the hunt • stiles stilinski [3]

two • try and try again

"do you see him?"

i gasped, sitting up straight in bed. my hands clamped over my ears, eyes squeezing shut. the sound of a train barreling by filled my room, loud squeals following as it flew along the tracks. when i opened my eyes, orange lights flooded through my window, lighting up my previously dark bedroom. my whole room shook. my face scrunched up as i looked around my room in a panic, hands gripping the edge of the bed. my eyes squeezed shut once more.

i sprung up in my bed, flicking on the lamp next to me. my mom pushed open the door and david, my step-dad, followed closely behind. i let out a quiet whimper, looking around frantically.

"olivia, what's wrong?" my mom asked, moving to sit at the edge of my bed.

"did you hear that?" i asked, eyes wide as i stared between her and david.

her head cocked to the side slightly, glancing back at david before over to me, "we heard you screaming."

"no," i shook my head, pushing my hair back as i breathed heavily. "no, it was the sound of a train passing through my room."

my mom's face softened, her voice quiet and full of care, "oh, honey. you were having a nightmare."

i frowned, shaking my head as i quietly spoke, "no, it wasn't. it wasn't a-"

"well, there wasn't a train," david said, cutting me off, "and we haven't had an earthquake."

"it must've been a really bad dream," my mom finished, smiling softly. she stood and walked to the door, sending me one last look before heading out. she closed the door behind her, the two heading back to their room.

i swallowed thickly, looking at the notebook next to me. i shook my head lightly, muttering, "but i wasn't asleep." 

+++

scott sat at the foot of his bed, deep in thought as he stared at the lacrosse stick in his hand. he and liam had been practicing earlier that evening when the ghost riders attacked the school. well, attack wasn't really the right word for it, seeing as in no one really got hurt. surprisingly, that wasn't what scott had been bothered by the most.

when he was on the field with liam, helping him practice and shaping him to take over as captain, he felt as though liam needed help with his back shots. time and time again, liam proved him wrong. his back shot was perfect. it had left scott with the nagging feeling that it was someone else who needed help, but the only question was who? and why did scott feel like he missed them so much?

scott caught a glimpse of a shadow in the corner of his eye, causing him to look up at his desk. his eyes fell on the nets shadow on the cork board above his desk. he almost thought nothing of it, ready to brush the feeling off, but that was when he noticed an apparent blank space in the middle of the board.

he set down the stick and began the walk to the desk, but his journey was cut short. he winced, feeling a sharp pain at the bottom of his foot. grunting, he held his ankle and picked the pin out of his heel. he glanced at the floor, his eyes landing on a picture that had fallen to the ground, the backside facing up.

he picked it up, and placed the picture back on the board, pinning it down. he started at it, a small smile on his lips. it was the candid sydney had offered to take. in the picture sat four teenagers, smiling at the camera.

malia sat on the top of the picnic table, her smile wide as she sat straight. lydia had her arm resting against the table, one leg on either side of the bench. scott sat on the other end of the table, his posture matching that of lydia's. in between lydia and scott sat olivia dunbar. his stomach churned, fluttering slightly as he looked at her.