Deception

Walking The Lonely Path

When he opened his eyes he was somewhere different completely. No that wasn't right, he could still feel his knees on the floor in the throne room and feel the heated gaze of the throne room, it must be like what Fritz did but to a higher degree. This wasn't a different reality either. This was...a familiar looking woods.

Stiles eyes widened then he started at...himself? 

No... 

He was looking into one of his memories? It was him and a younger Scott, out in the woods when it happened.

They didn't see him, just stumbled right past him, Stiles could see himself joking with Scot, teasing him about lacrosse. This was before everything happened. Then suddenly this all twisted, the memory twisting and reforming, next he was watching his younger self in his own room, on the phone. 

"You sure you can't come over?" 

Scott voice on the other end. 

"Oh yeah, you and Allison have a good time" 

Before Stiles could react the memory twisted, changing. Him in his bedroom again, on the phone, texting. 

Stiles couldn't stop himself from glancing at the text, his younger self was asking where Scott was, he'd promised to watch a movie with him tonight. Scott replied with a text of his own, saying sorry, it was pack business. 

Once again the memory changed. 

His memory self was on the phone in his room, talking to Scott on the other end. 

"There was a pack meeting tonight? Why didn't you tell me, I can-" 

Scotts voice replied with something. 

"Oh... well are you sure? I don't mind!" 

Stiles younger self sounding a little desperate suddenly, eager to not be a hinderance and to help, not to lose Scott, not to lose the pack. 

Scott replied with something, Stiles watched as his memory self's shoulders slumped and he seemed to grow smaller, body hunching in. 

His voice coming out weaker "Yeah, yeah okay, I'll stay here,  what did you want me to research?" 

The memory transformed, next he was stumbling into Scotts house were a pack meeting was being held, his memory self holding many books in his hand, looking eager. 

He almost ran into the room but Erica's leg tripped him up, the books sprawled all over the floor. 

Stiles younger self fell to the ground in an effort to pick them all up. 

"Its okay! I've got-"

"What is this!" Derek snapped, glaring at Stiles. 

"The research you wanted on Sirens? I stayed up all night, did you know that-" 

Derek waved his hands dismissively interrupting Stiles exited ramble "We don't need that any more, turns out it wasn't a siren, something else, you can take them away" 

"Oh...um...okay" Stiles said, eyes widening, he seemed to freeze, looking lost and suddenly very sad. 

"What happened to make you respond like this? This isn't how someone acts when some work they've done the other day doesn't mean anything" 

The Grand Master's voice seemed to float inside his head. 

Stiles, the real current Stiles, standing there watching the scene unfold before him replied slowly "I lied, I'd-I'd been researching Sirens for two weeks flat, ever since Derek asked me, I was up all night, every night, working out the best way to defeat them would be, how they worked, the history behind them..."