𝐅𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐄 | 𝐬.𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐢

8 ➵ This Isn't So Bad After All

Tiana's arms hooked behind Stiles' neck, swaying along to the slower song that had been put on. "You're - you - you're a great dancer," Stiles stuttered. 

"My grandparents throw parties quite a lot," Tiana told him. "I mean, dinner parties and stuff, not actual parties, but yeah. I've had a pretty good amount of training over the years. I remember how I started off. I used to trip over my feet and step on toes and it wasn't good. I probably looked like Bambi when he was on the frozen lake, because the bottoms of my flats were always very smooth, like the floor was, so I slipped a lot." She laughed, looking down at her feet. "I'm still not the best, but I'm improving with time." 

"I'm sure you're a lot better than you think you are," Stiles smiled, "You're certainly doing a good job now." 

"Thanks," Tiana smiled. 

"You look beautiful, by the way," Stiles complimented. 

"You're looking pretty handsome yourself, Stilinski," she chuckled. "Suits look good on you." It was true. He looked smart and very handsome in a suit. She met Stiles' eyes, a grin shared. His eyes wandered from hers, down to her lips. Tiana's eyes drifted, and somehow, in a dark corner of the room, she caught something. Red eyes. "Stiles. Stiles, it's here." 

"What?" 

She turned him slightly. "It's here. The beast. The Alpha werewolf." 

And then it moved. It was running through the hall, no-one noticed. Not even as it ran past them, shoving tables out of the way. And then it jumped, snarling mouth wide open as it prepared to jump on them. 

Tiana sat up in bed, screaming. Tara and James rushed in to calm her, but they were unsuccessful; it still didn't feel right. She blinked rapidly, looking around the room, eyes settling on the darkest corner of the room. The eyes were there, shining in the moonlight. And she was screaming again, the Alpha werewolf leaping across the room in one move. 

She awoke once more, screaming and crying and thrashing. Tara and James were halfway into the room already. This was real, she was sure of it. "Tiana, you're awake now. You're awake. It's fine. It was just a dream," Tara tried. 

It took a while for Tiana to calm down, her screams and loud cries reducing to sobs and whimpers. "Do you want to talk about it?" James asked softly. 

Tiana shook her head. "No." She rocked gently back and forth, Bellatrix curling up in the small space between Tiana's legs and her stomach, the warmth of the cat somehow helping to calm Tiana down. "You can go back to bed. I'll be fine." Despite their protests, Tiana insisted, and finally, they relented, returning to bed. After James had made a hot chocolate for Tiana. 

For the rest of the night, Tiana sat, stroking Bellatrix gently. She didn't get any more sleep that night. No matter how hard she tried. 

~~~ 

When the sun shone through the crack in the curtains, spilling onto the floor next to Tiana's bed, she slid from the bed slowly, walking on shaky legs to the mirror. The dark circles under her eyes were more prominent than ever, made slightly darker by the tears that still remained there. 

"You can make it," she whispered to herself. She was trying her best not to think about her nightmare, but something hit her suddenly. "Why was I dancing with Stiles?" Perhaps it was because he was the only other person she knew who potentially knew about the Alpha werewolf. 

"Did you get any more sleep last night?" Tara asked when Tiana arrived downstairs. 

"No," Tiana mumbled. "I need coffee." When her coffee was done, she took a seat at the table in the kitchen.