Edited: 22nd August, 2015
Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf, or any of the characters other than my own. All rights go to the respective owners.
Jessica Reynolds liked pretty things. One of her dads, no one was sure which one, had nicknamed her Little Magpie when they adopted her. When she was a baby, she appeared to collect anything sparkly she could get her tiny hands on and so the name stuck. As Jessica grew up, that remained the same. Jessica seemed naturally drawn to glittering necklaces and sparkling bracelets, pretty dresses and soft cardigans. She loved them all. Of course, she loved them within reason and found that she could love them from a distance if she could not afford them. She worked in a small café to earn money to buy the pretty things she loved as her fathers insisted she learn the value of money.
Her dad, Franklin Reynolds, was a stout car salesman whose suits were always too big and his tie always set at a slight angle. He never wore black suits, claiming that they should be reserved solely for funerals and weddings; in precisely that order since he believed that even wearing black at a wedding was too grim. Therefore, he only owned one suit in black with the rest being grey, blue and brown. His light brown, almost blonde, hair was always ruffled no matter how much time he spent styling it into place.
Franklin's husband, Grayson, was the opposite. Jessica's father, Grayson Reynolds, was a serious man, working as a doctor in the local hospital. He enjoyed that his first name sounded like a second name, believing that it gave him a certain gravitas. Grayson appreciated a good black suit, claiming that they suited any occasion (even events that weren't funerals or weddings), much to his husband's annoyance.
The nickname Little Magpie was coined after baby Jessica stole her father's stethoscope and hid it in her crib. This incident lead to many light-hearted arguments centring around who created the name. Her father claimed that since it was his stethoscope it was logical that he had crafted the name. Whereas, her dad claimed that since he was the one to find Jessica clutching the stethoscope it made sense for him to be the creator of 'Little Magpie'. Sixteen years after the name was created, the argument was yet to be resolved (both being rather stubborn men).
Jessica always looked forward to the parties thrown by Lydia Martin as they gave her an excuse to wear the pretty dresses she worked hard to buy. They also meant that she was allowed to play dress up. She adored doing Emma's makeup for the parties they attended, despite knowing that Emma was capable of doing it herself. Jessica would plan at least one day in advance thinking about what she could do with Emma's hair and makeup after she figured herself out. As such she always insisted in knowing what Emma was planning on wearing before the party. This led to much frustration on her part when Emma hadn't decided what she was going to wear to Lydia's party that night.
"What do you mean you've not decided yet?" Jessica narrowed her eyes at Emma as the two stood at their lockers on Friday afternoon.
"I just haven't really thought about it yet," Emma shrugged her shoulders and shut her locker door with a bang. "I'll probably just wear that red dress again. You know the one with the lace back."
Jessica simultaneously sighed and groaned making a noise that sounded completely unnatural coming out of her mouth. As Jessica gathered her textbooks together, she riffled through her brain to think of the dress Emma was talking about. Burrowing her eyebrows in concentration, she vaguely recalled the dress but she soon realised that the red dress with the lace back was in no way acceptable.
"Nope! No, no, no. You cannot wear that. You wore it last time," She tilted her head to the side, as she flicked through the catalogue of Emma's dresses she had stored in her mind.
Emma knew better than to disturb Jessica when she was planning – she had made that mistake before and the look Jessica gave her made her want to run away and hide – so she left Jessica to her thoughts as they slowly made their way through the school hallway to the cafeteria. They quickly found a table and sat down across from each other, Jessica still in deep concentration. Her eyebrows were furrowed, her eyes narrowed and her fingers tapping rhythmically on the table top. When Jessica was this far deep in concentration it was almost impossible to get her attention. However, if she hadn't started the finger tapping then there was a slim chance she could be brought back to reality. Emma had no idea how long Jessica would remain in this state so she pulled her lunch out of her bag and began eating the sandwiches her mother had made the night before.
When Emma woke up that morning, she noticed that there wasn't a mug waiting to be washed in the sink, meaning that her mother had most likely slept through the night for a change. When Delia Moore couldn't sleep she would sit on the kitchen floor with a mug of tea in one hand and a book in the other while she waited to be tired enough to go back to bed. Emma smiled to herself as she sat in the school cafeteria, glad that her mother was finally getting some sleep.
Ryan slid into the seat next to Jessica and kissed her cheek. Jessica barely acknowledged him but did mumble a small greeting before recommencing her tapping.
"What's up with her?"
Emma raised an eyebrow and answered, "She's trying to decide what I should wear tonight".
A look of recognition swept across his face as he realised that he should stop trying to get Jessica's attention, lest he face her wrath.
"Hey, have the police said anything more about that body they found?" Emma asked Ryan, remembering that she had forgotten to talk to Jessica about it the day before.
"Um…I think they're questioning people about it but I don't know if they've charged anyone yet," he answered with a shrug of his shoulders and quickly swallowing a bite of his sandwich. "It's weird but isn't it? Nothing like that ever happens here." He took another bite of his sandwich (which was basically the size of the whole thing) and Emma looked at him, mystified at the amount of food he could fit in his mouth.
"Well there was the Hale House fire."
"Nah," Ryan scoffed. "That was an accident, doesn't count."
"Suppose," as Emma spoke Jessica interrupted her with a squeak of delight and slapped her hand on the table, causing a few heads to look in their direction.
"Okay, you're going to wear that navy dress with the blue flowers on the skirt of it, that skinny brown belt with the matching shoes, that flower necklace your mom gave you for your birthday last year and those bracelets I gave you for Christmas." She grinned triumphantly at Emma, all traces of deep concentration wiped from her face before turning to Ryan. "Hey you," she grinned, planting a kiss on his cheek.
"What are you wearing tonight then?" Emma questioned and watched as Jessica's eyes lit up in excitement but before she could answer, Lydia slid into the set next to Emma with Jackson sitting in the seat next to Ryan and Allison sitting in the seat on Lydia's other side.
"So, what are we talking about?" Lydia asked.
"What we're wearing to your party tonight." Lydia's eyes lit up just like Jessica's had but before she could join in she was interrupted by Jackson's groan of annoyance.
"No! We are not talking about that!" Jackson's eyes flitted around the cafeteria before landing on the back of Scott McCall's head. "We're talking about McCall." His eyes locked on Emma, "you're still friends with Tweedledum and Tweedledee right?" He said jerking his head in Scott and Stiles' direction.
"Sort of, yeah…why?"
"What's he on?" He asked abruptly.
"What? Who?" Emma asked, thoroughly confused.
"McCall," Jackson gritted his teeth and moved his gaze back to glare at Scott's head. "He has to be on something. There's no way he got that good at lacrosse that quickly."
Emma could hear Lydia huff in annoyance beside her, clearly Jackson had been bothering her about it all day.
"Here's a wild idea: maybe he just practised a lot. You know, that thing people to do to get better at something." Emma fired back.
"Whatever." Jackson growled, returning his stare back to Scott. "I know he's on something. I just need to find out what".
"You can't be serious, Jackson. This is Scott McCall: little puppy dog, wouldn't hurt a fly, Scott McCall we're talking about." Emma gave him a pointed look, conveying that she thought he was being ridiculous.
"Listen, Moore," Jackson hissed, never taking his eyes off of Scott. "I know what I'm talking about, I just need to wait for him to slip up and then expose him for the cheater he is."
Emma bit her tongue, realising that arguing with him was just going to give her a sore head. Jackson was one of the most stubborn people she had ever met, and it was something she both admired and detested about him.
"Okay," Ryan nervously laughed, trying to diffuse some of the tension that had settled on the table. "Are you coming to lacrosse practise?" He asked Jessica and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Nope, sorry," she said, popping the 'p'. "Emma's coming to mine so we can get ready for tonight. You're okay to come over right?" She addressed Emma, an expectant look upon her face.
"Yeah," Emma answered, nodding her head in confirmation. "Are you sure you can't make it tonight?" She asked Allison whom she noticed had become uncomfortable under Jackson's suspicions about Scott.
"Actually, I am coming," Allison grinned sheepishly. "Scott's taking me."
"What? When did this happen?" Emma smiled at Allison, glad that if someone was going to take an interest in her that it was Scott who Emma thought couldn't have been more of a sweetheart.
Before Allison could answer however, Jackson nearly spit out the gulp of water he had been about to drink and his eyes practically bulged out of his head. He swallowed quickly, staring intently at Allison.
"Scott McCall? Or Scott Nelson?" Jackson seethed forcing the alleviated tension to descend once more upon the table.
"McCall." Allison answered, and Emma was pleasantly surprised to find a look of steely determination plastered over her face; Emma realised that she had grossly misjudged Allison, she was not as shy as Emma thought she was.
"You can't be ser-…" but before he could finish his sentence, he was silenced by a flick of Lydia's hand as she interrupted him and defused the situation before he could erupt.
"Jackson!" She gave him a pointed look. "Do you know what you're going to wear?" She addressed Allison who smiled at her, glad that the conversation wasn't headed into an argument.
Emma always marvelled at Lydia's ability to diffuse any situation before it got out of hand, particularly were Jackson was concerned. With Lydia's quick dismissal of the previous conversation the group managed to return to some civility. Jackson quickly pulled Ryan into a conversation about the upcoming lacrosse practice but Emma could still hear Scott's name being mentioned every now and again. Allison was nervous about her date with Scott, but the girls were quick to reassure her that everything would be fine with Emma chiming in with a few embarrassing stories about Scott when he was a child to lessen Allison's nervousness.
From the corner of her eye, Emma could see Stiles and Scott throwing grapes at each other, aiming for each other's mouths. Emma laughed when she noticed Stiles flailing his arms over his head as he jumped to catch a grape that Scott had thrown at him.
Stiles, hearing Emma's laugh twisted his head around to look at her only to find her looking right back at him. His eyes widened in panic that he had been caught looking at her and nearly fell out of his seat in an attempt to turn away from her. Emma giggled at his behaviour and felt a blush creeping up her cheeks and warming her face. She shook her head to try and distract herself; she did not blush at anything Stiles Stilinski did.
"Oh my God!" Jessica stage whispered to Emma.
Emma glanced at her in confusion, "What?"
"You are totally blushing at Twitch!" Jessica's mouth was dropped open in a surprised O and her eyes were wide but there was a hint of a smile in them.
"What are you talking about? Who's Twitch?"
Jessica gave her an unconvinced look and cocked an eyebrow. "You know exactly who I'm talking about, Emma Moore."
"Stiles!" Emma hissed back, trying to keep quiet. "No, no way." She said the last part louder than she had expected, drawing Lydia's attention away from Allison and towards the two friends.
"What's going on?" Lydia asked, clearly slipping into gossip mode and pulling Allison into the conversation with her.
"Nothing," Emma answered at the same time that Jessica squealed: "Emma was blushing."
"Ooh, tell tell!" Lydia's eyes glistened at the prospect of gossip.
"There's nothing to tell, Jess is just over exaggerating."
Lydia examined Emma sceptically for a moment.
"You know, I can just about put up with Allison and Scott being a thing but I don't think I could deal with you and McCall's sidekick." Lydia flicked her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms in front of her on the table.
Emma looked at her gobsmacked, wondering how Lydia had even come to the conclusion.
"No, there's nothing going on," Emma tried to reassure Lydia, and tried to suppress the small part of her that cried out in indignation.
She had found herself often looking for Stiles in class – which wasn't hard to do given that he always seemed to either be talking loudly or flailing around – and couldn't help that she had caught herself staring at the back of his shaved head when she sat behind him, hoping that he would turn around and talk to her.
"Good," Lydia responded with a quick nod of her head though there was still a hint of suspicion in her eyes.
In that moment the three other girls could see why Lydia was considered the 'Queen Bee' of the school. It wasn't just the popularity, her intelligence, the clothes she wore, or her boyfriend (though those factors did help), it was the way she carried herself and the way she demanded respect without having to ask for it. Lydia carried herself with her shoulders squared and her head held high; when she walked into a room, she instantly had everyone's attention. No questions asked. Yes, Lydia Martin was a force to be reckoned with.
"You're still coming over on Saturday, right?" Lydia flipped the subject once more. "You too, Allison," she smiled.
Jessica and Emma nodded in agreement while Allison glanced at Lydia in puzzlement.
"I thought your party was tonight?" She asked with a hint of panic in her voice, momentarily believing that she had gotten the day of her date wrong.
"It is, but we always get together the day after a party for a girls day."
"Oh, yeah, I should be able to make it."
"Good, I'll text you the details later."
The rest of the school day flew by at an alarming rate, so much so that Emma failed to remember much from the classes that separated her from the end of the day. She waited in apprehension for Lydia's party. A part of her was looking forward to letting loose, enjoying herself and hopefully talking to Stiles. But another, more dominant part, was worried that her confused feelings for Stiles were too obvious. She could not understand how Lydia had known that Jessica was referring to Stiles during their conversation at lunch. Emma was sure that she had not let any of her growing feelings for him show. She should have known however, that Lydia would have clicked onto Emma's feelings. She was Lydia Martin after all, and it seemed like Lydia was always two steps ahead of everyone else.
Emma was unsure if her feelings for Stiles were the result of genuine attraction or if she was just beginning to miss him speaking to her since he had recently become distant. She couldn't help the warmth that spread throughout her when she pictured Stiles, yet she wondered if her feelings for him could ever deepen, given that they hardly spoke to each other. The conflict in her mind only made her all the more determined to speak with him, even if only for a short moment, to help her sort her feelings out.
She exited the school and entered into the bright sunlight. She quickly located Jessica's car in the parking lot and headed towards it to wait for her to arrive. She did not have to wait for long before Jessica's blonde curls could be seen bobbing up and down between the cars.
"Ready?" She asked once she reached Emma who replied with a small: "yep."
The two girls clambered into Jessica's car, a small silver thing her dad had given her when she passed her driving test. It made an odd noise when the heating was switched on, like a baby monster was hidden in the heating systems, but other than that it was a perfectly fine car. Jessica named it Wanda.
"Okay, so we'll stop off at your house, pick up your stuff then head to mine?" Jessica asked before switching on the ignition.
"Sounds good," Emma replied, trying to hide the worry in her voice. She was always a bit cautious when Jessica drove her home in case Wanda decided to break down.
Luckily for both girls, the car started with no problem and they joined the line of cars waiting to exit the parking lot. As they waited they noticed Jackson, in full lacrosse gear, making his way towards the field. The two girls shared a look before they began discussing his behaviour at lunch.
"What was that all about earlier?"
"It was really weird. I don't know why he would think that Scott is doing drugs. I mean this is Scott McCall we're talking about. Neither Scott or Stiles would ever even think of doing something like that." At the mention of Stiles' name Jessica swivelled her head round to look at Emma, raising an eyebrow and smirking; Emma immediately regretted her choice of words but chose to ignore Jessica as she continued. "Scott probably just practised a lot without anyone noticing to get as good as he was the other day. That's all; he's definitely not on drugs." Emma laughed, hoping that Jessica wouldn't bring the conversation back to Stiles.
Luck was not on Emma's side.
"Forget about McCall, let's talk about Twitch!" Jessica giggled while Emma internally groaned.
"Don't call him that, it's not nice," Emma lightly scolded but Jessica just rolled her eyes. "There's nothing to talk about," Emma replied as Jessica drove the car out of the parking lot and began heading towards Emma's house.
"Oh come on, Ems!" Jessica whined. "You were totally blushing when you locked eyes with him earlier!"
"No I wasn't," Emma tried to deny but knew that she didn't sound convincing at all.
"Are you seriously trying to deny it right now?" Jessica knew Emma well enough to notice a gradual change in her friend. Emma had begun to drop Stiles' name into general conversation without even realising that she was doing it more than usual and Jessica had even caught her looking shyly at Stiles when she thought no one could see. Jessica wasn't stupid; she could see that her friend was beginning to develop feelings for Twitch.
Emma didn't really know how to answer Jessica. Her mind was conflicted in regards to Stiles. She couldn't help but remember that this was the Stiles that she had been best friends with when they were young, the exact same Stiles she had shared a bubble bath with when she was two. Though, when she looked at him, she found that her pulse would race that little bit faster, her cheeks would heat up and she felt a sort of nervousness around him, almost as if she was waiting in anticipation for him to speak to her. She wasn't sure how to answer Jessica just yet so she decided to change the subject away from Stiles.
"Allison seems nice."
There was a pause in the car in which both girls sat in silence. Jessica wanted to gain an answer from Emma but knew what it was like to be unsure about your feelings for someone, especially when those feelings were so new and fresh. She could understand Emma's hesitation to answer her, given that Emma was much more closed off than she was. Jessica decided to allow Emma to change the subject, even momentarily, but vowed to return to the topic of Emma and Stiles later on.
"Yeah, I've not spoken to her much. She seems a bit quiet, though it's probably just 'cause she's new and hasn't settled in properly yet." Emma breathed a sigh of relief as Jessica allowed her to change the direction of the conversation. "Mind you," she continued. "I bet you she's got some freaky hobby or something she's keeping from us. It's always the quiet ones you've got to watch out for." Jessica laughed and Emma couldn't help but grin at her, feeling herself slowly relax again.
Soon after, Jessica was parking in front of Emma's house, a small two storey structure which had no unique identifying features about it. The small garden gnome guarding the front door with a steely expression plastered on his face, unusual for that kind of garden ornament, was the only exception. The inside of the house was just as unremarkable as the outside. The walls were a muted neutral tone and the floors were all the same plain wood. The pictures that adorned the walls were the only defining features but overall, the house gave the impression that it wasn't truly lived in, almost as if it were a show home.
"Hi, mom!" Emma shouted into the house.
She heard her mother's muffled reply coming from upstairs and gestured for Jessica to follow her. When they reached the top of the stairs, passing by multiple embarrassing baby pictures, Emma paused outside of her mother's bedroom door.
"I'm not too sure what dress you were talking about so do you mind looking for it while I say hi to mom?"
Jessica nodded her agreement and headed towards Emma's bedroom, leaving the other girl behind. Emma cracked her mother's door open slightly, hoping that her mother had had one of her good days. Upon entering the room, Emma noticed the first good sign: the curtains were open and sunlight was streaming into the room. The second good sign was that her mother was fully dressed and sitting at her desk typing away at her computer. Delia Moore worked from home, organising the finances for a local boutique, so would often spend the entire day in the house. She tried to make the effort to leave the house at least three times a week.
"Hi mom," Emma said from the doorway, waiting for her mother to turn around.
When Delia did turn around, Emma quietly breathed a sigh of relief as she noticed that some of the sadness that sometimes occupied her eyes was nowhere to be seen. Delia smiled a small smile at her daughter, noticing how much time had passed since she had truly taken notice of her daughter aging. Emma was no longer the little girl that Delia still sometimes viewed her as; instead she had grown into a young adult capable of looking after herself. Sometimes Delia wished that Emma was still that little girl who would hold her hand to cross the road and would get in flour fights with her when they made cookies. However, Delia knew that this wasn't possible but still she couldn't stop herself from wishing it was true.
Delia steadily rose from her chair and crossed the room to pull Emma into a hug. This action surprised Emma who wasn't used to her mother behaving in such a way. Usually Delia didn't like being touched but when she did embrace Emma, she hugged back with everything she had, trying to pour every ounce of love she had for her mother into the embrace.
"How was school?" Delia asked as she pulled away from Emma.
"Fine, the usual. Jackson Whittemore's convinced Scott McCall's on steroids or something because he's suddenly gotten good at lacrosse," Emma rolled her eyes while her mother furrowed her brows.
"Little Scott McCall? The one you used to be friends with?" When Emma nodded her head in response Delia laughed, something Emma barely heard anymore but thought it was the most beautiful sound in the world. "That's just ridiculous," Delia continued. "I highly doubt little Scott would do that."
"That's what I said, but Jackson's like a dog with a bone. It'll probably take him a while to get over it."
"Is that Jessica in your room?" Delia asked. "Oh, you've got a party tonight right?"
"Um, yeah. But I think I'll just skip it and stay home instead," in that moment Emma forgot about her want to speak to Stiles, all she could think about was making the best of her mother's good mood.
"Don't be silly, you can stay home any night. Go out, have some fun." Delia smiled and Emma knew that she would never be able to argue her mother down no matter how much she wanted to.
"Oh, okay. Um…what time do you want me back for?"
"What time do you think it'll end? What about one o'clock?"
"One sounds good, but I think it'll probably end before that," Emma knew that this wasn't true and that Lydia's parties always stretched into the early hours of the morning but she wanted an excuse to leave early, if only to make sure that her mother was fine.
"Well, come home when you want just not after one. Deal?"
"Deal."
"Okay then, off you go, I'm sure Jessica's fed up waiting on you," She began to turn away from Emma but stopped herself before she turned her back completely. "Remember to eat something before you go, if you're going to be drinking you don't want to be sick."
"Yeah, will do," Emma smiled at her mom, she really didn't want to go anymore but she didn't want her mother to think that she was hovering.
As Emma turned to leave the bedroom she heard her mother speak again, "I love you Ems." Emma stopped in her tracks. Delia hadn't called her Ems in years; it was only Jessica that called her that now.
"I love you too mom."
When Emma entered her bedroom, she found Jessica sitting patiently on the end of the bed with a backpack filled with Emma's clothes at her feet.
"Ready?" Jessica chirped and the two girls headed out of the house and into Jessica's car once more.
Just as they were pulling up to Jessica's driveway, Grayson Reynolds was exiting the house. He stopped to wait for the girls to park before unlocking his own car.
"Hey, dad!" Jessica jogged to her father and wrapped her arms around his middle, while Emma waved her hello.
"Hey there, Magpie." He grinned and patted his daughter's back as she untangled herself from him. "What are you girls up to tonight?"
"We've got Lydia's party remember," Jessica leaned against the side of his sleek blue car as she spoke, and stretched up to tap his head.
"Ah, so you do," He grinned, ushering Jessica away from the car so he could open the door. "I must have forgotten for a moment."
"Honestly, dad, I think the old age is getting to you," Jessica joked and jumped out of the way when he tried to ruffle her hair.
"I'm not that old!" He laughed jovially, a sound as smooth as honey. "Listen girls," his laughter died as he turned serious, "I'm working the late shift tonight, but if you can't get a cab and need to be picked up just call Franklin, and he'll come and get you."
"Sure," Jessica chirped at the same time Emma said "Thank you, Mr Reynolds."
"Okay, it's no problem Emma," He smiled as he slid into his car and shut the door. He rolled his window down just as the girls began to walk away. "Have fun tonight, but be safe!"
"Bye, dad!" Jessica rolled her eyes and dragged Emma towards the front door.
As Grayson drove away, Jessica turned to Emma with a wild gleam in her eyes and squealed.
"So, what are we doing with your hair?"
-X-
When Jessica and Emma arrived at Lydia's house, the day had died and the night had come alive. Music blared from the speakers beside the pool and people were already stumbling about, the alcohol going straight to their heads. Off key signing could be heard streaming from the living room, accompanied by a boy playing an old guitar and trying to get the crowd back in key
Emma walked through the hallway of Lydia's house, a red solo cup in one hand, and she searched for one of her friends. She exchanged pleasantries with a few people as she passed ("Love your dress, where did you get it?" "Gorgeous shoes!") but she never stopped for long. Jessica had left her when she had spotted Ryan, and Emma was left to wander around and avoid Greenberg's unwanted advances. She spotted Danny in the kitchen pouring himself a drink so she made her way through the throngs of teenagers and hugged his waist from behind.
"Hey Danny boy," she giggled and Danny smiled at her over his shoulder quirking an eyebrow at her.
"You. Me. Shots. Now." He pulled away from her embrace and, grabbing her hand, led her towards the kitchen countertop where there were at least five bottles of vodka lined up.
Emma giggled as Danny clinked his shot glass with hers before they both downed the drink. The liquid burned her tongue as it slipped down her throat. She scrunched up her face at the horrible taste but the minute Danny filled up her shot glass again and handed it to her, she completely forgot about how horrible the drink tasted. She downed the drink again and giggled as she nearly tripped up even though she was standing still. Danny grinned at her and poured their third shot. They quickly finished that and Emma could barely feel the burn of it. She grabbed Danny's hand and stumbled out of the kitchen with him in tow.
"We're dancing!" She shouted over the music as the two exited the house.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Danny laughed and spun Emma around.
The two began twirling around each other, shouting the lyrics to the song playing in each other's faces and waving their arms in the air. The two had a dance routine they only ever whipped out once they were sufficiently drunk and the right song came on – it was an embarrassing routine born in the middle of a dull PE lesson. Their eyes widened at each other and grins split across their faces as Born This Way blared out of the speakers. They roared with laughter as they spun each other around and jumped in the air, laughing harder when Emma tripped and nearly sent a couple flying into the pool.
The two linked arms and stumbled away from the glaring couple. They made their way back to the kitchen and downed two more shots. Emma didn't want to admit to herself just how drunk she had become and just how quickly, she did not want Danny to start calling her a lightweight.
"So, Miss Moore," Danny rushed out, leaning down so that he was eye level with Emma.
"Yes, Mr Mahealani." She leaned towards him and winked.
"Who've you got your eye on?" He asked in what was supposed to be a whisper.
"Wha? None. No one," Emma tried to lie but failed as her voice hitched.
"Sure 'bout that?" Danny wiggled his eyebrows at her and winked.
"Wha' 'bout you?" Emma slurred, trying to change the subject.
"Don't try…don't try to change the subject." He wrapped his arm around Emma's shoulder and turned her around to face the door way were Stiles was standing chatting to a boy from their English class. "Wha' 'bout Stilinski?"
Emma could feel her cheeks heat up and buried her face in Danny's chest, partly to hide her blush and partly to stop herself from falling over.
"Go talk to him," Danny commanded playfully and bumped her hip with his.
"One more shot, for…uh," she struggled to think of the word. "Oh, courage! One more for courage!"
Danny grinned at her and proceeded to pour them another shot, getting more vodka on the countertop than in the glasses. Emma turned the faucet on after finishing the shot and stuck her mouth under the running water, taking a large gulp. She knew that she was drinking water too late in the game to stop a hangover but she figured that she might as well try.
"You're stalling," Danny frowned at her but laughed when she gave him her 'puppy dog' eyes. "Go!" He laughed again and gave her a slight shove in Stiles' direction.
Emma sent Danny a half-hearted glare over her shoulder but he only waved his hand at her and turned to begin chatting up a cute boy from his chemistry class. Emma spun back around and noticed that Stiles was by himself in the doorway so, taking a deep breath, Emma tried to steady herself as she danced her way towards him. She hugged him from behind and felt him startle slightly before he relaxed minutely, realising who was hugging him.
"Hey stranger," Emma giggled and moved round him so that she was facing him.
"Hey Emma, good party huh?" Stiles desperately tried to look at Emma's face and not at the cleavage peeking out of the top of her dress.
"You weren't invited," Emma stated, struggling to keep a straight face as Stiles floundered trying to think of a response.
"Oh, um…I uh…well you see. See the thing is…" Stiles stumbled over his words and rubbed the back of his neck.
"Stiles!" Emma laughed, placing her hands on his shoulders which were more muscular than she had imagined them to be and for a moment forgot what she had wanted to say. "I'm messin' with you." She giggled and this time Stiles laughed with her.
"How've you been? I haven't spoken to you in ages," Emma whined as she grabbed his hand and led him to a quieter area.
Emma couldn't help the blush that crept up her cheeks at the feeling of Stiles' large hand in her smaller one. She was glad that she was still in front of Stiles, leading him away from the kitchen, so that he couldn't see her face.
"Ya know, the usual," Stiles tried to remember what she had asked him as he watched her hips sway as she walked.
"We're okay right? You and me?" She asked him as she reached her intended destination, the staircase.
"Um, yeah. What do you mean?" Stiles asked as he sat down, gulping when Emma stood between his legs and gazed down at him.
"I don't know. I just feel like we've been a little distant lately. Do you know what I mean?"
Stiles stared into Emma's eyes and marvelled at the mixture of colours in them; for a moment he thought that they looked like the sky moments before a thunderstorm and couldn't stop himself form smiling slightly before he remembered that she was waiting on an answer. He missed talking to Emma and looking into her eyes.
"I've just been a bit busy lately," Stiles nodded his head, only telling her a small part of the unbelievable, messed up, truth.
"Sorry," Emma stared at her feet, avoiding looking at Stiles. "I guess I'm just being a bit silly." She rubbed her hand across her forehead and let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"Hey, hey, no you've not." Stiles grabbed her hand, feeling guilty that she blamed herself for him distancing himself from her.
When Stiles grabbed her hand, Emma immediately looked up and caught him looking right at her. Usually, when they caught each other staring, they would quickly look away and then shyly look back. This time, however, an effect of copious amounts of alcohol and false courage, they stayed staring at each other.
Neither of them noticed the music playing in the background or the sound of teenagers counting to three as they took their shots. They didn't notice the couple kissing behind them or the two girls that had just exited the downstairs bathroom, sloppy grins on their faces. What they did notice, was that Stiles was still holding Emma's hand in his, that Emma's free hand was delicately placed on Stiles' shoulder and that neither had looked away yet. Emma couldn't help but notice the way that Stiles' hazel eyes seemed to glow golden in the dim lighting and that she could barely make out the small splattering of moles across his face. Stiles noticed that Emma gripped his hand a little tighter, intertwining her fingers with his, her body unconsciously leaning into his. The hand on his shoulder made a shiver run up his spine. As they stared at each other, their breathing became slightly heavier and a flash of nervousness crossed both of their faces. Stiles leaned closer to Emma, so close that he could make out a larger freckle – the shape of a heart – just below her right ear. The air was charged with electricity neither had felt before, it made their breathing shallow as they gazed at each other in anticipation. Stiles internally groaned when he saw Emma lightly bit her lip.
They both leaned into each other, their faces inches apart when Stiles remembered seeing Emma stumbling as she walked and danced with Danny. He remembered hearing her slurring her words. He wanted to kiss her; he craved to feel her lips on his and to feel the electricity move from his shoulder to his mouth. But he didn't want their first kiss to be because she was drunk. He wanted the kiss between them to be real and sober.
He pulled back slightly but when Emma followed him he whispered her name. There was hint of longing in his voice and Emma looked at him in confusion, her eyebrows furrowed slightly. Stiles hated to see hurt quickly flash in her eyes but he knew that he had made the right decision. If he was going to kiss Emma Moore, one of his childhood best friends, he wanted it to be right.
"Emma, I…" Stiles was interrupted by Scott McCall sprinting passed them breathing heavily, and hunched over as if he was in pain.
Stiles groaned, knowing that he was going to have to run after his best friend.
"Listen, Emma, I've got to go," his voice was pleading for her to understand that he wasn't just running away from her.
"Oh, um, o-okay." Emma bit her lip and nodded her head, stepping away from him and refusing to look into his eyes.
"Emma, I'm so sorry, I've really got to go," Stiles gave her one last lingering look before he chased after Scott, leaving her alone on the stairs.
Emma frowned at the spot Stiles had just vacated. She wondered if she had done something wrong, had read the signs wrong. She had thought that he wanted to kiss her too. She was sure that she had caught him staring at her in school, and looking over at her when she spoke. Emma sank onto the step Stiles had been sitting on and began to doubt herself. She placed her head in her hands and began to think of all the signs she believed she had misread.
She felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and lifted her head from her hands, hoping that Stiles had returned. Instead she found a very drunk Danny sitting next to her and an angry Jackson – with his arms crossed over his chest – in front of her.
"You okay?" Danny asked her squeezing her arm lightly. "We saw what happened."
Before she could answer him, Jackson remarked, "You can do much better than Stilinski, Moore." He spat out Stiles' name but his expression softened when he looked at Emma. "I wouldn't worry about it, Stilinski's an idiot."
Jackson Whittemore was a conceited and selfish boy but he was incredibly loyal to his friends. Even though he and Emma Moore fought like cat and dog, he still considered her one of his few true friends and he did not like seeing his friends upset. In Jackson's opinion it was just trivial to be upset by anything Stilinski or McCall did.
Emma smiled lightly at Jackson, knowing that he meant well and not wanting to get into an argument with him. Danny rolled his eyes at Jackson and gripped Emma's shoulder a bit tighter.
"I don't know, did I do something wrong?" She glanced at Danny, seeing him already shaking his head at her.
"No, trust me, you did everything right," he was about to continue when Jackson interrupted him.
"Yeah, it's Stilinski that's the one with the problem." The way he spoke made it seem like it was physically painful for him to say Stiles' name.
Emma smirked at Jackson and refused Danny's offer of another drink. She knew that she wasn't, but she felt suddenly sober. She wanted to go home and curl up in her bed and sleep for as long as she needed. When she told the two boys as much, Danny protested slightly, saying that it was too early for her to go home but when he saw the look on her face, he stopped talking. The two boys shared a look as Emma staggered to her feet and began to walk away from them, waving goodbye to them over her shoulder.
She looked around for Jessica, wanting to say good bye to her before she left but when she couldn't find her, she sent her a quick text letting her know she was going home. Emma knew that the text was horribly misspelt but couldn't bring herself to care.
When she left Lydia's house, the fresh air felt like a relief. It helped to clear her head slightly and she felt herself relax. As she stood in Lydia's driveway she groaned when she realised that she had no way of getting home. She stuck her hand into the pocket of her dress and pulled out her mobile to call a cab when she heard her name being shouted.
"Emma!"
She looked up to see Allison waving at her. Allison was standing next to a much older man. Emma had to admit that he was incredibly handsome but as she looked at him she couldn't help but shiver, and not in the same way she had shivered under Stiles' gaze. There was something about the man that intimidated her, almost as if she could instinctually sense that he was dangerous. His green eyes pierced into hers and Emma felt herself shrink into herself as if she were a small animal cowering away from a predator. Allison seemed perfectly at ease next to him, despite his intimidating frame as he towered over her. Emma guessed that he was easily six foot, if not taller, and knew that the top of her head would barely reach his shoulders. She glanced at him warily once more before slowly turning her attention back to Allison.
"Hey, Allison, is everything okay?" She asked, glancing at the man and using the tone that women use to gage if another woman is uncomfortable or in need of rescuing when someone is making advances on them.
"Yeah, well not really." Allison admitted with a sigh. "Scott and I were dancing and then I don't really know what happened, we were about to kiss and he just freaked and ran off. I ran after him but he was already gone by the time I got outside." She finished, a mixture of sadness and confusion gracing her face.
"That's weird," Emma frowned. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for it."
"Yeah," Allison sighed and Emma could see the man's jaw tighten as if he was impatient with having to listen to the girls talk. "Are you heading home?"
"Yeah, do you want to get a cab with me?" Emma gave Allison the option, not liking the feeling she was getting from the man looming behind her.
"No, Scott's friend is going to give me a ride home," she nodded her head before she looked to the man Emma doubted was really Scott's friend. Before Emma could stop her Allison asked: "would you mind giving Emma a lift too?"
The man clenched his jaw, gritting his teeth before reluctantly answering: "fine".
Emma widened her eyes at Allison, trying to tell her with a look that there was something off about Scott's supposed friend.
"No it's okay, we can just get a cab, Allison," Emma stressed Allison's name hoping that she would catch onto what Emma was trying to say.
"Emma, it'll save you the money, and Derek's fine with it." Allison smiled at Emma and Emma couldn't believe that she would trust the man.
"Listen," Emma approached Allison and stood so close that the other girl would be able to hear her when she whispered. "Jessica's dad told us to call if we needed a lift home. If you don't have the money for a cab, then we can do that." Emma tried to reason as her eyes flashed to Derek. He was staring around him, his face set into an annoyed expression. Emma wasn't sure how, but she knew that he could hear every word she whispered. It unsettled her to say the least.
"No, we can't do that," Allison whispered back, "Jessica isn't even with us!"
"I can go get her and we'll all leave together."
"No, I don't want to ruin her night," Allison bit her lip as she shook her head.
"You won't be!"
"No, I'm just going to go with Derek; you don't have to if you don't want to." Allison's mind was firmly set as she waited for Emma's response.
Emma glanced at Derek, not liking the atmosphere he was giving off. She knew that Allison would get in the car with him even if she didn't agree and she was not going to leave Allison alone with him. So making her decision, and with a frustrated sigh, Emma agreed to get into Derek's car, figuring that it would be harder for him to overpower two girls than one.
She sent a hurried text to Jessica, letting her know the change of plans, and she hoped that this text was better spelt than the last.
Emma sat in the backseat of Derek's car with her phone clenched in her hand, 911 waiting to be dialled if he tried anything she didn't like. Allison sat in the passenger seat, completely at ease with the situation.
"It's hot in here," Allison remarked, fanning herself with her hand. "Can we turn the air con on?"
"No," came Derek's short, sharp reply.
The car descended into tense silence as Allison shrugged her jacket off and placed it on the back seat, but Emma was too focused on clutching her phone and staring at Derek to notice.
Emma quickly realised that Allison was going to be dropped off first and felt her heart rate pick up. She did not want to be alone in the car with Derek so when he parked the car outside of Allison's house, Emma moved to exit the car.
"What are you doing?" Allison looked at her in confusion.
"I can walk from here, it's fine," she glanced at Derek and quickly looked away.
"But isn't your house ages away? I think Lydia mentioned it." Allison continued.
Emma groaned, making a mental note to have serious talk with Allison.
"I can drop you off," Derek grunted from the driver's seat, sounding like he wanted to be in the car with Emma less than she wanted to be in it with him.
"See!" Allison smiled at Emma and left the car but quickly stuck her head back through the door. "You're going back to Lydia's tomorrow right?"
"Yeah," Emma answered quickly, just wanting to be home and away from the entire situation.
"Good! See you tomorrow then." Allison chirped and shut the car door, leaving Emma truly alone with Derek.
Derek sped away from Allison's house and Emma took a deep breath in an attempt to calm herself down. The two sat in the car in complete awkward silence, only the vibration of the engine could be heard. She felt Derek's eyes on her and quickly looked up realising that she hadn't given him her address. She quickly muttered it to him, tacking on a "thank you" to the end, not wanting to annoy him. It took him five minutes to reach her house, and Emma thought it was the longest five minutes of her life.
"Thanks for the lift," she chanced a glance at him and noticed him looking at her quizzically as if he were trying to solve some puzzle. It unnerved Emma to say the least. "Um, yeah, see you later."
She quickly left his car and shut the door behind her a little harsher than she had intended, completely forgetting Allison's abandoned jacket in her panic. She had to restrain herself from sprinting to her front door but when she did reach it, her hands were shaking so much that she struggled to hold her key properly. She dropped it a few times but relaxed when she heard the roar of Derek's car as he drove away. She let out a shaky breath, feeling like she could finally breathe as she hastily put the key in the lock and rushed into her house, locking the door behind her.
She leaned her back against the front door and took a couple of deep breaths to calm herself down. She felt completely sober now as exhaustion began to take over. Sending a quick text to Jessica to let her know she was home safe, she took her shoes off so that she wouldn't make too much noise as she moved through the house. She paused outside her mother's door and smiled slightly when she heard soft snoring coming from the room.
When she entered her bedroom, she felt herself relax further, knowing that she was safe in her own room. But there was still a part of her that was frightened by Derek; there was something she couldn't quite put her finger on. All she knew was that he scared her.
Emma got herself ready for bed and as she lay down to sleep she couldn't help but hope that she never had to see Derek again.
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