Payment (revised)

Chapter 6

Sorry this took so long, we wrote this chapter from scratch its not in the original version of payment at all, that's why we took our time. We will hopefully have a knew chapter up by Wednesday but might be a bit off still due to the setback. Hope you enjoy.
Anna, Casey❤️

edited: 5/11/20

edited: 5/24/23

Stiles was running without any intent to stop.

He was veering down hallways with no clue as to where he was going, though he was certain he didn't care as long as it was away from here. He needed to leave before Derek got even further under Stiles's skin.

In his panic the boy's legs tangled up underneath him and he tripped, pitching forward to meet the ground. At the last second Stiles flung out his arms, managing to catch himself before he procured any more injuries. Once he was stable, it took everything in him not to collapse in a heap.

Stiles looked behind him to see if there was something he had fallen over, but found nothing.

Part of him thought that odd.

He was clumsy, but running had always been his strong suit. Stiles wasn't prone to tripping.

The other part of him chalked his graceless plunge up to stress.

That was his best guess, at least.

Stiles needed a moment to rest.

The boy lay, panting as if he had been running for hours instead of minutes. He wanted to go home. Even if home was a beat up apartment, and a beat down father.

Stiles wanted to return to familiarity. His past had been miserable, but he knew what to expect from it. If there was one thing the boy could always count on, it was that he would always be hungry, he would never have a full night's sleep, and he would always have to take care of himself because no one else would.

Then he ended up here.

The room he left had practically been lined with gold, and he had gotten a full night's rest for the first time in years. Food had been laid on a tray in heaps at the side of the room, though Stiles had only noticed when he was leaving, and worst of all the only reason he had any of it was because of Derek. Derek who saved him from Peter, who gave him a place to stay, who cared for his bruises. Derek who had ripped away his freedom.

A pretty prison was still a prison.

Stiles knew Derek didn't actually care what happened to him. He knew not to get too comfortable around the Alpha, and to always be alert.

Stiles couldn't let himself get pulled into the man's trap because as soon as he felt comfortable Derek would snatch it away. Just as he had back in that room.

Stiles had let his guard down, and Derek had pounced.

It made his head spin, and teeth ache with how hard he was grinding them together. So why, despite all that, was the boy hurt by Derek's actions?

The upset wasn't intense, but a soft pang vibererated internally before he could catch it anyway. Stiles refused to let Derek control him, he would not become dependent on the Alpha in any way.

With renewed paranoia, Stiles assessed the hallway, half expecting Derek to appear from a secret opening in the wall.

When nothing jumped out at him, Stiles sighed and rubbed a hand down his face. He was going crazy; he was literally going insane.

Stiles picked himself up from the floor, a new goal in mind. He was getting out of here. He was not going to wait around for someone to come save him. Stiles had to do this for himself, just like with everything else in his life.