CHAPTER ZERO; REALIZATION
❝ Life is so constructed that an event does not, cannot, will not, match the expectation.❞
—Charlotte Brontë
Guilt.
That was all she felt at the moment, but she couldn't resist. She needed this, she needed to have justice, she needed to prove to Kate Argent she was strong and honorable hunter. She just needed to prove a point.
Deep down, she knew it was only going to bite her in the ass one day and it terrified her.
A lot, if she were to be perfectly honest.
Sarah knew this wasn't justice or revenge anymore; she was just trying to live in denial. After all, she was the one who chose this lifestyle.
Denying, hiding stuff, secrets. That's how she had been living for almost three years now. Living with Kate made it so much easier.
When it came to werewolves, she didn't hesitate to bring it up in front of her. Sarah didn't want to admit it, but half of the time she looked up to older huntress. Kate knew what she was doing.
Sarah, on other hand, not so much.
Two years ago, she found her biological father on the floor, dead, and ever since then, Kate hadn't left Sarah's side. That part is still like a fresh wound left in her. She hadn't talked about that night since then and she wasn't planning on telling anyone for a while.
Sarah's adoptive mother still thought her biological dad, Joe, was alive and well. Whenever her mom mentioned him, she did what she does best: she lies.
It would've been so much easier to lie if it wasn't her mother. She was the only person Sarah couldn't lie to but, somehow, she did and that's what made it all the more difficult. There was more guilt building inside of her and she had no idea how to handle it.
It's like whatever Sarah did or decided to do, it all came back to guilt and she absolutely hated it. She was still impressed with herself and how well she was handling all of this.
Or rather, how well she put the mask on so no one would know what she felt inside.
"YOU, my friend, look absolutely gorgeous," Sarah turned away from her reflection in the mirror and saw Kate leaning against the door in the hallway with her usual smile on her face, the one that made the brunette's own smile dangle at the corner of her lips, "If I were that Finn guy, I would been heads over heels for you and, seeing you dressed like a freaking goddess, I think I would've died."
Kate made her way towards Sarah and swung her arms around the brunette's shoulders, resting her chin on the younger hunter's head as the pair faced the mirror again.
Kate was proud of the woman Sarah was becoming, and of the fact that everything was going according to her plan.
Having had the chance to know Sarah and take responsibility for her made Kate care about the girl even more.
One day, Sarah would thank her for all she's done. Thank her for what she had taught the brunette.
Sarah raised her eyebrows at Kate and giggled.
Sarah never understood Kate's personality. To her loved ones, she was vivacious, teasing, and funny with little bit of swagger.
When it came to her hunter side, however, she was the opposite of all that. Kate was sadistic and cruel. She took great pleasure in harming or killing any supernatural she came across.
Sarah didn't like that side of her. It made her feel uncomfortable, but Kate didn't seem to notice. Especially when the duo went werewolf hunting together.
It was like she was a completely different person and she hated it. She loved when Kate smiled kindly at everyone in the day time, but she absolutely hated when she smiled dangerously in the night time. It wasn't right.
Sarah was scared. She didn't want to be like Kate, not the bloodthirsty Kate. That was for sure.
She knew Kate didn't like to obey the hunter's code, but Sarah did.
Well, she tried to. She really, really tried. Unfortunately, it was hard to honor that code when Kate was around her all the time. She didn't want to get on Kate's bad side, so she did what Kate liked to do: she dismissed the code.
Sarah made eye contact with Kate in the mirror and playfully narrowed her eyes, gently elbowing the older hunter in the side, "Ha-ha, very funny."
"I'm serious!" Kate insisted, "Girls like you should be on magazine covers, not on Coastege City's High popular student's list."
The playful expression faltered from Sarah's face and she tilted her head to the side with a sigh. She needed to point out why she was so anxious.
"Kate, he's a werewolf."
Kate removed her arms from Sarah and walked around the younger girl, placing both of her hands upon Sarah's face so her gaze would stay locked with Sarah's, and the brunette didn't make any effort to break it.
"And that's exactly what makes it so much fun. Cute, young werewolf mistakenly falls in love with the super-hot werewolf hunter. He got tricked by pretty face, it happens all the time. If it makes you feel any better, it happened with me too."
Sarah closed her eyes, trying to push the guilt aside by inhaling and exhaling sharply, her jaw taut and her lips pulled into a frown.
"You didn't see the way he reacted, Kate. He. . .I-I don't know, his face lit up like a Christmas tree when I asked him to the dance. My mom and dad used to be close friends with his parents. It will crush them when they find out that he died. Died from a close friend, as if that wasn't bad enough," Sarah said, sensing that familiar aching feeling in her eyes, but she refused to let herself to shed a tear, even in circumstances like these.
Sarah didn't cry. She hated crying. It was pathetic.
Kate looked at her calmly. She knew this was coming, of course she did. After all, it was looking right at herself a few years back, before Kate's father manipulated and twisted her into becoming a hunter.
Sarah just needed a little push and this night was her last - and final - task. After tonight, she would become just like Kate. That's all she ever wanted from the young girl.
"Oh, sweetie. I'm sorry for bringing this up, but Joe died from a werewolf. That's what they do, that's their first instinct and Finn is just like them. There are no differences between him and the others," Kate knew her choices of words would reopen Sarah's still fresh, still bleeding wound, just like she knew they would point Sarah in right direction.
Sarah turned away from her and looked at herself in the mirror again, settling her emotions in all the proper places.
It was like a switch was turned off and anger took over her body. She tilted her head higher and took a sharp intake of breath before releasing it, her hands clenched by her sides and her eyes narrowed.
She could do this. This job could only be completed by her, and she needed to make Kate proud. She needed to prove to her that she wasn't that scared little girl anymore and that she could do this on her own.
All her prior hunting experiences had been with Kate, but not tonight. After all, they were vicious creatures whose first instinct was to kill.
"You're right," Sarah scoffed and shook her head- there hadn't been a day when Kate was wrong about anything, "Of course, you're always right."
Kate looked at her proudly, watching how Sarah tilted her head to her right side and carefully smoothed down her dress with a newly blank expression.
Kate's mischievous smile didn't falter from her lips. It was like she was looking at whole new person. It was like she was looking at herself.
Both of their heads whipped to look outside Sarah's door when they heard someone ringing the doorbell. Kate's face lit up with excitement and she clapped her hands together like a little kid.
"Your Prince Charming is here."
Sarah smiled at Kate and made her way downstairs, but she couldn't shake the feeling that something would go wrong tonight, and it felt like déjà vu all over again.
. . .
"Thanks," Sarah smiled at Finn, who had opened his passenger seat door and helped her get out by extending his hand.
Sarah looked at it with raised eyebrows and hesitantly took it. Her hands were shaking. It wouldn't be noticeable to just anyone, but Finn noticed and stopped walking, bringing Sarah to a halt with him.
"What's wrong?"
Sarah's eyes locked on her school, completely zoning out. Finn saw that familiar look on her face – the one she usually wore when she was hanging out with her clique.
Her eyebrows were creased together with the bridge of her nose scrunched up, and then there was the part where he heard clicking noise coming from her sides. She was cracking her knuckles with her thumb.
It was bad habit of hers when she was nervous. She was almost never nervous to be somewhere, but if she was than it was completely rare thing that happened.
Finn knew there were red flags flying around and he hated to admit, but his best friend Kaitlyn was right. Something bad was going happen tonight. The worst part of all of it was that he didn't know exactly what.
He never figured out the reason behind why Sarah would suddenly just zone out in random places; it was something new to her and he knew it had to do something with her adoptive and biological father.
He never actually had the chance to even ask about it, considering she didn't take notice of him for years. Ever since he was bitten, however, it all started to change. He didn't know if he should be grateful about that or terrified.
What he did know was that she was always attached to Kate's hip and his plan to ask Sarah out went downhill right there. When you crossed Kate's path, nothing good would come from it. Especially if you're a werewolf or any other creature of the night.
Finn nudged Sarah's side, snapping her out of whatever daze she was in and she turned her head to look at him with raised eyebrows.
"Huh?"
Finn hesitated to answer, not really knowing how to talk with the girl he had had a crush on for years.
But could you really blame him? She was the popular girl and he . . . he was only starting to get attention from everyone. Including Sarah.
"I… uhh… uhm, I asked what was wrong? If you don't want to go in, I can drive you back home. . . I don't what to pressure you to do anything you aren't comfortable with."
Sarah bit her bottom lip and shook her head adamantly.
"No, it's fine! I'm just worried about tonight."
That part was still true, at least, and to make it look genuine, she quickly put on an exaggerated pout.
"What if someone has a better dress than me or my hairstyle isn't right or. . . or I don't know, what if someone just looks better than me?! I can't let that happen. I mean, I'm the most popular person in the whole school. You know how humiliating it would be if I was the second best looking person here tonight?!"
The brunette shot her head up to look up at Finn. When she did look up at him, he was already smiling down at her, adoration clear on his face.
''I highly doubt someone will look better than you tonight. You're Sarah Hendrix, the queen of the school."
Sarah bit her bottom lip, trying to hide her smile and looked down shyly.
"Thanks," she spoke softly - it was barely audible to hear, but Finn did hear it and it made his smile grew wider. Sarah, on the other hand, started feeling the same guilt again and had her second thoughts about tonight, "let's… let's go inside."
"Finn!"
The pair turned when they heard someone calling Finn's name and, to Sarah, it was just another unknown person.
The girl had brown, wavy hair, fair skin, and black glasses. She was wearing a crystal blue cocktail dress and she had linked arms with a blonde girl that was little taller than her. Sarah's arm was hooked around Finn's arm by this point.
"Hey, Sarah!" the girl and Finn both scowled at the smiling blonde.
The girl's scowl was more towards Sarah while Finn aimed his at the blonde.
"Hey…?" Sarah pursed her lips and nodded her head.
She didn't even need to be supernatural to feel the tense atmosphere around them.
She could practically taste the thick jealousy in the air and it wasn't one of the nicest things to feel in the air, especially when she had no absolutely idea why it was there in the first place.
The other brunette scoffed at Sarah in disbelief whilst the blonde chuckled at their interaction.
"Of course you don't know her name—See you later, Finn!" the girl waved her hand dramatically, and with that the girl walking away with her date.
Finn rubbed his forehead with his free hand and sighed at his best friend's weird behavior.
"I'm, uh, sorry about Kaitlyn. She's—she's just overprotective when it comes to her friends."
Sarah gestured in the direction where Kaitlyn went with her date went with raised eyebrows.
She didn't like that girl already, she seemed off and so did her aura. There was just something that was sketchy about Kaitlyn's date.
"What's that girl's name?"
"It's better off if you don't know," Sarah raised her right eyebrow and bit inside of her cheek at that, "She's. . . It's quite complicated and, well, she's not one of the good guys, Sarah. Trust me."
Sarah didn't like what she heard from Finn, that was for sure. There's no way that girl is something supernatural.
She would've known, Kate would've told her about another werewolf in town and Sarah herself would've noticed that girl's behavior around full moons. Maybe she was just a normal girl with a shitty past or just a crappy personality.
She mentally rolled her eyes at how dramatic her thoughts were, but it didn't make sense to her when Finn said that the blonde wasn't one of the good guys, yet Kaitlyn had her as a date.
There was something else going on and she wanted to know what it was. She hated to be left in the dark.
"Soooo," Sarah drawled out and slowly looked at Finn, "Why is she Kaitlyn's date then?"
Finn just shrugged at that and they finally started making their way to school.
"I don't know, she likes her."
"I thought she was your best friend—don't you need to be kind of protective over her?" she unhooked her arm from Finn's and crossed them over her chest.
Finn raised his eyebrow and looked at her with shocked expression. He had never mentioned Kaitlyn to Sarah. The last time she actually talked to him was when she asked him to go to dance with her and hearing from her that she knew about him having Kaitlyn as his best friend was a new concept to him.
"I never told you she was my best friend."
Shit. That was all that was running through her mind at that moment. She slipped - and she never slips.
Sarah glanced at Finn hesitantly and emitted a weak laugh.
"Uh, I see you both hanging out all the time?" It was more of a question than a statement, but it didn't look like Finn really paid attention to that, "Besides, it didn't take long to figure out she's your best friend or more, well, your girlfriend."
She grabbed his hand and they both finally made their way to gym where the homecoming dance was happening.
. . .
Sarah was doubting herself. Again.
She started having second thoughts and all the 'what ifs' were running through her mind. Ugh. Why was this so hard? Kate never said it would take so much effort to complete one task.
Finn and Sarah had been dancing for a while now, to few songs from some band that was hired to play for the night.
When Finn went to go to restroom, Sarah spiked his drink with wolfsbane and when Finn did come back, she acted all innocent, giving him his drink back.
"You need to get wolfsbane in his system, to weaken him."
Kate'svoice echoed in her mind when she hesitated. She had no idea why she was doing this in the first place. If she didn't want to do it so much, then why was she?
She already knew the answer and she felt absolutely ridiculous for even feeling the way she did. She felt alone, and thought that no one would love her the way she wanted to be loved if she didn't do what she was told. Especially not Kate.
Sure, she had her mother, who loved Sarah with all her heart, but Sarah didn't have enough.
She wanted to have someone who she could just trust and tell everything to, even about the supernatural, but she didn't have anyone and that's why she felt so alone.
Finn, whose hands where placed respectfully around Sarah's waist, started to feel lightheaded and he stumbled into her. Sarah slowly took her arms away from his shoulders and raised her eyebrows at him.
"You okay?" she asked, even though she already knew the answer.
She didn't know whether she should be overjoyed or if she should freak out as she realized Kate's plan was starting to be set in motion.
Finn, on the other hand, was oblivious to Kate's and Sarah's plan, so he nodded his head and forced a smile on his face.
"Yeah, I'm. . . I'm fine."
When he did look at her, he knew she didn't buy it and he groaned mentally for ruining the night.
Sarah softly touched his forearm and they both slowly made their way out of the gym and towards the woods. Finn was so caught up in his own dizziness to realize they were walking towards woods or even Sarah's shaky hands.
"Where are we going?" Finn questioned the brunette blearily.
Sarah closed her eyes, stopped walking, and sighed heavily before she abruptly turned around and faced Finn with huge smile on her face.
"I wanted to show you something," she gripped his forearm tighter and moved her face closer to his and bit her bottom lip.
Something she learned to do from Kate.
When Finn looked up, he realized that they were in the woods and his dizziness was gone. Something wasn't right, he knew it. He had a feeling that something was wrong about Homecoming dance all along and Sarah asking him to the dance was just way too perfect.
That's when all the lost puzzle pieces were placed back together and the picture became clear in his mind.
She knew about supernatural, Kate told her long time ago and that was the reason why she had been acting different lately. He felt betrayed and disappointed, not only for believing that he actually had a chance with a girl whom he had undying love for, but also in Sarah for believing whatever crap Kate told her.
"Wait, hold up!" he stopped walking and harshly grasped his arm away from Sarah's tight grip, making Sarah stop, her back facing him.
She closed her eyes and sighed heavily again and stayed like that, not even daring to face him. His tone was panicked and she didn't want to guess even why
"You know. . . You know about me, don't you? That's why you asked me to the dance?" Finn asked and shook his head at her, betrayal dripping from his tone.
When he said it out loud, he observed the way she held herself and how she stiffened. Her shoulders were tense and her hands were glued to her side.
Great, fan-freaking-tastic, Sarah thought to herself.
Their plan was going downhill and she was the reason behind it, so she started going for plan b, not even aware that Finn was paying attention to her every move.
She slowly and steadily took out her Chinese dagger from her purse and dropped the bag when she had tight grip on the dagger.
Finn used his heighten senses to figure out what she was trying to do next. Even just looking at her now, he could clearly see what Kate was trying to do and he couldn't believe that she was capable of brainwashing Sarah.
It made him sick to his stomach to see that it actually worked. All he cared about right now was bringing the old Sarah back, before both her father figures died and Kate stumbled into her life. He didn't care if he's going to get hurt in process, flesh wounds heal. It's the mental ones that were really scarring.
"Sarah…," he said her name calmly and extended his hands out, just to be prepared for anything, "I know you—I know you don't want to do this."
He was still facing her back. Finn could hear her rapid heartbeat and he could smell the mixture of emotions radiating off her.
The boy couldn't even describe them, but he knew that one of her emotions was anger. He was just hoping there wasn't rage mixed into it, or otherwise this was going to end poorly.
She abruptly turned around and pushed him against a nearby tree, her left hand holding the dagger against his neck. She held it tightly, as though if he made a wrong move she would cut him without even meaning to, and her right arm was pressed against his chest.
She looked up at him and he saw hesitation in her eyes. He needed to speak up fast, before it was too late.
'' Look- I… I know you don't—don't want to kill me,'' She didn't move or even flinch, her face still holding an unnervingly blank expression, but her eyes told a different story.
"I know w-what happened to your birth father, J-Joe was it?''
He took that as his chance to look her in the eyes. By now he could've turn in his werewolf form, but he didn't nor did he use his strength against her, which confused her a lot, but she stayed quiet.
She was curious what he needed to say, so she raised her eyebrow up and gave him permission to continue.
"Do you—do you seriously think he wanted you to be like this? Be a hunter?"
It was clearly the wrong thing to say, which became apparent when she pressed her dagger against his neck even harder. It made him wince in pain, but he stayed still.
"You don't know anything about my birth father!" she hissed through her teeth, and Finn's eyes widened at how dangerously low her voice was.
He had never heard her talk like that before.
He touched her arm and pushed it slightly away, so the throwing knife wasn't pressed so severely against his neck.
"You're right, I didn't know him well enough, but I know that he knew about us—werewolves. All this time he protected you from this world, he tried to make Kate to stop giving you hints."
Her grip on her knife loosened and her eyebrows knitted together. She was left standing there confused, and she didn't know what to do next. He had caught her off guard.
"Why should I trust you?"
"Because my intention was never to hurt you, and because you're a hunter, you should've obeyed their code—"
She shook her head and took a step back, dropping the dagger on the ground.
"I am obeying their code—we hunt those who hunt us."
She took another step back and stayed there.
Finn took a step forward and raised his eyebrows at her challengingly.
"Are you?" she exhaled sharply and looked away.
Was she actually doing that? She knew he was right, but right now she didn't want to admit it. All that was running through her head was the new information about her biological father.
Her hesitation was everything he needed to continue.
"Kate is trying to get into your head and you're letting her. This isn't you! You don't let anyone control you. Your code says 'hunt those who hunt us', right?" he raised a brow at her again and she nodded her head, ''Does it look like I'm attacking you or have tried to attack? I could've used my strength to push you away, but I didn't. I could never hurt you. ''
She scoffed and let a shaky breath out, but her resolve was quickly crumbling.
"You're a werewolf! You and the others— you all lie, that's why we kill you before you can hurt anyone else," she said it out loud, but it sounded like she was trying to convince herself, she needed to remind herself what Kate told her.
"This isn't you! Kate is trying to turn you into something that you're not!"
Sarah shook her head again and a humorless laugh escaped her lips.
"Okay, Mr. Sunshine, tell me! Tell me who I am, then." she crossed her arms over her chest, her stance challenging, but her gaze almost pleading.
"You're Sarah Hendrix, the most popular girl in the school and captain of the swim team. You're talented; I know that, everyone knows that. You taught yourself how to play guitar and piano without anyone's help and I know that one of your biggest insecurities is singing— but you do sing and you're incredible at it—," she opened her mouth to ask how he knew that, but he already beat her by continuing, "I sit behind you in language arts, that's why I know. And my mom once said that, at age of eight, you used to love reading science books and helping your dad out. You're fifteen, but you already know how to hack computers and their systems— which I don't know if it should count as a good thing."
Finn faintly laughed at that and Sarah joined him, despite the somber nature of their current situation.
All that he said about her was true and she was shocked to even hear all of this from him, especially when he mentioned the hacking thing. She only pulled her hacking abilities out when she tried to do pranks on someone.
Both of their laughter died down and they grew serious again. Finn took another step towards her, and yet Sarah didn't move. She wanted to hear more, she wanted to hear what he had to say and maybe what she felt, deep down, was true about Kate.
"That's Sarah Hendrix I'm used to. You're not like Kate. Not because you're not a hunter, but because you're not driven by hatred. You're driven by a desire to deliver justice. You always have been."
She shook her head, denying the last part.
"You don't know that," she whispered quietly, looking down at her fidgeting hands.
Finally admitting the cold truth about a person she so closely looked up to, she finally let her walls break loose and come back to reality. The young huntress finally stopped living in denial.
All that she's been through - all that she's worked for - was for nothing, and Kate lied about everything. Those innocent people's deaths were for nothing and it wasn't even justice. Kate only tried to make her believe it was for her birth father's death, but clearly it wasn't.
The brunette let the truth sink in; she realized she had blood on her hands at the age of fifteen. That was messed up on so many levels and Kate didn't do anything about it.
All this is Kate's fault, she made her feel like this and she was the one who made her do this. Finn placed both of his arms on Sarah's arms comfortably, knowing she started to realize what Kate made her do.
"You're not Kate," Finn took sharp intake of breath and looked at her sincerely, "I know you. I have paid attention for years, and I know what kind of person you really are."
She looked back up at him with her mouth gaping and tried to say something, but nothing came out. She looked like a dying fish out of water.
This was something that she so did not expect to hear, especially from him. She just tried to kill someone who had paid attention to her for years and yet she never noticed, until now, when it was already too late.
She felt a wave of emotions crash over her and it was mostly the guilt that had been building up inside for all this time. She could practically feel the weight burdening her shoulders and she couldn't look at him anymore. This was screwed up.
She was supposed to have fun tonight, talk with her friends, laugh, dance with her date, but not this. She was fifteen for God's sake, and she was already a mess.
How her life did become so complicated? She honestly didn't know. They were both just teenagers and yet they had already lived years beyond their peers.
She felt overwhelmed with emotions and she knew she was close to a breakdown, which was something she definitely did not want to happen now, especially after what she just tried to do.
If there was something that she despised the most, it would be crying. It just showed a person at their most vulnerable, and Sarah did not like to be vulnerable.
Her green eyes shone with unshed tears as she met Finn's clear, brown ones and she shook her head from side to side.
"I-I can't be here," Sarah took a step back and her breathing slowly started becoming uneven, "I'm- I'm so, so sorry for what I tried- what I just tried to do. I… I really am."
She turned around and walked deeper in the woods, completely tuning out her name being called repeatedly by Finn and, thankfully, he didn't follow after her.
He knew it would make everything even worse by following her, so he sighed as he walked out of woods. Instead of going back to dance, though, he drove home. After all, he had a few things to think about too, even though he still felt worried for Sarah and her safety.
Sarah didn't know how long she had been walking for, but when she felt the familiar, refreshing breeze brush against her nostrils, coming from lake, she stumbled towards it, trying to push the dizziness away, but there was no use. She couldn't do it anymore.
She pushed herself towards the sugar maple tree and slid down on the cold ground, her hands touching the brilliant scarlet colored leaves that were surrounding the old sugar maple tree.
Her hands were shaking and her vision started to become blurry. It was like everything was spinning around her and she could practically hear her heart pounding in her chest. Her rapid breathing didn't slow down. She was aware that she was having a panic attack and it was like her mind went blank. All her thoughts just vanished out of blue.
It wasn't her first time having a panic attack and her dad had taught her the basics of how to try and stop them around the age of nine.
She closed her eyes and tried to focus on her breathing. She breathed in for two and then out for two, continuing this process a few times before her mind jumped back to nights she spent with Kate, hunting down werewolves. It was like her mind was playing some sick joke on her and her breathing increased, making her panic attack spike again.
She clenched her hand around her necklace, the one her dad gave to her before he passed away, and closed her mouth shut completely, holding her breath.
She tried to think about nights she and her dad spent at the lake, watching the stars and counting them. She started thinking about when he brought her to the lake for the first time and tried to tell her all about what each star meant.
She was relieved to say that after some struggling, she managed to slow her panic attack down and her breathing became even again.
Sarah tilted her head back, resting against the tree and let a shaky breath out. She looked up to the stars for help, looked up her dad for help, and a small whimper rose from her throat.
"How am I supposed to fix this mess?!"
. . .
It's been months since the homecoming dance, and today was not only Sarah's last day being a freshman, but also her last day in Coastege City. She should've been relieved she wouldn't need to live with Kate anymore, but she wasn't.
Instead the guilt was eating her alive.
Sarah hadn't talked to Finn since that night; she wasn't capable of even glancing at him without remembering who she used to be or what she used to do.
When she came home that night, Kate was already waiting for her and Sarah just wanted to yell at her and blame her for all Sarah's problems, all her mistakes, but she knew better than anyone that half of it was her fault, too.
She trusted Kate and Kate betrayed that trust. Now, Sarah would have to deal with it.
To at least try and make things right before she left the city, she needed to speak to Finn, and she has been waiting to do it since she stepped foot in the school that morning.
Sarah had no clue what she was going to say to him, simply offering up a the 'sorry' wouldn't mean anything. In fact, she didn't think anything would fix things between them, but she needed to try.
If she could not even try, there could be no hope.
She closed her locker shut and said goodbye to her friends, her right hand clenched tightly around her bag straps and her knuckles turning white as her eyes darted around the hallway to find him.
It only took her few seconds before she saw him talking to his best friend Kaitlyn, whom was taking her books out of locker, laughing along to something Finn had said. Sarah inhaled sharply and made her way towards them with all the confidence she could muster.
Their laughter died down when Finn noticed Sarah stopping in front of them, and Kaitlyn scowled at her presence, shutting her locker with a little bit more force she first intended to, but she didn't care. Kaitlyn crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Sarah.
"Can we talk?" Sarah's eyes moved to look at Kaitlyn's not-so-pleased look and, if looks could kill, Sarah would have died by how many daggers were being sent her way, "Alone?"
A Humorless laugh escaped Kaitlyn's mouth and she stepped in front of Finn protectively.
"So you can try and kill him again? Maybe even succeed this time?! Yeah, that's not going to happen."
Sarah rolled her eyes at her and faced Finn again, not even trying to make a harsh remark.
"Please?" Sarah sighed and scratched the back of her neck awkwardly, "I just came to talk, and that's it!"
Finn eyed her suspiciously and listened to her heartbeat whilst she was talking; her heartbeat stayed steady the whole time. He looked at his best friend; knowing she would disagree with him before nodding his head, and turning to face Sarah again.
Kaitlyn's eyes grew wide and she looked at him with her mouth gaped open.
"Dude, she tried to kill you. Like, a few weeks ago."
"She was telling the truth," Finn shrugged as Kaitlyn crossed her arms tighter over her chest and narrowed her eyes at both him and Sarah, "I'll be fine."
Sarah, whom was watching silently from the side, felt extremely uncomfortable witnessing their bickering because of her, but she felt a lot better when Finn agreed to talk to her.
When Finn looked back, she took that as her cue to walk away with Finn trailing behind her, the duo going to their chemistry class.
"What did you want to talk about?" Finn asked the brunette after they walked into the empty classroom, turning to face Sarah.
She opened her mouth to apologize, but nothing came out. She still didn't know how she should start the conversation, and she needed to think fast, otherwise she may never have chance.
"I, uh, I wanted to apologize for what I tried to do—"
"You already apologized."
She shook her head and closed her eyes. Finn didn't understand what Sarah was trying to get at and it was frustrating her.
"Yeah, cause saying sorry after trying to kill someone totally makes up for it," she replied sarcastically, which didn't help Sarah feel any better about the situation.
Throwing sarcasm into her attempt at an apology just made her feel annoyed with herself.
''Look, just hear me out, and I would be thankful if you don't interrupt me during my speech or whatever you want to call it. —That I may or may not think of in the moment," she waved her hands around and closed her eyes, taking sharp inhale of breath, "I'm sorry for what I tried to do to you. I really am. When I tried to kill you, all I could see was a monster who's first instinct is to kill, because that's what I learned when Joe—my birth father – died. His close friend was a werewolf and he killed him, even admitted to it. Kate made sure that I kept that in mind, all werewolves are the same, but I can see now that that's not true."
Finn raised his eyebrows at her mentioning Kate.
"Why are you still talking to her?"
Sarah looked straight ahead of her, breaking eye contact with him and holding her breath. When she looked back at Finn, she scowled dramatically and narrowed her eyes.
"I was getting there before someone rudely interrupted me," Finn held his arms out in surrender and mumbled 'sorry' at her words, letting her continue what she had to say.
"I have made mistakes and one of them was trusting Kate. I just- I just wanted see something good in her, you know," she sighed and looked down at her hands, "That's why I want to make things right this time, and I don't think Coastege City is going to help me. I want a new start and having Kate in my life isn't healthy."
"Does Kate know?" he asked the brunette, who shook her head in response.
Saying that was something unexpected coming from Finn, but it wasn't like Sarah was his responsibility and he didn't have the right to force her to stay. He wasn't like Kate.
Finn was happy she was doing something without Kate sticking her nose in Sarah's life and controlling it, like she was some kind of toy you can use and then throw away when you get bored and have accomplished something you had intended to do when you first laid your eyes on it.
"I'm leaving after I get home, before she does. I'm moving to Beacon Hills— I want to see my mom. Skyping or facetiming isn't just the same. I haven't seen her for months and when I did see her, it was only for a week and that wasn't nearly enough. She works as deputy there and I think somehow that may help me get a fresh start. Okay, now I'm just going away from the topic," she chuckled lightly and so did Finn, "Before I moved away, I wanted to clear the air between us."
Sarah waved her left arm back and forth, pointing at herself and Finn.
"I wanted to leave things on a good note— all I was trying to do was prove a point to her and feel like I was important, clearly I was wrong… so I don't know if any of this rambling made any sense, but this was my way of apologizing.''
Finn chuckled and shook his head.
"I know I should hold grudge longer, but Kate made you blur the lines between good and bad. So, you get the pass. ''
Sarah folded her lips into a thin line and nodded her head.
"Can I give you a hug? I think you deserve a hug," she asked him hesitantly, her shoulders pulling upwards and her head tilting to her side.
Finn's smile didn't falter and he opened his arms, moving closer to her. Sarah wrapped her arms around Finn's shoulders and rested her head on his shoulder, while Finn hugged her back gently, a faint smile ghosting on his face.
"You're always gonna be important, whether it will be to your mom or someone else, there will always be someone who's going to care about you without you noticing. Hopefully there'll be someone in Beacon Hills who will show it. If not, just let me know."
Sarah smiled at Finn's words and laughed lightly, releasing the hug. It was like a weight lifting off her shoulders and she could only thank the lucky stars surrounding her.
She said her final goodbyes to him and walked out of the classroom, but not without glancing back at him for the last time before she fully exited the class and made her way to the parking lot.
She was nervous to drive back home, to say the least. She was hoping Kate kept her word and left the city for a day.
It didn't take her long to arrive home, considering she lived 15 minutes away from school. Her drive home was quiet with the radio turned on, but the volume was turned down to ten.
She needed to have a little noise or otherwise she would want to jump out of her skin. She hated silence, it made her feel uneasy.
Sarah breathed out in relief when she didn't see Kate's tan SUV in the driveway. She was thankful, she had her lucky stars around her today, and she needed that. Sarah was just hoping it would last until she got to Beacon Hills.
She turned her red Mazda's engine off and pulled the car key of the ignition, getting out of the car. Keys clenched in her hand, and she made her way towards her house. She fidgeted with the keys to find the right one for her house and then unlocked the door.
When she stepped in the house, there was nothing but a deathly silence surrounding her. Even if it wasn't supposed to, it still made her mind drift to the day when she found her biological dad laying on the floor in a destroyed living room. There was the same dead silence dancing around her before she found him.
She didn't feel like something was wrong at the moment, but she still froze dead in her tracks and it made cold shivers run down her skin.
Before she could think further about the horrible event, she took her phone out and played songs on the shuffle. It made her feel a lot better afterwards; a small smile started creeping up on her face when the first song that started playing was Hey Jude by The Beatles, a song that her mother sang to her as lullaby when she was younger.
She dropped her keys in the bowl and made her way up the stairs to her room. Twisting the door knob open, she dropped her school bag on the floor and put her phone in the speakers. Her whole playlist was full of The Beatles, AC/DC, Bon Jovi, Backstreet Boys and Queen songs. It wasn't like she didn't listen to modern day songs or artists; she just prefered old school music.
She walked towards her closet and took out clothes that she thought weren't necessary to throw away or give to charity and folded them, placing them in the box and clothes she knew she won't wear placed in the other box. The box she decided to send away to charity.
The next thing she took out from her closet was a box of her dad's old stuff, which she placed on top of the box where her clothes were, and took some of her shoes with her.
She stopped in front of her desk and froze. She didn't know whether she should take her lycanthropy books with her or leave them behind.
She decided it would be better if she took them with her, just in case there's supernatural in Beacon Hills and she wanted to help out if it was needed. The brunette hoped it wouldn't be.
Next to her books stood a frame, and she picked it up. It was a picture with Kate and Sarah that they took together last year. Back when she still believed Kate was a good person and she trusted her.
In the picture, Kate hugged Sarah from behind and her head was rested against Sarah's. Both were laughing, and Sarah's eyes were closed due to her laughter. They just looked happy, it was one of her favorite pictures and, going against her own will, she took the picture with her.
It took her over two hours to pack all her stuff and place it in her car. She walked in the garage and, exhaling sharply, took her arrow, bows, daggers and her symbolic bullet with her.
Even though she gave up hunting, these were her own things. She placed her phone in her pocket, took her keys from the bowl, and walked back in the kitchen.
Sarah wrote down on the note: "I'm sorry, but I can't do it anymore. I'm not like you– Sarah."
She placed the note on the counter and just like that she walked out of house. Before she fully left, the girl looked back at the house she grew up in and smiled weakly.
"Time to move on."
She placed her phone in the passenger seat and turned the radio on. She chuckled to herself when it started playing Heat Of The Moment by Asia and left the Coastege City.
The fifteen-year-old felt strange leaving her hometown. Sure, she had been in different states and countries before, but now there's a chance that Coastege City would stay part of her memories forever. She was okay with that.
She knew it was time to start a new chapter in her life.
Sarah's mom didn't have a clue she was coming to Beacon Hills, she wanted to surprise her. Also, she didn't want her mom to say something about moving to Beacon Hills because her mother could mention something to Kate and her plan would've been ruined.
Coastege City was three hours away from Beacon Hills and her mood lightened up from her music. She spent the whole ride listening her favorite songs and she sang along the lines, her volume turned almost all the way up.
When she passed the sign, "WELCOME TO BEACON HILLS" , it was already dark outside and the dark, cloudless sky looked relaxing, shining stars scattered across the sky.
She wanted to stop by the Beacon Hills Police Department and surprise her mom, but she didn't know if she still was working there, so she passed the police department and drove to the area where her mother lived.
When she pulled in the parking lot, her eyes almost bulged out at the sign in front of her. She thought her mother had an apartment, but she lived in a big, brown house.
Her eyebrows knitted together when she pulled up next to the Sheriff's car. She turned her engine off and turned off the radio. She looked down at her phone and her eyes grew wide and her heart started racing as she took in her notifications.
25 missed calls from Kate Argent
2 messages from Kate Argent
She inhaled sharply and opened the messages, not even bothering to call her back.
From: Kate Argent
I came early home and you were gone! Where the hell are you?!
From: Kate Argent
Pick up the phone! I need to talk to you!
After reading the messages her phone started ringing and none other than Kate Argent was calling her. Sarah didn't know what she was supposed to do. She wanted to answer, but at the same time she didn't.
She feared what she would hear from her, so she sent her straight to the voicemail. It was good thing she was in Beacon Hills and Kate was in Coastege City. It wasn't like she could drive straight to Beacon Hills now. Sarah could imagine Kate literally fuming by her phone. Kate was smart, and Sarah always knew that, so asking Sarah where she was would be just an excuse to get her to talk to her.
She had a great day and she felt happy for once in her life. Finn forgave her for the whole trying-to-kill-him thing, and there was no sign of Kate when she came home, but her mood was ruined by Kate.
It was like she was trying to make Sarah miserable without even trying. The only good news was that she wasn't here; next to her.
She wanted this to be her good day, and lucky stars were surrounding her. She didn't want Kate to come and take that all away from her, so she pushed the thoughts of Kate away and turned her phone off, choosing instead to focus on what was right in front of her.
Sighing, she climbed out of her car, nerves taking over as she stared at the house. She didn't know how her mom would react or who, for that matter, would open the door, considering there was Sheriff's car pulled next to her own car.
There was no turning back now. She was in Beacon Hills. It was her new home and it was going to stay that way.
She thought it would be rude to just walk in like it was nothing, and she wanted to be polite, so she knocked on the door.
She swung on her feet back and forth, waiting for someone to open the door as the girl looked around. She only had her phone and keys in her hand and she didn't think it was necessary to take her all boxes with her.
When the door swung open, she was expecting to see her mother, but instead she was faced with a pale boy who looked around the same age as her. He had a brown buzzcut and he was a little bit taller than her. His eyes grew wide at girl's presence.
At first she thought she was at the wrong house, but her GPS said it was exactly the house she was faced with. She frowned, and her eyebrows creased together.
"Uh hi?! I was wondering if Hannah Hendrix was here," she swung her weight back and forth on her feet again, trying to feel less awkward.
The boy didn't say anything; he just nodded his head, not even daring to open his mouth. Before she could say anything else, she heard footsteps coming from somewhere inside the house and the awkward teenage boy allowed the girl to come inside.
Her head snapped to the left and she saw her mom. Behind her was an older guy, dressed in a police uniform.
Sarah's mother stopped dead in her tracks at the sight of her daughter standing in front of her, tears blurring her vision.
Sarah smiled widely at her mother and both girls embraced each other for dear life. Sarah was happy seeing her mother again, and she didn't care that there were two guests standing right next to them.
All she cared about was the fact that she was in her mother's arms. She didn't care anymore that she left Coastege City, the place she grew up in. All that mattered now is that Sarah was with her mother again, and the brunette felt like she was finally home.