THE SCARS WE CARRY
By: Marloweee1856
CHAPTER ONE / NEW YEAR NEW START
"This is a new year. A new beginning. And things will change."
― Taylor Swift
"Crap."
She quickly tore the page out of the notebook that was resting in her lap and crumpled it in her small hand, tossing it into the wastebasket with a huff. She rolled her eyes when she noticed that it didn't even make it in the basket due to the large pile of other crumpled-up paper that had been touched by her graphite pencil. JJ Stilinski was a perfectionist—meaning that everything she did had to be perfect and if it wasn't, and then she would start over and do it again. Tossing the notebook carelessly on the nightstand next to her queen-sized bed, JJ fell back, letting her head hit the soft, fluffy pillows. She stretched her arms out wide, letting out a tired yawn. She glanced at the clock to her right, the bright white numbers on her iPod dock reading 10:32PM.
JJ couldn't believe that tomorrow was the first day of her last year at Beacon Hills High School. It felt unreal. She had mixed feelings about graduating high school. Even though she wasn't exactly ranked very high on the social scale, her high school experience wasn't bad. JJ had a small group of friends—her closest ones being Ryan and Ariana. But this year was going to be different. Ryan was forced to leave Beacon Hills and move to Washington DC because of some job offer his dad took over there and Ariana… well she moved too. She moved to Beacon Hills Cemetery, plot 186. Jordan will never forget the night her father walked inside her bedroom and told her that Ariana was in a car crash and was in the hospital in critical condition. She held on for two days until her parents decided that she should be taken off life-support—the doctors told them that there was no brain activity and pronounced her brain dead—that whatever made Ariana who she was… wasn't there anymore. JJ and Ari had a friendship similar to her brother and his best friend Scott. So losing Ariana right after summer vacation began wasn't easy for JJ. All the things they had planned for their senior year and being roommates at college had completely gone out the window.
JJ was already a socially awkward person, she was quiet and if you didn't know her personally, it was very unlikely that you would hear her voice unless there was some direct contact involved. She was the total opposite of her brother Stiles. Stiles being the impulsive, adventurous one while JJ was more of the logical, cautious one. It wasn't a bad thing that they were polar opposites because they balanced each other out in the end. The only things they did have in common were the love for sarcasm and of course the fact that they look so alike. They were siblings, but their personalities differed so much that it makes one wonder how they could be related at all.
Tomorrow, JJ would walk through the doors without her two best friends by her side. It was hard to swallow the fact that Ryan would have to graduate at a school he has only been to for a year and that Ariana would never get the chance to graduate at all. So many missed opportunities. Death was something that Jordan never wanted to face again after losing her mom at such a young age. She and Stiles had been in elementary school and had to watch their mother slowly deteriorate in front of them—frontotemporal dementia: the tissue shrinkage of the frontal and temporal lobes of the brain, which controls things like planning and judgment, emotions, speaking and understanding speech, and different types of movement. It wasn't easy to see that, especially when they didn't have the knowledge or understanding they had now. And then it was just the three of them; their father, Stiles, and JJ. After losing her mother, JJ felt responsible for taking on the role of a mother. And she did. She cleans the house, does the laundry, cooks dinner (when they aren't ordering takeout), and all that jazz. She also works at the police station, taking the advantage that her father was the sheriff of Beacon Hills PD, she got the job of filing paperwork in the file room.
The bedroom door squeaked open, making Jordan prop herself up on her elbows to see her father peeping his head inside. JJ felt her brows furrow slightly, surprised that he wasn't already in bed. He had gotten off work early that night, but instead of seeing him in his usual pajama attire, he was in his sheriff's uniform—badge and all. The station must have called him in and if they did call him in then that means something bad happened. "Dad?" JJ questioned, a frown etched on her face. "What's going on?"
She watched him sigh and shake his head. "Station called me in." Not surprising. "Two joggers found a body in the woods." His voice was somber and tired.
JJ stared at her father with wide, surprised eyes. "A body? Did they identify who it was?"
"No," he sighed. "It's going to be a little harder since only half of it has been recovered. That's why I got called in—to go out with the K9 unit and state police and see if we can find the other half."
No longer propped up on her elbows. "Half?" JJ barked incredulously. She took a few steps closer to her father, who had now fully opened her bedroom door and was leaning against the doorframe. "Someone cut the body in half? Dad, what the hell?" Her eyes were wide and panic-filled. JJ was always a worrywart, especially that her father was in the force—always out and possibly in danger.
"I know, I know." His hand was raised in Jordan's direction, telling her to calm down. "That's what we are trying to figure out. I just wanted to tell you that I was heading out before leaving. Lock up behind me, we don't know who's running around out there," he said as he pushed himself off the frame and began to walk down the stairs with JJ following right behind him.
"Wait—dad!" JJ called out. "You think this is a serial killer? Were there other murders similar to this one? Was this person even murdered in the first place? Was this—"
"JJ!" he yelled, making her shut her mouth and stop speaking. "I am going to go and figure this out and in the meantime… get some sleep. First day of school tomorrow," he said knowingly.
JJ blew out a sigh and nodded her head. "Be careful, dad."
A small smile crept on her father's lips as they walked to the front door. He leaned forward to kiss the top of JJ's head. "I will, kiddo. Lock up behind me, all right?" he reminded her as he swung open the front door.
"Love you," JJ said, holding the door open, her eyes following her father as he traveled down the few steps that were in front of their house.
He turned around, his eyes squinting from the small drops of water that were beginning to fall from the sky. "Love you too," he responded before quickly making his way towards his sheriff's department vehicle and driving away into the night.
Keeping true to her word, JJ closed the door and made sure to lock up. When she turned around, JJ slammed herself into an unknown figure. She out a shriek as she jumped backwards, her back hitting the now locked door. JJ heard a familiar snort and it took her a second to realize that her idiot dope of a brother was standing in front of her, looking just about ready to leave the house. "Jesus Christ, Stiles," JJ breathed out, letting her head lean against the door, a relieved sigh escaping her lips. Her heart was racing uncontrollably. After her father telling her there was a possible serial killer on the loose, chopping up bodies and whatnot, she had already been on edge and Stiles had literally just freaking dropkicked her off the goddamn cliff.
Her younger brother smiled sheepishly. Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "Sorry, JJ," he said, shuffling on his feet slightly. Stiles definitely had a problem with sitting still. He had gotten tested for ADHD a few years ago and they had prescribed him Adderall, but the medication hardly did him any justice. He still continued to fidget around and his attention span was one of a goldfish—meaning it wasn't very long at all.
JJ raised a brow at him, growing suspicious as to why he is dressed and ready to go out at what is now a quarter to eleven at night. "And where do you think you're going?" she asked, mentally grimacing at herself. God, she sounded like she was a mother interrogating her son.
Stiles blinked in surprise. "Uh—well, to Scott's," he said, giving a nervous smile while moving back and forth on the balls of his feet.
"This late?" JJ asked incredulously. "Did you forget that we do in fact have school tomorrow?" she questioned, her arched brows raised high and her brown orbs narrowing into his.
"God—yes, JJ! I know we have school tomorrow!" Stiles exclaimed, growing a bit impatient. He was obviously in a rush to leave the house and it made Jordan wonder why he was so keen on seeing Scott McCall this late at night.
"Why?"
Stiles looked like he was at a loss for words. "W-what do you mean 'why'? Why what? Can't a guy go see his guy best friend and do guy best friend things? You know… just us guys?" he began to ramble. It was something that both of the Stilinski children suffered from. Verbal diarrhea. And sometimes the words that came out of their mouths were just plain ridiculous to the point where it made them and others question their sanity.
"You're not going out to follow dad, are you?" JJ asked slowly, looking at her brother carefully, as if she was trying to tell if he was lying when he said his answer.
"No!" he blurted out quickly, too quickly. JJ knew it was a lie and her brother was well aware that she had caught him by the intense glare she was throwing his way. He grimaced at her expression and caved. "…Yes," he mumbled, barely audible for his sister to hear. Just before Stiles thought he might get out of this scot free…
"Are you insane?!" JJ's voice boomed. "There's a possible serial killer, Stiles! That body—"
"Was cut in half, I know!" Stiles cut her off excitedly. "That's why Scott and me are gonna go into the woods and find the other half," he explained, a mischievous smile appearing on his lips and he raised his brows in anticipation. "Wanna come?" he asked, sounding hopeful.
"No!" JJ yelled. "And you're not going either!"
"JJ…" Stiles sighed, staring at the wooden floors with a sad expression on his face. He looked up—well down really, considering that there was a big height difference, Stiles being five foot eleven and JJ only being five foot one. He knew all too well that JJ would break if he threw in the puppy-dog eyed expression that he stole from Scott. It seemed to be working on Jordan when he would try and convince her into letting him do stupid crap or getting her to do stupid crap with him. "Please?"
"Do you have a death wish, Stiles?" JJ asked, her brows furrowing angrily. "Do you want to go out there and get chopped in half by a crazy person?" she questioned. "Because you will if you go wondering around the woods where there is a possible serial lurking behind the trees!" she said, voice growing louder and filled with worry.
"Oh please," Stiles said with the roll of his eyes. "That's why I'll have Scott with me," he said as if having his best friend with him will make all Jordan's worries and fears go away.
"Scott?" JJ asked slowly. "The same Scott who is asthmatic and is just as athletically talented as you are?"
"Yeah—hey! What is that supposed to mean? I'm on the lacrosse team and so is Scott!" Stiles said, sounding a little offended.
"Oh yes," JJ nodded mockingly. "Your position is the bench right?"
"You're a terrible person," Stiles said, deadpan.
"I know," JJ said with a smile. "I'm so bad that when I die, hell won't even want me," she wisecracked, earning a snort from her brother.
"You just went to a whole new level of corniness, JJ," Stiles said, shaking his head.
JJ let out a huff, knowing that there was no use in arguing with her brother to stay indoors tonight. Stiles has a one-track mind, meaning that there was no way in convincing him otherwise. "I am not getting involved when dad busts you guys when you get there, just so you know," she warned, raising a finger in his direction.
"Don't you worry, sis. I won't bruise your 'most awesome sister and daughter' ego with my rebelliousness." Stiles said with a smirk as he moved towards the door. He glanced at his sister, "I'll be home before you know it and hopefully with news that we found the other half of the body… and hopefully alive."
"Stiles," JJ sighed. "You are so not helping my anxiety."
"Sorry," Stiles chuckled. "I'll be back later." With that being said, he was in and out of the door in just the blink of an eye. The sound of the engine of her brother's blue jeep roared down the street, heading in the direction of Scott's house. JJ blew out a tired sigh and shook her head. Trying to calm herself down that everything was going to be fine. Their father was out there with a bunch of officers from the department, the state police, and even the K9 unit. Stiles and Scott would be safe. Hopefully.
JJ locked the door for the second time that night and slowly made her way up the stairs and into her bedroom. She crawled in bed and threw her sheets over her head, feeling the exhaustion finally catching up to her. She let out a loud yawn before snuggling closer with one of her pillows and she fell into a semi-peaceful sleep. She wasn't quite sure how long it lasted considering she had been woken up by a loud bang that had come from downstairs. Her eyes shot open and she quickly jumped out of bed, heading straight for whatever made the sound. JJ tiptoed her way down the steps and crept into the kitchen, where the refrigerator door hung open and there was no one to be seen. Jordan felt her brows furrow in confusion. What the hell? She slowly took a few steps closer to the fridge and quietly closed it. She heard another shuffling sound coming from the dining room and carefully walked in the direction of the sound. She felt like her heart was racing a thousand beats per minute.
Whoever was in the dining room had their back hunched over. What he or she was doing, JJ had no freaking idea. She grabbed a metal spatula that was sitting in the dish rack and readied herself for a fight. Jordan may be small, but she sure as hell wasn't defenseless. Her father made sure of that. She let out a war cry and whacked the spatula on the hunched figure, which immediately yelped and fell on the ground.
"Stop!" the stranger yelled. But it didn't phase Jordan since she continued to scream and hit the intruder repeatedly on the back with the spatula. "JJ, it's me! Stop—hitting—me—with a—spatula!"
All of the sudden, the lights turned on, causing JJ to squint due to the brightness in the room. "JJ?" her father's voice called from the entryway of the dinning room. She watched him frown in confusion as he took in the scene in front of him. "What in god's name are you two doing? It's half passed twelve, guys. Go to bed already," he scolded them tiredly.
JJ frowned and glanced down at the supposed intruder, she immediately recognized her brother, who was now getting up from his fetal position on the ground, milk spilled all over the floor and on his shirt. "Stiles?!" she said incredulously. "What the hell are you doing?!" she yelled out, eyes wide; realizing she just beat the crap out of him with a freaking spatula.
"M—me?!" Stiles asked as if he was being accused of murder. "What the hell are you doing?! Do you normally go around assaulting people with spatulas during the hours of the night?" he asked, sarcasm dripping through his words.
"I thought you were a predator!"
"Why is everyone thinking I'm a predator?!"
Their father just let out a long, tired sigh. "All right!" he called out, holding his arms out wide in defeat. "I don't know about you two, but I'm beat and would like to get a couple of hours of sleep before going to work in the morning. And you should do the same considering you both have school," he told them. "Stiles—clean this mess up," he said, making a gesture with his hand towards his son and the floor with spilled milk. He then sent a pointed look to his daughter, "JJ—please don't hit your brother with a spatula or any other kitchen utensils for that matter. Good night." With that, their father began to walk up the stairs towards his bedroom.
"Night, dad."
"Night."
After he was out of sight, both brother and sister looked at each other, both wearing serious expressions on their faces for a long, quiet moment before bursting out into laughter. That's how their relationship worked. They would do stupid shit and then get in trouble for it and then laugh about it. That's how it was and neither of them would have it any other way.
Putting the spatula in the sink, JJ asked, "So did you guys have any luck finding the other half of the body?"
"No," Stiles sighed. "I got caught before we could really search for anything," he said, disappointed in the fact that he couldn't stay out there long enough to find the missing half of the body.
"That sucks," JJ commented, earning a rather loud scoff from her brother as he got back down on his knees with several paper towels to clean up the milk. "You drive Scott back home then?"
"No."
"What do you mean 'no'?" JJ asked, brows furrowing.
"As in no, I did not drive Scott home considering I was the only one who got caught and Scott didn't," Stiles replied back, sassily.
"Stiles!" JJ hissed. "You mean to tell me that you—you left your best friend in the middle of the woods where there is a half of a body, a murderer, and god knows what else out there? Are you nuts?" she asked incredulously. How could Stiles be so careless? What if Scott got hurt and there was no one there to help him? So many scenarios raced through Jordan's mind of what could possibly go wrong.
"He's fine!" Stiles said, waving her off. "Stop worrying so much."
"Did he call you and say that he is tucked safely away in his bed?" JJ questioned.
"No."
"Call him!" she growled. "Like right now!"
The two of them sat at the dining room table and waited for Scott to answer his phone. He did. And he told them that he was okay and had just walked inside the house. He also informed them that something bit him, but wouldn't elaborate on it, saying that he would explain everything in the morning before class. Rather than Stiles feeling guilty about what happened to his friend, he looked excited to hear about Scott's adventure in the woods. It earned him a slap in the head from JJ, saying that he's lucky that Scott isn't dead before making her exit and retiring to her room for the rest of the night. She knew Stiles felt bad, realizing why JJ had gotten so worked up about it in the first place: Ariana.
The morning came quick. The alarm clock blasting in JJ's ear at six-thirty am sharp—the constant beeping sound made her want to throw it against the wall and have it shatter into a million pieces. She dragged herself out of bed and into the shower, letting the hot water pierce her skin. She quickly brushed her teeth and finished the rest of her toiletries before slamming a hard fist against her brother's closed door. "Stiles!" she yelled. "Get the hell up!" She was sure to pound her fist on the door a few more times, usually until she hears a loud slam of a body hitting the ground and a yelp quickly following after.
She walked back into her room and went straight for her closet; swinging the door open and revealing the majority of her wardrobe. She grabbed a pair of leggings, a grey tank top and a red flannel to go over it. Matching the outfit with a black pair of boots. After getting dressed, she bent her head over and towel-dried her hair before heading towards her vanity for her comb and blow drier. Her brunette colored hair just reached her shoulder blades and it was naturally pin straight. Sometimes, she would braid it before going to bed and adding a little bit of gel if she wanted to go for a wavy-crimped look, but then again, Jordan wasn't really the biggest girly-girl. She wasn't an expert on makeup and hair—only really knowing the basics of everything.
That was one of the more difficult things Jordan was forced to face, as she got older. Neither her father nor her brother could explain to her what it is that girls are supposed to do. Things got super weird when she had hit puberty and didn't know about getting her period. It was a very awkward conversation between father and daughter when he had to explain that she would bleed from her vagina for a week once every month. After that, he usually stayed far, far away from talking about girl stuff. If she ever needed to talk to someone about that kind of stuff, she would usually go to Melissa, Scott's mother. She was always happy to help—especially when it concerned things like that.
After drying her hair, she ran her fingers through her smooth, straightened brunette locks before turning to her small makeup bag that sat on her vanity. She pulled out her liquid eyeliner—lining the top of her lashes with a small wing, and then she grabbed her eyelash curler and mascara. After following through with that, she grabbed her favorite strawberry scented chap-stick and ran that across her lips before throwing all of her makeup essentials back into her small pouch and zippered it back up. She never used foundation, because every time she did, Jordan would end up breaking out all over her face due to her sensitive skin. But she didn't really even need it. She always took care of her skin, so it stayed clear of pimples and blackheads most of the time.
She snatched her grey messenger bag, shoving the makeup bag inside one of the open zippers, before tossing the strap over her shoulder and walking down the stairs and into the kitchen to make a quick breakfast. Stiles strolled in shortly after, wearing a pair of jeans, a dark grey t-shirt with a red, white, and blue target on it, and a grey-black hoodie on top. He nodded hello to his sister as he approached the refrigerator, careful not to spill the milk this time. He grabbed one of the fudge brownies that Jordan had made the day before and quickly stuffed it in his face.
"You ready?" JJ asked, leaning her back against the kitchen counter, sipping on her coffee.
Stiles spun around looking caught, chocolate fudge covered his lips and chin and crumbs escaped his mouth, falling on the floor. JJ could only let out a sigh and roll her eyes. She shouldn't be surprised. She lived with animals. Her father wasn't much better than his son.
"Wow…" JJ whispered to herself and she shook her head before walking out of the kitchen and heading towards the door. When she noticed her brother didn't follow she yelled, "Stiles! Move your ass!"
Her brother stumbled towards the front door; they both passed their father who was sitting quietly in the dinning room with his own cup of joe, reading the newspaper. He glanced at his two children, one brow raised, clearly unfazed by the yelling and the mess that was probably made in the kitchen. This was an everyday occurrence in the Stilinski house. His children were smart but they did incredibly stupid crap.
"Bye dad!"
"Later dad!"
Their father simply raised his hand, waving goodbye while the other held the newspaper upright. Yep. Totally unfazed. Stiles shut the front door and clumsily ran down the stairs, following Jordan to his jeep. They both tossed their bags into the back seat and let the radio play softly in the background as Stiles drove him and his sister to school.
But of course, Stiles being Stiles could never drive in a calming silence.
"So, what do you think bit Scott?" he asked, actually curious to hear Jordan's answer.
JJ made a face, puckering out her bottom lip and shrugging her shoulders. "Honestly? I haven't got the slightest idea. But I hope whatever it was that bit him didn't have rabies. Because then Scott will get infected and then he will infect your stupid ass, and then resulting with me getting rabies. Then we will have three rabid people, a murderer, and half a dead body on the loose—oh and whatever the hell bit Scott."
"Wow," Stiles commented sarcastically, nodding his head at her answer. "That's—that's just morbid."
"It could possibly be a reality, Stiles," JJ said seriously. "It's just one of many scenarios that can happen. And just so you know—I will be seriously pissed off if you or Scott give me rabies."
"All right. All right—rabies free zone, J-kay," he said, taking one hand off the wheel to give the 'okay sign', his index finger touching his thumb.
She snorted at the old nickname that she hadn't heard in such a long time. Her full name was Jordan Jessica Stilinski. She was named after her mother's godmother, Jordan. She had died a few years prior to JJ's birth, but the in the short time JJ had spent with her mother, she learned of the great woman that she had been named after. Her middle name had come from her father's mother, Jessica. Most people had usually just stuck with her first name when they addressed her, but the ones that she was closest too had given her the nickname JJ.
But when she and Stiles were younger—especially around the age where they had lost their mother, both the Stilinski kids suffered from horrible anxiety—having nightmares, panic attacks… the two of them would constantly be each other's anchor. There was one particular incident where it had only been JJ and Stiles at home and JJ had a severe panic attack, to the point where she felt like she was going to pass out. Stiles had sat down next to her and squeezed her hand tightly and whispered that it was going to be okay. Then out of nowhere, the young Stilinski boy started giggling, which of course made JJ cast him an incredulous look. Through his giggles, he told her, "It's going to be okay, JJ. J-kay?" And it pulled Jordan out of panic attack. Ever since then, the nickname stuck.
JJ was in such deep thought that she didn't even realize that they had pulled into the student parking lot of Beacon Hills High School. She quickly undid her seatbelt and reached towards the backseat to grab her messenger bag. Her brother did the same, grabbing his backpack and jumping out of the jeep, slamming the driver side door shut. JJ slammed her own door shut and tossed her bag over her shoulder and adjusted her outfit before walking after her brother.
She spotted Scott pacing in front of the school about twenty feet away from the entrance to the building. She raised a brow as Stiles rushed passed her, running in the direction of his best friend. When she reached the two of them, she noticed Scott staring at her brother with raised brows as Stiles practically jumped up and down with excitement. "All right! Let's see this thing!"
JJ rolled her eyes at her brother. "Are you okay, Scott?" she asked, concerned, before throwing her brother a slight glare.
Scott sent her a smile and nodded his head. "Yeah, JJ, I'm good." Lifting the hem of his white t-shirt, a large gauze pad was taped tightly to Scott's lower right side, blood seeping through the bandages.
"Oh my god…" JJ breathed out in shock.
"Whoa!" Stiles gasped excitedly. He carefully raised a hand and made his way to go touch the gauze pad that was drenched in blood on his best friend's lower right side, but he was stopped in the action when his sister slapped his hand away and Scott shoved his t-shirt back down and gave him a funny look.
JJ looked mildly disgusted when her eyes had caught sight of the gauze pad that was placed on Scott's wound. She mentally cursed Scott for not bothering to go get checked out by a doctor or even his mother, who was a nurse, after getting attacked in the woods last night. There was a big possibility of Scott having rabies and if it was true, then Scott needed medical attention, like right freaking now.
"I don't know," Scott said, unsure of his own words. "It was too dark to see much but I'm pretty sure it was a wolf."
A wolf? Both the Stilinski siblings scrunched up their faces and shared a look as if saying 'yeah right,' and Scott of course, had been to oblivious to catch the doubtful glance between JJ and Stiles.
"A wolf bit you?" Stiles asked, brows shooting up to his hairline.
Scott could only nod his head. "Uh huh."
Stiles shook his head quickly. "No—not a chance."
"I heard a wolf howling," Scott pointed out.
"No you didn't!" Stiles said forcefully.
Scott scoffed. "What do you mean 'no I didn't'?" he asked. "How do you know what I heard?"
JJ blew out a sigh and adjusted her messenger bag on her shoulder before looking directly at Scott's puppy-dog eyes. "Because there aren't any wolves in California, Scott."
Stiles was quick to jump in and add, "Yeah! And there hasn't been in like sixty years!"
Scott furrowed his brows at that piece of information. JJ could tell that he was seriously convinced that whatever had bitten him last night had really been a wolf. But it was impossible because like she and her brother pointed out: there are no wolves in California and there haven't been any in a very long time.
"Really?" Scott asked, unsure.
"Yes, really!" Stiles stated. "There are no wolves in California."
Scott sighed. "All right, well, if you don't believe me about the wolf, then you're definitely not gonna believe me about when I tell you I found the body."
"What?!" JJ practically shrieked, causing a few of the passing students to glance in her direction, causing her to flinch back from embarrassment.
Stiles had a mixture of emotions from what Jordan could tell. He looked excited, surprised, and disappointed all at the same time. "You—are you kidding me?!"
Scott shook his head, a faraway look in his chocolate brown eyes. "No man, I wish. I'm gonna have nightmares for a month."
JJ nodded her head in agreement. "Oh, I know I freaking would."
A grin appeared on Stiles' face as he looked at Scott in astonishment. "Oh god, that is freakin' awesome," he gushed out. "I mean, this is seriously gonna be the best thing that's happened to this town since—" his eyes quickly caught someone who was behind JJ. Spinning around, she noticed the popular sophomore strutting her high heels on the pavement; her flawless strawberry-blond curls bouncing as she walked towards them. "Since the birth of Lydia Martin. Hey, Lydia! You look—" Stiles started to say as the girl walked right passed the trio, completely oblivious to the boy talking to her, "like you're gonna ignore me," he said somberly. Stiles then turned to Scott, a semi-annoyed expression on his face. "You're the cause of this, you know."
Scott snorted. "Uh huh."
Stiles pursed his lips. "Draggin' me down to your nerd depths. I'm a nerd by association. I've been scarlet-nerded by you."
JJ rolled her eyes at her brother. "That's nice Stiles. You say the kindest things to people," she said sarcastically, making Scott chuckle as the three of them walked through the doors. They then split up to attend their homerooms where they would receive their class schedules that were assigned to them for the semester.
Glancing at the schedule in her hands, JJ began to walk towards her destination, which was the science lab with of course Mr. Harris, who had also taught the senior elective: Advanced Placement Chemistry. She had taken his regular chemistry class during her sophomore year—it was hell. She managed perfect grades, but it wasn't exactly a class she enjoyed having since Mr. Harris' personality reflected his teaching skills according to JJ. He had actually referred her to the dean at the end of her sophomore year for her to be placed in the AP Chemistry course and to also assist him during his lab dates with his upcoming classes. JJ wasn't exactly excited about it, but hey—at least it will look good when she applies for college. They love all that extra-curricular activity crap.
When she walked inside the lab, Mr. Harris' beady eyes met hers and he sent her a smile from his desk. She awkwardly returned one of her own as she took her seat next to another senior boy who had extremely curly, dark brown hair and wore the typical hipster glasses. He didn't pay her any mind and JJ hoped that Harris would assign her a lab partner who was actually decent and knew what the hell they were doing.
Things proceeded as normal. Mr. Harris stood up after the first bell rung and introduced himself as their teacher for the semester and also snarked a comment about not wasting his time with the stupidity of his students or something along those lines. JJ wasn't really paying much attention to his introductory speech. No. She was listening to a few of the senior girls conversing about two tables away from her own—talking about her. Their attempts at whispering was a complete failure because JJ was pretty sure that the entire class could overhear them speaking, including Harris. As if to prove her theory to be true, JJ looked up and found many different pairs of eyes focusing on her.
JJ was never one to seek out attention. She didn't want anyone's pity for how crappy her life was turning out. She grew up without a mother, her best friend moved across the country, and her other best friend died so suddenly. Hearing her peers whisper about how she was going to lose it or crack and the constant stares weren't exactly helping her situation either. She felt her eyes water slightly at how right those girls were. She was starting off her final year at Beacon High with out her friends. She was alone. Sure, she had Stiles and Scott but they were only sophomores and they had their own problems to deal with. They didn't need the added crap that was her life.
"Miss Stilinski?" Mr. Harris addressed her with raised brows.
JJ's head snapped up and her eyes met his. She noticed that he was no longer standing in front of the room at his desk, but near the door with another familiar face. The dean. JJ felt her own brows rise in slight confusion. "Yes, Mr. Harris?"
"Dean Maslow would like to have a word with you. Take your things and here is your copy of the syllabus," he said, walking to his desk and grabbing a packet and handing it to her. "I shall see you fourth period," he reminded her with another smile. Jordan wasn't exactly sure why he had taken a liking to her, other than the obvious reason that she had been one of the few to actually excel in his class.
She nodded in his direction before following the dean out into the hallway and into his office. The dean waved his hand towards the seat that was placed opposite of his desk and told her to take a seat.
"How was your semester break, Miss Stilinski?"
JJ held back from rolling her eyes and making comment that would later regret. She shrugged her shoulders. "It could have been better."
Dean Maslow shot her a sympathetic smile. She knew that he was already aware of her situation—her two closest friends were gone from her life and she couldn't change the fact. She was also relieved when he didn't bring the topic up any further. "Well, I called you in for two reasons: one, I wanted to congratulate you on your academic skills and success. Colleges are just going to go nuts with trying to get you to attend their school once they see your record—and I'm talking about schools like Harvard and Stanford." His smile grew as he continued speaking. "You are very intelligent and any school would be lucky to have you."
JJ shuffled uncomfortably in her seat, not liking the sudden attention that the dean was giving her. Sure, she was thankful for all the compliments, but she was never one to get compliments like that other than her father of course. And obviously the smart-ass remarks from her brother about how she had gotten all the brains and didn't share those genes with him. "Uh—thank you, sir. What was the second thing?"
"How would you feel about peer tutoring?"
JJ felt her brows rise. Tutoring? The semester literally just started, who the hell could need tutoring on the first day? "Um, well, what subject would I be teaching?"
"Chemistry," Maslow said to her. "Mr. Harris already informed me that you were going to be assisting him in a sophomore class several times a week as a part of the student aide program. We've been taking notice that many students every semester have much struggle with the subject and considering your ability to understand the material so easily, maybe you would be able to provide some assistance and guidance to one of your peers as well."
JJ let out an awkward, hesitant laugh. Looking at Dean Maslow from her seat, she leaned forward, letting her elbows rest on her kneecaps. "Well—just how many students am I going to be 'providing some assistance and guidance' to, Mr. Maslow?"
Maslow just leaned back in his chair and clapped his hands together with a smile on his face. "One."
That's not too bad. JJ felt herself nod her head in both agreement and understanding. "Um, okay. I can do that—but only if they're willing," she warned. "I may have a lot of patience, but trying to teach someone who doesn't wish to learn is like trying to—" JJ was going to continue with her own metaphor she had come up with, but Dean Maslow cut her off by giving his own.
"Miss Stilinski, you are familiar with the old saying that you can bring a horse to water but you cannot make it drink, yes?" he asked with a brow raised.
She nodded her head. "Yes sir."
"Trust me when I say this: whoever is assigned to you will not waste your time."
"Okay."
Luckily for JJ, the bell had rung, letting the entire school body know that the period was now over. Dean Maslow dismissed Jordan and told her that they would be in touch when new information comes up about her tutoring a student in chemistry. The rest of her classes went swimmingly—each teacher going through the same introductory speech and handing out the course requirements for the semester. The conversation with Dean Maslow from first period was still on her mind.
JJ was actually looking forward to tutoring a student in chemistry. So many students—including her two best friends—could not stand the subject. She, Ariana, and Ryan all were placed in the same chemistry class with Mr. Harris their sophomore year and they would end up having late night study sessions via webcam where JJ would have to explain covalent bonds to the two of them. It brought a small smile on her lips at the thought of some of the late night conversations the three of them would have when they were supposedly "studying" for chemistry.
"What's got you so happy?"
JJ jerked her head to the left and noticed her brother and Scott leaning up against the lockers. Stiles was staring at her expectantly while Scott on the other hand had been staring off down the hall at a tall brunette girl, who was shyly glancing back at him. Jordan shrugged her shoulders and rolled her eyes, "I was in the dean's office earlier," she said offhandedly, making her brother's jaw drop. Jordan saw it and rolled her eyes once more. "No—not because of that!" she said. "Unlike you, I don't get called into the dean's office or the principal's office because of delinquency."
Stiles blinked back and he immediately grew offended. "Wha—hey!" he bit out, his brows furrowed angrily as he glared at his sister, unamused.
"I was being praised of my academic skills and had been asked to tutor someone in your chemistry class," JJ said with a raised brow. She watched how her brother opened his mouth, prepared to ask her yet another thousand questions that she would probably not have any answers to. She put a hand up, silencing him. "And before you ask—no, I don't know who it is yet."
Before Stiles could reply, another sophomore and walked up to the three of them with a rather annoyed look on her mocha face. She held the strap of her backpack that was hung lazily over her left shoulder and let out a huff. Looking at her brother, the girl who Jordan had known as Sarah spoke up, "can someone tell me how new girl is here all of five minutes and she's already hanging out with Lydia's clique?"
"Because she's hot," Stiles had immediately replied as if that was the most obvious answer. "Beautiful people herd together."
Cue another involuntary eye roll for JJ. She spared another glance at the supposed new girl and noticed that Lydia Martin and her boyfriend, Jackson were now in new girl's presence and were in the middle of a conversation. She spun back around to face her brother, Sarah, and Scott and immediately noticed that Scott was definitely not paying any attention to what her brother and Sarah were discussing. Scott's only focus had been on the new girl. She turned her attention back to Sarah who glared in her brother's direction at the reply she received.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, crossing her arms across her chest.
JJ let out an unladylike snort and shook her head. Only her brother could manage to get himself into a situation like this one. She watched Stiles' cheeks flush red and his whole body began to jerk around, unable to sit still and he fumbled for a quick, appropriate response. "Well, you know—" he tried, but was cut off by Sarah.
"Know what?" she asked, her brows furrowed angrily. The two girls watched Stiles open and close his mouth several times like a gaping fish. Sarah rolled her eyes and mumbled out a "whatever" before stomping away from the trio. JJ couldn't help but laugh at her brother's expense. "Wow Stiles, you have a way with words."
"Shut up, JJ," Stiles muttered darkly. Obviously still both embarrassed and annoyed at the turn of events that had taken place between him and a fellow classmate. He glanced at his sister and grew annoyed at the smirk that played on her lips, barely holding the remainder of her laughter in her throat. Stiles rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Laugh it up."
"Oh, I'm definitely laughing this up," JJ chuckled. She elbowed Scott lightly and smiled in his direction. "Ready for tryouts, Scotty? Are you going to woo us with your amazing athletic skills this year?"
Scott's head jerked in JJ's direction, his expression full of surprise. "Oh hey JJ, when did you get here?"
Both of the Stilinski siblings frowned at him. "Scott, I've been here for like five minutes. Watching your best friend talk to a girl is like watching a car drive off a bridge," Jordan told him.
Scott made a face. "That's terrible."
"That's because it was," JJ said, patting his shoulder and the three of them began to walk down the hallway in the direction of the boys locker room.
"Oh come on it wasn't that bad!" Stiles tried to argue, but it was no use.
Once the three of them reached the locker room, JJ wished the two of her boys luck before heading out on the lacrosse field and took a seat on the bleachers. She glanced around the area and saw the lacrosse players, including her brother and Scott make their way onto the center of the field. JJ noticed the new sophomore girl walking towards the bleachers with Lydia. She had sent a small smile in JJ's direction before taking a seat several rows behind her. JJ felt a knowing smirk creeping on her lips when she also noticed that Scott's attention was solely focused on the brunette. The smirk dropped and Jordan grimaced when she saw Coach Finstock approach Scott with a helmet and one of the lacrosse sticks—more specifically, the kind of gear a player would use when he was positioned goalie.
"McCall!" Coach yelled, waving the stick in the air for Scott to see.
"Yeah?" Scott questioned dumbly.
"You're in goal!" he said, tossing the stick and helmet at Scott, causing him to drop his backpack and take a small step back from the impact of the helmet.
"I—I've never played," Scott mumbled, nervously looking at Coach.
Finstock nodded, "I know! Scoring some shots will give the boys a confidence boost," he told him. "It's a first day back thing! Get them energized! Fire it up!"
Scott frowned, obviously confused. "What about me?"
"Try not to take any in the face," Coach advised, making JJ roll her eyes from the bleachers. She could never quite understand how they let Bobby Finstock coach the lacrosse team, let alone teach an economics class at the high school. She watched him give a slap to Scott's cheek before turning around to face the rest of the lacrosse players. "Let's go! Come on!"
JJ let out a sigh and crossed her arms as she watched Scott walk towards the goal with the usual "I don't know what to do" expression plastered on his face. She felt bad for him because the guy actually had been practicing all summer to earn his spot on first line this year, but not once had he even tried practicing the position of a goalie. She glanced at her brother who caught her look and he only shook his head, the same thoughts racing through his mind: this was going to be interesting. And by interesting, JJ means disastrous.
She watched Scott square his shoulders, preparing himself for the balls that were going to be tossed full force at his face. JJ heard a soft voice speak from behind her. "Who is that?" She slowly turned around, her eyes scanning the bleachers that were full of other students and parents and caught sight of the new girl asking Lydia about Scott.
"Him?" Lydia asked, sparing a glance at Scott before turning back to the new girl. "Not sure who he is. Why?"
JJ looked back at Scott, who was now staring directly back at them. Her brows furrowed in confusion. Surely, he was too far away to hear the conversation between Lydia and the new girl. But judging by the expression on Scott's face told JJ otherwise. Scott tilted his head, similar to how a dog would react when asked if it wanted a treat. She then heard the new girl's quiet reply, "He's in my English class."
The referee blew the whistle, causing Scott to abruptly stop staring in their direction and cover his ears as if he had blown the whistle right into them. JJ felt herself frown even more, wondering just what in the hell had gotten into Scott. She watched one of the players that were standing in single file take a few steps closer to the goal, ready to make a shot. He swung his stick with force and everyone watched the ball fly through the air and plummet right into Scott's face, causing him to fall right on his ass. JJ scrunched up her face. "Ouch," she muttered under her breath.
Of course, everyone else had taken Scott's pain to be hilarious, especially Coach Finstock, who had busted out laughing at the sight of his player on the ground. JJ shook her head and hoped that by some miracle this ended well. She pushed herself off the bleachers and approached her brother, who had already decided his fate would be on the bench for another season. "This isn't going to end well, is it?" she asked, adjusting her messenger back and crossing her arms once again.
"I highly doubt it," Stiles replied, shaking his head at his best friend.
The two of them watched Scott slowly rise to his feet and take position, preparing himself for the next toss. The next player in line stepped up and caught the ball Coach tossed at him, running a few feet closer to the goal; he swung the lacrosse stick back and tossed the ball like the previous player had. Once again, everyone watched the ball whizz through the air and land right in Scott's net. Yeah, Scott had caught the ball. Everyone had grown silent; surprised that he even caught it in the first place. Stiles and JJ made a quick glance at one another before grinning and turning back to the field. "Yeah!" Stiles cried out in excitement. The next player came forward and tossed the ball and Scott had caught it. Again. Jordan's grin grew wider and she noticed the mocking smile on Coach's face diminished and his expression turned into one of pure shock and astonishment. Finstock was definitely in for a surprise.
Shot after shot, both the players and those who were sitting on the bench were becoming more surprised with how good Scott McCall had become at lacrosse. Scott had his own infectious grin on his face as he bounced on the heels of his feet with excitement and energy. JJ and Stiles cheered him on along with several others that were stationed on the bleachers. She watched the team caption, also known as Lydia's dickhead of a boyfriend push his way to the front of the line, his face scrunched up in anger and annoyance. Everyone grew tense and the smiles dropped. Jackson Whittemore was titled caption of the lacrosse team for a reason. He was the team's best player, but somehow… JJ had a feeling that would change very soon.
With determination, Jackson stepped forward, readying his stick to make the perfect shot. Once the ball was in Jackson's net, he pumped his toned legs towards Scott. Everything was now in slow motion as everyone watched with excited eyes to see if Scott will be able to catch Jackson's shot. The jock jumped in the air and swung his net, tossing the ball with an incredible amount of force in Scott's direction. The ball flew across the field so fast that if you blinked, you wouldn't have seen it. Yet, somehow, when everyone looked at the goal where Scott was standing, the ball that Jackson had tossed, was now in Scott's lacrosse net.
Stiles flew off the bench and jumped in the air in excitement along with JJ, screaming and cheering along with everyone else over Scott's victory. He had caught Jackson Whittemore's toss. JJ laughed when Scott actually looked at his own net to see the ball he had caught and let out a chuckle of his own. Everyone was bursting with enthusiasm except the team captain, who was staring at Scott with jealous eyes.
With a sudden burst of confidence, Scott then made a toss that landed right in the referee's lacrosse net. Stiles and Jordan ran on the field towards their best friend. "Holy crap, Scott! That was awesome!" JJ gushed with a wide grin etched on her face.
Scott had taken his helmet off, wearing a grin of his own as he stared at his two closest friends. "I—I have no idea how I even did that!"
"Who cares?" Stiles said, waving his hands in the air, absolutely thrilled. "You caught Jackson's toss! Do you know how much you bruised his ego?"
JJ snorted and shook her head. "The guy looked like he was about to have a stroke when you made the catch. Seriously, Scott, that was amazing! You did amazing out there!" she cheered as the three of them walked back towards the school.
"Thanks, JJ," Scott said, smiling. The three of them reached the locker room door and stopped. Scott looked at Stiles, a thought dawning on him. "Oh—dude! My inhaler! I dropped it in the woods last night!"
"Okay, and?" Stiles asked, his brows furrowing. "Just get another one."
"I just got this one. My mom is going to kill me if she finds out I lost another one," Scott pleaded.
JJ rolled her eyes. "And this is why we don't go out in the woods! Because this happens!"
The two boys looked at JJ, both wearing the same expression on their faces. Knowing that she already lost the battle, she let out a loud sigh and rolled her eyes. "I'll wait by the jeep," she muttered before spinning on her heels and made her way towards the student parking lot. About ten minutes later, Scott and Stiles came strolling out in their regular attire and the three of them drove off towards the preserves in search for Scott's missing inhaler.
A/N: Well, hi everyone! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my first go at a Teen Wolf story! I was playing around with this idea for quite a while now and I finally decided to get it down on paper. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter! Just fair warning, updates are going to be super slow until the summer because of my classes. Please drop a review on your way out! Thanks for reading! :)