Chapter 2:
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf or have any affiliation with the show. I wish I did, that would be awesome. Sadly, I am just a fan. The characters Nora, Sal and Tanya are my creations.
It took Nora thirty minutes to find her way out of the thick trees. She silently cursed herself for being so emotional. She could have gotten seriously hurt running off like that. Thankfully, Nora made it out of the woods with merely two blisters on the back of her heels. Converse were not made to be ran in, she noted.
As her house came into view, she saw Sal's car gone from the driveway. He was probably wasting gas driving around looking for her. For the second time that evening, Nora cursed herself. She really needed to think things through.
Nora pushed open the front door. She saw her aunt sitting on the couch, staring into space. Nora noticed she was no longer wearing the blouse. Relief flooded Tanya's face when she saw Nora.
Before Nora could utter a single apology, Tanya pulled her into a crushingly tight hug. As they pulled apart, Nora began her apology. "Tanya, I am so sorry. That was unbelievably stupid of me to run off like that, especially over a stupid shirt."
"Oh honey, I'm so glad you are okay. I'm sorry too. I crossed a line wearing your mother's blouse." Tanya pulled her into another quick hug. "I need to call Sal. He is probably trying to convince the Sheriff to put out an APB on you."
It wasn't long before Sal was home, looking drained.
"I'm so sorry Sal!" Nora said, drawing out the "so" for a few seconds. "I'm an idiot and I need to learn to deal with my problems instead of running away from them." She finished.
Sal's response was a hug that was even tighter than Tanya's. Without a word, Sal broke the hug and began his ascent up the staircase, signaling he was heading to bed.
Nora heated up the dinner Tanya had saved her, grabbed her school bag and headed up to her bedroom to start on the pile of homework her teachers had assigned.
She sat down at her desk and took her phone out of her bag. 4 new text messages and 2 missed calls from Lydia. Nora dialed Lydia's number and braced herself for her wrath.
"NORA!" Lydia's voice screamed out the earpiece, causing Nora to pull the phone away from her ear. "What the hell! Why have you been ignoring me?" Lydia asked.
"I wasn't ignoring you. I... uh… went for a run." Nora told her.
"Since when do you run?" Lydia responded.
"Well it wasn't for exercise. I was running away…from my feelings…into the woods."
"The same woods were a girls' dead body was found? Nora, what were you thinking?" Lydia asked, scolding her.
"I know. It was stupid. Tanya was wearing a shirt of my moms. And well, naturally I ran away, instead of dealing with my feelings." Nora finished, feeling dejected.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Lydia asked quietly.
"No." Nora told her quickly.
"Nora." Lydia responded.
"I mean the whole thing is really stupid. It's not like my mom needs it. Just seeing her wearing it…" She paused. "…it was like she was trying to replace her. It's stupid."
"No, it's not stupid. Your mom's possessions are an important way for you to remember her. Tanya should've have known to at the very least ask you before wearing it. I'm not saying running away was a good idea, but honestly if it were me I'd be upset too." Lydia said.
"Lydia, you are honestly the best. You always know exactly what to say. I should probably go though. I haven't even started on the English reading yet."
"Okay, bye Nor!" Lydia said and ended the call. With a groan, Nora opened Catch-22 to the assigned page.
...
Nora found herself once again in the woods. It was incredibly dark; she had to squint to see the trees in her path. Moreover, a dense fog oozed along the frost bitten ground. The whole scene was eerie and Nora felt her heartbeat quicken and her palms sweat. Her foot caught on a thick branch and she fell forward, catching herself with her hands. A growl echoed across the woods. Nora's head snapped up and she caught sight of two red eyes not far from where she lay on the forest floor. She shuffled backwards on her butt. Her legs didn't seem to work anymore. The red eyes were closer than they were a moment ago. She could now see they belonged to a huge dark creature. It was on all fours, inching closer to her. Eyes widening, Nora racked her brain until she found a name for the giant beast: werewolf.
...
Nora awoke with a start. Her entire body was caked with sweat. Even her breath was labored. Taking a few deep breaths, Nora threw back the bedcovers. The alarm clock on her nightstand read 6:25 AM – an hour earlier than she normally woke up. Nora doubted she could go back to sleep with the adrenaline she felt after the dream. Instead, she hopped in the shower and tried to forget the paralyzing fear she had felt just moments before.
By the time Nora was ready for the day, she no longer felt the fear. What had seemed so terrifying in her nightmare, now seemed silly. With a laugh, she headed to the kitchen for some much needed food.
Tanya was sitting at the table sipping her cup of coffee. Seeing her, Nora suddenly remember she had yet to ask permission to go to Lydia's party that night.
"So favorite aunt of mine: I have a question for you." She began.
"I'm your only aunt." Tanya said pointedly.
"Right. Well, Lydia is having a party at her house tonight. Can I pretty please with sugar on top go?" Nora pleaded.
"I suppose its fine. Just keep your phone on and make sure you are home before midnight." Tanya replied. Nora was infinitely grateful she had encountered Tanya and not Sal. She doubted Sal would have agreed, especially after last night.
She placed a kiss on Tanya's cheek and headed off to school.
...
"So Family night is miraculously cancelled?" Lydia asked Allison with a suspicious look.
Nora gave Lydia a look that said "Don't." Allison had just informed Lydia and Nora that she would be in attendance at the party later that night. Apparently, the previous night she had accidently hit a dog and took it to the Beacon Hills veterinarian office where Scott McCall worked. Scott had asked Allison to go the party with him.
Lydia simply rolled her eyes at Nora and turned back to Allison. "Let's go, lacrosse tryouts are starting soon." She grabbed Allison and Nora each by the wrist, dragging them down the now empty hallway.
Nora pulled her wrist back. "Nope, count me out today."
"Fine, be a loser." Lydia shot back. The three separated ways as Nora headed to the parking lot and the other two towards the lacrosse field.
That afternoon Nora had intended to get a head start on the English reading for the week, but she found herself doing anything but. Instead, she watched several re-runs of the Big Bang Theory. She hadn't realized how long she'd been sitting there, when her phone rang.
"Hey Lydia. How was the rest of the tryouts?" Nora asked, answering the phone.
"Jackson made first line, of course. Scott McCall did too, actually. He was pretty amazing. He made this ridiculous shot. Naturally, Jackson is pissed. He's being completely unbearable at the moment. Oh and that guy Stiles asked about you."
"What do you mean asked about me?" Nora asked, feeling confused.
"He said, and I quote, 'Where is Nora?' And I said it was none of his business." Lydia told her simply.
"First off, manners! And secondly, that's kind of weird, don't you think? I barely know him." Nora said.
"Well you're hot Nora. It's not weird to have boys interested in you." Lydia said with a laugh.
"Ha!" She scoffed. "He is completely in love with you, not me!"
"Gross. Anyways, have you decided what you are wearing to my party? Please don't say what you wore to school today." Lydia asked.
"What was wrong with what I wore today!" Nora exclaimed.
"Well besides the obvious, you can't wear some that casual to a party." Lydia responded, her voice thick with disgust. "You can borrow a dress if you want." She offered.
Nora decided it wasn't worth the battle. "Sure." She said simply. The two girls ended their conversation.
Nora laid back on her bed, spreading out her limbs. Lydia's interaction with Stiles left Nora feeling quite confused. Maybe Stiles just wanted to talk about the body in the woods or something. Regardless, the news left Nora with an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach.
...
"Hmm. Let's try this." Lydia said, removing a dress from its hanger. Seeing the dress, Nora let out a groan. Lydia had chosen a tight low-cut peach colored dress. Begrudgingly, Nora pulled the dress over her head. It was an elastic material, but it required quite a bit of tugging to get it down to her thighs.
Nora turned to the full length mirror. The dress hugged all of her curves and accentuated her small waist. The tops of her breasts were exposed, showing Nora's pale skin.
With a smirk, Lydia said, "Hot damn. You should let me dress you more often." She winked at Nora and headed out the bedroom to the party happening downstairs.
Nora pulled at the hem of the dress, trying to make it cover more of her legs. She felt entirely exposed. With a sigh, Nora, too, headed downstairs. She had just reached the bottom step when the doorbell rang.
Nora pulled open the front door to reveal a tall, lanky boy. "Hey Stiles. You know you didn't have to ring the doorbell." She told him.
Stiles' eyes widened as he took in Nora's appearance. He started at her eyes and slowly made his way down stopping at her exposed legs. Nora couldn't tell if his reaction was a good one or a bad one. But having his eyes on her made her uncomfortable.
"Lydia dressed me." Nora said quickly. Stiles eyes snapped back up to hers for a second before a friend called him over, leaving Nora standing at the door awkwardly.
For much of the party, Nora leaned against a counter watching the crowds of teenagers. She scanned the room for Lydia or Allison, or anyone, to talk to. Allison was busy with Scott and Lydia was probably playing tonsil hockey with Jackson. Nora grimaced at the thought. Scanning the crowd once more, she settled on the back of a buzz cut head.
The loud music made it easy to sneak up on him. Nora clamped down on his shoulders with both of her hands. It had the desired effect – Stiles jumped, letting out a weird yelp.
Laughing, she navigated around the couch to sit next to Stiles as he recovered himself. "Sorry, that was too easy." She said smiling at him.
Stiles just looked at her incredulously. "So." She began. "I know Scott's secret." Nora said in a hushed voice, leaning in for dramatic effect. Stiles eyes widened and he stammered, "What? What secret? Scott has no secrets!"
Nora just laughed, wondering what Scott's real secret could be. "It's ok, Stiles. I know he was bitten by a radioactive spider." Stiles seemed to visibly relax. "So tell me, has Scott been swinging from any tall buildings from string he produces from his wrists?"
Stiles didn't miss a beat responding. "No, but he has been trying to avenge his uncle's death."
Nora laughed. After a moment, both were silent, each trying to think of something clever to say. Stiles was the first to speak. "You're not at all what I expected." He told her.
"What'd you expect?" She asked.
"I'm not sure, but definitely not a Spiderman reference." He said with a laugh.
"There is one thing you'll learn about me Stiles." She paused. Nora wasn't sure why she did it, maybe it was Lydia's dress boosting her confidence, but she leaned in close to him, just inches from his face. "I'm unpredictable." She said in a hushed voice, She got up from the couch, not wanting to see his reaction. She needed to get out of this dress, it was making her do weird things.
Before she could take a step, a body pushed into her. It was Scott, pushing his way through the crowd to the front door. "Where's the fire, Scott?" She called after him. Seconds later, Stiles was following him. As he passed by Nora, he gave her a look that she couldn't identify.
Author's Note:
Comments/Critiques would be MUCH appreciated. Like I said this is my first fanficition so I'm not sure what I'm doing haha. Thank you for reading!