â The Nightmaresâ
word count: 4225
Consecutively, Stiles hadn't been able to sleep at night. He found himself having ultra-realistic nightmares, often being unaware of if he were truly asleep while dreaming. Stiles woke up in a state of shock; beads of sweat dripped from his hairline and down his forehead. He sat upright, panting as he tried to recollect himself. Stiles felt a cold touch on his arm; flinching at the sudden coldness, he turned to the pale girl who's blonde curls were tousled lightly, and her golden eyes showed signs of tiredness.
"Stiles?" She asked, her voice raspy from waking up. "Are you okay?" She gently rubbed his back with one hand, and placed her other on top of his, hoping to calm him down.
Stiles' breathing steadied at her touch. "Yeah just... It was weird, like a dream within a dream," he explained.
"A nightmare?" Juno asked groggily. Stiles sighed, taking her hand in both of his and gently tracing circles with his thumb along hers. He felt calm with her beside him, but something in his mind ticked, telling him that this situation was wrong.
He looked over to her suspiciously, noticing her squinting slightly as she struggled to keep herself awake. "June, you don't sleep..." He muttered, realising the problem. Her eyes widened slightly in worry, but the sound of Stiles' bedroom door creaking open diverted both of their attentions. Stiles steadily got up from his bed, ignoring Juno's protests and attempts to coax him back to bed.
Stiles found himself suddenly in front of the nemeton. Numerous bright lights turned on and caused him to shield his eyes with his hands. The buzzing coming from the lights was deafening. A strong breeze made him struggle to walk forward, even though a part of him wished he wouldn't walk forward. Stiles covered his ears as the sound of strong wind and buzzing filled his ears, making his head throb. He shut his eyes tight, yelling at himself to wake up.
He found himself in a loop. Waking up yet again, but to his father telling him to go to school. Stiles looked around, wondering why Juno wasn't the one to wake him up like she always did on a school morning, but he ignored it. Eventually he drove himself to school and caught up with Scott, explaining his strange loop of dreams that he had been having, then all of a sudden he woke up yet again.
Juno stood outside of Stiles' window and flinched harder each time a scream left his mouth. She felt a feeling of fear in herself in the middle of the night and knew Stiles was in trouble, but arrived to see that he had just been sleeping, occasionally gripping onto his bedsheets and furrowing his brow in his sleep. Juno listened as Stiles' father coaxed him into calming down. She waited for his father to leave, and watched as Stiles sat in his bed, too afraid to fall asleep again.
Juno gently tapped on the window, smiling apologetically as she made eye contact with Stiles. The corners of his mouth curved upward slightly, and he opened up his window to let the blonde climb inside.
"What are you doing here?" He asked, his voice raspy from screaming himself awake.
"I felt something was wrong. I've been coming every night for the past week to check up on you because I could feel your fear, but I guess this is the time I actually come in to talk since..." She trailed off.
"Well thanks," Stiles muttered, "I appreciate it." Juno nodded, and looked over to Stiles' clock. It was two in the morning, so Stiles still had time to catch up on sleep. Juno sighed as she made her way over to his open window, ready to say goodbye, but Stiles walked towards her and placed his hand on her shoulder to stop her. "You can stay," he mumbled.
She hummed in thought, "you know I don't sleep," she half laughed. Stiles stepped forward, beginning to close the gap between them. His hand on her shoulder gently trailed down from her shoulder to her hand that was as cold as ice. Juno felt out of place from his advancements; he was never this confident about his feelings around her. She stepped back, opening the space between them, but didn't take her hand away from his.
"I think I'd feel safer with you here," he admitted. "And you know what I'm feeling at all times, so you can be close if things start getting scary..." Juno sighed in defeat, then began to kick off her shoes. She then laid down on Stiles' bed, her arms folded as she waited for him to lay next to her. Stiles chuckled, "I know it's probably been a while since the last time you slept, but people don't tend to sleep in jeans and leather jackets."
Juno looked down at her clothes and sighed. She stood up and walked over to Stiles' closet where she scanned his large variety of different types of flannel shirts.
"Turn around," she ordered. Stiles did so immediately, turning his back towards her. Juno slid off her acid wash jeans and jacket, replacing her clothes with a clean pair of boxer shorts and a plain red shirt that was so large it fell to the middle of her thighs and exposed her collar bones. Juno huffed and sat down in Stiles' bed, laying on the furthest side. "Come on," she beckoned, a hint of annoyance in her tone.
Stiles hesitated for a second, feeling his heart race seeing Juno dressed in his clothes. He cleared his throat and quickly climbed into bed next to her, facing his back to her. Juno laid on her side, wrapping her arms around him and resting her chin on his shoulder.
"Y-you're going to spoon me?" Stiles stuttered, shocked by her actions.
"Whatever makes you feel the safest," she responded tiredly. "Go to sleep," she demanded. Stiles held onto her cold hands that were wrapped around him. Her body was as cold as ice, but Stiles didn't flinch at the cold or try to distance himself, because for some reason Juno's cold body made him feel warm and at home. He closed his eyes, feeling himself drift off into what would be the best sleep he would have in weeks.
Juno however laid wide awake holding onto the boy she had fallen in love with. She had repressed her feelings around him since he kissed Lydia, rejecting most of his flirtatious jokes and teases, and instead acting more of a friend, but Juno still felt crazy about him. On top of feeling disconnected from the 'Lydia incident' Juno was afraid to make advancements due to Stiles' alarming lack of sleep.
From the amount of nightmares he had been having, she thought it was unfair to put her feelings first and consider a relationship with him while he was struggling. She wanted him to be happy and healthy, and he couldn't be that while suffering from nightmares while also keeping up a relationship. She didn't want to ruin their close friendship by starting something romantic if she felt it wouldn't work .
Holding him in her arms wasn't helping her emotions at all, and she knew that she was probably leading Stiles on, but she felt that his safety was her priority. She had nothing of more importance to do with her time; she had already been to school over five hundred times and knew every country's curriculum better than the back of her hand, she had nothing to do but focus on the friendships that she had made. And if her time was spent doing whatever it took to make sure Stiles was getting enough sleep in his time of darkness, even if it meant 'spooning' him while he slept, then she would do it in a heartbeat.
Stiles sensed that the feelings he had for Juno weren't reciprocated from how she had been acting. The way she would keep a distinct distance between their bodies, the way she huffed in annoyance as she climbed into his bed after asking her to stay, he felt that she had gotten over him. She was convincing with her act, starting off as the Vampire who struggled to connect with people, he didn't find it shocking that she was being distant with him after he had hurt her. He just assumed that her not being as close with him was just her nature, and he learned to accept it no matter how much it hurt.
It had been five hours of Juno laying with Stiles in her arms. She thought the night would go agonisingly slow, but surprisingly went by quickly. She cocked her head up slightly and saw that the time was seven in the morning, and that the both of them needed to get up quickly. She wanted to tap Stiles, but he was clutching onto both of her hands, and while she had the strength to free them, she didn't have the heart to do it.
"Stiles," she whispered, her cool breath hitting his neck causing him to shift slightly in his sleep. "Stiles," she said again, but a little louder than a whisper. He began to stir in his sleep, mumbling nonsense as he turned to face Juno. He kept his eyes shut, but Juno knew that he was awake, he just refused to get up. His hands were no longer holding onto hers, but finding their way onto the small of her back, holding her close to him as he refused to open his eyes and begin the day.
"Stiles we need to get going," Juno warned softly, not having the courage to keep up her distant act anymore. He shook his head, hiding his face in the crook of her neck. Juno sighed, the scent of his blood continuing to make her lightheaded. "If you get up I'll make you breakfast," she offered. To her surprise, he only held onto her tighter and was determined to stay in his bed next to her. She sighed, looking over to the clock again and realising they didn't have time to lay around, as much as she loved the feeling of him holding onto her for dear life.
"If you don't get up, I'll push you off myself..." She warned. Stiles mumbled something she couldn't understand, but she knew it was him rejecting her statement since he still didn't move. She sighed, "well, don't say I didn't warn you..." Juno began to gently push Stiles away, which caused him to groan and try to cling onto her. With each second, she pushed a little bit harder, but eventually gave up being gentle. She pushed him forcefully, causing him to cry out and roll off of the bed.
Juno erupted in a fit of laughter, sitting upright and holding out her hand to help Stiles off of the ground. He groaned and rubbed the shoulder that he had fallen on. Juno apologised between giggles, standing up and making her way out of Stiles' room.
"You owe me breakfast for doing that," he grumbled, sulking as he dragged his feet along the floor towards the kitchen. Juno wanted to protest, but gave in and began making Stiles breakfast as fast as she could so they wouldn't be late to school. He sat down at the table, watching Juno carefully as she turned on the stove and began pulling out eggs and bacon from the fridge. He shifted in his seat, enjoying the sight of Juno in his clothes a bit too much.
His shirt would slowly slide off of her shoulder the more she moved, making her readjust the shirt every few seconds. The fact that her hair draped over her bare shoulder didn't help Stile's case, and only made him blush harder. His eyes didn't leave her bare legs, cursing under his breath each time she moved her arms up which caused the hem of the shirt to expose more of her leg. He hated the way that she was making him feeling, and he hated the fact that he couldn't do anything about it.
"You look like a deer in headlights," Juno joked, placing Stiles' breakfast in front of him. He blinked multiple times, mouth hanging open slightly as he continued to stare at her. He tried to speak, but somehow he couldn't. "Okay, well I didn't bring my bag with me so I'm going to get changed then go back to mine to get it, I'll be no longer than a minute."
Juno left Stiles alone in the house, which was the worst she could have done to Stiles in his current state. He sighed and ate his food, but something made him do a double take as he looked around. He noticed the jar of coffee beans on the kitchen counter, but something about the label was off to him. The words were a jumble, mixed with randomised letters and unknown symbols. He narrowed his eyes in concentration, but he couldn't make out the writing.
Stiles looked around the kitchen, reading all sorts of labels on packaging, and being unable to read a thing. He ran up to his bedroom, scanning his bookshelf and beginning to hyperventilate as he couldn't decipher a single thing that had words on it. Juno arrived shortly after, standing in the doorway of his bedroom, frowning with concern as she watched his hands shake.
Juno hurried over to him and held onto his hands to reassure him. She looked up at him with eyes filled with worry. He kept staring at his bookcase with wide eyes filled with fear.
"Stiles? Stiles what's wrong?" Juno asked frantically, tightening her grip on his hands.
"I-I can't read anything..." He breathed out, keeping his eyes on the symbols on the spines of his books, wondering why everything was in a language he didn't know existed. He ripped his hands free from Juno's and tugged at his hair by the roots. Stiles squinted his eyes shut and kept repeating that he was in a dream, telling himself to wake up.
"Stiles, look at me," Juno tried. "Stiles how do you tell if you're not in a dream?" She asked.
Stiles opened his eyes, but kept panicking. "Y-you h-have extra fingers in dreams," he breathed out.
Juno looked down at her hands, then back at Stiles. "Stiles, look at my hands okay?" She encouraged. Stiles stared at her hands, his eyes watering as he continued to panic. "Count with me Stiles, one..." She began, counting each individual finger on her hands.
"Ten..." Stiles finished, "ten," he repeated. Juno brought her hands down, taking Stiles' shaking ones in hers. He gained control of his breathing, exhaling deeply as he began to calm down. He sighed, avoiding her gaze, but tightening his grip on her hands.
"I'm sorry I just-" Juno took his face in her hands, wiping away tears with her thumbs. She simply looked up at him and smiled, telling him a thousand words with just a simple gaze. As Stiles leaned down to kiss her, Juno stepped back, turning away before she could see the heartbreak on his face.
"Get changed, I'll meet you at the Jeep." She left instantly, leaving Stiles alone. He slammed his fist on his desk in frustration, hating himself for the kiss with Lydia. He got dressed quickly and grabbed his bag, ignoring the jumbled words on the cover of one of his books as he locked up the house.
-
"And then I woke up screaming. My dad came in to calm me down, then when he left Juno was there," Stiles explained to Scott, shoving books into his locker.
"Juno was already at your house?" Scott questioned.
"Yeah from the whole emotion sense power thing," he brushed off. "I don't know, she stayed the night but-" Stiles was cut off by Scott's playful expression. He raised his eyebrows and smirked at his best friend, earning a shove from Stiles. "Not like that. She held onto me all night to 'keep me safe' which did work I guess... Either way I completely blew it this morning-"
"So you two cuddled all night... I don't see any sign of you ruining that," Scott laughed.
"Let me finish," Stiles whined, "she helped me out of a panic attack by distinguishing the difference between dream and reality. We kind of had a moment... I leaned in to kiss her, but she backed away then ignored it." Scott let out a pained 'no' at his story. Of all people, Scott was the one rooting for Stiles and Juno the most, and since Lydia had kissed Stiles, he hated the two's relationship not being the same since.
Scott sighed, "I guess she's not over Lydia kissing you... I don't know, clearly she's more sensitive than we think she is," he admitted. "Just talk to her about it, ask her what's going on," Scott said, shrugging his shoulders as the two made their way to their first class. Stiles sat down and huffed, hiding his face in his hands as he was deep in thought. Of course he had to ruin something that was just beginning.
Stiles felt that waking up in Juno's arms that morning that maybe she felt something for him. He thought that maybe the way that she looked into his eyes when he calmed down meant something more than just 'I'm just trying to make sure you don't go insane.' Of course, he was doubting himself, going back and forth between possibilities and scenarios in his mind, trying to figure out if Juno felt the same way towards him as he did to her. All of his confusion in regards to Juno didn't help on top of his inability to distinguish between dream and reality.
Stiles found himself in the doorway of the classroom again. Everyone was silent, although Stiles didn't question it as he sat down next to Juno who was furiously taking notes.
"Hey, uh Juno I just wanted to apologise about this morning..." he began. Juno looked over to him, she began moving her hands in a way that Stiles couldn't understand, but knew it must have been sign language. He sighed in annoyance, but didn't let out any of his frustration on her. "Don't worry about it, you don't have to talk until you're ready..."
He stared ahead at Coach who stood still, staring back at him. "Hey Coach? What are we doing today?" Coach began moving his hands the exact same way Juno was, with a blank facial expression. "Huh, I didn't know you knew sign language... that's cool I'm just gonna head out then..." he trailed off, grabbing his things and getting up from his desk.
Coach continued to use sign language, and so did the rest of the class. All eyes were on him, and as Stiles inched closer towards the door, their hands began moving faster, and their eyes showed more concern. Stiles stumbled as his ears began to ring; a loud high pitched sound brought him to his knees as it was borderline deafening.
Suddenly, his head shot up from his desk, and he was back in his seat.
"STILINSKI!" Coach screamed. Stiles fumbled his words as he took in his surroundings. Coach continued to yell at him, causing him to apologise then rub his temples as Coach resumed the lesson.
Juno looked over at him with worried eyes, knowing well that he must have had some sort of nightmare from the way that he had frantically been shaken, however what worried her more was the fact that he never fell asleep.
"I'm fine I just fell asleep for a second," Stiles excused.
"Dude," Scott chimed in. "You weren't asleep." Stiles furrowed his brow in confusion. Looking down at his page, he saw the words 'wake up' scattered repeatedly over the lined paper in front of him. Juno spotted Stiles' hands begin to tremble as they rested on the desk. Stiles was squinting at the board as the words that he read a minute ago suddenly began to scramble. Juno reached over and placed her hand on top of Stiles' shaking one to calm him down. He hesitantly looked over to her, hating the hurt look she gave him as she noticed how much he was struggling.
"Count with me," she whispered, ever so softly so only he could hear. She showed him her palms, and Stiles copied her. Slowly, at the same time, they each would put down one finger. Once Stiles had counted ten, he slumped in his chair slightly as he began to relax. He mouthed a thank you to Juno, to which she shrugged, insisting that it was no big deal.
-
Allison and Juno sat close together at the back of their chemistry class, ignoring the work they were told to do.
"It's been happening to all three of us," Allison explained. "I knew Scott had been having trouble to control his shifting, but I only jut found out this morning about what Stiles is going through."
"You and him seem the most affected, you're both suffering from dark hallucinations that are constant, while Scott seems to only be unable to control the shift from human to Werewolf," Juno sighed, "that has to mean something."
"Maybe it's because Scott is stronger than us," Allison muttered, almost as if she didn't want to admit it. Juno hummed, neither agreeing nor disagreeing.
"I'm really worried about Stiles," Juno said, breaking the silence. Allison smirked cheekily, making Juno roll her eyes. "I'm serious though, he says he can't read, and he's been getting no sleep from the nightmares he's been happening. In economics he had a nightmare, but he wasn't even asleep," she explained. Allison frowned, beginning to worry about Stiles also. "I mean, I've been checking to see if he's okay at night because I can feel it every time he has a nightmare, and last night he asked me to stay over-"
"Oh!" Allison interrupted, throwing her hands up slightly. She rested her face in both of her hands and grinned at Juno. "And how did that go?"
Juno gently lightly kicked Allison under the table, causing the brunette to giggle. "I just held onto him the whole night, to make sure he would be okay if he had another nightmare."
"Did he?" Allison asked.
"No, he slept the rest of the night." Allison let out a soft 'aw,' but Juno ignored Allison to continue the story. "This morning though, he was having a panic attack because he thought he was still dreaming. After I calmed him down, I think he tried to kiss me..."
"You think he tried to kiss you, and you didn't do anything about it?" Allison asked in disbelief. "Isn't this what you want from him?"
"But Allison, trace back a few steps and think about the fact that he literally had to scream himself awake," Juno said sternly. "He can't read, he can't focus, and he can't sleep. I can't sit here and mope about not being in a relationship with him while he's suffering something far worse than just an unrequited crush." Allison rolled her eyes at the words 'unrequited crush' because she could clearly see what Juno had for Stiles was more than just a simple crush, and the feeling definitely wasn't unrequited.
But she could understand Juno's selflessness and reasoning for not pursuing the boy. If anything, it made her admire Juno more with the fact that she put Stiles' wellbeing and safety above her own feelings, but she had to admit that she was going to pull her own hair out if Juno keeps prolonging her getting with Stiles.
"I get that. You know, Danny is hosting a blacklight party at Derek's loft tomorrow night, you should come with Isaac and I, just to get your mind off of things," Allison offered.
Juno chuckled, "the last time I was invited to a blacklight party was in the nineties. I'll come, but only if you promise to do something about all the tension between you and Lahey," she teased. Allison's eyes widened at Juno's last statement, causing Juno to laugh more. "Come on, I'm not totally Stiles consumed, I see the way you look at Isaac."
"Whatever," Allison brushed off, trying to hide her blushing cheeks by letting her brown curls fall from behind her ears. "Come tomorrow night, focus on yourself for once." Juno sighed, but shrugged her shoulders.
"Alright, I'll come," Juno agreed. Allison grinned, then began putting her head down into her work once she saw the death glare that her teacher had sent her and Juno. Juno wondered if she shouldn't go to a rave, especially while Stiles was experiencing night terrors, but she realised that Allison was onto something: she needed to focus more on herself. Juno too then began doing her work, setting her mind on going to the blacklight party with Allison and Isaac. Nothing could go wrong for her, could it?
~
I know a lot of you are probably screaming at Juno and Stiles to just get together already, but I planned for this to be slow paced, specifically designed to torture.
Thank you so much for reading!! I can't wait to bring in the nogitsune!