𝙱𝙰𝙻𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝙰𝙲𝚃 | 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚒𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚔𝚒

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐈𝐕: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫

Wolf Moon

Hours passed as they researched, but Hazel had no idea how long it had been. She was sitting on the floor, reading through a paper about wolfsbane. Her attention had been held by the same paragraph for far longer than necessary, because as she read over it again and again she couldn't comprehend it.

Despite not paying attention to the time, Hazel was glad she was there. It was obvious Stiles would have done nothing to look after himself if she hadn't been, even though her version of looking after people was not exactly the epitome of health. Making sure people ate had always been a habit of hers, but she'd never been so concerned about how healthy what they ate was. Cramped up in his room, Stiles and Hazel had been burning through the chocolate stores she kept in her bag.

Their studies were interrupted by a knock on the door, but Hazel paid the boys no mind as Stiles let Scott in. Her attention wasn't taken away from the document until Scott asked Stiles, "How much Adderall have you had today?"

"A lot," Stiles replied, then he noticed Hazel's frown and tacked on, "Doesn't matter, okay. Just listen."

Scott dropped his bag on the bed then followed it down, while Stiles dropped into his chair and spun around to face Scott. Hazel kept her spot on the ground, but she finally looked up. Scott shot her a smile as a greeting, and she waved back.

"Oh, is this about the body?" Scott asked. "Did they find out who did it?"

"No, they're still questioning people, even Derek Hale," Stiles rushed out.

"Oh, the guy in the woods that we saw the other day," Scott replied. It was clear that while Stiles was getting increasingly agitated, Scott didn't have a care in the world. Hazel wasn't sure if it was confusion or obliviousness he was struggling with.

"Yeah! Yes. But that's not it, okay?" Stiles couldn't stay still, and he threw his hands around every which way.

"What, then?" Scott asked. Hazel decided it was obliviousness.

"Remember the joke from the other day? Not a joke anymore. The wolf, the bite in the woods. I started doing all this reading," the volume of Stiles' voice increased with each word, as did the speed of his speech. He stood up, "Do you even know why a wolf howls?"

"Should I?"

"It's a signal, okay? When a wolf's alone, it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack. So if you heard a wolf howling, that means others could have been nearby. Maybe even a whole pack of 'em." Stiles moved a lot when he talked. Hazel had noticed it before, of course, but she had never really acknowledged it. It was endearing. And definitely not what she should be thinking about at that moment.