When the McCall pack finally defeated the Darach and tried—key word, tried—to go back to normal, they really should have expected the unsettling silence that settled over Beacon Hills. It was the calm before the storm, many of them figured. Everyone felt like a ticking time bomb was about to implode, they just didn't know when. The worst part? Without any clue of what was going to happen next, the pack couldn't fight back. They were practically helpless.

"Scott, I swear to god, if you wolf out one more time, I'll kick you in the balls." Stiles rambled, thoroughly irritated at Scott's super strength. He just wanted to practice lacrosse, dammit! The kid didn't have to go mega-wolf every chance he got. With Scott being a big douche and not letting him score, he was getting more and more frustrated, almost to the point where he wanted to quit and try again tomorrow. Lately, investing himself in sports had been a great distraction from the not sleeping at all, dizziness, and nightmares that he got when he finally did sleep. Ever since the Darach, aka Derek's evil ex-girlfriend, he hadn't been feeling like himself at all. Besides from when he was alone with Scott, he had been getting extremely irritable and jittery. Visions of his friends dying terrified him when he was asleep, so he did his best to stay awake. He even cut down on his ADHD medicine, knowing that it would just calm him down, maybe even give him more time to think about everything that's happened.

"Aw, c'mon man! It's not my fault you can't keep up!" Scott chuckled.

"Well, I would be able to if you didn't use your wolfie-alpha powers!" Stiles huffed, going to sit on the bleachers and put his gear away. When Scott sat next to him and nudged him, he couldn't hold back a smirk. "You know, just because you're the big bad alpha now doesn't mean you have to be as annoying as Derek." Derek, as in Derek Hale, as in the sourwolf that still hadn't returned after two months, had only contacted them twice, mainly to see how his loft was holding up with Isaac living there. Both times, true to his nickname, he was both irritated and impassive.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But I'm just preparing you for tryouts next week! Coach said he's only taking the best, and we know that means 'I'm only taking you if you are a good player, or you don't annoy the living crap out of me.'. You're already ruled out in one of those categories, so we need to make you better at lacrosse." Scott seemed proud of his logic, picking up his duffel bag with a grin. Out of all of them, he was the one who seemed the most different to Stiles. After the 'pack' exchanged stories the day after the eclipse, Stiles had noticed how Scott seemed different, not just physically, but mentally as well. He was just... better, it seemed. He looked healthier, the stress lines that had built up over the weeks practically disappeared, and he was standing taller, as if he grew two inches overnight. Nobody but Stiles seemed to noticed the change, but as Scott's best friend, how could he not? The leadership had been practically oozing off of him ever since, and Stiles had been cracking many 'big bad mommy-wolf' jokes when Scott seemed to forget that Stiles was a human, and therefore couldn't help but question his orders sometimes. Like, for example, his decision to let Aiden and Ethan in the pack, which Stiles was still peeved about. His arguments against that had been going on for the past three weeks, but Scott still hadn't changed his mind.

"-iles? Are you even listening to me? Stiles!" Scott's hand on his shoulder effectively brought Stiles out of his thoughts of the past. Stiles turned to see Scott's concerned look, which he had already been getting from his dad way too much lately. Nearly busting down the door to get to his terrified, screaming son that had just suffered from a nightmare had been making Sheriff Stilinski a lot more worried lately. "Stiles! Seriously man, snap out of it!" Scott led a distracted Stiles to their lockers, opening his and shooting his friend another worried look.

Stiles finally snapped out of it, shaking his head and stuffing his bag in the crowded gym locker in front of him. "Yeah- uh, sorry. I'm just spacing a lot." When Scott gave him another look, he sighed. "Look, Scotty, I'm fine. Really, it's just all this stuff that's been going on."

Scott still didn't back down, though, following Stiles as they walked into the halls to first period. The only reason he had agreed to practice with Stiles an hour before school was because he knew Stiles wanted them to be on the team together, and when he called this morning, Scott noticed how he sounded a little desperate and jumpy on the phone. "I know, dude, but it's been two months. Allison and I are adjusting fine. Meanwhile, you look like you haven't slept in weeks, and you smell like coffee half the time." He put a hand on Stiles shoulder, pulling him around to look him in the eye. "If anything's wrong, Stiles, I need to know. We can talk to Deaton or something."

"Scott, no. I'm okay!" When he voice started getting louder, he took a deep breath. "I just need a little more time to let everything simmer down, alright?" He rushed down the hall, refusing to let Scott finish his protests. "I'll see you later!"

By the time Scott had come to sit with her, Allison, and Isaac, Lydia felt like she would drown under the awkward and sexual tension. Allison and Isaac had been eyeing each other ever since the eclipse, and Lydia figured they should just have sex and get it over with before everyone around them suffocates. She ignored them, leaning over the table and stealing one of Scott's water bottles. "Hey, Scott." She said sweetly, taking a sip.

He sighed, looking over at her. "Hey, Lydia." The stress in his voice didn't go unnoticed by any of them, but Lydia figured that, if something was truly wrong, he'd tell them. Allison, however, didn't think the same, and shifted her confused eyes to Scott, who looked back at her blankly. "What? He asked, irritated.

"What do you mean, what? You seem stressed. What's wrong?" Allison asked, taking a bit of her salad.

Scott sighed, politely greeting the twins as they sat on either side of him. Isaac however, glared at both of them. Other than Stiles, Isaac was the only to openly protest their acceptance in the pack weeks ago. It was expected, though: he, Erica, and Boyd had been through tough stuff together, and he was there for Boyd's death. "I don't know what's wrong, to be honest." Scott's voice cut through the tenseness, making everyone turn to him.

"I'm just worried about Stiles. Like, extremely worried." He was relieved Danny was in practice today, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to talk about this with his pack. "He says he's fine, but I know he hasn't been sleeping. He has dark circles under his eyes and he's practically drowning himself in coffee. I talked to his dad after second period, and he said Stiles woke up and three a.m. last night and last week, screaming his lungs out and crying. The last time he did that was when.." Scott hesitated.

"When what?" Lydia snapped, effectively turning attention to her. Aiden's attention, mostly. She could feel him staring at her but she ignored and raised her eyebrows at Scott, who sighed.

"The last time Stiles had nightmares like that was after his mom died." He shook his head, visibly tensing. "He couldn't stay at the hospital the night his mom passed because they had to remove her body, so his dad made him stay with us-" Scott seemed too focused on the past now, but kept telling the story.

"Mom, what's happening?!" Young, little Scott wailed, crying along with his screaming best friend. He watched as the said best friend, Stiles Stilinski, started convulsing next to him on his superhero bed covers. His mother, Melissa, barged in and immediately wrapped her arms around the screaming boy.

"Scott, go get a glass of water honey, please!" She ordered, trying to restrain Stiles from jerking around and hurting himself. His wails were deafening, and neither Scott or his mom could make out his words. "Go, Scott, now!"

As Scott ran down stairs, he listened to his brother's screams as they cleared-the screams that he would remember for the rest of his life. "N-No, Mom! Please! No, oh god, come back! Please, Mom! NO, MOM!"

Scott snapped out of it, finally realizing how much he told them. "That was a month before his first panic attack, but he had so many nightmares that his doctor suggested giving him sleeping pills that would basically shut down his mind. As far as I know, the first time he's woken up like that, since, was a week ago." Scott sighed, looking around at his pack: Allison, Isaac, Ethan, Lydia, and Aiden. Only one person was missing, possibly the most important person in his life. His Brother.

Isaac broke they silence that followed, frowning. "So, what do we do?"

Scott thought about it for a moment, contemplating. "I want Lydia, Isaac, and Allison to do some research on nightmares and symptoms of, you know, 'opening yourself up to the darkness' and stuff. Aiden and Ethan, I want you guys to try to contact Derek, see where he is and if or when he's coming back. I have a couple things to ask him. I'm going to talk to Deaton, see if he knows anything."

"Isn't Stiles going to figure this out? He doesn't really hang out with anyone but you anymore, Scott, and he might want to hang out with you later." Allison said, biting her lip nervously.

Scott thought about it for a moment. "Your right, I guess. He knows I'm probably going to look into this." He turned to Lydia with his pleading puppy look, the one he knew she couldn't say no to. "Lydia, do you mind hanging out with Stiles later? Offer to help him with math, or something?"

Lydia sighed, annoyed that Aiden was staring at her again. She could practically feel the upset longing in his eyes and, for a second, she felt guilty. But she knew she had to do this. "Fine! As long as it'll help Stiles."