Living Dead Girl | S. Stilinski

008

Heather stood outside the door of the guidance counselor's office as she listened to Stiles talk to her.

"I'm fine," he said. "Aside from the not sleeping, the jumpiness, the constant overwhelming crushing fear that something terrible's about to happen."

Heather sighed to herself knowing that she definitely played a part in how he was feeling.

"It's called hyper-viligence. The persistent feeling of being under threat" Morrell said.

"But it's not just a feeling though. It's...it's like it's a panic attack. Like I can't even breathe" he said.

"Like you're drowning?" Morrel asked.

"Yeah."

"So, if you're drowning and you're trying to keep your mouth closed until the very last moment, what if you choose to not open your mouth? To not let the water in?" she asked.

"You do anyway. It's a reflex" he told her.

"But if you hold off until that reflex kicks in, you have more time right?" she asked.

"Not much time" he scoffed.

"But more time to fight your way to the surface," she said.

"I guess."

"More time to be rescued" she added.

"More time to be in agonizing pain. Did you forget about the part where you feel like your head's exploding?" he asked.

"If it's about survival, isn't a little agony worth it?" Morrel asked.

"What if it just gets worse? What if it's agony now and then it's just hell later on?" Stiles asked.

"Then think about something Winston Churchill once said," Morrel told him. "If you're going through hell, keep going."

─── · 。ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When Heather got to the lacrosse field she spotted Melissa and Noah sitting next to each other on the bleachers. With a smile on her face, she walked over to them.

"Do you mind if I sit?" she asked.

Melissa looked up at her and smiled, remembering her from when she invited her inside to see Scott.

"Of course not. It's Heather right?" Melissa asked.

Heather nodded as she sat next to them. Noah looked out onto the field, confused when he saw Stiles running to join the rest of the team.

"Oh no. Why is my son out on the field?" he asked.

"Because he's on the team," Melissa said.

"He is," Noah said, realizing this meant Stiles was playing. "He's on the team."