.SLEEPLESS NIGHTS.
— season one - episode three —

     SUNDAY NIGHT, GINNY COULDN'T SLEEP. Saturday night's revelation that the unidentified killer of Laura Hale was still walking around Beacon Hills, facing no repercussions for their actions, brought Ginny terror for two nights.

     Saturday night, she was able to fall asleep by distracting herself with a book. She dreamt of singing in a school musical before it turned sour — before the audience's eyes slowly morphed into the very ones Laura Hale had, before the audience morphed into one person chasing her, forcing her to run for her life in the woods.

     Since then, each time she tried to close her eyes to fall asleep on Sunday, she'd think of Laura's lifeless eyes staring back into hers. She'd think of how it felt running through those woods the fateful day Scott got bitten — adrenaline coursing through her veins, as it must have been for Laura.

     Each time she did somehow manage to fall asleep, it'd only be about thirty minutes before she'd wake up, terrified. In those short periods of slumber, she'd dream of those woods, of being chased by something, before she'd wake up.

     It was safe to say Ginny didn't try to fall back asleep after having that dream three times in a row. Instead, she tried her best to distract her mind — to think of something, anything else until it was time to go to school.

     Luckily, by the time it was five in the morning, she was already getting ready to go to school when her boss texted her if she wanted to work the early morning shift before school started.

     She happily accepted — leaving a note by her Mom's bedside table to let her know she left to work an early shift, then biked her way to the diner. She worked until 7:45am, when she realized she needed to head to school if she wanted to make it there on time.

     When she got to the school's parking lot, five minutes before homeroom would begin, she placed her bike on the bike rack next to Scott's, as she always did, and removed her helmet before fixing her hair.

     "Here we go," She whispered to herself, walking up to the building in front of her. When she entered — she began to rub her tired eyes and blindly navigated herself through the student-filled hallways until someone roughly bumped into her.

     "Gin—!"

     Before she knew it, she and the person who bumped into her were falling backward — the person's hands raced to cup the back of her head before they reached the floor. Ginny groaned in pain at the weight of the other person as she said. "Ouch."

     "Where were you?!" Stiles rushed out as his panicked eyes bounced between hers — he lowered his voice. "I—W-We thought you died."

     "I was at work," Ginny answered, feeling the blood rushing to her face at how close they were, their noses mere inches away from each other until Stiles slowly backed away to get off of her. "What happened?"

     "Did you have to tackle her?" Scott joked as he rushed over to the two.

     Stiles shook his head as he held a hand out to help Ginny stand up. "I-I didn't mean to—"

     "What happened?" Ginny repeated, eyes bouncing between the two — deciding to ignore the other students staring at them. "Why did you think something happened?"

     "Attention, students, this is your principal," The loudspeaker stated throughout the halls — the students' attention turned to the noise. "I know you're all wondering about the incident that occurred last night to one of our buses. While the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled." The students emitted a large groan. "Thank you."

     Ginny whispered to the two as the students around them started to walk to their classes. "What happened to the bus?"

     "Scott had... a dream," Stiles answered.

     "A nightmare come true," Scott scoffed. "I thought I killed Allison on a bus."

     Ginny squinted her eyes at them. "T-The bus outside?"

     "Yeah," He nodded. "But! She's okay, it's not her."

     She nodded. "Good."

     "Well," Stiles shrugged. "There is blood on the bus, and it's pretty much wrecked, so..."

     "So, someone's hurt, and we don't know who?" Ginny sighed. "Cool... great."

     "Yeah—"

     "And I might've been a part of it," Scott said as his worried eyes glanced down at the ground.

     Ginny furrowed her brows. "How much do you remember?"

     "Not a lot," He sighed. "But it felt so... real. Me chasing her to the back of the bus, and—"

     The sound of the bell rang throughout the halls, and Ginny pouted as Scott and Stiles gave her a sympathetic look, knowing she wanted to hear more of the story.

     "You better tell me everything at lunch," Ginny said, pointing a finger at Scott.

     "Well, probably not everything," Stiles chuckled before Scott nudged him, making Ginny scrunch her nose in disgust.

     "Ew—"

     "Get to class, Ginny," Scott said, placing his hands on Stiles' shoulders to guide him toward their class.

☃︎

     "Ginny," Stiles said, nudging an almost-asleep Ginny to walk down the cafeteria line. The younger McCall jumped at the movement before grabbing a green apple to place on her tray and walking down. "Did you even sleep last night?"

     "Yeah... like, an hour and a half?" She squeezed her burning eyes tight to alleviate some pain.

     "Seriously?" Scott gaped. "Is this about—"

     "Yes," Ginny blushed as she looked down in embarrassment. Stiles furrowed his brows at Scott, which made him mouth the words Laura Hale. Clearing her throat, she walked over to their table. "So, what happened in your class? You saw the bus driver getting hauled into an ambulance?"

     Scott sighed. "Yeah. A-And I'm pretty sure it was because of me—"

     "But dreams aren't memories," Stiles reminded for what seemed like the hundredth time as they placed their trays down on their table and took off their backpacks.

     The trio took their normal seating arrangements — Ginny sat beside Stiles, in front of Scott. She used to sit next to her brother, but after constantly getting pushed and nudged by him during the entire period, she figured it was better to sit next to Stiles, not that she was complaining either way.

     "Then it wasn't a dream," Scott replied. "Something happened last night, and I can't remember what."

     "What if it wasn't your memory?" Ginny shrugged, earning a quirked brow from the two boys. Remembering Maeve's discussion with her about dreams and memories in the morning, she recalled. "What if you're connected to whoever did it—"

     "Derek," Stiles answered, earning a look from Scott.

     "And you saw it through their eyes?"

     "Maybe but..." Scott sighed. "I-I don't know — it felt too real to just be someone else's memory. It felt like I was there, not someone else."

     "Derek," Stiles repeated again, earning another look from Scott. "What?"

     "Wait, is Derek the guy who killed the bus driver?" Ginny asked, bouncing her eyes between Stiles and Scott.

     "No," Scott answered as he shook his head at Stiles. "He's just upset 'cause of something I said earlier—"

     "He wants Derek to mentor him," Stiles answered, looking at Ginny for her reaction — pensive eyes staring holes into their cafeteria table — before he looked back at Scott. "W-What makes you so sure that Derek even has all the answers?"

     "Because during the full moon he wasn't changed. He was in total control while I was running around in the middle of the night attacking some totally innocent guy."

     "You don't know that."

     "I don't not know it."

     "We don't even know if it was you," Ginny interrupted with a hopeful tone before taking a bite of her apple. "A-And we don't know if Derek is the bad guy... maybe he's just trying to help?"

     Stiles gave her a look. "Ginny—"

     "Either way, I can't go out with Allison," Scott remarked, defeated. "I have to cancel."

     "No," Stiles shook his head. "You're not canceling, okay? You can't just cancel your entire life. We'll figure it out."

     "Figure what out?" Lydia asked as she placed her tray beside Scott — instantly, Scott and Stiles' eyes moved to Ginny, wondering if the two had privately solved their issues before seeing the way Ginny stared at the strawberry blonde.

     "What are you doing here, Lydia?" She furrowed her brows, placing her apple down.

     "Do I need an invitation to sit?"

     "Yes, actually, and we've run out."

     "We're just, uh..." Scott shrugged, trying to cease the tension between the two as he answered Lydia's previous question. "Figuring out homework."

     "Y-Yeah," Stiles nodded, flicking his eyes between Lydia and Ginny which made the latter sigh, turning her head down to focus on her food as a headache began to form and she started to feel hot. Stiles leaned in to whisper at Scott and Ginny. "Why is she sitting with us?" Scott shrugged, confused as more people joined in to sit at their table.

     "I don't know," Ginny whispered back, taking off her sweater. "I thought she'd be too popular to sit with some losers, but I guess I was wrong."

     "Are you okay?" Stiles whispered as Allison smiled at Scott, thankful he had pushed the seat beside him open for her to sit there.

     "Yeah," Ginny shrugged, taking a sip of her water. "Just peachy."

     "You look hot," He replied. Ginny, with her eyes wide, turned to look at him with a flushed face — thankful she had swallowed her sip of water before he said that — and watched as his eyes widened, realizing what he had just said, while Scott turned his attention to them, confused. "Y-You know what I meant... I-I meant, like, temperature wise — y-you look hot, not that you're not—"

     "Get up," Jackson said to his friend sitting at the head of the table as Stiles leaned his head back, staring up at the ceiling to avoid the stares of the McCalls. Ginny felt her face redden, flattered by the indirect compliment, and Scott squinted his eyes at his friend.

     Noticing the way Scott looked at him, Stiles raised his hands in surrender. "I-I didn't mean it like—"

     Jackson's friend scoffed. "How come you never ask Danny to get up?"

     Danny offered the friend a sarcastic smile as Ginny took a sip of water, watching Stiles retreat from Scott's glare behind his phone screen. "Because I don't stare at his girlfriend's coin slot." He turned his attention to the others as the friend walked away. "So, I hear they're saying it's some type of animal attack. Probably a cougar."

     "I heard a mountain lion," Jackson said, making Lydia and Ginny reply in unison.

     "A cougar is a mountain lion."

     Their eyes met for a moment before Lydia quickly glanced away and tilted her head at her boyfriend, acting confused as she raised her voice a few octaves. "Isn't it?"

     Mimicking her voice, Ginny tilted her head like Lydia. "Yeah."

     "Who cares?" Jackson rolled his eyes. "The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway."

     "Actually," Stiles interrupted, furrowing his brows at something on his phone. "I just found out who it is. Check it out."

     He held out his phone for the others to view — Ginny, feeling her heart race, leaned against him to get a clearer view of the video.

      "The Sheriff's Department won't speculate on details of the incident but confirmed the victim, Garrison Meyers, did survive the attack."

     The name. The photo of the victim in the video. It reminded Ginny of the bus driver she and Scott saw on the bus that would take them to see their father. The two McCall siblings shared a look as the video continued.

     "Meyers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition."

     "What happened?" Stiles asked, noticing the look between the McCalls.

     "We know this guy," Scott said as Ginny slowly leaned away from Stiles, internally disappointed that the video hadn't been longer.

     "You do?" Allison asked.

     "Yeah, when Ginny and I used to take the bus, back when we lived with our dad..."

     "He was the driver," Ginny concluded before taking another sip of her water.

     "Can we talk about something slightly more fun, please?" Lydia said as she twirled the fork in her hand. "Like, oh!" She turned her attention to Allison. "Where are we going tonight?"

     Ginny softly chuckled, watching Allison and Scott turn their heads to Lydia — confused as to why she suddenly invited herself to their date — while Stiles' face fell for his friend.

     "You said you and Scott were hanging out tonight, right?"

     "Um," Allison shrugged, sparing a glance at Scott to see his reaction. "We were thinking of what we were gonna do."

     "Well, I am not sitting home again watching lacrosse videos, so if the four of us are hanging out, we are doing something fun."

     "Are you sure you're okay?" Stiles asked again in a whisper, turning his attention to Ginny, who held a cool water bottle up to her forehead.

     "Mm-hmm," Ginny nodded, fumbling to place the water bottle back on her tray. "Y-Yeah, I'm good."

     "Ginny," Stiles said in a pointed tone that made her look at him. "I-I seriously don't think you're okay, I think you have a fever or something."

     "I don't have a fever," Ginny furrowed her brows at him. "I have... the 'or something.' And the 'or something' is just sleep deprivation."

      "Are you sure?"

      "Seventy-eight percent," Ginny shrugged. "...Maybe... sixty percent?"

       Stiles softly chuckled before passing her his green apple. "Here." He grinned. "An apple a day, right?"

      Ginny rolled her eyes as she grabbed onto his apple. "Thanks."

     "Great, so it's settled," Allison smiled. "We can do teams — Lydia and Jackson, Me and Scott, and Ginny and Stiles."

     Ginny and Stiles furrowed their brows as they brought their attention back to the conversation. The former cleared her throat. "Um, w-we don't have to be part of this 'double date' thing, it's—"

     "What happened, Guinevere?" Lydia chuckled. "Too chicken?"

     Ginny squinted her eyes at the strawberry blonde as the table grew quiet. "The opposite, actually. I still remember Kavinsky's bowling party when I kicked your ass."

     "You had the bumpers."

     "Everyone did! It was third grade!" She scoffed. "And I don't need the bumpers now to take you down."

     "Fine," Lydia nodded. "Then, it's a date."

     "Fine by me," Ginny nodded before scrunching her nose at the annoyed look on Jackson's face. "What's with you?"

     "I like to bowl with actual competition, not..." He gestured to the rest of them. "Whatever you guys will do."

     "I know how to bowl," Ginny scoffed before pointing her thumb at Stiles. "So does he." Stiles lightly nudged her. "What?"

     "I can bowl?"

     "You can," She shook her head at him. "Don't you remember your Dad's last birthday party? Don't sell yourself short."

      "And how do you know we're not actual competition?" Allison argued before turning her sights on Scott. "You know how to bowl, right?"

     Scott shrugged. "Sort of."

     Jackson leaned forward. "Is it sort of or yes?"

     "Yes," Scott answered more confidently. "In fact, I'm a great bowler."

☃︎

     "You're such an idiot," Ginny chuckled, walking beside Stiles as they followed after Scott — the three of them just finished classes, and were walking down the hall together.

     "You're a terrible bowler," Stiles said as they walked down the stairs.

     "I know!" Scott sighed. "I'm such an idiot."

     "God, it was like watching a car wreck. I mean, first, it turned into the whole group date thing."

     Group date — Ginny felt a blush grow on her face before she forced the smile forming on her lips to stop. She couldn't let herself get excited over the possibility of a group date with Stiles. It didn't mean anything — it couldn't mean anything. They weren't a couple. They were friends, invited to hang out with their non-single friends. If Allison hadn't managed to invite both of them to bowl, there was no way they'd be spending her Monday night together.

     She felt light-headed as she reached the final steps of the stairs — it made her grip on the stair handles tighten before she softly closed her eyes and sat down on the last step. The coolness of the metal bar made Ginny rest her head against it — momentarily deciding to forget about the possible germs on it.

     "Ginny?"

     The sound of Sophie Carter's voice made Ginny's head slowly move up to meet the blonde's eyes. Ginny met Sophie at the start of eighth grade when the latter moved to Beacon Hills, and had occasionally bumped into her at the diner, at the hospital where their Moms worked, and in the hallways at school.

     Sophie was the first one to find Ginny — by accident — after Lydia abandoned her in the middle of nowhere to hang out with Jackson and a few of his friends at the start of freshman year. Ginny had never been happier to see a familiar face. She was brought back home by Sophie's mother's boyfriend, Scout Hale, and the girls never spoke of the embarrassing incident again, deciding it was best not to relive the moment Ginny started to realize her childhood best friend didn't care about her anymore.

     "Hey, Sophie," Ginny softly waved at the girl.

     "Are you okay? You look like you're dying."

     "I've... felt better," Ginny shrugged.

     "I'm gonna touch your forehead to check for a fever, is that okay?"

     "Knock yourself out," Ginny shrugged again, leaning her temple against the metal bar as Sophie placed the back of her hand on Ginny's forehead.

     "I'm not a doctor—"

     "Yet," Ginny said with a chuckle, knowing how fascinated Sophie was with the medical world.

     "But, as your unofficial doctor, I think you might be getting a fever."

     "She has a fever?" Stiles asked as he rushed over to the two — he quickly glanced behind his shoulder. "Scott had to go to the vet, but I can drive you home, Ginny."

     "I'm fine," Ginny chuckled, shaking her head — unknowingly slurring her words. "There's no way I'm missing a chance to demolish Lydia at bowling."

     Stiles and Sophie shared a look before the two concluded. "You definitely have a fever."

     "And sleep deprivation," Stiles added as he held a hand out for her to grab. "Come on, Gins. Let's get you home."

     "But it's so comfy here—"

     "It'll be comfier in the jeep."

     "Fine," Ginny sighed. "I'm so not missing this group date, though."

☃︎

     Ginny's eyes slowly fluttered open. Taking a moment to adjust to the darkness, she quickly realized she was in her bedroom. She lazily sat up, questioning how she mysteriously arrived there, before reaching over to turn on her bedside lamp as she shielded her eyes.

     Click.

     With the light, Ginny removed her hand away from her eyes and instantly noticed a small note on the same table. It read:

I'll be right back. You ran out of hot chocolate.
— Stiles

     She brought her knees to her chest, feeling a blush grow across her face. I must've fallen asleep on the jeep, and he brought me back here. Oh, God. She covered her face with her hands. I hope I wasn't drooling or doing something embarrassing while I was asleep.

     As she was about to reach for her phone, she heard screaming from outside her room. Instantly, Ginny rushed out and entered Scott's room, where she found her mom holding a baseball bat and Stiles holding a small grocery bag. From the way Stiles flailed around on Scott's bed, she could tell he snuck into their house through Scott's window and her mom must've seen him and screamed — scaring both of them.

     If she had a nickel for the amount of times that happened, she'd be rich.

     "Stiles," Melissa McCall started. "What the hell are you doing here?!"

     "What am I doing?!" He replied, both unaware of Ginny staring at them from the doorframe. "God, do any of you even play baseball?"

     "Nope," Ginny answered, grinning once the two of them started screaming again.

     "Ginny!" Melissa sighed exhaustedly. "I'm gonna put a bell on you." She turned her eyes to someone behind Ginny. "Can you please tell your friend to use the front door?"

     Ginny lightly jumped at hearing Scott's voice behind her answering. "But we lock the front door. He wouldn't be able to get in."

     "Yeah, exactly. And, by the way, do either of you care that there's a police-enforced curfew?"

     Stiles and Scott shook their heads. "No."

     "No? All right then. Well, you know what? That's about enough parenting for me for one night," Melissa tossed the baseball bat onto Scott's bed. "Good night." She turned, throwing peace signs over her shoulders before she grabbed Ginny into a hug and kissed her temple. "At least one of you is good."

     Scott scoffed. "Hey—"

     As their mother left the room, Ginny chuckled and stuck her tongue out at him before her face fell. Suddenly, everything clicked. It was dark outside, Scott was wearing a completely different outfit from when they were at school, and their mother mentioned the curfew, meaning it was late. "Wait — d-did I miss the bowling thing?"

     "Yeah," Scott groaned as he grabbed the seat for his desk and dragged it closer to Stiles and Ginny to continue talking. "Lydia wouldn't shut up about it."

     "You're joking," She said with wide eyes, rushing out of the room to look at the clock hung on the hallway wall. Glancing at the hour and minute hands of the clock, she groaned at the realization that it was eleven o'clock at night. "No... no, no, no!"

     From her mother's room, Melissa shouted. "Ginny!"

     Ginny's eyes quickly moved to her mom's door as she cringed. "Sorry!" Turning her eyes back to the clock, she frowned and whispered to herself. "Dammit."

     She was sure Lydia would never let her live it down.

     Showing up to bowl meant a lot of things for Ginny. For once she'd finally be able to embarrass Lydia and take a semblance of revenge for the things Lydia put her through Freshman year. Lydia was as much of a sore loser as Ginny was a sore winner — it would have been perfect.

     On top of that, it was a group date — and her partner would have been Stiles. While, yes, it would have pained her to casually catch him sneaking glances at Lydia, it would have also been fun to spend a few hours talking with him, making jokes, sneaking glances at him, and possibly trying — and failing — to win a prize at the claw machine.

     The thoughts of what could have been flooded Ginny's mind as she glared at the clock — almost wishing she could have gone back in time to wake herself up so she wouldn't miss the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to embarrass Lydia and spend time with Stiles.

     On the other hand, she was grateful that she was able to sleep for so long, undisturbed. While it may ruin her non-existent sleep schedule, the accomplishment of having slept for a few hours with no nightmares, no thoughts on Laura Hale, and no glimpses of eyes staring back at her made Ginny smile.

     As ridiculous as it may have sounded, Ginny genuinely feared she wouldn't be able to sleep peacefully ever again.

     Hearing the sound of a plastic bag rustling to her left, Ginny turned in time to see Stiles approach her and Scott practically rushing down the stairs. Ginny furrowed her brows. "Where's he going?"

     "He's gonna meet up with Derek," Stiles replied, deciding it was best to inform her the reason why — the bus driver's death, and how Derek was likely the cause — in the morning, considering she may try to fall asleep again soon.

     "Oh," Ginny nodded slowly, unsure why her brother would decide to go this late at night. Her eyes turned back to the clock as her heartbeat and her mind raced.

     Just because I didn't go bowling doesn't mean he didn't, and quickly, her mind began to assume the worst. Lydia must have started sharing embarrassing, private details about Ginny — after all, Lydia knew of Ginny's unreciprocated crush. She might've shared something truly embarrassing, and Stiles might have bonded closer with Lydia, and sooner or later, Ginny would be a single mother of three cats, living with her mother.

     "D-Did you go bowling?"

     "No," He answered, and her hopeful eyes went back to meet his. He gave her a look as he took a few steps closer to her. "Come on, Gin, you really think I'd play without my partner in crime?"

     A small smile grew on her lips before her eyes dropped down to the bag in his hand. "What hot chocolate did you get?"

     "Swiss Miss with marshmallows, duh," He answered, opening the bag to look inside. "I also got a few KitKats and—" He quickly flinched back, hiding the bag behind him when Ginny reached over.

     "What?"

     "Okay, technically, I lied."

     Ginny furrowed her brows. "What did you do?"

     "I may or may not have dropped by the bowling place — but I didn't bowl with them!"

     She tilted her head. "What do you mean? Then, why did you drop by the bowling place?"

     "Thought this could help," He said, pulling out a small polar bear plushy — it had a red scarf wrapped around its neck and wore a blue sweater and sunglasses. As he handed it to her, smiling when her eyes went soft at the sight of the plush, he continued. "I guess you were right about me being lucky on the claw machines, didn't spend more than twenty dollars getting him."

     Her eyes met his. "H-How much did you spend?"

     "Not important. They're worth it, right?" He chuckled. "I know you haven't had the easiest experience sleeping lately, and I guess I thought the bear might lift your spirits—"

     Before Ginny could talk herself out of what she was doing, she hugged him — wrapping her arms around his neck as his went around her waist. She rested her head on his chest, savoring the brief moment while her cheeks ran red. Her muffled voice spoke. "Thanks."

     "Y-You're welcome..."

     Ginny could have sworn if she was asked to walk at that very moment, her legs would have turned into Jell-O.

     As she took a deep breath, relaxing in his arms, his cologne filled her senses. It filled her mind with some of their fondest memories together — the summer they tried to learn ballroom dancing together, the nights they would spend watching movies while Stiles would try to distract herself from the fact Lydia stopped being her friend, the study nights spent together.

     She had never felt more at home than in that moment.

     "...did you know you sing in your sleep?"

     She separated the hug with wide eyes. "Shut up, I do not."

     "You do."

     "Oh, God," She covered her face with her hands. "That's so embarrassing."

     "Hey, at least it's just me, right?" He chuckled.

     That's why it's embarrassing, Ginny thought, awkwardly chuckling back.

     She peered through her hands to see him pointing behind himself. "I should probably get going before my Dad gets home and realizes I'm violating his police-enforced curfew."

     Ginny chuckled and softly nodded, hugging the polar bear plushy close to her chest. "Right."

     "I'll leave the hot chocolate in the regular place, and here," He handed her a few KitKat bars. A grin grew on his lips. "Do you still remember the KitKat song you made—?"

     "Get home safely, Stiles." She replied with wide eyes, grabbing the KitKat bars he handed to her before quickly walking over to her bedroom. "Good night."

     He chuckled. "Good night, Ginny."

     Ginny leaned against the wall of her bedroom as she heard his footsteps descend down the staircase. Holding the teddy bear and KitKats close to her chest, she could practically feel her heart thumping, trying to escape from her body. 

     "It doesn't mean anything," Ginny whispered to herself, unable to hide the smile on her lips as she looked down at the items in her hands. 

❀✿❀

this was me writing this and the upcoming chapters: 

STILES AND GINNY SUPREMACYYYY!! <3 <3 they're so 🥹🫶❤️

stiles is out here giving boyfriend energy despite not even acknowledging his own feelings for ginny yet 😭✋ 🕯 🕯 let's all start a manifestation circle to get him to realize 🕯 🕯 🕯 

hope you guys are liking the story so far :} <3 i know this chapter was a lil shorter (and the next one will be too) — but i think chapter five is gonna be a long-ish chapter 🫣🫶 !! 

in other news, SOPHIE TEDDY CARTER MENTION!! i'm going to be publishing her book soon because her+ginny's stories are really connected saurrr yeah 🤠 i only have like the first two chapters written so far and 😭✋ sophie+isaac are just so cute & so wholesome 🫶🫶