Chapter Text
It started out as a conversation during lunch period on a Friday. Seated at the table were Stiles, Malia, and Kira. It was barely a conversation, really. Lydia was home because she called sick and Scott was strangely no where to be found. Malia was hungrily biting into the sandwich, oblivious to the awkwardness and the sensitivity of the situation. Being a full coyote for all these years has left her with quite an appetite. Apparently, she had never been quite full after eating her hunts.
Stiles pretended to eat, picking at his salad. Kira, on the other hand, ate her lunch because there was nothing else to do. She really considered ditching and getting the hell out of there because she wasn't really fond of awkward situations, particularly one as intense as this. But she guaranteed that leaving Stiles here would be more awkward, because Stiles isn't stupid, so she forced herself to stay still and eat, painfully aware of how stiff she was.
Stiles seemed distant and unaware that he hasn't taken a bite out of his food yet. He looked drained, and Kira noticed how skinny and dull he looked compared to how he was when they first met. He had shadows beneath his eyes that indicated he hadn't slept a wink. His eyes were a bit dull but warm. Kira always notices the skeptism in his eyes when he talked to her but she never minded. In his defence, he did technically see her walk through electricity unscathed.
But now, he looked utterly different. His skin was ashy, his eyes were duller than usual and they seem... cold. And he never seemed really present. Kira grew shifty and uncomfortable with the details she picked up on and decided to do something about it t distract her thoughts, trying hard to push the feeling away.
"Hey Stiles, could you lend me your Biology note?I think I missed something in class."
He looked at her, though his eyes seemed vacant, implying that his mind wasn't present. Stiles grudgingly reached into his bag and absentmindedly handed her his note, which she accepted with mutters of gratitude. Kira flipped through the pages, pretending to look through it. Then she noticed his notes were always half-written, indicating how incomplete it was. Kira made two assumptions. Either they were too busy trying to survive to the point that school was the least priority, or his attention span was close to non-existent. She then decided that it could both, knowing Stiles to a certain point. After flipping through the pages, she realised that he wasn't paying attention in class because he didn't write anything and gave it back to him. Then she peeped the spiderman doodle in one of the pages.
The rest of the school hours went by slowly and Kira was itching bolt out of here. She stood impatiently beside her dad's class, waiting for him for him to finish packing up, her legs bouncing restlessly until Stiles walked past her. His shoulders were slouched and his steps were sluggish. Her stare lingered to the point that she was sure he noticed. Before she knew it, she called out to her dad. "Why don't you go home without me? I have to talk to someone."
Mr. Yukimura called out to her but she was barely paying attention, her feet carrying her to the blue jeep in the parking lot, where Stiles struggled to fit his key into the keyhole. Kira was close enough to hear him cursing in frustration.
"Stiles! Hey." He turned, his scowl lifted a bit at the sight of her, so he nodded towards her direction in form of greeting, but barely smiling at her. "Can I ask you a favor? I need to get home. I was wondering if you could give me a ride."
The last sentence sounded more like a question. His brows furrowed as she said that. "Isn't that your dad going.. ?"
She turned and saw her dad looking at her while struggling to open up his car. Saying he looked confused was an understatement.
She suddenly felt stupid and uncomfortable. "Well, he isn't heading home straight away and I kinda need to get home now."
Stiles looked more confused than before and opened his mouth to ask another question. Instead, he nodded, so as not to sound rude and unwilling. She smiled at him and got into the passenger seat.
The ride home was awkward and Kira hated herself for putting herself in this situation. She fought the urge to jump out of the moving vehicle. Desperate to keep the conversation, she started rambling about how Spiderman was overrated and how Wanda was so much better. She glanced at him and realised he wasn't listening. Kira became very frustrated. Then an idea came to mind. "Hey, do you want to get something to eat?"
He looked at her and answered, "I don't know, I'm not really hungry."
"Well, I was hoping we could hang out. We've never hung out, just the two of us and I thought this is the perfect time to." She was tired of trying too hard.
He looked like the last thing he wanted to do was hang out with her. But he nodded regardless and drove them to Burger King.
Stiles and Kira were currently sitting on the hood of the car in the woods, halfway done with their food. Well, Kira was. Stiles on the other hand was struggling to eat the curly fries. But he managed to shove them into his mouth, for her. She watched him and he looked like he was close to throwing everything back up. He was already halfway done so she asked for some. He looked relieved and shoved the plate into her hand too quickly.
The silence was filled with the leaves rustling and the whistles of the birds. The wind greeted them and caressed her skin softly. A sudden wave of relief and calm came over her. She took a deep breath in and her lungs felt clean. She noticed Stiles' stare directed at her but focused on the trees instead. She regretted not having her Polaroid with her.
Kira realised Stiles was never going to say anything so she forced herself to start up the conversation. "So how have you been?"
"I've been good. I sleep better now." His hands were twitching and the dark circles around his eyes mocked his lies. "How have you been?"
She was tempted to respond the same way he did but the unwanted feeling of loneliness and desperation lingered. "I haven't talked to my mom yet. We haven't spoken since…"
He had a glimpse of surprise in his reaction to what she said but he didn't say anything so she continued. "I can feel a shift, like I'm going through puberty all over again. I feel out of control most times." She could feel her eyes sting, so she bit her lip. "I miss my old home. Even though I usually feel out of place there. The comfort was enough. It's a bit lonely here, and kinda overwhelming."
"I've also not spoken to Scott since…"
Stiles scoffed and gave out a dry laugh, "yeah, makes two of us."
"But a small part of me is relieved, though. I think it's because there's nothing to say to make things better and I'm not really good at comforting. But I really miss him and there are so many things I want to say..."
She stopped and took a breath. Kira wondered if she spoke a bit too much until she heard him speak.
"I'm not okay, I think. There are so many things wrong, I don't know which one to talk about first."
"I don't know about you but I'm super comfortable where I am." She smiled at him and for the first time that day, his lips slightly turned up.