Brother || Teen Wolf

Chapter 5 - The woods can be peaceful too

After practice, Scott, Stiles and Jamie went back to the woods. They were looking for Scott's inhaler, that he had lost the night before. They drove to the Preserve and started their hike, taking in their surroundings. 

When it wasn't a theater of bizarre events, the Beacon Hills Preserve was a rather peaceful place. One could go there and enjoy a nice walk, following one of the many paths that lead between the trees. Hiking there, you could stumble upon a small stream, hear the chirping of birds or simply enjoy a retreat away from the city. If a wanderer was to walk all the way to the lookout point, they would see all of Beacon Hills before their eyes. 

They could look at the come and go of cars and people, although from such a distance they would all appear small, almost insignificant. The river cut the town in half, separating the city center from the quieter, more residential area. The most animated neighborhood was just East of the river. The hospital was located at its heart; it was always surprisingly busy for such a small town. West of the river was where the bigger houses were placed, some of them almost reaching the treeline that outlined the Preserve.

The teenagers were not alone in the woods. A man was watching them from afar. He was tall, and had a look of weariness, although he was only in his early twenties. He was standing next to a tree, unmoving, his attention on the teens crossing the stream. He was intimidating, dressed in black, his brows furrowed and his jaw clenched. He seemed focused; he was observing the teens. 

The smallest one had a face covered in moles and captivating, whiskey-colored eyes. He was gesturing wildly as he spoke, his arms flailing around in the most improbable ways. He was talking rapidly and voicing thought after thought without pause. He made one of his friends laugh lightheartedly. 

This other one's most striking features was his eyes. They were a piercing blue and held a constant air of slight boredom, as if the teen was never fully awake. Dark blond hair rested on top of his head and he was by far the most smartly-dressed of the three. Although laughing, his eyes rested on the third member of the little group, monitoring his reaction. 

The third one did not seem the least amused at whatever had his friends laughing. He had the most muscular frame of the trio. His dark black hair whipped around his face as he shook his head at his friends, narrowing his brown puppy eyes in fake anger. He had an air about him, an air that said that you could count on him, that anyone would be lucky to have him as a friend.

The mysterious man cocked his head to the side, straining his ears to understand what they were saying. Their voices reverberated against the trees. The topic of their conversation was quite peculiar.

"I don't know what it was. I mean I felt like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball," the bushy-haired one explained. "And that's not the only weird thing. I can hear stuff that I shouldn't be able to hear, like-"

"Like this morning, when you heard Allison say she didn't have a pen?" the blue-eyed one interrupted.

"Exactly!" the muscular one answered, while the third teen had a look of realization on his face, as if he had just understood something. "And I can smell things! Like the mint gum in Stiles' pocket."

The smaller teen, Stiles, as the man in black had just learned, reached in his pocket. He had a look of disbelief as he retrieved a mint gum from his jacket. "Scott, how'd you do that?"

Scott shrugged, as if he did not know what to say. "It all started with the bite."

"What if it's your body reacting to the wound? Like some kind of infection?" the third boy offered.

"Oh you're right, Jamie, it's an infection," said Stiles, a mischievous look slowly appearing on his face. "In fact, I think I've heard of this before. It's a very specific kind of infection."