Cora winced as her big sister pulled the final strands of her hair into pigtails. Her older sister, Laura, laughed because while Cora had werewolf genes in her, she was only seven years old and wouldn't get her werewolf powers until she was about ten.
"Where are we going, anyway? Mom and dad said we're not supposed to leave the house while they're in San Diego."
Laura smiled when she was finished fixing Cora up and stood to finish her own make-up. Truth be told, she would have loved to go to her boyfriend's party by herself, and not have to take Cora. But when Derek found out what Laura was planning to do while their parents gone, he only promised to keep his mouth shut about it if his older sister took their younger sister along with them.
"I told you. It's a secret. And what they really meant was you couldn't leave by yourself. They don't want your lack of lycanthrope abilities to get you in trouble."
Cora furrowed her eye brows together. She never liked it when Laura used words she didn't understand. And she was absolutely, positively sure they weren't supposed to leave. But all it took was Laura's graceful sixteen year old self get ready and she would do anything to be like her big sister.
Five minutes later, Cora realized they were heading for the richer part of town. The same area of Beacon Hills her dad had taken her to make sure Mr. Whittemore, the most well-known lawyer in town, stopped snooping around their house. She frowned, hoping Laura wasn't taking her to see that weird Jackson kid anymore. But as they got closer and closer to that house, her heart started to beat faster and faster. Laura must have noticed because she asked what was wrong, but Cora didn't utter a single word.
But much to Cora's relief, and surprise, instead of turning left, towards the Whittemore's house, she turned right, and parked in the driveway of the house across the street.
A huff escaped through Laura's lips before she spoke up. "Wait in the car until I come back, okay?"
And as always, Cora did what her big sister said. Because the women in their family were leaders and she was always raised to listen to her elders. So she waited.
And waited.
And waited.
And the only reason she stopped waiting was because her stomach protested at the lack of food about a half hour later.
With a big sigh, Cora let herself out of her sister's car, and headed towards the unfamiliar house. She stopped when she noticed a boy with unruly curls sitting on the front step. He was wearing a batman shirt and jeans. He was also eating a slice of the best looking pepperoni pizza Cora had ever seen. Her stomach protested again, and you didn't have to be a werewolf to hear it.
The boy's head turned towards the sound he had just heard. He squinted at the girl he didn't recognize. A moment of silence passed by before he spoke up.
"Hi.. Um. Are you hungry? I can ask my brother, Camden, if there is any pizza left if you want…"
Cora nodded slowly, unsure of how her sister would feel about following this strange boy into the unknown house. Nevertheless, she was hungry and, listening to her stomach instead of her head, followed the strange boy towards the promise of food. A sudden realization hit her, something her mother always taught her to ask, simply out of politeness.
"Oh. What's your name?" she asked quietly.
"My name's Isaac. What's yours?"
"Cora."
"Okay, Cora. What kind of pizza do you like?"
"Pepperoni is my favorite."
"That's mine, too! That means we're friends now."
Isaac flashed the brightest smile in her direction and Cora couldn't help but laugh and feel like she had already known this boy her whole life. In fact, she was so comfortable around Isaac; she didn't even notice her sister following Camden up the stairs.