ᴀꜱʜᴇꜱ - ꜱᴛɪʟᴇꜱ ꜱᴛɪʟɪɴꜱᴋɪ

𝟙𝟙

Sam slapped his cheek for the third time in the last 10 minutes before rubbing his fists against his blurry eyes.

His parents had gotten home a few hours ago, but he had pretended to be asleep, so they didn't question him on why he was up so late.

They were now passed out in their room, Sam knowing that they would be too tired to see him in the morning.

He stumbled out of his bed, realizing that he had only an hour until school started. He turned on the light and went into the bathroom, seeing himself in the mirror.

His hair was a mess, dirty blond locks strewn everywhere. He would have to get a haircut soon - but that was a thought for another day.

There were dark circles under his eyes, similar to after his incident at the last school, but he had Alex to comfort him then. Where was Alex now?

Sam sighed, turning on the tap before splashing his face with cold water, holding back a grimace at the temperature.

"Sam!"

The boy yelped in surprise, spinning around frantically, confused at the voice. "Alex?" He whispered, exiting the bathroom.

There was Alex, lying on her ghost chair - looking ten times worse than Sam.

Her face was a sickly pale color, and she looked as if she couldn't even stand.

At the moment, he didn't even have the heart to be mad at her.

"Are you okay? Do you need something?"

He knelt beside her, the girl giving him a weak smile as she slowly sat up.

"I'll be alright in a minute." She took a second to look at him. "You look terrible."

"So do you."

"Point taken."

Sam let out a small laugh, concerned but relieved she was back. "Wait, where did you go?"

Alex took a deep breath as ghost water materialized in her hand, gulping it down before it dissolved into the air.

"I keep on feeling a pull; it started a few weeks ago. It's growing stronger, but I don't think it's dangerous; it feels... right."

She snapped out of her trance before giving him a reassuring smile. "But I'm sure it's going to be fine."

Sam, not looking convinced, stared deep into her eyes. "Alex, what happens when the pull becomes too much? And what did you see? When you were gone."

"I'll be fine for now. And, I can't remember what I saw." Sam stared at her for a second longer before nodding, sensing she wasn't comfortable with the conversation.

"Hey," Sam soothingly said, causing Alex to look up at him with a hint of surprise in her eyes. "It's going to be okay. I promise."

"It's usually me the one comforting you."

"Thought you might be tired of that."

"Oh Sam," Alex smiled, miraculously getting to her feet as Sam rose with her. "You know I would never be tired of helping you."

She laughed. "Now, go take a shower. You probably smell horrible. And make sure to take your medication."

Sam nodded his head, shaking the sleepiness away. He no longer needed to stay awake waiting for Alex to come back, but he didn't want Stiles - whose texts and calls he had been ignoring - to worry.

He walked into the bathroom, not noticing the second he took his eyes off Alex; her composure fell as she flopped back onto the chair, a mourning look in her eyes.