Innocent Bystander: The Extras

Author's Note #5: A Synopsis of the Original Ending

As I mentioned in the Author's Note for Chapter 12 of Innocent Bystander, Gabe was supposed to be killed off as he was in Teen Wolf. However, I spared his life for various reasons.

I actually had the original ending written and ready to go prior to posting the fic to AO3, but I decided to change it last minute (which is why it took me so long to post Chapter 16. That and university LOL).

Although I was originally going to post the original ending word for word on here, I backed out after finding it WAYYY too cringy to read through. Not to mention, it would have been confusing for you guys to read through, since a ton of things that happen in the finalized plot don't happen in this timeline, such as Gabe going off on Nolan for putting himself in danger while being Alice's soulmate, the Memorial Service, etc. (in my defence, it was a ROUGH draft).

On the other hand, I didn't wanna rob you guys of not knowing this draft existed at some point, so I decided to simply write a plot summary of what happens. I hope you guys enjoy it.

DISCLAIMER: This is in no way a synopsis of what would have actually happened had Gabe died. This is purely a summary of an ending I wrote before making the decision to spare Gabe's life, and in no way would it have been canon if I went back and rewrote it now.

Also, not related, but how would y'all feel if Monroe suffered an off-screen at some point during the sequel?

Trigger Warnings for this AN include:

- Death
- Violence
- Loss
- Grief
- Weapons

The Plot-Defining Moment

For context, this takes place during the chapter where Alice and Nolan get together and Alice gets shot. Before the plot-defining moment, everything is the same: Alice walks in on the whole Gabe-shooting-at-Liam-and-Theo thing, Nolan ducks down with her, they confess their undying love for each other, they kiss more than once or twice, Monroe orders Trevor to "shoot both of them" etc. It's how Alice reacts to Monroe's command that changes the plot drastically.

At this point, she has two options; Shove Gabe and Liam out of harm's way - which is what she ends up doing - or do what Nolan did on the show and smack the hunter, Trevor, in the back of the head with a fire extinguisher. In this draft, she ends up doing the latter, and - since we get the same result in Teen Wolf - Gabe ends up getting shot several times.

After that, we see what we see in canon, with the added addition of Gabe discovering that Nolan and Alice are soulmates. After Theo takes Gabe's pain (Side note: Theo most likely would not have gotten this character-developing moment had Gabe survived in Teen Wolf, which is why I made him take Alice's pain in IB), Gabe turns to Nolan and says "You break her heart, I come back from the dead and break your face". Nolan tells Gabe that he'd rather die than hurt her. Gabe then turns to Alice and tells her to tell Katie he loves her, then dies.

This is where I think I could have put more emotion into the scene. Nolan and Alice kinda just stand at a distance from Gabe here, but I think, if Gabe had actually died in IB, Alice would have run over and held onto him for dear life. Nolan - as hard as it is to believe - wouldn't have mattered to her as much here, and if I were to go back and do a rewrite, this scene would have been a lot more focused on Gabe actually dying rather than Gabe finding out about Nolan and Alice's relationship.

Also, what was I thinking not having Gabe give Alice a motivational speech here?! Honestly, I think Gabe would've said "You have a good heart. I wish I could have been more like you" or something like that here, but I guess not.

Anyway, Gabe dies, and we actually see some emotion from Alice. I'll paste the blurb here so you can read it:

"The room started to spin as I realized this wasn't a dream; Gabe was dead, and there was nothing I could do about it. I started sobbing hysterically. I couldn't think of anything else in that moment. I felt as though I was about to go crazy until Nolan turned me around to face him and pulled me closer."