"HELLO MY DARLING, I'VE MISSED YOU."

At first, I was blinded by the brightest light you could imagine. All I could see was white, it was everywhere, but eventually the light began to soften to a point where it was no longer blinding. Regardless, I still had to squint somewhat as I looked around but to no avail, I couldn't see anything. I was completely alone, stuck in an empty space that stretched on for miles.

Where was I?

"Alex."

I turned around again, expecting to see nothing but I was pleasantly surprised when I saw my mom standing behind me. She looked as beautiful as ever in her long trench coat, her natural black waves hanging effortlessly over her shoulders but most importantly she was free of any scars from the fire.

"Mom?"

She smiled at me as she stepped forwards and she wrapped her arms around my body, embracing me for the first time in almost 7 years. It felt foreign at first but once I realised how much I'd been longing for this I relaxed completely in her hold and I wrapped my arms around her tightly.

However long we spent in one another's embrace was the best time of my life because this was something I'd been waiting for. I didn't want to pull away but I knew we had to. We stayed close to each other though as she held my arms and looked at me properly, "My god, look at you."

"Mom, what's going on?" I asked her then, "Where am I?"

"You're in surgery." She told me simply, "Have been for three hours."

"Three hours?" I croaked then, my eyes widening, "What—why?"

"Don't you remember, sweetheart?" She asked me then, her brows furrowing in genuine concern, "You got shot."

"I—" I gaped, unsure of what to say while my mind drew a blank of what had happened for me to end up in such a situation. I cast my gaze downwards to see I was wearing my white bandage dress, looking as pristine as ever and suddenly it all came flashing back.

"Now you remember." My mom noted, judging my facial expression, "It's been quite complex for them, the bullet is in an awkward place."

I met her eyes, "But I'm going to be okay, aren't I?"

"Well that's up to you." She told me honestly, "If you're not ready to let go then you fight."

I furrowed my brows as I shook my head, "Fight? How am I supposed to fight?"

"Alex you've been fighting all your life." My mom said then as she cupped my cheek delicately, "You just haven't realised yet."

"What am I fighting?" I asked her, my brows still drawn in.

She shook my head at me as she smiled, "That's something you need to figure out for yourself."

"That's not fair, mom."

"I know." She nodded, "But I can't disrupt your path. That's me messing with the balance and I can't do that, not even for you."

I recoiled my head back in confusion as I tried to wrap my head around her words. It was like she was talking about the natural order but.. surely not?

"The balance?" I questioned her, "You mean the natural order?"

She pressed her lips together and nodded, "There's a plan set in stone for you sweetheart. There's a plan set in stone for everyone and it's created the minute they're born. It's unheard of for a plan to be changed."

"But it can be?" I asked her.

I felt like all I was doing was asking her questions but I needed answers. I had to make complete sense of this before I ran out of time and I didn't know how much of that I had with my mom.

"Not without a price." She warned me, "Your friend just disrupted the natural order and now the person who's plan she meddled in will pay the price."

"Who?"

She shook her head at me, placing her hand on my shoulder, "You'll find out soon enough, for now let's walk. We haven't got much time left and it's a long journey back."

I looped my arm through my mother's as we walked together slowly, our foot prints the only sound we could hear. It was peaceful here, I had to admit it, but I wouldn't like to think I'd be stuck here for the rest of my life. The white continuous light would drive me crazy.

"Is this where you stay?" I found myself asking as I looked around, trying to find anything other than the same white background.

"Oh, no." My mom shook her head, "I'm normally with you."

"With me?"

She nodded, "You didn't think I left you, did you?" She asked me. I paused in thought for a minute, unsure of what I thought and while I hesitated she squeezed my arm, "Alex, I'm always with you."

My eyes widened as I looked to her, "Always?"

"Not in the sense you're thinking." She chuckled heartily, "No."

I found myself breathing a sigh of relief, "Oh, thank god."

"It's not often I'm not by your side, sweetheart." She said to me then, "You'd be surprised."

"I never knew that was a thing." I admitted honestly.

She nodded, "I've watched you grow into the beautiful soul you are today.. no thanks to your father, mind."

"Mom." I said then as I stopped. She had no choice but to stop besides me and she looked to me with a small smile on her face, "What happened between you and dad? Truthfully."

"A lot of things." She told me sorrowfully, "Not everyone is perfect."

"I didn't say you were." I replied.

She gave me a sad smile and squeezed my hand, "Natural balance, sweetheart." Were her words, "But just know, I can tell you your father didn't know Kate Argent was the one responsible for the Hale fire."

A small bout of guilt bubbled in my stomach then as I looked to the ground. I had taken so much of my pain and anger out on my dad when I was growing up and even now and he had taken his pain out on me by shutting me out. My dad truly loved my mom and knowing I'd insinuated to him that I thought he had known all along Kate had caused the fire made me feel inescapably guilty.

"We're running out of time, Alex." My mom said to me then, re-capturing my attention, "I know I've given you a lot to think about but I want to leave you with one more parting gift."

"What's that?" I asked her.

"Talia didn't take away your memories." She told me as she took both of my hands and squeezed them, "Your subconscious has tied every memory you have of the Hale house, family and even of me to the fire and because that was such a traumatic event those memories have been suppressed in your brain."

I rose my brows in bewilderment and exhaled, puffing my cheeks out, "That's.."

"It's a lot, I know." She nodded, "But recovering what you've lost is a lot easier than what you think it is. You simply have to find a way to separate the fire from the Hale house.. that's when your memory will return to you."

I chuckled nervously, "That sounds easier said than done."

"If you overthink it you're trying too hard." She told me, "It's simple but it might take you months to work out."

"Okay." I nodded, "Thank you."

I looked into my mother's eyes as she pressed her lips together before pulling me into a tight embrace again. She wrapped her arms around my waist and I hugged her, savouring what could possibly be our last moment together. I dropped my head into her shoulder, feeling a single tear run down my face and I squeezed my eyes shut, biting on my lip to stop it from trembling.

"I love you, Alex." She said to me, "And I'm so, so proud of you."

I nodded into her shoulder, sniffling as I replied shakily, "I love you too, mom."

I opened my eyes daringly to steal one last glimpse of her but I no longer found myself standing before that white dimension. I was staring at a ceiling and a dull artificial light hung over me. It was incredibly blurry at first but after I blinked several times my vision returned back to normal.

I tore my gaze away from the ceiling and looked around to see I was in a side room in the hospital, laid in a comfortable bed with the sheets tucked up to my chest. There was a quiet beeping noise besides me and I craned my head upwards to see a observations machine next to me, a probe on my right index finger continuously monitoring my pulse rate.

Was that my fight? I thought. If so it was a lot easier than what I'd expected it to be. It sounded harder when my mom was explaining it to me.

My mom..

A faint smile tugged on my lips when I thought of her words.. how she was always with me. It brought me an unexplainable amount of comfort knowing she was here with me right now, somewhere in this room. I didn't have to see her to know she was here, I could feel her in my heart and that was a lot more than what I'd felt since she'd died.

When the door opened I looked up to see a face I wasn't expecting to see.

Sheriff Stilinski froze in the doorway, his eyes slightly wide as he held the polystyrene cup in his hand. I tried to give him my best smile but when I stretched my lips I felt them splitting from how dry they were. I could see he was indecisive of what to do, torn between getting a health professional or coming in.

"Just come in." I said to him then but I was taken aback by how hoarse my voice was.

"I should really get a nurse, Alex." He said to me.

"You can ring the buzzer in five minutes." I tried to compromise, "Please, I just want a few minutes to pull round."

He nodded to himself and stepped inside, closing the door behind him and walking over to my bedside. When he sat down in the chair closest to my bed I noticed there was two there and I wondered who had been in with me and how long I'd been unconscious for.

"How do you feel?" The sheriff asked me curiously.

"I don't know." I replied honestly. I hadn't had much time to process what had happened to me and I only knew what my mom had told me which wasn't really much. To me, it felt like the whole thing had happened ten minutes ago but it could've been days for all I had known, "How long has it been?"

"Only two days." He said to me, "Which is why I'm so surprised. The doctors told us they were expecting you to be in a coma for five days at least."

The words 'coma' and 'five days' processed clearly in my mind but I didn't have much capacity to reply in the way I wanted to. Had it of been someone saying that to me about someone else I'd of been shocked but all I felt at the minute was an overwhelming grogginess that prevented me from being shocked about my predicament.

"Five days in a coma, huh?" I ended up saying, "That bad?"

He pressed his lips together as he reached out and patted my arm, "Not good, no. You gave us all a fright."

Two days.. When I was with my mom though she told me I was in surgery having the bullet removed. Had time really passed that quickly in the real world?

"What happened?"

"There were a few complications during the surgery." He told me honestly, "The doctor told us that your body had already began the natural healing process when he came to operate but the bullet penetrated your intestine."

"What does that mean?" I asked him.

"It didn't pass through completely." He told me, "So it was stuck in your intestine but when he went to remove it your intestine had already started to heal."

I furrowed my brows, "That's really weird."

He nodded, "You lost a lot of blood, Alex." The sheriff told me honestly, "The bullet ruptured your spleen too so they had to remove it."

"Couldn't of been easy, could it?" I asked him.

He shook his head, "Not at all.. but what matters is that you're alive and you're okay."

I nodded, relaxing my head again my pillow while looking to him, "Where's Stiles?"

"He's getting some air." He said, "Your dad was here a few minutes ago and well.."

He didn't have to finish his sentence because I could tell by the way he exhaled that it was bad. I honestly wasn't sure if I wanted to know, especially after having just pulled round but I thought it was easier to know now than find out through my dad and lose it.

"What did he say?" I asked tentatively.

The sheriff sighed and he took my hand comfortingly, "He said he wants to leave Beacon Hills, Alex.. and he wants to take you with him."

And just then I felt my whole world collapsing in on itself. I was thrust back in time to seven years ago when he told me we were leaving this town and everything in it behind only hours after waking up after the fire. I could see nine year old me, hear her sobbing at the top of her lungs into Melissa McCalls chest after being told my mom had died and I was leaving the town I grew up in in a matter of minutes.

I didn't have the energy to fight the tears that broke their way to the surface. I didn't sob this time though because I didn't have the energy to. I felt as if I'd been well and truly wiped out. This time, the tears just cascaded down my face. I couldn't control them.

"When Stiles overheard your dad saying that to me he just lost it." The sheriff admitted, "I've never seen him so angry in my life."

I met the sheriffs gaze again solemnly, "I want to see him."

Sitting here and knowing I only had a short amount of time left with Stiles broke my heart. It completely tore me into two. It felt like a bad dream.

The sheriff nodded as he got out of his seat, walking slowly to the doorway. I watched as he opened the door but before he left he turned in the doorway and said to me, "Stiles didn't hear me say this.. but after he left, I told your dad you could move in with us. I know it's unrealistic but I can't face seeing the two of you being forced apart again."

And then everything that had shattered was slowing being mended back into place. My lip trembled as I looked to the sheriff and for a minute all I could do was nod until I finally forced out a thank you.

He nodded at me, giving me a small smile before he left. The silence that followed was peaceful and I welcomed it as I sat in my bed and cried. I brought my hand up to my face, trying to dry my eyes from the tears I had shed but for every one I wiped away two more replaced it.

Everything was slowly starting to sink in all at once and it was incredibly overwhelming. I didn't think I had the capacity to process it at the minute and while I tried my hardest all I could do was cry. I had a lot to overcome and for a short while I felt as if I'd been making some progress with Morrell — I had to have been surely — but now I felt as if I was back at square one, if not further behind that. I was a walking time bomb — absolutely terrified of everything again.

When the door opened again I jumped, a testimony to just how afraid I was and when I met Stiles' hazel gaze I saw as he frowned. He knew he'd made me jump. He didn't dwell on that thought for long I noted because only seconds after he'd opened the door he was closing it and rushing over to me.

I hadn't seen him move so quickly in my entire life as he sat in the chair closest to me and pulled it right up to my bed. He took my hand in both of his before he got up and pressed a short kiss to my lips. He pulled away, threading his hand into my hair and cupping my cheek as he kissed my forehead and sat back down again.

"I've never been so afraid in my life." He admitted to me honestly and I saw his cheeks were tainted pink, stained from the previous tears he'd shed. His eyes were rimmed red and glossy as he held my gaze, "Alex, I thought I'd lost you." He said, his voice quivering.

"I'm sorry." I whispered to him, "I'm so sorry."

He shook his head, "None of this is your fault. I wish I'd of been able to protect you more."

I placed my free hand over his own as he cupped my cheek, "If none of this is my fault none of it is your fault either."

He nodded as a tear escaped down his cheek, "I'm never letting you go, Alex, you hear me?" He said to me, "You're too special to me, you mean too much to me for me to do that. I don't care what your dad says."

"Stiles." I spoke to him softly, pulling his focus solely back to me, "Your dad said that after you left he said to my dad that I can move in with you both."

Stiles' eyes widened somewhat, "He did?"

I nodded as I tried to hold my own tears back, "Trust me, I won't leave with him. I couldn't think of anything worse, I've built my life here now — no matter how dangerous or unconventional — and I'd quite like to keep it."

He grazed his thumb over my cheek as he said, "I'd like you to keep it too."

"I'm not leaving you." I reassured him, "I promise."

__________________

The physical healing process required me to stay in hospital for another four days. The sheriff had been right in what he'd told me, my surgery had been extremely complicated and I counted myself exceptionally lucky to be alive. Those four days hadn't been smooth sailing, they were painful, tiring and exhausting and I was glad to be getting out of the hospital.

I refused to move with my dad and instead I'd taken it upon myself to accept sheriff Stilinski's invitation for me to move into his house. I'd basically been living there over the past couple of weeks anyways so really it made no difference. Once my dad realised I wasn't going anywhere with him he suddenly decided he didn't want to move anymore. I didn't understand what he was playing at but I didn't bother questioning it or him.

The mental healing process hadn't even begun. I didn't know when it would start or when I would recognise when it had started but it was still something I couldn't process. I couldn't talk about that night, not even to Stiles. He was able to tell me what had happened from his perspective and he told me exactly how he was feeling in each precise moment but at the minute I couldn't even tell myself that.

I knew how I felt that night but I couldn't re-remind myself of those thoughts and feelings. I couldn't bare to re-live what had happened just yet.

When Stiles opened the door to his bathroom and started speaking I jumped somewhat, "Hey, are you coming to the—" He paused when he caught sight of what I was doing though and while I didn't look to him I could sense his confusion in his voice as he asked me, "What are you doing?"

I continued to look into the mirror, my oversized brand shirt lifted in my hand as I looked at my scarred abdomen in the mirror. This was the first time I'd ever seen the damage that had been left behind but I hadn't expected for it to look the way it did. I was told by Melissa and some doctors that my wounds were healing nicely and also fast too. Regardless though, it was still hard seeing my scars for the first time.

It brought a solemn tone to my mood but it didn't make me cry which surprised me. I'd barely been able to contain my tears lately but seeing my wound didn't set me off. It was longer than what I'd expected it to be, a three inch line from either side of the entrance wound — six inches in total. Where the bullet itself had penetrated my skin there was a rounded mark on my stomach but currently almost the entirety of my stomach was stained a yellow colour from the bruising that had been caused.

At first, Melissa had told me I had dark purple bruising around my wound but over the days the colouring had changed quickly to signal my healing process.

It was like I said, physically I was healing well.. but mentally I was nowhere near.

Stiles left the doorway and he walked over to me and as I felt him stand behind me I glanced fleetingly at him through the mirror. His eyes were too on my scar and bruising and he looked at it with his lips parted slightly. There was a part of me that wondered if he was going to faint but I remembered him telling me he was only squeamish when it came to the sight of a chopped off arm.

I lowered my gaze back down to my stomach as Stiles placed his hands on my waist, his fingertips brushing against my bare skin before she hugged me from behind, careful to avoid my wound. He rested his chin on my shoulder and said, "Are you okay?"

I nodded in response before mumbling, "I just didn't expect it to look this way."

"What were you expecting?" He asked me.

"Something smaller, I guess." I replied quietly, "I didn't think they'd cut that big."

"If you're worried about how it looks—"

I shook my head to interrupt him, "I don't think I am." I said, "It's just a bit of a shock, that's all."

Stiles nodded in understanding and he pressed a kiss to my cheek before he said, "I still think you're beautiful."

I met his gaze through the mirror as I smiled at him as best as I could, "Thank you." I said to him, putting the bandage back on and lowering my shirt again. I wrapped my arms around Stiles' and leaned back into him, happy just to be in his arms as I relaxed.

"I was going to ask if you were coming to the game tonight."

I opened my eyes again then and looked to the floor while I pondered. I hadn't left Stiles' house since I'd gotten out of hospital two days ago. I hadn't returned to school after spring break because I was still haunted by memories. Matt had died that night and even though he was no longer a threat I was still scared.

Gerard had taken over as Jackson's master but he was still the principal and he was out to avenge Kate's death which filled me with dread too.

But I knew I couldn't hide away for the rest of my life. I had to get back to normalcy sooner rather than later and perhaps the championship Lacrosse game was the way to do that. After all, it was the final.

I met Stiles' eyes through the mirror and nodded, seeing a hint of a smile tug at his lips as I said, "Yeah, I think I will."

"Good." He replied, "Because I didn't want to leave you here by yourself."

"We should probably go then." I suggested, looking to my phone for the time, "You have to be there in five minutes."

Stiles nodded as we walked out of his room and I picked up my long puffer jacket off the back of his door and put it on, "My dad is waiting downstairs."

"Let's go then." I said to him, following him down the stairs to where his dad was waiting in the living room.

The sheriff smiled at me in a similar fashion to Stiles and he asked, "You're coming?"

I nodded, "I couldn't miss the final."

He wrapped his arm around Stiles and I and pulled us close to him as he guided us towards the front door. We got into the sheriffs car and he pulled out of the driveway, heading towards the school while he and Stiles chatted idly as we drove. I kept quiet, looking out of the window in my own little world as I thought to myself. The sheriff had gotten his job back after we'd solved the case and I felt somewhat accomplished knowing we'd helped him achieve that. It was better than the guilt I was succumbed to after he'd been forced to step down.

Before I knew it, the sheriff was parking up and the three of us were getting out of the car. We walked towards the field, Stiles holding my hand as the sheriff walked next to me and when we arrived it was already pretty busy. The flood lights lit up the field and the bleachers nicely, also lighting up the dark sky around us.

Stiles turned to his dad and I and exhaled, his breath crystallising in the cold air, "All right, well, I have to go get ready."

"Okay, son." The sheriff nodded, "I guess I'll see you after the game."

I nodded too and squeezed Stiles' hand, "Good luck."

He gave me a small smile in return before he kissed my cheek and left, jogging towards the back end of the school where the locker rooms were. It wasn't likely that Stiles would be playing tonight but I always liked to keep my hopes up for him, he deserved a chance on the field at least once before he graduated.

The sheriff and I headed up the bleachers, taking a seat just behind our teams front bench and I pulled my coat tighter around my body as we sat. I couldn't shake this nervous energy I was feeling, no matter what I did. It was like an impending doom and it was weighing heavily on my shoulders for a reason I didn't know of. The only thing I could think off was anxiety but this felt somewhat different to anxiety.

Melissa sat down next to us shortly after we'd claimed our seats and she gave me a pressed smile when she arrived. I knew things between her and Scott were still patchy and I wanted nothing more than to be able to sit down with them both and help them figure this whole situation out but Melissa was still avoiding him. I'd gotten a few chances to speak to her at the hospital but she was still coming to terms with it herself. She didn't know what Scott was yet but she'd been exposed to a world of supernatural in an already terrifying situation so naturally it wasn't going down well — especially when she was still processing that night too.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked me then, her voice full of concern.

I forced a smiled as I said, "Yeah, I think so.. just a bit anxious."

She took my hand and squeezed it comfortingly, "You'll be all right.. and if you're not, we're here."

I nodded, "Thank you."

"Oh, no." The sheriff said then, distracting me from our conversation, "Why is my son running on the field?"

I looked to the field immediately, looking for Stiles' number as I said, "He's what?"

"Look, he's there." The sheriff said to me, pointing to Stiles' back and sure enough he was standing on the field, his helmet on and his stick in his hand.

"Because he's on the team?" Melissa replied then.

"Oh my god." I muttered, my eyes widening, "He's playing.. Stiles is actually playing."

"He is.." The sheriff said then as realisation dawned upon him. Since the start of the season the sheriff, Melissa and I had sat together and watched as Stiles had to sit on the bench the entire time and now he had the opportunity to play, "He's on the field, my son is on the field!" He yelled proudly while standing up. Everyone around him turned to look up at him in confusion but I only held my hands over my mouth in shock as I smiled in happiness.

The downside of this entire experience was that Scott was benched and so he couldn't play alongside Stiles but I was sure that after tonight he'd get the opportunity to do so.

I was surprised when Lydia sat down next to me quietly, smiling at Melissa, the sheriff and I as she did so and she said, "Hey."

"Hi." I smiled at her.

"How are you?" She asked me, "I heard about.. you know."

I nodded, "I'm okay." I told her honestly, "Seem to be healing well."

"That's good." She replied, exhaling before saying, "It was a crazy night, huh?"

"Yeah." I nodded, "Crazy indeed."

"I'm glad you're okay though." She said to me genuinely, putting her arm around me and pulling me into her side gently for a short embrace. 

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"I'm fine." She smiled back at me, "More than."

__________________

So let's just say Stiles hadn't gotten of to the best start. He was a little rough around the edges, missing the ball a couple of times and getting knocked to the ground several times. We were getting beaten to the ground, it was quite embarrassing actually, and Isaac had joined the game to take down all of our good players so the rest of the bench had to play.

I didn't know what his and Scott's strategy was but I hoped to god it worked because Isaac was taking everyone down with absolutely no remorse until Jackson tackled him to the ground.

I had no idea what was going on but I knew that Isaac hitting the ground looked like it hurt. We only had Scott left to play otherwise coach would have to forfeit the game, so I suppose their plan worked to some extent because coach had no other choice but to put Scott on the field.

I couldn't tell if I liked being out of the loop or not because while I was beyond confused it was oddly nice to be able to sit here and just focus on the game. I knew in the back of my mind though that this bad feeling I had wasn't just anxiety. There was something else going on here and in some cases being out of the loop was dangerous — it was times like that where you got hurt and I didn't want that.

"I'm just gonna go speak to Scott real quick." Melissa said quickly as she got up. The sheriff, Lydia and I didn't even have time to react as she stepped down the bleachers and ran on to the pitch to catch Scott before he took his place in the game.

Their conversation was brief but Lydia looked to me in confusion and said, "What's going on?"

I sighed heavily, running my hand over my forehead as I leaned towards her and lowered my voice, "When this game is over.. or whenever we fix whatever's going on you and I need to have a lengthy conversation about the weird shit that is happening in this town."

She ran her tongue across her bottom lip as Melissa sat down again next to the sheriff and I, "Does it have anything to do with Peter Hale literally biting me?" Lydia asked me.

"Well, uh.." I mumbled, "Let's just say that's not the beginning of the story but it's not the end either. It's connected though."

"Great." She nodded sarcastically, "I look forward to it."

"Don't we all." Melissa grumbled then, catching our conversation as the game started again and Lydia shot me a look of confusion.

"She's somewhat clued up." I told her before narrowing my eyes in thought, "Actually I'd say she knew about the same as you."

She nodded in response and the both of us turned to the game but Lydia changed the topic of our conversation as she asked me, "Have you heard from Allison lately?"

"No." I replied simply, pressing my lips together. I did think that she would've visited me when I was in the hospital.. or even called to see how I was doing but I hadn't heard a peep out of her. I did, however, hear about her mom dying — the supposed suicide my dad had called it but he and I both knew it wasn't suicide. Regardless, though I had texted her to offer my condolences and let her know that I was always going to be around for her but she hadn't even gotten back to that.

"I heard about her mom." She told me, "She texted me to tell me."

"Oh." I muttered. That took me by surprise. If Allison was letting people know I'd of thought she'd of called me then. Even if she already knew I knew, "At least she texted you."

Was she avoiding me?

That thought consumed me as we worked our way into the final ten minutes of the game. I knew there was absolutely no way we could pull this back now. We needed a miracle if we were going to win this game because we were down two and we couldn't even get half way across the field without getting slammed to the ground. In fact, I hadn't seen a player of ours make it into the opposing teams quadrant in the last seven minutes.

The team we were up against were like animals and they were built like them too. They put us to shame and I noticed as I looked across the field that I could no longer see Scott either, we were well and truly doomed. I just hoped the referee didn't catch on that we were a player down.

As a boy from the opposing team body slammed two of our players everyone lost sight of the ball and each player looked for it desperately. I scanned the field looking for it myself but I hadn't a clue where it was until I caught sight of Stiles running. His legs carried him quickly down towards the goal of the opposing team and it was only then did I realise he'd been the one to find the ball.

Everyone was chasing him and the opposing team were desperate to tackle him to the ground as he ran. I held my breath anxiously, my knees bouncing up and down as I watched Stiles get closer and closer towards the goal as he screamed loudly.

"Oh crap." The sheriff muttered.

Stiles got to the goal, standing there in front of the goal keeper but he didn't do anything. He just looked around for someone to pass the ball to but he was the only one at that end of the field. He was alone and the opposing team were homing in on him quickly.

"Stilinski!" Coach yelled loudly, "Shoot it! Shoot the ball!"

"What is he doing?" I mumbled nervously, "Why isn't he shooting?"

"I don't know." Lydia replied.

"Shoot it you idiot!" Coach yelled at him.

I shook my head, dumbfounded before I yelled out across the field, "Stiles, shoot the damn ball!"

And he did.

He turned around and he aimed towards the net, shooting the ball and I watched as it flew out of the net on his stick. The ball soared towards the goal and I held my breath in trepidation, my hands covering my mouth.

It flew into the back of the net eliciting a loud scream of excitement from myself, Melissa, the sheriff and Lydia as I shot up out of my seat. Stiles had scored and as the school cheered loudly I couldn't help but smile brightly as my body filled with pride. I clapped as the sheriff stood up too, fist pumping the air as we supported Stiles and he yelled loudly, "I scored a goal!"

He brought our score up to eight and we only had one more point until we tied with just three minutes to go until the game was declared over.

Everyone hurried to their starting points again and the referee blew the whistle as our starting player snatched the ball from the ground quickly. Around us, the supporters cheered loudly in excitement as victory dangled in our reach and we watched as the players sprinted across the field, passing the ball back and fro as we approached the opposing teams goal again.

I watched, still standing, as the ball was passed to Stiles and he caught it effortlessly in his net before beginning the journey to the goal. He passed a member of the opposing team effortlessly and this time he took the shot like a natural, scoring again.

I wailed loudly in excitement, grabbing on to Lydia's arm as I jumped up and down as we cheered. None of us had seen this coming but it was the best thing we ever could've asked for — as unexpected as it was. Stiles had pulled us up to a draw, he had essentially saved this game for us when it mattered the most.

And then Stiles scored again, pulling us into the lead position with twenty seconds to go. I couldn't believe it, I couldn't comprehend it but I loved it. I couldn't recall the last time I had been so ecstatic, felt so alive and buzzed by excitement but I loved it. This was what I'd been craving, the normalcy of getting so excited over a lacrosse game. This was what my life should be like but because it wasn't the rare moments like this were cherished so much more.

The team celebrated together, knowing that we had won this game and all we had to do was watch as the timer counted down, eight seconds, seven, six, five..

I shook my head in disbelief, meeting Stiles' gaze as he looked to me with a disbelieving smile on his face. I was so proud of him I could've burst and as the buzzer sounded, ending the game goosebumps rose across every surface of my body.

We had won the championships.. and Stiles had been the one to bring us to that victory. I grabbed on to Melissa and Lydia's arms, jumping wildly as we celebrated and Lydia pulled me into an excited embrace.

Everything that had been going through my head before we left the house had disappeared. All of my negative thoughts had been tucked away for a different time. I had forgotten all about the trauma I'd suffered and instead I celebrated.

But when the lights went out and left us in a pitch black darkness I found myself shuddering as everything suddenly became quiet. All the cheering had stopped and I reached out blindly and clutched desperately to the arm of the person besides me.

"It's okay, Alex." Melissa's voice called over the confused murmurs, "It's just a power cut, everything will be—"

The sound of a shrill scream interrupted her and it made me jump in my place. Immediately my guard went up and I could feel my hands starting to shake. Fear consumed me and Melissa had to practically drag me off the bleachers and on to the field.

Eventually I could see through the darkness.. after my eyes adjusted and I noticed Melissa was bringing me over to Scott. I looked around, squinting to see better as I tried to look for Stiles but I couldn't see him anywhere for the havoc that had wrecked the field. I felt defenceless, too frozen to be able to do anything and I hated it.

"Scott!" I Melissa shouted loudly.

"Mom!" I heard him call back and within a matter of seconds he was standing in front of us both, a hand on each of our arms, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm fine but somebody is hurt." Melissa said to him, "Somebody is down on the field."

Oh, god, no. Please, no. Not Stiles.

"What?" Scott asked.

I looked around again and I could make out a crowd of people standing around someone as they laid on the ground but I couldn't see much else. My heart dropped into the pit of my stomach as I clutched to Melissa's hand tighter. I could only assume the worst right now and it scared me. I was terrified incase that was Stiles.

The flood lights turned back on one by one, illuminating the field again after the short few minutes of darkness and everything became a lot more clearer.

Coach ran passed the three of us, yelling for people to get out of the way as he rushed over to whoever was injured on the field and the three of us jogged over after him.

Immediately I recoiled backwards into Scott's chest when I saw Jackson laid on the floor. He appeared to be unconscious and not a sign of life around him. Coach yelled for a medic as Melissa got to her knees and lowered her head to his chest.

It seemed like we waited forever for her to look up and say, "He's not breathing. No pulse."

The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I curled my hands around Scott's arm, looking around in fear to locate who or what had caused this. What if this was happening to Stiles too, where was he?

"Nothing?" Scott asked his mom as Isaac placed his hand on my shoulder in an aid of comfort.

"Nothing at all." Melissa replied, lifting Jackson's shirt somewhat to several deep cuts on his torso.

"Oh my god." Lydia cried from opposite us, "There's blood."

"Look." Scott said to Isaac and I quietly then and he pointed down to Jackson's fingers.

We saw the blood on his hands and I furrowed my brows as Isaac said, "He did it to himself?"

Melissa started chest compressions immediately after that as I turned to Scott and Isaac, "Guys I'm scared."

"It's okay." Scott said to me comfortingly then as Melissa instructed Lydia to help her in the background.

"It's not." I replied quietly, "Scott, where's Stiles?"

"Stiles—?" He muttered then to himself, "He's here, isn't he?"

"No." I shook my head, "He-he's not here, I can't see him anywhere."

The three of us looked around desperately as the sheriff shouted for Stiles but no one answered. I couldn't find him anywhere, I couldn't see his number and he wasn't where I'd seen him last before all the lights went out. My heart was pounding in my chest anxiously, my legs going numb and just when I thought I was going to pass out a wicked feeling of dread washed over me.

It was the same feeling I'd had before the game started and I wished now that I'd listened to it because Jackson was dead and Stiles had disappeared.. and we had no idea what was going on..

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A/N; back, back, back again! I love the beginning of this chapter with Alex and her mom and what Carmen told her. It's definitely going to be getting interesting very soon. This chapter brings us into the final episode of season 2 then season 3!!! I can't wait to start season 3, it's going to be amazing. I've got 4 weeks off university and placement as well so hopefully I can get a few chapters out during that time!!