DEAD MAN!
CHAPTER THREE.
so, you think your best friend is a werewolf?

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JUST LIKE HE SAID HE WOULD, ADRIAN FOUND HIMSELF STANDING OUTSIDE THE STILINSKI HOUSEHOLD WITH HIS HAND HOVERING OVER THE DOORBELL. The only car parked in the driveway was Stiles' unmissable jeep named Roscoe, indicating his dad wasn't home.

With a heavy sigh, Adrian rang the house doorbell and waited patiently. It only took a minute before the frantic thudding of running footsteps were heard and the door was swung open. The Stilinski boy was revealed as Adrian weakly smiled, being waved frantically forward. "Finally! Come in, come in!"

Stiles didn't wait for the Martin boy as he ran back upstairs to his bedroom where Adrian was surprised to find multiple books, papers and websites pulled up around the room messily. It proved some competition with his room, but Adrian had to take the win with this one.

"Okay, so is this where you reveal to me that you have some secret life selling drugs and you're dealing them with Scott so you both are no longer seen as losers?" With a deep breath, Adrien dropped his bag onto Stiles' bed where he sat himself down on.

Stiles, who was sat in his desk chair, swivelled around with a bewildered look, shaking his head with a scrunched up face. "What? No!"

"Well, unless you're both male escorts, that's me fresh out of ideas!" Adrian half-joked, discreetly checking over Stiles' facial expressions for any signs that he could be right.

"This is a serious issue here, dude! Something is wrong with Scott and you noticed it too! I can't believe I'm even telling you this information." The brunette grumbled as he shuffled the papers into one organised pile by his desk.

"Then why are you?" Adrian genuinely asked, a sincere look in his eyes as he tilted his head.

Stiles immediately threw an incredulous look at him as his arms waved around spastically. "Well, I had to tell someone!"

"Really? Are you sure it's not because of my dashing good looks that swayed you?" He over exaggerated a stroke of his hair, closing his eyes as if in slo-mo.

Stiles only shook his head, giving a short snort. "In your dreams dude." He muttered something else under his breath, but it wasn't caught for Adrian to question before Stiles started explaining. "So! You remember that dead body out in the woods, right? The one they only found half of?"

"Obviously. It's not easy to forget half a dead body, Stilinski." The Martin teen shrugged his shoulders, laying further down, Stiles' soft blue bedsheets comforting him.

"Well, I and Scott went out body hunting. My dad ended up catching me, leaving Scott by himself. He found the other half of the body . . . and received a bite of something along the way." He pauses for dramatic effect, letting the redhead soak in the words.

"A bite mark?" Adrian quirked a brow as he watched the boy nod and scramble for his information or so it looked to be.

"Yeah. Scott believed it to be a wolf at first and I denied it by saying-"

"There are no wolves in California." Adrian's interjection made Stiles perk up, nodding.

"Exactly! But then I heard my dad on the phone. A fibre analysis came back from a lab on the dead body and they found wolf hairs! Real wolf hairs! The more I start to think about it and everything Scott's been doing . . . it's all been adding up." Another pause was introduced between them, Stiles dramatically looking at Adrian, who looked more confused than he would in English class.

"Adding up to what exactly?" Before Stiles could continue his rant, a knock was heard on his bedroom door. Stiles leapt up and opened it to see a beaming Scott.

"Get in. You gotta see this, dude." Stiles stepped aside to let the boy in. Scott seemed pretty surprised to see Adrian Martin in his friend's room but chose not to ask as the redhead gave him a short nod when he sat down beside him. "I've been up all night. Reading, websites, books. All this information!"

"How much Adderall have you had today?" The dark-haired boy joked with a smile, Adrian looking between the two in boredom; unbelieving of the fact he allowed himself to get dragged into this mess with Scott and Stiles.

"A lot." The boy replies once sitting down back in his seat with information by his lap. Adrian chuckled before he could stop himself, disguising it in a terrible cough. "Doesn't matter, okay? Just listen!"

"Is this about the body?" Scott inquires out of curiosity, knowing with Stiles it was usually the darkest things involving information. "Did they find out who did it?"

Turning round to face the two males sitting on his bed, Stiles shook his head with the papers still in hand. "No, they're still questioning people, even Derek Hale."

"Derek Hale? As in the guy whose whole family died in a fire and lives out in the woods?!" Adrian shockingly asked the pair, way more interested in their little adventure than he intended to be.

"Yeah, but that's not it, okay?" Stiles' hands waved around so much so that Adrian wondered if that would ever damage his wrists one day.

Scott laughed, but a nervous layer was coated on top of it. "What then?" He side glanced Adrian, who was eyeing him up with inquisitiveness.

"Remember that joke from the other day?" While Adrien had no idea what the boy was referencing, Scott did; a dark look taking over. "It might not be much of a joke anymore."

Scott blinked at Stiles' bold statement, making Adrian grow slightly frustrated. "I'm sorry. What joke? Is this about that wolf thing you were going on about earlier?" It just then clicked what Stiles was implying to the redhead, and he thought it to be a joke at first. But when Stiles bit his lip and didn't deliver a punchline, Adrien slowly leaned forward whilst cocking his head. "So, you think your best friend is a werewolf?"

Stiles groaned, throwing his head back. "The wolf. The bite in the woods. I started doing all this reading." He spoke quickly, rustling around for the 'reading' he had done. "Do you even know why a wolf howls?"

"Should we?" Scott asked at the same time as Adrian shrugged, allowing the buzzcut boy to drag his little fantasy on a bit longer.

"It's to signal its location to the rest of its pack. So, if you heard a wolf howling, that means others could have been nearby. Maybe even a whole pack of them!"

"A whole pack of wolves?" Just like the boy beside him, Scott wasn't convinced as his dark eyebrows came together amongst the confusion.

"In Beacon Hills?" Adrian added in, Scott agreeing with him.

"No, werewolves." Stiles sighed, not as confident-sounding as he was before. Maybe it was the fact that he knew neither were believing it and Adrian was most likely going to blab on about it to Jackson the next chance he got. It did sound kind of stupid and he knew that, but Stiles trusted the information and facts he knew.

Thick tension covered the room- specifically between the two friends as Scott stood up with a newfound fury. "Are you seriously wasting my time with this? You know I'm picking up Allison in an hour."

"We both saw you on the field today, Scott. Okay, what you did wasn't just amazing, all right? It was impossible." Stiles told him, looking between the two teens he was trying to convince.

With Stiles' hand on his shoulder stopping him from leaving, Scott looked down at the boy's carpet. "Yeah, I made a good shot." He mumbled quietly.

"Actually, Scott," Adrian decided it was time to jump in as both pairs of eyes fell on him. The redhead hated to admit his next words, but he couldn't lie. "You made an incredible shot."

Stiles eagerly nodded, glad to have someone siding with him on something. "Exactly! I mean, the way you moved, your speed, your reflexes. People can't just suddenly do that overnight! And there's the vision and the senses, and don't even think I don't notice you don't need your inhaler anymore."

"Okay! Dude, I can't think about this right now." Scott told them with a raised voice, becoming more and more annoyed very quickly. "We'll talk tomorrow."

Stiles gave a startled look, a worried and stressed outlook in his eyes. "Tomorrow?! What? No!" He shook his head. "The full moon's tonight! Don't you get it?"

"What are you trying to do?!" Scott yelled at Stiles, causing Adrian to widen his eyes slightly. He had never seen Scott and Stiles fight through all the years he had seen them together. "I just made first line. I got a date with a girl who I can't believe wants to go out with me. Everything in my life is somehow perfect. Why are you trying to ruin it?"

Stiles slumped back down in his chair with a sad defeated look. "I'm trying to help." His tone of voice calmed but got sadder. "You're cursed, Scott. You know that the full moon will cause you to physically change. It also just so happens to be when your bloodlust is at its peak."

Scott remained eerily silent for a moment, making Adrian wonder what his mind must be thinking/going through. "Bloodlust?" He repeated.

"Yeah, your urge to kill." Stiles nodded.

"I'm already starting to feel an urge to kill, Stiles." Scott's voice shifted to a much darker and serious tone than his previous one. It scared both the other two boys in the room a little.

Stiles ignored his comment as he quickly turned around and grabbed something off his desk. "You gotta hear this." He took an old leather book and began to read from it. "'The change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse.'"

He turned back around to face them, a look on his face. "All right? I haven't seen anyone that raises your pulse like Allison does. You gotta cancel your date!" Stiles insisted, standing up. "I'm gonna call her right now."

Stiles moved for Scott's backpack, grabbing his phone. "What are you doing?" Seeing the device in his friend's hands, the tanned teen was clearly done with the younger boy at this point; wanting nothing more than to pick up Allison.

"Cancelling your date," Stiles stated as he unlocked the phone. From then on, it all seemed like a blur of a dream for Adrian.

Suddenly, Scott lunged forward until he had Stiles pinned up against the wall, yelling at him to give him the mobile device. Adrian grew worried about the raised fist too, causing him to jump into action.

"Hey! Scott!" Adrian took big steps forward, gripping onto his arms in hopes it would rip him away from the younger boy.

Being quickly prepared, Scott yanked his arm away; the force making the redhead stagger. Moving his lower fist, it collided with Stiles' desk chair which made it topple over with a clattering noise.

Adrian had backed into a wall by now as Scott let out a loud- almost inhuman- grunt. In all the years Adrian has seen Scott McCall around school, never had he seen him so angry and bad-tempered. And, judging the look on Stiles' face, he had never seen him like this too.

His grunts faded to pants, turning to face the hazel-eyed boy who was sitting on his carpet floor cornered into a wall. Something seemed to clear in Scott's eyes as he tried to calm his breathing.

"I'm sorry." He sighed, his best friend avoiding eye contact. "I gotta go get ready for that party." He picked up his bag, making eye contact with Adrian before walking to the door. He mumbled one last apology before leaving the two teens in a tense environment.

With his mind catching up to him, Adrian got up and rushed forwards to Stiles when the door closed; glancing over his body. "Hey, you okay?" His tone was probably the most gentle he had ever been to the kid, setting his hands on his shoulders.

Glancing up at Adrian's green eyes, Stiles shook his head. "I'm fine." He muttered, his brown orbs scanning over the redhead. "You okay? He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No." Shortly shaking his head, Adrian couldn't help but feel an awkward air between them. "You?"

"No." Stiles shortly answered, the two staring at each other until Stilinski pulled away. He walked over to his desk chair, picking it up to its right place. There was a pause before he spoke. ". . . Adrian."

"What?" The boy asked as he walked to his side, seeing just what the boy was looking at. Three claw marks that definitely weren't there before had been newly dented into it, leaving the two boys starstruck. "Oh god."

"The party," Stiles stated as if a lightbulb had switched on. Immediately, the two boy's eyes widened in alarm as Stiles urgently faced the Martin sibling.

Adrian was sent into a panic. "He's taking Allison with him! If he gets to her before us . . ." He trailed off, not even wanting to think of the scenarios for the new girl.

"Get in the jeep!" Stiles exclaimed, running off with the boy on his heels. "Oh my god! I can't believe I figured it out!"

❚ ❚ ❚

Stiles drove the two of them to the party as fast as he could, but the road held its limits. On the way, he had given Adrian his phone to try and communicate with Scott in hopes of stopping him. "Is he answering?"

"Nope." Adrian sighed, popping the p. With his arm against the window, the redhead ran a hand through his hair. "Crap."

"Okay. This is okay. We'll just find him and take him away before he can get to Allison. No biggie." Stiles' words weren't convincing either of them. It created more panic if anything.

Neither said anything after that, Adrian choosing to try and find anything to distract him. He tried looking out at the dark looming woods but that didn't help as it rejigged his memory of werewolves. Instead, he turned to the boy driving; looking at his outfit. "That's a nice shirt."

Not expecting the compliment, Stiles' gaze went to Adrien before focusing back on the road. "Uh, thanks. I-I like your jacket."

Adrian thanked him as he scratched his neck, his body overcoming a weird feeling but the redhead mixed that with nerves of a wild Scott McCall on the loose.

It took roughly fifteen to twenty minutes before they pulled up at the Whittmore house. Stiles was parking his car while Adrian jumped out and made his way through the crowds over the booming music in a desperate search for the dark-haired boy and new girl.

Admittedly, Adrian had no specific plan. Scott wasn't too happy with Stiles and himself at the moment so that would create an even more difficult task for the pair. But Adrian had to try; for Allison's safety.

Trapped in a big crowd, Adrian felt his breathing pick up while his eyes went blurry. It was the early stages of a panic attack, which confused Adrian. He hadn't had panic attacks since he was little.

He flinched when a hand was set on his shoulder, Stiles' face coming into view. "Yo, Adrian? You okay?" His tone and eyes quickly became concerned for the boy.

"Y-Yeah. J-Just," Adrian trailed off, his vision blurring a bit more so Stiles' figure became more fun. It distracted Adrian, which gave Stiles the chance to think.

Grabbing his hand, Stiles led Adrain through the crowds. It was weird to the Martin kid, seeing Stiles worry about his wellbeing.

The buzzcut teen managed to get them away from the crowds and outside where it was more spacious. Stiles didn't let go of his hand as he spoke to him. "You good now?"

When Adrian made contact with Stiles' hazel-brown eyes, the panic and worry started to fade away. Stiles watched in concern as Adrian nodded. "Yeah, thanks." He breathed out.

"No problem. I have panic attacks sometimes too. They suck right?" Stiles scratched the back of his neck- a habit he did when he was nervous or flustered- awkwardly as he released a short laugh.

When the two realised their hands were still connected, they abruptly pulled away. Stiles and Adrian started at each other for a moment before darting their eyes away from each other and to the dancing crowd.

Amongst the dancing teens, Adrian spotted something and tapped Stiles; pointing ahead. Scott and Allison were dancing happily together, his hands on her hips while Allison's hands rested on his chest. They looked so happy, so . . . couple-like. Part of Adrian felt bad for wanting to pull the two away, but a bigger part of him knew he had to.

Scott's head turned in their direction, making Adrian go into panic mode. Thinking fast, he grabbed Stiles and pulled him slightly closer. Stiles' mouth fell open like a fish out of the water as the popular boy began to dance. "W-What are you doing?"

"Dancing," Adrian replied, bowing his head so he was closer to Stiles' ear. "Scott's gonna see us. We can't let him know we're here to break him and Allison apart. So just act natural- lose your awkwardness- and dance with me!"

With a short pause, Stiles slowly began to move to the music, his eyes side-eyeing everyone in case they were looking. No one was spying on the pair, making him feel a tad bit happier at the moment. His muscles relaxed as he danced with the redhead, a smile even embracing his face.

"Oh, and Stilinski?" Adrian's voice soothed over the music, gaining Stiles' attention as he faced him.

"Yeah."

"You tell anyone about this, you're dead." Adrian's answer was dead serious as he stared him down, his words not seeming to scare the boy at all.

With a nod of recognition, Stiles smirked slightly. "Okay. Geez, you're a right tiger. Maybe I should just call you that from now on."

"You call me that, I'll knock your teeth right outta your mouth." Adrian continued to dance with the boy, a glare on his face.

Stiles smirked a look of mischief in his eyes. "Okay, Tiger."

Adrian felt a thud in his chest, causing him to stop dancing. Upon noticing this, Stiles' eyebrows knitted together with a frown. He was going to ask him what was wrong . . . until they noticed Scott pushing his way past some people.

They broke away with worry for the Latino boy, who looked to be in pain. He was holding his head with what looked to be a clenching look, his lips moving in a mutter. It was a sign of danger for the two dudes, making them close against the boy.

"Yo, Scott, you good?" Stiles asked, moving out with his hand outstretched. Scott acted like he hadn't even heard them, making his way through the house like he needed to leave quickly.

Both Stiles and Adrian side glanced at each other in a knowing look. It was obvious what they needed to do, go in the jeep and follow him . . . but something led Adrian to distraction.

Allison was standing awkwardly by herself just as she had done on her first day, biting her lip with a sad look. Adrian immediately felt bad, it wasn't her fault Scott was going through his issue just now, and she didn't deserve the treatment.

Looking back to the brown-eyed boy, Martin shook his head. "You go ahead. I need to talk to Allison."

Giving a short glance at the girl, Stiles nodded in understanding. "Okay. Be careful." Not giving the boy a chance to respond, Stiles was making his way through the crowds to Scott.

"You too," Adrian whispered before he began walking towards the brunette. Allison seemed to be talking to someone, and Adrian was no idiot to who it was when he got closer.

Derek Hale was leading Allison off to a black car that the redhead automatically assumed to be his. When Derek reached for the door handle of his car, a bad feeling stirred in Adrian's stomach as he ran forward and eagerly called out to the girl. "Allison! Allison, wait up!"

Hearing her name being called by a familiar voice, Allison turned around with a friendly smile on her face. "Adrian! It's good to see you!" She merrily greeted before gesturing to the man in leather himself. "This is Derek. He said he's a friend of Scott's"

"Really? Scott's never mentioned him." With a suspicious look, Adrian crossed his arms slowly as Derek glared at him. A glare that was warning the redhead to be quiet.

"Well, he offered me a ride." Allison's words made Adrian's blood run cold, his heartbeat increasing.

"Did he now?" Derek's glare remained as Adrian struggled with what to do. "A-Are you sure? The night's still young."

"I'm sure. Scott said he'd be back but I guess not." The last part was said sadder than Allison's beginning words, making the boy feel sadness for her. She didn't deserve this. But what could he say that would convince her? He couldn't exactly spill the beans that Scott may or may not be a werewolf shifting on his first full moon.

"I'm sure he was just feeling a bit under the weather and didn't want to spread it to you." The teen shrugged, trying his best to ignore Derek's burning gaze.

"Maybe. Well, goodnight, Adrian." Giving him a polite wave, Allison entered Derek's car while Adrian's mouth fell open; not having any words to save himself.

Once her door was closed, Derek gave the Martin boy one last look before walking to the other side of the car and getting in, beginning the drive away.

Adrian watched the entire time the car got farther and farther away from him, his insides clenching. When he could no longer see the black car, Adrian dropped to sit on the pavement as his head fell into his hands. He just let Allison Argent drive away with a suspected murderer!

A U T H O R. N O T E
adrian and stiles: *dancing together innocently*
me: *slowly gets flashbacks of ian's shameless dance*

i just ruined that scene for you now, haven't i? oh well, guess that's what i'm here for. thanks for reading! i always appreciate the support! :3

GIF MADE BY ME !
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