Twenty Two

{Two days before the wedding}

Stella

I was on my way over to Stiles' place to help him with his vows. He asked me to help him write them as he had no idea what to say. I arrived at his place and knocked on the door, awaiting the smily face of my best friend, instead I was met with Jess. She looked at me weirdly, like I had stumbled upon the apartment accidentally. "What are you doing here?" she crossed her arms. "I'm here to help Stiles write his vows" I informed her. "He's not here, he's out" she said. "Do you know when he will be back?" I asked. "No. He will be back when he's back" she said rudely. "Okay will you let him know that I stopped by?" I asked. "No, you can tell him yourself" she snarled. I was sick of her attitude. "Have you got a problem with me?" I asked. "Yes, actually I do. Stay the hell away from Stiles" she threatened. "Or what?" "You will be VERY sorry" she snapped at me. Jess slammed the door in my face and I walked away. I walked out of the building and found Stiles pulling up in the jeep as I left. "Hey Stel" He smiled as he jumped out of the jeep. "Hey Stilinski" I smiled back. "Ready to help me write these vows?" He asked. "Uh, yeah" I swallowed. Nervous. "Stel whats wrong?" he asked "Nothing" I looked down, shaking my head. "Its clearly not nothing, its something" he stated. "Jess threatened me" I sighed. "What did she say to you?" he questioned. "She told me to stay away from you and if I didn't I'd be very sorry" I informed him. Stiles pulled me in for a hug. "Don't mind what she has to say Stel. She's just nervous about the wedding thats all" he said. "No I think that she hates me" I said. "She doesn't hate you" he shook his head. "Whatever. I gotta go" I said as I started walking away. "Stella" Stiles grabbed my arm. "Let go" I said harshly. Stiles let go of my arm and I walked away.

-Awhile later-

I was walking through the woods, it was getting late and I was waiting for Scott. He was coming to meet me to go for dinner. Something we did every week. I stood on the bridge, looking over the river waiting for him. I took in a deep breath. Things have been so different since I got back. Maybe I should leave again. Maybe I should visit Zack. Just then I heard foot steps behind me. I turned around hoping it would be Scott but it was someone I was not expecting. Jess. "Jess,what are you doing here?" I asked. She had an evil glare across her face and I could tell she was up to something. "I told you to stay away from Stiles" she said as she got closer. "I did" I replied. "No you didn't. I seen you two hugging in the parking lot earlier" She snarled. "He was comforting me. I was upset" I informed her. "Nice move by the way. Telling Stiles that I threatened you" she said. "He needed to know" I said harshly. "Oh honey, do you really think he'd believe you over me?" she said. "You denied it" I swallowed. "Of course I did. He's my man. not yours" she snapped. "I never said he was mine" I defended. "But you want him to be. You still love him" she shouted. "As a best friend" I shouted back. "Well you know what. He won't be able to save you this time. Before I could say anything Jess had pushed me over the bridge and I hit the water. I struggled for breath as I couldn't swim. The water was freezing cold and I could feel my body giving in as I found myself sinking in the water. The last thing I remember is his voice yelling my name. "STELLA" before everything went black.

Stiles

I was going to the woods with Stella to join them for dinner tonight. We were making our way towards the bridge, that looked over the river where we were meeting her when I heard Jess's voice. She was arguing with Stella. "Nice move by the way. Telling Stiles that I threatened you" she said. "He needed to know" Stella said harshly. "Oh honey, do you really think he'd believe you over me?" Jess said. "You denied it" Stella swallowed. "Of course I did. He's my man. not yours" she snapped. "I never said he was mine" Stella defended. "Bro this looks bad" Scott said. As we made our way over to Jess and Stella thats when I saw Jess pushing Stella off the bridge. "STELLA" I yelled as I ran to the bridge and looked over not seeing her. I didn't hesitate and I took off my flannel and jumped into the freezing cold water to try save her. I found Stella and she was unconscious. I wrapped my arms under hers and dragged her above the water. I took her up onto the grass and lay her gently on the ground. Scott rushed to my side. I checked her pulse. "Its weak" I said. "So is her heart rate" Scott panicked. I opened Stella's shirt and started doing CPR. "C'mon Stella" I said as I kept compressing her chest. In the distance I could here sirens. After what felt like hours, though it was minutes Stella started coughing. I sat her up and she coughed out a lot of water. She was ice cold. "Stiles" she said weakly. Scott grabbed my flannel and gave it to me. I wrapped it around her. Pulling her into my chest. Trying to keep her warm. "S-stiles" she shivered. "I got you". Scott went to get the jeep and pulled up to where we were. He opened the jeep and I carried Stella and placed her down gently on the back seats. My arms wrapped around her. I had extra clothes in the back so I wrapped Stella up in them. Scott put the heat on in the car. "I'm freezing" Stella replied. She was still ice cold. Scott was driving us to the hospital. "Her heart rate is low" Scott informed me. Stella's eyes were heavy. Any second now she could drift off and not wake up. "Keep your eyes open Stel. We're almost there" I said. "Okay" she nodded. Stella clung onto me.

A few minutes later we arrived at the hospital, Melissa surprised to see her daughter in this mess. She came running over to us. "Is she okay?" Melissa asked. "Jessica pushed her into the river in the woods and Stiles saved her but we can't get heat into her body and her heart rate is low" Scott informed his Mom. I carried Stella, bridal style into a room. Melissa asked me and Scott to leave whilst the doctors dealt with her to see if she was okay. Scott called Lydia and Malia to inform them about what happened. A short while later they arrived. "Is she okay?" A tired Lydia hugged me. "We haven't heard anything since we brought her here" Scott informed her. "Who would even think of pushing her into a river?" Malia asked. "Jessica" I sighed. "Jessica did this? Why?" Lydia asked. "She was jealous. She doesn't like Stella ans she threatened her that if she came near me Stella would be sorry and this is what Jess done" I informed her. "Where is Jess now?" Lydia questioned. "I don't know. She won't pick up" "Okay how do you know that this was definitely Jess who did this to her? She could've fallen in" Malia shrugged. "We went to meet Stella to go for food and we were getting her in the woods and when we got there Jess was arguing with her and then Jess pushed her" I shrugged. "I'm going to kill that bitch" Malia said angrily. Just then Jess walked into the waiting room. "How is she?" she asked. "Like you would care" Lydia said. "Stiles" Jess said. "You're the reason Stella is in this state. All because you were jealous of something that is not going on with her and Stiles" Scott said. "Im allowed to be jealous" Jess defended. "But not by threatening or pushing my best friend into a river and leaving her there to die" I yelled. "Stiles don't yell" she said. "Im hardly going to whisper" I snapped. "I don't like her Stiles" Jess informed me. "That doesn't give you the right to attempt to kill my best friend. The one person who actually means a lot to me" I yelled. "You know what. The wedding is off. We're done" I snapped at Jess. "You can't dump me two days before our wedding" she said. "He just did sweetheart" Lydia replied. Jess ran out of the hospital and Melissa came in. "How is she?" I asked. "Stable" she replies. "Her heart rate is increasing, there was a lot of water drained from her lungs so her breathing is back to normal. There is heat going into her body and if she was in that water five minutes longer she would've developed hypothermia and essentially died" Melissa informed us. "Can we go see her?" Lydia asked. "Yes you can. But one at a time. She isn't fully with it right now, with all the medication so just take it easy with her. She's a little out of it" Melissa informed us. "Stiles should go in first" Scott said. I nodded and followed Melissa to Stella's room. As I walked inside I pulled a chair up to her bed and took her hand. She was still cold. Not as cold as before. I sat there holding Stella's hand. Waiting for her to open her eyes. Every time  she ends up in this place my heart breaks a little more. I kept thinking about what happened two years ago. If I hadn't slept with Jess I would still be with Stella. The one person I love more than anything in the world. I sat there thinking about my life with Stella since we were kids. She was always in my life and I was always in hers. I remember the day when I was eleven and I told Scott that I was in love with Stella.

-Flashback-

Myself and Scott were just finished soccer practice and we were sitting on the field talking. "My Mom and Stella should be here soon" He informed me. "Cool" I smiled. "You always have the biggest smile on your face when I mention Stella's name" Scott laughed. "I do not" I scoffed. "Yes you do" Scott teased. "Okay maybe its because I'm in love with her" I said. "Dude do you even know what love is?" he asked. "No but all I know is that I love your sister" I informed him. "Usually I would find it weird that my best friend is in love with my sister but I'm totally fine with it" he smiled. "When are you going to tell her?" He asked. "I don't know but I have a ten year plan" I assured him. "A ten year plan?" he replied. "Yeah its a plan I've had since I was eight. Its a plan to make Stella fall in love with me" I laughed. Scott laughed back. "Don't wait too long because some guy could come along and sweep her off her feet" Scott joked. "I'll beat them with my bat" I defended. "Man you're crazy" Scott laughed again. "Just crazy about your sister" I replied

-end flashback-

I have never stopped loving her and I always will love her. I sat waiting in Stella's room. I was looking at her heart monitor and it was steady. I squeezed her hand tighter and I felt her squeeze my hand back. "Stiles" she said. "Its me" I smiled as she opened her eyes.

Stella had tests done to make sure she was okay to go home. Stella was in the bathroom changing into clothes that I had in my car. A hoodie and sweats. "I haven't worn sweat pants in forever" she laughed. I pulled her in for a hug. "Take me home" she asked. "To your Mom's?" I asked. "No my place" she replied. I nodded and grabbed Stella's bag before leaving the hospital with her. She sat in the passenger side of the jeep. I started driving glancing over at Stella every few minutes. Stella had one of her hands resting on her legs and so I placed my hand on top of hers.

I intertwined my fingers with hers and Stella smiled. "Why do you always protect me?" She asked. "Because I care about you" I informed her. "Thank you" she smiled and looked at me. "For what?" I asked confused. "For saving me" she replied. "I'll always save you" I looked at her and smiled. I drove and drove until we reached Stella's apartment. We went inside and up to her apartment. She fumbled with the keys and we went inside. When we got inside I placed her bag down in the lounge and walked over to the kitchen and leaned against the counter. "Hungry?" she asked. "Starved" I replied. "What would you like me to cook?" she asked. "You want to cook me dinner?" I asked. "Is it a bad thing that I want to cook dinner for my best friend?" she asked. "Not at all" I chuckled. "Then what would Mr.Stilinski like for dinner?" I asked. "Spaghetti" he smiled. "Coming right up" she smiled back. I helped Stella cook as much as I could. She kept trying to keep me out of the kitchen but I kept coming back. "Stiles I am seriously going to kill you" She said pushing me out of the kitchen. "Go watch Star Wars" she said. "I want to stay in the kitchen with you" I informed her. "You're distracting me" she defended. I looked at her and smiled. "What?" she laughed. "You haven't cooked me dinner since we were together" i informed her. "Well get used to it" she blurted. "Get used to it?" I repeated. "Never mind" She replied. I walked over to Stella and looked at her for a moment before crashing my lips against her. Stella kissed me back. A minute later she pulled away, catching her breath. "Why are you kissing me?" She asked

"Because I want too" I replied before kissing her again. Our kisses became more and more passionate. I lifted Stella up and sat her on the island of the kitchen. I kissed down her jaw line and her neck. "Stiles the spaghetti will burn" she moaned. "We can have the spaghetti later" I replied as I kissed her lips again. "We shouldn't be doing this" she said as she pulled away. "Why not" I replied. "Because it's weird" she replied. "Why is it weird?" I asked "Because less than 24 hours ago you were engaged and now you're not and now the two of us are in my kitchen kissing. It's weird" she said. "Maybe I'm kissing you because I still love you" I informed her. "Stiles" she said. "It's you. It's always gonna be you Stel. You'll always be the girl I love" I informed her. Before I could say anything else she crashed her lips against mine. Her soft lips works with mine and we kept kissing. I didn't want to stop kissing her ever. After a minute Stella pulled away and turned off the food on the stove before taking my hand and guiding me to her room. She shut the door and she walked over to me. She stood there looking at me and I walked over to her and kissed her. My hands on either side of her face. God I love her.