Return of the Hale || Stiles Stilinski

23

Neriah shook the rain off her jacket as she walked undercover at school with Stiles and Malia. "Nothing from Scott or Kira," Malia said.

"And nothing from Lydia either," Neriah said, looking ahead of her at the other seniors walking around.

"And I still don't know if I passed," Malia muttered, stopping behind her.

"You'll pass," Neriah assured her with a smile. "And if you don't, I'll figure out a way for you to do senior years with us."

Malia sadly smiled at her. "Right now, our chances aren't looking too good."

Neriah looked from her to Stiles who looked upset, and she sighed, walking away. "I'll try and pick up their scents and see if they're here, okay? We're gonna do this, Stiles. This is our year."

Stiles stayed quiet with Malia, watching Neriah jog through the rain while using her jacket to cover her head.

"I don't want to do this unless I'm actually a senior," Malia said.

"Yeah," Stiles mumbled, nodding his head.

Malia took a step closer to him, sniffing his shoulder. "What's wrong with you? You smell terrible."

Stiles sighed, turning to her. "Yeah, it's called anxiety. Should be a familiar scent for you by now, since it's pretty much a constant state for me."

"Why's this thing so important to you?" Malia asked him.

"It's not." Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "It's not. It's uh...I don't know. Maybe it is." He paused, looking down at his hands and then back up at her. "I asked my dad the other day about his high school friends. Guess how many he still talks to? None. Not a single one. You know, these were his best friends, and he just says he lost touch with them, you know. So I started thinking about things, like I always do. And so I'm thinking, what if...What if Scott and Riah are my best friends now, but they aren't my best friends for life?"

"Well, doesn't that just happen sometimes?" Malia questioned.

"Yeah, but only because we let it happen," Stiles countered. "You know, that's what I'm saying. How come when we graduate, we're just expected to go our separate ways? If I've already found the best people in my life, why aren't I not trying to stay with them?"

"Well, I thought that was the plan. The dream." Malia threw her hands up.

"The vision," Stiles corrected her. "And don't mock the vision."

"I'm not," Malia quickly said. "And I know Riah really likes the vision, even if she's planning to go to Harvard."

Stiles furrowed his brows. "Why would you only bring up Riah?"

Malia rolled her eyes at him. "Stiles, all of us can see you're in love with my sister. I wouldn't be surprised if she could see it," she pointed out and Stiles' eyes widened. "But why haven't you just been truthful and told her that you're in love with her?"

Stiles scratched the back of his neck, looking away from her. "Because I already broke her heart before and then Isaac did and now, she's seeing Brett and some Lorenzo guy."

"You broke her heart before?" Malia exclaimed, her eyes going wide. "When was this?"

"Uh, a while ago," he admitted with shame. "A few things happened, and it was my fault which is how I know she would never trust me like that again."

Malia punched him in the arm with a scowl. "That's for breaking my sister's heart."

"You didn't even know her then!" he argued, rubbing his arm.