Creatures from the Ocean (Sciles)

71: Childhood Friends Reunited

Stiles POV

I can't believe it! My young childhood best friend is swimming right in front of me! "Oh my god!" I exclaim as I rush forwards and pull him into a tight hug. I squeeze my eyes shut as I start to sob quietly. Ben hugs me back just as tightly. "I missed you so much, dude!" I remark mid-hug.

"I missed you too, Stiles." Ben chuckles.

"Stiles? What's going on?" I hear Scott call out in worry. Ben and I pull apart and look over to see the pack swimming over to us. I grin widely at them. "It's okay! He won't hurt us!" I assure them. Within a few more moments, Scott and the others have joined us. They look between Ben and I with confusion. "Uh, who's this?" Lydia asks with curiosity.

"This is my friend Ben. We haven't seen each other since my my dad and I had to move to Beacon Hills." I explain.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Ben." Kira says and extends her hand. Ben gladly shakes it.

"It's nice to meet all of you too. I assume you're Stiles' friends, correct?" Ben replies.

"Yes, we are." Kara smiles with a nod. I then introduce the pack one by one.

"Wait, how are you guys breathing underwater?" Ben asks curiously, referring to everyone that has legs.

"A close friend and ally of ours whipped up a potion for them to take." I explain.

"I take it that you aren't here for some tour of our kingdom, are you?" Ben assumes. I shake my head solemnly.

"We are here to stop Vanessa." I tell him in a quiet, but confident voice. Even though I can't see anyone else around, I don't want to take any chances. There could be someone around watching and listening to us, but we just don't know it. Let's hope not. "Maybe we should go somewhere more private." I suggest. Ben nods in agreement.

"Let's go to my house. Crystal, Selena and Max are already there, waiting for me to return. We've been hiding out in my house for a while. Vanessa and her army haven't bothered us there thankfully." Ben says.

"What about your parents?" I ask worriedly.

"Don't worry, they're safe in one of the underwater tunnels. Crystal, Max and I just couldn't stand being down there for much longer." Ben explains.

"You always did like to test boundaries, didn't you?" I sigh in exasperation.

"Yup." Ben chirps. He then turns to the rest of the pack and smiles.

"Come on! Follow me." He says before swimming off in the opposite direction. We all follow after him.

"Just remember that they don't all have tails, Ben. They can't swim as fast as us." I laugh as I watch Ben zoom ahead. He suddenly slows down.

"Oh. Right." Ben comments. He waits for me to swim side by side with him. The two of us lead the others towards Ben's house. "I've never seen humans so close before." Ben says in wonder. I nod in understanding.

"While I was on land, I had to live with legs." I tell him. I watch as Ben's eyes widen with horror.

"What was that like?" He asks curiously.

"Terribly painful and annoying. It's great to have my tail back again." I laugh in response.

"Also, my friends aren't exactly human." I smile mischieviously.

"Really? What do you mean?"

"I'll explain once we get back to your place. If they were human though, there is no way that I would have brought them here. It would have been too dangerous. It still is too dangerous." I answer. Ben nods in understanding.