Counterpart|Stiles Stilinski

Nightlock

Stiles eyes sprung open as the feeling of his cold soft pillow turned into a cold hard piece of metal. The chill of the metallic material ran down his spine and danced with the fine hairs on his body. He wasn't tangled with his navy cover to combat the cool air that tried to fight the perspiration that followed his nightmares - like the one he was in now.

He knew despite him leaving his window open he didn't sleepwalk his way out into a tiny locker. A tiny off white locker that filled the boy's locker room, he knew this was a dream, his mind was taunting him making him question the everyday settings if he was still dreaming or not.

All he knew was that his dreams were getting worse. How his body would become paralyzed and his mind needed time to catch up. How his sheets felt similar to the soft dirt that stained his fingertips when he was stuck in the Preserve in his mind while he ran from the unseen force. His mind was just a river streaming endless terrors of delusions wreaking his reality.

There wasn't a white room of Purgatory anymore.

Everything was encased in darkness and the light that was provided reflected that.

The light always highlighted the centerpiece of his nightmares - the Nemeton.

Every tree stump he saw reminded him of the sacred oak that gained power of sacrifices of the innocent. How that lump of wood essentially was a key player in his life and basically controlled the balance of the supernatural world. It drew the creatures to Beacon Hills for good or evil.

Sometimes he wondered why his mind was dreaming certain things or why he was locked in a locker.

It wasn't the first time he found himself escaping a dream to only open his eyes to find himself in another dream inside the locker. He would find himself screaming for help or banging against the door to be let out for somebody to help him, but he knew it was pointless he was inside his own head, but that terror he felt enclosing in on him didn't stop him from screaming or pounding against the weak metal door. The tears felt so palpable streaming down his cheeks as the salty liquid dripped into his mouth soaking his chapped lips clear watery snot speckled his flaring nostrils that complimented his rosy blotchy cheeks.

He wanted out and to be awake.

He found it becoming increasingly harder to wake himself up now not that it wasn't easy before, but now it was him screaming himself to wake up because the dreams seemed to never end until he was absolutely terrified and had to question his reality completely to where even his reassurances of counting his own fingers didn't suffice anymore.

It also didn't help that since Gabriella mentioned her full name he didn't see her anymore. The house didn't appear in his dreams. She seemingly evaporated from his conscious. It was as if she was seemingly from his imagination, but he knew she was real. She was a corporeal being not just another trick or illusion his mind conjured up.

Stiles didn't know how long he had been in that locker pounding causing his skin to break and blood to smear against the metal door to get it open when he heard the slamming of various locker doors near him against the frame of the structure holding the lockers together and the shouting of his name getting louder.

"Stiles! Stiles!" He heard a feminine voice along with a couple more locker doors slam closed.

"Gabi! Gabi!" Stiles shouted as he pounded against his cage.

He heard the padding of feet against the tile floor moving closer to him as he smacked the door harder signaling his location until Gabriella's bright blue eyes peaked through the slits. She immediately opened the locker door. She didn't give him any time to gather his surroundings as she dragged him along into his mind's representation of Coach's office locking the door bringing him down below the window that looked out into the locker room. He went to ask what was wrong but she immediately covered his mouth while she straddled his lap as she peeked outside the window. That was when he realized the terror in her eyes and how she looked unraveled.