AN: I was curious and now I know, the Peter Support has spoken! Unfortunately this is my story and I have many ideas that could go one way or the other in terms of who Ava will go with, keep your fingers crossed.
FlyFreeScreamLoud: Yeah, it is a little ironic... But that doesn't mean I don't have ideas about how to make it not too ironic! Then again my idea's change so rapidly it could never happen, if there was a way for it no to be over ironic would you root for it then?
Yet there's Derek mrmmghgmh, too many attractive people in Teen Wolf. Again I didn't edit this, but I'm too excited and just want to get it out again, also my brain is starting to hurt, too many words for a weak mind.
Hey you know what, I am really thankful for all my reviewers, you guys make me so happy, one of my other stories has seven chapters and twenty reviews, so you are definitely winning all my writing attention. Keep it up and enjoy the chapter.
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"It makes me sleepy, thinking about everything that could go wrong." -Milo
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Chapter Four - Friends
When he touched her there Ava finally lost it and pushed against him again, this time he moved a little bit and smirked at her before seeing the color of her eyes. They were the same color as they had been the night in the forest when her hands had felt like lava on his skin. As he reached to touch her again she let her hand touch his shoulder almost soothingly before it felt like his skin was beginning to bubble from the heat.
She reached around his form and got a hold of his other hand before she growled and her eyes seemed to ignite with fire, he had to pull his arm away almost frantically to keep it from getting burned too badly. Kicking his body away from hers she jumped off the counter and landed briskly with a small bark that made Peter grin all the more, he was happy that the Fox he'd partially claimed was so powerful. But as far as he knew Derek would be needed if he was going to claim her completely, because it was obvious that she really didn't like him.
Taking off her jacket quickly Ava hissed slightly as her hand began to catch fire, she hadn't gotten this angry in a while, if she touched anyone right now it wouldn't just be painful. It'd take days to heal, even for the quick recovery of a werewolf; Peter would have a burn for at least a day or two if she touched him right now. But that was what she wanted right? To scare him away and let him know that she wouldn't be shoved around.
"You don't want to mess up this nice house do you?" Peter finally spoke after watching her power shift and grow beneath her skin.
"That'd be so rude of me," she said imagining the poor nurses face when she came home to a flaming house.
It'd be just like what happened to Peter's house, leaving only a shell of what used to be a thriving and happy house. Then she did something that shocked her even more than it did Peter as she walked towards him with an understanding smile on her face, her skin started to glow like a live ember.
"If you don't leave right now, I'll melt your skin off," she whispered stopping right in front of him.
"You're only making me want you more," he responded in the same voice before turning away from her slowly. "You can't fight both of us," was the last thing she heard him say.
Slowly she sunk down to the cool tile of the kitchen floor and sighed deeply while trying to control her temper. There was a level of excitement that came to her as she breathed deeply on the ground; she'd finally been able to defend herself, while it wasn't exactly as she had expected the feeling was still invigorating. Bringing her hand up to her face she watched as the glowing heat slowly subsided until her hand was a normal color again.
The moment that she had felt empowered was also the time she hoped that she wouldn't completely lose her temper, she'd only seen her father do it once but afterwards he didn't wake up for a week. Looking at the hand that had previously been enflamed Ava sighed darkly as she imagined what it would feel like to lose control completely.
It wasn't something that she ever wanted to happen, in the end she just hoped that whatever pack she chose for herself would take care of her enough to not let it happen.
Hearing the door open Ava got to her feet quickly and started to sift through a few of the cabinets before Holly walked into the room and gave her a kind smile.
"I thought you'd eaten out?" She said as Ava froze after opening the wrong cabinet.
"I would hardly call that food edible," she gave her a dead zombie expression. The older woman laughed before walking over to her and opening one of the doors to what appeared to be all the snacks, though there weren't many Ava smiled at her and grabbed some rice cakes.
"You did good today, holding your own," the woman said giving her a gentle pat on the back. For a second Ava gave her a stern look with wide eyes that were frantic, had she seen Peter? Did she know about her? "At school there were no complaints about an inexperienced student working in the nurse's office," she explained making Ava relax greatly.
"Oh, thanks," she chuckled letting herself breathe again. It was a feeling she wasn't used to back home, having to hide what she was and be fearful of anyone finding out, the mini heart attack she'd just given herself was almost sickening. She had to hurry up and get rid of Peter's dumb mark and get back home, this wasn't where she belonged.
"If you continue to do this well I might just have to convince the school board to hire you as an assistant," she said with a grin. "See you in the morning," she said before walking out of the kitchen and up the stairs.
"Goodnight," Ava whispered taking an absentminded bite out of the rice cake. It had been a while since she'd eaten one of these, and yet she wasn't surprised at the texture of it. Styrofoam.
=0=0=
The next day at school Stiles was the first familiar face that came into the nurse's office, he eyed Mrs. Johnson frantically, Ava could almost see him pushing the older woman out the door in order to talk to her. Instead he gave her an anxious expression before Holly finally looked over to see him and gave him a sigh; he was one of the frequenters she had grown used to seeing.
"I'll take his temperature," she offered motioning for Stiles to follow her into another section of the room.
"Thank you," the woman sighed, relieved that she could spend a few days not glaring at the young Stilinski.
"Do you always come in here?" Ava mused making the boy sit down before giving him a stern look.
"We have a new plan," he whispered checking to make sure Mrs. Johnson wasn't looking at them.
"He knows where I'm staying," she interrupted anything else he was going to say. Stiles turned back to her slowly with a baffled expression on his face, his mouth gaping open as he tried to force this new information into their already existing plan. Ava sighed and passed the forehead thermometer over his temple to make it look like she was actually doing what she said she would.
"What?" He said loudly before lowering his voice.
"Last night, after you dropped me off, Holly wasn't back yet but he was already there. I scared him away with some fire and threats but he's not going to leave me alone now," she muttered grabbing at some random tools and making Stiles participate.
"I'm guessing the talk didn't go well," he gulped watching her expression falter.
"Not exactly," she laughed shortly. "I have to stay with you and Scott today, even at the game tonight, otherwise I won't stand a chance," she whispered looking him in the eyes. She was giving off a pleading aura that made Stiles understand that she was scared, or perhaps worried was a better way of putting it. "If he and Derek are both coming after me, something might happen," her voice was low.
"No problem then, we'll come get you after school and you can hang out with Lydia at the game," he said reassuringly. She stared at him blandly when he mentioned the name Lydia, who the heck was she? "Lydia always goes to all the games," he said as if it was common knowledge.
"Fine, but you better not forget," she growled at him.
"Jeez, don't let your claws dull," he smirked at her bland reaction. He was trying out some jokes that Scott never seemed to get, perhaps it wasn't the best time to test them out.
"Back to class," she muttered standing up quickly.
"You let me stay yesterday," his voice was accusing.
"Fine," she growled pointing towards a bed. He grinned at her before nodding and giving her a thumbs up, shaking her head she turned to see Holly staring at her with a knowing expression.
"That kid is always in here, you'll get used to him."
=0=0=
The rest of the day went by smoothly; perhaps the only high light of the day was when a kid came into class with his hand super glued to his friends arm. The whole time the students were in the nurse's office Ava just wanted to laugh at them, especially when Holly started to pull the two of them apart and they began to complain. As soon as Ava mentioned something about just yanking them apart like ripping off a band aid but instead ripping off a hand they shut up and dealt with the slow pain.
By the end of the day Ava was ready to get out of the school and go somewhere, anywhere that she didn't have to deal with kids lying to her faces about being sick and needing to go home. Every time they fake coughed and fibbed to her she wanted to spit in their face and throw them back into the classroom. It was one of the reasons why her younger sister was convinced that being a doctor was the wrong job for her to have, because she had no sympathy for whiny babies. She was going to turn out to be a horrible doctor.
Just as she was putting some papers in her bag Mrs. Johnson came into the room with a smile on her face that scared Ava slightly. In the few days that she had been staying with the older woman and working as her assistant, there were three expressions that she knew meant trouble for her already.
The first one was a frown that Ava had only seen once when Holly had walked into the teacher's lounge to see that there was no coffee. Not surprisingly everyone else in the room seemed to slowly move towards the door as one of the other staff members proceeded to empty the last of the coffee into their cup. It had been a thrilling first two hours of the day as the woman did not cease movement until she got her cup of caffeine. The second expression was something that made Ava relax, when Holly glanced at the clock four times in a row before checking her clipboard it meant she was going to leave the room. The last expression that she's seen a lot of was when she would smile a sort of weight lifting grin when she realized that because Ava was there it meant she had one less thing to worry about.
That's what this smile was.
"You know the last time you and your partner were here and you got sick you missed out on a Lacrosse game," she started. In a way the Fox already knew where the conversation was going to end but the woman would finish her speech regardless of what she said. "But it's a good thing that there's another one tonight," she beamed at the younger girl before patting her shoulder. "I told coach Finstock that you would be happy to fill in for me at the game," she spoke as if she was doing Ava a favor.
"Did you?" Ava faked excitement.
"Of course," she nodded walking around to her desk to collect her things. "Don't worry, nothing too big should happen, you're a smart girl, you'll do fine," she assured her while picking up her bag.
"I'll be better than fine," she said confidently with a big grin on her face. The nurse smiled at her encouragingly before walking out of the room and missing Ava's dead expression that appeared as soon as the woman left.
"You're scary when you're that happy," Stiles muttered walking into the room to see Ava's bland expression. She gave him a small sneer before sinking down in one of the chairs and looking around the room to check for Scott, he walked in a few seconds later making her nod at him.
"You should see me when I get really tired, it's weird," she commented making Scott look at her quizzically. "Are you good at fighting?" She asked him suddenly. He looked taken aback by such a question; glancing at her to see that she was serious he fumbled around with his wording before finally responding.
"Yeah, why?" He responded shakily. She gave him an exhausted expression before sighing and letting her head droop towards the floor, her eyes found his after a few seconds.
"They want us in their pack," she stated giving Stiles a hard stare. "You and I, with our help they get stronger, I mean they get fire from me which is much cooler than just strength, but still. I feel lucky because I'm not at home right now, there is nothing he can use against me, but you have your family and friends," she said in a soft voice. Scott was starting to understand was she was getting at now. "If you want to protect everyone from him, you're going to have to fight," she muttered seeing Stiles look around the room dully. This wasn't really something that applied to him.
"I won't let anyone get hurt," his voice was a little more confident now.
"I'm not trying to scare you; I'm just making sure that you won't be a burden, because if I have to fight for both of us we won't stand a chance," she warned staring him down threateningly.
"I can fight," he muttered glaring at her when she gave him a pitiable glance.
"I hope so," she surprised the both of them with a smile. "So, do you stay here all afternoon until the game? Or are we going somewhere before? You have to tell me how this works, all we have where I live is Soccer and Volleyball," she murmured grabbing her bag excitedly.
Scott gave her a patronizing visage wondering how she could change from careful and threatening to bubbly and anxious. It was very confusing but at the same time he understood as soon as Stiles whispered to him softly.
"Girl's are weird," was all he said. Scott nodded his head quickly, Allison was somehow different because he could tell what her expressions meant and he could even hear how her heart changed according to her moods but this girl. This fox in front of him was a on a whole new level of weird that he just couldn't figure out, if he was honest with himself it made his head hurt so he gave it up.
"I know I'm weird," was all Ava said in return giving them a hard stare.
"We're going out to get some real food this time," Stiles explained walking out of the room and dragging Scott behind him. "And then we can discuss fighting strategies before the game, or whatever," he said beckoning for them to follow him to his jeep.
"Sounds like a plan," Ava said giving Scott a grin.
They really didn't end up doing all that much before the game besides stopping to get some sandwiches that weren't made out of dog meat and then going to Stiles' house to play a video game and joke around about Scott being able to fight. Before she knew it Ava was sitting in the bleachers next to someone Stiles had called Lydia, and surprisingly enough not too far from the Argents. It was an unsettling sort of feeling, being next to someone who's very job was to hunt down her family and kill them. Granted it only happened if they themselves had already spilled innocent blood, but still, she wouldn't mind sitting somewhere else.
Since the last time Ava had been in town she'd seen the team practice but that was the extent of her knowledge of Lacrosse, her sister explained it differently, like football, but the ball is much smaller and you can whack each other with sticks. It made Ava laugh now that she thought about it because it was very much accurate despite having the potential to anger everybody on the field.
"So who are you?" The girl named Lydia asked Ava with a suspicious expression in her eyes.
"Assistant Nurse, Mrs. Johnson wanted me to take her place tonight," the girl continued to stare at her when she said nothing about any of the other students. "Friends with Stiles and Scott," she added making the girl nod understandingly.
"Our team is very good," she pursed her lips before looking back to the field.
"Well I have nothing to compare them to," Ava said with a dreadful grin on her face. If this girl was going to talk to her the whole game Ava would have to consider using her status as nurse and going to sit next to the players bench to escape her. It was something her brother always did that annoyed her so very much, chatting through movies and games about nonsense, she didn't care! Couldn't they tell by the expression on her face?
"Do they not play lacrosse in your town?" She asked making Ava sigh.
"No," she muttered hoping the girl caught her irritated tone and quieted herself. She seemed to get the hint for a few minutes before once again her voice started to invade Ava's thoughts, this time talking about some boy named Jackson. She could tell that the girl liked him, or possibly even loved him, but that was the extent of her knowledge. She didn't hate the girl, in fact Lydia seemed quite smart the way she spoke about different plays that would be beneficial, but Ava just didn't care about lacrosse.
Instead of telling the girl to hush before she threw her off the bleachers Ava made up the excuse that she should probably go down to be with the team on the benches, just in case something happened she would be the first to help out. Lydia mentioned something about the players being more than capable of taking care of themselves but Ava stood up and walked away from the girl.
"Nice talking with you," she said with a fake smile.
She sat next to Stiles on the bench, Finstock gave her a cold stare before seeing that she was next to Stilinksi who wasn't of any use to him anyway, so he let her be.
"Lydia's awesome isn't she?" Stiles asked as soon as it was quiet enough for them to hear each other. Ava gave the boy a baffled expression before realizing that he liked the girl, he'd merely been excited to tell Ava that she was going to be sitting next to the girl. It was kind of cute the way he didn't show his attraction so obviously that it assaulted her but just enough that it made her laugh.
"You fell pretty hard didn't you?" She teased making him blush softly. They spoke lightly throughout the game, commenting on people who could have done better while Stiles explained the rules of the game while glancing back at Lydia to see who she was looking at. Of course she was looking at Jackson, but Ava admired his wish-fulness.
Somewhere in the middle of the game Ava could feel their presence behind her, it was subtle at first as if Peter's scent had merely been taken away by a breeze and finally brought beneath her nose. Then she could smell Derek, his scent made it to her nose much faster than Peter's had, as if he'd run past quickly and left his aroma to linger in the air behind him.
Focusing on the smell of Peter as his aura got closer to the bleachers Ava caught the attention of Stiles as she let her body freeze as she closed her eyes.
"What is it?" He asked right in Ava's ear.
"Shhhh," she shushed him while trying to pick out a single voice in the crowd.
"Ava," she heard Peter's voice through all the mess. In her calm focused state of mind it was almost as if he was standing next to her and whispering into her ear. She could imagine the feeling of his soft breath against her neck and he thought about how he might be able to threaten her. "It's amazing that you can hear me," she could almost hear the smile in his voice. "It's part of our bond isn't it? That mark on your ankle connects us, even if it's not complete," his voice was ever so soft in her mind.
Stiles watched Ava carefully, noting the way her eyes opened sharply only to close slowly again. It was weird the way she was sitting so stoically against a raging crowd and lacrosse team that were happening all around her. He felt it as well, as if she had left the noisy reality around them and created her own little realm of silence, and she'd taken him there, perhaps this was part of her power as well?
"Do you know of my past?" His voice asked her before her mind was suddenly bombarded with images of the fire and his stay in the hospital, he'd personally sent her those memories.
"Yes," she finally spoke making Stiles jump next to her.
"Come talk to me," he demanded of her.
"Maybe later," her voice was cold making the curious teenager next to her shiver at the tone.
"Let me rephrase that," the agitation in his voice made her stiffen. "I'll kill someone," his comment made her stop breathing for a moment before her eyes hardened when she realized that there was no way out of this. Getting up slowly Ava ignored Stiles as he tried to talk to her and instead said something about needing some medical supplies from her car to the coach. He shrugged her off without taking another glance before looking back at his players.
"Stay here," she whispered to Stiles before walking behind the bleachers and towards the forest. Stiles watched her for a few minutes before trying to get Scott's attention on the field, but the boy didn't seem to care about anything other than the game at the moment.
"Yeah right," he muttered before sneaking off to follow the Fox.
As the leaves crunched beneath her shoes Ava was aware that Peter was only a little ways in front of her while Derek was beginning to walk up from behind her, as a means to cut off any way she might have to escape. It was strange for her, to be in the middle of two wolves that weren't part of her family and weren't fighting for their chance to claim her. Perhaps it was because she was already partly claimed, it'd never happened to her before, to even be half claimed, and yet here she was. She finally stopped walking when Peter came into the light and stood in front of her with a demanding air about him.
"I didn't know you had seen my memories," he said with a curious expression on his face. "It was a little strange hearing from Derek that you'd heard the screams of my family as they burned to death," he commented with a sly grin on his face. Ava cringed at his lack of sympathy towards his own family members, the least he could say was that they had passed away, burned to death seemed to fragile and morbid.
"I was a little shocked as well, to learn that you'd killed your niece," she commented earning a cold look from him. Stiles had been more than happy to fill her in on everything that had happened with the Alpha on what they had discovered in exchange for information on what she was. Apparently it was more exciting to learn what a Fox was than learn about a crazy man who had been in a coma for the past six years.
"It was an accident,' his voice was hollow when he said this. Ava felt Derek stop cold behind her when she'd spoken of his sister, of course it was a soft spot for the wolf, if one of Ava's sister's had been killed she'd burn the person who killed her until there was nothing left to recognize.
"Is that what you told Derek," she said blandly. Peter tilted his head at her for a moment before sighing and shaking his head at her.
"Do we really have to talk about this, he won't join your side anytime soon. As far as I know, about Foxes anyway, is that you never stop running from wolves until you are claimed by one. Not even wanted in your own pack, that must feel pretty cold," he said with a smirk when she growled at him.
"There can only be one Fox in each pack, they'd keep me if they could," she snarled showing her fangs to them.
"Oh," he said gently. "Did I hit a soft spot?" He smiled at her. Stopping herself short Ava closed her mouth and straightened her body up just enough to feel like she was back in control of her own emotions, this man was not going to get the better of her just yet.
"I know I can't imagine leaving without removing this mark, because I will continue to dream about your wretched past that makes my hear shudder," she spat making Peter look at her painfully for a moment.
"So you're dreaming about them then, how unfortunate," he said making her shiver at his voice. Behind her Derek shifted uncomfortably with this new information, that was why she knew about everything that had happened. She'd heard the screams and even seen the agony on their faces through Peter's eyes, as if she had been there as well. "But I have no Sympathy for you, only the desire for power," he explained taking a step towards her.
"If you want me," she started to smile as she spoke. Casting her eyes away from the two wolves she let her body heat up slowly as her fox ears began to grow from the top of her hair. The rest of her form changed to accommodate her new feelings of power and rage against those who defied her freedom, the fire that rushed beneath her skin sifted through her body.
Watching from behind Derek marveled at the way the fiery heat spread through her body and made her skin glow as it traveled to her hands, the way her fox ears and tail seemed to make her look even more mysterious in the light of the moon. She turned to look at him suddenly, her green eyes flickering beneath the color of the red that was now taking it over. There was the faint presence of someone else behind him but Derek didn't seem to care at the moment, both of the wolves seemed incapable of taking their eyes off the creature in front of them. Was there really someone who could look like this and still smile like a normal human and go back to walking around in the streets complaining about the cold?
As they looked at her change Ava was aware of their burning stares on her form, most creatures on Earth went their wholes lives without ever seeing a Fox take hold of their element and combine it with their body. Even now as Ava's skin began to change color according to the heat within her body she crouched in order to get closer to the ground, she'd only ever shifted to her true form once, her father explained that it was very dangerous. That the first and only time she'd combined with her power she'd almost disappeared, but now wasn't the time to think about that.
She had to run.
"You're going to have to catch me," her voice was softer in the wind. It was odd how hearing her voice seemed to warm them, as if her word was a warm breeze that licked at their faces before diminishing into the night.
At that moment there was a rush of heat that streaked past them before the burning sight of Ava shot out of sight in a flurry of flames, only leaving enough time for Peter to follow her with his eyes before growling at Derek and rushing after the girl. This was a surprise, the last time the girl had been in front of them in the forest she didn't have nearly the same aura of control as she did now, the way her eyes burned with confidence made Peter wary of her. It was bad luck that the only Fox they would probably ever meet was one of fire, as if he didn't hate it enough already after flames consumed his house and family. Some cruel twist of fate is what this was, not that he really cared at the moment, all that remained in his mind was the desire to capture.
Right in front of his eyes a creature he'd only heard rumors about came to life and burned with such ferocity he couldn't leave it alone, such a rare creature like that needed to be captured before someone else claimed it for their own. A fox like that needed a cage, a prison that he could keep her in until she couldn't escape him anymore. He could almost taste the power on his tongue, the feeling of fire coursing through his veins trailed through his mind faintly.
As soon as Peter rushed after her Derek started off at a slow run before shifting to his other form to follow, but he wasn't fast enough, Peter had shed his clothing as soon as his werewolf body no longer needed them. All he could do was follow the trail of blackened leaves that was a path left by Ava as she sprinted along the forest floor.
The only person left to make any final comments was Stiles as he stared at where Ava used to be, her glowing form burned into his eyes as she walked slowly over to where she had been standing, the ground was charred and ashen.
"Wow," his voice couldn't even describe the amount of wonder he had seen. Werewolves were something that had only been mythical to him a few months ago, and how his best friend was one of them, he didn't think anything else could be more cool than that. But he'd been wrong.
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"We can't even pretend that everything is okay." - Milo
AN: After writing the last few paragraphs I was struck with the best idea ever for this story o_o
So excited about it now...except that I have to write my way there.
Be happy that i had surgery Monday and that I could write and rewrite this chapter until I thought it was good enough to put online, the gratefulness should overflow. As always I apologize for mistakes, minimal to no editing done.
But what did you think? Sorry if Lydia sounded too chatty, Ava is just a very easily irritated person when it comes to teenagers sometimes. As always don't forget to review, it fuels my writing train, and thank you for reading!
