I got psychotic for you.

When your eyes looked at me as if I was a burning forest in the middle of a cold-hearted winter that is when I should have left you. You loved the lust in between my teeth but you weren’t lustful for the love I could have left on your lips. You call on me like I am an emergency call and you expect me to answer every time and that’s when I should’ve left you.

When the boys around me told me I was a temple they wanted to worship and you wouldn’t even believe in the bittersweet scripts I wrote for you, that’s when I should’ve closed my gates for you. It’s written all over my skin and it goes deep inside my bones, the love poems I want to choke you with. You are not religious but you keep on reminding me of my religion, and that is when I should’ve left you.

When my friends kept on asking why and I kept on saying I don’t know when I knew it very well. I would love to love you but your name scratches my back with greedy promises and you make me scream my lungs out, and you make people applaud for me every time I go insane. I am not a tiger in a circus and you aren’t my trainer, I will not learn your tips and tricks of how to behave. I should’ve left you. I should’ve left you. I should’ve left you when you know me that well and you still question my poetry for you.

I think somewhere between you being an electron and me being a proton, I fall in love with you so madly. We are electric, magnetic, and dynamic. You are attracted to the way I pull you off me, and nothing would kill you but the electroshock running through your veins every time you want to touch me.

And you put my molecules on fire and they cry while burning: I am in love, I am in love and I love you. Moreover, I pretend I don’t hear them cause it hurts too much to know that we are not a symbiosis, that you only take and take and never ever give anything back.

Why don’t you combine your cells with mine? Destroy the walls and let them float in this blood of madness. Because we are not from here and every element of us is calling towards the west coast, and why don’t you die on my heart? Let the scientists study who we are…

Because we are a different kind of species.

The only love I ever want is the darkest of them all. It has sharp teeth and it shreds me to pieces. It is a dangerous kind of love; the one that forgives too quickly and makes amour out of revenge. And when it leaves you, you would cry on the kitchen floor and call your best friend. A love so dramatic that the only artistic thing about you will be the way you cry yourself to sleep. You would not write anymore because your damn lover took every pen of yours and stabbed you in the lungs with them. You would eat your heart with salt and your bear hands.

I want to die for love. Oh my dear, kill me. Turn me into a tragedy. 

Let them write about us.

Let them say I got psychotic for you.

July Playlist / Breakup

Here’s some songs to listen to when you’re going through a breakup, some of them are sad so you can cry, some angry, some empowering, and some happy, sooooo here ya go!

01. Amnesia- 5 Seconds of Summer // 02. Starring Role- Marina and the Diamonds // 03. Pity Party- Melanie Martinez // 04. Nicotine- Panic! at the Disco // 05. The Distance That Took You Away- SayWeCanFly // 06. I’m Not Okay (I Promise)- My Chemical Romance // 07. Oh Calamity!- All Time Low // 08. The (Shipped) Gold Standard by Fall Out Boy // 09.  Lead Me Out of the Dark- Crown the Empire // 10. What A Catch, Donnie- Fall Out Boy // 11. In Case- Demi Lovato // 12. Missing You- All Time Low // 13. The Art of Anesthesia- SayWeCanFly // 14.  I Don’t Love You- My Chemical Romance // 15. Don’t- Ed Sheeran //16. Dead To Me- Melanie Martinez // 17. Human- Christina Perri // 18. Gasoline- Troye Sivan // 19. Paper Hearts- Tori Kelly // 20. Get Down On Your Knees and Tell Me That You Love Me- All Time Low // 21. Miss Missing You- Fall Out Boy // 22. Nothing last forever- Maroon 5 // 23. Therapy- All Time Low // 24. The Scientist- Coldplay // 25. Over My Head- The Fray // 26. Love- Daughter // 27. Skinny Love- Birdy // 28. Why Don't You Love Me- Hot Chelle Rae ft. Demi Lovato // 29. I Wish You Would- Taylor Swift // 30. Give Me Love- Ed Sheeran // 31. Sad Beautiful Tragic- Taylor Swift // 32. Midnight- Coldplay // 33. Falling- HAIM // 34. Tee Shirt- Birdy // 33. Mr Brightside- The Killers // 34. Used to Haunt- The Mountain Goats // 35. Look Outside- Nat & Alex Wolff // 36. Like A Fool- Kiera Knightley // 37. Tell Me If You Wanna Go Home- Keira Knightley // 38. Lost Stars- Adam Levine // 39. Therapy- All Time Low // 40. I Miss You- Blink182 // 41. Close as Stranger- 5 Seconds of Summer // 42. A step you cant take back- Keira Knightley // 43. Anchor Tattoo- Chase Atlantic // 44. Amnesia- 5 Seconds of Summer // 45. Weightless- All Time Low // 46. Mad at Myself- Issues

Chapter 26 || Stay With Me

Chapter 26

Notes:

(See the end of the chapter for notes.)

Remy gripped Olivia's hand tightly. He felt sick to his stomach with the sense of Deja vu. The entire pack, minus Parrish, was once again gathered in Stiles' room. The hospital staff had been reluctant to let them all visit at once considering how unstable Stiles' condition was and a huge number of people would only get in the way, but the staff had agreed because none of them thought Stiles had much time left.

If this plan didn't work, they would all be right. If the Sheriff Stilinski couldn't get through to Stiles, then they were out of options. They would all be forced to stand and watch Stiles suffer, unable to do anything. This plan had to work, it was all they had.

Remy squeezed his sister's hand tighter. If it hurt her, she didn't complain. She would know that Remy needed to support right now. After all, this was all his fault. He was the one who had led his sister and Dawson to Beacon Hills. In his desperation for safety, he hadn't even thought about the danger he was bringing to their doorstep. He should have turned and run when he figured out that the Hunters were following them. He should have tried to lose them before heading to Beacon Hills.

He had been scared and fully unprepared to be in charge of two young werewolves. In his desperation, he had turned to the only person he could think of to help them. The true Alpha who was both kind and fierce. Based on his research, Remy had known that Scott would take them in and protect them. Remy hadn't even given a second thought to the collateral damage. He hadn't even thought about the fact that Scott had a pack of his own and it was that pack that would have to fight the hunters to keep the three omegas safe.

And never in a thousand years would Remy have thought that the collateral damage would include a fragile human who had so quickly carved out a place of fondness inside of Remy. Stiles' sharp wit and talkative nature had quickly won over Remy. In fact, Remy had quickly developed a fondness for the entire pack. He liked the life that they were starting in Beacon Hills. Remy wasn't sure what would happen if Stiles didn't make it. Scott had assured Remy that he didn't blame them for the Hunters and that the three of them were now a permanent part of his pack, but who knows how he would feel if his best friend died. Remy wouldn't blame Scott if he never wanted to look at any of them again. The thought of losing Stiles plus the rest of the pack and it being all his fault was almost too much for Remy to bear.

Sensing his distress, Olivia squeezed his hand and Dawson moved the tiniest bit closer to him. Remy knew better than to reach out to his friend. Dawson was more the suffer alone in silence type. He played everything very close to the vest. That's why Remy was really surprised to see how quickly Dawson had let his guard down around Stiles. After they had gotten over the whole "Hey I'm the werewolf who bit you" weirdness the two had hit it off immediately. Remy suspected that part of the reason Dawson had grown so comfortable around Stiles was his talkativeness. Dawson wasn't much of a talker, and with Stiles he didn't have to be. He could just relax, be himself, and let Stiles run the conversation.

"This better work," Dawson whispered so quietly that Remy could barely hear it. He nodded his head slightly and whispered back,

"It will." Dawson didn't acknowledge him but kept staring at Stiles. Olivia squeezed his hand again and he looked down into the worried face of his little sister. She held his hand in one hand and Liam's in the other, and she was gripping both tightly. "It's gonna be okay Liv" he tried to assure her, squeezing her hand back.

"I know," She said shakily, giving him a small fake smile that didn't reach her eyes. They fell back into silence. Remy caught Liam's eye. The boy looked every bit as young and scared as his sister. Remy turned away, unable to bear the begging look in Liam's eyes. A look begging for everything to be alright like Remy said it would be. Remy couldn't stand letting another person down.

God please let this work, he thought to himself desperately. He watched Scott line up his nails on the back of the Sheriff and Stiles' necks with a growing feeling of dread inside of him.

*****

Scott took a deep breath and pushed his nails in, instinctively closing his eyes. When he opened them back up he found that he and the Sheriff were in Stiles' room back when Stiles was a kid. The room was dark except for a small nightlight in the corner which illuminated the figure of Claudia Stilinski sitting on Stiles' bed.

"And what type of story would you like to hear tonight? One with princes or knights maybe? Or one with Wizards or Dragons or Racecar Drivers?" His mom asked and Scott couldn't help but smile, remember Stiles' racecar phase.

"Tell me the story of how you and Daddy met." The Sheriff drew in a sharp breath. Scott looked over to see him watching the scene with a guarded expression on his face.

"Alright, well I was in college, your father was attending the police academy. We happened to share apartments next to each other. They were these little tiny shacks, barely enough room for a person to live in, but it was all we could afford at the time. Anyways, one night I was desperately trying to bake cookies because my parents were coming up to visit for the first time and I wanted to impress them. Unfortunately, I had no idea how to cook at this point in my life and I ended up setting off the fire alarm...twice." At this young Stiles giggle. It was a wonderfully innocent sound that only a child could make. Scott saw that the Sheriff smiled slightly, either at the sound or the story or maybe both.

"Was Daddy mad?"

"Yes, he was furious. After we were allowed back into our apartments the second time he came barging through my door yelling about how he could tell it was my fault based on the smell of smoke. At this point, I was nearly hysterical. It was late at night and I had burnt dozens of cookies and couldn't seem to figure out what was going wrong. So I started yelling back about how I was only trying to impress my parents but I was a complete failure at everything. When I had finished your father didn't say a work. He merely went to the sink and started washing his hands. When I asked him what he was doing he told me that he couldn't very well have dirty hands while cooking."

"He was gonna cook the cookies for you!" Little Stiles exclaimed.

"Yes. He told me that he needed to get a good night sleep for an important training test the next day and couldn't afford any more fire drills. So we talked about our lives while he cooked. He also instructed me on how to properly bake the cookies. The conversation was so easy and natural, it was like we had known each other for years. When he had finished he took out beautiful cookies and I hugged him in joy. He laughed and told me that if I ever needed another cooking lesson he was just next door."

"What happened after that?"

"Well I proceeded to stop by his apartment for cooking tips. He would sometimes invite me over for a meal or bring me over some leftovers he had. One night I decided to cook for him using all the skills he had given me. Afterwards, he said it was the best food he had ever tasted. Then he asked if I would like to go out sometime to get some dinner that neither of us had cooked."

"Like a date?"

"Yes exactly like a date. And I told him that I would love to go on a date with him and the rest is history."

"I like that story."

"Me too kiddo, now time for bed."

"Okay mommy." Stiles said as he settled down further in bed and Claudia tucked the blankets around him.

"I love you monkey."

"I love you too mommy." Stiles says sleepily. His mom kissed his forehead and walked out the door, leaving it open just a crack. The Sheriff walked over to his now sleeping son.

"Sheriff, we have to go." Scott said, gesturing to the door. The Sheriff bent down to kiss Stiles on the head where Claudia had. He stood up straight and nodded at Scott to lead the way. The two of them walked out the door and into the next memory.

*****

Jordan sighed yet again as he shuffled paperwork around his desk. His coworker shot him an annoyed glance that he paid no attention to. His mind was someplace far away. His mind was in Stiles' hospital room with the rest of his pack. He hated not being there, but he also knew that someone had to be in the office. The Sheriff's continued absence was understandable, but to the outside world, Parrish had no reason to be spending all of his free time with Stiles. So to avoid suspicion here he was, holed up in an office pretending to care about the cases and paperwork that was crossing his desk.

Jordan looked over Stiles' case file once again. The official story was that no one had any idea who had taken Stiles or why. When he hadn't come home the Sheriff had put out an APB on the jeep. They had found it abandoned with the side smeared with blood (Parrish himself had taken care of smearing away the gruesome words of "We will kill you all" that had been written on the side of the car).

The story about how they had found Stiles was a little flimsy, but luckily no one had questioned it too much. The story went that the Sheriff had spent all of his nights driving around looking for Stiles and sometimes was joined by some of Stiles' friends. One night Scott spotted something on the side of the road. He pulled over and found Stiles unconscious and bleeding. He was alive but didn't stir at any of Scott's attempts to rouse him. Scott had immediately called the Sheriff and they had taken Stiles to the hospital.

Jordan sighed again and caught the eye of his coworker who raised an eyebrow. Jordan merely shrugged and looked back down at the papers on his desk. He tried not to sigh again as he thought about how complicated things would get once Stiles woke up. All he would be able to tell them would be that he was kidnapped and tortured and he had no idea why. They were also going to have to figure out how Stiles managed to escape his kidnappers.

Jordan's phone lit up, distracting him from his train of thought. He checked it and saw a text from Lydia, who was keeping him updated on the situation.

They just went under. So far so good. I'll keep you posted.

Jordan swallowed the wave of anxiety and bitterness that he couldn't be there and typed back:

Wish I was there. Any Banchee feelings yet?

Lydia's response was quick:

Not yet, but this time I won't keep them to myself.

Jordan set his phone aside and almost sighed again but caught himself. He picked up the first file off of the pile on his desk and opened it. If he was forced to be at work he might as well get something accomplished. Who knows, maybe a bit of busy work would help to take his mind off of things.

*****

"Stiles, come out come out wherever you are." Scott was surprised to hear his own voice as they entered the next memory. They were once again in the Stilinski household. This time it was daylight and they were in the kitchen. Young Scott came padding through, looking under tables and inside cupboards before heading to the next room.

"Hide and go seek?" Sheriff Stilinski asked. "Yep. Stiles was a pro at it. He knew every nook and cranny of this house. I'll bet you this is the first time I ever gave up. It usually took me forever to find him, but normally I did eventually. But this time I simply could not find him."

"Where is he hiding?" The Sheriff asked looking around.

"Wait for it."

"STILES I GIVE UP. YOU HEAR ME? I HAVE SEARCHED THIS WHOLE PLACE 4 TIMES. I. GIVE. UP." Young Scott yelled from somewhere. At that, a door of one of the cupboards above the counter opened up. A little Stiles wormed his way out of the cupboard and carefully lowered himself onto the counter. He then jumped off and went running in the direction of Scott's voice.

"HA! I BEAT YOU!"

"How did he even get up there?" The Sheriff said in wonder, staring at the now empty cupboard.

"Beats me, I couldn't even get up there to check the cupboards." Scott said with a laugh. "Ready for the next memory?"

"Let's do it." Sheriff Stilinski said heading through the door which Stiles had scurried out of moments before.

Notes:

Thank you all so much for reading my first fanfiction.

And thank you for sticking with me even through my lack of updating. :)

- N x

Chapter 25 || Stay With Me

Chapter 25

Back in the loft, the mood was sombre. When Melissa had come out a few hours earlier and told them that Stiles was alive it was as if a weight had been lifted off of all of their shoulders. They had been trying and failing to reconcile with the fact that Stiles was dead, but now they didn't have to, because he was alive. There had been smiles and tears of joy and a lot of hugging. Stiles was still unconscious, but at least his condition was stable. Malia and the others had stayed for as long as they were allowed to stay. They hadn't said very much, just listened to the steady sound of Stiles' heartbeat monitor.

Melissa finally had come and told them that they needed to leave, but she promised to keep a close eye on him and alert them to any changes. They had all reluctantly filed out of the hospital and headed to the loft.

Once they all settled into Derek's loft a heavy silence fell upon them. After the shock of the earlier events had started to wear off they all began to realized that they were no closer to helping to save Stiles. Their one and only plan had backfired horribly and now they were all at a loss for what to do.

"Eh" Derek said suddenly, clearing his throat. Malia and a few others jumped at the sudden noise. Malia watched as Derek nervously rubbed his hands together. An anxious gesture that reminded her so much of Stiles it almost brought tears to her eyes. "So I'm going to ask the question that I'm sure is on everyone's mind. What the hell happened in there?" His gaze shifted to Malia and Scott. Malia grabbed Scott's hand for support, she wasn't ready to relive the horrors they had seen, yet she knew they had to fill everyone in.

"Okay, well first we started by going through a series of memories. They went in order, starting when Stiles was a kid to right before he was kidnapped. We saw them play out like scenes in front of us and none of the people in the scene seemed to notice us." Scott started off

"What were some of these memories?" Deaton questioned

"Scott and Stiles on the swings making up fantasy worlds, Stiles playing catch with his dad and his mom watching, Stiles bringing home good grades, Stiles helping his dad with a case, Me and Stiles watching..." Malia trailed off, thinking of the memory of her and Stiles snuggling on the couch watching the Titanic. Malia had cried and Stiles had comforted her as he hid his own sniffles. It had been a perfectly simple night.

"The weird thing about all of this is that every single one of the memories were happy. Not a single sour moment in Stiles' life was included in the numerous memories we saw."

"That is curious, what else happened?" Deaton prodded, knowing that there was more to tell. Scott and Malia exchanged a look. This was the hardest part to describe.

"When we caught up to right before he was kidnapped we were led to the Stilinski house. But this time was different. This time we knew it wasn't a memory." Scott hesitated on the next part, glancing at the Sheriff who had his head in his hands. Malia wasn't sure how much he was listening.

"How'd you know it wasn't a memory?" Braeden asked.

"Because this time Stiles interacted with us... and Stiles was his current age, but...his mom was still alive." At Scott's words the Sheriffs head snapped up and he looked between the two of them with shock on his face.

"Claudia?"

"Yes" Malia nodded "Stiles was in the kitchen with her while she made dinner. They talked about their days like it was something they did every day. Mrs. Stilinski

invited the two of us to dinner when our presence was noticed."

"It seemed like everything else was the same. Stiles knew about werewolves, he and Malia were still dating. Everything else seemed to match up, except he had never been kidnapped and his mother had never died." Scott added

"Interesting, it looks like the bad memories of the kidnapping and torture were too much for Stiles to handle so he created a false reality where that had never happened and included his mother in it as a comforting presence in his tormented mind." Deaton said in a calculating tone that made Malia irrationally angry. She wanted to scream that this was Stiles he was talking about, not some random nameless patient. Would it kill him to show a little emotion?

"So you had dinner?" Kira nudged Scott, clearly sensing the tension in the room that had arisen from Deaton's words.

"Yeah, it was nice. We ate and talked and played our roles until we could get Stiles alone. After dinner we went up to his room, and that's where things got out of hand."

"We tried to see if anything felt wrong to him. I figured that this reality he constructed couldn't be perfect. Stiles is too smart, he had to have noticed something that didn't fit together perfectly." Malia added

"And I think he did. When we started questioning him, he looked unsure and then he got really agitated and even mad. But it seemed like a defensive type of mad, almost like he would do or say anything to deny reality and stay in his little world."

"So he got angry at you and pushed you out of his mind?" Derek guessed

"There was a little bit more to it than that..." Malia said, shuddering at the memory. Lydia moved to sit next to her. She put her arm around Malia and said gently,

"Tell us what happened." Malia was thankful for the comforting touch. Malia normally would have turned to Stiles when she needed a reassuring gesture. She hadn't realized how much she had come to count on them. Stiles always was there with a steadying hand on her shoulder, a guiding hand on her back, a reassuring squeeze of her hand, or an loving embrace. He had an uncanny ability of sensing when she needed his touch and when she would rather stand strongly on her own. Although Lydia's gesture did little to quell the ache in her gut, it did help to steady her and give her strength. Taking a deep breath, she began talking,

"Stiles got angry, scary angry. In a way that the Stiles we know and love would never get. Then the room started shaking and the sky grew dark. Then this figure appeared out of nowhere holding a knife. He said something to Stiles about using his favorite knife on him. I think it was one of his torturers, but Stiles acted like he had never met him before. I could tell that he still terrified Stiles though. I punched the guy and he disappeared. Scott and I tried to talk Stiles down but he wouldn't listen. The room just kept shaking harder and harder. We couldn't get Stiles to listen..." Malia trailed off, unable to keep talking about the horrid memory.

"It was like something had broken inside of him. It didn't even really seem like he was able to connect who we were. It was almost like objectively he knew who were but there was no emotions attached. We weren't Scott and Malia, best friend and girlfriend. We were Scott and Malia, the phonies who were trying to shatter his perfect world. Eventually he screamed at us to get out and next thing I knew where were on the hospital floor." When Scott finished talking no one said anything for a while. Malia tried to ignore the feeling of hopelessness that washed over her. They had only had that one idea and it hadn't worked, what the hell were they supposed to do now.

"This is worse than I had imagined" Deaton finally spoke up "I thought Stiles was not waking up because he was pushing back the memories of his torture, but it is a lot more than that. Stiles is not just running away from the events of the past few weeks, he is running away from his life entirely. He's created his perfect world and he will hold onto it at all costs."

"So what can we do?" Liam asked, shifting anxiously in his seat.

"Can we try the same plan again? Now that we have more information we can come up with a plan to break Stiles out of his reality in the most gentle way possible." Dawson spoke up for the first time.

"We don't really have any other options. Going inside of Stiles' head was the only plan we could come up with." Braeden reminded them

"I don't know...it's risky. Stiles' mind will be more delicate now that we rocked the boat. If something goes wrong a second time I fear that he will not be able to come back from it." Deaton said slowly, worry etched in his face.

"Then I'll go in this time." The Sheriff spoke up. Malia turned to look at him in shock. He was sitting up straight and looking around at them with a determined expression. "It seems like the root of Stiles' fantasy world is Claudia. Stiles and I got through losing her once, I think it has to be me to help him through losing her again. I am the only one who truly understands 100% what Stiles is going through." Malia found herself nodding as the Sheriff talked.

"He's right. He is Stiles' dad, he is his best chance at breaking him out of reality without setting him off." Malia said

"Are you sure you can handle it? Claudia will be there inside of Stiles' fantasy and as tempting as it will be you will have to resist it." Chris spoke up. His voice had a slight sadness to it and Malia was wondering if he was thinking of his own wife or child. Thinking about what it would be like to see them one more time.

"I understand, it will be hard and hurt like hell, but for Stiles, I can do it. And having Scott by my side will help. Just like when Claudia died." The Sheriff caught Scott's eye and Malia heard the boy's breath hitch just a bit. She didn't need to look to see the tears in Scott's eyes.

"I'm still not sure if going back inside his mind is the best course of action. He is extremely vulnerable right now." Deaton objected quietly.

"Stiles isn't going to be able to pull himself out, this fantasy is something that he has been yearning for for years. We had to do something to get him out." Scott argued back. Before Deaton could address more concerns the Sheriff's phone rang. The Sheriff looked alarmed when he pulled it out and saw who was calling.

"It's Melissa." He told them "Hello?" The edge in his voice made Malia cringe. "Oh my God..." The Sheriff jumped up suddenly. Malia strained to hear what Melissa was saying on the other end.

"...Alright now. The doctors got him stable...not sure how long...need to do something...fast." Malia heard bits and pieces, her whirling mind was making it extremely hard to concentrate.

"Thank you for telling me...yeah keep me posted. Goodbye." The Sheriff hung up the phone and sat back down. His shoulders hunched and he glanced tiredly around. "Stiles' heart stopped again. The doctors were able to start it back up again but Melissa fears he's taken a turn for the worse. She isn't sure how much longer he has. We had to do something and we have to do it quick. Scott and me going into Stiles' head is the best plan we got." The Sheriff turned to look at Deaton, an almost pleading expression on his face.

"Very well, it seems like we are out of options. We'll head back to the hospital first thing tomorrow." With that said, Deaton stood up and began to put on his coat.

"I suggest everyone get as much sleep as they can" Derek said. Malia leaned heavily into Lydia and resisted rolling her eyes. As if any of them were going to be able to sleep that night.

*****

Stiles woke up in a cold sweat. He could tell that he had a nightmare but when he tried to remember what it was it was all a blur. Attempting to shake it off he hopped out of bed and headed to take a hot shower, it didn't work and by the end of the shower he was still shivering. He knew in his gut that something was wrong, he just couldn't figure out what it was. Deciding that he would figure it out later he grabbed his backpack and headed downstairs. His mom greeted him with a kiss on the forehead and a plate of pancakes. His dad greeted him with a grunt as he sipped his coffee and looked at the paper.

"Did you have a good time last night sweetie?" His mom asked him

"Huh?" Stiles was confused as to what she was talking about.

"It was nice of Scott and Malia to come over wasn't it? They should stop by for dinner more often, they liven the place up..." His mom's voice faded away as Stiles suddenly got a flash of Scott and Malia in his room, telling him awful things about his mom and his life. Stiles shook his head to clear it. That must've been what the dream was about, because Scott and Malia would never say those things in real life.

"Stiles?" He was brought back to the present when his mom said his name.

"What?"

"I just said that you should invite your friends over on Friday, I'll make my lasagna that everyone likes."

"That sounds great mom." Stiles murmured, not really concentrating. He was still bothered by the dream and the bad feeling in his stomach. He quickly shovelled the rest of his pancakes into his mouth. He wanted to get to school as soon as possible, he wanted to talk to Scott and see if anything was wrong. He grabbed his backpack and ran out the door, yelling goodbye to his parents over his shoulder.

He was driving to school when he was hit by another flash of memory of the dream. It was of Scott telling him that he was in a coma right now and that nothing was real. Stiles quickly pulled over as panic hit him. He closed his eyes and tried to push away the images, but it was no use.

It was just a dream wasn't it? But it felt so real, he felt like the flashes of Scott and Malia were memories and not just a dream. But if it was real why didn't he remember it happening? And why were they saying that he was in a coma? Nothing made sense.

Stiles' ears were filled with a loud high pitched noise. He saw a series of flashes that made no sense. A younger version of him crying at the hospital, him stabbing Scott with a sword, and him crying out in pain as a laughing woman sliced a knife across his skin. Where were these coming from? It was not like anything of them had really happened, yet every vision felt so real.

Stiles wasn't sure how long he stayed like that, but eventually the visions faded away. The high pitched noise in his head was replaced by a series of double beeps and then the noises faded away also. Stiles took a couple deep breaths to calm himself down.

"What is happening to me?" He whispered quietly, terrified at what he had just experienced.

- N x

Chapter 24 || Stay With Me

Chapter 24

Malia

For a moment, it seemed like time had frozen. No one moved, there was no sound in the room except the constant drone of the flatline.

Then the room suddenly burst into motion. Nurses and a Doctor rushed into the room followed shortly by Scott’s mother. Malia just sat on the floor in shock unable to believe that the scene in front of her was really happening.

“Get them out of here” Malia heard someone yell. Melissa started herding the shell-shocked people out of the door. Malia felt someone pick her off the ground and pull her out the door. She twisted and managed to get one quick look at the pale Stiles before her view was obscured by people. She fell against a wall once out in the hall and slid to the floor. She buried her face in her hands and sent out a silent plea to whatever or whoever might be listening to please let him live.

“Please, Stay with me Stiles.” She whispered so softly she knew no one else could hear it. Stiles couldn’t die, he just couldn’t, her entire world would collapse.

Malia could hear muffled yells and noises from inside the room, but she tried to separate herself from them. She felt like her body was an empty shell, she was physically present, but that was all. She couldn’t think about anything without it somehow leading back to Stiles, so she instead just focused on the blackness of the back of her eyelids. She stared at it until she felt like it was swallowing her up. Every single second felt like an eternity.

*****

Scott

He jumped up as soon as he got his bearings and ran over to his best friend’s bed. He put his hand over Stiles', trying to take the pain away, but instead he found that there was no pain. He stared at the face of his lifeless friend, half expecting his eyes to flicker open. This couldn’t be happening. He had failed Stiles, his friend was dead and it was all his fault.

Scott felt himself being pulled away from Stiles. He started to yell and protest until his eyes found his mother. She wrapped him in a hug and he felt tears begin to fall.

“Mom…” He choked

“I know honey, but the doctors are going to do everything they can. But we need to clear the room.” She pulled back and took his face in her hands. “Scott, do you hear me? We need to get everyone out.” He managed to pull himself out of the haze he was in. He was the alpha and he had been given a task.

“Everyone out, give them room.” He shouted. He grabbed Liam and pulled him out of the room. Derek pulled Malia up and his mom ushered the rest out. Then she went back inside and closed the door. Scott flinched at the sound of it slamming shut. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. He and Malia were supposed to help lead Stiles out. They were supposed to come back to the real world and see him open up his eyes. Today was the day he was supposed to save Stiles, not lose him forever.

This wasn't what was supposed to happen.

*****

The Sheriff

The atmosphere in the room became steadily more intense when they saw the blood dripping from Malia and Scott’s noses. The Sheriff didn't know exactly what it meant, but he knew enough to know that it was nothing good.

“What does it mean?” He said turning to Derek for an answer. The man opened his mouth to respond, but before he could both Malia and Scott fell forcefully to the ground, almost as if they had been pushed. At that exact moment, a long beep filled the room. The Sheriff’s stomach dropped, he felt like he had been punched in the gut.

“No” he whispered, it was barely audible over the eternal beep. He stared intently at his son’s unmoving chest. Maybe whatever Malia and Scott did would just take a second to kick in. Maybe at any moment Stiles would take in a breath and open his eyes.

The Sheriff was staring so intently at Stiles that he didn't notice the other people filling the room. He only noticed when a dark haired women blocked his view to his son. He tried to move around her, but she placed her hands on his shoulders.

“....Stiles, but you need to move.” He realized she was speaking to him and tried to focus.

“W-what?”

“The doctors are going to try to save Stiles, but you have to let them do their job. I need you to go out in the hall. I promise I will let you know the second something changes.” He nodded and numbly allowed himself to be steered out of the room by Melissa. Once out in the hall he slammed his fist against the wall. He brought back his hand to do it again but was stopped by Argent. He looked into the eyes of a man who had lost his child, someone who knew better than anyone what he was feeling.

“How do you do it?” The Sheriff asked brokenly, not needed to explain himself further. He knew Argent would know exactly what he was talking about.

“Hopefully you won’t have to find out.”

*****

Lydia

She wanted to scream. More than anything she wanted to scream. The more time that passed with Malia and Scott inside Stiles’ head the more she wanted to scream. But it was a hospital, she knew she needed to keep it in. If she screamed the nurses would come running in and they all would have some explaining to do. Lydia didn't want to think about what her urge to scream meant, so she ignored it. Or at least she tried to, but the more time passed the harder it got to push down the urge.

So she left. She quietly backed out of the door. She didn't think that anyone even noticed, they were all too focused on what was happening with Malia, Scott, and Stiles. As soon as she was out the door she ran. She ran until she was out of the hospital. She ran to her car and turned it on, and turned the music up full blast. Only then did she give in, only then did she let out the ear-piercing scream she had been holding in for hours.

Lydia screamed until she ran out of air and her chest felt like it was going to explode. Once she had stopped she heard silence, she couldn’t even hear her radio. Then through the silence she heard the beeping of the monitor attached to Stiles’ heart. It beeped steadily a couple times, then it sped up, faster and fast, and then…it stopped.

Tears began to slip down her face as she listened to the progression. All the noise came rushing back suddenly. The blaring music, the sounds of sirens, the far away sounds of people talking. Lydia jumped out of the car and began running back to Stiles’ room. She rounded the corner and was met with a horrifying sight. All of her friends were scattered around the hallway, all wearing masks of distress, disbelief, and fear.

Lydia sank to her knees. She didn't need to ask anyone what had happened. She had heard it, she had felt it. A feeling of despair washed over Lydia. Maybe if she had just given into her banshee feelings this all could’ve been avoided. She would have known what was going to happen and stopped it, she could have prevented it all. She was getting better with her powers, but she needed to learn to trust her feelings more.

And now because she hadn't she had lost one of her best friends in the world.

*****

Derek

He didn't often miss being the Alpha, but times like this he did. Times when he felt helpless and useless. Here Scott and Malia were risking their lives to help Stiles and he could do nothing to help. Derek paced in the back of the room, wishing desperately that he could do something.

He hadn't been able to keep Stiles from being taken, he hadn't been able to locate him, he hadn't had any idea how to bring him out of his coma, and now he couldn’t do anything to help those bringing him out of the coma.

Derek might not be the Alpha, but it would always feel responsible for the rag tag pack he had assembled. He felt a duty to protect them and guide them, and he had failed at both of those. He had gotten so caught up in helping Braeden find the Desert Wolf that he had ignored his duties to his pack.

Derek was brought out of his musings by the sound of bodies thumping and Stiles’ heart monitor coding. He looked between Scott and Malia on the floor and the lifeless Stiles. Something had gone wrong inside his head. They had said or done something that he rejected, from the looks of it he had pushed them out of his mind. Whatever had happened was too much for him to handle. Stiles had lost the battle for his mind.

“Everyone out, give them room.” He heard Scott yell finally spurring them all into action. Derek went over and took Malia’s arm to help her off the floor. He lifted her up and set her on her feet where she swayed slightly. Putting his arm around her shoulder, he led her out of the room. He saw Argent leading Isaac out and everyone else filing out on their own. Everyone except the Sheriff. Derek took a step to go back and get him when he saw Melissa approach the man. Knowing she had it covered he turned his attention back to the hallway. Everyone sat or stood in a state of shock. The Sheriff punched a wall when he came out, but no one except Argent seemed to notice or care. Even Deaton, the usual stone-faced, emotionless man, seemed to be a bit shaken.

*****

Argent

He listened to the steady heartbeat of Stiles and tried to remain calm, he couldn’t believe that there was another teenager whose life was in danger. That was what he as a hunter was supposed to prevent. It was the sacred duty of the hunters to protect the innocent and take care of anything dangerous. He had failed. He had run away from his responsibilities and now Stiles was in a hospital bed dying. To make matters worse, it had been rogue hunters who had hurt him. If he had been here he may have been able to convince the hunters to leave or done something to help.

“Hey,” Isaac nudged him, “this wasn't your fault.” Chris opened his mouth to argue but then realized that Isaac could read him like a book.

“I should’ve came back with you.”

“You were looking for Kate, no one can blame you for that.” Isaac said softly

“I knew it was a lost cause, yet I still kept looking. I couldn’t face coming back here yet.”

“No one can blame you for that either.” Argent gave the boy a smile, unable to voice his gratitude.

“What does it mean?” They heard the Sheriff ask. They both turned to look in horror at the blood dripping from Scott and Malia’s nose. Argent froze, knowing it meant something was wrong. He couldn’t watch Stiles die, he couldn’t watch a teenager’s life drain from him without thinking of Allison. Every part of him wanted to run, but he found that he couldn’t move. Not when he heard the flatline tone. Not when Isaac’s weight slumped against him. Not when the nurses and doctors burst into the room.

He was only brought back to the present by a broken “No” uttered by the Sheriff. It was a sound that he knew well. The sound of a man completely broken by the loss of a child. Chris grabbed Isaac and followed the others out into the hall. His hunter training as he pushed his feelings down and focused on what needed to be done. He looked as he heard the Sheriff slam his fist into the wall. He quickly grabbed his arm before he could do it again. The fight went out of the man and he looked into his eyes with a look of pain that matched the pain in Argent’s own eyes.

“How do you do it?” The Sheriff whispered. Argent didn't need an explanation, he knew exactly what the Sheriff was asking about. How did he deal with the pain of losing a child, how do you manage to keep going when your only reason to live has been extinguished. Both he and the Sheriff had lost their wives and only child.

Argent shook his head. He couldn’t think like Stiles was already gone. There was a team of medical professionals working to bring Stiles back to life. They couldn’t give up hope yet. So Argent put his hand on the Sheriff’s shoulder and gave him what he hopped was a reassuring smile.

“Hopefully you won’t have to find out.”

*****

Liam

He shifted nervously from foot to foot. It was bad enough that Stiles was hurt, but now Scott was putting himself in danger. Liam couldn’t lose them both. They had both helped him so much in so many ways. They had given him friends, a family, a place to belong. They helped him control his anger. They grounded him. They kept him safe.

Liam wasn't sure if he could survive without either of them, but he was sure that he couldn’t survive without both of them. He couldn’t lose them both. Olivia slipped her hand into his and he stopped shifting. The human connected made him feel the slightest bit better. He squeezed her hand in thanks.

When the flatline started his hand went limp and slipped from hers. Part of Liam’s brain vaguely registered that Scott was alive but most of it was screaming that Stiles was dead.

Stiles who let him crawl through his window at all hours and sleep on his floor. Stiles who would play video games with him for hours even though he knew he had no chance of winning at all. Stiles who would always give him a sarcastic verbal kick in the butt when he needed it. Stiles who would give him an inspirational pep talk when he needed one of those. Fun, crazy, full of life Stiles. There was no way he was dead.

Liam felt arms wrapping around him and looked down to see Olivia embracing him. They were out in the hall, although he wasn't exactly sure how they had gotten there. Olivia didn't say anything, merely held him tight.

As the disbelief and shock began to fade away, the anger began to set in. There was understandable anger, like the anger he felt towards those who had put Stiles in the hospital. But there was also the unreasonable anger, directed towards many undeserving towards it. Liam was angry and Stiles for always being so reckless, he was angry at Scott for not protecting him and not being able to bring him properly out of the coma, he was angry at himself for not being able to do anything to save Stiles. He was angry at Olivia and Remy and Dawson for bringing the hunters here. He was angry at Deaton for not having any more ideas. He was just angry.

It was a kind of all consuming anger that Liam had felt before. It was misguided and dangerous. Liam knew he had to get a handle on it before he did something stupid.

Carefully he stepped out of Olivia’s arms. He mumbled that he needed to go for a walk and quickly set off out of the hospital and into the woods where he could yell and punch a tree or two.

*****

Kira

She didn't take her eyes off of Scott the entire time. She watched him carefully, gauging his facial expressions and trying to figure out what was happening. She saw a mixture of pain, confusion, happiness, sadness, and many others flicker across his face. She could not figure out if he and Malia were succeeding or not.

Kira’s fingers itched to hold her Katana. She felt unwhole without it in her hands. She wished that there was some foe that she could cut down. She would rather fight a bloody battle against 100 enemies than stand in that room and just wait. The silence in the room was overwhelming, she felt like it was crushing her.

Kira stared at Scott. Willing him to come back to her and to bring Stiles with him. A soft click reached her ears and she turned to see the door closing. She glimpsed red hair passing out of sight. She looked around to see if anyone else had noticed and caught Dawson’s eye. He sent her a questioning look. She shrugged her shoulders in response. They both knew what Lydia’s power’s were, but neither of them were willing to voice what it might mean. Kira looked around the room and saw that no one else had paid any attention. Isaac and Argent were whispering quietly but everyone else was just focused on Stiles, Scott, and Malia.

Kira turned her attention back to Scott just as a grimace flashed across his face. She took an instinctive step forward as blood dripped from his nose. She looked at Malia and noticed the same thing was happening. She glanced at Stiles and saw that he was pale, sweaty, and still unmoving. Kira gasped when Scott and Malia went flying to the floor. She ran over to Scott just as the flatline sound began. She put her hand on Scott’s shoulder, but he jumped up from the floor and away from her. She watched as he ran over to Stiles’ bed.

Kira felt tears in her eyes as Scott was comforted by his mom. She saw him snap into Alpha mode as he ordered everyone out and pulled Liam out. She numbly followed them and leaned against a wall, wrapping her arms around her middle. She closed her eyes for a minute and tried to collect her thoughts.

Scott and Malia had failed. Something had gone wrong and Stiles’ heart had stopped. But the Doctors could bring him back, they had to bring him back.

“Please let them bring him back.” She whispered quietly as she slid to the floor.

*****

Deaton

He sat in the uncomfortable hospital chair and racked his brain for anything that could help. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to Scott or Malia, but he could guess what had happened. Somehow Stiles had rejected their presence in his mind and had managed to throw them out. Whatever they had done had pulled him out of the coma he was in, but instead of waking up like they had hoped, Stiles’ had gone into shock.

Deaton wished he could grill Scott and Malia about what exactly had happened, he hated not knowing. But he knew everyone was in too much shock and pain at that current moment. So he could only stand by idly and hope that the doctors could bring him back.

Even if they did manage to bring him back, Deaton wasn't sure what their next step would be. Stiles would probably still be in his coma and their current methods clearly weren't working. He had no idea what else to try. He had checked every resource he had multiple times and had come up with nothing. Deaton gave a frustrated sigh and ran his hands over his head. He hated not knowing how to solve something. He was the apothecary. He was supposed to guide and advise the pack. Scott is particularly important to him. Deaton cared greatly for the boy and respected him greatly as an Alpha. The boy and his pack had faced terrible foes and defeated them. Deaton had done what he could to aid this process. He wasn't always completely honest and he wasn't always compassionate, but he did always try his best to aid Scott and his pack in whatever way he could,

He was the apothecary. It was his duty to help. This time however all he had ended up doing was sending Stiles into cardiac arrest.

*****

Isaac

He glanced over at Argent, who was watching Scott, Malia and Stiles apprehensively. Isaac knew that he felt guilty about not being there. Every since Allison had died, Argent had tried to live his life in the way that Allison would approve of. And everyone knew that Allison would do anything to protect her friends.

That being said, Isaac knew what it was like to not feel ready to come back to Beacon Hills. After all, he hadn't come back when Chris had first come back. Isaac hadn't been able to face the memories of Allison that he knew he would see at every turn. So he had understood completely when Argent had called him and told him that he was staying in Mexico. Isaac had quickly agreed to go to Beacon Hills in his stead. He had known that it was time for him to return.

“Hey,” Isaac nudged him, “this wasn't your fault.” Chris looked like he was going to argue, but thought better of it. The only person who had been able to read Chris better than Isaac had been Alison.

“I should’ve came back with you.” Argent said with a sad shake of his head

“You were looking for Kate, no one can blame you for that.” Isaac said softly so no one else in the room could hear what they were saying.

“I knew it was a lost cause, yet I still kept looking. I couldn’t face coming back here yet.”

“No one can blame you for that either.” Isaac said in a knowing voice. Chris gave him a small smile. It was a sad smile, but Isaac saw a bit of relief in his eyes.

“What does it mean?” They heard the Sheriff ask. Isaac felt his stomach drop when he turned to his friends. He knew immediately that their plan wasn't working.

Isaac watched in horror at the series of events over the next few moments. He felt Argent pulled him out of the door. Isaac’s brain refused to compute what was happening. He couldn’t watch another one of his friends die. He just couldn’t. He and Stiles may have gotten off to a super rough start, but somehow the boy had come to mean an incredible amount to him. Stiles was one of his best friends. He couldn’t lose him.

*****

Melissa

She began running as soon as she heard the code blue. She ran out of the client’s room she was in without an explanation and down the stairs to Stiles’ room. She arrived just after the Doctor and nurses. She was overwhelmed by the amount of people as she rushed into the room, but her gaze quickly found her son. She went over and drew him into a hug. He sobbed her name and her heart nearly broke. She had never wished more than that moment that she could take away all the hurt and the pain from his life.

“I know honey, but the doctors are going to do everything they can. But we need to clear the room.” She would have more time to comfort her son later, but right now she had to make sure that they did everything they could for Stiles. When Scott didn't respond she stepped back, taking his face in her hands and forcing his eyes up to meet hers. Scott, do you hear me? We need to get everyone out.” She watched in relief as his eyes cleared and he nodded. He shouted that they all needed to leave and grabbed Liam and left. Everyone else followed suit. Everyone that is except for the Sheriff. He stood rooted to the spot, staring at his son as tears slipped down his face.

Melissa went up to him and planted herself in between the Sheriff and Stiles. She put her hands on his shoulders and tried to get him to move. He stared in a daze at her for a few seconds before absorbing what she was saying and allowing himself to be led out of the room by her. She caught Scott’s eye as she moved to close the door. She tried to communicate with a look that it would all be okay, but she wasn't sure he got it.

She shut the door and finally paid attention to what was happening with Stiles. They had laid him flat and cut open his shirt. The Doctor was preparing the defibrillator and had the paddles in his hands. Melissa moved to the foot of Stiles’ bed.

“Clear” the Doctor said as he placed the paddles against Stiles’ skin. The boy’s body lifted and went limp again, the flatline still droning on. The Doctor stepped back and let the paddles recharge before stepping closer again. “Clear” he said as he shocked Stiles again with the same result.

“Come on baby” Melissa murmured. She felt her Nurse mode slipping as she watched the Doctor shock Stiles. She was unable to separate herself from him emotionally. She was not just a nurse watching a teenage boy die, she was a mother watching her son.

“Clear” The Doctor closed his eyes for a second when there was again no response. Melissa knew he would only try a limited about of times. The Doctor once again placed the paddles against Stiles’ skin. The shock pulsed through Stiles’ body.

Then Melissa heard the best sound she had ever heard in her life.

The sound of a heartbeat.

- N x