Hoping for Heroes

Chapter 14

A voice comes through the receiver: "Harley? I know I shouldn't have told you that over a call, but you weren't answering my texts and there are some urgent things we need to do." 

Silence.

"Harley? Sweetheart? Can you hear what I'm saying?"

Silence. A shuddering breath.

"Harley, I'm gonna need you to respond to me baby. I need to know if I need to come get you." 

Footsteps. Multiple sets. 

"Harley. Please. Let me know what's going on." 

Warmth. A hand dropping onto her shoulder, spinning her around.

"Harley?" A new voice asks. A deeper voice, sounding as fragile as Harley feels. She tries to register who is speaking, but the silence in her head is far too loud and yet, all too quiet. 

Clatter. Her phone slips out of her hand and hits the ground. Glass hits the ground from the broken screen. 

"Harley?" The voice from the phone speaks again. "Baby, come on. Speak to me." The voice is loud, but it sounds far away. Not far away like through a phone speaker, Harley decides. Far away like from a place no one ever wants to be. Far away like she's drowning, and the rope they've thrown her isn't long enough. Like she's burning, and no amount of water can ever put out the fire.

Thump. The noise is loud in her chest. There's a pressure pushing against her ribcage, begging to be let out. It's spreading through her veins, crawling up her throat, consuming her. She scratches at it, to calm it down, but it's moving too quickly. Hands grab for her. She scrambles away, tumbling to the floor.

"Harley, please," the second voice speaks again. It sounds desperate, pained. It sounds like she feels. The room is too hot, too full. She pushes herself of the ground, throwing her body out the front door. She makes it very few steps before she's falling again, this time with the pressure taking over. 

Cough. Hands pull back her hair as she dry heaves, gasping for air after emptying her stomach of anything she'd eaten that day.

"It's okay," the voice coos. "Let it out, it's all right." She sits up, and the hands move out of her hair. Arms wrap around her as she falls into them, and she forces herself to calm down. 

Breathing. In, and out. In, and out. Pause. The scent is familiar.

"Scott?" Harley breathes.

"It's me," Scott confirms, brushing the hair out of her face. "It's me."

"Scott," Harley gasps, grabbing his wrists. "My dad-"

"I know, Harley. I'm so sorry."

"My mom said-my dad- Oh my God, Scott."

"Let's get you home, yeah? Go see your mom." He grabs her forearms and helps her to her feet, grabbing her waist as she sways. She blinks once, hard, and slaps his hands away. 

"No, let me go, I can walk on my own." She blinks back the tears burning in her eyes, and tries to swallow the lump in her throat.

You shouldn't be this upset, she mentally scolds herself. He didn't even care for you anyway. He told you himself. 

"As much as I'd love to believe you, I just watched you throw up in my bushes," a new voice calls, and she turns to see Deaton and Stiles staring at her, concern evident.

"No," she shakes her head fervently, then quickly stops. "Well, yes, I did, but no. I need to go to my mom, but this is something I need to do alone."

"Harley," Scott says, stepping forward and reaching out to her, but she steps back, curling in on herself.

"I'll text you when I'm there, I swear. Please just let me go." 

"How are we supposed to be okay with that?"

"I'm fine now."

"And how are we supposed to believe that?" A new voice-Stiles'-asks. 

"Because I'm not lying!"

"How do we know that?"

"Just trust me!"

"Why?"

"Because he never cared about me anyway, okay!" There's a sharp intake of breath. Harley doesn't know if it was her. She takes a deep breath, steadying herself. "He kicked me out when I was 11. He never wanted me then, and he wouldn't want me now. I don't know why I'm so worked up over this." She drags her hands through her hair, curling her fingers around two chunks and yanking. "God, I'm so stupid!" Scott grabs her wrists, untangling her hair from her fingers. She shoves him away before he can hug her. "No, please, just, let me go."

"I'm gonna walk you home, all right?" Scott says, this time taking her face into his hands, not letting her move. "I'm gonna make sure you get home safe. You don't have to talk to me at all. Just let me get you home safe, and then I'll let you be. Okay?"

She stares at him, then nods, once. Scott nods back, smiling softly, and takes her hand into his, walking away. She knows he looks over his shoulder to convey a silent message to Stiles, but she can't bring herself to do anything but force one foot in front of the other.

Scott, true to his word, hasn't initiated conversation once on their walk. As the two near the house, Harley sees Alayna pacing the front porch, checking her phone every few seconds. Harley clears her throat lightly.

"She looks upset, huh?" she whispers, but she knows Scott can hear her.

"She smells upset. I think you gave her a good scare there," he notes. Alayna notices them once they reach the end of the driveway, and she scrambles down the steps toward Harley, tugging her into her arms.

"I was so scared," Alayna scolds, holding Harley at an arms length. Her slight glare immediately softens at the sight of her, and tucks a hair behind Harley's ear. "But that's my fault. I should've told you better. I'm sorry." Harley forces a slight smile, then steps back to Scott. She looks at him, chewing on her bottom lip, contemplating, before she wraps her arms around his neck. 

"Thank you," she says as she draws back. "For being there."

"Always," Scott promises earnestly. "You're one of us now. We're always there for each other." He looks down at her, smiling, before placing a kiss on the top of her head and stepping back. "I gotta go deal with the Kanima now, okay? Call any of us if you need anything."

As he makes his way back down the driveway, Harley turns back into her mother's arms. Alayna calls out to Scott over her shoulder. "Scott?" He turns back to address her, tilting his head. "Thank you."

He smiles once more. "Of course." 

**A/N I was planning on getting Harley to talk to her mom in this chapter, but I thought this was a good ending point. Lolz I'm terrible at sad stuff so sorry that these chapters are gonna be subpar but anyhow I think I've decided I'm gonna write a James Potter fic :)