HARSHER THAN THE BARK
A/N: Welcome! I have a few quick notes...feel free to read them before continuing on to the actual fic. First of all this is my take on Scott having a twin sister and hopefully it won't seem identical to all the other ones out there. Second, every chapter is an episode except for maybe a few when it's summer (etc.) Third, please follow, favourite and review if you like it. Tell me what you like about it and what you don't, tell me what you'd like to see more of and feel free to PM me about anything if you don't want to leave it in a review. Also, I have the whole first season written I just need to do some editing so updates will come fairly quickly although I will probably choose a specific day to start updating on so there is a consistency.
Disclaimer: Anything you recognise, I obviously do not own but anything you don't then it's come from my own imagination which is mostly the few other OC's I've thrown in there.
Enjoy...
'You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams.' – Dr Seuss
*Chapter 1*
Another school year. One year closer to getting the hell out of this town, Scarlett thought as she stared at herself in the mirror of her vanity.
School started tomorrow and she was more than ready to go back. Although she would never admit it out loud for fear of getting slated, she actually really liked school. She was smart, always one of the top students in her class and she was popular. Of course, popularity came with the territory of being a cheerleader and being best friends with Lydia Martin.
The sound of her phone ringing pulled her out of her thoughts and she picked it up from where it sat. Looking at the name and picture that appeared on the screen she smirked.
Speak of the devil…
She clicked the answer button and put the phone to her ear.
"If you're calling to question me about what I'm wearing tomorrow, it's cool. I have a 'Lydia approved' outfit picked out already." Scarlett said with a smile.
"Good I'm glad. I don't want a repeat of last year." Lydia replied. She could just imagine the horrified look on her best friend's face as she thought about what she'd worn the first day of school last year.
"Hey! It wasn't even that bad…"
"You wore flare jeans. Who wears flare jeans anymore?" Lydia asked sceptically.
"Good point." Scarlett shrugged, agreeing with Lydia.
"Anyway, I'm not calling about fashion this time. I'm calling about Jackson."
Scarlett froze but then sighed before replying.
"I've told you already that I'm cool with it.I mean, I ended it with him remember? And plus, you guys are pretty cute together anyway."
"I know right…" Lydia said distantly. "I'm just happy that it's all good with you because it'll be public tomorrow."
"I'm completely fine with it. Jackson and I are still friends. That hasn't changed-" Scarlett stopped when she heard a noise. She looked around and decided to go and see Scott.
"Scar? You there?" Lydia asked.
"Yeah, yeah sorry. Um, yeah you and Jackson. Totally cute so no worries. I'll see you tomorrow okay?"
"Okay. You better be wearing something extremely cute tomorrow or I swear I'll kick your ass." Lydia warned her. Scarlett laughed a bit at the threat.
"I will, promise. Bye." She said before ending the call and setting down her phone on the bed.
Scarlett carefully made her way out of her room and walked down the hall to Scott's room.
She let out a small shriek at Scott opening the door just as she was about to.
"Scott what the hell? Why are you holding a freaking bat?" She asked frantically.
"I heard a noise." He said in answer to her question. "I'm gonna go check it out. You should stay here."
Scott walked past her and started heading down the stairs. Scarlett looked after him with an incredulous looks. She heard another noise and jumped.
"Screw staying here." She murmured before all but running after her twin.
When she caught up to Scott he was walking out the front door cautiously so she got right behind him, wanting to stay as close as possible without looking like a wimp.
"I thought I told you to stay inside." He whispered/hissed at her.
"You may be slightly older than me but you're not the boss of me." She retorted, sounding childish.
He rolled his eyes at her and kept on walking outside onto the porch, the bat in his hands raised as if he was about to whack a baseball.
"What was that?" Scarlett asked quietly when she heard yet another noise.
Scott didn't answer, he just walked closer to the railing and when he did someone hung upside down from the roof, screaming. Then Scott started screaming which caused Scarlett to start screaming.
"Stiles what the hell are you doing?!" Scott yelled at his best friend.
"You freaking scared me you idiot!" Scarlett shouted at Stiles as well and let go of her brother's arm when she noticed how tightly she'd been gripping it.
"You weren't answering your phone!" Stiles said as if it was obvious. He then seemed to notice the bat in Scott's hands and questioned it.
"I thought you were a predator." Scott said helplessly.
"A pred- ugh, look I know it's late but you gotta hear this." Stiles explained making Scarlett roll her eyes and cross her arms across her chest as she realised how cold it was.
"You have two minutes to explain Stilinski before I take that bat and beat you with it." She threatened with a light tone.
"Whoa. What's with the threat?" Stiles asked her.
"I'm tired." She replied simply. He took a moment to process that before he started talking again.
"Anyway, I saw my dad leave twenty minutes ago. Dispatch called. They're bringing in every officer in the Beacon department and even state police."
"For what?" Scott asked, voicing Scarlett's unasked question.
"Two joggers found a body in the woods." Stiles said before jumping down from the rooftop.
"A dead body?" Scott asked, earning a strange look from his sister.
"No. A body of water." Stiles answered sarcastically making Scarlett grin slightly. "Yes dumbass. A dead body."
Stiles climbed over the railing and onto the porch to stand in front of Scott and Scarlett.
"You mean like murdered?" Scott asked.
"Nobody knows yet. It was a girl, probably in her twenties." Stiles explained further.
"Wait, if they've already found the body then what the hell is everyone getting called in for?" Scarlett asked, not understanding what was so interesting.
"Well that's the best part." Stiles answered her, looking excited. "They only found half."
"Oh that is disgusting." Scarlett said and she gagged slightly at the thought of someone chopped in half. What a horrible way to die. She shuddered and this time it wasn't from the cold.
"I don't know why I let myself be talked into this." Scarlett mumbled as she got out of Stiles' blue jeep. She read the sign at the beginning of the woods that said: BEACON HILLS PRESERVE. NO ENTRY AFTER DARK.
Of course she had been out in the woods after dark loads of times before, enjoying the peace that came with no one being around. She escaped there to write in her diary sometimes but tonight, she just didn't feel right about going in there.
"Think of it as an adventure Scar. You like adventures." Stiles said to her with a smirk. She gave him an incredulous look.
"Yeah, to a certain extent Stiles. I don't particularly feel good about going on an adventure to find half of a dead girl who was most likely murdered. Murdered by a crazy person who might still be out here!" She said, expressing her worry of possibly being attacked or killed by some mad man.
"She does have a good point Stiles. I mean, I was going to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow." Scott said, backing up Scarlett as they started into the woods.
"Yeah because sitting on the bench is such a gruelling effort." Stiles retorted sarcastically causing Scarlett to role her eyes. She knew that Scott probably didn't have a chance at making first line for the lacrosse team this year, just like he didn't make it on last year. Mostly due to him being asthmatic and really clumsy but she wasn't going to say anything about it. Stiles on the other hand was just point blank rude and she kind of felt bad for her twin.
"Well, I'm playing this year. In fact I'm making first line." Scott said with his voice full of determination. Scarlett smiled at that.
"Hey, that's the spirit! Everyone should have a dream. Even a pathetically unrealistic one." Stiles joked again. Scarlett just rolled her eyes again and followed Stiles, staying close to Scott.
"Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?" Scott asked.
"I was actually wondering the same thing…" Scarlett said. She had realised a little while ago that Stiles had never specified.
"Huh. I didn't even think about that." Stiles said with a slight laugh.
"And what if whoever killed the body is still out here, like Scar said."
"Yeah, I don't think I'm too comfortable with that." Scarlett added on.
"Also something I didn't think about." Stiles admitted.
"What exactly did you think about when you dragged us out here then?" Scarlett asked Stiles with a raised brow.
"I was thinking how freaking cool it would be to find half of a body before the police did." He answered her casually.
She just blew out a breath and tried to shove her hands further into the pockets of her jacket, fighting off the cold nip of the air.
When they got to a slight hill covered in fallen leaves, Scarlett kind of dreaded having to go up it. She really wasn't in the mood for getting her hands all dirty.
Stiles was the first to go up so when he got to the top he turned around and helped Scarlett the rest of the way up. She thought it was a small but sweet gesture. When she was at the top she heard Scott breathing heavily. She turned around to see him leaning against a tree.
"Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight." He wheezed, taking out his inhaler and climbing up the rest of the way to meet Stiles and Scarlett. Well, really just Scarlett considering Stiles was lying on the ground.
"Stiles, what the h-" Scarlett's question was cut off by Stiles yanking her arm, causing her to fall down beside him. He made a gesture to keep quiet and she did so as Scott got down as well.
She could see the light coming from the flashlights up ahead. She heard talking and the barking of dogs and she realised that it was the big search party of police. She cursed quietly, thinking that they were definitely going to be busted for being out this late.
"Okay come on." Stiles said suddenly before taking off running. Scarlett groaned and got up, running after him.
"Stiles!" She hissed quietly at him as they ran.
They were even closer to the police now and her heart started racing. Oh god. We're definitely getting caught, she thought as she ran faster. Shit. Shit. Shit.
"Stiles, wait!" Scarlett grabbed onto his arm and he stopped and looked back at her and she looked back at Scott but he was a bit further behind. When she looked back she jumped out of her skin as she came face to face with a blinding light, a barking dog and a shouting police officer.
"Stay right there!" The officer said. Scarlett clung to Stiles' arm even tighter, scared of what was going to happen.
"Hang on. Hang on." She heard the familiar voice of Sheriff Stilinski say. "These little delinquents belong to me."
Her nerves were going out of control. They had been caught and now her mom was going to be super pissed. Why the hell had she gone with them?
She relaxed in the slightest when she realised that Scott hadn't been found and she was with Stiles who would probably make up some excuse to get them out of trouble.
"Sheriff…" Scarlett greeted, not knowing what else to do.
"Dad, how are you doing?" Stiles asked awkwardly.
"Scarlett." Sheriff Stilinski said sternly. "So, do you listen in to all my calls?" His attention was turned to Stiles.
"No. Not the boring ones."
"And where's your usual partner in crime?" The Sheriff asked, noticing that it was usually the other McCall that was with Stiles.
"Who Scott? He's not-he's not here. It's just… the two of us. We were just um…making out." Scarlett's eyes widened at Stiles' excuse and she elbowed him subtly.
The Sheriff looked like he didn't believe a word.
"Somehow, I find it very hard to believe that you two are…together." He said suspiciously. Then, Scarlett decided to step in and at least try to save their asses.
"Who us? Yeah, it was just recently that we uh, discovered our…feelings, for each other." She stepped closer to Stiles and plastered a fake smile on her face. "Isn't that right Stiles?" She squeezed his arm to the point where it was painful.
"Yup. Yes. It's, you just can't fight a love like this." Stiles said motioning between the two of them.
"Uh-huh…Scott! You out there?" The Sheriff called out, shining the flashlight in every direction. Clearly, he didn't buy any of the crap that Scarlett and Stiles were spewing. He sighed when there was no answer and walked towards the two teens who were still just standing there. "Well, you two. I'm gonna walk you back to your car and we're going to have a conversation about something called invasion of privacy. And I will also be mentioning this to Melissa."
"I figured as much…" Scarlett mumbled under her breath. Of course he was going to tell her mom and her mom was going to flip shit. She kind of hoped that Sheriff Stilinski would write it off as not that bad though. He'd done it in the past when she's gotten into trouble with Scott and Stiles. The Sheriff had always had a soft spot for Scarlett and Scott. He saw the need to be a sort of father-figure in their lives considering their own father bailed years ago.
When they arrived back at Stiles' jeep, Scarlett looked around hoping to maybe find Scott. She was really worried about him. It's not as if he knew the woods well or anything and oh God, what if the killer really was still out there and Scott's all alone? The very thought of her twin being hurt was enough to make her feel sick.
"Make sure Scarlett gets home safely and then you, get your ass straight home." The Sheriff told his son sternly before turning to Scarlett. "Keep yourself out of trouble with these two, alright kiddo?"
"Alright Sheriff." She nodded with a small laugh.
"Okay, you two get going." He nodded towards the jeep which Stiles had already started and Scarlett walked to the passenger's side. She opened the door and hopped in, slamming the door shut.
"Hey, watch the jeep." Stiles complained. She gave him an 'are you serious' look and he just shrugged.
"Stiles, I'm worried about Scott. Maybe we should try and find him." Scarlett said when Stiles started to reverse.
"He'll be fine Scar. It isn't that far to walk to your house and how hard could it be to get out of the woods?" He said, trying to reassure her.
"This is Scott we're talking about. My brother Scott. I mean, I love him but he really doesn't have any sense of direction like…at all. And if he's out there alone and there's a freaking killer on the loose and he can't find his way back and oh crap…what are we gonna do?" Scarlett panicked. She was finding it hard to breathe properly whilst worrying so much about her brother.
Stiles stopped the car and turned to face her, putting both of his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to calm down.
"Hey listen, he'll be fine. You know he will. You're worrying about nothing alright?" His tone was soothing and she decided to listen to him and try to stop worrying. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trusting what Stiles said.
"You're right. I'm just being paranoid. Nothing's going to happen to him. I mean, this is Beacon Hills after all. Nothing ever happens here." She said, trying to reassure herself more than anything.
"See? It's fine. Now, I'm gonna drive you home and you're gonna go to bed and when you wake up Scott will be home. Okay?"
"Yeah, okay."
"Gooood morning Beacon Hills! It's time to rise and shine! Beacon Hills High is back in session and you kids don't wanna be late…"
Scarlett groaned at the horribly irritating voice of the man on the radio. She reached an arm out of her sheets and slammed her hand down on the radio/ alarm clock, effectively getting it to shut up.
She wrapped the sheets tighter around herself and closed her eyes again, really regretting going out with Stiles and Scott last night.
She bolted upright when she remembered that they had left Scott in the woods. She threw her covers off of her and briskly walked out of her room, down the hall and into Scott's bedroom. She wasted no time in barging in through the door.
Scarlett sighed in relief when she saw her brother sitting up in bed, giving her a strange look.
"Oh thank God you got back okay!" She said, leaning on the door frame.
"Yeah…thanks for leaving me there by the way." He said sarcastically, making Scarlett feel bad about it.
"I'm so sorry. But hey, at least you didn't get caught being out late…" She said trying to smooth things over.
"I guess but it was weird. Like, really weird. There was this stampede of deer and then I heard this- this growling." Scott began to explain to her.
"Growling? What kind of growling?" Scarlett asked.
"Like a…wolf."
"A wolf, Scott really?" She asked him, not really believing that it could've been such a thing.
"Seriously Scar. It bit me and everything." He said, making Scarlett's eyes go wide.
"Something bit you? Oh my God. Scott, are you alright? Dammit. I knew we should've gone looking for you." She said, cursing herself for not demanding that they wait for Scott.
"It's…fine. I'm gonna get ready though so…" He said, giving her a look that said 'please get out.'
"Oh yeah, sorry. Well, I'll see you at school then, unless you want a ride?" She asked as she was halfway out the door.
"It's my turn for the car anyway."
"No it isn't. So you can either let me drive or you can take your bike."
"Fine. You drive." Scott rolled his eyes at the smirk that graced her face at the fact she got to drive.
Scarlett found a space in the parking lot of the school and pulled into it. After she turned off the engine she sat in the little black mini cooper and checked her appearance again.
"I'm older. I should get to drive." Scott said as he unbuckled his seatbelt.
"You're older by twenty minutes. Get over yourself." She laughed slightly and grabbed her schoolbag, getting out of the car.
"See you later." She said to him as he began to walk off to find Stiles.
"Yeah, see ya." He mumbled over his shoulder. She shrugged and shouldered her bag, walking towards the school to find Lydia.
When Scarlett found the familiar strawberry blonde she was looking for, she smiled at her and Lydia immediately pulled her into a hug.
"I feel like I haven't seen you in forever." She said.
"It's been like two weeks since that shopping trip." Scarlett replied with a laugh.
"Whatever…you were right by the way. That outfit is most definitely Lydia approved." She smirked as she looked at what Scarlett was wearing. Scarlett, in turn, looked down at her mid-thigh dark blue dress and grinned back at Lydia.
"I told you it would be." They started walking towards the entrance of the school and as they did they chatted about random things.
"So do you have try outs today?" She asked, mildly interested in Scarlett's cheerleading activities.
"Yeah. I better freaking make the squad again. If I don't then I'll be super pissed."
"You will. I've seen you cheer before." Lydia winked at her. Scarlett rolled her eyes but laughed.
"So where's Jackson? I thought you two were 'public' now." Scarlett asked her best friend with a smirk.
"He's somewhere inside waiting for me." Lydia said as she flipped her hair back with her hand.
Scarlett saw that they were approaching her brother and Stiles and she gave them a small smile when she heard Stiles talking.
"Since the birth of Lydia Martin. Hey Lydia." He said, trying to get her attention.
Lydia completely ignored him and Scarlett felt kind of bad. She knew that Stiles had the biggest crush ever on Lydia and it had been that way since the third grade but Lydia just wouldn't give him the time of day.
"Who's that?" Scarlett asked her brother when she noticed him making eyes at a girl she'd never seen before.
"What? Who? Her? Um…I think her name is Allison. She's new." He said kind of dreamily.
"Hm. I'm gonna go say hi. And if you like her then I suggest you do the same at some point instead of being all stalker-like." She said in a teasing tone before walking over to the girl, Allison, at the same time Lydia did.
"Hey Scar." Lydia greeted her before turning her attention to Allison. "That jacket is… absolutely killer."
"I wholeheartedly agree. It's gorgeous." Scarlett added in, giving the new girl a friendly smile. She was really pretty and she had this innocent look about her, no wonder her brother was interested in her.
"Where'd you get it?" Lydia asked.
"My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco…" Allison explained to both of the girls. Scarlett nodded, finding it kind of fascinating. She must have some other really cute clothes then.
"And you are my new best friend. Well, my other best friend." Lydia added as an afterthought. She'd obviously been thinking the same thing as Scarlett about the clothes then.
"Well I guess that means you're my new best friend as well…Allison, right?" Scarlett questioned.
"Yeah, how'd you know that?" Allison asked sceptically.
"My brother told me. His name's Scott, you know…the guy who kinda looks like a lost puppy. In fact, he's right over there." Scarlett pointed across the hall to where her twin was standing with Stiles.
"Oh yeah. He's um, in my class." Allison said, blushing a bit. Scarlett smirked. So finally a girl actually liked her brother in return. That was good. She was happy for him.
"Hey Jackson…" She heard Lydia say so she turned around to be met with the sight of Lydia kissing or rather, making out with Jackson.
Scarlett didn't find it as awkward as she thought she would have. She and Jackson had been together for a while but eventually she broke it off because he was such a douchebag and she had also known that Lydia kind of liked him. Due to that reason, Lydia snatched him right up at the beginning of the summer and Scarlett was completely fine with it.
When they were done making out, Jackson acknowledged Scarlett.
"Scarlett." He gave her a curt nod and she did the same.
"Good summer Jackson?" She questioned, being friendly.
"Yeah, it was great." He said with a knowing smile as he looked at Lydia.
"So, this weekend there's a party." Lydia announced to Allison who had been rather quiet.
"A party?" Allison asked.
"Yeah, Friday night. You should come." Jackson answered.
"Uh, I can't. It's family night this Friday." Allison said although Scarlett could tell she made that up on the spot. Family night? How old was that excuse? She wasn't going to question it though. Allison was new and maybe she wasn't the partying type so Scarlett thought it best to just leave her be.
"You sure?" Jackson asked. "I mean, everyone's going after the scrimmage."
"If she doesn't want to go then she doesn't have to." Scarlett said, sticking up for Allison.
"I'm just asking her." Jackson replied smoothly.
"You mean like football?" Allison asked curiously.
"Football's a joke here at Beacon. The sport here's lacrosse. We've won state championship for the past three years."
"Because of our epic cheer squad." Scarlett boasted with a smirk, earning a smile from Allison.
"And because of a certain team captain." Lydia said, fixing Jackson's hair for him.
"We have practice in a few minutes. That is if you don't have anywhere else to be…"
"Well, I was going to uh-"
"Perfect." Lydia interrupted Allison before her and Jackson walked away.
"It's really not that bad. I mean, you can always just watch the cheerleaders or maybe try out for the squad…?" Scarlett said slyly.
"Oh no. I don't think cheerleading is my thing…at all." Allison said with a laugh. "I take it you're on the squad though?"
"Well, technically no. I still have to try out but I'm one of the best damn cheerleaders in the school and I can say that proudly without feeling bad." Scarlett said. And it was true. She definitely was one of the best because she had worked hard for it and it would be outrageous if she didn't make the squad this year.
"Come on, let's go find Lydia." Scarlett says, taking Allison gently by the arm and leading her outside.
Scarlett emerged from the girls' locker room dressed in a sports bra and shorts. She walked across the field with some of the other girls and tied her long brown hair up as she did so.
She saw her brother and Stiles and she decided to quickly wish them good luck, although the chances of that helping at all were very, very slim.
"Hey, good luck today guys. I'm sure you'll do great." She said with a cheery voice.
"Thanks Scar." They both said. She smiled and walked away from them to the rest of the girls trying out.
On her way over she passed by Jackson who couldn't help himself from looking her up and down and then winking at her. She made a disgusted face and flipped him off as she walked by.
"Alright girls!" The cheer captain, Brooke Parker, called out. "We're gonna go over a routine. It obviously includes flips, jumps and splits. If you know you can't do any of that then you should just leave now."
Oh yeah, Brooke was a bitch and Scarlett hated her.
Brooke looked at everyone, as if she was judging them which she probably was but no one moved a muscle. Scarlett stared right back, wanting to get this over with.
"Okay then…can someone start the music?" Brooke asked. One of the other girls pressed play on the music and the song started. "I'm gonna show you this twice only and then I want to see you do it by yourselves, got it?"
There was a murmur of 'yeahs.' And Brooke took that as her cue to start.
"5! 6! 7! 8!" She shouted as she began showing them the routine which was pretty simple and it looked almost identical to the one from last year so Scarlett picked it up straight away and she began doing the moves perfectly.
"Wait, why are you here again?" Stiles asked as they walked through the woods with Scott.
"Wow Stiles and here I was thinking we were friends." Scarlett retorted.
"No, I obviously didn't mean it like that, I just uh-"
"I was bored. And after last night I'm paranoid you're going to leave Scott out here again." Scarlett told him honestly.
"Hey, you left him as well it wasn't just-"
"Guys!" Scott snapped. "Shut up."
Scarlett rolled her eyes and tuned the two of them out as she walked. Instead, she took in the scenery and how beautiful the woods really were.
She loved coming here. It was her place to escape, to breathe and be away from everyone else. She felt like it gave her some sort of freedom which is what she had always wanted…
Scarlett turned her attention back to Scott and Stiles when she heard Stiles say the word 'lycanthropy.' She found that odd and decided to ask him about it.
"The hell Stiles?" She asked, giving him a strange look. Stiles looked at her and smirked, shaking his head slightly.
"What's that? Is that bad?" Scott asked, seeming clueless as to what the word meant.
"Oh yeah, it's the worst but only once a month." Periods. That's the first thought that came to Scarlett's head although she knew Stiles was talking about werewolves.
"Once a month?" Scott asked quietly.
"Mhm. On the night of the full moon…" Stiles then imitated the sound of a wolf howling and Scott shoved him, making Stiles laugh. "Hey, you're the one who heard a wolf howl."
Scarlett rolled her eyes but still smiled a bit. Her twin was completely clueless sometimes and it was just funny to mess with him.
"It's not funny. There could be something seriously wrong with me." Scott said, not seeming at all happy.
"I know! You're a werewolf!" Stiles exclaimed.
"He's obviously kidding Scott. Werewolves aren't real and nothing is going to happen to you. If it was a rabid animal that bit you then I think you would know about it by now." Scarlett said, reassuring Scott.
"Yeah, well maybe that's true but if you see me in shop class trying to melt down all the silver I can find then it's because Friday's a full moon." Stiles said. He seemed to only be making things worse.
When the three of them stopped walking, Scott started talking again.
"I could've sworn this was it. I mean, I saw the body. The deer came running. I dropped my inhaler." He said, bending down to look for it. Scarlett, being the ever so kind sister she was decided to help him and she crouched down as well, raking through the leaves.
"Maybe the killer moved the body." Stiles suggested.
"And what? Stole Scott's inhaler while he was at it?" Scarlett asked sarcastically as she looked up at Stiles. He gave her a look and shrugged as she went back to searching.
"Those things are like…eighty bucks." Scott complained. That's very true. It would suck to have to get a new one and their mom certainly wouldn't be happy about it.
Scarlett looked up again when Stiles hit Scott telling him to get up and pointing to something behind the twins.
Scarlett turned her head and her eyes widened at the guy standing there. She quickly jumped up but from the position she was previously in, she was sure the guy had gotten a pretty good view of her ass.
Her heart melted a little at the sight of him. He was the definition of sexy and mysterious. He was clad in all black which was incredibly attractive to Scarlett and he was also wearing a leather jacket that just screamed 'bad boy.'
He glanced at her and that's when she realised she'd been staring and instantly felt embarrassed about it so she looked away.
When she heard the leaves crunching she couldn't help but look up again and notice how his eyes were still on her. They looked at each other for a minute before he started talking, more to Scott and Stiles than her.
"What are you doing here?" He asked. Holy crap, Scarlett thought. His voice was just as beautiful as he was. It was deep but smooth and silky and she really liked it. "This is private property."
"Uh, sorry man. We didn't know." Stiles told him awkwardly.
"We were just…looking for something but, uh, forget it." Scott stuttered, obviously intimidated by this guy. He tossed Scott his inhaler, earning a strange look from the two boys.
Scarlett's eyes remained on the guy and she should've felt extremely awkward but she was just so entranced by him. Her heart fluttered just a little bit when he looked at her again. He looked as if he were assessing her, taking in her features.
She felt her cheeks heat up when he subtly checked her out. Well, it really wasn't that subtle considering she caught him doing it but at least Scott and Stiles didn't notice. Maybe he didn't care if she saw. Maybe he wanted her to see but then again, maybe not.
Scarlett fought the small smile that was threatening to appear on her face by biting her lip which caused the mysterious guy to suck in a sharp breath and turn to walk away.
When he was gone Scarlett felt herself snap out of some sort of trance. She looked at Scott and Stiles who were both quiet and confused.
"Alright, come on. I gotta get to work." Scott said quietly but Stiles put a hand on his chest stopping him.
"Dude! That was Derek Hale." That name sounded very familiar to Scarlett but she didn't know where she'd heard it before. "You remember right? He's only like a few years older than us." Which was good news for Scarlett.
"Derek Hale…" She tested the name out loud and then it suddenly clicked. "Derek Hale? As in the guy whose family burned in that fire?"
"Yeah. That's the one. But that was like ten years ago." Stiles told them both. Scarlett automatically felt bad for Derek. It must be horrible. To not have a family. She shuddered at the thought. Her family was small, sure, but it was still her family and she couldn't bear to live without them.
"I wonder what he's doing back…" Scott said.
Stiles had no answer to that so he just made a scoffing noise and told them that they should get going.
"Well you seem awfully distracted sugar pie. You ain't flirting with the customers half as much as you usually do." Scarlett looked up, startled by the sudden loudness of her co-worker Mary's voice.
"I do not flirt with the customers. I'm just nice to them so they tip better." Scarlett says with a smirk. "And I'm not distracted either."
Although, that wasn't exactly true. She couldn't seem to stop thinking about Derek Hale. His face, his voice, what happened to his family…
"Oh no honey. I know that look. You're thinking about a boy aren't ya?" Mary asked, seeming keen to figure out what Scarlett was thinking about. "That Jackson kid?"
Scarlett scoffed at that. Why would she be thinking about Jackson?
"Definitely not him."
"So then it is a boy!" Mary said with a laugh.
"No," Scarlett couldn't help but laugh as well because Mary had one of those infectious laughs. "There is no boy Mary!"
"Alrighty. Whatever you say pumpkin." Mary held up her hands in defence but winked and walked away to take orders from a table.
Scarlett rolled her eyes. She loved Mary. Everyone loved Mary. She was in her mid- twenties, she was blonde, beautiful and had this bubbly, charming personality. And let's not forget her country accent that was just adorable. She had been working at Aroma Dolce already when Scarlett had started working there a year or so ago.
Scarlett checked her phone and realised her shift was over. She sighed with relief. Usually, she didn't mind working at the café. She actually enjoyed it but she couldn't wait to get home because she was so tired.
She went about finding her bag and gathering her belongings. When she was about to head out, she heard Mary.
"You have a nice night sugar. I'll see you tomorrow." She said with a warm smile.
"Night Mary." Scarlett replied, returning the smile. She headed out the back door and walked down the street to where she'd parked her car.
She felt eyes on her when she was unlocking the car and she looked up to see none other than Derek Hale across the road. He seemed to be concentrating on something. Something that was clearly in her direction so she looked around and saw nothing. When she looked back across the road there was no Derek, just a street light. She found that very odd. What the hell was he doing there just staring? It was kind of creepy but at the same time, if he was staring at her then she didn't really mind.
Scarlett shook her head and opened the door to her car, getting in and driving away, wanting to be at home. In bed. Sleeping.
"Hey Scar, I just need to borrow you for a sec. Excuse us." Stiles said, literally pulling Scarlett away from the girl she was talking to.
"What the hell Stiles?" She asked when he stopped walking.
"Scott wouldn't listen to me so I thought I'd tell you instead." Scarlett made a motion for him to continue so he did. "So, they got the lab results back and they found animal hair on the body."
"Seriously? What kind of animal could rip a person in half?"
"I don't know… but it was wolf hair." Scarlett's eyes widened as she took in the information.
"So Scott was right? It was a wolf he saw or heard or whatever?"
"Yeah, I guess it was." Stiles answered.
"Oh my God… Stiles, that means he got bitten by a freaking wolf!" Scarlett said, trying her best to not completely freak out although it was difficult when she had just found out that it really was some random wolf that bit her brother. That wolf might have killed someone and he didn't even go to get the bite checked out.
"McCall! Get your ass back over here!" Scarlett turned at the sound of Brooke's obnoxious voice.
"Look, Stiles. I gotta go but you need to tell Scott about this." She said before jogging back to the other girls.
"Well congratulations McCall. You get to be on the squad again and who knows, maybe your brother will make it into first line." Brooke told her, not looking too pleased about the news that made Scarlett extremely happy.
Scarlett smiled brightly and went to the new squad of cheerleaders, receiving lots of congratulations from different people.
The squad learned, practiced and then practically mastered their first real cheer routine and by the end of it Scarlett was a mess. Her breathing was shallow and she was drenched in sweat but then again, so was everyone else.
"Hey, that was some really good cheering out there Scar." Lydia complimented Scarlett when they met up after Scarlett was changed.
"Why thank you." She said, giving a dramatic bow.
"Do you need a ride?" Lydia asked as they walked to the parking lot. Scott had asked for the keys earlier so he probably had the car now.
"Um yeah, thanks." Scarlett smiled at Lydia and they both went to her car and got in.
"So what are you wearing tonight?" Lydia questioned as she drove.
"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it…probably a dress or some kick-ass skinny jeans. Depends on my mood." Scarlett answered.
"You should try and find a hot guy tonight." Lydia said out of the blue causing Scarlett to give her a strange look.
"And why should I do that?"
"Because now that I'm with Jackson you just seem lonely and I think a boyfriend would fix that problem. Besides, you're way too pretty to be single."
"I'm not…lonely. And it's not as if I'm incapable of getting a boyfriend, it's just that I haven't found a guy that I actually like yet." Scarlett shrugged.
"Exactly! That's why I'm telling you to be on the look-out tonight. You never know when some random hot guy is gonna appear."
When Lydia said that, an image of Derek randomly popped into Scarlett's head. Well, it kind of made sense. He was random and hot …
"Whatever you say Lyds." Scarlett said with a sigh, looking out the window of the car.
Scarlett was walking past Scott's room when she saw her mom talking to him. She walked into the room a bit and listened to what they were saying.
"And her name is?" Her mom asked excitedly.
"Allison." Scott replied, looking a little shy.
"And she's really pretty." Scarlett drawled as she stood behind her mother with both hands on her shoulders. Melissa turned around and smiled at her daughter.
"Really?" She asked with wide eyes before looking back to Scott.
"Why do you sound so surprised that I could get a pretty girl?" Scott asked, sounding mildly offended.
"I'm not surprised! What girl wouldn't want you? You're just so cute." Melissa reassured her son.
"It takes more than cuteness these days mom." Scarlett sighed and turned to walk out but her mom called her back.
"And are you going with someone missy?" She asked with her hands on her hips.
"Nope. I'm flying solo tonight." Scarlett replied smoothly before walking back to her bedroom to continue getting ready. From her room though she could hear her mom ranting to Scott about not wanting to end up on a reality TV show because her son got a girl pregnant at sixteen and she couldn't help but laugh.
"I hope you don't mind me semi-crashing your date Scott." Scarlett said as she got into the passenger's seat.
"No, it's fine but you're gonna have to move when we pick Allison up."
"Yeah, yeah. I know." She smiled at him and he started driving.
"You know, I'm glad that you're going on this date with her. I mean, believe it or not I actually want you to be happy and it seems like Allison does exactly that." Scarlett said after a while of comfortable silence.
"Yeah, she does." Scott said with a distant voice.
"Hey, I didn't want to bring it up tonight but did you talk to Stiles about the whole wolf thing?"
She saw Scott's grip on the steering wheel tighten to the point where his knuckles were white. She wondered what caused him to react like that. Did something happen that she didn't know about?
"Yeah, he did."
"And what did he say?" She asked him again, feeling like she was having to extract the information from him.
"He thinks that I'm-he thinks that I'm a freaking werewolf okay?" Scott snapped, looking frustrated.
"A werewolf? Wow. Stiles has officially lost his mind." Scarlett laughed but her laughter died down when she saw Scott still had a straight face. "Wait, you don't actually believe him do you?"
"I-I don't know what I believe. I just wanna get through tonight without embarrassing myself in front of the girl I like."
"He's probably just messing with you Scott; I wouldn't worry too much about it. And you won't embarrass yourself." She said, reassuring him.
Scarlett picked up a plastic red cup filled with some sort of alcohol, most likely beer, and began drinking it whilst searching for any sign of Lydia.
She had left Scott and Allison a few minutes ago, not wanting to intrude any further on their date and she decided she didn't want to spend the whole evening alone but that was kind of hard to do when she couldn't even find her best friend.
When she really couldn't search anymore, Scarlett settled for talking to some random girls from school and drinking until she could find someone that was hot enough to make out with.
Her attention turned to a cute boy with short, curly brown hair and freckles across his nose.
"What's up Scarlett?" He slurred, clearly drunk.
"Not much…" What was his name again? Spencer? Steve…? S-S…
"Sam." He reminded her.
"Oh yeah, I knew that." She probably should've known that. She was pretty sure that he was on the lacrosse team and a year older than her.
They chatted mindlessly for a while before he eventually leaned in and they started kissing. It wasn't good or anything. It was just a kiss. A distraction from the boredom she felt was eating away at her.
"Let's go dance." She suggested and she led them outside where most of the dancing was taking place. If you could even call it dancing. What it really was, was a bunch of drunken teens grinding up against each other trying to keep in time with the beat of the song.
Scarlett wasn't by any means a fan of the drunk grinding but she did it anyway because that's just what you did at parties.
Sam stood behind her with his hands on her hips as she swayed them to the song. She took another gulp from the plastic cup and felt herself get slightly more drunk.
Eventually, she felt his hands touch her ass and she decided to stop it there. She didn't really like to be touched so even him having his hands on her hips was enough to bother her. Sure, if she wanted someone to touch her she would have no problem with it but there was always the issue of personal space with her and she just felt uncomfortable.
"And… we're done now. It was nice meeting you Steve." She nodded to him before turning to walk away.
"You've met me before! And it's Sam!" He called after her but she ignored him. She felt stupid for even getting slightly drunk. She just wanted to find Lydia or even her brother. Just someone that she could have a real conversation with.
She pushed her way through the masses of people and when she looked to a dark corner she could've sworn she saw Derek Hale. Or maybe she didn't. It was probably just the effects of the alcohol. Freaking hallucinations of really hot strangers that she would have no problem kissing.
Her thoughts of Derek were broken when she saw Scott not looking too hot. He could just be drunk but at the same time, he never usually looked like that when he was drunk which worried Scarlett and led her to believe that there was something wrong with him.
She ran after him, well more like stumbled after him and when she got to the front of the house she watched him get in the car and drive away, leaving Allison by herself.
"Where the hell did he go?" Scarlett asked Allison as she made her way towards her.
"I don't-I don't know. He didn't look good and then he just…left." She said, sounding disappointed.
"I'm sure there's a reason for it. I mean, my brother's a pretty weird kid." Scarlett laughed to try and lighten the mood but Allison continued to look upset. "Look, he would never just ditch you unless there was something wrong. So please, don't hate him for this and I'll kick his ass when I get home just for good measure."
Allison smiled in thanks.
"Scarlett. Allison." Scarlett turned when she heard the deep yet silky smooth voice say her name.
Derek was just standing there, looking sexy as ever, looking at them.
"I'm a friend of Scott's." Scarlett was about to object to his statement but he gave her a look that said 'don't you dare' and she kept her mouth shut. She was confused to say the least. Why the hell did he say he was Scott's friend when he's spoken to him a total of…once?
Allison and Scarlett both looked behind them to see the tail-lights of Scott's car fading away and when they looked back, Derek was a lot closer to them. Well, Scarlett in particular. And the closeness made her knees go weak. She was having what some would call a 'girly moment.' It was just the look he was giving her and the pretty colour of his eyes and oh God, he smelled amazing. Scarlett had always been fond of guys that smelled good for some odd reason.
"I'm Derek." He said charmingly.
"The guy from the woods, right?" Scarlett questioned.
"Guy from the woods?" Allison asked in a whisper.
"Yeah. I guess I was a little rude. I apologise. But let me make it up to you. Let me drive you both home." To Scarlett, anyone else saying that would have sounded extremely weird and creepy but for some reason it didn't sound that bad coming from Derek.
"Uh, sure. That'd actually be great because I really don't wanna walk home…like this." Scarlett motioned to herself in general and Derek smirked, clearly amused by her.
"Yeah, me neither." Allison added wearily.
"My car's right over there." Derek nodded to a whole row of cars and then motioned for the two girls to follow.
When he stopped in front of a sleek, black Camaro, Scarlett's jaw dropped.
"This is your car?" She asked, impressed with it.
"Yeah." He replied with an air of confidence. It made sense to her, the car definitely matched the whole bad boy persona he had going on.
Scarlett opened the door carefully and moved the passenger's seat forward so that she could climb into the back. The car smelled amazing as well and she felt like even just sitting in it would somehow ruin it so she was really careful.
"Where to, Allison?" Derek asked when he started the car. She told him her address and he pulled out of the street incredibly fast and started driving at what Scarlett could only guess was illegal speeds.
When they arrived at Allison's house, Scarlett got out to hug Allison and say goodbye.
"I'll see you on Monday okay? And I'll talk to Scott. I really am sorry about him leaving you tonight Allison." Scarlett apologised on her idiot brother's behalf.
"It's fine. Like you said, there must have been a problem." Allison brushed it off, though it looked like she was really upset about it so Scarlett pulled her in for another hug and then waited until Allison was inside her house before she actually got back in Derek's car.
That's when the realisation hit her that she was alone. With Derek Hale. Her heart rate sped up but she tried to remain calm and look normal.
Before Derek could even ask, Scarlett told him her address and he started off down the road at top speeds yet again. It didn't bother Scarlett that much. She loved driving fast and it was so much better in such an amazing car.
"So, why'd you lie about being friends with Scott?" She questioned him casually.
"I couldn't just leave the two of you stranded there and Allison never would've let me drive her home if she thought I wasn't friends with Scott."
"Well, that just begs the question…why were you even at that party?"
"I was just passing through."
"I somehow find that hard to believe." She said with a slight grin.
"Well it's the truth, believe it or not." He told her, glancing at her sidelong and noticing how tired yet enticing she looked with her big brown doe eyes and her pouty lips…
"You know, I could've sworn I saw you the other night…when I was getting into my car." Derek visibly tensed but Scarlett seemed to miss it completely.
"You didn't." He said, making it sound final.
"Wow, okay. So I am going crazy then. That's just…fantastic."
"I want you to answer me honestly Scarlett," She got a chill when he said her name. A good chill. "What do you know about Scott's bite?"
"What do you m- wait, how do you know that Scott got bitten?" She asked him with a raised eyebrow.
"Just answer the question."
"I don't know. Nothing, I guess. It's just a bite right?" She looked over at him and his look kind of worried her. It was just a bite…right? There wasn't something that he knew that he wasn't telling her, was there?
"Right?" She questioned again.
"Yes." Was his answer. Well that was a crappy answer.
"Answer me honestly Derek," She saw him roll his eyes but smirk ever so slightly. "What do you know about this bite that I don't?"
The only thing that came to mind for her was what Stiles had said about the wolf hair and then Scott telling her that Stiles thought he was a werewolf but… that couldn't be it. That was just impossible and absurd.
"Do you believe in myths and legends?" He asked her.
"Not really no…what has that got to do with the bite though?"
"What about werewolves?"
"Oh for the love of God. Not you too." She said, raking a hand through her hair and fluffing it.
Derek couldn't help but notice how good that made her look. When she ran a hand through her hair. It made him want to run his fingers through it as well. It just looked so soft and- what the hell. Why was he thinking that?
"There's no such thing as werewolves. It's all bullshit made up to make money and scare children into doing what their told." She said, sounding agitated.
Derek tried hard to fight the small grin that wanted to spread across his face but he couldn't and she caught it.
"Are you…grinning?" She asked, shocked that such a thing existed. He just seemed to be angry all the time but underneath that he seemed…lonely. And she thought that his smile was really nice. It was small but she could tell he had one of those smiles that could light up an entire room.
"We're here." He announced. Ignoring her question completely.
She looked outside the window to see that he was right. He parked right outside her house, on the street and waited for her to get out.
She gathered her jacket from off of her lap and then was suddenly aware that her bare thigh was showing because of how short the dress was. He seemed to notice too but he didn't say anything. Of course he looked, he was a guy. And he noticed how her thigh and the rest of her leg was beautifully tanned and it looked so smooth. He looked back up at her face quickly to catch the blush that spread across her cheeks.
"So um, thanks for the ride Derek. It was…interesting." She said softly as she opened the door and looked at him one more time before actually getting out of the car.
"Goodnight Scarlett." He said, surprising even himself.
"Night." She replied with a small smile before shutting the car door. He watched as she made her way up to the house with confident steps. He was impressed by that considering she was still drunk and most people would be having a hard time walking in a straight line. Derek made sure that she got into the house safely before he sped off to find the other McCall.