Dark hair, red lips. Pale skin, eyes that still twinkled in the dreamlike atmosphere. As usual, she was perched on the abandoned table top, swinging her legs into the rolling mist. She smiled, eyes crinkling, and said, "Hey you."
"Hey yourself, Allison," I said as she laughed, the sound lightly carrying off into the surrounding forest. I sat down next to her, crossing my legs, and for a moment, I forgot where I was.
"Veronica," she said, her voice evening out, seriousness playing into her eyes. "You've been great. But something is about to happen, I can feel it. Promise me you'll take care of them."
"That's what I've been doing for you and they don't even know it."
"I know, and I'm so grateful for what you've done. But whatever happens, protect them. Especially Isaac."
"Lahey?" I asked. That request, while not absurd, didn't make sense. "He hasn't been here since you- since they trapped the nogitsune again."
She ran her fingers through her hair, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. "I know, he went with my dad to Europe. But something big is about to happen. I can't imagine that he wouldn't come back for Scott."
"What something, Allison?"
"V, Beacon Hills has been quiet for too long. Since you've been there, there have been no attacks, no deaths, no supernatural creatures. I just have this feeling that something will happen. Something big."
"Something bad," I whispered.
My eyes fluttered open, scanning the still-foreign bedroom walls, and my mind adjusted back to reality. I reached for the notebook and pen on the nightstand as I did every morning and wrote about Allison Argent. The notebook was filled with the nightly conversations we had, the stories about her friends she told me, and the things I learned about her from her friends. Even though I'd never met her when she was alive, I truly felt like I did. But then again, these dreams - in their wholly twisted form - helped cement our friendship from the very first day. The day I had a chance encounter with a boy in the woods near Los Angeles County; the same night she first entered my dreams and convinced me to come to Beacon Hills. I already planned on leaving the area, ready for the next bit of my life, and drove off in my 1971 light blue Corolla where the supernatural ran rampant. I enrolled in the local high school effortlessly. Literally. The school had such a shoddy administration system that I didn't have to provide any previous school documents. No wonder Gerard and Victoria were able to so easily receive jobs there. But every night, while I slept in my car, Allison entered my dreams and we talked at our spot in the forest about how her previous life and my current one were merging together.
I initially didn't intend to make a life for myself in Beacon Hills. I wanted to come and learn about the array of supernatural creatures - and hopefully myself, by extension - and the life Allison left behind. It was so unlike mine that my curiosity was piqued. But, naturally, Kira Yukimura, one of the new girls at BHHS before me, tried to welcome me to the school. Once she determined I was well-adjusted in the city, she befriended me, and later, discovered I was living out of my car. And before I wrapped my head around the idea of basic friendship, I was sleeping in her family's guest room. Then I was spending all of my time with Kira, her boyfriend Scott McCall, Stiles Stilinski, Lydia Martin, and Stiles's ex-girlfriend, Malia Tate.
Finishing up my journal entry about Allison and her cryptic warning, I rolled out of bed and got ready for school. It didn't take much time, since I never touched makeup and had already planned my outfit the night before. I scurried downstairs for breakfast anyway, and sat down in front of the toasted and buttered bagel already waiting for me.
I thanked Ms. Yukimura and scarfed down both halves, frequently checking the time and hoping Kira would come downstairs any minute. Her mom was still cooking a hearty meal for her husband, even though the three of us would be leaving soon. She asked, "Are you taking Kira to school today?"
The young kitsune bounded down the stairs, grabbed the other bagel, and answered, "Yeah, she is! Love you!" She kissed her mother on the cheek before we climbed into my car. The entire ride to school was filled with endless smiles and chattering about senior year. As I parked the car, I looked her in the eye, and deadpanned, "Someone's excited."
"What?" She asked, checking the mirror to see if any crumbs had stuck to the corners of her lips. "Oh. It's the first day of senior year!"
"I know, but it'll probably be like every other school day we had last semester." She half-slapped me across the shoulder and pointed out, "Scott's even excited for senior year. So stop being such a downer, V."
If the True Alpha werewolf thought it was going to be an exciting, yet supernaturally uneventful year, then he was probably right. Which meant Allison was wrong. But I couldn't exactly mention either of those things since I never told them why I came to Beacon Hills or that I knew Allison and everything. So instead, I rolled my eyes and said, "Yes, because you two are the cutest power couple at Beacon Hills and I should listen to all your wisdom."
"You know, you could totally get a boyfriend this year," she teased. I pursed my lips and retorted, "Oh really? Because only the only guys I spend my time with are your boyfriend and Stiles."
"Well, what's wrong with Stiles?"
"Other than his on-and-off relationship with Malia and the fact that him and Lydia are so meant to be? Yeah, I don't want to be a part of that drama." Stiles knocked on the passenger window. "Oh look who it is."
"That's a sign," Kira said, smiling, as she opened the door for him. I got out too, and raised my voice. "Did you really have to touch the window?"
Giving my dusty car a quick once-over, he answered, "Yeah, because I really messed up the dirt pseudo-paint job you've got going on here."
"Just because you have this weird fetish about keeping your car clean does not mean I have to wash mine every single day."
He opened his mouth, looking partially offended, ready to retort, when Scott walked up, scooped up Kira, and said, "It's too early for you two to be fighting." The werewolf pushed a quick kiss to Kira's temple.
"Fine, then I'll see you lovebirds in homeroom," I said, wrapping my hand around Stiles's wrist and dragging him across campus to our lockers. Kira shouted behind us, "We'll save you seats!"
Our lockers were side-by-side, on the opposite side of where homeroom and Kira's and Scott's lockers were. I put in a couple of my binders, leaving a skinny notebook in my book bag. Glancing over at Stiles, with all his bed-head glory, and asked, "How's your morning going?"
"Great. Today feels like it's gonna be a good day," he said, nodding his head every few seconds. When I first met him, he hardly moved as much as Allison originally described him. It was an after effect of the nogitsune's possession of him. There would even be times where he caught himself sitting too still and tried to overcompensate. But as the summer went on, his hyperactivity increased, his mannerisms becoming more comfortable, more like him.
"That's what Kira said," I said, laughing. I had to make sure my gaze didn't wander over to his lips. Then I had to mentally smack myself for evening considering that I would make eye contact with his mouth. "You definitely look more like yourself."
He closed his locker for me and leaned towards me, and I got a strong whiff of him. And he smelled good. "What does that mean?"
Shit. Shit. Shit. If anything, now would be a great time to tell him I knew. So then I could pull him into a well-deserved hug and let him know that I was always around for him to talk about it. Talk through it. But I couldn't. I didn't. "I meant, junior year was hard for everyone with SATs and college prep. We were all so stressed with bags under our eyes and that crazed look we gave to the underclassmen. But now that it's senior year, you looked more relaxed. Energized, by relaxed. Happy."
Stiles shook his head at the mention of junior year, the nogitsune clouding his mind again. Only for a second though. He bounced back immediately, flashing his charming boyish grin at me. For a second, I was grateful he wasn't a werewolf. He put a hand on my shoulder and thanked me.
We walked to the office to pick up and compare our senior year schedules before heading towards homeroom. As seniors, we all chose Mr. Yukimura for our homeroom teacher, much to Kira's dismay. When Stiles and I got there, Lydia and Malia already saved us a cluster of seats. Stiles sat behind the strawberry blond and I took the seat behind him. "Good morning you two."
Lydia smiled, lips bright red. "It's actually a pretty good morning, given the circumstances. Stiles, you can't stand to do your hair in the morning?"
"What? I thought it looked good. Then I could truthfully say 'I woke up like this' when the freshman girls fawned over me." She didn't have a chance to retort because Kira, planting herself on between Malia and me, exclaimed, "We're all sitting together! This is great."
Malia reached out and touched her gently on wrist. "It's gonna be a great year." Groaning, I put my head down on the desk, hitting it a little too hard. When I looked back up, rubbing my forehead, my friends were staring at me. "You guys keep saying stuff like that."
"V doesn't believe me when I say that after a quiet summer, senior year is going to be a blast," Kira explained to our friends.
"Maybe if you told me how it would be a blast, I'd look forward to it."
"That's easy," Scott said. Using his fingers, he counted off, "We'll get into colleges, classes will be easier…"
Kira included, "You'll get a boyfriend, there won't be an su—"
"Sucky parties," Lydia cut in. "Senior parties are the best. Jackson used to take me all the time our freshman and sophomore years." Kira almost mentioned supernatural activity and I wanted her to. Selfishly, I was tired of keeping up this facade, but Allison promised me to keep her a secret. Especially since it wasn't exactly necessary for them to know yet. I smiled at the rest of them, pretending to be oblivious to Kira's apologetic shrug to the pack.
Mr. Yukimura walked in. "Good morning. I will be your homeroom teacher every day this year for twenty minutes. I know you are all seniors so my only request is that you speak quietly during the morning announcements. Alright, carry on."
Kira and Malia started an animated conversation about how to get me a boyfriend when a guy in a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses entered the room. Scott shouted, prompting Mr. Yukimura to chide him immediately, "Isaac Lahey. How've you been, man?"
Isaac walked over to our section, sliding his sunglasses off and revealing his smoldering eyes, and smiled. "It's been good. I spent the last semester abroad in France with Argent." He hugged everyone in quick succession, slowing down at Lydia. For a moment he held her, with Allison on their mind. They pulled apart and she smiled meekly. "We heard. How is he, by the way?"
"A lot better. We came back because he said someone needed his help here." He sat down to the left of Stiles and caught my eye. "Who's this?"
I extended my hand. "Veronica Yang. But these guys call me V." Malia added, "We started second semester together, a few days after you left for France."
"Right," he said before lowering his voice, "are you part of the pack?"
Out of the corner of my eye, Scott's arms tensed up. This was my chance to tell them everything I knew about them. And Danny. But again, I bit my tongue and played dumb. I laughed. "'The Pack'? That's what you guys secretly call yourself?"
"Ha ha ha, yeah. It's so stupid. Right, Isaac?" Stiles said, nervously smiling. Isaac nodded, playing along, and repeated him. "So stupid." His eyes stayed with mine as he whispered, "It's nice to meet you though. Welcome to Beacon Hills."
Classes went by quickly and soon the first day of senior year was over. Throughout the day, I noticed the boys speaking in hushed voices, and clamming up whenever I came by. I couldn't blame them: Isaac probably wanted to make sure I was who I said I was. New girls didn't exactly have the best track record around here - and I was no exception. They just didn't know it yet. If Allison was right though, and something big was about to happen, they deserved to know what I knew sooner rather than later. Especially if it was equally as bad as all the things that happened before. I couldn't risk them thinking I was their enemy.
Stiles and I trekked from our lockers to meet up with everyone else before the boys' first lacrosse practice. "Wait," I asked, "I thought lacrosse was a spring sport."
"Well, since the every school in our league has a shitty football team, the district made a decision to move lacrosse to the fall and track to the spring," he explained carefully. "So y'know, we'll get to attend some Southern California meets this year. Greaat."
"Mm, that makes sense." I grumbled, "I wish I could watch the full practice instead of skipping out early to go to work." Scott pulled some serious strings with Deaton to let me work for him. We got to the field and saw Isaac and Scott, already in their gear, huddling with Kira and Lydia away from the rest of the team. Malia was at her after-school therapy - which were really were-lessons with Peter Hale. There were still a few minutes before practice started, and I could hear Isaac saying, "You're sure she doesn't know anything about the supernatural chessboard?"
Walking a few quick steps ahead of me, Stiles groaned. "You keep asking that. I'll give you the same answer: we're sure."
I tapped him on the shoulder and pouted. "You really have to stop gossiping about me. It's getting to be a bad habit. The girls avoided eye contact with me, but Isaac scrutinizing gaze didn't waver. "But I'll tell you anyway. I know."
Kira's eyes widened. "You know what exactly?" Using my fingers, I counted off - similar to the way Scott did this morning: "Scott and Isaac are werewolves, you're a fox spirit, and Lydia's a banshee. Oh, and Malia's a werecoyote. Stiles, on the other hand, he's something."
"How long?" Lydia asked, her voice curt.
"As soon as I met you." Scott crossed his arms against his chest and asked, "How did you figure it out?"
Rolling my eyes, I said, "Like it's hard. Even Danny knows." Oops.
"Danny knows?" Stiles asked.
Shit. I couldn't spill everything yet. "You didn't know that Danny knew because he told Ethan and Ethan left."
"Aiden's brother?" Lydia asked, a slight crack in her voice. I nodded and silently cursed myself again. Why was this so hard? I backpedalled, "Right, I didn't know Ethan because he left before I got here. You know what? Stiles was right, I know nothing."
Coach Finstock blew his whistle and yelled at the girls to get off his field. I quickly said, "I will tell you everything after work tonight."
Scott shouted back to Coach, "Can we get a few minutes? We're celebrating that Lahey's back!"
"Fine, McCall! Three minutes!" Noting my confused face, he explained, "Coach is happy the two of us are back playing and Stiles has gotten better. You have three minutes."
"Okay fine, I have this crazy superpower where I can tell when someone isn't human. It's just a feeling, I can't explain it. But if I touch them, I know what they are."
"But you haven't touched me yet," Isaac pointed out. I shrugged and said, "I've been here for seven months. I notice the subtle differences in how I feel around different creatures, I guess."
Stiles was putting everything together in his head and he opened his mouth, only to be cut off by Lydia who figured it out first. "But what about Ethan or Danny?"
"Danny and I talked about it before and he mentioned Ethan. It wasn't hard to notice he knew, especially because of how careful he was around you guys."
Scott shot me a wary look, clearly in protector mode. "How are we supposed to trust you, Veronica?" Ouch. He used my full name.
"The entire time I've known you, I haven't told anyone or done anything to put you in danger," I replied, holding his gaze. Kira nudged me with her elbow, and said, "I still trust her. She's right. We have no reason to believe she's a threat to us."
Lydia nodded in agreement, both saying, "She's our friend."
"I might not know her, but if they trust her," Isaac said, his eyes briefly moving down my body, "who am I to disagree? Plus, she's tiny. Who is she gonna hurt?"
Stiles flashed a grin at me, and Scott finished his internal debate. "If my pack trusts you, so do I."
