Frozen In Time

Chapter 17

The next two days pass by quite quickly if Scott does say so himself. Even though he didn't really enjoy the seminar (with the exception of listening to Stiles talk), Scott has enjoyed the rest of the New Jersey trip. He has had fun exploring the city with Stiles. It feels nice to not be the only one out of his comfort zone, as neither of them knows the city at all and they get lost. Multiple times. They even got lost when they went out for coffee before their morning flight. When they finally got back to the hotel to meet up with Stansfield in the lobby, Stansfield wasn't happy.

Thankfully, the three of them did not miss their flight, even with Scott and Stiles' coffee misadventure. They manage to get to the airport in time and drop off all of their luggage before heading to the lounge to sit down and wait for their flight. Stansfield sighs in relief as he sits down, and once again scolds Stiles and Scott for their reckless behaviour. Due to the fact that they had all officially checked out of the hotel earlier that morning, if they had missed the flight, booking another one on the same day would be extremely difficult and expensive. Finding a place to spend the night and then booking a flight for the next day would be even more expensive.

Stiles rolls his eyes in response, tired of his boss nagging him. They have heard Stansfield complain about the situation ever since they got on their shuttle to the airport. Stiles starts to zone out, ignoring Stansfield's comments. Stiles gazes over to one of the other airport lounges to see people arriving from outside, from some flight or another.

"Cameron!" Stiles hears a girl shout excitedly, and he manages to spot her running over to a man that is just entering the lounge and she practically jumps into the man's arms. Despite looking startled at first, Stiles can tell that the man is just as happy to see the girl and holds onto her tightly, burying his face into her hair for a few moments before pressing his lips and starts making out with her passionately as her legs wrap tighter around his waist. Stiles smiles faintly at the happy couple, wishing that he could have something like that. Perhaps he could come back home to have someone that really cares about him and loves him jump into his arms.

Stiles used to have that sort of thing until a few years ago. His dad and Malia were always so excited and happy to see him and they would crush him in overbearing hugs, but Stiles never minded. He knew that they loved him and that he loved them just as much. Stiles knows that his mom would always give him the biggest hugs and kisses as well, but that was a long time ago now. She had died when Stiles was just a child, after all.

Right now though, what Stiles really misses as he looks at the couple is how he could hold Malia close and kiss her, letting her know how much he loved her. He misses their cuddles and kisses on the couch or even in bed and the mischievous, but loving smiles they shared. Stiles reminisces over the fact that he and Malia did actually do the exact same thing that the couple in front of him right now is doing after either he or Malia went away for some family vacation or college. Stiles just really wishes that he could have something like the reunited couple over in the next lounge have again. As soon as that wishful thought pops into his mind though, something strange happens. Instead of seeing Cameron and his girlfriend clinging to each other desperately as they kiss at least 25 yards away from Stiles, he sees himself with Scott in the loving embrace instead.

Stiles blinks a couple of times in shock, but the image of the two does not go away. If anything, it becomes stronger, more focused and detailed. As he sees the vision of him and Scott kiss once more, Stiles blushes profusely and quickly looks away, trying to push the image to the back of his mind immediately, trying to just forget about it. His imagination is a very strange thing sometimes, and this is one of those times Stiles would say that it is a curse.

"-Stiles? Are you okay?" Scott asks worriedly, placing a hand on Stiles' shoulder, pulling Stiles back to reality. Stiles jumps slightly in surprise and looks over at Scott with slightly wide eyes.