𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 | derek hale [ON HOLD]

25 | b a t t l e f i e l d

Third Person POV:

"You know when you're drowning, you don't actually inhale until right before you black out."

Stiles is in Morrell's office. News spread that Matt drowned in the river last night. With a game tonight, Stiles is tying the net on his lacrosse stick to help him get through the hour. School is back in session and everyone is adjusting to Matt's death.

"It's called voluntary apnea. It's like no matter how much you're freaking out, the instinct to not let any water in is so strong that you won't open your mouth until you feel like your head's exploding. But then when you finally do let it in, that's when it stops hurting. It's not scary anymore. It's actually kind of peaceful."

"Are you saying you hope Matt felt some peace in his last moments?" Morrell asks.

"I don't feel sorry for him," Stiles states.

"Can you feel sorry for the 9-year-old Matt who drowned?" she inquires.

"Just because a bunch of dumbasses dragged him into a pool when he couldn't swim, doesn't really give him the right to go off killing them one by one," Stiles snaps. "And by the way, my dad told me that they found a bunch of pictures of Hana on Matt's computer. And not just of her though. I mean, he photoshopped himself into these pictures. Stuff like them holding hands and kissing. You know, like he had built this whole fake relationship," he snarls at the fact that he let Hana stay so close to him. Let her befriend him even though he had a bad feeling the entire time.. "So yeah, maybe drowning when he was 9 years old was what sent him off the rails, but the dude was definitely riding the crazy train."

"One positive thing came out of this, though," Morrell nods. "Right?"

"Yeah," Stiles sighs, remembering how his dad came home after the investigation with his sheriff's badge back on his jacket. "But I still feel like there's something wrong between us. I don't know. It's just, like, tension when we talk. Same thing with Scott."

"Have you talked to him since that night?"

"No, not really. I mean, he's got his own problems to deal with, though. I don't think he's talked to Allison either. But that might be more her choice, you know. Her mom dying hit her pretty hard. But I guess it brought her and her dad closer."

" Jackson?"

"Jackson hasn't really been himself lately. Actually the funny thing is, as of right now, Lydia is the one who seems the most normal."

" Hana?"

"Hana is..." Stiles tries to find the right words. She's been a wreck since the station incident. Derek tended to her bullet wound and she's been staying with him since. "Hana is grieving the loss of her mother, obviously. I think she's trying to avoid the topic, actually. Matt's death is hitting her pretty hard."

"How so?"

"She blames herself. She was friends with him, and she feels responsible for letting it go this far. She feels like she should've seen the signs. She blames everything that he did on herself, and the misplaced guilt is eating her alive."

"She sounds like she needs a strong support system to keep her upright. Have you been a part of that?"

"Yeah," Stiles sighs. "She and I call every day. Her ma-um... her boyfriend is really helping her get through it all. She seems to only want to see me and him, though. She refuses to talk to Scott and, as far as I know, there is a lot of tension between her and her sister and her dad."

"Do you know why?"

Maybe because they both tried to kill Derek, her mate. Or maybe because they're trying to pinpoint the location of Derek's lair... so they can kill Derek?