From Ashes ✗ Stiles Stilinski [#𝟏]

𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲 [ unbecoming, part three. ]

A/N: HOLY MOTHER OF GOD. This chapter...this freaking chapter. It's huge, both in length and in, well, everything else. Oh, and there's a surprise at the end of the chapter! Enjoy!

Song Recommendation ["The Way (instrumental)" - Zack Hemsey]

NOTE: For the full experience, I do personally suggest seeking out each song rec.

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Scars can look like a lot of things once you lose focus.

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Before

The music pulsed and thrummed against the walls of the warehouse and it was so muggy that even the exposed drywall looked like it was sweating. The thick air smelled strongly of alcohol and weed and men's cologne, causing Maddie to grimace whenever she inhaled through her nose. There were far too many people crammed into the old building that everyone moved almost as one to avoid pressing up any tighter together. Not that they would've minded, Maddie assumed. If nothing else, every person around her seemed to thrive off of full-body contact. Girls were in thin crop tops or bikini tops and shorts that were made of fabrics that were every color of the rainbow (there was even a girl with rainbow shorts). The men were generally more clothed in their jeans and ribbed tank tops. Then again, there were several people simply not wearing shirts at all and Maddie remembered blushing furiously the first few times she saw this.

This was not how Maddie imagined celebrating her fifteenth birthday at all. She wanted a night of old sitcoms, a few rounds of Super Smash Bros, and maybe a patrol if she really needed to blow off some steam. She never in her short life thought that she would end up at one of those crazy warehouse parties that roam every week to a new location. She never thought she would be standing against a wall in her brand new Doc Marten boots (a gift from Faith earlier that day), a pair of ripped shorts, and a loose black band tee with the sleeves ripped off that read METALLICA: RIDE THE LIGHTNING (complements of Terra, the only one of them who listened to Metallica). She never thought that she'd be wearing thick black makeup that curtained her eyelids or that the kinks in her hair would be ironed into massive, teased waves. She never thought that she'd feel so unapologetically badass.

Still, she felt...off, like she was in a full body costume or armor and couldn't tell yet if she was at a masquerade or a gladiator arena. Like she was so much smaller than this world she walked into only an hour ago. She didn't care for the techno music pounding through her bones. She didn't know anyone but the rest of her team and they'd gone in different directions mere minutes after the five walked through the door. The large tan man at the door hadn't even asked for ID. He just let them in. It kind of annoyed her - partially because it meant just anyone could get in and partially because it meant she'd have to stay.

Maddie was flat against a wall, leaning so hard that she was half hoping the wall would absorb her or, more realistically, crack so that she could sneak out. Marie tried once already to pull her to the center of the room, a large smile practically splitting her face in two as she shouted, "Dance with me!"

Maddie shook her head and let go of her hand and Marie didn't seem to notice as a man with no shirt and long hair the color of mud whispered something in her ear and she was led away. Now, she was currently dancing between him and a girl with white-blonde hair and no shoes (and, again, no shirt for that matter). They moved like three snakes writhing side by side, hair and skin (lots of skin) drenched in sweat.

At least she's having fun.

Somewhere in the room, she knew that Charlie was dancing alone, spinning in the heat of the lights and bodies, and enjoying her strange solitude. Charlie wasn't here for grinding up against boys or girls and everyone already seemed to know that and kept a measured distance. They watched as she moved effortlessly on the floor and sang along to the lyrics. Always the best dancer, always the best singer. She told them once a long time ago that she wanted to be a dancer before she was taken from La Palma, California when she was nine. It wasn't until she blasted a K-Pop group called Jewelry and sang along to their songs every morning that they began to understand. If anyone was bitter about their fate - becoming a Slayer, living in altruistic silence - it was her.