World Spins Madly On

"Move your hips…No, the other way."

"Shh, you'll wake the baby!"

"Slow down… Right there! Stiles!"

"Arch your back…yeah, just like that! Oh, God!"

"I'm… Stiles, I…"

The crackling of the baby monitor echoed throughout the room. Stiles groaned and slumped his shoulders down and pressed his forehead to Keeva's shoulder. "Damnit." Keeva giggled and pushed gently against him, rolling him off of her. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and picked Stiles' shirt up off the floor before pulling it over her head.

She sauntered towards the door and out of the room towards the nursery. Over the summer, Megan had stayed with them for a few months after Jamie was born to help Keeva settle while Stiles and the sheriff transformed the spare room AKA Megan's room into a nursery for Jamie.

They had painted the walls a pale blue with white window sills and black furniture. The crib was situated underneath the back window. The changing table was against the left wall and the dresser was leaning against the wall beside the door. Stiles' mom's rocking chair was next to the crib and that's often where the sheriff sat when he rocked Jamie to sleep on his nights off. Keeva refused to let them put sports wall paper trim along the ceiling. She said it looked tacky and that it would be a pain to remove when Jamie was older. It's safe to say she had won that battle.

Stiles turned his head and glanced at the time. 8:30pm. He scrubbed his hands down his face and ran them through his thick hair. He'd let it grow out over the summer. He was tired of the buzz cut and wanted to look older.

He pushed himself out of bed and ventured into the bathroom to shower. As soon as he'd stepped in the hot spray, he heard Keeva hop up onto the counter. "Is he sleeping?" She was chewing on something rather loudly. "Yeah, he just needed to be changed. Hey, what time are you supposed to meet Scott?" Stiles washed the soap from his eyes. "Uh, I'm supposed to meet him at nine at the tattoo parlor. What are you eating?" He poked his head through the curtain. She was snacking happily on a box of sour patch kids.

He rolled his eyes and disappeared beneath the water. "Why does he want a tattoo anyway?" Stiles shrugged before he remembered that she couldn't see him. "I don't know. He says it's something that he's wanted for a long time and his mom finally said yes, so… tattoo."

She snorted and pulled her legs up on the counter to sit cross legged. "Well, they're pretty permanent so I hope he gets something that he'll love forever." She looked up when she heard the water shut off. Stiles stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He nodded and poked her thigh, silently requesting that she slide over. She did.

He cleared the mirror with his hand before he pulled out her moisturizer. "That's mine." He shrugged and glanced over at her. "I'll buy you a new one when this one runs out. You can't expect my face to be this clear just from good genes." She snorted and shoved his shoulder before hopping off the counter. "I'm going to try to get some sleep. We do have such a thing as school in the morning." She heard him groan.

"Hey, I thought Lydia invited you to hang out tonight. Did you change your mind?" He smirked when she groaned into her pillow. She looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. "As much as I love Lydia's grown on me, I'm not playing third wheel. She didn't want to go on a date alone so she invited me to go with but seeing as I have you… Besides, I don't have anyone to watch Jamie." He shook his head. "Melissa is dying to see him again. She easily would've taken him off your hands." He heard her grunt before he disappeared inside the bathroom.

The next morning, Keeva was shaken awake. "Keeva, baby, wake up. I have something to tell you." She blearily opened her eyes and blinked up at Stiles. "What?" He hopped off the bed and whirled around to face his computer. She sat up on her elbows and stared at him then at the clock. "Stiles, we still have two hours before school." He didn't respond. "And you're already dressed, okay."

She got out of bed and ventured down the hall to Jamie's room. He was gone from his crib and she could hear movement in the kitchen. She made her way downstairs and found the sheriff feeding Jamie breakfast from his highchair. He smiled when his eyes landed on her. "Hey, Keeva. Jamie was awake when I got up this morning so I took the liberty of getting him ready for daycare." She smiled and picked the baby up from his highchair.

He giggled when she smothered his face with kisses. "How long has Stiles been awake?" The sheriff rolled his eyes and cleaned the dishes out in the sink before setting them on the counter to dry. "He woke up about half an hour after I did so about an hour. He checked on Jamie before he went off on his tangent. Something about a deer. I don't know." Keeva nodded and walked Jamie upstairs.

She deposited him into Stiles lap who instinctively wrapped an arm around his tiny body, keeping him firmly planted against his chest. The baby happily banged away on the surface of the desk. Stiles typed skillfully with one hand.

Keeva pulled out a light blue sundress and white Keds. She quickly got dressed before pulling her hair up into a braid down her back. She riffled through her purse and pulled out anything she would need and switched it over to her backpack. "What are you doing, Stiles?" He didn't look at her. "Jamie and I are researching car accidents involving deer." She smiled. "Why?"

He glanced quickly back at her before turning back to his computer. "Lydia got hit by a deer last night when Scott and I were coming back from the tattoo shop." She pulled her eyebrows together and straightened. "What?" He nodded and typed furiously. "Yeah, Scott said it was terrified and it didn't even try to move out of the way. Just ran right into her windshield. Lydia said it looked crazy." Keeva hummed and went back to her bag. She smiled when the sheriff appeared in the doorway.

"You know how many vehicle collisions last year involved deer? 247,000." Keeva rolled her eyes and pulled her messenger bag over her shoulder. "Oh, God, please go to school." The sheriff replied. Keeva smirked and hoisted Jamie out of Stiles' lap. The baby quickly when for the locket around her neck. "Stiles, listen to your dad. We still have to drop Jamie off before school."

"But that's crossing the road. This one last night came right down the middle." Keeva raised her eyebrows and adjusted Jamie. "Stiles," He ignored her. The sheriff stepped around her and stepped up behind him. "I'm not going to beg you." Stiles shrugged. "Good cause I'm impervious to your influence anyway." Keeva snorted and shook her head. "We'll wait for you in the car."

"You consider bribe?" Stiles continued to type. "You couldn't meet my price." The sheriff sighed. "Extortion?" Stiles shrugged and pursed his lips tightly. "Got nothing on me." The sheriff nodded and sighed. He grabbed the back of the desk chair and pulled. Stiles turned. "Dad, what are you doing?" Stiles reached forward, stretching. "Dad, what are you doing?" The sheriff stopped pulling when Stiles fell out of the chair. "Go to school."

Keeva had Jamie already buckled in when Stiles opened his car door. "So, what happened last night?" Stiles sighed and started the car.

"You want to ask Derek for help? Why? Why?" Stiles, Scott and Keeva walked down the hall towards homeroom. Scott pointed to his back. "He's got the triskele tattooed on his back so there's got to be a way of doing it without healing." Keeva nodded and Scott glanced over at her. "Do you know?" Keeva met his puppy dog eyes and shook her head. "I have no idea. Tattoos were never really my thing."

"Still, doesn't he have his hands a little full?" The trio stopped in front of a bulletin board with pictures of Boyd and Erica. Keeva sighed and nodded. "I agree. He's a little busy. I mean, I hardly saw him at all this summer and he's directly related to me." Stiles nodded and smiled at Scott. "Let's go. I hear we have a new English Teacher." Keeva smiled.

The room was half full by the time the trio entered the room. Keeva took a seat in front of Stiles and Scott sat to his best friend's right. A few minutes later, Allison and Lydia entered the room and Lydia took a seat to Stiles' left. Keeva turned around to face Stiles. "Why didn't you tell me Allison was back?" Stiles gaped and shook his head. "I forgot." She rolled her eyes and smiled brightly at the brunette who took a hesitant seat next to her in front of Scott.

The room was suddenly filled with sound when everyone's phones went off at once. Keeva looked at the text message from an unknown sender. She opened and read what was written. "'The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds and the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness.' This is the last line to the first book we are going to read. It is also the last text you will receive in this class. Phones off everyone."

The leggy brunette teacher clicked around to the other side of the desk. Keeva exchanged a glance with Stiles as a silent conversation went on between them. He nodded and smiled gently at her. They would talk to their teacher at the end of the period. "My name is Ms. Blake and I'm your new English teacher. Now, first thing I want you to do is write down a list of what you think are the worst qualities a person can have. A minimum of ten and a maximum of 15. Go."

Keeva took out a notebook and marked down the edge of the page from one to ten. A few minutes later, the principal came in and whispered to Ms. Blake. She looked up at Scott and nodded. "Mr. McCall?" He looked up and she gestured for him to come with her. He packed up his stuff and the two of them stepped out into the hall. Keeva glanced at Stiles before turning back to her paper.

"Hey, Lydia." Keeva looked up at over at Stiles. "What happened? Is that from the accident?" Lydia had a bandage wrapped around her right ankle. She shook her head. "No, Prada bit me." Stiles drew his eyebrows together and sat up. "Your dog?" Lydia scoffed and looked over at him. "No my designer hand bag." Keeva snorted and cleared her throat to cover it up. Stiles wasn't amused. "Yes, my dog."

Keeva leaned over slightly. "Has she ever bitten you before?" Lydia looked over at her and pressed her lips together before shaking her head. "What if it's like the deer?" Stiles suggested. Keeva shrugged. "You know how animals start acting weird right before an earthquake or something." Lydia looked quizzically up at him. "Meaning what? There's going to be an earthquake?" Stiles shook his head. "Or something. Maybe it just means something's coming. Something bad." Lydia shrugged and Keeva put her pen down, listening. "It was a deer and a dog. What's that thing you say about threes? Once, twice…"

Keeva jumped when a loud bang echoed throughout the room. A smear of red trailed down the window closest to Lydia. She leaned forward and peered around Stiles. Hundreds of black birds were flying straight towards the windows. "Oh, my God." Another one hit right where Ms. Blake was standing, cracking the glass. Several more hit the windows until they broke and birds started wreaking havoc on the room. "Get down! Everyone get down!" Stiles reached over to Keeva and pulled her down to the floor, covering her head with his arms and chest. She could hear the birds screeching and the students screaming. She could smell blood.

She didn't know how long they were on the ground. It couldn't have been longer than a minute but it felt like hours. She felt Stiles move his arms and help her to her feet. They stood amongst the disarray that was their English class. Broken glass littered the floor and desks were overturned. Papers and books were scattered throughout the room. Dead crows lay haphazardly across the room and there was blood from both birds and humans who the birds had pecked raw. "Oh, my God." Stiles wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Stiles glanced around the room and gently led Keeva to an upright desk. He helped her lean against it as he took out his phone. "Unbelievable. It's only 10:15." Keeva smiled lightly and ran her hand down his arm. It wasn't long before police started showing up and discussing what could have happened. They examined the windows and led paramedics to injured students. Stiles looked up and saw a severely shaken Ms. Blake. He stood up and took a few steps towards her. "Ms. Blake, you okay?" She nodded shakily and Stiles pursed his lips, unbelieving. He drew his eyebrows together and stepped around her. She flinched slightly when he reached up and pulled a feather out of her hair. "Sorry." Stiles was pulled back when Keeva jerked on his wrist and pulled him to sit beside her.

Keeva nudged Stiles and he looked over at her. "Call Scott. He'll want to know." Stiles nodded and unlocked his phone. Scott answered on the third ring. "We've got a serious problem in school, Ms. Blake's class… Uh, well, no pretty sure this qualifies for immediate discussion. Derek's house?" He glanced over at Keeva who shrugged. "What are you doing at Derek's…Okay." Stiles hung up. "Looks like we're going to Derek's house."

The bell rang and Keeva gathered the things she'd collected from the floor and left the room. "I'll meet you outside." Stiles nodded and went down the opposite hall. She saw Lydia and Allison at Lydia's locker and decided to join them. "…for the totally bizarre and supernatural." Keeva stopped in front of Lydia and drew her eyebrows together when an unfamiliar African American girl stopped behind them. Allison turned and froze.

"Where's Scott McCall?" All three girls remained quiet. "You're Allison, right?" Keeva's eyes shot up into her hair line. Allison nodded once. "Yeah but how do you…"

"Where's Scott?" Keeva opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Lydia looked back at her and shook her head slightly. "He had to leave. He's supposed to be back in class…" The girl grabbed Allison's arm in a tight grip. Lydia and Keeva both stepped forward. "Hey, hey, ease up on the physicality, sweetheart." She grabbed Lydia's arm just as roughly. "Hey, I don't know who you are but…" Keeva was cut off with the girls' sudden departure.

Lydia looked down at her arm before showing it to Keeva. "Well, she bruised me." Allison glanced down at hers. "Me too." Mr. Argent came up behind them. "Let's get you girls out of here. School can wait another day." Keeva smiled. "I'm supposed to meet Stiles." He nodded and she turned to walk down the hall.

She saw Stiles leaning against the driver side of his jeep. "Why are we going to Derek's?" He shrugged and opened her door for her. "Beats me." It didn't take them long to get there. Keeva stepped out of the car and walked inside the house without and hesitance. "Long time no see, sourwolf." Derek snorted and shook his head. "Come with me."

Keeva followed Derek into what used to be the front room and stopped when she saw a prone Isaac unconscious on the table in a hospital gown. "What happened?" She felt Stiles come up behind her. "He was attacked by an alpha." Keeva's eyes shot up into her hairline. "He's fine." Derek jerked his head to where Scott was sitting and she followed him. Derek sat down across from Scott and his eyes went red. Keeva and Stiles stood off to the side.

"Yeah I can see it. Two bands." Scott nodded. "What does it mean?" Scott looked up at Keeva before launching into his story. "I don't know. It's just something I trace with my fingers." Scott traced the bands in the dust on the table. "Why is this so important to you?" Derek asked. Scott looked over at him and shrugged. "Do you know what the word tattoo means?"

"To mark something." Stiles answered. He smirked. "That's in Tahitian." Scott responded. Keeva elbowed Stiles in the ribs. "In Samoan it means open wound." Stiles' eyebrows shot up. Scott looked over to a spot just beside Keeva's hip. His eyes were far away. "I knew I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned 18. I always wanted one. I just decided to get it now to make it kind of a reward." Keeva sighed. She knew where his train of thought was.

"For what?" Derek asked the question they were all thinking. "For not calling or texting Allison all summer. Even when I really wanted too, even when it was so hard not to sometimes… I was just trying to give her the space she wants. Even though four months later it still hurts. It still feels like a…" Scott trailed off and rubbed at an invisible stain on his jeans. "Like an open wound." Stiles finished. Scott nodded sadly.

Derek nodded and reached behind him. He picked up a blowtorch and a lighter. "The pains going to be worse than anything you've ever felt." Stiles nodded. "Oh, great." Scott leaned back and took a steadying breath. "Do it." Derek smiled and lit the blowtorch. Stiles jumped slightly and licked his lips. "Oh, yeah that's a lot for me so I'm just going to take that as my cue and just wait outside." Keeva laughed and watched him walk around Derek. Derek stuck his arm out and pressed his hand flat against Stiles' chest. "Nope, I need help holding him down." Stiles grimaced and stepped back around them and wrapped his arms around Scott's shoulders. Keeva shook her head and left the room. Stiles gaped after her and shook his head. Derek glanced up at Stiles and wrapped his free hand around Scott's wrist, pulling his arm forward. He lowered the blue flame to Scott's arm and Stiles grimaced when he heard the skin crackled. Scott screamed and his eyes turned yellow. "Hold him!" Derek shouted. Stiles tightened his grip on Scott and grimaced.

Scott passed out after about a minute and Stiles loosened his hold. It took Derek about three more minutes before he stood and turned the blowtorch off. Stiles nodded as he examined Scott's newly minted tattoo. He felt Keeva come up beside him. "Is there supposed to be some kind of symbolism behind the bands?" She asked. Stiles wrapped his arm around her shoulders and shook his head. "I don't think so." Scott jerked awake and they jumped. He stared, wide eyed, at them before looking down at his arm. "It worked." Stiles grinned and nodded.

Scott stood and pulled his long sleeved shirt back on. The trio made their way to the front door. "Well, looks pretty damn permanent now." Scott looked up at Stiles and smirked, running his hand over the new mark. "Yeah. Kinda need something permanent with everything that's happened to us. Everything just changes so fast, everything's so…ephemeral." Keeva turned her head to Scott and gaped.

"Studying for the PSAT's?" Stiles asked. Scott nodded. "Nice." Scott pulled the door open and began to walk through but stopped and turned his head to face the door. "You painted the door." He said. Keeva looked over at Derek who was bending over Isaac. He stood to his full height and shook his head. "Why'd you paint the door?" Scott asked accusingly. "Go home, Scott." Scott turned back to the door and ran the tips of his fingers over the red paint. "Why only one side?"

He threw his claws out and slowly ran his index finger down the paint, peeling it. His movements quickly grew fast until he was using both hands. "Scott!" Derek strode towards them and crossed his arms over his chest before hanging his head. Stiles took a step back to avoid the flying paint chips. When Scott was done, he was breathing heavily. A triangle with three lines stretching out of each point and turning to enclose the triangle was painted on the door. "The birds at school and the deer last night just the deer I got trampled by when I got bit by the alpha. How many are there?"

Keeva turned her eyes to Derek who looked away. "A pack of 'em. An alpha pack." Stiles looked away and shook his head. Stiles turned back. "All of them? How does that even work?" Derek shook his head. "I hear there's some kind of leader. He's called Deucalian. We know they have Boyd and Erica. Peter, Isaac and I have been looking for them for the last four months."

Keeva shrugged out from underneath Stiles. "So when you find them? How do you plan to deal with the alpha pack?" Scott put his hand on her shoulder and stepped up beside her. "With all the help I can get." Derek sighed, resigned. Scott looked back at Stiles who crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged.

"Where is she?" They all turned their head's to the sound of Isaac's tired voice. He was sitting up with his hands behind him and he looked like he's seen better days. "Where's the girl?" Derek looked at the three teenagers behind him before turning back to Isaac. "What girl?" Isaac took a deep breath, which looked like it hurt. "The girl who saved me." The four people in the front room exchanged glances.