Cross Your Mind , Stiles Stilinski ¹ ✓

[ 41 ] what are you scared of?

WHAT ARE YOU SCARED OF?

"I NEED TO FACE THEM EVENTUALLY, regardless on whether they give a damn that I haven't been home in days." Aspen sighed as her and Stiles waited for his jeep to be repaired after Erica so graciously wrecked it.

"They really haven't called? Texted? Anything?" Stiles said with pity.

He did pity Aspen for what had become of her family. A couple months ago the Carter's were the poster-family for perfect and functional. After the loss of Ace, Aspen grew even closer with her mum and dad. But it seems ever since that single letter showed up on their kitchen counter, it hasn't been the same.

Stiles refrained from asking what the fight was about. If Aspen wanted to talk about it, she would have.

"Radioactive silence." The Carter girl sighed. "I could probably be dead and they still wouldn't care."

"Don't say that." Stiles murmured, not even wanting to think about the mere idea of her being dead, even if it was simply a figure of speech in this circumstance.

"I'll go home tonight, once we're done here and your jeep is up and running, I'll go home and face the lions den, okay?"

"Okay." Stiles agreed, then turned around and saw the car repairman fiddling with his jeep.

"Hey! Hey? Wh-what do you think you're doing? All I needed was a starter!" said an irritated Stilinski boy.

"Yeah, but it looks like your whole exhaust system has gotta be replaced here." the man told him.

"Why do I get the feeling you're slightly overestimating the damage?"

"It's probably gonna run you around like twelve-hundred in parts and labor." said the repairman, completely ignoring Stiles' previous statement.

"Are you kidding? This thing doesn't have a catalytic converter!" Stiles yelled. "And yes, I know what a catalytic converter is."

"Do you know what a "limited slip differential" is?" the man said condescendingly.

"No..."

"Yeah," the man scoffed. "it's coming on more like fifteen-hundred."

"Okay, just finish." Stiles mumbled, visibly unimpressed.

"We'll just be back here, seething with impotent rage!"

Aspen couldn't help but let the snort of laughter out, but Stiles just rolled his eyes playfully. Until he got a hold of the door handle which was covered in an unsanitary sticky substance, making both teenagers gag.

"Oh. Nice. It's real sanitary." Stiles muttered. "Quality establishment you're running, here!"

"That's disgusting." the purple-haired girl mumbled under her breath, turning her nose up in disgust as Stiles tried to shake off whatever was on his hand.

Aspen caught a glimpse of a framed photo outside the repair-shop, a picture of the man inside wearing a Beacon Hills lacrosse jersey. As she got a better look, the guy looked nearly identical to Jackson. She let out a humourless laugh.

"Pretentious ass-hat is a Whittemore. Figures." she said, earning a chuckle from Stiles.

Stiles got his phone out from his pocket to send a text, only for his hand to start freezing up. Aspen furrowed her brows as she watched him struggle to move his fingers or thumbs.

"Stiles?" she said in questioning, panicking over what she was watching.

"What the..." Stiles whispered, until suddenly his entire hands began to shake.