We Come From The South » Isaac Lahey [2] ✓

the tests

"I'm not sure I know how to pronounce this, or if it's actually a misspelling." The young doctor commented, his eyebrows furrowed together as he read Stiles' file.

"Just call him Stiles." Stilinski commented with slight annoyance to his tone.

The doctor raised his eyes to the Sheriff, his lips pressing together in a grim line. He closed the folder and gave a short nod, "Okay."
He turned to Stiles who sat on the MRI bed, his body covered in a blue hospital gown. "Stiles, just to warn you, you're going to hear a lot of noise during the MRI. It's due to pulses of electricity going through the metal coils inside the machine. If you want, we can get you some earplugs or headphones."

"Uh no, no. I don't need anything." Stiles softly answered.

"Hey, we're just on the other side of that window. Okay?" Stilinski assured.

Stiles nodded, "Okay."

Stilinski inhaled deeply, his eyebrows furrowed lightly in concern although he attempted to keep his expression soft and unbothered. He smiled in what might've been reassurance, yet it looked more grim and saddened than anything else.
He nodded and turned, following Melissa and the doctor into the other room.

Adrianna had remained almost a statue as she leant against the wall directly across from where Stiles sat and Scott stood next to him. She didn't speak, couldn't, she wouldn't know what to say. She simply observed, noted the dark bags under Stiles eyes, his skin paler than it ever seemed, his figure more lean and skinny, his eyes dark and bloodshot. He probably hadn't slept in days, or eaten, and he only seemed to be getting worse.
She couldn't pick up much from him though, his emotions seemed to be hiding. She could sense a little, exhaustion, pain, sadness, but much more was not so readily available.

"You know what they're looking for, right?" Stiles wondered, his voice rough and almost throaty.

Scott looked to Adrianna, and she refused to meet his eyes. She diverted her gaze from Stiles face and to the floor, crossing her arms over her chest and clenching her fists tightly.

"It's called Frontotemporal Dementia."

Scott moved his eyes to him, the usual hazel swirl looking more like a dark storm.

"Areas of your brain start to shrink. It's what my mother had." Stiles continued to explain, he huffed lightly. "It's the only form of dementia that can hit teenagers. And there's no cure."

Adrianna's breath hitched, her eyes becoming blurry with tears. She felt her bottom lip wobble and her nose began to block up. She's gone through too much with Stiles, with them all, she wouldn't let him die, even if it had to kill her.

Scott rubbed his eyes on exhaustion, "Stiles, if you have it, we'll do something." He raised his eyes to his best friend, unable to hide the pain in his expression anymore. "I'll do something."

Stiles raised his eyes to meet Scott's, receiving a nod of reassurance from him. He inhaled and exhaled shakily before leaning forwards and pulling Scott into a tight hug. It appeared as though he was holding on for dear life, his hands gripping Scott till his fingers went slightly white, his face scrunched up as if he were about to break down.

Yet Adrianna couldn't feel anything, she knew she was simply looking for a problem, something to solve and keep her mind busy. However, it was true. She could not feel the waves of sadness coming off Stiles as she could with Scott, the Sheriff, and even Melissa. If she couldn't see his expression right now, see him holding onto Scott like that, she would assume he was not saddened or even affected by this problem.

She forced herself to shake these incessant thoughts off. That's all they were, her wanting to occupy herself with something she could physically do, something that would help.
Because she couldn't help Stiles. She could save him from a murderous Darach, from a pack of Alpha's, but fatal dementia? What the hell was she supposed to do?

Scott stepped back and Stiles finally raised his fragile eyes to her. She gulped, pushing herself off the cold wall and placing herself in front of him. "You—You're not going to—" A soft sob interrupted her, choking up her words and ceasing her throat.

"I know." Stiles grabbed her shoulders and pulled her in, squeezing her as hard as her could.

She hugged back, heavy breaths racing out of her lungs. She attempted to push down the one emotion that did surface, coldness.

She pulled away from Stiles, her heart hammering in her chest. "You'll uh, you'll be okay, we'll—we'll—" She inhaled shakily and moved out of the room quicker than she ever has, unable to hold in the tears anymore.

She slammed her back into the wall outside the MRI room, warm tears falling from her eyes, making the green in her pupils seem to glow. She was unable to stop her chest from rapidly moving up and down with her shaking breaths. She looked down to her trembling hands, where the purple energy was beginning to flow gently around her fingers. She gasped, instantly clenching her fists and hiding them between her thighs.

Scott exited the room, his eyes searching until they landed on her. "Hey."

Adrianna looked up at him, rapidly wiping her tears away. "Hey."

"He'll be okay. We aren't certain of anything yet."

Adrianna numbly nodded, looking back down to her denim jeans.

Scott inhaled and glanced around the corridor, "I've gotta meet Derek, come find us when you're ready."

Adrianna nodded once more, keeping her blurred eyes down. She listened to the loud clanking of the MRI machine as it turned on, the whirring of gears and pulsing of electricity. It echoed as if it were in a cave. She couldn't shake off that feeling, that coldness when she touched Stiles, the only emotion she was able to pick up from him. Despite the sadness waving through her, despite the incessant thoughts that continued to tell her that Stiles was dying, she knew something was wrong and it revolved around him.
She inhaled, rubbing her temples. She mustn't worry about it now, not when there were more pressing matters at hand.
She pushed herself from the wall and began to walk in the direction Scott disappeared to.

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