiles.” I told him, trying to convey my meaning through my eyes.

“And I’m not checking you in here if you’re not gonna get one good night’s sleep.” Noah added.

“Dad!” Stiles exclaimed, standing up and putting his hands on Noah’s shoulders. “I haven’t had a good night’s sleep in weeks.”

He pulled Noah into a hug and Noah slowly returned it, squeezing his son tightly before letting go. Stiles then turned to me and grabbed my crossed arms, slowly unraveling them. I sniffed, holding back tears as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

“It will be okay, baby.” Stiles whispered in my ear. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” I whimpered, pulling back quickly to give him a peck on the lips. “Please be careful.”

“I will.” Stiles assured me as he pressed a firm kiss on the apple of my cheek. “I promise.”

With that he pulled away and walked down the hall with the nurse close by his side. I let the tears fall from my eyes, not bothering to wipe them away as I watched them walk down the hall. Noah sighed and wrapped an arm around my shoulder, hugging me to them.

“He’ll be okay, kiddo.” He whispered. “He has to be.”

-

3RD Person

Stiles walked down the hallway with the nurse, trying not to listen to Y/N’s cries. The nurse led him up the stairs and with each landing that they climbed to, Stiles could feel himself becoming tired.

As they walked upon another landing, Stiles looked around, his gaze falling on a tall girl who had just walked out of her room. He narrowed his eyes at her, noticing that she looked familiar.

“Stiles?” The nurse called, making Stiles turn back to her. “This way, please.”

The nurse led Stiles to another staircase and as Stiles glanced back, the girl was gone. Focusing on the stairs, Stile followed the nurse, looking up and wondering how many more stairs they had to climb before they got to his room.

Almost instantly, Stiles spotted a man a couple floors up, leaning over the railing and trying a twisted sheet around it. As the guy worked on tying the sheet around the railing, he kept muttering, “I’m part of the bird that’s not in the sky. I’m the part of the bird that’s not in the sky.”

“Hey, do you see that?” Stiles asked the nurse, his eyes focused on the man speaking in riddles.

“I’m the part of the bird that’s not in the sky.” The guy kept saying as he tied the sheet into a noose.

Stiles sped forward, climbing the stairs three at a time to get to the man.

“Stiles, wait for me.” The nurse called from behind him.

“I’m the part of the bird that’s not in the sky.”

“That guy up there.” Stiles said to the nurse, pointing at the guy a few floors up.

“I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry.” The guy said, knotting the noose to the railing. “I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry.”

“Hey!” Stiles yelled, climbing the stairs more quickly now. “Stop! Somebody stop him!”

The guy climbed onto the railing, the twisted sheet wrapped tightly around his neck. He stared down the area between the floors, still repeating his riddle, “I can swim in the ocean, yet still remain dry…”

The man stopped talking and stepped forward into the air, his body falling and pulling the sheet taut, snapping his neck and killing him. The nurse gasped loudly and Stiles stared at the dead body in horror before hearing whispers from below him.

He looked down and saw a group of people looking up at the dead guy, whispering in shock. There, in the group of people, Stiles saw a man with his head covered in bandages, his teeth sticking out sharply.

It was him. Stiles thought. The Nogitsune.

-

Y/N

“Did you have any trouble with Ikeda?” Mr. Argent’s voice came from the speaker of Dr. Deaton’s phone. Allison, Scott, and I stood by Dr. Deaton’s desk, listening closely to their conversation. Noah had left me with the McCall’s while he went to go see the specialist and Scott invited me to tag along with him and Allison instead of moping about Stiles.

“Only minor.” Dr. Deaton replied. “The white wolf was exactly where you said it would be. But we have two problems now. First, the lichen is not a cure. It’ll wear off in a matter of days.”

“But while it does work, the Oni won’t go after Stiles, right?” Mr. Argent asked.

“I hope.” Dr. Deaton sighed. “Eichen House has an unusual history. It might not be all that safe for the Oni there as well.”

“What’s the second problem?” Mr. Argent wondered.

“I checked with your contacts in Japan.” Dr. Deaton answered. “The Yakuza Boss you saw killed by the Oni never found the scroll.”

“What scroll?” I asked, confused.

“The Shugendo Scroll.” Dr. Deaton told me. “The Shugendo were the ascetic mystics of Japan.”

“The scroll had information on how to exorcise a Nogitsune.” Mr. Argent continued to explain.

“So we need to find that scroll?” Scott said, leaning on his elbows.

“Exactly.” Dr. Deaton nodded. “And I did get a name of the man who last purchased it. Kincaid.”

“He was with Katashi.” Allison spoke up. “He’s the guy who met with Isaac to buy the gun.”

“Sounds like Katashi wanted the scroll for himself.” Dr. Deaton commented.

“But Stilinski already told me nothing like it was found among his things.” Mr. Argent said. “And a paranoid like Katashi would keep it close. Probably on him at all times.”

“What’s the Shugendo Scroll look like?” Allison asked, a thoughtful look on her face.

Dr. Deaton stood up from his chair and walked over to a table of drawers. He opened the first drawer and pulled out a large scroll with golden handles. “Something like this.” He said.

Allison took the scroll and said, “Do these come in different sizes?”

“Any size.” Dr. Deaton said, looking at Allison in confusion.

Allison looked up at Dr. Deaton. “Then I think I know where it might be.”

-

3RD Person

“Okay, I know there’s the whole seventy-two hour thing but I really need to use the phone.” Stiles said to the nurse urgently.

“The accident that occurred is being taken care of.” The nurse said as she stopped at a door and pulled out a set of keys.

“You’re seriously referring to that as an accident?” Stiles stated in disbelief.

“Incident.” The nurse corrected herself, inserting a key into the doorknob.

“Slightly better.” Stiles snarked. “Still need to use the phone.”

The nurse ignored him and gestured into the room. Stiles sighed and stepped into the dark room, turning around quickly to look at the nurse.

“Just five minutes.” He begged. The nurse went to close the door but Stiles blocked it. “Three minutes, please. A three-minute call.”

The nurse glared at Stiles, loosing her pleasant aura. “Would you like to go to sleep, Stiles, or would you like to be introduced to our five-point restraint system?” She asked.

“I would go with sleep.” A voice called from behind Stiles.

Stiles looked around and saw a guy around his age laying in a bed, restrained to it with leather straps. While Stiles was distracted, the nurse closed the door.

The sound of the door closing made Stiles look back and he lunged forward, grabbing the door knob and trying to open the door again.

“Hey, wait, wait, wait!” He called, but the door wouldn’t budge.

“Son of a bitch.” Stiles exhaled, hitting the door slightly.

“I’m Oliver.” The guy in the bed introduced himself.

“Stiles.” Stiles said, still staring at the door.

“There was a suicide, huh?” Oliver called over to Stiles.

“Yeah.”

“Is it Monday?” Oliver asked. “There’s a much higher rate of suicide on Mondays.”

“Okay, then.” Stiles muttered, looking back at the door before calling out, “Hey, can someone…someone just please let me out of here. Someone? Anyone?”

“I heard it by the way.” Oliver commented after a second of silence. Stiles looked back over to Oliver and slowly made his way toward his bed, sitting down. “It happened in the stairwell, right?”

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded. “How’d you know that?”

“I heard the echo.” Oliver answered.

“What do you mean?” Stiles wondered.

“It’s this place.” His roommate explained. “Something about the way that it was built. Everything echoes. Eventually. That’s why they call it Echo House.”

Stiles didn’t respond, instead looking out the window. He didn’t stop looking out the window all night, even when Oliver fell asleep. He spent the time thinking that Y/N was right, that he shouldn’t have checked himself in here, especially without his pillow.

About forty-five minutes after the sun rose, Stiles heard Oliver shift in his bed, obviously awake.

“Have you been awake all night?” Oliver asked, his voice groggy.

“Yeah, I can’t sleep without my pillow.”

Stiles looked away from the window as Oliver began coughing loudly for a while. After he was done, Stiles raised his eyebrows, and asked, “You okay?”

“I swallowed a bug the other day.” Oliver responded. “You ever do that? I keep coughing like it’s still in my throat.”

“That’s disgusting, Oliver.” Stiles commented, looking at the restrained boy. “You don’t have any idea when they unlock the doors, do you?”

At that precise second, there was the sound of the door unlocking. Oliver craned his neck up as far as he could before saying, “Now.”

-

After breakfast, Oliver and Stiles had free time before their therapy sessions. Oliver decided that he wanted to take Stiles on a mini tour to see as much as the place that they could. Stiles agreed, hoping that he would maybe see a telephone and be able to use it.

“Now, most of the people here are okay.” Oliver said as they walked along the courtyard. “The violent ones are in the closed unit.” He turned and pointed at a girl sitting in the grass. “That’s Hillary, she has OCD. That’s Gary—” Oliver pointed at a guy that walked past them. “He thinks he’s Jesus Christ. Dan—” He pointed at another guy. “Also Jesus. That’s Mary…”

“Mary Magdalene?” Stiles guessed, running with the biblical theme. He spotted a phone at the far side of the courtyard and started toward it, Oliver following him.

“No.” Oliver shook his head. “She also thinks she’s Jesus. You’d be surprised at how many Jesuses we get.”

“Not really.” Stiles said, glancing at the phone where a woman that looked a couple years older than him was using it.

“Hey, how come you want to use the phone already?” Oliver wondered.

“Because,” Stiles glanced at Oliver. “After one night, I’ve changed my mind about this place being safe for me. Or anyone. Ever.”

“No. No, I think you’re wrong.” The woman who was on the phone said loudly, gaining Stiles’ attention. “I really think I should tell them. They’re going to want to know the story. The whole story. I really think they should know. Yes, I do. One of them is standing right behind me.”

Stiles looked at the woman, narrowing his eyes at her. The woman didn’t acknowledge him as she hung up the phone and walked by him, making her way back across the courtyard.

“Who was that?” Stiles asked Oliver, watching the woman go.

“That’s Meredith.” Oliver told him. “She’s a little weird.”

Stiles walked over to the telephone and picked it up off the hook. “You’re a little weird.” Stiles said to Oliver. “She’s a lot weird.” He pressed the phone to his ear; there was no dial tone. “It’s dead.”

“Yeah.” Oliver said, as though it should be obvious. “They turn off all the phones for twenty-four hours after a suicide.”

“Why didn’t you tell me that before?” Stiles asked his roommate, a bit frustrated.

“Why didn’t you ask?” Oliver retorted calmly.

Stiles sighed and roughly hung up the phone, walking away briskly.

“What are you going to do now?” Oliver chirped, rushing after Stiles.

“I’m getting out of this nuthouse.” Stiles snapped.

Oliver chuckled. “That’s not really the appropriate way to describe a facility like this.”

Stiles slowed down, noticing the girl that he saw in the hallway last night. As he got closer to her, he recognized her as Malia Tate, the werecoyote that him, Scott, Y/N, and the rest of his friends had saved from her trigger-happy father.

“Malia?” Stiles called, glad to see a familiar face. Malia turned around, pursing her lips at the sight of him. “Hey, it’s Stiles.” Stiles continued. “Do you remember me? I’m friends with Scott. Remember? We were the ones who helped you out with—”

He was cut off as Malia, who had bristled more and more as he continued talking, socked him in the jaw. Stiles let out a grunt and fell to the ground.

“Hey, Malia!” An orderly yelled, running toward them with another man.

“No!” Malia shouted as an orderly took a hold of her.

“Hey, what the fuck?” Stiles said as another orderly pulled his arms behind his back and pressed his face to the ground. “She hit me!”

“A few more like this, Malia, and you’re headed to the closed unit.” The orderly that had grabbed Malia said with a malicious grin.

“Okay, wait, wait, wait.” Stiles said as the orderly holding him pressed his face into a grate. “Stop, I didn’t do anything!”

Stiles looked down at the grate below his head, his eyes widening in recognition. He had seen the basement below the grate. He had been there before in his dreams.

“Enough!” A loud and familiar female voice shouted. “Enough!”

Stiles barely looked up and saw that the voice came from Ms. Morrell before looking back at the grate in shock. Why had he been in the Eichen House basement in his dreams?

“Stiles.” Ms. Morrell said, grabbing his attention. He looked up to see that she was now kneeling in front of him. “You saw something, didn’t you?”

Stiles nodded. “That basement.” He whispered. “I’ve been down there before.”

-

“I want to go back to the topic of guilt today.” Ms. Morrell, who turned out to be Stiles’ counselor, said during the group therapy that Stiles had been thrown into. “It might surprise you to hear me say that guilt is a good thing. It’s a rather mature emotion. Malia, you said something about guilt the other day. You said it came with a visceral reaction.”

Stiles moved his gaze up off the floor and let it fall on Malia. Malia, who was staring at him, nodded, and said, rather harshly, “I said it made me feel sick to my stomach.”

Stiles looked away as Oliver coughed obnoxiously next to him.

“Guilt often becomes physical.” Ms. Morrell said. “You feel it in your gut. It’s not just psychological.”

Hearing some talking behind him, Stiles turned around a little in his seat. His eyes widened as he took in the man in the doctor coat talking to a nurse. His head was covered completely by bandages; the Nogitsune.

Stiles turned around abruptly, gasping in panicked breaths.

“How does guilt make you feel, Stiles?” Ms. Morrell asked him.

“I’m sorry, what?” Stiles looked at the former guidance counselor.

“Guilt.” Ms. Morrell stated. “What does it make you feel?”

“Nervous.” Stiles said quickly.

“Like a sense of urgency?” Ms. Morrell guessed.

Stiles nodded shortly.

“You feel an urgent need to make up for something you’ve done.” Ms. Morrell assumed. “To apologize.”

Stiles thought about what the Nogitsune did to Scott and Y/N and even Kira. To say he felt guilty was an understatement. He didn’t want to do anything but make it up to them, and he could eventually. But those people that he killed? How could he make it up to them?

Stiles could feel someone watching him now, and when he looked out of the corner of his eye to see who it was, he saw the Nogitsune again. He lowered his gaze, trying not to panic, and blinked. As he opened his eyes again, he saw a bandage-covered hand on the knee of the person next to him.

“These are healthy responses.” Ms. Morrell continued. “Does anyone know what we call someone who doesn’t experience guilt?”

Oliver raised his hand. “A Sociopath?”

“That’s right, Oliver.” Ms. Morrell nodded, looking over at Stiles, who was shaking with panic. As he grabbed the back of his neck, where Dr. Deaton had injected him with the Wolf Lichen, Ms. Morrell stood up.

“I’m sorry, everyone, but we need to take a break.” She said firmly before walking over to Stiles. “Come with me, Stiles. I’d like to talk to you for a minute.”

Stiles followed Ms. Morrell to her office, where she requested for him to lift the back of his shirt so she could examine the marks on the back of his neck. Not even realizing that he had such marks, he obeyed.

“It’s called a Lichtenberg figure.” Ms. Morrell told him as she looked at his back. “They appear on lightning strike victims.”

Stiles dropped the back of his shirt and turned to face her.

“The fact they’re appearing on you after a shot of Wolf Lichen is both significant and strange.” Ms. Morrell said, putting her hands on her hips.

“By significant and strange do you mean hopeful and optimistic?” Stiles asked hopefully.

Ms. Morrell turned and unlocked a cabinet, grabbing a couple of bottles of pills. “When the marks fade, the Nogitsune’s grip over you will return.” She said, closing the medicine cabinet and handing Stiles a bottle of pills.

“What are these?” Stiles asked. “Sleeping pills?”

“Amphetamines.” Ms. Morrell told him. “Sleeping is exactly what you don’t want to do. You’re vulnerable when you’re asleep.”

“So all I have to do is stay awake?”

“For now.” Ms. Morrell nodded before taking on a foreboding tone. “If your friends haven’t figured out something by the time those marks are gone, I’ll come find you.”

“To tell me what to do?”

“No, to give you an injection.” She said, holding up a small bottle of medicine. “Pancuronium Bromide. It causes respiratory paralysis.”

“That’s sounds a lot like death.” Stiles commented, his gaze hardening.

“It’s used for lethal injection, yes.”

“So, when the Nogitsune takes over, you’re going to kill me?” Stiles spat through gritted teeth.

“I’m going to do what I’ve always done.” Ms. Morrell replied shortly. “Maintain the balance.”

“Okay then.” Stiles exhaled angrily before turning to walk away. “I’ve missed our talks. Thanks for the illicit drugs.”

“Stiles.” Ms. Morrell called, causing Stiles to stop in his tracks. “Stay awake.”

-

Stiles walked down the hallway to the basement door. Once he got close enough to touch it, he grabbed the gold-painted door handle and slowly tried to open it. When the door wouldn’t budge, Stiles shook the door knob desperately. He needed to get into the basement.

“What are you doing?”

Stiles gasped and turned around, seeing Oliver standing behind him. Oliver gave him an apologetic glance and stepped back cautiously.

“I need to get through here.” Stiles told him. “To the basement.”

“Doctors don’t even have a key to this door.” Oliver replied. “Only Brunski.”

“Is that the head orderly?” Stiles asked.

Oliver nodded. “He’s got keys to everything in here.”

“Does he keep them on him all the time?”

“If you want them, you’ll probably have to figure out a way to trick him.” Oliver answered Stiles’ question.

Stiles sighed. “Well, part of me is getting very good at playing tricks.”

-

Y/N

Scott, Aiden, Ethan, and I stood outside Allison’s apartment, waiting for her to answer the door. Apparently Allison and Lydia had made up a plan to get the Shugendo Scroll from the police station, but they needed our help. Well, Scott, Aiden, and Ethan’s help. I was pretty useless.

The door swung open, revealing Allison.

“My father said all of the Katashi evidence is being moved to a Federal Lockup by armored car tonight.” She said, leading us into the apartment. “Probably within the next few hours.”

“We’re going to rob an armored car?” Ethan asked as Lydia stepped into the hallway.

“Well, we’re going to try.” Lydia smiled mischievously.

-

3RD Person

Stiles ran into the boys’ bathroom, trying to ignore the sound of running water, and took the pill bottle that Ms. Morrell gave him out of his pocket. He uncapped it and took a pill, throwing it into his mouth before running the water at the sink he was leaning against and cupping his hand under the stream, drinking the pill down.

“Okay.” Stiles whispered, trying to give himself a pep talk. “Okay, just got to stay awake, Stiles. You just gotta stay—” He cut himself off, looking in the mirror toward the shower, where a naked Malia was standing under the running water, cleaning herself.

He looked away instantly, being respectful to not only Malia, but to Y/N, as well. Why the hell was she in here? Unless…unless he walked into the girls’ bathroom by mistake?

“Don’t worry, Stiles.” Malia called. “You didn’t just accidently walk into the girls’ room.”

“Thank God.” Stiles sighed before clearing his throat. He started to walk out of the room but paused, his curiosity overwhelming him. “Okay, so what are you doing in the boys’ room?”

“Showering.”

“I can that.” Stiles snarked, instantly feeling awkward. “I mean, I saw that. Well, actually, I didn’t see anything really. I just…there was too much steam to us…not that I would prefer there to be less steam. I mean, I have a girlfriend…”

“Stiles, I don’t care.” Malia snapped, cutting off Stiles’ rambling. “In the woods, there was no boys’ and girls’ room. And if you really need to know, they keep the water temperature in the girls’ room too low. It’s much hotter in here. Ever since I turned back to human, I just can’t seem to get warm.”

“Maybe you just have a low core temp.” Stiles suggested. “Y/N always gets cold, too. She wears my sweatshirts a lot, maybe—"

“I used to have a fur coat.”

“Or it could be—hey, it might be that.” Stiles scratched the back of his neck, feeling more awkward then the time he saw Lydia naked. Maybe it was because Y/N wasn’t there…

Malia turned off the shower and pulled on her towel, coming out of the shower area. She glanced at Stiles, who had turned to give her some privacy, and said, “What are you doing?”

“Uh…” Stiles glanced at her, feeling relieved that she was covered up. Now, he just had to lie about the medicine. “I was kind of wondering why you punched me.”

“Did you think I was going to thank you?” Malia asked in disbelief.

“No.” Stiles shook his head quickly. “Maybe. We did kind of save your life.”

“You’re right, Stiles.” Malia nodded. “Thank you. Thanks for invading my home. For putting me on the run. For turning me back to human so I could look at my father every day and try to figure out how to explain to him that the reason my sister and mother are dead is because I almost ate them on a full moon. Thank you so very much.”

Stiles sighed, feeling more guilt than he was already feeling. “We were just trying to help.”

“You want to help me?” Malia raised an eyebrow. “Find a way to change me back.”

Stiles looked at her in surprise. “You want to go back? To being a coyote?”

Malia grabbed the neck of Stiles’ t-shirt and looked at him excitedly. “What do you know?”

Stiles didn’t hesitate to answer. Maybe if he helped Malia, she would help him out.

“I might know somebody who could teach you.” He said. “How to change.”

“Okay.” Malia nodded. “What do you want?”

“I need to get into the basement.” Stiles answered her. “Which means that I need to get the keys off of that orderly. The big one.”

“Brunski.” Malia supplied.

“You help me and I’ll help you.”

-

Y/N

“This is a really bad plan.” I commented, looking down at my sneakers.

“It’s not that bad.” Lydia disagreed in a hopeful tone.

“It’s not that good.” Ethan said, siding with me.

Lydia sighed and placed her hands on Mr. Argent’s desk, leaning over the map that we were using. “None of us knows the route they’re going to take. If Allison can get one of her dad’s GPS trackers on the armored car then we can follow it.”

“So when it gets here—” Allison said, pointing at a spot on the map.

“We attack them?” Aiden spoke up from one of the armchairs.

Lydia turned to face him. “No.” She said firmly. “Your bikes will be in the middle of the road, looking like you guys got into an accident. And, when the driver gets out to help…”

“We attack him?” Aiden repeated.

“No!” Lydia, Allison, and I said in unison.

“You distract him.” Lydia went on, pursing her lips and turning to face Scott. “And Scott will break open the back door.”

Scott winced. “I hope.”

Lydia gave him a firm look and continued, “And you’ll get Katashi’s finger.”

“It’s not his actual finger, is it?” Ethan asked, his face wrinkled up in disgust. Scott looked to Lydia curiously.

Lydia sighed. “We are so our of our league.”

“Why aren’t we just going to Stilinski for help?” Ethan wondered.

“Because if he gets caught, then it’s the sheriff tampering with federal evidence.” I explained.

“Guys, this is going to work. We can do this.” Allison said optimistically. “We’re losing Stiles. My dad’s in jail for murder. We need to do this.”

-

3RD Person

Stiles watched as Oliver threw Malia to the ground and held her down. This was all part of the plan the three of them had cooked up to steal Brunski’s keys. Malia and Oliver would fake a fight, Malia would steal the keys and give them to Stiles, and then he would break into the basement.

“You’re lying, you’re a liar!” Oliver shouted in Malia’s face as orderlies rushed toward the fighting pair. “You’re lying!”

“Get this nut-job off of me!” Malia grunted.

“No!” Oliver yelled as Brunski and two other men grabbed him. “She said that they drill holes in your head. She said they’re gonna put a hole in my head!”

Stiles rushed forward to help Malia up, sneakily grabbing the keys out of her hand and putting them in his pocket. Oliver smiled at them as the orderlies started to pull him away.

“Please, come on!” Oliver pleaded, doing a very good job at acting the part. “Please, don’t—Please don’t drill a hole in my head!”

“You okay?” Stiles asked, turning to Malia.

Malia smiled, looking at Oliver. “Yeah.”

Once the group surrounding Malia and Oliver’s fight broke up, Stiles sneaked out of the courtyard and into the building. He looked both ways, looking for any sign of anyone, before making his way to the corridor that held the door to the basement.

Stiles got to the basement door and took the keys out of his pocket. He tried five different keys, but none of them worked.

“Come on, come on.” He muttered to himself. “I thought his guy had a key to everything.”

A hand came down on Stiles’ shoulder, causing him to freeze.

“I do.” Brunski said with a smirk, grabbing the keys out of Stiles’ hand. “But nobody has the key to that room.”

Brunski pulled Stiles away from the basement door and dragged him down a couple different hallways. They finally came to a stop in front of another locked door. As two other men joined them, Brunski unlocked the door and opened it. The two men grabbed Stiles and threw him into the room.

“Into the Quiet Room, little man.” Brunski laughed as the men searched Stiles’ pockets. He paused as one of the men grabbed the bottle of amphetamines and tossed them to him. “Want to tell us where you got these?”

“The vending machine.” Stiles snarked.

Brunski chuckled. “I always love the sarcastic ones.” He help up an syringe filled with medicine and handed it to one of the men holding Stiles. “Give him five of the Haldol.”

“Wait, what’s that?” Stiles started to panic as one of the guys grabbed his arms and held them behind his back. He couldn’t fall asleep. “Is that a sedative? Okay, hang on. Hang on! I can’t go to sleep…okay? I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Look…” The man with the syringe came closer. “Get off me, man!”

With a grunt, the man injected Stiles with the sedative. The two men pushed him to the ground and started walking away.

“You don’t understand.” Stiles pleaded with the men as he tiredly dropped to the ground. “I can’t go to sleep. I can’t go to sleep…”

-

The next time Stiles opened his eyes, he was in a locker. It was just like the previous dreams that he had been having for the past several weeks and it terrified him.

“No, no.” Stiles whimpered, banging against the locker door. He started to shout, “Hey, hey! Let me out! Let me out!”

“Let me in.” The Nogitsune said, dragging his hand along the lockers.

Stiles froze, leaning away from the door, terrified. “What…what do you mean?” He trembled.

“You know.” The Nogitsune whispered loudly.

“Okay, screw you and your stupid riddles.” Stiles spat, lowering his head.

The Nogitsune approached the locker Stiles was in and banged against the door, making Stiles jump. “No riddle this time, Stiles. You know what it means.”

“Let me out.” Stiles cried quietly. “Just let me out. Let me out, let me out!”

“LET ME IN!” The Nogitsune roared in Stiles’ face.

Stiles opened his eyes, shocked to find Malia patting his face, the door to the cell he was in wide open.

“Shh!” Malia hissed. “Hey, hey, hey! Shut up!”

“How did you get in here?” Stiles asked her, pulling away from her grasp.

“I broke the lock.” Malia replied with a short laugh. “If I concentrate, I can be pretty strong.” She grabbed Stiles’ arms and pulled him up. “Get up.”

Stiles groaned, feeling nauseous from the injection that the orderlies gave him.

“There’s another way to the basement.” Malia told Stiles. “Through the Closed Unit. Where they keep the real psychos.”

-

Y/N

Allison, Scott, Kira, and I crouched down between two cars outside of the police station. We were in charge of getting the GPS on the armored car, and we decided that Kira would do it with her new-found ninja moves.

Allison looked through the scope on her bow and said, “You’re up.”

Kira nodded and ran toward the armored car, placing the GPS on the front bumper. Just as she was about to run back the door to the police station opened and Deputy Parrish walked out. Kira hid behind the other side of the car as he opened the driver’s door.

“Okay, let’s get out of here.” Deputy Parrish said to the driver.

Something must have been wrong, though, because Deputy Parrish pulled out his gun in front of him and started looking around.

“We have to do something.” Scott whispered to Allison and I.

Just as Deputy Parrish walked in front of the doors, they burst open and a huge man knocked him out with one hit on the head.

“Who the fuck is that?” I asked, horrified.

“Kincaid.” Allison answered.

Scott walked forward and gestured for Allison and I to follow him. Clutching the aluminum baseball bat that was I borrowed from Stiles, I followed Allison and Scott over to Kincaid, who was distracted while looking at Katashi’s prosthetic finger.

“We need that finger.” Scott demanded, announcing our presence.

Kincaid glanced at Allison, who was aiming her crossbow at him, to me, who held up the baseball bat threateningly. He laughed and turned back to Scott. “Why should I give it to you?” He asked.

“There’s a briefcase in there with 150,000 dollars in it.” Allison replied stoically.

“The scroll inside this prosthetic finger is worth three million.” Kincaid chuckled, holding up the silver finger.

“Give me the finger.” Scott commanded before closing his eyes in humiliation. “You know what I mean.”

All of a sudden, Kira jumped from the top of the armored car, landing on Kincaid’s back. With a grunt, Kincaid reached behind him and grabbed Kira, throwing her to the ground.

“I guess negotiations are over.” Kincaid commented, flashing his blue eyes and fangs before growling loudly.

-

3RD Person

Malia opened the basement door and Stiles followed her into the room, looking around. His eyes landed on a piece of wood nailed into the wall, a backwards five carved on it.

“Do you know what you’re looking for?” Malia asked Stiles.

“Something to do with that.” Stiles pointed to the wood covering.

Malia and Stiles walked over to the wall that the wood was nailed to. Malia bent down and ran her hand across the carving, looking up at Stiles.

“What does it mean?” She asked.

“Self.” Stiles answered, remembering seeing the symbol on the back of Y/N’s ear.

“Maybe you should tell me more.” Malia suggested, not understanding.

Stiles shook his head and glanced down at her. “You might not like me if you know any more.”

Malia snorted and stood up so that she was level with Stiles. “Try to remember that I’m a werecoyote who murdered her own family. I won’t judge.” She said. “I promise.”

Stiles scoffed and looked down at the floor, wondering if he could trust the werecoyote.

-

Y/N

Kincaid ripped an arrow out of his bicep and threw it down. He stepped toward Kira and reached out, grabbing her throat and raising her up into the air. She grunted, running out of breath, before Kincaid threw her through the air, where she landed in a heap against the brick wall.

I stepped forward nervously and swung my bat at his abdomen. It hit him and he simply chuckled, reaching forward and grabbing me, throwing me next to Kira. I gasped as my head hit the brick, but my eyesight was fine and I didn’t feel any pain. I watched as Kincaid slapped Allison away from him, where she landed next to me.

Scott approached Kincaid, punching and kicking at him. Kincaid hardly moved a muscle, staring at Scott with amusement in his glowing blue eyes. Kincaid grabbed both of Scott’s arms and headbutted him, causing Scott to be pushed away a few feet.

Scott threw another punch but Kincaid blocked it and grabbed Scott, kneeing him in the abdomen. Scott fell to the ground, where Kincaid kicked at his ribs repeatedly. Scott gasped for breath as Kincaid crouched before him.

“You have the eyes of an Alpha.” Kincaid said, looking over Scott. “But where’s the strength?”

“Up here!” Aiden called, making me look up. The twins were on a balcony, staring down at Kincaid with blue eyes. They growled and jumped at him.

“Allison, Y/N!” Lydia said in a panicked voice as she came rushing toward us. She helped each of us up. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” I breathed shakily. “Just another day at the office, you know?”

Allison and Lydia gave me unamused looks; I shrugged.

“Ah!” Kincaid shouted, falling to the ground and capturing our attention. The twins had thrown him to the ground and got ready for another round of beating him up.

“Ethan, Aiden, stop!” Scott shouted, getting to his feet.

“You want him to come after us?” Aiden asked harshly, pointing at Kincaid who laid on the ground, panting.

“Scott, we’ve seen guys like this.” Ethan tried to reason with Scott. “Trust us. He’s dangerous.”

“So are we.” Scott replied. “And he looks smart enough to remember that.” He glanced down at Kincaid, who wiped the blood from his eyes. Scott reached toward him and pulled Katashi’s silver finger out of his pocket. “We’re here to save a life. Not end one.”

-

3RD Person

“This place definitely used to be a lot more fun.” Malia commented as she and Stiles looked through a mountain of old paperwork. “Electroshock, ice baths. Trepanation?”

“That’s what Oliver was talking about.” Stiles said, looking over at the papers in Malia’s hand. “Trepanation is when they drill into your head.”

“No wonder they don’t want anyone down here.” Malia sighed, causing Stiles to chuckle.

Then he sighed, throwing his pile of papers to the ground. “There’s nothing here.” He said into his fist. He glanced at Malia, wondering if she would do something for him. “Could you do me a favor? Could you just check the lines on my back? Just tell me if they’re fading.”

He pulled up the back of his shirt and turned, allowing Malia to looked over his bare back.

“Yeah, they’re almost gone.” Malia confirmed his fear. “I’m guessing that’s bad.”

Stiles nodded.

“Okay.” Malia pulled down the back of Stiles’ shirt, causing him to jump when her cold hands touched his skin. “Sorry.” She apologized. “I told you, I’m always cold.”

“That’s okay.” Stiles shook his head. “I’m used to it, Y/N always has me hold her hands. Here.” Stiles took Malia’s hands in his own and chuckled. “Boy, you really are cold.”

Malia grinned at him and Stiles sent her a small smile back. It seemed weird, but if he couldn’t have Y/N with him right now, he was glad someone else was here at least. He didn’t feel as lonely.

Malia slowly leaned in, her eyes wide and her lips pursed, as though she was going to kiss Stiles. Stiles’ own eyes widened and he leaned away quickly, not realizing that he would offend Malia.

“Sorry.” He said quickly before explaining. “Um, I like you—um—a-as a friend, but I-I have a soulmate that I love very much.”

“Oh.” Malia sighed, leaning back. “Okay. Um, Y/N, right? You’ve been talking about her…”

“Yeah…” Stiles smiled goofily. “She’s my girlfriend.”

“Stiles.” Malia said, sitting up suddenly, a look of realization on her face.

“What?” Stiles asked, looking at her curiously.

Malia didn’t answer; she got up and walked around the furnace to the wooden panel with the backwards five on it, Stiles following her. She crouched down and knocked against the panel, making an echoing sound.

“Do you hear that?” She asked, looking up at him.

Stiles nodded and looked around, picking up a random tire iron. Malia got out of the way just in time, as Stiles hit the wooden panel with the tire iron. The wood gave away easily, revealing a corpse with its head wrapped completely in bandages.

“This is him.” Stiles murmured, staring at the corpse.

“The Nogitsune?” Malia looked at Stiles in confusion.

Stiles nodded.

Malia reached forward into the hole and took something out of the corpse’s shirt pocket. She pulled out a picture and handed it to Stiles.

“Recognize them?” She wondered.

Stiles took the picture and scanned it before nodding. “One of them.” He stood up, glancing down at Kira’s face. “I have to get this to Scott.”

Suddenly there was a loud crackling and Stiles felt an electric current run through him, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. Malia stood up in shock, watching as Oliver held up a stun gun.

“You took Brunski’s keys.” Oliver stated blankly. “I took his stun gun.”

Oliver thrust the stun gun forward into Malia’s stomach, causing her to slide down the wall to the floor. Oliver crouched down in front of her and held out a syringe. “I also got his Haldol.” He said, injecting her with a sedative in the knee. Malia quickly passed out and Oliver stood up, turning to Stiles.

“Like I was saying, Stiles.” Oliver said, walking away toward the stairs. “I heard they used to do trepanation here.”

Stiles shuddered against the wall, the current still running through him.

“Oliver…” He said weakly. “What are you doing?”

Oliver picked up an electric drill and held it up for Stiles to see. “I’m going to let the evil spirits out.”

As Stiles passed out, all he heard was the whirling of the drill.

-

Stiles’ eyesight was blurry as he woke up. Oliver was standing above him, and as Stiles went to get up, he found that he couldn’t move; he was restrained.

“I borrowed a few pointers from the five-point restraint.” Oliver chuckled.

Stiles looked down in horror, seeing that he was tied up with no escape.

“Oliver, stop this.” Stiles begged his roommate.

Oliver coughed roughly, his hand over his mouth. He pulled his hand away, revealing blood and a dead fly in his palm.

“Oliver, listen to me.” Stiles continued. “Stop!”

Oliver started the drill and moved closer to Stiles’ head.

“Oliver! Oliver! Stop!” Stiles shouted.

“Start with her.”

Stiles looked up at the familiar voice of the Nogitsune. He saw the Nogitsune sitting next to the furnace, watching the events happening with a casual air. Oliver followed his command, turning to Malia with the drill held up.

“You did this.” Stiles whispered as the Nogitsune turned to look at him. “You got into his head.”

“Every Dracula needs a Renfield.” The Nogitsune replied.

Stiles looked over and saw Oliver putting Malia into the five-point restraint. He turned back to the Nogitsune and begged, “Let her go.”

“Let me in.”

Stiles shook his head and grunted as he tried to get out of his restraints.

“Stiles.” The Nogitsune drawled, coming closer to Stiles. “Do you want her to leave here alive? Do you want us to leave? We can walk out of this place.”

“Just let her go.” Stiles said pleadingly. He didn’t want Malia to die for him.

“Let me in.” The Nogitsune hissed, walking over to Stiles’ chair. Stiles screamed and tried to get out of his chair, but he was stuck. “Let me in, Stiles.”

Stiles glanced at Malia and Oliver and saw that Oliver had started his drill and was moving it closer to Malia’s head.

“Just let her go!” Stiles cried, tears of panic and frustration slipping down his cheeks.

“Let me in, Stiles!” The Nogitsune threatened. “Let me in! Let me in and I’ll let her live. Let me in or I’ll find your precious Y/N and kill her too! Let me in!”

Stiles slumped in his seat, knowing that he had to do this. He couldn’t let Malia die and he sure as hell couldn’t let the Nogitsune kill Y/N.

Oliver continued to move the drill closer and closer to Malia’s head on the orders of the Nogitsune. He was just about to make contact when a voice stopped him.

“Oliver.”

Oliver stopped the drill and looked up. Stiles ripped out of his restraints easily and stood up, glancing at Oliver with dark eyes. He slowly strode over to Oliver and looked him up and down before grabbing the drill from Oliver and hitting him in the head with it, knocking him to the floor.

Malia sighed as she woke up, her eyes blurry. She blinked once to clear them and saw Stiles with his back to her, holding a drill in his hands.

“Stiles?” Malia called weakly.

Stiles semi-turned to look at her, an evil smirk on his face.

The Nogitsune. She thought. He’s the Nogitsune again.

And she watched as the Nogitsune walked away, using Stiles’ body as his host.

-

Y/N

Dr. Deaton undid the scroll, looking over it quickly, a frown on his face.

“There isn’t much here, unfortunately.” He said solemnly.

“Does it say anything?” I asked worriedly, grabbing Scott’s hand for assurance.

“My Japanese isn’t great.” Dr. Deaton glanced at me. “But it appears to say that one method of expelling a Nogitsune is to change the body of the host.”

“Change the body?” Scott said, raising an eyebrow.

“Which begs the question, how do we change Stiles’ body?” Dr. Deaton wondered.

Scott was silent for a second before he looked up, a grave expression on his face. “By turning him into a werewolf.”

@julzdec @karamelcoveredolicity @thegirlalmighty01 @eat-unicornpoop @belleknows @supernaturallover2002  @dontstopxx @feelingsareharddd @brien-odylan  @shewritesshedraws @dylnobrien1911 @kaleyana @mad-hatter-021 @nikcentric @addietagglikesbands @seninjakitey @shayke-and-bake @southsiderepresent @screamxqueenx94 @lostinwonderland314  @rissa-raeken @caitsymichelle13 @barryallenplease  @dafine18 @loverofwaytoomanythings618@winchestergirl907

[aroselane]

The Devil in Me Ch. 5

Chapter Five:

Noah:

I felt guilty.

There was no reason I should, but I did.

It was like this unpleasant feeling settling in the pit of my stomach.

It almost made me sick.

I glanced over at the alarm clock on the small nightstand next to my bed.

Wednesday morning, 7:57 AM.

It had been a while, but I guess Dr. Odell was right.

I just needed to get laid.

Only, it didn’t feel so great in the morning.

I rubbed over the burn on my chest. I forgot how aggressive Raisa is.

You could almost make out a full handprint burned into my chest.

The spot where her three center fingers were, held the more prominent burns. The pinky was barely visible, as was the thumb.

Almost like you could tell that she was on top of me.

I had to shake the thought. I didn’t want to go back to her anytime soon.

I needed to see Dr. Gardiner about getting something for this burn.

I forced my body to sit up, and I could feel last night's activity in my joints.

She didn’t let up.

It was like she was trying to break me on purpose.

I got to my feet and made sure I dressed before I went to see Dr. Gardiner.

It didn’t take that long to get to the small room Dr. Gardiner worked out of.

The red ring was up outside his door, which meant he was with another patient.

Damn it.

I sat outside in the hallway. The only thing I could do now was wait.

I wasn’t sure how long I waited, but the door finally opened. It honestly felt like half an hour, at least.

Breena was the first person I saw.

I didn’t know precisely what ethnicity she was, but I knew at least one of her parents was Asian. She had short dark brown hair, currently up in a messy ponytail. Her eyes were dark hazel.

She met my gaze and simply nodded. That’s when I noticed the child in her arms. It was her daughter, Melody.

“Is everything alright?” I asked her.

“She has a fever,” Breena said.

I stood up to look at the sleeping toddler. Her white hair was shorter than I remember. I think Griff said something about her figuring out how to use scissors.

“I hope she feels better,” I said, placing my hand gently on her back.

Breena only nodded before walking off.

I could feel the fever, just by touching her.

“Noah,” Dr. Gardiner greeted, “What brings you here so early?”

“I could use a burn cream,” I stated.

“Come on in,” he said, gesturing for me to head inside.

I walked in and sat on the exam bed.

“Let’s see the burn,” Dr. Gardiner said while putting on gloves.

I pulled my shirt over my head.

He just looked at it before sighing.

“Raisa?” he asked.

I didn’t like that he knew that just by looking.

“Is it that obvious?” I asked.

“You are just one of several,” he said, going to one of the cabinets.

That’s not something you want to hear.

He handed me a small container.

“Twice a day,” he said, “It will burn, so be warned.”

“Will the burn go away?” I asked.

He glanced at me while he removed his gloves and discarded them “Yes.”

“How long?” I asked.

“In a hurry to get rid of it?” he asked with a smirk on his face.

“Yes,” I didn’t care to lie.

“I’d give it a couple of days,” he said, “But it’s different with you guys, Devil’s heal differently.”

I nodded, making sure to unscrew the lid to put a little on now.

It did burn. Holy hell, it burned.

I twisted the lid back on before getting up and pulling my shirt back on.

“Thanks, Doc.”

“Make good decisions,” he said as he waved.

Smartass.

I was on my way out when I got a message on my phone.

From: Baird – ‘You’re late.’

I sighed. I needed to change my clothes again.

I was able to dress quickly before making my way down to the trial center.

This was a waste of my time.

I knew that now.

-

Shay:

Ow.

My side hurt.

I guess that fall I took last night was worse than I thought.

I made it back home after walking the boys to school, and Jody was still asleep in my bed.

“Jody,” I said, “It’s after eight.”

She only groaned in response.

I made my way to the mirror over my closet door to check my side.

“That looks gnarly,” Jody said from the bed.

There was a large bruise on my side.

“You didn’t even wear heels, and you fell,” Jody stated, “How do you function?”

She was giggling.

“You knocked me over,” I stated, “I took the fall for you. Remember that.”

She nodded gravely. “It’s now embedded in my brain.”

She slowly sat up, but her eyes were closed the whole time.

“How do you function?” I asked her.

“Blindly,” she sighed.

We both laughed before she stood all the way up.

“School?” I asked her.

“Yeah,” she sighed “My legs still hurt.”

“That’s what you get for wearing sexy shoes,” I told her sternly.

She only nodded with a frown, “The price of being hot.”

“Sore legs,” I stated.

“And sides,” she pointed at me.

“Sure,” I said, “Let’s go with that.”

“Can I borrow some clothes?” she asked.

“Go for it,” I said.

Not like she had to ask; my closet was hers.

“Do you have any plans for tomorrow?” she asked, pulling off her shirt.

I shook my head.

She looked at me mid head shake. I forgot that she wasn’t looking at me.

“I wanted to do a little spa thing.”

“Spa thing?” I asked her.

“I got this basket from my aunt,” she said, pulling a tight white shirt over her head. Thankfully I watched her put a bra on. She didn’t need to show people full nipples.

“What kind of basket?” I asked.

She dropped her shorts to switch them out for a short black and gray plaid skirt.

“It has a bunch of face masks and body scrubs in it,” she stated, “I figured we could do that the night before we go.”

I swear, every time she brought it up, I felt instantly nauseous.

“I don’t see why not,” I shrugged.

She grinned, “I’m so excited.”

“I’m sure you are,” I said, fighting an eye roll.

“What?” she looked at me “You’re saying you aren’t?”

“It’s not that I’m not excited,” I said, “I’m just more nervous, I guess.”

She walked over to pat my head “It’s okay to be nervous, but know that I am going to be there with you the whole time.”

I nodded, “Same to you.”

“Damn right,” she grinned.

That’s how it worked around here.

She quickly pecked me on the cheek, “Later, honey.”

“Have a good day!” I called after her as she rushed out.

I couldn’t help but grin as I walked to the door to make sure that she locked it behind her. She didn’t, so it was a good thing I checked.

-

Noah:

I didn’t care anymore; I was done with this.

“Baird,” I said once the last volunteer was gone.

“Noah,” he greeted “Anything today?”

“What do you think?” I asked.

He looked a little surprised, “I am not certain, that is why I asked.”

This guy…

Why did everyone always get so surprised when I got frustrated?

“Nothing today,” I told him, “I don’t want to be in the program anymore.”

“The week is almost up,” he said, “Try to wait it out.”

“No,” I said, “I’m done.”

“One more day,” Baird said, “Just one more. If nothing comes of it, I will let you take a few days off.”

“I don’t want a few days off, Baird,” I said, “I don’t want to participate in the program at all.”

“That is not up to either of us right now,” he stated, “You had a very physical reaction, and we don’t know why.”

He didn’t need to remind me of that, the memory of the tremors alone sent a cold shiver up my spine.

“One more day,” Baird said, “Then a few days off.”

“Fine,” I tried my best not to hiss “One more day, then we figure out how to get me the hell out of it.”

“If that is truly what you wish,” Baird said, “At least you tried.”

Trying to guilt-trip me… Damn it.

“I will see you tomorrow Baird.”

“Have a good night,” Baird said.

He was too kind. It was annoying sometimes.

Too patient too.

I shook my head as I made my way back to my room to get ready for work.

-

Shay:

It was a little chilly out today.

I was thankful for the excuse to wear a sweater.

It was almost six, and I had to make it to the daycare in time to get the boys.

I made it with a good ten minutes to spare.

The woman before me held the door open for me.

“Thank you,” I smiled at her.

She smiled back.

I liked it when people were kind.

I saw the woman my brothers adored standing near the front desk.

“Hey,” I smiled wide at her.

“Shay,” Eileen smiled back just as wide “You changed your hair.”

“Oh,” I said, touching it, I guess I haven’t really seen her the last couple of days “Yeah, just thought I would try something new.”

“I like it,” she said, “It suits you.”

“Thanks,” I said, glancing down at the sign-out sheet.

I wrote both Connor and Cody’s name, the date, and then finally the time.

Wednesday, June 15th, at 5:56 PM.

“Vee,” Eileen told the other girl walking in, “Can you get Connor and Cody, please?”

The girl Vee nodded before turning around and going back the same way she came from.

“How are you doing?” Eileen asked me.

“I’m doing alright,” I said, trying not to lie, and trying not to be too honest “How are you?”

She smiled “I’m doing well, thank you.”

It was strange, every time I looked at her, I would swear her eyes were purple. Pale purple, I would say.

Her dark brown hair was long, it reached the center of her back.

I wonder if she had any problems getting guys.

She was a beautiful girl.

“Shay!” Connor ran up and hugged me.

Cody just walked up and smiled.

“Hey guys,” I said, “Did you have a good day?”

“We made noodle people!” Connor shouted.

I just grinned at him, “Did you?”

“It has to stay and dry, though,” he said, “But tomorrow it can go on the fridge.”

“Yes, it can,” I nodded, “I can only imagine how amazing it looks.”

Eileen smiled at us.

“Have a good night Eileen,” I said.

“Goodnight, you guys,” she waved “See you tomorrow!”

I stopped, “Oh, actually.”

“Is everything alright?” she asked.

“How late do you guys stay open on Friday?” I asked.

“Well, Fridays are usually until nine,” she said, “Do you have special plans?”

“Sort of,” I said, “The boys might stay a little later Friday if that’s alright.”

“Of course,” she said, “Your boys are always welcome, we’ll have so much fun.”

“Thank you,” I said, “See you tomorrow.”

She waved at us on our way out.