the bite | stiles stilinski¹

CHAPTER II - SWEATER WEATHER

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'i'm pregnant, and it's stiles baby?'

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They say that time is what makes the world turn, that the seconds, minutes, hours that take up the day are what define a persons life, that within a single moment everything could change, that everything could turn from something so good to being turned upside down, and all it took was a moment. And there had been too many times in her life that Lilac Collins had experienced these moments, that one moment she was laughing along with her friends and the next she was streaming tears, it was something that was almost a distant memory at this point in time, but it was still something she would never forget, it was always the bad memories that were more memorable than the good. Her mind seemed plagued by memories from last night, those eyes now boared into her brain, it seemed she was still being haunted, like she could still feel the girls pain, how she had been torn in half, it was strange to her that at an age most had yet to experience life, she had already grown up, because although her body showed no sign of ageing, her mind was well beyond her years.

And it was for that reason Lilac knew she should appreciate what she had, that she should never take a money for granted, she knew that one moment she could have something in the palm of her hand and the next it would be stripped away, she knew all to well the pain of life, the pain of breathing, the pain of loss, Lilac Collins knew the feeling of pain all too well, to the point she would consider them friends. She was familiar with the choking back of sobs, the way it would feel in her throat, she was familiar with the lying to the people closest, she was familiar with dealing with her pain in ways she knew she shouldn't, but sometimes, pushing the pain away was better than feeling it. But she would be lying if she said she wasn't scared that one day all that pain would eventually weigh her down, that it would be like that film, the one with the backpack full of rocks, one that constantly got heavier, she was scared one day the pain would be too much for her to simply push away, that she would have no choice but to feel it.

She knew there was something about high school that would be stuck with her forever, that every second, minute hour she spent surrounded by those kids, the ones that had once pulled her hair and called her names, she knew that it was a kind of trauma she would never forget, one that would stay with her, and in a way it may have seemed pathetic, to be bothered by silly name calling, but the things she had heard, that others had said about her had been enough for her to be pushed over the edge, because everybody knew, teenagers were known to sometimes be ruthless, to not hold back, she knew it all too well. Because even though every child, every teenager had to spend their time in what they saw as prison, education was the last thing on their mind.

And it was as the rising sun began to trickle through her curtains it felt that morning had come too quickly, that the time she had to wake for school had come upon her all too soon, her body didn't have anywhere near a sufficient amount of sleep, and before she even opened her eyes, she could feel it. She could feel the exhaustion as she began to awake, that the moment her mind had began to become alive again before her eyes each limb in her body began to feel heavier, that even though she tried to fall back asleep, even for another ten minutes, she knew she wouldn't be able to, there was no denying that sleep was something her body was severely deprived of. She couldn't exactly say what it was that had awoken her, if it was the light from the sun that was beginning to heat up her skin or the sound of the chirping birds outside, but either way she was awake, even before her alarm. And as her eyelids slowly began to pull themselves apart, a yawn escaped her mouth, one that was followed by a wave of nausea, one she wasn't sure was from the impending hangover, because as she began to realise exactly what today was, the sickness was overtaken with anxiety, a feeling that felt all too similar. Because even though her body had yet to fully awake, she knew the last place she wanted to be was school, being surrounded by a bunch of judgmental teenagers and having a hangover didn't sound like the most appealing combination.