I woke up the next morning to the sound of my own alarm clock rather than another phone call from Lydia. I showered and then did my hair and make-up. I put on a tan pleated skirt, baby blue sweater, the grabbing a dark blue blazer to wear over top of it. I slid my feet into a pair of black leather pumps, clasped my necklace, my mother had given it to me it was some sort of heirloom, on then headed to my car where Lydia was waiting for me. She smiled as I approached, clearly pleased that I'd listened to her when she talked about clothing.
I climbed in the driver's seat of my car and got a text. I pulled my phone out to check it before driving off, it was Allison.
"Hey, something happened with Scott. Talk to you at school."
I showed the text to Lydia and she smirked. She sat my phone in the cup holder next to her and I started the car. We got to school and Lydia headed off in search of Jackson after I assured her that I knew how to get to all of my classes. I decided to wait at Allison's locker for her but she didn't show and it was close to the start of class. I walked into class and as I passed Scott, he looked up at me and smiled. I could feel that he wanted to know where Allison was and frankly, so did I. I sat down and then as the bell rang, Allison made her way quickly through the door and into the seat in front of me. I leaned forward.
"So, you gonna tell me what happened?" I said.
"I will at lunch." She replied.
"I suppose." I pouted, leaning back into my seat.
Class ended and I saw her talking to Scott, she was glowing. I smirked and decided I could wait until lunch. The day went by slow until finally lunch arrived and she sat down next to me.
"So?" I asked.
"So what?" She asked.
"Scott?" I said, throwing my hands up.
"Oh, yeah, so last night I hit a dog and I freaked out and drove to the closest vet's office and guess who works there? Scott. He took it inside and then he gave it a splint. He let me borrow a shirt because I was soaked from the rain." Allison explained, her face flushing.
"And?" I asked.
"And, he brushed an eyelash off my cheek." She whispered.
I giggled and she nudged me.
"I'm sure Lydia told you about the party. You should bring Scott." I suggested.
"Is that okay?" She asked.
"Of course it is and if it isn't then we can go across the street to my house." I winked at her.
"Thanks, Clara." Allison smiled.
"No problem." I smiled at her.
Lunch went by quickly and then it was back to classes. There was a lacrosse scrimmage that Lydia had told me to come to, I'd have to leave early to make it to my short shift at work. I started working at a flower shop shortly after moving to Beacon Hills, something to get my mind off things. I got to the scrimmage a little late because I was getting some stuff out of my locker but I walked up the bleachers just in time to sit next to Lydia and watch Scott flip over players to score a goal.
"What the hell was that?" I asked, flabbergasted.
I saw Coach yell for Scott, Allison got a worried look on her face until someone on the bench yelled something along the lines of "McCall, first line, yeah!".
"He made first line." Allison squealed.
I smiled at her. I checked the time on my phone.
"Shit. I'm sorry, guys. I've gotta go so soon but I can't be late." I said.
"You better not be late to our party." Lydia said.
"I won't be." I said, sticking my tongue out at her.
I walked down the bleachers and past the bench; I thought I saw someone familiar for a moment. Someone standing at the edge of some bleachers, the same man that I thought had been following us around the mall. I blinked a few times and realized it was just my imagination. I walked to my car and headed to the store. I got inside and the employ who had been there said she was going on break which left me alone in the store. I was going to stop working soon since school was starting because my mom wanted me to focus just on school but it was a nice summer job. I was working on a large bouquet, trimming away the extra leaves.
"Excuse me; I'm here to pick up a bouquet?" I heard someone ask.
"Give me just a moment." I replied.
I clipped off one last leaf and looked up to face the person who wanted my help; I looked up into a pair of familiar caramel eyes.
"What do you need?" I asked, smiling and setting down the cutters.
"Oh, uhm, I'm supposed to be picking up a bouquet of tulips?" He asked, his eyes glancing me over which made my body feel like it was on fire.
"I know exactly which ones you're talking about, let me get them for you." I asked.
"Okay, thanks." He said, giving me a smile.
I walked in the back and grabbed the bouquet of mixed tulips inside a large dark green vase. I brought it back out and set it on the counter. I watched as his fingers graze along a few tulips.
"I made that bouquet, I hope it's what you wanted." I said, smiling.
"Yeah, it's exactly what I wanted. Thanks." He said, smiling at me again.
I felt my face flush over.
"Not a problem." I said.
"You're Clara, right?" The boy asked.
"Yeah, I am." I replied.
"I'm in your English class." The boy stated.
"I know; you just never introduced yourself." I said.
"I'm Stiles. Stiles Stilinski." The boy said, holding his hand out.
"Clara Martin." I smiled, shaking his hand which was soft and sent shivers through my entire body.
"Martin?" He asked.
"Lydia's my cousin. My birth dad wasn't around so I got my mom's maiden name." I explained.
"Oh, that makes sense, I think." He said, spinning the vase to look at the flowers in their entirety.
"Is that all you need?" I asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah." He said.
"I'll check you out here." I said.
I logged in to the register and rung up the price for a bouquet of tulips.
"So, are you friends with Lydia?" I asked, watching him pull out his wallet.
"Oh, no." He chuckled, pulling out a twenty. "I've had a crush on her since third grade but she's basically just ignored me. I'm surprised you're talking to me actually."
"Why?" I asked.
"Cousin of Lydia Martin. I'm surprised she didn't give you a list of people that it was cool to hang out with." Stiles said.
"Actually, I'm totally capable of deciding who I think is cool and who isn't. You know what? We're having a party tonight at her house. Scott's coming with Allison so you should come too. Everyone's invited." I smiled at him.
"By everyone, you mean everyone that's popular?" Stiles asked.
"Consider this an invite." I kept smiling.
"Uh, okay." He said, grabbing the book off the counter and his smile growing. "Thanks, I'll see you there."
"Not a problem." I replied.
I chuckled as he tried to walk quickly out the door while also trying to shove his wallet in his back pocket and get his keys and not drop the flowers. He was a spastic mess and I kind of liked it. I smiled to myself at the thought of him being there tonight and then it dawned over me that he probably wasn't there to make friends with me, that he was there to hang around Lydia. I pursed my lips together and let out a small sigh. I finished a few more bouquets for the next hour and then went home. I pulled up and went in my house; Lydia was of course already waiting for me with some of my clothes splayed out on my bed with a few pairs of shoes laying on the ground.
"What are you doing?" I asked.
"Picking you out the perfect outfit." She smiled to herself.
"You know, I can pick out my own clothes." I joked.
"I know, I just like doing it for you." She grinned, practically prancing over to me.
"Thanks." I laughed out. "What did you pick?"
She pointed to a dark red plaid, long sleeved dress and some black booties.
"Doesn't that seem a little too like Christmas? And what's up with you putting me in plaid?" I asked.
"It suits your whole mysterious, moody new girl thing." She said, crossing her arms. "Hurry up and get ready. The party starts soon."
"I am not moody." I huffed.
I sat my stuff down and grabbed the dress. I actually really did like it but it was still kind of warm out for it. I changed and slid on the booties.
"See, I told you that you'd look perfect." She smirked at me. "Now, let's go because we've still got snacks to make."
"What else do we have to do?" I asked.
"Well, I already put up everything important and I put up the decorations. So, that's it." She smiled.
We walked across the street where I was unpleasantly greeted by Jackson opening the door for us. I went to the kitchen with Lydia and we opened the bags of snacks, dumping them into bowls. The party was starting, she told me to go make sure I hadn't messed up my make-up or gotten anything on my dress. I walked to the bathroom and decided to waste time by washing my hands attempting to soothe my anxiety. I was used to small get togethers but I had only been to a few bigger parties.
I went downstairs and there were already a few people there. The party got moving and fast, there were tons of people there in only about an hour. I had people introduce themselves to me but I kept an eye out for Allison, Scott or Stiles. I saw Allison walk in with Scott at some point, both smiling at me and giving me a wave. I spent a lot of the night talking to Danny, when he said he needed to use the restroom I decided I needed to refill my cup, pretty tipsy at this point. I almost tripped but someone grabbed my arm. I looked up to a handsome face and a leather jacket.
"I'm so sorry." I said.
"That's fine." The guy said, smiling at me. "I'm Derek. Have you seen Scott McCall?"
"Not yet but if you find Allison then you'll find him. They might be dancing." I said, pointing towards the sliding glass doors.
"Thanks." He said, still smiling and then walked off towards the doors.
I continued on my way into the kitchen, I grabbed a class and filled it with punch that Lydia had made. I started to turn and ran into someone else this time, my drink wasn't filled up very much so it didn't spill but I still felt a small panic and I looked into a pair of brown eyes.
"Hey, you made it." I said, smiling.
"Yeah, I did." Stiles said, fidgeting a little. "Are you drunk?"
"Nope." I replied. "I am a little tipsy though so watch out because I'll probably fall over you."
He laughed, I smiled.
"So, are you liking the party?" Stiles asked me.
"Not really. I prefer little groups of drunken people compared to a bunch of drunken people." I said.
"Then, why did you come?" Stiles asked.
"Because Lydia's my cousin and I can bet you that if I wouldn't have come then she would have drug me out of my bed and across the street to where I'm standing right now. The party is supposed to be my "Welcome to Beacon Hills High" party or something." I said, grabbing my drink from the table next to me.
"Well, thanks for inviting me." He said, smiling a bit.
"Thanks for coming." I replied. "So, do I get to know why you bought those flowers?"
"It's a secret." He laughed.
"Got a cute girlfriend?" I asked, winking at him.
"You caught me." He laughed again. "No, I got them for my Dad. He really likes them and says they brighten up his office."
Our conversation was going well until I saw him tense up. I turned to look at what he was looking at, Scott walked past us and he looked awful.
"Thanks for inviting me but I think I need to get Scott home. I'll talk to you later." Stiles said, rushing over to Scott.
They left quickly and then Allison walked inside, looking upset. I walked over to her and led her outside to the front porch.
"Hey, what's wrong?" I asked as we were finally outside in the quieter, cool air.
"We were dancing and I thought he was going to kiss me but then he just freaked out and ran." Allison said, I could hear the hurt in her voice.
"Hey, I'm sure it was an emergency. There's no way he'd ditch you." I said, smiling at her.
"Hey." I heard a kind of familiar voice say.
I turned around to see the guy who had kept me from falling earlier.
"Allison? I'm Derek Hale, one of Scott's friends. I wanted to see if you needed a ride home, I'm about to head out. I saw Scott, he looked pretty sick. Sorry about him leaving." Derek said, in a voice that was so smooth that it made me slightly uncomfortable.
"You sure it's not a problem to take me home?" Allison asked.
"No way, it's on the way to my house." Derek said.
"Okay, just let me grab my coat." Allison said, darting back in the house.
"Make sure she gets home okay?" I said, more a question than a statement.
"I will." Derek said as Allison walked back outside. "Have a good night, Clara."
I stood there for a moment as they walked away; I couldn't remember telling him my name. I walked back inside, a little bummed. The cute guy I wanted to be there had left and my new friend's date was ruined.
I decided that going to sleep was my best option. I went to Lydia's room and curled up on her bed and shortly I was asleep.