𝐁𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄𝐅𝐈𝐄𝐋𝐃
so much pain for someone so young

BECAUSE OF THE events that happened at the Sheriff station, all the kids were ordered to go to therapy. So now, Hope was sitting right across from Ms. Morrell, her arms crossed. "If you're going to ask me if I felt sorry for him, my answer is no."

She widened her eyes in surprise before humming and writing something down. "Can you feel sorry for the nine year old Matt who drowned?" 

"I don't think what those kids did was right," she immediately began to explain. "I understand the feeling of wanting revenge, for wanting to do things to feel something, to get people to understand me, but I never ruthlessly killed someone. And I never took pictures of girls without consent." She pursed her lips.

Apparently, not only had Matt been taking pictures of Allison, he had been taking pictures of Hope, too. Some of them were of her in the locker room, changing into her clothes. She felt disgusted and vulnerable when she saw the pictures on the camera. The police station had found it, and told her of contents, and allowed her to look at them.

"Allison shouldn't of had to feel like it was her fault because he became obsessed with her. She told him off and I think that's when he really snapped." She clenched her jaw as she pictured Matt spying on the poor girl. "She just lost her mother—" even though she was a bitch who tried to kill a teenage boy, "—and she shouldn't have to blame herself for any of the outcomes that came over his rejection."

Ms. Morrell just watched the teenage girl speak about what her friends have been through — not what she has been through.

"Why am I even here?" Hope asked, sighing. "I'm fine. It's Stiles, Scott, and Allison that needs help. Scott had to watch his mother be threatened—" and she just found out what he was, "— and Stiles has to handcuff his father and then get stepped on the throat."

"You seem to be more focused on your friends right now, Hope," she stated, writing more stuff down in her notes. "I need you to focus on yourself and make sure your okay." 

Hope rolled her eyes. "I said I'm fine." Well, other than being vulnerable because of the pictures that are now thankfully deleted, being shot with something that made her literally feel like she was on fire on the inside, and seeing her friends get hurt one by one.

Ms. Morrell saw right through her though. "You have been confirmed for my therapy sessions since the moment you came to school, but you always skipped. So, now, we're going to talk about you and not the others." She leaned forward and intwined her hands on the desk. "Can we talk about why you were wandering around the town before you went to the Sheriff station? Melissa had said you were covered in dirt and looked nervous. Something happened to you and you might not be ready to talk about it yet, but it needs to be talked about."

Hope took in a deep breath. "I told them that I was lost."

"Yes, that's what you said, but I'm guessing there is more to the story."

The tribrid stood up from her seat. "Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, I'm not going to talk about my personal life to a complete stranger. Thank you for not being a help." She then stormed out of the room.

AFTER SCHOOL, Hope headed straight to Stiles' house. She didn't want to go to the McCall household because it's been off-putting since Melissa found out about Scott and her. The woman has locked herself up in her room, crying.

Walking through the front door, she looked up to see Stiles at the bottom of the stairs, texting on his phone.

His head snapped up to look at her, and he smiled. "Hey." He slid his phone into his pocket and stepped closer to her.

"Hey," She said softly with a smile, her hands going up to the strap of her bag.

His began gesturing wildly as he asked, "Um, what do you want to do? We can, um, go to my room? Or — or we can hang out down here?"

Hope grinned at him. "Whatever you want to do." She eyed up the stairs and then back to him. She didn't know what he looked nervous seeing as she has been in his room many times before.

He swallowed and nodded quickly. "We can go to my room." His face turned red as she walked towards him and up the stairs. He smacked himself on the forehead before following her, ignoring her confused glance.

When she made it into his room, she noticed that it was cleaner than before. And a pile of paper was stacked up on his desk, maybe about four inches thick. She dropped her bag down beside his bed and walked over to it. "What's this?"

He looked over at her as he leaned against the threshold. "That's all the information I could find about multiverses. There is nothing about the mud pit called Malivore, though. I found some spells, but they mostly involve killing babies, so I thought you wouldn't be into that." He shrugged and then widened his eyes at how it sounded. "I'm not into it, either!" He exclaimed loudly and she chuckled.

"I know you're not, Stiles," she commented and then walked over to his bed. "I appreciate you taking up your time to help me find a way home." She looked up at him from his bed, and frowned. "Did you have to see the guidance councilor today?"

He let out a sigh, "Yep. Did you?" 

"Yeah, and it didn't help me any." She frowned even more and began picking at her shirt. "I don't know her, so I wasn't comfortable. My last therapist was someone I knew growing up in my school, and I still didn't want to tell her anything. I don't know, it's hard to talk to anybody about my life."

Stiles bit his lip and watched her for a few seconds. "You can tell me anything, you know that?" His hazel eyes met her blue ones as he sat down, and they just stared at one another for a minute. "You don't have to if you don't want to, but just know I'm here for you. I am a great listener."

Hope bit her lip and looked away, thinking over his words. "I was raised by my mom until I was seven," her soft voice shocked Stiles because he hadn't expected her to say anything. "My father..." She gulped loudly, still looking away from him. "He was taken by bad people and his siblings were in a coma like state. So, my mom raised me on her own, trying to wake up my aunts and uncles so they could get my dad back."

Stiles stayed quiet and allowed her to talk. She continued after a second, "It worked. I got my whole family back. But, not even a day later and I was possessed by this very old witch. And — and to take it out of me, it costed me my family. They couldn't be in the same area or else the world would end. So, I was once again raised by my mother until I was fifteen."

She turned to him, tears shining in her eyes. "I did something very awful and because of me. half of my family is dead."

Stiles hesitated, not sure if she wanted to be comforted, but he decided to reach forward and pull her into a hug. "I'm sure whatever happened, it was for the better."

"I kidnapped my own mother, Stiles!" She exclaimed and pulled away from him. "I knocked her out, put her in a coffin, and kept her in there to lure my father in. And it worked. In the end, it costed my mothers life because she was to vulnerable to protect herself. She sacrificed herself to save me. And then so did my father and uncle because I was a stupid brat who couldn't handle that my family wasn't in one place. I killed them, and I will never forgive myself for that."

Stiles' frown deepened and he pulled her into another hug, even though she was pushing at him.

"You should stay away from me!" She shouted loudly, pushing at his chest, tears running down her cheeks. "Everyone I care about ends up dead!"

"That's not true," he told her as she finally gave in and hugged him, crying into his chest. "Scott and I will always stay by your side. Alright? We're not dying anytime soon. I promise".

She pulled back and looked up into his eyes. "How can you promise me something like that?" Her voice cracked and she blinked back the tears. "My father was immortal, and he still found a way to die. You're just a human, Stiles. You wo—you won't live forever. I can't protect you and keep you safe. So, tell me how—" She shook her head and swallowed thickly. "I don't even belong here. Hell, I shouldn't even be alive or — or have any kind of peace because of what I have done." She bit her lip. "You don't even know half of the things I have done."

"I don't care, alright?" He made her look at him. "You're my friend, and I'm not going to let you suffer for things you had no control over. You're here for a reason, and you deserve to be happy, Hope. Your parents wouldn't want you to suffer for the rest of your life and beat yourself up over these things. It's tough, I know, trust me. I lost my mother and it took me so long to get over it and stop blaming myself for it. Just know that you have people that care for you." He then cracked a smile. "In two universes."

She couldn't help but smile. "Thank you..."

He smiled, too. "You're welcome."

Hope's phone started to ring, and it jerked them both apart in surprise. She fished it out of her jeans, sniffling, and answered it with a frown, "Scott?"

"Hope, we have a very big problem."

IT WAS LATER, and they were at the lacrosse game. Hope was sitting beside Melissa because she had been attacked by Jackson and Gerard at the house. And because she was sitting beside Melissa, that meant she was between her and Noah.

She looked over to the benches were the players sat, and coincidentally, Scott and Stiles were perched upon the bench. She shook her head because she knew why Scott wasn't on the field: he was failing too many classes. 

Finstock approached the duo and fired up a conversation, after a few moments of conversing, Stiles sprung to his feet and ran onto the field his lacrosse stick and helmet in hand.

"Oh, no," Stilinski mumbled. "Why is my son running on the field?" 

Melissa slowly turned to look at the Sheriff, a dark eyebrow arched slightly, "Because he's on the team?" 

Realization quickly crossed Stilinski's face, "He is. He's on the team — he's on the field." He rose to his feet, and soon became a proud father as he shouted, "My son is on the field!" 

Hope smiled proudly and began clapping loudly. And when Stiles turned to look at her from the field, she gave him a wink.

Time quickly began to pass, but the scoreboard was stuck at zero and Hope could hardly pay attention to the game because she was worried that something was about to happen. That, and she was excited for Stiles.

Though, he was all over the place, after being shoved and tripped, the ball magically landed in his net for the first time.

The victory was short-lived when an opposing team member tackled him to the ground, ball soaring out of his net. 

Melissa groaned at the sight. "He's probably just warming up."

Hope winced as Stiles bent over in pain. She wished she could do something for him, but there was too many people around. She glanced to the right of Melissa to see Lydia sitting down. She offered the strawberry blonde a smile before putting her attention back on the game.

"Oh, no!" Hope exclaimed when Stiles was tossed to the ground once again, this time, by three players. "I hope he's alright." She watched as Stiles reached out to catch a ball, but only missing, the ball smacking against his face-mask.

Melissa closed her eyes to keep from seeing any more, the Sheriff put his head in his hands, and Hope slumped in her seat. 

The tribrid's eyes drifted back over to the players' bench, seeing a new player stationed next to Scott on the bench. Isaac Lahey - number fourteen. She quickly got up and decided to go join them, ignoring the rule that only players sit on the bench.

"You got a plan yet?" The blonde asked Scott as he got ready for his time on the field. He glanced to Hope who sat down beside the McCall boy.

Scott sighed heavily. "No, right now it's pretty much just keep Jackson from killing anyone."

Isaac gestured to Hope. "Why don't you do some witchy spell?"

Hope pursed her lips. "There is too many people around to do anything."

The blonde huffed and looked back to Scott. "Well, that might be easier if you're actually in the game. We have to make it so coach has no choice but to play you."

Scott shook his head and looked out in the field. "How do we do that? He's got a bench full of guys he can use before he ever puts me on the field." He then sighed when he saw Isaac's smirk. "Can you do it without putting anyone in the hospital?"

Isaac shrugged and gave them a mischievous smile. "I can try."

Hope smirked as he got in the field.

As soon as the whistle had been blown, Isaac slammed his body against one of his own teammates, sending him to the ground.

Hope nudged Scott and smiled. "I like him."

Isaac continued taking out his own teammates until he did it to three more players.

"Lahey!" Finstock's voice sounded, pointing at the curly haired boy on the field. "Seriously, what the hell is your problem?"

Isaac was suddenly tackled to the ground, no longer being able to move.

Hope jumped up and scanned the crowd to see who hurt him when her blue eyes landed on Jackson. He was standing there, pulling off his helmet so that his face was revealed. That's when she caught sight of a familiar figure off to the side of the field. Gerard. He stood there with a smirk on his face, his eyes focused on her. The way he looked at her made her feel as though she was the prey and he was the predator.

But, that definitely wasn't the case. She was the superior one, and she was going to show him.

Melissa also noticed that something else had been going on, she rushed toward Scott and Hope.

Coach huffed loudly and tried to Scott. "McCall. Either you're in or we forfeit."

Melissa looked between the teenagers as the Coach left. "Hey, something's happening, isn't it? Something more than a lacrosse game?"

Scott nodded. "You should go."

Melissa shook her head. "Oh, I'm not going anywhere. And everything that I said before, forget it. All of it. Okay? If you can do something to help, then you do it. You have to."

Scott nodded determinedly. "I will."

Hope turned to him. "I'll watch your back." He gave her a smile and ran out into the field.

When the game resumed, Scott was immediately thrown to the ground, the ball falling out of his net to the grass and rolling directly to the one person everyone was hoping wouldn't get it. Stiles scooped up the ball, and just like the other times, he was shoved down to the ground. 

The clock was winding down, five minutes left in the game.

It took Hope a few seconds before she realized that Scott was no longer on the field. Finstock seeming to notice the same time as her, "McCall?" he called out. "Where's McCall?" 

Everyone out on the field stumbled around looking desperately for the ball that seemingly disappeared.

Hope's eyes danced around, searching, trying to find it before the players did. The ball was just simply lying there right next to Stiles' left foot. Her eyes widened as as Stiles slowly picked it up, dust picking up as he started to shuffle backwards.

Clenching the edge of the bleachers, Hope smiled in excitement as he was really close to landing the next.

The rest of the players on the field finally saw that Stiles had the ball, and came barreling forward. 

Stiles hesitated when he approached goal. Everyone was shouting, ordering Stiles to shoot the ball into the goal. The opposing players were zeroing in on him, and he nearly dropped it until he heard Hope's angelic voice screaming.

"Shoot it, Stiles!" She shouted as loud as she could and got up on the bleachers, making sure he could see her clearly.

Stiles nodded and flung the ball. It soared into the goal and scored their team the point — it was a roar after that.

Everyone jumped to their feet, screaming in victory. Hope clapped her hands loudly and beamed at Stiles who turned to look at her. She gave him a wave and a proud smile.

Stiles was on a roll after that; scoring another goal, tying the score. Then another goal, and another. They were winning. 

The clock was counting down the final seconds: ten, nine, eight, seven, six, and it made Hope anxious as she stood up. Something was bound to happen once the number hit zero.

Everyone was too busy celebrating when the referee blew the final whistle, Beacon Hills High had won.

While people cheered, Scott and Hope grew more confused as to why nothing had happened yet. 

But when the field's lights started to flicker off, one by one, it happened. 

A single ear piercing scream ripped through the still air, a scream so intense that Hope had to cover her ears and bend over. And as soon as it was gone, she ran out into field.

She pushed her way through the group of people just in time for Lydia to scream. Right in front of them was a dead Jackson.

Melissa bent down and pressed her ear to Jackson's chest. "He's not breathing. No pulse." When she pulled his jersey back, everyone took a step backward when they saw that Jackson's undershirt was drenched in blood.

He was dead.

Scott was beside Hope and grabbed her arm as she stumbled back a little. The sight of a dead body just brought back the memory of seeing Landon's dead body. It made her think how easily it could've been Scott or Stiles on the ground.

Just the thought of someone hurting Stiles came to mind, a familiar voice was heard in the crowd, yelling out, "Where the hell is my son?"

Panic settled in Hope's chest when she heard the Sheriff frantically calling out for his son.