Power Stone Goals from now on: I always post a minimum of 5 chapters. Henceforth the following are the goals:
Every 150 powerstones, I upload an extra chapter.
If we hit top 30 in the 30-90 days power stone rankings, thats 1 more chapter
If we hit top 10 in the 30-90 days power stone rankings, thats 1 more chapter
If we are top 5...well lets get to that first. Happy readings!
Chapter 24: Back to acting
Class had just ended, and Coach gave me an earful—something fierce, honestly. He'd caught wind that I hadn't been doing the reading assignments, and with all the werewolf nonsense dominating my life lately, schoolwork had fallen a few spots on my priority list.
Thankfully, Allison was there. She held my hand, grounding me through Coach's tirade. That girl had a knack for showing up exactly when I needed her.
Of course, as luck would have it, she also just changed lab partners, which meant we'd now be spending even more time together. Fantastic. Just what I needed when I was actively trying to avoid her in case I suddenly lost control and transformed in the middle of a game.
"It's her," Stiles said as we walked out of class.
"What? What do you mean?" I asked.
"Allison," he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Remember the night of the full moon? When you nearly lost it? You were thinking about her, right? Protecting her. That was what brought you back."
I hesitated. "Yeah... I did hear her voice. Out in the field."
"Exactly," he said, speeding up like he was onto something. "And after the game, in the locker room? You didn't hurt her. Not like how you almost tore me apart. She brings you back. That's what I'm saying."
"That's not always true," I muttered. "Every time I'm kissing her, or even just touching-"
"No, no, that's not the same thing," Stiles cut in. "That's just you being a hormonal teenage guy. You're not thinking straight when you're doing that. You're thinking about sex."
I started grinning like an idiot, the image popping into my head almost immediately.
"You're thinking about sex right now, aren't you?"
"Yeah," I admitted, laughing despite myself.
"It's fine," Stiles said with a roll of his eyes. "But back in the classroom, when she held your hand? That was different. That wasn't about lust. That was about comfort. Support. She calmed you down. She gave you control."
"Like an anchor," I said, picking up the thread of his thought.
"Exactly. Like an anchor."
I paused for a moment, the idea settling into my chest.
"Maybe... because I love her," I said, almost surprised to hear myself say it out loud.
And in that instant, it hit me. Those words weren't just something people said to sound dramatic in movies or shows. They meant something. They meant something to me.
Stiles didn't say anything for a second. Then he nodded. "Yeah. I think you do."
What are we doing? I asked Stiles as we walked near a truck...Stiles told me that he had some idea to be able to control me shifting.Since shifting was linked to my heart rate going up, and the thing that calmed me down immensely was Allison. So, he said he had some plan to train me in controlling the shift.
"Stand right there. Take these keys—perfect," he said. "Hold them up like so." He made me raise my hand, the key dangling from my fingers.
"Now whatever happens, just think about Allison. Just think of her voice like you did in the game. Got it?"
"Okay," I told him, a bit confused but trusting him.
"Just keep holding it right there," he added, adjusting my hand slightly. He had a stupid grin on his face, like he was way too proud of whatever was about to happen.
Then, out of nowhere, he pulled another key from his sleeve, walked over to a nearby car, and keyed it from end to end, loud and deliberate.
He pointed at me and shouted, "Hey dude, what do you think you're doing to that truck, bro?"
A group of guys nearby, who were apparently the owners, turned and immediately saw me standing with the key in my hand.
"What the hell?!" one of them shouted. They charged over and before I could even process what was happening, fists were flying.
I got socked in the face so hard I saw stars. My back hit the pavement with a heavy thud, and the wind shot right out of my lungs. The next hit landed in my stomach, sharp and nauseating. I tried to curl up, but a kick slammed into my ribs.
Pain spread through my body like static. My arms went up to block instinctively, but it didn't help much. A boot caught my side, and I gasped, trying to shield my head.
Everything was a blur of shouting, fists, and asphalt.
I swear...Stiles, you better watch out.
…
Shooting for episode 6 didn't take that long either—just about four days—so within a week, we were able to finish two episodes in total. This episode was pretty intense, mostly because of an entire makeout scene I had to shoot again with Allison.
Sorry—I meant Crystal. I keep forgetting to separate the two in my head, and I keep telling myself that it's going to get easier. But honestly, I don't see that happening anytime soon.
We had just wrapped up the last scene of episode 6, where Scott and the others lure the alpha into the school. Next episode was going to hit me a lot harder emotionally. That's the one where Allison starts getting scared of Scott for the first time, and major cracks start forming in their already-shaky relationship.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Crystal asked as we finished shooting and I was heading back to my trailer. She was wearing a casual hoodie and sweatpants—simple, but she somehow still looked great. Dylan, who had been walking right beside me, caught the shift in tone and immediately bailed.
"Dude, where are you going? I thought you wanted to read some more chapters of Lord of the Mysteries," I called out.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm sure I told you I wanted to go to sleep," he replied, already halfway down the lot like he had just activated some supernatural warp skill.
Sometimes I wonder if this world is supernatural—how did he vanish that fast?
Dylan's disappearing act was so slick and comedic it reminded me of how strong the bromance between us had gotten.
We had this unspoken rhythm going on, like he could read the room—or more specifically, read me—within seconds. It wasn't just acting chemistry; the dude was like a brother already.
As I turned around in disbelief at Dylan's Houdini-level exit, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"So… what are you doing?" Crystal asked again.
"Nothing much, actually. I was just planning on finishing up some writing in my trailer."
"Writing? Is that the book you were talking about?"
"Well, yeah. I'm kind of reaching a big plot point, so I wanted to get some work done."
"Huh. Now that you mention it, you've only talked about this book, but you've never actually shown me any of it. Is there a reason? Are you hiding something from me?" she teased.
"No, not really. If you want to read it, you can just follow me."
"Okay then, let's go," she said, casually falling in step beside me.
My heart pounded a little harder in my chest. One thing was going on a real-life outing and pretending it was just two coworkers bonding, even when I clearly had feelings for her. But it was an entirely different level of weird to live day-to-day as Scott McCall, emotionally intertwined with her on screen, and now have her coming to my trailer—alone, late at night.
If I'm already this confused over one show, how the hell am I going to handle future projects where I've got romantic leads again?
We reached my trailer, and she walked in like she'd done it a hundred times, plopping down on the sofa with that ease people only show when they're completely comfortable.
She patted the spot beside her like she was inviting me to sit down in my trailer. The irony wasn't lost on me.
I handed her my laptop, already opened to the first chapter of the novel.
As she leaned in to start reading, her hair caught the light just right—deep brown waves that framed her face softly. Her smile, genuine and just a little mischievous, showed off perfectly straight teeth, with the kind of dimples that seemed to flicker in and out depending on how wide she grinned. She didn't need makeup or filters—she just was. That rare kind of effortlessly magnetic.
And as she started scrolling, I silently hoped she'd like what she saw—not just in the writing, but maybe in me, too.
As she was reading, I couldn't take my eyes off her. No matter how much I tried to distract myself, my gaze kept drifting back to her. When she was deep in thought, it was honestly adorable.
She had this little habit of tucking her hand inside her hoodie sleeve and then raising it just enough to cover her mouth when she giggled. It wasn't a loud laugh, just quiet and restrained, like she was too shy to let it out all the way.
I didn't realize I had been staring for that long until she pushed a lock of hair away from her eye and turned her head slightly, catching me mid-stare.
"What?" she asked, giggling just a little.
"Huh?" I blinked, startled and tried to play it cool.
"Is there something on my face?" she asked, tapping her cheeks lightly with both hands.
I don't know what came over me at that moment, but something inside me shifted. Some weird mix of confidence and spontaneity bubbled up, and I just went with it.
"Yeah," I said, keeping my voice calm. "There's something on your face."
She turned slightly toward the laptop again, half-laughing. "Let me guess—an eyelash?" she said, obviously joking.
But I reached out and let my hand gently cup her cheek, which made her turn back toward me. My thumb brushed against her skin, just under her eye.
Her skin was soft, warm. She paused, surprised, but didn't pull away.
I leaned in, and for a second, the world shrank down to that moment. Her wide brown eyes were fixed on mine, and my heart was thudding louder than I thought humanly possible. There was something so cinematic about it all, yet so real.
She didn't speak, and I didn't either. It was as if words would ruin whatever this was.
I closed the distance between us, still slow, still tentative, letting every second stretch like it mattered—because, to me, it did.
And in that quiet trailer, in that fleeting moment away from all the acting and chaos and uncertainty, it didn't feel like Scott and Allison.
I had kissed her before…or more specifically, while I was acting as Scott I had kissed her before. Well, her being Allison.
But this was my first time kissing her…Crystal, a real human being.
Her lips felt familiar, comfortable on mine even. After all this wasn't the first time I had done this…and if it was anything to go by the show it would not be the last time as well…
But doing this outside of the 'Act' made it feel different.
My heart was pounding out of my chest and my mind was frozen. All of that confidence I had 2 seconds ago suddenly disappeared.
I moved back slowly and as I did she seemed to break out of her stupor as well as we both just stared at each other for a moment.
I didn't want to say something like I was sorry and to be completely honest I wasn't so there was no point in me saying words I didn't believe.
…
Authors note:
You can read some chapters ahead if you want to on my p#treon.com/Fat_Cultivator