┌───── ∘₊✧₊∘ ─────┐
𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐄𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍
the bullet
└───── ∘₊✧₊∘ ─────┘
( magic bullet )
MADDIE loves it when she's right, she loves it when she'd called something from the beginning, albeit she did rescind her comment when evidence pointed in the other direction, but she was still proven right in her original theory. Derek is not the alpha. He wasn't the alpha who attacked the bus driver——who succumbed to his injuries yesterday. While Maddie would love to gloat in her being right, it doesn't necessarily feel like the right way to go considering that while they know Derek isn't the werewolf that turned Scott, they have no idea who is. Neither does grumpy wolf so he's not much help either.
What he does know is that the alpha wants Scott in his pack, which dampens the mood even more. Maddie doesn't want to lose Scott. The two have been through so much together; she considers him a brother, and while it may not be biological——although every familial bond she has isn't——the strength of the bond is just the same. She can't lose him.
Stiles is going through the same process, just dealing with it a little differently by being his usual inquisitive self, searching for answers which Scott has already said he doesn't help. It still doesn't stop him from asking the same questions over and over again.
"If Derek isn't the alpha, if he's not the one who bit you, then who did?" he questions, attempting to subtly lean forwards in his seat to hear Scott in the seat in front of him. Maddie sits beside him, sitting casually in her chair as she moves her focus between the teacher as he hands out the marked papers from the test they did last week and Scott, a small flicker of hope in her that maybe he does have an answer this time.
Scott barely lifts his shoulders in a shrug. "I don't know."
"Did the alpha kill the bus driver?" he badgers.
"I don't know," Scott repeats.
"Does Allison's dad know about the—?"
"I don't know!"
Most of the class turn around at Scott's outburst, the teacher giving him a concerned look as he sets down a paper on the desk beside him, and Scott sinks down into his seat in embarrassment. Maddie chuckles at her friend's frustration before taking hold of the test that's set down in front of her. Her eyes instantly fall to the red writing in the top corner and she closes her eyes, letting her head fall to the table with a quiet thud. Feeling Stiles' curious stare on her, she turns the test towards him, showing him the C–.
While a C– may not be a bad grade, Maddie's always had a need to be better, to be at the top. It started as a coping mechanism after her dad left before becoming a way to appease her anxiety——if she gets A's then she's not seen as incompetent or dumb, and while people may not see her as that even with a semi—good grade, it doesn't stop herself from thinking it. It's just a sad cycle that perpetuates more anxiety because then she worries too much on doing better.
"Dude, you need to study more," Stiles comments and Maddie lifts her head off the table, ready to insult him when she quickly realises that he's talking to Scott. She sits up, wincing upon seeing the D– circled at the top of his test. The boy drops the test in a huff at the comment. "That was a joke, Scott. It's one test, you're gonna make it up."
YOU ARE READING
Empathy ⌯ Stiles Stilinski
Fanfiction❝ the way he looks at her, i don't think he's never looked at me that way ❞ ❝ maybe you just weren't looking ❞ High school is supposed to be hard. The homework, the socialisation, the worry of deciding your future. At least, that's what's supposed t...
