"You're gone, gone, gone away,I watched you that's left is a ghost of you..." Stiles mumbled to himself as he struggled to slip his foot through his shoe, too lazy to bother actually the damned thing. He grunted slightly, stomping his foot onto the ground before his foot finally slid in. He looked over at the clock a moment later, the bold red letters reading 6:42.
"Shoot!" He muttered to himself as he realized if he didn't get a move on he would be late. Again. He quickly threw on a t-shirt, sniffing it beforehand as to make sure it wasn't too ripe before slipping a hoodie on over it and then spraying a bit of cologne on.
It was Saturday and for once Stiles was in the clear when it came to dealing with Scott and the daily nightmare that was him being a werewolf. He'd always complained about never having anything to do, how nothing exciting happened in this shitty town. But he'd always had something a bit more mild in mind. Like a popular band coming through, a movie being filmed here... probably something way less complicated than Scott becoming a different species all together. Stiles cared for Scott, no doubt. The guy was like a brother to him but he was almost positive that most brothers didn't have to deal with one of them being a werewolf.
But he could be wrong.
He shuffled around his room for a few moments, feeling under his bed and trifling through his desk drawers to find his car keys.
"Yes! Gotcha!" He said, letting out a sigh of relief as he found them hiding underneath an old school assignment. He twirled them around his finger as he walked downstairs, careful not to make too much noise as his father was still sleeping as a result of being on the graveyard shift. Closing the door behind him, he walked over to his jeep before starting the engine and making his way to Rae's apartment.
A yawn slipped past Rae's lips, her hand coming up to cover her mouth before she shook her head slightly. She set her books down on the coffee table before walking back to her bedroom to retrieve her notebook and a few writing utensils. She'd slept most of the day, another nightmare keeping her awake all night which lead to her crashing around the time that most people were waking up.
While in her room, she slipped on a pair of jeans replacing her sweatpants. She stopped just as she'd started to walk back to the living room when she heard her phone go off. She walked over and unlocked it, smiling as she read the text.
'It was good seeing you yesterday. Missed seeing you. Lunch on Monday?- Matty'
She bit her lip as a grin made it's way onto her face, a blush creeping onto her cheeks. It'd been nearly two years since she'd seen or heard from Matt. The fact that he still thought about her... missed her while they were apart, it made her stomach do backflips and her heart skip a beat. Matt had been her first love, her first kiss, the first person she'd fallen for. Their relationship had its ups and down but the minute he'd said he'd loved her, nothing else mattered. She remembered how he would sneak through her bedroom window, even if it was raining, and they'd goof off for hours. They'd watch their favorite movies, take silly pictures on his camera.
But it all ended once he'd told her he was moving back to California. She hadn't believed him at first. He was joking. He had to be! Surely, her boyfriend wouldn't leave her. Not when everything was going so well for them. She'd screamed at him, told him to leave and never speak to her again. She figured being angry at him would take her mind off of how much it would hurt to be apart from him. She was dead wrong.
They'd agreed to keep in touch after he moved. Texts and e-mails on school nights, Skype dates on the weekend. It would be perfect. Then when they graduated they could be together again. It'd be perfect, right?
Wrong.
The first few weeks went as planned, cordially replying to the others texts and e-mails, setting aside time for Skype just as they had agreed to. But as time went by, both of them got busier and busier. The e-mails became less frequent, texts would be sent every now and then but by the time he'd been gone for four months... they were over. Neither of them had really taken on the task of ending the relationship but they both knew it even if the other didn't say it. Their romance had run its course.
But Rae couldn't help but feel like the fourteen year old girl again. The one that would blush when he called her babe and shiver when he traced invisible patterns on the nape of her neck. He knew exactly what to do to make her turn into a puddle of goo.
Rae was suddenly snapped out of her trance when she heard a buzzing, letting her know that someone was at front door of her apartment complex. She quickly typed out a response to Matt's text, letting him know she'd love to have lunch with him before walking to her front door. She pressed the button on the speaker to see who was downstairs. "Who is it?" She said into the intercom, waiting for a reply. "It's Stiles. Remember? Scrawny, pale, the dick who inadvertently ditched you yesterday..." He trailed off, making Rae chuckle."Doors open, I'll be in the living room." She said, before she pressed the button that would let him into the building.
It wasn't very long before Stiles walked into her apartment, taking a minute to notice how clean everything was, aside from a few dirty dishes in the sink. The furniture was new but seemed comfortable, an average sized television hanging on the wall adjacent from the coffee table.
"Nice apartment, where are your parents at? Most wouldn't be too thrilled to have their teenage daughter alone with a boy." He said as he shrugged his jacket off. Stiles looked over at her, watching as she sat completely still for a moment before she ran a hand through her blond hair.
"I live alone. My dad's back in New York." She muttered as she opened her notebook, writing her name at the top of the page. Stiles nodded, his eyebrows furrowing together at her answer. What father would let their sixteen year old daughter live alone? In a different state. He brushed it off as pulled the sleeves of his shirt up.
"What about your mom?" He asked, walking over to the couch and plopping down next to her.
Rae froze for a moment, not entirely sure about how to answer his question. If she told him he was dead, he'd ask how and then she'd have no choice but to tell him what had happened at Ellington. No, she couldn't do that. Who wanted to be friends with someone like that? Stiles barely knew her but he'd probably distance himself if he found out everything that went down. So she played it cool.
"Oh, uh, she's not really around anymore. Are you hungry, I've got leftover pizza and sodas!" Rae said, carefully changing the subject. She'd seen Stiles the day before at lunching scarfing down basically everything on his plate. Food would be a perfect distraction. But Stiles had noticed the way she'd jumped topics at the mention of her mother but decided not to push it. He didn't know her all that well and wouldn't make her delve into her personal life.
"You mean... do I want a delicious slice of heaven combined with carbonated caffeine?" He said, raising his eyebrows at her. She nodded slowly as she opened the fridge, pulling out a bag with pizza slices in it. He eyed them hungrily before walking into the kitchen area and hopping onto the counter.
"Yeah, sure, I could eat." He said nonchalantly, smiling as she laughed at his antics.
"Okay, so if these compounds contain 2 nonmetals that both have a negative charge they will..." Stiles said waiting for Rae to finish.
"Share electrons in different combinations?" She said, looking up from her chemistry notes, a hopeful look on her face. Stiles nodded with a smile as he set his book down, raising his hand to give Rae a high five. She giggled softly as she her hand against his, a loud smack resonating throughout the room.
"You know, when you asked for my help I thought that meant you didn't understand the materiel?" He questioned with a laugh as he leaned back against the couch.
"Naah, I get it but I haven't been in an actual school for a while now so sometimes things can be lost in translation when you go from studying through correspondence to being back in a real classroom." Rae said as she clicked her pen against her notebook.
"Ahh, yeah I..." Trying to seem supportive and understanding, Stiles nodded his head before he laughed. "I'm sorry, I don't get that at all. I'd much rather do home studies than have to wake up early every morning and go to the hell hole that is school!" He exclaimed, a laugh coming from him as Rae stuck her tongue out at him.
"Trust me, it's not as great as you think. No one to talk to, no distractions, just you and your work. You have no choice but to do it. It's extremely boring most of the time." The blond explained watching as Stiles nodded, still acknowledging the fact that he wasn't too convinced. It didn't surprise her that Stiles didn't exactly believe her. Most teenagers would think it'd be heaven to study from home but it was anything but. For Rae atleast. She'd been a freshmen when the shooting happened, barely into the first few weeks actually. She'd agreed to finish out the year but the first semester of her sophomore year had been spent in the comfort of her new apartment behind a laptop, typing away at her assignments and sending them through e-mail to her teachers. She couldn't handle the stares she got from everyone but it was mainly when people pitied her.
Rae wasn't the type to get angry if someone felt sorry for her but she didn't love it. If someone felt sorry for her did it mean she seemed that pitiful? Did they know how hard it was to get up in the morning, not to see her mother rushing around to get ready? Of course, they didn't. Why would they? They hadn't watched their mother get shot.
"Well, I'm sure it's better than sitting in perpetual hell with Mr. Harris everyday!" Stiles exclaimed, holding up his weathered Chemistry textbook for emphasis.
"Well there's only a few more months left in the semester. Then we get a whole summer break." She said, closing her notebook.
"We?" He said, a slight smirk on his face.
Rae could feel a blush tinting her normally fair skinned cheeks, somewhat embarrassed that he had turned the conversation in this direction.
"Well, yeah, I mean you're not the only who gets summer break? Right?" She said, playing it off as nothing. Stiles nodded, kind of amused that he had been able to trip her up so easily.
"Totally. But, I better get going. Curfew." He began to slipping his books into his back as Rae picked up their plates and took them to kitchen. Stiles didn't exactly care about curfew but he knew better than to push his father anymore than he had already. A grounded Stiles was a grumpy Stiles.
"Well, thanks for helping me out. We should hang out again." She offered, her lips curving upwards into a smile as his expression morphed into one of surprise.
"Yeah, definitely." He said as walked out the door. Rae walked over, her hand gripping the doorknob and beginning to close it before a foot slid between it and the wall, keeping it from closing. Her eyes trailed up from said foot to the leg, a bit surprised that Stiles had done that. "Can I help you with something?" She smirked, placing a hand on her hip.
"Uh, I just- well, I-" He stuttered, fumbling over his words before he sighed, placing two fingers over the bridge of his nose before he exhaled loudly. He looked up again before stepping forward and pressing his lips to her cheek.
"I'll see you on Monday." He whispered, just loud enough for her. She nodded timidly before finally closing the door, smiling as she leaned against it. Stiles was strange, different one might say. Maybe Beacon Hills was exactly where she needed to be. She flinched, startled as her phone went off again, indicating she had a text message waiting for her.
Walking over to where her phone lay on the kitchen table, she cursed as she looked at the name, wondering how she could be so stupid.
"Shit!"
1 New Text Message From: Matty
