CHASING PHANTOMS // TEEN WOLF [bxb]

PHANTOMS

***

       "Jake," Allison called his name a second time, glancing around the hall before stopping in front of him. 

       She took in his haggard appearance, the clear shadows under his eyes and the dulled green irises that responded sluggishly but also in fear, almost paranoid. 

       It wasn't uncommon for Jake and Allison to see each other first every morning since their lockers were only one apart, but finding him leaning against his with a blank and haunted stare was major grounds for concern. 

       "Did you sleep at all last night?" she asked softly, frowning when she saw him try to hide his trembling hands by sticking them in the front pockets of his jeans.

       Jake cleared his throat and pushed off the locker to stand upright, trying to act as normal as he could without tipping her off but he knew she already noticed. 

       "Yeah, it's just been a crazy few days," he nodded subtly, blinking his eyes slowly to focus them. 

       He was really hoping it didn't look like he had slept for less than an hour last night but accepted the fact that he probably looked like a mess despite what he tried to tell himself in the bathroom mirror that morning.

       "You're definitely right," Allison scoffed, choosing to let him off the hook for now but knowing there was more than what he let on. She was worried about him, he looked like he'd either jump at the slightest sound or pass out and she wasn't quite sure which one was more likely. 

       "I'm beginning to think that when it's not crazy, that's when something's wrong," she noted jokingly, eliciting a small laugh from Jake.

       "Silence is the stealthiest killer," Jake hummed in agreement, smiling and already brightening a little at the usual banter even though he still looked worse for wear. 

       "Here they come," he drawled, nodding his head towards the doors that Lydia gracefully pushed open with Stiles and Scott just behind her. The two boys were talking animatedly about something that she seemed to ignore, instead making a beeline for Jake and Allison and linking her arm through her best friend's.

       "They won't shut up about Star Wars," Lydia groaned with a roll of her eyes, looking fondly exasperated.

       "Hey! He can't go on living an ignorant life," Stiles defended, raising his hands to hold onto his backpack straps. "Jake, back me up here," he said knowingly, turning to his other best friend and expecting him to immediately chime in. 

       He paused when he got a good look at him, taking in his tired eyes and pale complexion, the violent shake of his hands when he raised one to adjust his shirt collar, the forced small but soft encouraging smile he tried to give Stiles when he turned to him.

       "Hey man, you okay?" Scott asked, taking the helm when Stiles was for once at a loss for words. "Did you sleep at all?" he asked again, noticing how jittery he was, which was very uncharacteristic for him. He didn't miss Allison's sad eyes as she looked at Jake, almost like she knew something they didn't.

       "Guys, I'm fine, really," Jake assured when he saw them all watching him worriedly, folding his arms across his chest and leaning back against his locker in hopes of feigning a sense of normality. 

       "I'm serious, I'm just tired," he sighed, which was half truth half understatement. He didn't know how to tell them everything, he'd sound insane. Then again, maybe he was. 

       "Can we please just go to class?" he asked with a voice more pleading than he would've liked, sagging in relief when the others nodded and sparked up regular conversation again as they moved.