[one]
tattoo

ALEX SIGHED AS she placed her phone back in her pocket, placing her hands on her hips.

"Nothing yet?" Scott questioned, his eyebrows raised as he rolled his sleeve up higher, preparing for the tattoo he was about to get on his arm.

"He hasn't been answering all night." Alex blew out a breath as she began to chew on her bottom lip nervously, worrying about her boyfriend.

"I'm sure he's probably just sleeping or something." Stiles shrugged, trying to change the subject as he looked away.

"Yeah...probably..." Alex quietly spoke with a frown.

"Boy, it's a good thing you drew me a picture." The tattoo artist spoke as he glanced at the picture Scott drew of two bands, one thicker than the other.

"Hey, Scott, you sure you don't want something like this?" Stiles questioned as he held up a picture of a mythical creature.

At Scott and Alex's glares, Stiles cringed. "Too soon? Yeah..."

"I don't know, man, are you sure about this? I mean, these things are pretty permanent, y'know?" Stiles continued, running a hand through his hair, turning to face Alex. "Alex, back me up here."

Before Alex could reply, Scott chuckled. "I'm not changing my mind."

"Okay, fine, but why two bands?" Alex frowned.

"I just like it." Scott shrugged.

"But don't you think your first tattoo should have some sort of meaning or something?" Stiles replied with a frown.

"Well, getting a tattoo means something." Scott spoke, Stiles huffing a chuckle at his response.

"I don't think that's-"

"He's right." The tattoo artist interrupted Stiles. Alex coughing to cover up her little chuckle at how Stiles' face fell.

"Tattooing goes back thousands of years." The man continued. "The Tahitian word 'tatua' means to 'leave a mark.' Like a rite of passage."

Alex raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah, you see?" Scott agreed, a little surprised at the response. "He gets it."

"He's covered in tattoos, Scott." Stiles replied, his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed slightly. "Literally."

Alex mirrored his action, crossing her arms too as she watched the scene unfold.

"Okay, you ready?" The tattoo artist asked Scott, preparing the needle.

Scott nodded, clearing his throat.

"You ain't got any problems with needles, do you?" The man questioned, Scott shaking his head.

"Nope."

The tattoo artist then lowered the needle down onto Scott's skin.

"Well, I tend to get a little squeamish though..." Stiles spoke, itching his chin nervously.

Alex took his hand and linked her fingers with his. "I'll hold your hand if it makes you feel better."

Stiles' face heated up slightly as he squeezed her hand tightly. "Yes. Yeah. That would- that would definitely- definitely help...definitely."

Scott chuckled quietly at the response.

Stiles couldn't help but look at the needle, which only resulted in him fainting, bringing Alex down with him as Stiles fell to the floor. Scott raised his eyebrows at this.

Alex quickly unlinked her and Stiles' hands as she stood up, brushing off her clothes and pulling her jacket tighter around her body.

"I guess that didn't help at all." Scott spoke.

"Not in the slightest." Alex replied with a sigh.

••••

Stiles, Scott, and Alex all went into the Jeep, Stiles holding an ice pack to his head as he sat in the drivers seat, Scott sitting in the passengers seat, and Alex sitting in the middle in the back.

"You okay?" Alex questioned as she looked at Scott.

"Kinda burns." Scott frowned at his bandaged arm.

"Yes, you've just had your skin stabbed about a hundred thousand times with a needle." Stiles replied sarcastically.

"But I don't think it's supposed to feel like this." Scott replied, his brows furrowing. After a few seconds, Scott groaned, Alex and Stiles frowning in concern. "Oh, god, it's definitely not supposed to feel like this. I need to take this thing off."

"No, no, no, Scott please don't-" Stiles protested, cringing.

Scott pulled it off, revealing a red rash around the tattoo, the tattoo slowly starting to fade. Alex and Stiles frowned as they watched the scene.

"What? No, no, come on." Scott frowned as the tattoo faded away. "It healed..."

"Thank god, I hated it." Stiles blew out a relieved breath, Scott frowning at the boy, Alex chuckling. At Scott's annoyed expression, Stiles continued. "Sorry."

Alex then got a text from Allison as Stiles started the car.

Allison
Where are you?? I thought you said you'd come with me and Lydia tonight.

Alex texted back.

Alex
Oh, to the date thing?

Allison
Yeah, but Lydia thinks it's a group thing. Which it obviously isn't.

Alex chuckled, Stiles frowning as he glanced at her in the car mirror. "Who are you texting?"

Alex looked up from her phone, glancing between Scott and Stiles. "Uh, just a friend..."

"Who?" Scott frowned, turning to face her.

"No one important." Alex replied as she looked back down at her phone, Scott and Stiles frowning as they dropped the topic.

Alex
Well, I already told you I couldn't make it for two reasons. One, because I actually have a boyfriend, and two, because I'm with Stiles and Scott.

Allison
Fine, but you're definitely coming next time.

Alex
Whatever you say Allison.

••••

"No, we agreed not to over the summer, no texts, no calls..." Scott spoke as the Jeep pulled up to a stop light.

"So how do you know that she won't be back at school then?" Stiles frowned.

"After everything that happened, I'm not sure she's coming back at all." Scott blew out a breath.

"Uh...I think she is..." Alex spoke as she looked out the window to see Lydia and Allison.

"What?" Stiles frowned, then looked out the window, seeing what Alex saw. "Yeah, I'd say pretty definite...y'know? Like one hundred percent."

Scott frowned in confusion as he glanced out the window, only to widen his eyes at the sight of the love of his life next to Lydia.

Allison then noticed Scott, her smile fading at the sight of him.

"Oh my god." Scott sunk in his seat quickly.

Stiles and Alex waved at Lydia and Allison as Allison sunk into her seat in the other car.

"Can we just drive please, Stiles?" Scott asked quickly.

"Uh, Scotty, it's a red light, if you haven't noticed." Alex spoke.

"I think we should talk to her, I think we should say something." Stiles added.

"No, no, no." Scott shook his head.

Stiles leaned across Scott and rolled down the window, ignoring his best friend as he protested again.

"Heyyyy." Stiles grinned, however, at this, the girls drove off, Stiles' expression fading. "You know, they probably didn't see us."

"No, they definitely saw us." Alex blew out a breath.

The red light then turned green, Stiles beginning to drive again.

"What are you doing?" Scott widened his eyes.

"Uh, I'm driving. Look, dude, if you're just gonna be a pain in the ass, switch with Alex, alright? Go sit in the back." Stiles replied.

"We're right behind them." Scott ignored him.

"Well, do you see any turns?" Alex asked as she leaned over to talk to the boys better.

"I don't want it to look like we're following them." Scott replied, glancing between Alex and Stiles.

"Well, what do you want me to do?" Stiles frowned.

"I don't know- anything!" Scott exclaimed.

Stiles then stepped on the brake, the car stopping abruptly, Alex holding onto the back of both seats tightly to prevent her from flying forwards.

Alex crossed her arms. "Okay, warn me next time please, that would be fantastic."

Stiles and Scott ignored her as Lydia stopped her car.

"Wait what?" Alex frowned as she shared glances with Scott and Stiles.

Suddenly, a deer ran into the girls' car, crashing into the front of it, smashing the front window, Lydia and Allison screaming.

Alex widened her eyes as she left the car hurriedly, running over to the girls, Stiles and Scott following immediately. "Oh my god, are you guys okay?!"

Lydia and Allison immediately got out of the car, Lydia holding Alex's arm tightly.

"It came out of nowhere." Lydia breathed.

"Are you hurt?" Stiles questioned as he stood next to Alex, surveying Lydia.

"It- it just ran into us." Lydia replied, still in a state of shock.

"Are you okay?" Scott questioned.

"I'm okay." Allison breathed.

"Well, I'm not okay!" Lydia exclaimed as she gripped Alex's arm tighter, glancing between Alex and Stiles. "I am totally freaking out! How the hell did it just run into us?!"

Scott went to take a closer look at the deceased deer still crashed into the front of the car.

"I saw it's eyes right before it hit us." Lydia started again, letting go of Alex as she glanced at the deer. "It was like it...it was like it was crazy."

"No, it was scared." Scott frowned as he continued to survey the deer. He gently placed his hand on the creatures neck, Alex walking over to stand next to Scott and frowning at the deer.

"Actually...terrified..." Alex frowned as she glanced at the group, her gaze locking with Stiles,' who frowned.

Alex's phone rang, the girl immediately answering it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Alex, it's Melissa." Scott's mother spoke on the other end.

"Hey, Melissa, uh, what's up?" Alex frowned as she glanced at Scott, who was busy focusing on the road ahead to notice. She shared glances with Stiles, Lydia, and Allison, who all frowned in confusion.

"We've just got Isaac in the ER. His emergency contact was you." Melissa replied, Alex's eyes widening at the first part.

"What? Is he okay? What happened?" Alex asked frantically.

"He's fine, we're going to treat him now." Melissa spoke, trying to calm Alex down.

"Does he want me to come down or something? I'll- I'll be there soon-" Alex responded quickly.

"He asked me not to worry you." Melissa replied, cutting her off, Alex closing her eyes as she inhaled a breath, exhaling a few seconds later.

"Can I talk to him at least?" Alex asked with a worried sigh.

"Yes, of course you can." Melissa spoke, then handed the phone to Isaac.

"Isaac? Are you okay?" Alex quickly spoke.

"Lex, I'm fine. I promise, I am." Isaac replied, his voice steady and normal. "I'll heal, remember."

"Yeah, I know." Alex sighed in relief. "I'm just worried about you."

At this, Stiles' heart dropped, and he knew Alex was talking to Isaac.

"I know." Isaac spoke softly from the other end. "I've got to go, okay? Please don't worry about me, Lex."

Alex didn't say anything.

"Alex, please." Isaac spoke, Alex nodding although the boy couldn't see it.

"Okay." Alex spoke quietly.

"Thank you." Isaac replied, smiling. "I love you."

Alex didn't get the chance to say anything back, as Isaac had already hung up.

"Everything okay?" Lydia frowned.

"Uh, I think so. Isaac's in the ER." Alex replied, releasing a breath.

"What? Why?" Allison frowned in question.

"I don't know...but he said he's okay, so..." Alex spoke with a frown.

"And you believe him?" Lydia raised an eyebrow.

"No." Alex sighed as she crossed her arms. "But I trust him."

Lydia and Allison nodded, Stiles looking away.

••••

Alex smiled at Stiles as she walked into his room, sitting in the chair next to him. "Hey."

"Hey." Stiles gave her a small smile as he glanced at her quickly, before looking back at the computer screen.

Noah stood in the doorway, his arms crossed.

"Do you know how many vehicle collisions last year involved deer? Two hundred and forty seven thousand." Stiles spoke, Alex frowning.

"Oh god, please go to school." Noah sighed in annoyance.

"But that's crossing the road. The one last night came right down the middle." Alex noticed, pointing to the screen, ignoring Noah's comment.

"Yeah, you're right." Stiles frowned.

"I'm not gonna beg you two." Noah spoke as he stood behind the teenagers.

"Good, we're impervious to your influence anyway." Stiles replied, still looking at the screen.

"Would you consider a bribe?" Noah questioned, just wanting the teenagers to leave.

"You couldn't meet my price." Stiles spoke.

"Extortion?" Noah frowned.

"You got nothing on us." Stiles replied, referring to both him and Alex.

"Yeah..." Noah sighed, then grabbed Stiles' chair, beginning to pull it back from the laptop, Stiles' eyes widening as Alex chuckled.

"Dad? What are you doing?" Stiles asked as he tried to type, however, his dad kept pulling him further from the laptop. "Alex, avenge me!"

Alex quickly started typing on the laptop, trying to finish off what Stiles was doing, however, Stiles fell to the floor with a thud, Alex chuckling as she walked over to him, extending her hand out for him to take.

Stiles took her hand as Alex pulled him up.

"Let's just go to school." Alex blew out a breath.

••••

"You wanna ask Derek for help? Why?" Stiles frowned.

"His got the triskele tattooed on his back, so there has to be a way to do it without healing, right?" Scott replied.

"That actually makes sense." Alex shrugged.

"But doesn't he have his hands a little full?" Stiles gestured to Boyd and Erica's missing posters on the pinboard.

"Look, these are the applications for the advisor. I need them sorted." A voice spoke from the principals office, Stiles, Alex, and Scott frowning as they shared glances, subtly peering into the room. "And whatever happened to the library when I was gone, I want it cleared up."

"And what the hell is this?" The principal pulled out a huge sword with a frown, Alex, Stiles, and Scott widening their eyes, Stiles gesturing for them to quickly leave.

"Go, go, go."

••••

Allison walked into the classroom, scanning the room for any empty chairs, the only one free being the one in front of Scott. "Is someone-"

"No, no, no, no. No, it's all you- all yours. It's, uh, totally vacant." Scott blurted, Stiles and Alex sharing looks as Scott turned to face his best friends, Stiles and Alex both giving him sarcastic smirks and thumbs ups.

Suddenly, everyone's phones buzzed, causing the class to frown and check their phones, pulling them out of their pockets.

Alex and Stiles frowned as they shared a glance, the two checking their phones as well, only to find a text from an unknown number.

"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." Jennifer Blake, aka, the new teacher, spoke, reading from her phone and walking into the classroom. "This is the last line to the first book we're going to read. It is also he last text you will receive in this class. Phones off, everyone."

••••

Alex looked around the classroom, frowning as she glanced at Lydia's leg, which had a large bandaid placed on it. She caught Stiles' gaze, the two of them frowning at Lydia.

"Hey, Lydia." Stiles whispered as he slightly leaned forward in his seat from his desk next to Alex's. "What is that?"

"Is that from the accident?" Alex questioned in a whisper.

"No." Lydia replied. "Prada bit me."

"Your dog?" Stiles frowned.

"No, my designer handbag." Lydia sarcastically responded, rolling her eyes. "Yes, my dog."

"Has it ever bitten you before?" Alex questioned.

Lydia shook her head. At this, Alex and Stiles shared another glance.

"Okay, what if it's like the same thing that happened with the deer?" Stiles asked. "You know, how animals start acting weird right before an earthquake or something?"

"Meaning what?" Lydia frowned, raising her eyebrows. "There's gonna be an earthquake?"

"Or something." Alex clarified. "Maybe it means something's coming."

"Something bad." Stiles added.

"It was a deer and a dog." Lydia frowned. "What's that thing you say about threes? Once, twice-"

Before Lydia could finish, a bird slammed into the window, leaving a patch of blood and a crack in the window, catching everyone's attention.

A flock of birds approached the window, following the other bird, all of them suddenly crashing into the windows and breaking the glass.

"Get down, everyone!" Jennifer screamed as everyone dropped to the floor, Stiles immediately covering Alex with his arm, trying to protect her.

Lydia grabbed Alex's arm tightly in fear.

The teacher kept repeatedly shouting the phrase 'get down' as the birds flurried around the room in a panic.

••••

After the chaos ceased, Stiles slowly removed his arm from its place covering Alex, the two standing up slowly, along with Lydia, the rest of the students, and Jennifer.

The classroom was a mess, black feathers, books, and sheets of paper sprawled across the room.

"Call Scott." Alex spoke as Stiles nodded, picking up his phone and calling their best friend.

"We got a serious problem at school, Ms Blake's class-"

"Can you tell me about it later?" Scott interrupted from the other end, Alex and Stiles both frowning.

"Uh, no, pretty sure this qualifies for immediate discussion." Stiles replied with a frown.

"He means immediate discussion." Alex added.

"Alright, then, uh, meet me at Derek's." Scott replied.

"Derek's house? Why? What the hell are you doing at-"

"Just meet us here, okay?" Scott interrupted Stiles as he hung up.

••••

"Yeah, I see it." Derek spoke as he used his werewolf eyes to see Scott's tattoo. "Two bands, right?"

Scott nodded. "Mhmm."

"What does it mean?" Derek questioned.

Scott sighed as he lowered his fingers to the dusty floor, tracing circles. "I don't know. It's just something I traced with my fingers."

"Why is this so important to you?" Derek asked.

Stiles and Alex glanced at Scott, both their arms crossed.

"Do you know what the word 'tattoo' means?" Scott spoke.

"To mark something." Stiles added, winking at Alex.

"Well, yeah, that's in Tahitian. In Samoan, it means 'open wound.'" Scott replied. "I knew I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned eighteen. I always wanted one. I just decided to get it now. To make it kind of a reward."

"For what?" Derek raised his eyebrows.

"For not calling or texting Allison all summer." Scott replied quietly. "Even when I really wanted to. Even when it was so hard not to sometimes. I was just...trying to give her the space she wants."

He sighed. "Going four months later, it still hurts. It still feels like a-"

"Like an open wound." Alex interrupted, Scott nodding and looking at the ground.

"Yeah..."

Derek then pulled out a match. "The pain's gonna be worse than anything you've ever felt."

Stiles nodded sarcastically. "Ah. That's great."

"Do it." Scott nodded.

Derek then lit up the match, a blue flame emitting from it.

Stiles raised his eyebrows. "That's- that's a lot for me, so I'm gonna take that as my cue-"

"Nope. You can help Alex hold him down." Derek interrupted.

"What- why can't Alex just do it?" Stiles frowned, Alex sending him a glare.

Alex walked over to hold Scott's shoulders down, Stiles standing behind Alex as he placed his hands over Alex's.

"Why are you so sweaty?" Alex cringed as she turned her head to face Stiles.

"Sorry, but I can't really help it right now." Stiles sarcastically spoke in response, his eyes flickering from her eyes to her lips. Alex rolled her eyes as she turned back around to face Derek at Stiles' response.

"Well, try to." Alex replied, not facing the boy.

"Ready?" Derek changed the subject as he asked Scott, who nodded.

"Oh my god..." Stiles spoke as Derek lowered the match onto Scott's arm, the flame touching his skin.

Scott began to yell as the flame came into contact with his skin, Alex and Stiles' grips on Scott's shoulders tightening.

The two kept holding Scott down as the boy kept yelling, his eyes glowing yellow as his canines shot out in a growl.

••••

Scott gasped awake, looking at the tattoo on his skin and turning to face the three, a smile appearing on his face. "It worked."

••••

"Well, it looks pretty damn permanent now." Stiles spoke as him, Alex, and Scott walked side by side.

"Yeah, I kinda needed something permanent. Everything that's happened to us...everything's happened so fast. Everything's so...uh...ephemeral." Scott replied, the group stopping.

"Studying for the PSAT's?" Stiles and Alex questioned at the same time, Scott nodding.

"Yep." Scott spoke.

"Nice." Stiles replied.

Scott opened the door, frowning as it was now red. "You painted the door. Why'd you paint the door?"

"Go home, Scott." Derek spoke.

Both Scott and Alex's claws shot out at their sides, the two beginning to scratch the door, the red paint chipping off.

"And why only one side?" Alex frowned.

"Scott, Alex." Derek spoke as he came closer to the trio.

The two finally stopped clawing at the door, stepping away from it to reveal a symbol.

"The birds at school...and the deer last night..." Alex realised.

"Just like the night I got trampled by the deer when I got bit by the deer." Scott added, glancing at Alex.

"How many are there?" Scott asked as he turned to Derek.

Derek sighed. "A pack of them. An alpha pack. We know they have Boyd and Erica. Peter, Isaac, and I have been looking for him for the last four months."

"Let's say you find them. How do you deal with an alpha pack?" Alex spoke as she crossed her arms.

"With all the help I can get." Derek replied.

"Where is she?" Isaac spoke as he was now awake, Alex immediately running up to him. "Where's the girl?"

"What girl?" Derek asked.