Protecter

SIX

CHAPTER SIX
( NIGHTMARES )

THE FIVE WALK INTO THE HOUSE, ALEX LEANING ON DEVON.
Scott runs up to them, noticing Alex's weak figure. "What happened?"
"We're stuck here," Alex gasps out. Devon guides her to the couch, helping her sit. They all sit.
"What do you mean?" Malia asks.
Stiles rolls his eyes. "She means we can't leave this universe. Someone locked us out."
"The hunters aren't just hunters anymore," Devon adds.
  "They are working under someone else," Theo starts.
  "Someone who wants Alex stuck here," Devon finishes. He looks at the pack, griping Alex tighter. "If they can keep her here, they're powerful. Something big is coming."
Issac nods slowly. "So, what do we do?"
Alex sits up. "All we can do is wait."
  Derek raises an eyebrow. "Is that all we can do?"
  She nods. "There is nothing else we can do. Nothing we can do to find out anything."
  Scott sighs. "Nothing?"
  "Nothing," Alex confirms. She stands. "Now, I am quite exhausted so I'm going to go to bed." She walks to her room.
  Scott turns to Devon. "What happened to her?"
  Devon rubs his temples. "She's exhausted. She fought multiple armed gunman, broke a very strong curse, tried to break the barrier keeping us here, and underwent a psychic attack." He shrugs. "Even Alex has her limits." He walks off.
Scott rubs the back of his neck. He closes his eyes. He takes a deep breath and clasps his hands over the nape of his neck. Issac takes Scott's hands away from his neck, threading their fingers together. Scott opens his eyes and looks at him.
  Issac squeezes his hand. "You have me. Until every last star in the galaxy dies, you have me." Scott stares at Issacs eyes, feeling grounded. Anchored. Scott smiles softly.
  "Till the end of the line," Stiles interrupts. The two turn to him.
  Issac lets go of Scott to grab a pillow, hurling it towards Stiles, who falls into the couch with an 'oof.' "You're an asshole Stiles."
  Stiles pulls the pillow away from him face, cuddling it. "Well, you're not wrong."
  Derek rolls his eyes at his boyfriend. "Only Stiles would say that."
  Stiles smirks. "But you love me." He tackles Derek in a hug, dropping the pillow. He peppers Derek's face with kisses.
  Theo fake gags. "Gross."
  Stiles turns to him. "Watching you pine over Liam was so much worse."
  A light blush covers his cheeks. "What?"
  Stiles rolls his eyes and gets off of Derek, sitting upright. "It was so annoying, the sexual tension was so thick."
  Liam blushes too, knowing damn well how bad he was, is, in for it.
  Mason laughs. "It was also hilarious. The only people that didn't know you were in love, were you."
  Theo sinks in his seat, deciding that his sister taking him back would be better than this. Liam avoids eyes contact, his arms crossed.
  Mason approaches Liam, poking his sides. "Come on, we're just playing." He keeps poking Liam till a dopey grin overcomes his face.
  Liam scoots over to Theo, who is still frowning from embarrassment. He pulls Theo to his chest, back to chest. He kisses his cheek, only causing the boy to blush more. "Come on, let yourself be embarrassed. It's fine to show emotions." He holds Theo tighter.
  Theo smiles softly, letting his emotions show, his embarrassment and content. "I don't think I was that bad."
  Malia smiles at him, glad that he is showing them who he really is. So they can know him, not as the sociopath who killed his sister, but the boy who never really got enough love. "You were so bad." She shakes her head. "You gravitated toward him always. You were tense when he wasn't in the room. And you've saved him multiple times."
  Theo's face gets redder. He places his hands on Liam's arms, that are wrapped around. "I- I... that's not fair." He pauses. "No that's completely fair and completely true." He smiles, despite being thoroughly embarrassed.
  They all laugh.

+++

  Pain. That's all she can feel. It's all she can sense. It's too much. It's too much. Too much.
  Alex shoots up, gasping for air. She looks around frantically. She's at home, on a bed. She pulls the comforter around her body, shivering although she isn't cold. Her lip quivers as she gasps for air. She shuts her eyes tightly as her body trembles. She can feel the hot burn of tears behinds her eyelids. She opens her eyes as the tears flow freely. She lets out a sob but quickly covers her mouth, making sure no sounds escape. She needs to get out. To breath. She gets up and changes quickly, tears still flowing. She carefully opens the window and climbs out, using her claws to get to the roof. Once she gets to the roof, she falls to her knees, letting her sobs out. She can't breath. A wave of panic washes over her as her breath comes in shallow gasps. She claws at her throat.
  A figure appears in front of her. She can't she him clearly, her vision clouded by tears. The figure grips her shoulders. "You're having a panic attack. You need to  breath."
  She furrows her brows, still gasping for breath. "Peter?"
  He nods. "You have enhanced hearing right?" She nods. "Good, focus on my heart beat, and my smell."
  She nods again. She closes her eyes and focuses her hearing on Peters heartbeat, syncing up hers with it. She takes a deep breath, smelling Peters scent. He smelled of books and chocolate. Her heartbeat and breathing slow down. She opens her eyes and notices she's clutching onto his suit. She backs off. "Sorry." She laughs. She sniffles, wiping her tears. "I'm a mess."
Peter removes his mask, eyes showing concern. "What's wrong?"
She pulls her knees to her chest. "Nightmares."
He sits next to her. "Do you have PTSD?"
She nods, not looking at him.
He crosses his legs. "What about?"
"What my mother did to me," she croaks. "Torture. Whippings. Burning. Branding." She shuts her eyes tightly. Frost crackles around her. Peter shuffles away slightly. She takes a deep breath, attempting to get control of her powers. She opens her eyes and looks to the boy. She rest her chin on her arms. "I've never really had a soul before." She shrugs, eyes staring into Peters soul. "It's strange. My mind always mimicked emotions. But," she shakes her head, turning to look straight ahead, "it was never like this. So real. It's overwhelming. The memories. The anxiety. The fact that I'll outlive everyone in the house we're sitting on."
Peter furrows his brows. "What do you mean?"
  She sighs. "I'm immortal. The only immortal. They'll die and I," she shrugs, "I'll still be here." She turns to him, giving him a sad smile. "Becoming a god is the loneliest achievement of all."
  "What about Stiles? I heard one of you say he was immortal."
  She shakes her head. "No. Stiles isn't truly immortal." She looks forward. "Not much can kill him, and he'll live an extremely long life, but he'll die eventually." She sighs as a lone tear travels down her cheek. "Then I'll be alone. I won't be a hero and I won't be a monster. I'll just be here."
  They sit in silence, the only sound was the wind howling.

***
A/N— Kinda ended it on a sad note.
Alex is experiencing every emotion at once. What will she do?