words are empty air ➳ stiles / isaac [1]

3.01 » biting apples

The gym roared with laughter as Scott fell off the rock climbing wall. Stiles, who was next to Maggie, especially lost it.

Coach knelt down to talk to a flattened Scott on the gym mat.

"McCall, I don't know why but your pain gives me a special kind of joy." He turned to everyone else. "All right! Next two! Stilinski! Erica! Let's go. The wall."

Magnolia gave Stiles a thumbs up and he unenthusiastically returned it.

"Scott! You were great," she encouraged as he walked up next to her. He glanced at her with his eyebrows raised, and she put her hands up in defense. "Whoa, you and Stiles are a bit crabby today."

"Isaac is a fugitive, Maggie."

"That may be but at least he's safe."

Scott had his attention elsewhere, and Maggie averted her eyes to see what he was staring at. Stiles was already at the top of the wall, with Erica still near the bottom, struggling to climb upward.

Stiles repelled down the wall and Erica began to sob uncontrollably. Alarmed, everyone crowded around the mat.

"Erica! Dizzy? Is it vertigo?" questioned Coach Finstock.

"Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear. She's just freaking out," clarified Lydia.

"Erica!" Coach called out again.

"I'm fine!" she yelled back, not sounding too confident.

"Coach, maybe it's not safe. You know she's epileptic," Maggie said.

"Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff?" he asked, outraged. "Epileptic... Erica, you're fine. Just kick off the wall. There's a mat to catch ya. Come on."

He sounded nervous, but it was best he let her come down. Erica had told Magnolia how bad her seizures got. It would be dangerous if she decided to continue climbing. Thankfully, she didn't.

Erica slowly let go of the wall and landed on the mat carefully.

"See, you're fine, on the ground. Let's go. Shake it off. You're fine," Coach reassured, but Magnolia had a feeling it was himself he was trying to reassure.

Erica walked away from the wall with a disappointed look on her face. Most of the students in the room began to laugh heartlessly, tugging at Maggie's heartstrings. Erica looked like she wanted to cry, but she walked right by her and Scott before they got the chance to say anything.

After gym was over, Maggie looked for her all over the locker room, hoping to cheer her up but she was nowhere to be found.

"What are you looking for?" asked Allison, taking her clothes out of her locker to change.

"Erica. I haven't seen her," replied Maggie, disappointed.

"I can help," offered Allison. Magnolia smiled in gratitude and they walked out of the locker room together. Suddenly, Scott zoomed past them running, heading back through the doors of the gym.

"Scott!" Allison called, but there was no response. Stiles came running behind them, offering no explanation either, so the girls followed them into the gym. When they caught up to Stiles and Scott, they had Erica convulsing on the ground.

"Put her on her side! On her side," Allison demanded, reacting quickly to the emergency in front of them.

"Maggie go get Coach and call an ambulance!" ordered Scott, and she did. She ran faster than she ever had in all those years of cross country.

✿  .・゜゜・　❀　・゜゜・．✿

"Are you kidding me? There's a thing that tried to kill you and Allison? A reptile thing?" Magnolia whispered to Scott across the table, muffled by the rumble of the cafeteria.

"Yeah but I'm not sure if it's sticking around. I haven't seen it since that night we broke Isaac out of jail."

"You still should've told me. Just because I don't have any abilities doesn't mean I can't help."

"I know. Sorry. It's just hard to keep up with everything, you know?"

"It's okay Scotty. I understand you're busy keeping everyone, including me, alive."

"I'd never let you die because of me, Maggie."

"I really hope so. Because if ghosts are real, I'd terrify you plenty."

Scott chuckled, taking a sip of his soda. Stiles quickly pulled up a seat next to Magnolia and tossed a set of keys to Scott. "Got 'em. When you get off of work tonight, we'll meet right at the rink, cool?

"The rink? What rink?" questioned Maggie. The boys had their heads turned to the left, staring at something she had obviously not noticed. Strutting through the cafeteria doors was Erica. Not shy, frizzy-haired, Erica. Another Erica with red lipstick, perfectly styled hair, and flawless complexion had stepped foot into Erica's new leopard-printed heels.

"What. the holy hell. is that?" seethed Lydia. She had both hands on the table and her eyes focused on New Erica. She was clearly bothered that someone had challenged her role as "super popular and indisputable hottest girl" at Beacon Hills.

"It's Erica," answered Scott, him and Stiles still mesmerized by New Erica. She, however, had taken an apple from an admirer's place and bitten it seductively. Maggie wondered when apples became seductive but Erica seemed to have pulled it off effortlessly so she shrugged the thought away.

Erica strutted back out the doors, leaving the entire cafeteria still confused about her new transformation. Scott and Stiles jumped out of their chairs, hurrying after her. Magnolia sighed, feeling left out again. Gladly, Lydia and Allison sat down with her to finish their lunches.

"Thanks for agreeing to come with me. My parents would never let me leave the house if it weren't for you," Allison said, relieved.

"I don't know why your parents don't like Scott. He's got the whole 'nice guy' vibe going on that parents love."

"I guess they just didn't click," Allison lied. "This should be fun though."

"Fun? Allison. I'm third-wheeling." Lydia pushed around the croutons in her salad with a fork.

"Stiles will be there, too! Besides, when isn't ice-skating fun?"

"Can't Maggie go instead?"

"Oh no," Magnolia interrupted, laughing nervously. "Don't get me involved. I'm sure you'll have fun. Stiles is super sweet and funny. I suck at skating anyways." She didn't.

"Fine," Lydia sighed. "You better come next time Maggie."

"I will!" she responded brightly. Allison shot her a genuine smile, silently letting Maggie know that she admired her for giving Stiles a chance to woo Lydia. Magnolia shrugged, as if to say it was no big deal. Although it might've been to someone else, Maggie knew she was doing the right thing. And sometimes, the right thing felt so much better than the thing she really wanted.