Beacon ⌲ Stiles Stilinski [1] EDITING

twenty two

By the end of the day, I felt like a ball and chains had been tied around my ankles and were constantly pulling me closer to the ground as I trudged along slowly and completely exhausted.

After I had left the gym and Erica had been carried away to emergency, I took refuge in the art room and spent the entire class - which was the last of the day - using the brightest colours and vibrant hues I could get my hands on, in hopes to wake myself up. I didn't feel sleepy necessarily, even though I was probably due for a month long hibernation, but I was drained and dreary as I walked with the weight of recent happenings and worries on my shoulder.

Each image I unconsciously let flow onto my canvas - chartreuse eyes, cerulean waves, and crimson tree branches- only put me further off. 

Gratefully, as I was descending the front steps of school to meet my sister in the parking lot, my eyes caught on what might wake me up. But he looked forlorn.

"What'd I miss?" I asked Stiles, standing next to him and addressing his exasperated expression.

I watched as he fiddled with the car keys in his hand and let out a short sigh. "Derek's growing his pack by the second. He just drove off with Erica."

Stepping back, I held my bag tighter in disbelief. "Erica Reyes?"

"That's the one," Stiles rubbed his forehead. "He must have followed her to the hospital and gave her the bite there. But she's changed. She's, well, different."

"What do you mean?"

"Like...uh, cosmetically different."

"In a good way? Like she's hot now?"

Stiles shifted his weight and stammered, heat rising to his cheeks. "Her appearance has been sufficiently enhanced, yes."

I smirked at the way he was dodging the words, but suppressed it and carried on. "Okay, so does that mean her epilepsy is gone now, too? Would the bite take that away?"

"Probably."

"And she's another number for Derek's side?"

"Definitely."

Our conversation dropped for a minute, and I felt yet another burden climb its way onto my shoulders.

Stiles noticed my slump and put out his hand. "Hey, hey, hey. It's not all bad news."

"Hmm."

"No, I-I actually had something I wanted to ask you. Well, unless your sister has already told you."

I shook my head, so he continued. "Well, see, Scott and I got the keys to the skating rink for tonight. Even though all of this pack stuff is a mess, we thought we could take a night off from chasing unknown creatures and have a skate. The rink closes at 5 tonight, so it would just be the group of us."

For the second time today, Stiles was responsible for making me smile even when I felt grey. "Cool, that sounds fun."

At my words, the corners of his mouth crept up his face and he beamed widely. "Awesome. Um-I'm driving with Scott down, so maybe you could catch a ride with your sister."

"Sure," I shrugged, making him grin and nod shortly. "How's Lydia getting down there?"

These words made his grin waver slightly. "Oh, um, I don't know...Lydia?"

I panicked slightly, feeling like I had ruined the moment somehow or like I had said something wrong. I guess I was guilty about the fact that Lydia was still in the dark about everything, even after the night of the dance. I hadn't talked to her very much since she had returned from her excursion through the woods, only briefly in gym or if I saw her in class. Lydia had been shoved into the world of the supernatural without knowing it and I was worried about her, especially with the new reptile creature looming. I guess I just assumed that she would be included when Stiles brought up an outing with friends. But based off of the look on his face, I instantly regretted the words.