Burning Slowly

Chapter 18

Allison and Stiles made their way through the darkened streets towards the outskirts of the little town near the beach resort. They were on their way to the warehouse the party was being held in. "I look ridiculous," Stiles said.

Allison gave him an incredulous stare. She thought he looked amazing. Lydia had transformed Stiles into a different person. Her attention to detail was simply wonderful. He was wearing a white sleeveless vest over a light blue shirt. The vest had a bright silver zipper. There were random slashes of dark paint that she knew would glow faintly purple once they were fully in the dark.

His arms were bare from the shoulders down to where thin blue glow sticks had been twisted around his wrists. The bulky bandages he'd applied himself were gone, in their place there were thin linen bandages that covered his palms while leaving his fingers and thumbs full mobility. Her eyes trailed down further, momentarily lingering on a silver linked belt, the metal glimmered and cast back the lights coming from his wrists.

The belt rested somewhat loosely through the loops of a pair of white cargo pants, they sat low and hugged his hips giving a good view of his behind and a teasing outline along the front of his...

"My eyes are up here," Stiles told her.

She blushed, but didn't say anything. Her gaze continued down over his thighs. She smiled at swirling patterns of the same colored paint that was on the front of his vest. On the pants it was also intertwined with streaks that would turn bright blue. The many pockets had silver snaps and each one had a spiral of one color or the other. He was wearing white sneakers with blinking LED shoelaces in the same colors. He was a swirling maze of electric blue and soft pulsing violet on a white background. He looked ready to go to a rave, which was good, because that's exactly where they were going.

"This is my favorite part, but I don't think anyone's going to see it," she said as she brushed her hand lightly over his back.

Allison laughed as he turned his head trying to look behind him, the candy necklace he was wearing riding up slightly over the muscles in his neck as they drew tight. She ran her fingers over it lightly, the image painted between his shoulder blades in the middle of a field of white. It was a triskele, three interlinked spirals. It was the same as the one that Derek had tattooed on his back.

It was drawn out in electric blue glow-in-the-dark paint. As they moved away from the lights and crossed the street heading toward the warehouse, it gave off a faint blue light. It was as if the street artist had branded Stiles with Derek's mark.

"Why wouldn't they see it?" Stiles asked.

"Because they're going to be looking at this," she said as she playfully swatted his backside.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Stiles said. His brown eyes twinkled with mischief. "Scott's going to get jealous if he sees you all over me!"

She giggled and adjusted the backpack she was wearing with one hand and then held up a small stuffed brown bear dressed in a navy blue hoody that she had in her other, placing it between the two of them. "Scott knows that Mr. Bear is chaperoning us."

"Scott also told me that you shot him with a taser. I imagine he has more faith in that than Snuggles the bear." Stiles winked at her.

"I've got it in my backpack, so you better be good!" She reached the hand that wasn't holding the bear behind her back as though to draw her weapon. She doubted she'd need it, but it never hurt to have something just in case.

"Don't tase me ladybro," Stiles yelped. He threw his hands up in mock defense.

Allison laughed and pushed him as they stepped up onto the curb. They'd been able to hear the pulsing thumps of rhythm from much further down the street. This close she felt it reverberating through her chest. She was excited, hoped that she would fit in as well as Stiles would.