Void (The Youngest, Book 3.B.)

Chapter 五 (B)

Stiles was quietly making his way through the locker room at the school that night. The empty space echoed softly with each of his steps, his sneakers making faint squeaking sounds on the cold tile. He glanced around cautiously, eyes flitting to every shadow. He caught sight of Coach's office and then whipped out his phone, his fingers moving deftly as he dialed up Scott.

"Get your ass down here, now, we have a job to do," he said sternly into the phone, his voice barely a whisper as if afraid Coach might hear from wherever he was. "And bring Kylie."

"Dude, I'm already in bed, and Kylie's sleeping... well, I think so. And aren't we getting a little old for this?" Scott's voice sounded groggy and slightly amused, a mix of sleepiness and reluctance.

"We do this for Coach," Stiles reminded him, a smirk tugging at his lips despite his exasperation. He was determined to follow through with their annual tradition.

"Uh, I thought we did this to Coach," Scott responded, now more awake, with a chuckle laced into his words.

Stiles shrugged, even though Scott couldn't see him. "Whatever, you know he needs this. He lives for this stuff. He loves it." Stiles glanced at the assortment of prank supplies in his locker, the sense of nostalgia making his grin widen.

"But, it's the middle of the night," Scott protested, his yawn echoing through the speaker.

Stiles then moved and opened his locker, revealing his stash of tools and supplies ready to unleash chaos on Coach's office. "Which means it's after midnight and officially Mischief Night/Day, and, by a perfectly awesome coincidence, it also happens to be Coach's birthday. So if you are not down here in five seconds, I will destroy you. Okay? And I mean five, four, three, two -" Stiles spun around, nearly tripping backward in surprise.

Scott was standing right there, his smirk widening. "One."

Stiles' eyes went to the figure beside Scott, who looked up at him with a sleepy but amused smile. Kylie waved at him, her tiny hand wiggling a greeting.

"I hate you both," Stiles muttered, his exasperation quickly melting into a grin.

The next morning, the students began pouring into school, filling the once-quiet halls with the chaos of a new day. Scott, Stiles, Isaac, and Kylie stood near Scott's locker, their voices low as they discussed the events of the night before. The conversation paused abruptly as the familiar faces of Ethan and Aiden strode toward them. Tension filled the air as the twins closed the distance.

"You're back in school?" Scott asked, keeping his tone polite despite the wariness in his gaze.

"No," Ethan said flatly. "Just to talk."

"Oh, that's kind of a change of pace for you guys," Stiles said, sarcasm oozing from his voice. "Usually you're just hurting, maiming, or killing."

Isaac's hands tightened at his sides, his knuckles cracking audibly, but he stayed still, glaring daggers at the twins. Ethan and Aiden kept their focus on Scott.

"You need a pack," Aiden said firmly. "We need an Alpha. And your pup's already familiar with us." His gaze flicked to Kylie, who regarded them with an innocent smile, entirely at odds with the charged atmosphere.

Stiles sucked on a corner of his teeth, annoyance evident. "Yeah, absolutely not. Hilarious though," he snapped.

"You came to us for help, and we helped," Aiden argued, his voice edged with frustration.

"You beat his face into a bloody pulp. That's not helping. In my opinion, that's actually counter-productive," Stiles retorted, gesturing at Scott as if to emphasize his point.