Alone • Liam Dunbar

Thirteen

Through the various windows of the library, I witnessed as day began to fall to night. A fiery glow filled the building from the sunset, signaling that it had been some time since we started our research.

Over a dozen books were splayed out on the table, the five of us marking various pages with brightly colored tabs, while taking individual notes on anything that had some sort of connection to our current problem.

None of us really spoke, it felt like hours since anyone actually said a full sentence. We were all focused on the task at hand, and there was also some residual tension from last night that no one seemed brave enough to comment on.

Scott's phone broke our silence before any of us grew the courage to.

He grabs the device from off the surface of the table when it chimes, his expression shifting from inconvenienced to concerned.

"What is it?" I ask.

"My mom says there's some kid at the hospital who needs help. He's in a lot of pain but nothing's working on him," Scott explains.

"Go. Let us know if you need backup." Stiles doesn't hesitate to dismiss his best friend. If Melisa deemed someone's pain a big enough problem to bring Scott into the equation, that meant he had far more important things to tend to than reading books and taking notes.

He gives a grateful nod to all of us for not holding his departure against him before he and Kira begin to collect their things. She drove him to school today after staying at his place yesterday, so unless Scott wanted to run to the hospital, she would have to go too.

They leave quickly, probably not wanting to make Melissa wait for long.

Malia, Stiles, and I resume our work, taking the books that the kitsune and wolf had left behind into our own individual piles.

After a while, Malia lets out a fussy sigh before pushing back from the table, her chair scraping against the hardwood floor.

"I'm gonna go buy a soda from the vending machine, you guys want anything?"

I could tell that the soda was more of an excuse for her to stretch her legs after sitting in the same position for what was probably three hours. Malia may not have been an animal anymore, but she still hated the feeling of being cooped up like one.

"Soda too, thanks," Stiles replies.

I hold up the half-filled bottle of water I already had. "I'm all set."

She nods at my refusal before jogging down the stairs, leaving the library with more speed than necessary. I keep my eyes trained on the novel of various German legends in my hand, using that as a way to appear busy when I feel Stiles staring at me, his eyes like thorns in my side.

"Water's good for the skin," he says, attempting to spark a conversation between us.

"Hydrating," he adds desperately, waiting for a response. I don't speak or make any sort of indication that I've heard him, continuing to read. Though, it becomes impossible to actually retain anything as he continues.

"Cleansing," he notes another useless word, and is met with silence once more.

With a deep breath, he finally snaps.

"Are you gonna ignore me forever?"

"Are you gonna be annoying forever?" I shoot back at him, my eyes still glued to the page in front of me.

"Possibly." He shrugs, then thinks for a moment before correcting himself. "Definitely."

"Then I'll get back to you on that," I scoff.