amateur detective ━━ stiles stilinski¹

xxviii; coup de foudre

COUP DE FOUDRE directly translates into two things. A bolt of lightning, or a sudden unforeseen event, such as love at first sight. Juliette recognised the phrase from Scott, when he started recapping the story Noshiko told him about the rebirth of the Nogitsune almost a hundred years ago amidst the second world war. In the interment camp, Noshiko had a love story with a caucasian male named Rhys. Before he turned into the Nogitsune, which is a story within itself, she taught him the double meaning of coup de foudre, in Oak Creek.

Which is where Lydia is now. They called Allison to inform her about their loose plan, which relied more on improvisation than anything. Juliette strapped knives to her thighs in preparation, as her weaponry abilities limited itself to daggers and Chinese rings and there was little to no time for her to master other weapons. "Scott, you okay?"

The healing she gave Stiles through her amplifying powers has brazenly wore off, as the bags under his eyes formed dark purple circles, and his skin grew paler. "Yeah." Scott bobbed his head. "You don't have to worry about me."

Juliette and Isaac were in the backseat of the jeep, and the silence in the car built up tension between them all. "All right, i'm going to say it."

"Is that really a wise idea?" Juliette arched an eyebrow.

"You look like you're dying." Isaac said dryly, his bluntness causing both Scott and Juliette to send him staggered looks. "You're pale, thin and you look like you're getting worse. We're all sitting here thinking it. When we find the other you, is he gonna look like he's getting better?"

Only Juliette knew the answer was yes. There was not a single cut, hardly even a bruise, on her body, which meant that he's in good shape. Otherwise, if he was harmed, it would reflect on her body. But telling them meant admitting that she's been lying to them the entirety of this week when she kept insisting that the bond had broken when she knew it hadn't.

"What happens if he gets hurt?"

"You mean if he dies, do I die?" Stiles glanced at Scott, then shifted his gaze to Juliette's eyes through the rear view mirror. "I don't think so. But even if it's true, I don't care. I remember everything I did, Scott. I remember killing Oliver. I remember breaking Juliette's hand, cutting her wrist, all of it."

"It wasn't you."

A slight huff escaped him, keeping his eyes on the road. "Yeah,, but I remember it. You guys gotta promise me, you can't let anyone else get hurt because of me." Stiles contradicted. "Not for me." He repeated, his eyes still tracing hers through the rear view mirror.

When they arrived, they saw that two cars were parked already. Getting out of the car, she felt her arm being pulled back. Turning around, she saw Stiles clutching on her arm to keep her from the others. "What is it?"

"I'm not letting you do this anymore."

Her face fell, glancing back at the gathered group behind her then turning back to Stiles. "You promised you wouldn't tell them."

"You'll die if I don't."

"Stiles, please." She pleaded, gripping onto his hands. "They'll have to kill him either way, don't make this harder on them than it already is."

Stiles saw that the group of friends stood in a circle in front of the gate, waiting for the two. "You said you know a way to break the bond?" He recalled, receiving a slight nod as her only answer. "Are you sure it'll work?"

"I'm sure." The lie escaped her lips before she could catch herself.

    "Promise me you won't do anything stupid or unnecessarily heroic."