CHAPTER 1: BREATHING SLOW.
"...Where have you been? And why'd you have to go there all alone? It tastes like sin, these sheets your body kissed have grown too cold. This all feels wrong, I never said go, I never said go. And if I did I never meant it, would you let your heart forget it. I'll keep my voice low, I'll keep my voice low. Whisper words that promise better things and calm your dreams. And make you stay with me... So keep your breathing slow. Strangers in lovers clothes.. What are you running from? What are you running from? What have we become? Lonely and fragile ghosts. What are you running from? what are you so afraid of? I let you in. You had the chance to break me, and you did. The water got too deep and you couldn't swim. Lost at sea awaiting your return. You couldn't anchor me down, I had to anchor myself. If I have to I'll watch you fall in love with someone knew. I only want the best for you... I will always be waiting for you. I will always be waiting for you, love. I will always be waiting for you. I will always be waiting for you, love..." - Former Vandal.
I walked down my home's front steps, taking out my car's keys with slightly shaking fingers. I was an anxiety filled mess to say the least.
Today was the day that I'd switch schools and I was definitely not excited. Switching in the middle of your sophomore year from a private school to a public one was never fun, especially not when you were leaving everyone you'd known since grade school. Switching because your mother couldn't afford the said private school was even worse. I mean, sure, I can go hangout with everyone I knew still, but it would still be horrible to have to drive halfway across Beacon Hills instead of down the street and to go to school with kids I'd never met, only seen on the street or in Wal-Mart while I was shopping with my mother.
"Rory!" a voice I knew by heart called and I turned my head to my right, watching as my boyfriend made his way from his house two doors down from my own and towards me.
"Morning," I muttered, knowing that he could hear me perfectly fine from where he was.
"Good morning," he said with a smile, bending over slightly to give me a tight hug since he was nearly a foot or maybe even more taller than me.
"Can we just skip again and go to the woods for the day?" I asked him as we let go of one another and he gave me another smile, "Nope. We're both suffering with school today because I have a scrimmage tonight and I have to be present today to play."
"Well then why do I have to go?" I asked, pouting, and he laughed, "Because, Rory, I'm coming to your school in the middle of the day. You can show me around, we'll have lunch together, come on it'll be like last week and every other day before that... Just at a new school with new kids."
"Brett," I groaned, "I really don't want to go."
"Too bad. You're going to school, it's gotta happen eventually," Brett said with a shrug and I let out a grumble of curse words as I walked to my crappy car and threw my purse into the passenger seat before turning back to Brett, "Fine, I'll go to the stupid school."
"That's my girl," Brett said with a grin, kissing my lips softly for a moment before I spoke against his lips, "You better be there later."
"'Course," he told me with a smile before pecking my lips again then opening my car door for me.
"So I'll see you later then," I told him with a small smile and he nodded, closing the car door for me, "See you later."
I gave him another smile before starting my car and driving away, towards my new school: Beacon Hills High School.
"Class, this is our new student, Aurora Diller," my Chemistry teacher, my fourth teacher of the day, said with a smile and I sighed from beside her and gave a fake smile and a wave to my class before going and taking a seat in the back, ignoring all the looks that people were giving me.
"Hey, aren't you a little young to be in Chemistry?" a boy asked from beside me and I turned my head to see a somewhat pale kid with spiked up hair and to be honest, he looked like he could've been on drugs from all the twitchiness and constant moving he was doing as he let his leg bop up and down and chewed on his pencil.
"They put me in it," I shrugged, "I'm only a year younger than everyone in here, so..."
"Oh so you're, what, sixteen?" he asked and I simply nodded in response, turning my attention back to the boring lesson but then the boy beside me continued to talk, "My name's Stiles, by the way."
"Stiles?" I echoed before frowning and looking over at the boy, "What the hell is a Stiles?"
"No, Stiles is just my nickname that everyone calls me. My real name is-"
"Stiles, Aurora, as much as I approve of social interaction and making new friends, I do not approve of talking during class," the teacher said and the class snickered in response while Stiles lifted a hand in response, "Sorry, Ms. Martin!"
Ms. Martin gave him a nod and a small smile before returning to the lesson.
"So, you went to Devenford Prep?" Stiles asked as he raced to catch up with me while I walked towards my locker and I stopped in my tracks, glancing back at him, "How do you know that? I haven't even introduced myself to you."
"Aurora Diller, went to Devenford Prep before you transferred here on Monday but it's Friday so you haven't been here all week for whatever reason," Stiles ranted and I turned to face him with a wide-eyed look, "Okay, Stiles, you're just creeping me out now."
"Yeah, sorry, that did come off creepy, my bad. I just know your name from when Lydia's mom, er, Ms. Martin took attendance Monday and I mentioned that there was a new girl to my friends yesterday and this other new kid Liam said he knew you from Devenford-"
"Woah, did you just say Liam?" I cut him off, turning to face him with slightly widened eyes, "Liam as in Liam Dunbar?"
"Yeah, he's my friend... Kinda... Actually not really he was just kinda sucked into my friends and I's... Clique, I guess," Stiles said, trailing off a bit before shaking his head, "He mentioned that you guys don't like each other."
"It's more one-sided," I muttered before turning around and continuing walking towards my new locker, "Hey, do you know when the Devenford Prep's lacrosse team gets here?"
"Uh, I think between these classes, probably," Stiles muttered before his eyes widened, "Shit, I gotta find Scott. Aurora-"
"Call me Rory," I told him with a small smile and he smiled back with a nod too before asking, "Rory, wanna come?"
I shrugged, "Sure. I'm meeting up with the Devenford lacrosse team for lunch next period anyway."
"Really? Aren't you happy that you don't have to see those kids?" Stiles asked once I closed my locker and started to walk with him towards the front of the school where the lacrosse team would be dropped off.
"No," I said with a frown, "They're the only people I've ever known and they're great. You do know that not every private school is filled with rich snobs, right?"
Stiles frowned too and shrugged, "I guess it never really crossed my mind."
I snorted and let out a laugh at him and he cracked a smile as he looked over at me before turning his attention back to the hallway, looking for his friend, Scott. He seemed to have found him too because the next thing I know, Stiles is flailing his arms around wildly and rushing forwards, "Hey! Scott!"
I kept my pace and walked after him, avoiding bumping into a few people in the process, and then I finally caught up with Stiles and his friend named Scott. Scott wasn't very tall, just as tall as Stiles really, and he had tan skin with dark hair. His jaw line was kinda uneven too. But there was something else about Scott, he intimidated me. I could tell what he was.
He was an Alpha.
And I guess that he could tell that I was a Beta because he was staring at me with slightly widened eyes, he continued to stare at me and I stared back with narrowed eyes because he wasn't my Alpha and I wasn't his Beta, there would be some conflict most likely because I could tell that he saw me as a threat just as I saw him as one. I wished that Brett and Satomi would have taught me how to control my scent so that other werewolves and such couldn't tell I was one because it really sucked being so vulnerable. But I couldn't blame them for not teaching me. I was a newly bitten wolf, after all.
I was bitten nearly five months ago, after I was diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. I'd started dating Brett a month before my diagnosis and we were already friends before that, since fourth grade to be exact. When I broke the news to him a week later he didn't have the reaction I thought he would: Crying, anger, sadness, bitterness. None of that, he just seemed like he had no emotion for a moment before he grabbed my hand and brought me into the woods where a few people and an elder Japanese woman named Satomi Ito were, looking like they were training to fight and defend themselves.
Brett had told Satomi of my deadly illness that had no cure and that there was no way that the doctor's could save me without making me brain-dead, Satomi just shook her head sadly and turned to me, asking me if I wanted to get better. Of course I said yes and then she offered me the bite. The bite that would forever change my life and make me faster, stronger, enhance my features and make me more beautiful, give me amazing hearing and sense of smell... Make me like Brett. The bite would make my life prolonged and cure me of my illness if it took.
If it took.
And it did. I received the bite the next day after thinking it through and then the bite took and I was better. My bones wouldn't become weak, my hair wouldn't fall out, I would be able to walk and talk and do whatever I wanted for the rest of my life thanks to the bite.
Satomi taught me two ways to control my violent werewolf side: A phrase and anchors. The phrase was "The sun, the moon, the truth", it wasn't enough really. I'd found my anchor on my second full moon: My friends were my anchor. My friend and boyfriend. Brett and Sandy.
But one of those friendships ended before my third full moon. Sandra "Sandy" Bleu was my best girl friend, we did nearly everything together for three years up until when I got the bite and started to distance myself from her, trying to protect her from my new violent side that the wolf in me brought out. Sandy would ask and ask and ask why I wasn't hanging out with her much anymore or why I wouldn't text her back, and I finally told her why.
She hated me after that but agreed to keep my secret as long as I left her alone.
I was upset, of course, but I didn't need anybody in my life that didn't want to be there. She didn't want to be there. So I cut off a few of my other friends because if my best friend hated me, then why wouldn't they? So I cut them off and kept with Brett and the pack.
I had another anchor before my second full moon, on my first one, and it was my best friend since birth basically: Liam Dunbar.
Liam's mother and my own had been best friends since the moment my single-mother moved to Beacon Hills and so when I was born and Liam nearly a year later, we were nearly inseparable from the moment he could walk and talk. Liam had developed anger problems, I.E.D, when he was nine. I was one of the few people other than his step-dad and mother to be able to calm him down, even when we'd started growing apart.
The reason we started growing apart was because when I started high school, he was still in middle school, a child compared to the teens that walked the halls at Devenford Prep. I'd grown closer to Brett and we'd sneak off to make out in the janitor's closet or behind the bleachers in gym whenever we could, but we still weren't officially a couple, we were just two hormonal kids.
Liam hated him since he grade school. No one really knew why, but I guess that there are just some people you disliked for no reason, or for just tiny reasons.
Liam came over one day after school and found Brett and I kissing in my kitchen and he flipped out, yelling and calling me names like "slut" and "bitch" and I'd be lying if I said that it didn't hurt me to hear him say those things. But all that yelling and name calling lead to Brett punching Liam in the face, and Liam fought back with a few punches but Brett was taller so the punches landed on his chest and didn't hurt him really. Liam had given up after a minute of futile punching and stormed out of my house, the last thing he said to me before ignoring me for nearly two years were two words.
"You lied."
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and averted my gaze to my feet instead of staring at Scott.
"What the hell's wrong with you two?" Stiles asked and both Scott and I looked over at Stiles, "Nothing."
"Okay," Stiles said sarcastically, rolling his eyes before looking over at me, "Rory, this is my best friend, Scott McCall. Scott, this is the new girl I was talking about, Rory Diller. She went to school with Liam!"
Scott nodded, looking back at me and giving me a small smile, "Hi."
I nodded in response before looking over at Stiles, "Can we go now?"
"Yeah! Scott, I'll catch you up on our way outside," Stiles said quickly, grabbing his friend's arm and dragging him along as we walked towards the school's front doors, "Devenford Prep is the team we're scrimmaging against tonight."
"So Liam's probably going to be pissed-" Scott started but Stiles cut him off.
"No shit, Scott. We just need to make sure he doesn't do something stupid. But hey, something stupid happens everyday so maybe we'll just let it happen-"
"We're not letting him hurt someone," Scott snapped at his best friend and I raised an eyebrow, "Are you guys still talking about Liam Dunbar? Last I checked the guy is like a puppy."
"More like a wolf," Stiles muttered and Scott jabbed his elbow into his stomach with wide eyes and I rolled my eyes at the two, "The kids in this school are weird."
"Oh, you haven't seen weird yet," Stiles said with a laugh as he pushed the front doors open and we each walked out into the bright sunlight, walking towards the bus that just pulled up and was letting people out.
"Brett!" I heard a voice I'd known since childhood call and I stalked in front of Stiles and Scott, towards the voice.
"Ah here we go," another male voice said and I smirked a bit because I remember complaining like that whenever Liam would get himself into stupid situations.
"This outta be good," I muttered as I walked to the front of the group that was forming to watch the drama ensuing at Beacon Hills High. I stood next to the guy that had made the annoyed comment and folded my arms across my chest, watching as Liam walked up to my boyfriend, breathing heavily before speaking, "I just wanted to say... Have a good game."
Liam raised his hand for him to shake and I raised an eyebrow, my eyes going slightly wide and I glanced over to the African-American boy next to me, he had a hand covering his mouth in surprise.
I actually expected Brett to shake his hand for a moment, but then he started to laugh, "That's cute, Liam. Is that what they told you to say in Anger Management? Apologize and everything's fine? You demolished Coach's car."
"I paid for it," Liam said through his teeth.
"Yeah, you're going to pay for it. We're going to break you in half out there. And it's going to be all your faul-" I cut him off, rushing between the two.
"Hey, guys," they both gave me different looks, Liam was angry still and I could smell some blood coming from his hands which kinda confused me because no human should have the strength to make yourself bleed like he was, and Brett just looked amused. I sighed and continued looking at each person I was addressing with a sarcastic smile, "Yeah... Liam, always good to see you. Brett, threats aren't a good thing. Lacrosse team, please shave," I turned back to where Scott and Stiles stood and gave them a wide-eyed look, motioning to Liam and the two teens quickly rushed forward, Scott grabbing Liam while Stiles came to my aid.
"Hey, what's going on prep school students? Welcome to our little public highschool. How you doing?" Stiles asked, looking at Brett as he held out his hand but he didn't shake it, only looked at it then back at him. Stiles nodded, "Stiles. That's a firm hand shake you got there. Uh, we're very excited for the scrimmage tonight. But let's keep it clean, alright? No rough stuff out there. All right, see you out on the field," Stiles turned back to Scott and Liam, "Go."
Then the two teens were pushing Liam away and towards the guys' locker room for whatever reason. I rolled my eyes at Stiles' sarcastic ranting and turned back to Brett and his teammates, but talking directly to my boyfriend, "Seriously?"
Brett looked down at me and gave me a smirk, "What?"
"Don't play dumb, the look doesn't suit you," I told him with a frown and he rolled his eyes, his smirk becoming bigger. I hated when he's act like this, arrogant and cocky in front of his friends and the rest of the lacrosse team. But the team was already walking away from the two of us, going to the visiting team's locker room, "Liam deserves it, babe. He ruined Coach's car."
"Liam's my friend," I said, defending the boy and Brett scoffed, "Yeah, some friend. He hates you, Rory."
"He hates me for dating you, Brett. Because he hates you," I snapped, and the next words that slipped out of my mouth were horrible, "Now I'm understanding why he does!"
Brett's smirk dropped and he gave me the most hurt and betrayed look I'd ever seen on him or any human being for that matter. My own eyes widened at my horrible and hurtful words and I put a hand over my mouth while Brett whispered, "What?"
"I didn't mean it, I'm sorry," I told him quickly, "I-I don't know why I said that... I'm sorry. I-I'm sorry."
I turned around and started to walk away from him, muttering a few more "I'm sorry's" as I did so but then I felt a pair of hands grip my left one and then I was against Brett's chest as he held me tightly, "I'm sorry I'm such an asshole."
"You're not, I'm sorry, I don't know what I was thinking or why I said that... I'm sorry," I whispered and Brett let out a laugh that rumbled through his chest, "It's okay, babe. Stop apologizing."
I gave him a small smile when we let go of one another and Brett took my small hand in his much larger one, "So, have you made any friends?"
"Eh, I guess you could say that," I shrugged with another smile spreading across my face but then I remembered that there was something important that I had to tell Brett and I tugged on his hand a little, dragging him with me through the front doors of the school and into a janitor's closet.
"Really? I've been here for all but five minutes and you're already dragging me to an empty room to make ou-"
"No," I cut him off, rolling my eyes, "There's something I need to tell you that I don't want just anyone hearing-"
"How much you love meee?" Brett joked, dragging out the "me" and when he saw my unamused expression he grew serious, "Okay, sorry. What's wrong?"
"There's an Alpha here, his name's Scott McCall. I'm friends with his best friend and now the said friend is trying to include me into their little clique, which I'm guessing is actually a pack. Scott knows I'm a werewolf, Brett. He sees me as a threat," I explained and Brett nodded, soaking in everything I was telling him before speaking, "I knew Satomi and I should've taught you how to mask your scent!"
I let out a groan, my head falling back in exasperation, "That's all you have to say? What am I supposed to do now? The guy could easily kill me!"
"Hey, hey, relax, okay? You'll be fine," Brett told me, grabbing my face lightly, "He's a kid just like us, alright? He won't hurt you."
"We both know that just because he's a teenager doesn't mean anything, Brett. We're violent creatures, no matter what age we are," I told him with a frown.
Sure, I could defend myself, I know that I could, but from an Alpha and his whole pack while my own pack was halfway across Beacon Hills? No way.
"Maybe you could tell him that you're no threat?" Brett suggested, "Or maybe we could tell Satomi and she'll go make an alliance or truce or something?"
I simply sighed and leaned forwards, resting my head against Brett's chest, "This sucks ass."
"This whole year is sucking ass," Brett agreed, wrapping his arms around me and kissing the crown of my head, "I can't believe that Demarco and Carrie are gone."
"I can't believe it either," I said softly, "Nobody else can get hunted down like that... It's too terrible."
Brett sighed from in front of me, "You're depressing me. Let's talk about something else, like... Like how crappy this school is."
"It's actually not that bad," I told him with a laugh, "The people are the worst part, really. It's like I'm not the new girl, I'm the freak show or something. Everyone's staring at me everywhere I go."
"They're probably just intimidated and curious," he said with a shrug and I rolled my eyes, "Yes, intimidated by the 5'3 girl whose hair is the heaviest part about her."
Brett let out a laugh, picking up my long braid and pretending to weigh it with his hand, "Yep, very heavy."
"You're such a dork," I told him with an eye roll and he smirked, "But you love me."
"I do," I admitted, pulling him closer and kissing him softly. He responded with his own lips, kissing me back. We continued to kiss passionately until the janitor closet's door opened, revealing a small elder man with thinning white hair, his eyes wide and mouth hung open before he sighed, speaking to himself quietly, "How many times is this going to happen to me?"
"Get out, kids. Go to class," the janitor told us and I blushed from being caught making out in the janitor's for the first time ever and I took Brett's hand in mine before dragging him out and towards the lunch area outside, sitting down at a wooden picnic table before leaning against my forearms and groaning, "That was so embarrassing!"
"More embarrassing than your sister walking in on us-"
"We don't speak of that!" I hissed, looking up for a moment with wide eyes before burying my face in my arms again.
Brett put his hands up in defense before asking, "So which is more embarrassing?"
"My sister walking in on us, obviously!" I snapped, still having my face buried in my arms, "Ugh. Whatever. So back to a more serious topic, don't start anything with Liam tonight, okay?"
"The whole team wants to get back at him, Rory, not just me," Brett sighed and I rolled my eyes, "Okay, well I'm not asking the team not to start anything. I'm asking you. Please, Brett, don't start anything, I know that Liam hates me or whatever but I don't hate him. I don't want him getting hurt."
"I'm not promising you anything," Brett said, "But I won't start anything as long as he doesn't."
"That's good enough," I told him with a smile, looking up at him, "So, wanna go eat with the team?"
"Yeah, sure," he said, returning my smile before standing up and putting his arm around my waist as we searched for the Devenford Prep's lacrosse team.
I stood in front of Brett, fixing his shirt for him after he threw on the ugly green colored t-shirt, giving him words of confidence because I knew that even though he was great at lacrosse, he still had his doubts when it came to games, "Don't worry, okay? You'll do great and kick Beacon Hills' public school's asses. All right?"
"Yeah," Brett said with a smile before bending over to pick up his lacrosse padding and adjusting it onto his shoulders, "We'll do great and then we'll go out and get some pizza and ice cream like usual, right?"
"Right," I told him with a grin before pecking his lips, "Good luck."
Brett gave me another smile, pecking my lips again before going out onto the field with the team, ready for the scrimmage.
I actually believed that everything would be great for a night, that it'd be a usual scrimmage with no drama or assassins trying to kill anyone.
I was wrong.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Yay this is the first chapter for my new Teen Wolf fanfic: Breathing Slow! I'll be posting another two chapters tomorrow, so until then please let me know what you think of this story in a review and favorite and follow this story too! Also in your reviews leave some questions (if you have any) about my new OC, Aurora! Thanks! :3
