𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 ~ 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗻𝘀𝗸𝗶

t h r e e

stiles had already dropped scott off at his workplace, so he just had to take me home. we pulled up outside my u-shaped driveway, where i went to get out. i tried to open the door, but was stopped when stiles grabbed my leg. this startled me enough to let go of the door handle. i looked from his hand to his face, and noticed he looked nervous. he was biting the side of his lip, and breathing kind of heavily. i furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, and patted his hand. 

"stiles... is everything okay?" i asked, sort of resting my hand on top of his. he opened his mouth as if to speak, but clearly struggled to find words. instead, he removed his hand, and gripped the wheel again. i continued to look between his face and his hands. 

"i was going to ask you something." he began, but then seemed like he wasn't going to finish. before stiles could continue, or i could ask him to, i heard my name being called outside of the car. we both looked to see my sister stood in the open doorway. she was looking at me as if to say 'why aren't you coming inside?'. 

i opened the door and shouted out to her that i'd just be a second, and then turned back to face the boy, with the car door held open. he looked frustrated, and then swivelled his head back to face me. 

"nevermind. just- your sister is calling you so you should probably just go." he stated, so i nodded and got out of the car. i shut the door and said my goodbye through the open window. he drove off, and i walked up to my sister. she wrapped her arm around my shoulder and kicked the door shut. 

lucy sat at the kitchen aisle and i got us a glass of orange juice each. we chatted about our days, and i asked her if she was excited to go back to college. she was not. 

"it's just, so, so much harder than college. like, yeah, there's a lot more freedom. there's parties and school festivals, and all the shops near campus are cheaper. but, the parking is crazy expensive, as if i'm not paying enough in tuition. and although there's more freedom in what you choose to do, and when, the workload is so much bigger." lucy explained. i obviously looked spooked, so she forcefully chuckled. "don't worry! it's hard, no doubt about that. but, you make friends for life there. and it's not like we're going to go into crazy debt after we get our degree. mom and dad have got it covered, baby sis."

i laughed at her last comment, but found myself agreeing with my sister. lucy was right; we were lucky enough to not have to worry about paying for college. lucy rinsed our glasses out and we walked upstairs. we chose to hang out in her room, which was much bigger than mine. i was given the opportunity to move into it, i just hadn't done it yet. 

when sophomore year started, i decided i wasn't going to let myself fall into old habits. junior year was kind of rough for me. our grandma, on my fathers side, passed. she was everything to me, and we lost her so suddenly. i gave up on school. my homework was almost never turned in, and if it was, it was never on time. the school gave me two weeks for a grieving period. after that, it was constant visits to the principals office and the guidance counselor's. 

every night, i completed my homework either at my desk or at the dining table. i had been assigned two projects this year, both with partners. each project, we did within 48 hours of getting the assignment. scott hated me for it, and stiles didn't talk to me for a week because of how bossy i became. but, i was becoming a straight-a student. 

so, i didn't have the chance to move myself into the bigger room, the one with an ensuite and a walk in closet. maybe i should consider doing so. plus, she wasn't going back to college for a few more days so maybe she could help. her room also had a window seat, because both of our rooms were at the front of the house with the same windows. hers had a teal cover, with black and white pillows. that was the entire theme of her room, with teal walls, a white framed bed and desk, and black accents everywhere. 

"lucy?" i asked, looking into both the bathroom and the window. 

"what's up?" she replied, jumping onto her bed. she propped herself up with her elbow when she landed. 

"will you help me move my stuff into here?" she looked confused, and then stated that she had no problem with it. but, we agreed to paint the walls first because teal walls with white patterns on wasn't exactly my style. lucy said that tomorrow she would put her bed, desk and shelving unit in storage. other than that, there was just wall stickers that needed to be taken down, and she had to move the rest of her stuff into my closet. "well, you have to let me help!"

"no! i'm honestly so bored here. it was give me something to do during the day. plus, it means you'll have to owe me something. so, what colour do you want your walls?"

at talia's bedroom

lucy and i got back from the diy shop, and i decided to get ready for bed. i showered and brushed my teeth, and hair, and went back into my bedroom. at around 8 pm, i received a text from scott. it read 'bite is healed'. that text was followed by a phone call from stiles. i answered it as i sat on my window seat. whilst he greeted me, i crossed my legs.

"stiles, stiles, slow down. repeat after me. scott is not a werewolf." i stated.

"scott is not a werewolf." he droned on.

"werewolves aren't real." he continued to repeat what i had said. "scott is just experiencing something strange happening to his body."

"scott is just experiencing some- hold up! he's not going through puberty."

"obviously! stiles, i don't want to talk about that. wait, why are we talking about that again?" i asked, obviously confused. i felt stiles rolling his eyes through the phone. "don't roll your eyes at me!"

"i'm not rolling- how did you know?"

"i've known you since i was two! i know what you're going to do before you do." we continued our conversation, before my dad called upstairs and told me i needed to hang up the phone. i was sort of bummed, i liked talking to stiles, he always made me laugh.

"was that old daddio telling you to go to bed?" he asked.

"no! stiles, i'm sixteen, i don't have a bedtime." i responded. that was the truth, but i would still go to bed extremely early, as i tended to get tired, extremely early. we said our goodbyes, and i hung up the phone. i placed my cell on my bedside table, and threw my hair into a bun

i slipped under the covers of my double bed, and closed my eyes. although i was incredibly tired, i found it difficult to fall asleep. this was always the case. as soon as i began to drift, my phone began to ring again. i sighed, extremely load, and picked up the phone.

"hello?" i answered, noticing how groggy my voice had become.

"talia- wait, were you asleep? it's half eight!" i hadn't checked the caller id before answering, but i obviously recognised the voice to be scott.

"shh. i was tired, but seriously, what's up?" i asked.

"did you get my text? that is insane! tell me why i'm starting to feed into stiles theory about werewolves"

"i was going to respond but was interrupted by-"

"stiles." we said our friends name at the same time. this just showed how well we knew each other.

"yeah... don't listen to stiles, we both know how crazy he can be. but, you should get your mom to check that out." i stated, knowing that his mother would probably know what was happening.

"no! i can't. she's got too much on her plate on the moment. with paying off the loan for the house, and the bills... the last thing she needs is her son having a serious animal bite that disappeared a day later. seriously, it's probably nothing." i felt sorry for him. luckily, my family didn't have money problems, but it meant i was unable to sympathise with my friend.

"okay, well, i'll take a look tomorrow. but, if you say it's nothing, i'm sure it's nothing. how was work?"

"oh, well you know the new girl? she showed up. she was hysterical! i got to comfort her and she even left wearing my shirt! but, anyways i have to go, my mom's calling me. speak to you tomorrow?" i nodded, but then realised he needed vocal conformation.

"yeah! goodnight." scott hung up the phone, and i put it back onto my nightstand, this time, silencing it. if someone needed to reach me, they could wait twelve hours. thankfully, falling asleep was much easier.