Once in a Lifetime

13

Malia scrunched her face and frowned at Stiles. "You smell terrible."

He shot her a look. "Why is that?"

"It's like, well..."

"Anxiety. You should know exactly what that is. Especially since it's basically a constant state of anxiety for me." He started searching for Scott and Kira. "Where are they?"

"Why's this thing so important to you?"

"It's not. It's uh... I don't know. Maybe it is." He met their eyes. "I asked my dad the other day about his high school friends. Guess how many he still talks to. Two. Just Robin and Micah. You know, these were his best friends and he just says he lost touch with them, except for two of them, you know? So, I started thinking about these things like I always do."

"Obsessively," Tabitha teased lightly.

He nodded. "Yeah. And so I'm thinking, what if... What if Scott's my best friend now, you know, but he's not my best friend for life?"

She stepped closer to Stiles. "Sometimes that happens."

"Only because we let it happen!" He sighed and asked, "How come when we graduate we're just expected to go our separate ways? If I've already found the best people in my life, why aren't I not trying to stay with them, you know?"

"Isn't that the plan? The dream? The vision?"

Stiles frowned at her. "Don't mock the vision."

Tabitha shook her head. "Stiles, I love the vision, especially since I'm part of it. I get why you wanted everyone here. You want to stay close with your friends."

He smiled at her words.

A figure ran towards them and Malia knocked the person to the ground. Tabitha pushed her back as soon as she realized it was Liam.

"What is it? How did you find us?" Tabitha demanded.

He shook his head. "That doesn't matter! Scott's in trouble!"

Liam took them to Scott and they noticed a large werewolf dig his claws into Scott's stomach. Tabitha, without a word, rushed to join the fight. She pushed the giant werewolf away from Scott so he had a moment to recover.

Scott broke the creature's arm and the claws fell on the ground. He narrowed his eyes at the creature. "I don't know who you are or what you thought you were going to do, but I'll give you a choice. You can stay and I'll break something. Or you can run."

"I'd run," Stiles replied.

Tabitha nodded. "From the two of us."

The creature looked between them and darted away. Scott shifted back and they rejoined the others. Scott shot Tabitha a look. "That was really stupid, running in like that."

She bowed mockingly. "Thank you for your cooperation."

"Don't Natasha me."

"Too late." The sight of another figure caught her attention.

The boy smiled at Scott. "You don't remember me, do you?" He moved closer to them, and Stiles stepped in front of Tabitha and Liam, more Tabitha, and Scott stepped in front of Kira. The boy chuckled. "I guess I look a little different since third grade."

"Theo?" Scott asked hesitantly.

Liam frowned. "You know him?"

Theo nodded. "They used to. Trust me, I never thought I'd see you guys again. Couple of months ago, I heard of an alpha and a powerful witch in Beacon Hills. When I found out their names were Scott McCall and Tabitha Young, just couldn't believe it. Not an alpha, but a True Alpha. Not just a witch, but one of the most powerful; and associated with a prophecy."

Scott asked in a strangely hesitant tone, "What do you want?"

"I came back to Beacon Hills. Back home with my family. Because I want to be a part of your pack."

Tabitha stepped out from behind Stiles. "Welcome back to Beacon Hills, Theo."

Theo returned the redhead's smile. "Thanks, Tabitha."

The teens, excluding Theo, walked into the school. Liam had gone home. Stiles frowned at Scott. "We haven't seen this kid in years. You don't find that highly suspicious?"

Scott chuckled softly. "I'm kind of more concerned about the guy who just tried to kill me."

"What about the fact that I saved your life?" Tabitha said.

Scott shot her a look. "I could've handled it."

"So you're saying I stepped on your moment."

"I was attacked! And then you rushed in."

"And given that letting you fight alone and likely live, was a stupid-ass decision, I elected to ignore it. Nice Iron Man 2 quote by the way."

"I'm gonna stop you right there because I know you can go on and on."

Malia ran over to them as she waved a paper in the air. "I'm in! I passed! I'm officially a senior!"

Tabitha smiled. "Told you you could do it."

Heels clicked down the hallway, growing louder and louder. Lydia let out a frustrated sigh. "Thank God. Where have you guys been?! The whole senior class is here. Are we doing this or not?"

"We are so doing this."

Stiles nodded. "Let's do this."

They made their way to the library and to a set of bookshelves where students had gathered.

The kid next to Tabitha handed her the Sharpie and she stared at the bookshelf and smiled. She'd waited for this for as long as she could imagine. She wrote her initials. 'TY'. Stiles grabbed the Sharpie from her hand and wrote his initials next to hers, placing a heart around their initials. 'SS'. Tabitha's eyes flicked to Derek's and smiled. To think that her name would forever be immortalized on a bookshelf with such alumni was an honor. She noticed 'MY' and 'RB' next to each other with a heart between them.

"High school sweethearts," she said quietly. "Just like me and Stiles."

Lydia wrote her name under Tabitha's. Kira, Malia and Scott wrote their own initials. Scott paused and wrote another set of initials. 'AA'. Allison Argent. He offered the marker to the kid next to him.

Tabitha glanced at Scott. "I think she'd be proud of us."

He nodded and smiled. "I hope so. Don't you still hate her?"

"I'm not gonna say an ill word against the dead."

"Fair enough."

Stiles glanced at them and said, "She would have been here with us."

Lydia smiled. "She still is."

Tabitha nodded. "She always will. In a way."

The witch stared at the shelf of names. Senior Scribe was something everyone had talked about and now that it was here and over, she felt like it should've been more. It was great for a moment, but she more concerned with what was to come.