Return of the Hale (ON HOLD)

25

"I can't believe we're spying on him," Neriah whispered, hiding behind a bush in the woods, under the moonlight as she watched Theo walk away from his car.

"I told you he was up to something," Stiles whispered back from beside her.

"We just spent three hours watching this dude play video games in his bedroom," Liam whispered with an annoyed look from Neriah's other side. "He better be out here covering up a mass murder."

"Let's find out," Stiles said and then grabbed Neriah's hand, pulling her away. "Track his scent."

"I did not come out here to be a sniffer dog," Neriah grumbled, pulling her hand out of his.

Liam groaned, walking past the both of them. "I'll do it, but you owe me for this, Stiles."

"I'll get you two babies a milkshake on the way home," Stiles muttered.

Neriah shared a smile with Liam. "Chocolate and vanilla like last time?" she asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Stiles repeated, waving her off as he looked at Liam. "You still got his scent?"

"Don't need it," Liam said, pointing at the footprints on the muddy ground.

But then the Beta slowed down, making Neriah furrow her brows at him as she came to a stop with Stiles.

"What?" Stiles asked. "What's wrong?"

"I forgot, I was supposed to meet Mason at the school gym," Liam admitted.

"Okay, why didn't you just tell him?"

"Tell him what?" Liam asked.

"Anything," Neriah said.

"I can't just tell him anything," Liam protested.

"And why not?"

"Because I haven't..." Liam sighed, tucking his hands into his pockets. "I haven't told him everything."

"Still? I thought we talked about this," Neriah gently said. "I even wrote you some flashcards like you asked."

"Yeah, I know, but it's not that easy," Liam mumbled. "It's a lot to accept."

"He watched my dad blow up a Berserker with a land mine," Stiles deadpanned. "I think the groundwork's been pretty thoroughly laid for acceptance. Scott, Riah, and I have been through this, okay? More than once. It's always been better when they know."

"Trust him on that," Neriah added when Stiles turned around and started walking away. "You need your best friend."

"But what if he freaks out?" Liam asked, following after Stiles with her. "What if he doesn't want to talk to me? What if he tries to stab me with something silver?"

Neriah sent him an annoyed look. "You're a werewolf, Liam. You could stop him before he—" She got cut off, walking straight into a hole in the ground with Liam. "What the fuck?" she groaned, blinking up at the sky as Liam groaned from under her.

"Get off me, Riah," Liam muttered, pushing on her back.

Neriah slapped his arm but got up, bracing a hand on the wall as she wiped dirt off her clothes.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Stiles asked, looking down at them from the edge of the hole.

Neriah sent him an annoyed look with Liam. "We're having a fucking picnic," she sarcastically snapped.

Stiles inhaled deeply. "I swear—" but he cut himself off when he saw something in the distance. "There he is," he whispered and then looked back at them. "Hurry up. Stop screwing around." He rushed away, leaving the pair.