From Ashes ✗ Stiles Stilinski - Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Fifteen minutes. It had been fifteen whole minutes that Madeline sat with her arms folded in the worn blue jeep in dead silence as Stiles drove toward the school. She kept her thickly outlined eyes on him as her mouth stretched into a frown. It had been this way the entire drive and it wasn't getting any better. It had been enough that they had argued for whole minute in the hospital parking lot about whether or not she'd get in the car.
"Scott doesn't need both of us there to warn him! You go!"
"And I don't need a dead whatever you are on my conscience! Just get in the jeep!"
Eventually, she'd been worn down enough and got in, convincing herself that she only did so because she still had to question Scott. She hadn't been able to say a word since, as she knew it'd end with her yelling again. In that moment though, she allowed all of her questions to flood into her brain, sifting through them all. For instance, what was Stiles? Was he anything? She doubted it, thinking back to the incident at the hospital. Why was he with that wolf? And the better question: why was he so okay to leave without him?
Eventually, Stiles glanced over – most likely in his own suspicion. He gave the girl a blank look before focusing back on the road. "What?"
This did nothing to deter her glare. "...What are you?"
"Human! Male. Aries." He turned the corner and began drumming his fingers on the steering wheel. "A severely freaked out high school student. Take your pick. And what about you, huh?! What did the Alpha call you again?"
Maddie groaned and rolled her eyes. A sigh of relief escaped her as they pulled up to the school, the tires screeching to a halt as they quickly parked.
Stiles on the other hand, looked back over at her instantly. "This conversation – not over!"
He tried to give an intimidating glare but was sidetracked when his keys failed to leave the ignition.
Maddie raised an eyebrow as she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the passenger side door. He tugged a bit longer at the keys before they finally released and he quickly got out of the car as well – but with much more frustration.
The two began rushing toward the school, Maddie a bit ahead and wiping the dried blood from the corner of her mouth as people continued to file out of the building. Just as Stiles managed to match her pace though, they both heard something.
"Maddie?"
Maddie stopped in her tracks and grimaced, recognizing the voice. Stiles stopped as well and looked back before Maddie spoke quietly. "Go find Scott. I'll meet you both inside. Hurry."
Stiles gave a silent nod and rushed inside.
Maddie, on the other hand, took a deep breath and turned around as Allison walked towards her. The petite slayer forced a tight-lipped smile and waved, every one of her actions feeling stiff and unnatural.
Allison smiled widely and closed the distance. "Hey! You missed the game!"
"The game?" Maddie asked, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. A half-second later, her eyes widened and her mouth hung open for a moment. "Right! The game! I forgot."
Allison glanced behind her friend at the entrance of the school and back. "And instead...you hung out with Stiles."
"Yup," Maddie said with an overenthusiastic nod. It came out a bit quick but she had failed to think of any other alibi.
Allison raised an eyebrow, amused. "...During the game he was supposed to be in."
"Yeah- wait, what?" Maddie gave the other girl a look as if she'd just seen her head get lopped off. Allison giggled at the reaction which did nothing but confuse Maddie further. "What?!"
Allison shook her head slowly, still smiling from ear to ear. "Nothing, nothing. It's just...cute."
Maddie needed a moment to process this; she didn't quite understand what was 'cute' or why for that matter.
We were walking, Allison saw us walking, and...and...
In that instant, her face paled and contorted in an incomprehensible amount of shock, although she would consider that an understatement. "You...you think that-"
"Really, there's nothing wrong with it!" An airy laugh came from Allison, most likely due to the expression the suggestion earned. She shrugged. "I mean, I didn't think he'd be your type but..."
"He is not my type!" Maddie was shouting and gesturing emphatically now, waving her hands and shaking her head. "Why...How could you even-...Gods, no!"
"It's okay, Maddie!" Allison said, her smile unfaltering until she took a moment to backtrack. "Hold on. Did you say 'gods'? Like, plural?"
Maddie's mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. Fortunately, Chris Argent's voice boomed over the crowd. "Allison! Time to go!"
Allison looked like she was about to say something but instead simply smiled, although her eyes were still curious. She gave a quick wave to the shorter girl.
"Text me later." She pointed at her and narrowed her eyes playfully. "We are so talking about this."
As she left, Maddie sighed and slumped her shoulders.
"Oh, of course we will," she muttered, turning and walking into the school. By the time she entered through the front doors, the halls were practically bare, only with a few people chatting excitedly as they headed out. She did a quick once over before pulling out her phone.
Where are you two? [Fri 10:32 PM]
She tapped the side of her phone with her index finger impatiently, rocking on the balls of her feet. After a moment that seemed much longer than it actually was, her phone buzzed in her hand.
Stiles: Boys locker room we'll be out in a sec [Fri 10:34 PM]
Maddie rolled her eyes and began walking again. She was already thoroughly annoyed by this boy – even more so now after speaking to Allison – and was not about to wait patiently for him and his werewolf buddy. Her strides got longer and quicker as she rounded the corner and bolted for the door marked 'Boys' Locker Room', roughly pushing it open and walking in. As she went further into the foreign territory, she caught sight of the boys.
Stiles jumped when he saw her, as did Scott who was trying to cover himself up as he was only in a towel. Maddie didn't quite take that into consideration when she entered, now turning her head toward the nearest wall.
"Oh my god, what are you doing?!" Stiles shouted, as if he'd been the one who got caught pants-less. "I said we'd be out!"
"Yeah, well, you were taking too long!"
"Maybe we were taking too long for a reason! Maybe our bad thing isn't the only bad thing that happened tonight!" Stiles argued, his hand gestures increasing with his temper. "Maybe -!"
"Will you guys stop?!" Scott yelled, holding his head in his hands. Both Maddie and Stiles shrank back, with equally childish reactions – mostly folding their arms and huffing loudly. Scott looked up at the girl, his stare noting his uncertainty. "Stiles said Peter called you something."
Maddie's eye grew wide and her arms fell back to her sides.
"You're obviously not a werewolf, but you're not human either," Stiles muttered, giving her a curious look, although still with an air of annoyance.
Maddie narrowed her eyes on him. "I am human."
It was easier to believe when she said it out loud.
"Human beings-!" He stopped himself and regained his composure. "I don't know if you know this but human beings don't actually run as fast as cars or walk away from monster fights in one piece."
There was a prolonged silence as she frowned, glaring holes through Stiles.
"You wouldn't believe me." She looked down at Scott with an empty stare. "Neither of you would."
"Uh, hello. Werewolf," Stiles began gesturing to Scott, then himself. "Friend of said werewolf. So, unless you're freaking Super Girl on vacation from National City, I think we can handle it."
It was at this point Maddie realized just how badly she screwed up. When she gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes at the boy, she thought about knocking them both out and bolting. She wondered how long it would be before they would have to do this whole song and dance again. "Fine."
This was a bad idea. All of it. Being there, agreeing to this. It wasn't just against protocol - it was a dumb decision, plain and simple.
There was no way the words she was about to say would sound like anything remotely sane. She took a deep breath, repeating that outdated legend over and over in her head as her stomach churned and her thoughts when back to San Francisco - to the pool house and the bodies. She thought of the images of the girls she saw when she was called, a flip book in her head filled with horrors.
This could not end any other way but badly.
Maddie steeled herself for their reactions and forced the words out of her throat. "I'm a Vampire Slayer."
A long silence passed between the three as the boys watched her, confused. Their mouths hung open slightly as she watched the cogs behind their eyes quietly process the words. Stiles furrowed his eyebrows, opening and closing his mouth as if he kept thinking of what to say and then changing his mind rapidly. Scott's eyes darted around in thought, like she had said something in a different language that he was trying to decipher.
That was when one single, solitary question found its way out of Stiles' mouth.
"You're a what?"