…..Today 8:30pm- ….
"Scott, you're being really neurotic now." I said, but he didn't reply, he just carried on threading his lacrosse stick, I rolled my eyes. "Anyway… are you working at the clinic tomorrow after school or are we on different shifts again?" I asked.
"We're on the same shift." Scott answered robotically.
"Ok well as good is this conversation is, I have socks that need ironing."
"If you leave I might actually go insane and start kissing this stupid stick. I have to get on first line." Scott finally tested the net one last time before dropping it down. Scott had an obsession with playing on first line for the team this year, after he spent last year's games sitting on the bench. He rose from the bed we were laying on, listening to music, while he did his weird lacrosse stuff, and I read Teen Vogue. I raised an eyebrow as Scott snorted and walked to his pull up bar in the bathroom doorway. He did a few on the way to brush his teeth, showing off because he knew I could barely hang on there to save my own life. He'd been training and training all summer and now Aunt Melissa and I had a hard time keeping him fully clothed, he never missed a chance to show off.
As he shut off the water, noises came from outside. "Did you hear that?" I asked him. He paused and nodded. He grabbed a sweatshirt off the bed and put on some sweat pants on over his basketball shorts. I grabbed a jacket and shoved my feet into some boots, no time to put anything else on over my pyjama shorts, I would just cower behind Scott anyway. He grabbed a wooden baseball bat.
We crept out of the house and on to the wraparound porch, I stood close behind Scott, bravery was not something I prided myself on. He leaned over the side to look over the railings, when something shook from the vines and bushes growing over the house, hanging down from upstairs windows. I screamed instantly as something person shaped flopped down from them, Scott yelled, the thing yelled I screamed. I instantly jumped to the worst case scenarios, it was a murderer, a dead body (though why would it be shouting?) some sort of poisonous animal about to kill us with its claws.
But then it was just Stiles. " .hell Stiles!" I shouted
"You scared us to death man!" Scott said loudly "what where you doing?!"
"You weren't answering your phones!" he said, hanging upside down "why do you have a bat?" he asked, eyeing it like Scott would still use it. I rolled my eyes, Stiles was so…hyperactive. All the time.
"I thought you were a predator!" Scott said we did live right near the woods, but then so did the whole of Beacon Hills. Stiles spluttered indignantly "Listen, I know it's late but you gotta hear this! My dad just left 20 minutes ago, dispatch called, they're calling in every officer from the Beacon Hills department and even state police." Stiles rushed.
Wow that was big, Beacon Hills was a small town, and Stiles' dad was the sheriff, what could've happened so that the whole of the force, let alone state police, needed to come here?
"For what?" Scott asked the question before I could open my mouth
"Two joggers found a body in the woods." Stiles flipped down and leant up over the fence towards us
"A dead body?" Scott asked
"No, a body of water, dumbass, of course a dead body." Stiles rolled his eyes
"Well, they found the body, so what's the fuss about?" I asked, people died all the time, why was this such a big deal?
"She's a girl, probably in her early twenties, found in the woods. But they only found half." Stiles explained. I winced, that was…gross, for lack of a better word.
But Scott's eyes gaped with the prospect of an adventure, like Stiles' were already, and ok, so I got a little excited too.
"I know, we're so going." Stiles said.
We locked the back door, and squished to all fit in the front seat of Stiles' vintage jeep, as we sped towards the Preserve, and the sign that strictly said no entry after dark. And it was pretty dark, and cold. Note to self, next time Stiles suggests an adventure that involves woods/ outdoors in any way possible, which they usually did, insist on putting on pants first, oh, and bringing a cell phone.
We got out of the jeep, Stiles had a flashlight. "We're seriously doing this?" Scott asked as me and Stiles pulled ahead. "You're the one bitching that nothing ever happens in this town." Stiles snapped, and that was true, Scott was never invited to any of Jackson or Lydia's parties or out with the rest of the lacrosse team/popular people, like I was. "I wanted a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow." Scott whined
"Yeah because sitting on the bench is such a gruelling effort." Stiles quipped; they had both been bench jockeys for a whole year.
"No, because this year I'm playing. In fact, I'm making first line."
"It's good to have dreams, even a pathetically unrealistic one." Stiles said, and I laughed. I hoped Scott got on first line, and then I'd have more excuse to go to games with Lydia, to ogle Jackson secretly. That was pathetic, but there was something about Jackson that had struck me in sixth grade and it never went away.
"Just out of interest, which half of the body are we looking for?" I asked, as I dodged a branch.
"Huh, I didn't even think about that." Stiles said with a laugh, trying to make out it was no big deal, when now we didn't know whether to look for fingers or toes. Then I imagined a group off mushrooms growing in front of a tree where cold, dead, grey toes sticking up from the ground and had to run and catch up with the boys because I creeped myself out so much.
"And what if whoever killed the body is still out here?" Scott asked, laughing
"Also didn't think of that." Stiles marched on with the flashlight
"It's comforting to know you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail." Scott said, as Stiles lead us up a dirt hill we had to climb up on hands and knees it was that steep, so now my bare legs were muddy and cold, as where my hands. I wiped them on Scott's hoodie. "I know." Stiles grunted, reaching the top of the hill first.
Scott leant against the tree, taking breaths from his inhaler. Me and Stiles lay flat on the ground, watching a group of police flashlights move around the supposed crime scene.
"Hey, come on." Stiles jumped up and ran towards them, I followed and Scott lagged behind, begging us to wait up. I dropped back to run with him, and we jumped behind the tree as someone yelled.
Stiles had been seen, and a huge black police dog had snarled at him, making him fall to the floor in surprise. Me and Scott exchanged worried looks; getting caught was not part of tonight's adventure.
"Hang on; this little delinquent belongs to me." Said Stile's dad, Sheriff Stilinski.
"Dad, how are you doing?" Stiles played it cool, but it failed
"So, do you listen in on all my phone calls?" Sheriff Stilinski asked his son, as me and Scott stayed as still as possible behind the tree.
"No… well, not the boring ones." Stiles admitted
"Where are your usual partners in crime?"
"Who, Scott? Scott's a home, he wanted a good night's sleep before lacrosse tomorrow, and Jessie….Jessie is at Lydia Martins house." I grit my teeth, as Scott grins, it seems like Stiles is the one going down for this.
A flashlight comes in our direction, and the Sheriff shouts our names, I hold my breath and try and make myself as small as possible, which isn't really hard as I'm even smaller than Stiles.
The sheriff seems satisfied that we're not there, Scott breathes out a sigh of relief. "Well young man, I am going to walk you back to your car, and we are going to have a little conversation about something called invasion of privacy." I stifle a snigger; I don't know how Stiles' dad puts up with him.
As they walked away, the slight drizzle that had been going on for the past half an hour got a little harder, I put my hood up as we crept away from the rest of the police. "Great, what are we going to do now?" I angrily whisper, Scott just shrugged and looked around. We walked on, hopefully in the direction of a road that would take us back in the direction of home.
I couldn't see the police anymore, so we weren't going to get caught, yet the woods were eerie, and I half wished we had gotten caught with Stiles, and I'd probably be at home on Skype to Lydia about what to wear tomorrow by now. I looked up at the huge tall trees, something rustled and birds, or bats flew out of them, I shuddered, and wished, not for the first time that night, that I wasn't wearing my summer pyjamas.
Scott took some breaths from his inhaler, and we walked on a bit further. "I don't think we're going the right way." I said
"What is the right way, anyway?" Scott wheezed.
I walked over to a small mound, in the hopes that I might be able to see better from higher up, no such luck, but as I turn round to tell Scott to call someone, out of nowhere a heard of deer came rushing through the woods, running along the path where Scott stood looking around.
"Scott!" I yelled, I dropped to the floor as the deer trampled the ground, some hooves sounded scarily close to my head, but almost as quickly as they came, they were gone. "Oh my God, Scott are you ok?" I jumped up and ran to him, he seemed ok, and so I helped him up. "I lost my inhaler; help me find it, quick." Scott puts the flashlight on his phone and we rustle around in the leaves.
"I think it went over here." He called over to me; we make our way over to a patch of leaves, as he shines the light over the ground, I look for white and blue plastic, so when I see half a girl staring at me with her intestines hanging out, staring at me with pale, dead eyes, freaking out was kind of allowed.
Scott didn't notice it right away, so when I took off backwards, screaming and retching, he saw the body and jumped back in horror, and then took a tumble down the hill that all three of us had walked up earlier. "Scott?" I shouted, and my voice quavered. There was a shout in response. "Scott!" I screamed louder, beginning to cry as Scott's shouts grew fainter, I couldn't move, and I felt like curling up into a ball as I heard growls coming from the same direction as Scott's shouts.
With my back still against the tree I take some deep breaths and shut my eyes. This isn't happening. You are at home in bed, Scott is right next door. You're dreaming.
I snapped my eyes open as I heard a rustle that was a little closer to home. The thing that got Scott was coming back for me. I was dead. Scott was dead, to match all of the other dead things in my life. "Oh God, no. please, please make this a dream." I murmured.
Over near, the uh, 50% corpse, the light from Scott's dropped phone illuminated a huge figure standing over where the body was….not. How could it just disappear? Though, now I tried to make out the edges of the figure, it, he, whatever, was holding something bulky. Oh god, it was the killer, he was human. I clamped my hands over my mouth and held my breath. Then, with a rustling of leaves, the figure was gone.
Then my feet seemed to unfreeze and I ran for Scott's phone, and then sprinted as fast as my legs would carry me in the direction where I lasted heard Scott yell for help. "Scott!" I yelled again breathlessly, when I heard a swerve of car tyres, a road, I must be near the road.
"Jessie!" I heard Scott yell, his voice broke on the second syllable. I broke through the final trees and stood at the edge of the road. It was empty and dimly lit. My breath came out white and I shivered.
"Scott?" I asked, as Scott lifted up the corner of his shirt, to expose deep wounds. Looking at them closely, they were bleeding and bruised. Looking at them from far away, it was a bite mark. A pure animal, sharp toothed, strong jawed bite mark. "Holy shit Scott!" I shouted, running over to him.
He looked scared. "Come on, we have to go home to get these sorted, I'll call your mom, or Jackson for a ride." My fingers shook as I tried to use the phone. Scott snatched it away. "No, we'll walk; it's only a few miles." He said "We can't tell her." He said, Scott's mom had taken double shifts at the hospital so we could afford to survive, with two teenagers instead of one. "Ok, but at least let me clean it, ok?" I said, he nodded, and we started to walk back home in the dark. So much for skyping Lydia and Lauren, my two best friends.
…Later that night….
"Suck it up, Jesus, Scott!" I said, as I disinfected Scott's bite marks
"It hurts." Well then next time Stiles drags you out to the woods at night say no." I scolded, getting bandages out of the first aid kit, as I knelt down in front of Scott in my room, playing nurse to his, admittedly scary, bite mark.
"You came too!" he retorted
"Yeah but I didn't get bitten!" I snap back, it was a stupid thing to say, he couldn't have helped it, but it's all I had.
"I didn't ask!" Scott said
"Anyway, that's all I can do, so when you come crying to be because you're infected, I won't care."
"Infected with what?" He raised an eyebrow and put on a clean shirt. "I don't know. Werewolfitus or something." I said wearily, making a weak joke.
"You get a ride in the morning?" He asked, before leaving
"Yeah, Jackson is picking me up, why?" I asked
"Just asking, night Jess."
"Night Scott, there's aspirin in the bathroom if you need it." I called as I shut the door. I logged on to my laptop and immediately skyped Lydia.
Her pouting face filled the screen. "Sorry, I got caught up…" I apologise
"You could've called. Or texted, Jessie, do you even know what a text message is? Because I haven't been receiving too many off you."
"I'm sorry, Scott stole the charger, my phone's dead." Lydia rolled her perfectly lined eyes and adjusted her long strawberry blonde hair, in perfect curls. "Anyway. First order of business…wait, where's Lauren?" I asked.
"She isn't online. I already checked." Lydia said
"Oh…should we wait?" I asked
"Nope, I texted her, you know that thing you're supposed to do with your best friends?" she raised an eyebrow, I rolled my eyes. "She's wearing the black jeans from Macy's with the green lace top and her black jacket and those black wedges that were in the sale at that cute boutique. And her Marc Jacobs bag, you know the one her aunt who works for Teen Vogue got her on the waiting list for?"
"Yeah, I wish I had $400 to spend on a tote." I said to the screen. A few short months ago, I would've been able to spend that on a bag and it wouldn't even count as my weekly allowance, but when I moved in with Scott and my Aunt, there had been rather painful cutbacks, as in, II was quite literally poor and even Macy's became a luxury. It was torture; I had millions left in my Parent's bank accounts, which were frozen until I turned 18, as where the stocks they had in mega companies which were probably worth more than this whole town. "What are you wearing?" Lydia asked, admiring a perfect pink manicure. "I have no clue. I beg your fashion guru advice." I mock begged into the webcam, pulling my lips into a pout and widening my amber eyes.
"You should wear what you bought last weekend." Said Lydia. "It's still on trend and it totally works." The outfit we both had in mind was a navy blue floral dress that came to just above my knee, a dark cream chunky knit cardigan, with grey wool knee socks. "It would totally go with my brown boots and the brown leather tote, right?" I asked
"Definitely." Lydia said.
We talked for the next half hour, before Lydia insisted on at least eight hours of beauty sleep. I set out my clothes for tomorrow, looked at my charged phone over on my bed. I changed my pyjamas, put away the first aid kit and climbed into bed. I read through the many text messages I had received, one was from Danny, the gay lacrosse goalie and Jackson's best friend, it was a joke that nearly made me laugh out loud, I texted him back. The next few were from Lydia, enquiring about my existence, the same from Lauren, and the most recent, sent only a few minutes ago, was from Jackson. And I won't lie, my heart beat got a bit faster and I opened the message;
8:30 AM outside your house tomorrow. If you do not have coffee you will not be entering the car on any grounds
There were a few angry lines blank, then one little kiss. But it was just a friends kiss, not a real kiss, like the ones he put to Lydia, it was just a 'hey, we're friends sharing a joke' kiss.
I will get a stray cat to piss in your coffee x
I replied, after analyzing the ways in which I could reply. My and Jackson texted back and forth all the time, and every message sent from me was carefully analysed before it was sent to make sure I appeared as a great, amazing carefree girl.
I will put rabbit crap in your bagel x Came the reply from Jackson
I won't eat any bagels then x
I won't drink any coffee then x
I won't need to make you any coffee in that case x
Make me coffee pleaseeeeee L x
Ok but only because your car is pretty x
I am pretty x he replied
In your dreams, toad face x
No but seriously, bring coffee. Dan's keeping me up all night talking about this guy he met at his dad's country club x
Ok double pinkie swear, night x
Night x
I turned the phone off, set my alarm and tried to forget that just next door, Scott had a huge bite mark on his hip, we found half a dead body, I saw someone take it and we nearly got ran over by Deer.
….8:35AM…
"Do you swear on your life there's no cat pee in this?" Jackson asked as I passed him the travel mug full of fresh coffee, made exactly the way he liked. "Yes, I swear. I even gave you the boy cup, there was this adorable hello kitty one just waiting for you…" I laughed as I teased him
"So, you coming to practice today?" he asked
"Do I usually come to practice? Do I usually cheer for you? Do I usually sit next to your girlfriend with an amazing talent for sign making?" I ask, raising both eyebrows
"Point taken. Lydia's meeting us at school, right?" He asked
"Yeah."
"Ok."
"Why do you sound so…displeased?" I asked
"Wow, someone's been jumping on the AP English bandwagon, you expecting an upgrade straight away Miss Montgomery?"
"Of course I am, but come on, spill."
"I don't know, Lydia's just always…pushing me." He shrugged
"Maybe that's a good thing." I said, leaning my head out of the window in the crisp autumn breeze. I caught sight of myself in the grey porches' wing mirror. I had big eyes, one was brown, the other had a more greenish tinge to it, you couldn't really tell unless you looked really close up, which I had rimmed with eyeliner and lots of mascara, a small nose, wide forehead and big lips to rival Lydia's, framed with dark hair that today fell in loose waves. I had darker skin, where Lauren and Lydia had pale, flawless skin. I was small and lean, I hoped, from running track for three years at my last school in Colorado, but here in Beacon Hills, everything was focused on lacrosse, a game which I admittedly loved to watch.
"Maybe." He murmured. I sat back straight in my seat and poked at the kneecaps sticking out of my dress. "Come on, speed up or we'll never get there." I said "You have a Porsche but you're driving like my grandpa!" I yelled, changing the mood to happy. The happier I kept myself; the less last night would be on my mind. I hadn't even spoken to Scott this morning, other than 'would you pass the froot loops?'
"Hey come on!" Jackson complained, but put a lot more pressure on the gas and we sped the last mile to the school, breaking the 40 speed limit, going at least 70, whooping and cheering. Jacksons face drooped at we flew round the corner into school, and into a parking space near the bike racks where Scott was locking up his battered bicycle, taking off his helmet. I pinched the bridge of my nose "why did it have to be him. Why did I have to be related to him, off all people?" I asked myself.
At school, we weren't friends. We were acquaintances by genetics, an unfortunate accident that led my Mom and his Mom to be sisters. But at home we were inseparable.
"What a loser." Jackson scoffed and Scott, and threw open his car door, hitting Scott with it. I got out the other side. "Dude, watch the paint job" Jackson said rather threateningly to Scott, before a familiar voice shouted "Yo, Jackson, let's go bro." Jackson turned
"You coming, Jess?" He asked
"I'll be one second." I said and smiled as he walked away to join his friends. I heard Stiles' jeep pull in. he came over "I gotta see this thing." He said, referring to the bite Scott had obviously told him about. Scott lifted up his shirt to show Stiles the slightly bloodied bandage. Stiles went out to touch it, but thought better of it. We started to walk towards school. "It was too dark to see, but I think it was a wolf." Scott said
"A wolf bit you? No, not a chance" stiles said knowledgably.
"Why?" I asked
"There are no wolves in California, there haven't been for over sixty years." He said
"Well I heard one howling." Scott said, walking up the concrete steps.
"So did I" I agreed, I had heard something in the woods
"No, you didn't. Like I said . . ." Stiles said stubbornly.
"Well something bit him. And I'd bet my stupidly small allowance it wasn't a deer." I said
"Oh yeah, we found the body. Or the other half of it." Scott said
"Seriously?!" Stiles yelled
"Yes, I'll send you my therapy bill." I said
"This is the most amazing thing to ever happen to this town since…Since the birth of Lydia Martin! Hey, Lydia!" He called as my best friend walked passed us. "Walk with me, we have stuff to do." She said to me, ignoring Stiles completely. I shrugged at the boys as I walked away with Lydia.
"What were you doing with those freaks?" She asked, as Lauren joined us, wearing the outfit as described by Lydia, looking her usual, pretty curly haired self. "Who's a freak, and can I get his number?" She asked, by way of greeting
"Just my Cousin and Stiles." I said
"Hum. Not really what I was thinking of when I heard freaks." She said, looking sad. We met up with Jackson and the other lacrosse team. A quiet, pale boy with startling blue eyes and dark curls was standing near the edge of the group. I nudged Lauren, the guy was Isaac Lahey. He was kind of a loner, and Jackson secretly told me one that his dad hit him, since they lived near each other. Lauren had a crush on him; she winked at me then adjusted her long curly auburn hair, turned and gave him her winning cheeky grin. He went a little pink round the cheeks and smiled shyly back. She turned back to me, flushed beneath her freckles. Green eyes shining "Go talk to him." I whispered, hitting her on the shoulder. "No way, I'm playing hard to get for a few more weeks." I rolled my eyes, she had been playing 'hard to get' for nearly three months. "Lauren, I love you and everything, but that is not a guy you play with, that is a guy you go and have a cute, shy conversation and hold hands walking in the woods blushing with. Now move your skinny ass and go talk to him." I said forcefully, but Lauren was staring blankly behind my head, where I had patiently been ignoring the wet sounds Lydia made while she kissed Jackson, I wasn't going to lie, but it was stinging worse that getting nail polish remover in your eye. Not that I had done that, but I could imagine it was kind of the same feeling. "What?" I said, but Lauren just bit her lip.
"I have an idea. One sec." Lauren whispered, she dove into her bag and pulled out an iPhone. She made it look like she was checking her hair in the screen, tilting it at an angle and moving a few curls, but when she gave me her phone, it wasn't a dark screen, and it was a picture. Of Jackson, still kissing Lydia but looking over her shoulder, longingly. I looked and Lauren blankly. There was a tuft of dark hair in the direction of Jackson's big blue eyes. "That's you." Lauren squealed "I told you it was meant to be!"
"Shut up!" I whispered to her. "But can you, err…send me that photo?" I asked, nervously. Ok, maybe in some creepy way I wanted to know that Jackson could look at me that way, Lauren winked and a new message icon displayed in the corner. "Thanks" I said "Now go talk to Isaac before the bell-…" Too late, the bell rang, threatening to shatter my eardrum. I groaned.
My group of friends all went their separate ways, Jackson loitered behind with me. "Uhm, hey. I'll see you at practise later, right?" He asked uncertainly, for a guy who was completely confident and amazing at everything, he was totally showing the cracks today. "Of course you will." I smiled, and walked away to my AP English class, forgetting to tell Jackson that the principal had put me in it already, looking at my test scores from Colorado.
…
When the bell went, Lydia was waiting outside my class. We walked down the hall to pick up Lauren from biology. "Whoa, look at that jacket!" Lauren said, as a dark haired, pale unfamiliar girl was standing in front of a locker, she had on an amazing beige jacket, like I swear I saw that in teen vogue like two weeks ago. "Let's go talk to her, I think she's new." I said. We stalked up to her, Lydia spoke first "That jacket is absolutely killer" she said, Lauren nodded in agreement, the girl smiled bashfully. "Where'd you get it?" I asked
"My Mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco."
"And you are our new best friend." I said, smiling at her. Jackson came up behind us and started kissing Lydia. Lauren smirked at me; I shrugged and made a face at her. Here comes the Nail polish remover right in my eyeball. "I'm Lauren, this is Jessie and that's Lydia." Lauren introduced us
"I'm Allison." The girl smiled again, she was pretty, she was fashionable, and she was in.
"Oh, and that's Jackson." I said, gesturing to him
Lydia and Jackson broke apart. "So this weekend, there's a party." Lydia said
"Yeah, Friday night, you should come." Jackson finished
"Oh, I can't, Friday is family night." She said, looking sad "Thanks for asking."
"You sure? Everyone's going to be there before the game." Lauren said, like why would this girl pass out on Jackson's back to school party? It was the ticket to popularity, and it was the night before the first lacrosse game of the season
"You mean like football?" she asked
I nearly choked on the mouthful of water I had just drunk, I managed to swallow it a laugh at her "You're joking right?" I asked
"The sport here's Lacrosse." Jackson said "We've won state championship for the past three years."
"Because Jackson is team captain." Lydia cooed at him, playing with his fashionably styled hair.
"We practice is a few minutes if you don't have anywhere else to go." Jackson offered
"Well I was going to—"Alison started
"Perfect, let's go." I cut her off and pulled her along with us as we picked up more people on the way to the field.
…
We took seats on the benches as Scott and Stiles arrived on the field. "Hey, give me your number" I said "I'll make sure everyone gets it." I said, she reeled off the digits and I immediately relayed the information to my friends list, and sent a text message back to Alison reading "Guess who?!:)" so she had my number. We watched in silence for a few minutes. Scott rolled his shoulders and got ready to play.
"Who is that?" Alison asked, nodding towards Scott.
"I'm not really sure." Lydia said
"It's my cousin, Scott McCall. I live with him."
"Why? Where are you parents?" I inhaled sharply as she asked the forbidden question. Lydia and Lauren looked at her sharply; she looked like a deer in the headlights.
"It's OK guys." I said, and then too Alison "My parents and my Little brother died in a car accident four months ago. But we lived here till I was eleven anyway, so it doesn't make a difference really." I said, even though it made a huge difference. "Oh, I'm sorry." I waved her off
"I don't need your apology, you can't change the past." I said, and we went back to a slightly awkward silence.
The coach put Scott in goal, obviously in an attempt at raising people's spirits by throwing balls at him. I put my head in my hands and look away as Scott is on the ground.
A few minutes later I hear Lydia "He's actually pretty good." I look up, the crowd falls silent as Jackson pushes through to get to the front of the line, as he gets the ball and runs full speed, leaping in the air before launching the ball at Scott. He caught it. No way. He caught Jackson's ball.
Everyone stands to cheer, and I rise awkwardly to a half up half down level, not sure if my family ties to Scott mean I should cheer him on, or the fact I love Jackson, to not cheer for Scott. I give up and sit down and clap quietly, secretly happy that Scott may actually not be so dorky.
After practise, Jackson stormed off, Lydia didn't try to talk to him, and she just gave him her look that said 'I'm not impressed that you aren't the best lacrosse player anymore. Make it up to me'
I grabbed for his arm, but he pulled passed me into the locker room. I bite my lip, Jackson had a taught time, he found out he was adopted when he was 11, shortly before I left, I guess he never really got passed it, and Lydia being so demanding and bitchy wasn't helping. I waited for Scott and Stiles to get changed. "We're going back to the woods." They announced
"What? You're going back to the woods where we found half of a corpse and nearly got killed last night? Are you really that crazy?!" I exclaimed, like what were these guys trying to injure me permanently?!
"I left my inhaler, I need it." I rolled my eyes.
"Fine, I'm coming with you." I said, god knows what would happen if I wasn't there to keep them under control.
…
We entered the woods a different way, it was the quickest way to get there from school, me and Scott still had to go to work at the vets, for minimum wage, I might add. Scott splashed through a small river, Stiles followed him, and I balanced over a log, so as not to get my boots wet.
"It was like I had all the time in the world to catch the ball." Scott explained about the lacrosse practice. "And that's not the weirdest thing. I can hear stuff I shouldn't be able to hear, see things I shouldn't be able to see, smell things…"
"Smell things? Like what?" I asked
"Like the spearmint gum Stiles has in his pocket"
"I don't have any…" stiles checked his pocket
"Ok, that's really freaky." I said, eyeing Scott, he didn't really look any different.
"And it all started with a bite." Stiles said
"What if it's like an infection and my whole body is filling with adrenaline before I go into shock or something?" Scott asked, as we trudged along in the woods.
"You know what; I actually think I've heard of this, it's a specific kind of infection."
"Oh my god seriously?"
"Yeah, it's called…Lycanthropy." Stiles said, deadly serious, I stifled giggles.
"No way, what is that? Is it bad?" Scott didn't get the joke
"Yeah, it's the worst, but only once a month." I carried on the joke
"Once a month?" Scott asked
"Uh huh, on the night of the full moon." Stiles said, Scott stared, starting to get it, before Stiles let out a howl. Scott shoved him and walked away
"You're the one who heard a wolf howling!" Stiles called
"There's something seriously wrong with me!" Scott yelled back
"I know! You're a werewolf!" Stiles insisted, he faked a werewolf impression, badly.
"Ok, obviously we're kidding, but if you see me in shop class melting down all the silver I can find, it's because Friday's the full moon." Stiles said. We arrived at a familiar place, it looked totally harmless in the daylight, but at night it was my own personal nightmare.
"I could've sworn this was it, the body was right there." Scott said, "We came running, I dropped my inhaler, maybe the killer moved the body?" He asked, when I remembered the figure with the bulky thing in his arms, I bit my lip, should I tell, or had I been hallucinating?
"If he did, I hope he left your inhaler, those things are like eighty bucks, and I need my allowance- ahhh!" I let out a scream, as I turned round a tall guy was standing there watching us, he hadn't been there a second ago.
He walked over to us, and the closer he came, the hotter he got. He was older than us by a few years probably, tall, dark, handsome. With pitch black hair and icy eyes, stubble and obvious muscles he was…whoa. And he did not look happy. "What are you doing here?" he demanded
I felt my mouth drop open and eyes widen. Scott mumbled something, Stiles just 'uhhhh-ed' for a really long time. "This is private property." He said, practically snarling. He seemed familiar, like I should know him, from somewhere…
"Sorry, man, we didn't know." I said, finding my voice, speaking to him like I would of spoke to any of the lacrosse team guys.
"Yeah, we were just looking for something" Scott said, this guy was scary, like animal scary. But kind of beautiful. The guy raised his eyebrows, as if to say 'you were looking for what, idiots?' "But, uhh, never mind." Scott gave up too easy; he should've stood up for himself! I stepped forward to tell this guy where he could stick his private property, but then he tossed Scott his inhaler, Scott caught it one handed, it looked pristine, like it had never hit the ground.
Then he gave me a lingering glance that made the hairs stick up on the back of my spine as he walked away. I shook it off "Come on, we have to get to work." I said, at this rate we were going to get in trouble for being late, we were supposed to be at the vets after closing time, too feed the animals and clean up, totally gross crap, apart from feeding the cute little kitties, which I usually took a picture of and sent to Danny and Jackson as jokes, or to Lydia and Lauren too awww over.
"Dudes that was Derek Hale." Stiles said, though the name didn't really ring a bell "You remember, right? He's only like a few years older than us."
"Remember what?" Scott asked
"His family. They burned to death in a fire like ten years ago" Stiles informed us, huh, maybe the guy was a supreme douche, but I knew what it was like to lose your family.
…..
By the time we got to the animal clinic, it was dark. A rainstorm had rolled in, and the rain hammered down on the windows and roof, and thunder boomed through the sky, it was eerie.
"Hey Scott, I got some disinfectant and a new band aid, come here so I can clean your…erm…bite." I said. Scott came over o me and lifted the corner of his shirt, I peeled the bloodstained bandage off, and I winced in preparation for what I might see, but here was just smooth perfect skin, not a mark.
"Huh." I said, meeting Scott's eyes. "You're such a freak Scott, but hey, if you do decide to be a werewolf, can you turn me too? We could be in, like, a pack. I'd totally be alpha." I rambled, but I was really just trying to not let Scott see how freaked I was, I mean, that bite was bleeding and scabbing yesterday in a really gross way, and had kept on bleeding after I put the bandages on, and now it was just, gone. Vanished, invisible. And with everything happening to Scott, him suddenly being an amazing lacrosse player, the sounds he said he was hearing, it was too weird.
"Let's just go feed the cats." Scott said, and he went and got the huge bag of food from the supply room, we went in to the cathouse "Hey kitties!" I yelled like I did every day, and Scott followed me into the room, and it was chaos. The cats went crazy, meowing and clawing and hissing. "Scott, I think I better feed them alone tonight, your wolfness is affecting their chakras." I said, spouting some yoga drivel Lauren told me, that her mom told her.
Scott left as we heard a banging at the door, I listen for a few minutes as the voice was…Alison? She sounded frantic. Hmm, I think I'll leave Scott to the hysterical girl. I turned on the light, filled up all the cats' water bowls and food bowls, gave them some fresh litter. I spotted a small cat, who's fur was the same light brown as Jacksons hair, and it's eyes were a strange blue colour, I stuck my hand in the cage and spiked up its hair long enough to take a picture to send to Jackson with the caption 'Jackson is a pussy'. I then played with a few more of the cats, waiting for a reply. When my phone made a noise, it wasn't for a text, Lydia was calling me.
"Lydia, hey." I said
"Are you busy?" she asked, her voice was higher than usual. A fat ginger cat looked at me from is cage, I sat cross legged on the floor and began stroking it. "Yeah, what's up?"
"Jackson broke up with me." then the sobs broke loose and something like ice dripped down my spine, Jackson and Lydia were made for each other, both rich and popular, they were like a power couple. "What? Why?!" I asked
"Some stupid thing about me always snapping at him!" Lydia wailed "But I snap at everybody" she sobbed, my heart broke for my friend. The incoming call noise bleeped "Lydia, give me one second." I said, she cried in response. "Hello?" I said down the phone
"It's Jackson."
"Oh, you." I sniffed. "I have your crying girlfriend on the other line, who I really should be getting back too."
"Hey, wait, I know it looks really bad but I just couldn't stand her anymore." He said
"That doesn't change anything, you, me, Danny, Lydia, Lauren and the others are still going to be friends, so you escaped nothing apart from the all access pass to her bra!" I practically yelled down the phone, before switching back to Lydia "its ok, honey, he obviously wasn't good enough for you." I said
"You're right, he couldn't even score at practise today, he probably won't even be first line if he carries on, and I don't know who he thinks he is…" I could tell this would be a long rant; he cat clawed my jeans playfully as I went back to Jackson's call. "I'm back." I said
"Are you any less pissed?" He asked
"No, not really." I snapped
"Look, just come over, ok? I need to talk to you."
"I can't, I'm at work. And we're talking anyway."
"I'll come pick you up, it's not the same."
"No, it needs to be the same, you need to tell Lydia you made a mistake and get back together and normality will resume." I said, before ending his call and getting back to Lydia just in time for her to finish ranting with "So I've decided we're not really broken up. He's just testing our relationship because he's unsure. But we are together, we have to be together because he's popular and hot, and I'm popular and hot."
I would've told her that a relationship should kind of mean more than that, but it would be wasted, since Lydia got so carried away with playing dumb that she actually forgot to stop. But I wanted Jackson, but I wanted things to be normal so much more. "Yeah, I totally get that, are you going to be ok?" I asked, trying to get off the phone
"Yes. There is nothing to not be ok about. Me and Jackson will be perfect by the party on Friday"
"Uh huh, well I gotta go, we have a patient." Lydia hung up without saying goodbye. I double checked all the locks on the cages, put the fat ginger cat back in his and slipped him a treat for letting me pet him. I walked past the big cage for all the cats that needed to be adopted. They were all tiny kittens whose mother had died. They meowed softly, they were all different colours, but there was just one tiny all black one with huge green eyes. I wanted to take her, but we couldn't afford it, and the way the cats had reacted to Scott earlier, I didn't think a new kitty was a good idea.
I turned the light of and shut the door to the cat's room, dragged the bag of food down the hall and put it back in the horrible smelling store room. I looked through the window in the door of the main exam room, to find Scott and a very wet looking Alison, I wonder whether I should offer her my spare shirt, but decide against it because I am just too lazy, Scott tended to a dog when I heard the familiar purr of the Porsches' engine out front. So Jackson had come. I rolled my eyes and stuck my head round the door. "Oh, hey." Alison looked surprised
"Hello." She said, Scott rose an eyebrow at me
"Um, Jackson's here for me, sorry for leaving you but….I have to talk to him."
"Yeah, see you at home later." Scott said, I closed the door and ran to Jackson's car, in the rain.
"I thought you were going to ignore me." He said, he was staring blankly out of the window.
"I thought about it." I said back, staring out of the other window into the darkness
"I'm…glad you didn't." He said
It was such an un Jackson like thing to say, he usually took everything for granted.
"So, what did you want to say?" I said, and he gunned the engine and pulled out
"I wanted to tell you…that I hope we can still be friends and Lydia won't come between us."
"You drove out here in this weather, just to ask me that. Really?" I raised my eyebrows, this boy was insane.
"I guess so. You wanna watch a movie at my place?" He said, we were practically at his house.
"So you drove here to get me to watch a movie with you? You could've just asked on the phone."
"I prefer to just take." Jackson smiled, and sounded more…Jacksonish.
"Believe me, I know. Do you have popcorn?" I asked
"Of course, we have everything."
Jackson's familiar house was large and modern, full of the expensive stuff my house used to have, we went through to the cinema room, I took off my soggy cardigan and threw it in a pile on the floor, Jackson came through with a glass bowl of popcorn and two cokes "Shouldn't you be on your lacrosse diet?" I asked, he just shrugged and threw me a bottle, I caught it but fumbled, he shook his head. Scott's new reflexes would be great about now.
"What do you want to watch?" I asked, Jackson took of his jacket and threw it next to mine, even though it cost triple what mine had.
"You pick." He said, drinking from his bottle of coke. I got up to the shelves and shelves of DVD's. I'd watched them all, I figured Jackson had too, then an old favourite caught my eye, I looked back at Jackson, he was just staring into space. I put the dvd into the player and went and sat back on the couch. "What did you pick?" he asked
"It's a surprise." I said, as the Disney logo filled the screen, and tinkerbell flew across the castle.
"Are you freakin' serious?" He said
"Yeah, oh come on, I used to love this movie when I was a kid, everyone knows Disney makes you feel better!" I said, he groaned.
…..
"Didn't that make you feel better?" I asked, as the credits rolled after nearly two hours of Peter Pan
"No."
"Liar. You even sang along."
"If you tell anyone about this I will make sure you won't live to see prom." He threatened, laughter in his eyes.
"Ok, I swear!" I said, he drove me home and we said an awkward goodbye.
"Scott, I'm home." I called
"In here!" he yelled from the kitchen, I hadn't eaten since lunch and Jackson hogged the popcorn, so I was starving.
"I'm starving, what's for dinner?" I asked, even though it was nearly 10. Then I smelled the burning and I didn't really feel all that excited about dinner anymore.
"Or what was for dinner." I said, looking at the mess
"I tried to make pizza."
"What was that you said about having an insane sense of smell?" Scott looked defeated. So did the black, charred thing that used to be pizza.
"Why don't we get take out, my treat?"
"Sure." Scott said, and I spent the night being a dork with my cousin trying not to think about the Jackson Lydia drama, and what was going to happen tomorrow.
….
The next two days were brutal, Scott was an animal on the lacrosse field, and by Friday he'd made first line. I sat at my room, while Scott went over to Stiles' house after an Advil fuelled call insisting he went. I applied my makeup perfectly, my just about shoulder length hair was thick and shiny and perfectly straight. I also managed to find the perfect outfit to wear without having to buy anything, Black lace shirts with a loose cream button up, with a pastel pink blazer, pearl earrings and a gold necklace with a tiny wolf on it I found at a boutique like a year ago. I agonized on whether to wear heels or flats, and decided on black heels. I heard the shower turn off, so I went in to Scott's room. "What do you think, too much?" I asked Scott and Aunt Melissa, on a jaw dropping scale of one to ten, it was a seven. "No, perfect, didn't you say Jackson and Lydia had broken up?" Melissa asked, raising an eyebrow
"It's complicated." I said, she looked at us both, Scott had a horrified expression on his face so she'd obviously asked about Alison. "Do I have to have the talk with you both?" she asked
"I already got the safe sex talk with my Mom." I said, figuring that's what she meant, and then I saw the car keys dangling from her fingers "Oh my God! I meant about leaving the tank full! I'll take these back." She said, snatching the keys away from Scott's hand
"Oh come on are you serious?!" I said
"Yes! I am not ending up on some reality show with a pregnant sixteen year old!" Melissa shouted, I could feel my face burning.
…..
We eventually got the keys, and Scott made me sit in the back seat when we went to pick up Alison, we didn't really talk in the car and I got away from them quick as I could once we arrived at Jacksons.
I looked around for Lauren and Lydia, but more importantly, Jackson. I wandered around, I looked over across the pool near the fire pit to see the guy from the woods the other day, Derek Hale, staring at Scott, I stared back at him, what was he doing here the psycho?
He noticed I was staring at him and he broke his gaze at Scott to look at me. He made me feel uncomfortable, he looked at me like I was missing out on the joke, he glanced somewhere behind me, then vanished, I turned to look where he had been looking with such amusement.
"Hey! There you are! What are you…oh." Lauren said, coming over to me, as I watched Lydia and Jackson make out hungrily against the wall. "I guess that got back together then." I whispered.
Lauren put her hand on my arm "Come on, forget him, they deserve each other." She pulled me to dance, but she broke away as she saw Isaac loitering on the edge of the crowds.
Wow, she was talking to him, and laughing and flipping her curls. He was laughing too. It made me glad that they were finally getting it together. I wandered through the house, socializing with a few girls I knew, grabbing a drink, then another, then another, till I was warm and giddy.
I then went out of the front door, stumbling a little down the steps. It was quieter and no one was here apart from the creep Derek Hale, who was watching me with that same amused look.
"Hey, asshole, I don't know what your problem is, but seriously. This is a school party, you don't know anyone here!" I shouted at him
"I know you, and Scott, and I'm getting to know Jackson."
"You stay away from Jackson! And Scott!" I yelled, throwing my red plastic cup away
"It's funny how you still like him even after this. You nearly had a shot; you should've made your move the other night, watching the movie."
"You freak" My voice had reached squeaking level by now "You were watching me? You're a freak and you killed that girl in the woods, and you did something to Scott that's made him sick! I know it was you, you freak!" his expression had darkened and I turned and walked up the steps "I hope you're satisfied with yourself." I sniffed and went back inside with new drive to party, a shape pushed passed me "Hey! Watch yourself!" I yelled to the guy, before I realised it was Scott running for the door, "Hey! You're supposed to give me and Alison a ride!" But he's already gone
"Why'd Scott leave?" I said as I found Alison outside
"I don't know." She said "But how're we going to get home?"
"Well I think Jackson's a little preoccupied to give us a ride." I said, looking over to Jackson and Lydia still making out, just to twist the knife a little further. I was so stupid for thinking I had a chance that he'd broken up with Lydia for me.
"Jessie." A voice that is maybe too familiar says, I turn around to find Derek Hale smiling a sickly sweet smile. "And you must be Alison." She smiled at him
"I'm Scott and Jessie's friend Derek, he sent me too give you both a ride, and that he's sorry for leaving."
"I should've had that fourth drink." I murmured.
"I think you've had enough, lightweight." Derek said, how did he know I was a lightweight?
I resisted the urge to growl at him "Well, should we go then?" Alison said, Derek led us out to a surprisingly nice black camaro. Alison gets in the back, so I got in the front, I don't want to talk to Alison any more than I want to talk to Derek, or anyone at this point. I took my blazer off before I got in the car, and as Derek drove, I checked my phone, there was a text from Lauren, saying her and Isaac were totally made for each other, and about five from Stiles.
One was a picture of a bunch of Advil's, along with loads of papers, zooming in they were all web printouts about werewolves.
The next said that Scott was a werewolf
The next said his bloodlust would be higher because it was the full moon; I looked out of the window to see the white moon, full and bright, and gulped.
The next said that Derek was probably a werewolf, and that he'd probably bitten Scott.
"Bye Alison!" I called, as we dropped her off. I allowed Derek to pull away from the house and start driving. "Are you a werewolf?" I asked in a less confident voice than I would've liked
"Yes."
"Is Scott a werewolf?"
"Yes."
"Crap. Is this for real?"
"Yes."
"Is yes the only word you know?" I snapped "And don't say yes."
"No. Keep an eye on Scott; werewolves go crazy on full moons."
"Oh wow great. Something else going crazy." I groaned.
We pulled up outside the house, the bathroom light was on. "I'm sorry for yelling at you before, but I still think you're a murderer and a psycho. And being a werewolf doesn't help your case."
He shrugged, like it was no big deal. "I didn't kill the girl." His expression was dark
"I…Believe you." I said, I don't know why, but I just, believed him. He said he didn't kill her. So he didn't
"Good. And I'm sorry about that guy."
"What? Jackson, no big deal. I already lost him before I knew I had him. I lose everything." I said
"Yeah, we seem to have the same annoying habit." He said
"That's right, Stiles said about your family. I'm sorry." I said
"Me too, are your parents dead?" He asked
"Yeah, and my brother. Four months and seventeen days." I said, his grip tightened on the steering wheel
"You know how the full moon makes werewolves do crazy stuff?" Derek said in a tight voice
"Yeah?"
"You better get out of the car before I do something crazy"
"Like what?"
"Like this" and then quick as, well, a werewolf, he kissed me. And it was nothing like I thought kissing Jackson would be like, it was good, don't get me wrong, but it was rough and kind of scratchy, and then it was over. He had green eyes, pale green eyes. He stared at me like I was some sort of alien. He was really beautiful.
I can't believe I just said that. Ok, he was hot. But he wasn't Jackson. "I have to go. Thanks for the ride."
I only stopped to think when I was in my room, and only then did I realise I'd left my blazer in the car. Damn. That meant I would at some point have to talk to him again, and I really couldn't see myself wanting to stop at talking anymore.