Skin Deep (Are the Secrets I Keep)

CHAPTER 2

Peter's burns heal themselves in about the space of a minute. Later, Scott and Allison set him on fire, Derek kills him, and a month down the road, the wolfman himself rises from the dead with skin as flawless as a runway model's.

It's irrational and probably more than a little unfair but Stiles resents him terribly for it. His feelings aren't helped by the fact that he's aching all over the night he lays eyes on Peter again, that old fucker Gerard's still alive because apparently Scott can plan the dude's murder but can't follow through with it himself if Derek can't do his dirty work for him, and Stiles is forgotten in the aftermath of that crazy night. Nobody even asks why his face looks like someone took a pair of brass knuckles to it, which – on hindsight – really is just typical. Most of the people here don't even like him. He's saved Derek's life how many times now? If even that doesn't earn him a bit of goodwill, nothing will. Allison more or less stole Scott from him, tortured kids their own age, and did nothing when her granddaddy did the same to Stiles. She probably would've joined in if she knew he wasn't human. Thank fuck Stiles never told Scott what he is because god knows Scotty can't hide anything from Allison, and Stiles is nothing when compared to his human-turned-werewolf friend's psychotic girlfriend. He's always known to some extent that Scott blames him for getting bitten in the woods that night even though they both agreed to go, it isn't as if Stiles forced Scott to accompany him at gunpoint, and Scott doesn't seem so torn-up about the whole werewolf gig whenever he's scoring goal after goal on the field or dating Allison or being invited to parties by kids who used to laugh at Scott's asthma, but fine, Stiles will take the blame for that. It doesn't excuse Scott never being around when Stiles actually needs him though, and Stiles has run himself ragged ever since Scott was turned, teaching him control, facing every threat head-on with him, saving his life too. So by his count, any debt Stiles owed Scott has been paid in full and then some, and the fact that there was a debt at all really only signifies the end of their friendship.

(Your mother taught you trust, Stiles. When will you learn? Never give it to anyone. Trust breeds expectations, expectations breed disappointment, and when they betray you in the end, you'll have no one to blame but yourself.)

Later, with the curtains drawn and the house empty, Stiles unravels his pelt and spreads it over his bed. It's still as hideous as it's always been, scorched down the right side, with black-to-grey streaks splashed toward the left. The unmarred bits are still a shimmering light grey, almost white, and soft to the touch but offset by the rough patches everywhere else.

It doesn't hurt much to slip into his skin anymore; most of the time, his scarred side is just numb, although on occasion it still feels too... stretched in places, like his skin might split if he swims too hard. It's become harder and harder to shed it over the years though. The water always feels good, and in the ocean, there aren't any humans to watch out for, or creatures to be too wary of.

After all, in the ocean, he's one of the strongest creatures around.

Abruptly, he rolls it up again, winding it around his arm before changing into his pajamas and turning in for the night.

One more year and he'll be seventeen. One more year and he'll be an adult in selkie society, and then he'll be able to leave all this behind.

The land has never been good to him, and the only one who might honestly miss him is his dad, but they haven't really been a family in years, and the Sheriff will get over it. Seven days out of seven, they'd be lucky to see each other even just a handful of hours altogether. So, Stiles has no real obligation to stay.

-0-0-0-

He starts avoiding Beacon Hills' resident werewolves and assorted hangers-on. He'd like to live long enough to at least see his mother's homeland, thanks, and it isn't even that difficult. Derek's never once voluntarily sought Stiles out unless the werewolf needed him to do something for him, the only things he knows about Isaac is 1) his father was abusive, 2) he likes scarves, and 3) he's turned into Scott's number one werewolf groupie or something, so if Isaac does for some reason show up at the Stilinski household, Stiles will be checking for flying pigs, and Boyd and Erica are still missing even though Stiles is mostly sure Allison and Chris wouldn't have killed and buried them somewhere. Pretty sure. Sixty-five percent sure.

Scott doesn't call or text, and at school, he's usually sitting with the popular kids these days, ever since he became a werewolf, and almost always with Allison beside him. Stiles used to tag along, pretend he didn't feel uncomfortable and even a bit claustrophobic trying to fit in with all the jocks and cheerleaders and other beautiful social butterflies in that particular circle, and people did give him room, but they also either pretended not to see him or side-eyed him like they were thinking why did McCall bring his pet dog? And selkie noses – he's learned – aren't as good as werewolf noses, but their disdain would've been hard to miss even for a human.

So now, Stiles simply doesn't sit with them, he's always liked sitting outdoors more anyway, and in the classes he shares with Scott, he just doesn't bother going early to snag a seat next to him anymore. He quits lacrosse too. Honest to Poseidon, he's always hated the sport, but Scott wanted to play and didn't want to join alone, so Stiles ended up tolerating it for him. He was never going to be anything but a benchwarmer anyway – seriously, he's a selkie, he'd much rather be playing water polo or doing competitive swimming than running around on land and waving sticks around while being tackled by much bulkier humans (and then werewolves, because let's face it, Boyd, Erica, and Isaac all tried to take out their issues on him for some fucked up reason even though he's never done a single thing to them). Nobody bats an eye at his disappearance from practice; they either think it's about time, or they don't notice at all. Only Coach frowns and gives him crazy eyes and grumbles a bit before gruffly telling him he put in good effort even if he wasn't the best, which is probably the one and only time Stiles has ever heard Finstock not go off on a tangent about winning when it came to lacrosse. It's actually kind of touching, but that feeling lasts only until gym where he discovers that since he's quit lacrosse, Coach is now determined to work him even harder in other sports during Phys Ed instead.

Stiles feels like dying after every class but he also thinks this human is one he might miss just a little bit when he leaves, if only because he's pretty sure Finstock actually does honestly like him, and this is his way of showing he cares. Still, Stiles sort of wishes Coach would care a little less.

As for the others – Jackson's long gone with his parents, bridges burned and all, and Lydia he avoids without even trying. The only reason they've hung out in the same circles a few times is because of Allison and Scott and then werewolves becoming a thing and then hunters invading their lives. Now that Stiles wants nothing to do with any of those three categories, he doesn't see much of Lydia anymore either except in class, although a few times, he's caught her staring after him with narrowed eyes. He pretends he doesn't notice.

And he avoids Peter too, but that's both easier and harder since Stiles has no idea where the undead werewolf is staying now or if he's even still in town, so he can't really predict where he'll be at any given time. On the other hand, aside from the whole chase through the school and the sort-of-kidnapping incident, they've had very little to do with each other even before Peter was killed. Peter said he liked Stiles, but Stiles doesn't see why he would since they don't know each other at all. The werewolf also offered him the bite and accepted Stiles' answer when he said no, and that wins Peter some brownie points, but Stiles still can't think of the man and his magically disappearing scars without wanting to punch him in the nose, so.

It's probably best that they continue not having anything to do with each other, and Stiles is mostly content as he settles into this new – and last – chapter of his teenage life.

Of course, if there is one thing Stiles has learned about Peter, it's that the werewolf follows his own agenda, regardless of the plans other people make for him.

Honestly, he's a lot like Stiles that way, and – as he soon finds out – there's simply no getting rid of the man when Peter Hale sets his mind to something he wants.