ONE THING Sierra had planned to do that night was actually complete her homework and maybe turn in early to get a good sleep for once. However, that all changed the minute Stiles blew up her cell-phone, urgently asking her to pick him up from Boyd's house. "Jemma, can I use your car?" Sierra asked as she walked into the living room, shrugging on a light jacket.
The brunette looked up from where she was sitting on the couch, a mug of coffee in her hands, with her dark eyebrows raised to receive a reason. "Stiles is having car trouble and I need to pick him up," Sierra explained more clearly and the sides of Jemma's lips turned up.
She teased her younger sister, amused by the slight blush that appeared on the sophomore's cheeks. "Awe, look at you being his little hero," she gushed. "I swear you two are so cute."
"We're not even together," Sierra told her bashfully and Jemma just waved her hand.
"Details, details," she dismissed and then sat up a little straighter. "You know, you might get together sooner if you, oh I don't know, tell him that you like him?"
Sierra stood with pursed lips, awkwardly fidgeting with the zipper on her jacket before she cleared her throat. "When did this become about me?" She demanded and moved her hands to her hips. "Can I have the car or not?"
Jemma shrugged. "If you want it, take it. The keys were on the hook the whole time."
An annoyed groan escaped Sierra's lips and she made a point to stomp over to the front door where the metal keys dangled from a black hook. She didn't say a word as she exited her home and only rolled her eyes at the sound of her sister chuckling out a goodbye. "Drive safe!"
Using the directions Stiles texted her, it only took her about fifteen minutes to pull up beside the old blue jeep and the pale boy, who was sitting on the curb with his phone in his hands. At the sound of the engine, his whiskey eyes flickered up and his face brightened at the sight of her coming to his rescue. She unlocked the passenger door to allow him to get in and once he was buckled, started to drive them home. "So, can you tell me why you were at Boyd's house?"
She hadn't been at lunch with them earlier today, and had missed the revealing of Derek picking their classmate as another beta. As Stiles explained that he had come to find Boyd to stop him from getting the bite, Sierra frowned.
Boyd was a person she sometimes passed in the hall, but he always looked so shy and kept to himself. When Stiles said that the new werewolf told Scott that all he wanted was to not sit alone at lunch, it broke her heart. No one deserves to eat alone at lunch; she had always just presumed that he ate alone because he wanted to, not because he didn't have friends. "Wait a second," she stopped his recall. "Did you say Erica hit you in the head?"
"Yeah," Stiles confirmed with a nod, glancing at her. "She hit me with something from my jeep, that's why I needed you to pick me up."
Once again, Sierra felt disappointed. She would've never thought Erica was the violent type, and always thought she was so sweet and kind. Yet, Sierra was hopeful and refused to lessen her opinion on the girl; being bullied had an effect on people and now that Erica didn't have epilepsy anymore, she was finally finding her voice.
However, there would be words exchanged on how she hurt Stiles. What had he ever done to her?
Sierra then scrunched up her nose as a foul smell entered her nostrils. The scent of garbage filled the air and she quickly checked around her car, simultaneously looking at the road, to see if Jemma had maybe left some fast food inside a cup holder or something. Seeing her search, Stiles tilted his head. "What're you doing?" he asked her, leaning against the window comfortably as tiredness started to sweep over him.
"Do you not smell that?" she responded with another question and winced after she sniffed the funky air. "It's like something is rotting."
Stiles released a dispirited breath, "That would also be me, string bean."
"And why do you smell like dead fish?"
He shifted awkwardly in his seat, embarrassed at the fact that Erica had thrown him in a dumpster after he was knocked unconscious. Instead of laughing like he thought she would, Sierra simply gave him a smile. She didn't judge him, after all it wasn't even his fault. "Just promise me as soon as you get home, you'll shower," she stated, and momentarily drove with one hand as she stuck her right pinky in the air.
"I promise I'll shower," he chuckled and intertwined their fingers to solidify his words.
Ten minutes later, Sierra pulled into her driveway, the houselights still on as Jemma waited for her. It was now almost dark outside and Sierra couldn't fight the smile that overtook her lips at the sight of Stiles peacefully asleep in the passenger seat with his arms crossed and his head hanging low against his seatbelt. Shaking her head in disbelief at how he could've passed out so quickly, she gently nudged his shoulder with her fingertips. When he didn't budge, she pressed the palm of her hand against his cheek and softly rubbed her thumb over the skin as if she was brushing away a tear. His light brown eyes fluttered open and a yawn escaped his mouth in exhaustion as they landed on her. "We're home," she told him and he just replied with a sleepy smile, lifting his hand up to cover hers.
They both got out of Jemma's car, Stiles taking longer since he had awaken from a small nap, and met in front of the porch. "I'll see you tomorrow," he said, rubbing his eyelids tiredly. Sierra nodded and was about to walk inside before he spoke again. "What, no goodnight hug?"
"Not when you smell like that," she joked but he held out his arms and dramatically sighed.
"I'm waiting," he announced loudly, not caring that their neighbors were probably getting ready for bed. Being his stubborn self, he wasn't going to move until she hugged him, and Sierra knew that.
"Have fun waiting all night," she replied with a small laugh and gave a little wave before she turned around on her heel and headed up the steps. Stiles wasn't letting her go that easily and within two strides he was behind her. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he swung her around off the porch and pressed his chest against her back. Her shoulders hunched and her nose scrunched up in disgust through her smile as he set her feet back on the grass and rested his cheek on the top of her head. "I hate you," she stated while he swayed them back and forth, his eyes shut.
He simply hummed to respond, enjoying the serene surroundings with Sierra in his arms. "No, you don't," he whispered lowly, his tiredness washing back over him. The girl stopped squirming and even though she knew she'd have to scrub body wash all over, she savored the peaceful moment.
"No, I guess I don't," she agreed softly, and they stood there in the green grass, simply listening to the cricket's chirp.
*^*^*^*
While Stiles had been passed out in a dumpster, Scott had raced to the ice rink. There he found Derek, who hadn't hesitated to see if Isaac and Erica could take him down. Since he's gotten used to his abilities and actually knows how to use them now, it didn't take the beta long to slide the other two teenagers unconscious at the alpha's feet. Boyd had watched from atop a Zamboni with wide eyes as the two werewolves fought. Unfortunately, Scott ended up with his back against the cold ice, Derek's foot clamped down on his neck. After the adult had walked away, Scott was spitting up blood but managed to state that Boyd shouldn't want to be like them. Boyd had lifted up his green sweatshirt, revealing teeth marks on his abdomen, and said that he didn't want to be like Derek, Erica, or Isaac. He wanted to be like Scott.
When Stiles and Sierra heard the tale later that night in Sierra's room, they were in disbelief. "I'm really starting to get annoyed," Stiles announced, his limbs sprawled across the bed. "Derek was already a douche but now that he's got red eyes, he thinks he's Batman or something."
He had showered as he had been told, but came right back to her house once Scott texted them that he had news. Scott was sitting crisscrossed on the floor, his head in his hands at he thought about what had happened that night. Sierra was in her desk chair, smiling slightly at how Stiles' voice was muffled from his face being stuffed in her pillow but then straightened her back.
"I just can't believe that all three of them would agree to it," she commented honestly and leaned forward to rest her elbows on her crossed knees. "Especially even after Derek and you warned them about the Argents. I mean, why would you voluntarily want to get hunted and chased for the rest of your life, just because you sprout hair and howl at the moon?"
"I don't howl at the moon," Scott protested, lifting his head to look at her.
Sierra shrugged. "Agree to disagree."
Scott chuckled and then stretched his arms over his head with a yawn. "I should probably head home," he informed them. "Lately my mom's been freaking out over me, so I shouldn't give her another reason to have a panic attack."
"Just remember that we have to talk about that thing you and Allison saw at Isaac's," Sierra reminded him as he stood up and wiped his hands on his jeans.
Stiles sat up and added, "Not to mention, figure out what the hell we're going to do now that our sour wolf has three new members to his pack, aka our freaking classmates."
"What's a sour wolf?" Jemma asked suddenly, standing in the doorway with her eyebrows raised. All three teenagers jumped, Stiles letting out a small shout of surprise.
"W-we all started to watch a TV show," Sierra stuttered out a lie, and motioned to the boys, who immediately started to nod.
Stiles gulped, but wanted to help sell the tale. "It's about werewolves," he stated bluntly and winced when he realized he didn't think that one through. Scott and Sierra widened their eyes at him, not believing he said what he did.
Jemma tilted her head and crossed her arms, obviously wanting to hear more, which made Scott continue the story nervously, glad she couldn't detect his heart rate speed up. "Thanks, Stiles," he said first through gritted teeth and shot his best friend a glare. Stiles sheepishly smiled back while the beta forced a simper at the young adult. "The sour wolf that you heard us talking about is just a character on the, um, show."
"Well, what's the character's name?" Jemma questioned curiously and the trio exchanged glances, not knowing how to respond quickly.
Stiles replied, once again without thinking. "Derek."
"Derek?" Jemma repeated slowly, not really buying it. She was smart enough to be able to sense when she was being lied to, but kept the charade up to hide the fact that hearing the name Derek come from their mouths slightly scared her. There was no way that they knew him, right?
Scott's ears perked at the sound of the girl's heart speeding up and fought back the urge to ask why the name caused her distress.
It's not like Jemma knew Derek Hale, I mean, the guy screamed loneliness. He decided to let it drop, Derek was probably just the name of one of her ex-boyfriends or something. It wasn't because she knew about the supernatural, no way.
By now, Sierra had walked over to where the boy was sitting on her bed and pinched him in the back so Jemma wouldn't see. "Ow," Stiles hissed but covered it up with a cough when Jemma gave him a weird look.
"I'm just going to go to bed," Jemma then stated with a sigh, too tired to deal with her sister and her friends. Sierra smiled widely, acting a little too chirpy, and waved goodnight. "Stiles, if you're sleeping over, you are in the guest bedroom," the older girl informed the sophomore with a buzz-cut.
"What?" Sierra glanced at Stiles, then back at Jemma. "Why?"
"It's okay, Si," Stiles interrupted, not wanting to cause an argument between the siblings, and stood up fully. "Dad wants me home anyways. Come on, Scott, I'll leave with you." The teen wolf nodded, and gave his other a best friend a hug before he left her bedroom. Knowing Jemma was still there, Stiles simply kissed Sierra's forehead and wished her a goodnight, following Scott out.
It was silent for only a couple seconds until Sierra plopped down on her mattress, her blue eyes focused on her older sister. "Why'd you do that?" she asked. "He's slept over many times before and you have never had a problem."
"Now that I know for a fact that you like him, I'm not taking any chances," Jemma replied honestly which caused Sierra's face to scrunch up in disgust. "Goodnight, Sierra. I'll see you in the morning."
"Goodnight."
After she was left alone in her room, Sierra tiredly got ready to sleep, knowing the following morning was going to be a rough one. Once she fell back onto her bed, her face landed on the pillow with her arms and feet dangling off the sides. Taking in a deep breath, her eyes fluttered close at the pleasant smell of Axe lingering since Stiles had been sitting where she was for a long time. She cuddled up in her comforter, naturally chilly from her ceiling fan but was too lazy to turn it off.
A couple hours after she drifted off, the sound of a soft knock awoke her from her exhaustion. Already knowing who it was, Sierra didn't even budge from her warm blanket cocoon, and instead simply dug her face deeper into her pillow. Though her eyes were closed, her ears were tuned in at the sound of her window opening and she snuck a glance to actually make sure the culprit was who she thought it was.
Stiles winced as he reclosed Sierra's window, the slight squeaking making him scared that Jemma was going to bust in with Sierra's old softball bat. He crept over to her bed and knelt down with his own pillow under his arm as he saw her eyelids slightly open. "I couldn't sleep," he whispered and his lips turned up as she barely nodded for a reply.
Instead of saying anything, Sierra simply moved over to the left side of her bed on her stomach as an invitation for him to join her. He slipped off his shoes quickly and gently climbed under the covers next to her. At first the two had about a foot of space between them, Sierra already dozing off once again. But as Stiles laid on his back with his arms folded behind his head, he knew this wouldn't work. He shifted onto his right side so he was facing Sierra, looking at her in hopes that he'd relax and would fall asleep.
Stiles found Sierra so enticing that his brown eyes danced as his gaze moved everywhere, from her dark eyebrows and long eyelashes down to her pink lips and strands of her hair covering her cheeks. Her arm was tucked up underneath her head with her other curled into her side while her chest rose and fell rhythmically. Sierra Michelle Page constantly took his breath away, even when she wasn't even paying attention. "I can feel you staring," she startled him with a mumble.
Opening her blue eyes to meet his, Stiles took notice of how the moonlight from the window sparkled in her cerulean irises while she sent him a loving, drowsy smile. "I can't help it," he replied quietly, but honestly. Feeling her cheeks flush Sierra reburied her head in her arm for a couple seconds so she could calm down her heart that had jumped.
"It's not nice to watch people while they sleep," Sierra stated breathily, her fatigue taking over for the most part as she fought to stay awake. "That's creepy."
"Do you think I'm a creep?" he asked her softly. He inched closer to her, now able to lightly grasp her hand with his. Stiles fiddled with her fingers as if he was playing a piano, rubbing his thumb across and then pressing down like it was a note.
She tried to shake her head and simply said no, which made him smile. His gaze remained on Sierra, who was now leaning towards him as well. It was silent for a moment while they simply looked at one another, too hypnotized to tear their gazes away. Eventually, Stiles couldn't wait any longer because the only way he knew he would fall asleep was if she was in his arms.
He lifted the hand that wasn't locked with hers and wrapped it around her frame, bringing her body closer to him. At the motion, a small giggle fell from the girl's lips and she didn't fight it. Instead, she moved her head so it was laying on his chest and Stiles released a breath. This, laying there with her, he could definitely fall asleep to.
*^*^*^*
"Sierra, wake up!" Jemma called from the other side of her sister's bedroom door the next morning, her fist raised in case she needed to knock again. The sophomore stirred from her sleep, her eyes fluttering open from her guardian's voice. A yawn escaped her lips as she sat up, stretching out her muscles. Her gaze fell to the boy next to her, who didn't even lift a finger from the noise, and smiled. However, as the conversation she had with her sibling last night returned, her eyes enlarged in a panic. "Don't make me come in there," Jemma threatened again and hit the door with her fist. Sierra was afraid to move in case Stiles would accidentally make a sound and didn't reply. "I'm coming in."
In one swift movement, Sierra used all of her strength to push Stiles off her bed and he awoke after he hit the floor with a thud, just as her bedroom door swung open. Though he was mad for literally being thrown off, Stiles held his breath with wide eyes, nervously glancing up to see Sierra looking at her sister annoyed with her blankets on her lap. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest for fear of suffering the wrath of what was Jemma Page. "I was already awake," Sierra lied and refused to look at the boy with a buzz-cut so she wouldn't give his hiding spot away.
"Then why didn't you respond?"
"Because I'm tired and I don't want to go to school," Sierra replied sassily. Jemma chuckled, and looked around her sister's room which made the girl quickly flicker her eyes to Stiles to make sure he wouldn't move. "Can I get ready now?" she then asked impatiently, not seeing the point on why her sibling had to analyze everything in sight.
"Sure," Jemma replied with a grin. "As long as Stiles leaves before you change clothes."
Simultaneously, Stiles and Sierra closed their eyes with a sigh. Jemma crossed her arms and shook her head from seeing Stiles slowly raise his head from his hiding place as he sent her a sheepish smile. "Good morning, Jemma," he stated while Sierra buried her head in her hands and let out a small groan, embarrassed. "Beautiful day, isn't it?"
Jemma stared at the pair with raised eyebrows but knew in her heart that she couldn't keep them away from each other even if she fully tried. "Breakfast will be ready in ten," she commented simply and then exited Sierra's bedroom, leaving behind two confused teenagers.
"Well that was weird," Stiles said after a second of silence and looked at Sierra. "I need to go get ready for school but I'll be back by sixty forty-five. I'm getting the jeep fixed tonight, so Jemma won't have to be late for the office everyday."
She gave him a small smile, still slightly tired. He leaned over, placing one hand on the bed so he wouldn't fall, and kissed her on the cheek. Stiles left through the window and was true to his word by slanting his body over the black car thirty minutes later when the Page siblings walked out of their home. Jemma couldn't hide her happiness at how they smiled in greeting before Stiles opened Sierra's door for her. Not to mention, they both sat in the back together, instead of separating so someone could have the front seat. "Have a good day," she told them honestly once she pulled up to the high school.
"Thanks for the ride," they said to her thankfully and climbed out of the car, slinging their bags across their backs.
Jemma called Stiles back for a quick moment and when he popped his head back in, he anxiously looked at her. "Is this about sleeping over?" he asked nervously, hating the fact that they got caught this morning. The overworked young adult shook her head, which made Stiles then tilt his head out of confusion.
"This is about you liking my sister," she state bluntly and he tried to fumble up a protest but froze at the knowing look Scott had given him in the hospital. "I'm thrilled that you do, Stiles," Jemma told him. "Honestly, but you know that if anything happens to her, you are dead meat, got it?" Stiles gulped and hurriedly nodded before she continued. "And, I don't want you to wait too long."
"What do you mean?"
"Look, I love my baby sister but sometimes she's blinded by her head instead of her heart. She'll try to convince herself that what she's feeling, isn't how she truly feels. You get me?"
"Not really."
Jemma sighed and thought of her words more carefully. "She thinks that loving you is wrong, because you are her best friend. I've noticed that you two are more lovey-dovey than normal and that's good because I think she's starting to understand that maybe you could feel the same way about her. However, you need to either just man up and tell her how you feel with words, or Sierra will think she just created the whole thing in her head."
"Is that a long way of saying to just tell her I love you already?" Stiles asked, still kind of puzzled by the many words Jemma used.
The brunette nodded and let out a laugh. "Basically. Plus, you don't want someone to steal my sister from you."
"Who could possibly steal Sierra from me?" Stiles questioned, now worried. "She only talks to me, Scott, Allison and Lydia."
Jemma raised an eyebrow, her gaze locked on something behind him outside of her car. "You sure about that?"
Stiles whirled around to see Sierra waiting on one of the school benches in front of the building. Her dirty-blonde hair fell over her shoulders, even as she brushed some strands behind her ear and her bright blue eyes stood out from her black dress in the morning sunlight. However, Stiles was more intrigued at the fact that she wasn't alone. Though she continuously glanced over to where her sister and best friend were still talking, she still gave polite nods and responses to the boy sitting next to her. Stiles tensed, clenching his jaw and tightening his grip on his backpack at the sight.
He gave her a charming smile, his arms covered inside a leather jacket while his curly brown hair was organized into a short, messy pile on his head. Sensing that he was being watched, he turned towards Stiles and let one of his gray eyes fall into a brief wink. Stiles dropped his jaw as he recognized who he had believed to be a random upperclassman.
"Isaac?"