Deception || s. stilinski [2]

lethal

He doesn't know how to talk to her.

The past twenty-four hours, Stiles has either spent behind closed doors or casting longing glances at the redhead in his house. Though, he never gets too close.

Of course, Bea has noticed the boy's standoffishness. Despite the ache it brings her heart, she understands. He had to watch every single thing Void did in his body the previous day. He knows Nogitsune has some kind of hold on her.

In all fairness, she doesn't know what to say to him, either. What can she say? She looked into his–Void's–dead eyes as he hovered over her, watching her bleed out with a joyful glint in his irises. It's not until she is sitting around the dining table with the boy and Noah where they have their first real conversation in three days, and the topic is less than appealing.

"No. Absolutely not," Bea denies the proposition immediately, crossing her arms over her chest as she shakes her head. Both men breathe out sighs, having expected the response from the redhead.

"Bea, this is the best option," Stiles persists, avoiding her gaze as he looks down to his fingers, the dark circles under his eyes more prominent than ever in the low lighting of the house.

She raises an eyebrow at the boy, a look he can see from the corner of his eye. "The best option? I think that's a little bit of a stretch, Stilinski."

He rolls his eyes, the use of his last name something she now only does when she's annoyed with him. "Bea–"

"Eichen House is probably the worst idea that you've ever had. And that's saying a lot."

Noah pinches the bridge of his nose between his fingers, silently agreeing with the girl but knowing they don't have another option. "Bea, we have to do this. We just...we don't know..." the man trails off, his eyes glancing at his son.

"We don't know when he will come back," Stiles finishes for the man. "It could be at any moment, and we don't know what he'll do." And finally, Stiles looks up from his hands, his whiskey eyes meeting Bea's. "He could hurt you again."

A chill rolls down her spine at his eyes, thankful to be looking at his eyes and not those of Void. She swallows harshly, holding his gaze. "That doesn't mean Eichen House is the solution, Stiles. I've been in that place; I heard things there. Trust me, that is the last place you should be."

"It's the only place that can hold me; that can keep me from hurting you and the others. It's just while Dad goes to see the specialist."

She clenches her jaw, the words she wishes to speak refusing to form on her lips. Still, the Sheriff thinks about the Frontotemporal Dementia being a possibility, as does everyone else. But she knows that it's not. She knows that it's only a sick trick Nogitsune is playing on all of them to derail their efforts; distract them from the bigger problem.

"Stiles, it doesn't matter where you are. If he wants to get to you, he's gonna get to you. Why put yourself in a place where none of us can keep an eye on you? More, now than ever, we need to stick together, not separate. I still say no."