The next morning, we start driving back home. Scott and I sit in the back seat, but he doesn't sit close enough to touch me, and when I try to hold his hand, he just pulls his hand away. I would ask him what's wrong, but since we're in the car with Stiles and Isaac, he probably wouldn't want to discuss it.
We get back home after lunch, and before I can ask Scott if we can talk, he says goodbye quickly and gets back in the Jeep.
My parents seem happy to see me, especially since they have been all alone with my two sets of grandparents, my dad's sister, Phoebe, and her son, Jon. As well as my mom's brother, Tim, his wife, Alex, and their twin daughters, Hannah and Jessa.
I end up rooming with Hannah and Jessa, who are 14. The rest of the parents sleep in the guest bedrooms, or on blow-up mattresses. Jon sleeps on the couch in the living room.
I had been hoping to have some alone time, but the twins are camped out in my room, gossiping about kids from their school back home. As I sit on my bed, trying to figure out where the hell I could go to get away from everyone, they turn their attention to me.
"Who were those guys who dropped you off earlier?"
"My boyfriend, Scott, and his friends, Stiles and Issac." I know if I don't answer their questions, they will never leave me alone.
"Is Scott hot?" I honestly don't know which of the twins are which.
"He's handsome, yes."
"Have you guys done it?"
I freeze, squinting my eyes at the girls, "I don't think that's any of your business."
The girls look at each other and smirk in a way that makes my anger rise to a whole new level.
"They totally haven't done it."
I can't stand listening to these little bitches gossip about mine and Scott's relationship.
"For your information, Thing One," I started calling them 'Thing One' and 'Thing Two' a couple years back, and it stuck because they hated it, "Scott and I have done plenty. Not that you would even know what I was talking about."
I know I shouldn't be rude to the twins, partly because they would tell their parents, but also because I should be a good role model. But, after worrying about what the hell is going on with Scott all morning, and having to deal with relatives all afternoon, I feel myself snap.
"Oh yeah? Have you kissed?"
"Yes."
"Have you seen each other naked?"
I cross my arms, putting on my best bitch face, "Yes."
"Have you...given him a blowjob?"
I suddenly realize that I am discussing this with 14 year-old girls, and I feel really embarrassed.
Get it together, Lani.
You're better than this!
"I...I'm gonna go out for a while. Tell my mom I went to the mall or something if she asks."
They both jump up, "Can we come?" they ask in unison, which sounds really creepy.
I roll my eyes, giving them the most bad ass send-off I can think of to put them in their place.
"No fucking way."
I sneak out the front door, doing everything I can to not attract the attention of my grandparents, who would talk my ear off if they saw me.
I don't really know where I'm going, and it can't be farther than walking distance, so I decide to go to the park about half a mile from my house. I haven't been there in a few years, but I remember going there when I was younger. Any time I got upset, I would climb to the top of the monkey bars, sit on the rails and try to calm myself down.
Just as I reach the playground, I hear rustling at the edge of the treeline, but I figure it's just the wind or something. I never get scared being alone here, because there are houses not too far away, and multiple light poles brightening the surrounding area. Plus, the sun is only just now starting to set.
I climb the ladder and sit on the bars, swinging my feet slightly. My mind instantly goes back to when I was in middle school, and the reasons I would be so upset would be because I had just gotten braces, or some girl at school said I was fat, or nobody wanted to dance with me at the school dance.
Now, I'm wondering what I did to make my werewolf boyfriend act so distant. I start remembering how awesome I felt when I was in the shower with Scott, and how amazing it was to know that I made him feel like that. And I think about the way the left corner of his mouth always twitches when he leans in to kiss me.
I feel a few tears slide down my face, and I quickly wipe them away, sniffing as I wrap my jacket tighter around me.
I can't imagine what I would do if Scott broke up with me, or how I would feel. He has this way of making me feel alive and beautiful. He understands me, and he doesn't judge me for not liking school, or question me about why I want to be a teacher even though I usually don't like them. I'm a very confusing person, and yet, Scott still gets me.
Part of me feels silly for letting a boy be the reason I'm so happy, but the truth is, boys don't have to do that much to seem amazing. Especially when you're a teenage girl who likes boys.
I sit in that same spot for a long time. Too long, because by the time I snap back to reality, it's completely dark outside. And to make things seem even scarier, the trees start rustling again, louder this time. Despite feeling a bit terrified, I manage to will my body to move, deciding to just jump down to the ground instead of taking the time to climb down. But, me being the most off-balance person in the world, I land badly on my feet, and pain shoots up my leg, and I figure I hurt my ankle.
I wince as I try moving it, wondering if I'll be able to walk back home, but I realize I don't have much of a choice when I see something moving very quick out the corner of my eye. I start jogging away as quickly as I can, trying to not make too much noise.
I don't make it far from the area when I feel a hand slam into my stomach and knock me to the ground. I gasp for air, trying to focus my eyes on what's in front of me. I (terrifyingly) realize that it's a werewolf, and at first I think it might be Scott or Isaac, but neither of them would knock me down like this.
Who the hell is this?
Their eyes...
They're yellow.
Definitely not Scott.
I finally get enough air into my lungs to speak, clutching onto one of the arms holding me down.
"What do you want?" I yell, trying my best to not sound like the small teenage girl that I am.
I quickly study the person above me more. It's a man, with long brown hair and tan skin. His clothes are torn and dirty, and I wonder if maybe he's homeless or something. His fangs are only a few inches from my face as he growls loudly, never answering my question.
"Get off me!"
I feel his claws sink into my forearms, and pain radiates through my body as I gasp. He raises one arm, as if he is going to slash his claws across my neck, but someone else barrels into his body, knocking him to the ground.
I quickly stand, watching as the now two werewolves claw at each other. It takes me a minute, but I figure out that the new werewolf is Scott. I've never seen him fully turned, and it's terrifying and awesome at the same time.
Scott manages to grab hold of the other guy's arm, breaking the bone in one swift move. He falls to his knees, holding his injured arm and growling. Then, I hear Scott's voice.
"You run, or I break the other one."
The unidentified werewolf quickly runs off, leaving Scott and I alone.
He spins around just as he turns human again, and all I see is a flash of his bright red eyes before they are dark brown again. He walks forward, taking my arms in his hands to inspect my injuries.
"How bad does it hurt?" he asks, not looking me in the eyes.
"Um...n-not bad."
He nods, still not looking at me.
"I'll take you to my house. My mom can bandage them."
He gently takes my hand, pulling me forward, but I stop him. I tilt his chin up so he has to look at me.
"Scott. Who the hell was that? I have to know."
He shakes his head, "I don't know. Probably an omega or something. Just looking for an easy kill."
I feel like the air has been knocked out of me again, hearing it put so lightly, it makes me feel dizzy.
"Scott, I...could this become a daily occurrence?"
He sighs, "I don't..." he runs a hand through his hair, "Can we please just get to my house? My mom needs to bandage those before you get an infection or something."
I nod, and we walk quietly back to his house.
We walk in, and Scott leads me into the kitchen where his mom is washing dishes.
"Hey, you guys! What's-" her eyes focus on my bleeding wrists, and she drops the plate into the sink and rushes forward.
"What happened? Scott?"
He talks as Melissa leads us into the living room, gesturing for me to sit on the couch.
"She was attacked. By an omega, I think. I've never seen him, but he wasn't that strong or anything. I doubt he will come anywhere near here again."
She nods, "Okay. Go get my first-aid kit from the closet, Scott."
He quickly walks off, and Melissa looks up at me with a tired, but still warm smile.
"I'm so sorry, Lani. I'm sure this wasn't how you were expecting your night to go."
I shake my head, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath.
"Definitely not."
Scott comes back with the kit, setting it down next to Melissa before slowly sitting beside me. Melissa's lips form into a tight line.
"I think you might need a few stitches, Lani. I can do them myself, if you're okay with that."
I feel my heartbeat quicken, feeling very uneasy at the thought of needles, which I've always had a problem with.
"Y-yeah. That's fine."
Melissa pulls a few more things out of the kit, as well as a needle, and I suddenly feel very light-headed. Scott must have noticed, because I feel his hand on my back, rubbing in a circular motion that calms me down.
Melissa injects something into my arm that makes it feel almost numb, then looks up at me.
"If needles make you light-headed, you might want to look away."
I nod, then glance around the room, trying to find something to focus on, then I feel a pinching feeling in my arm, and I know that Melissa has started. I try my best to not wince, but that's difficult when you know someone is giving you stitches.
I feel Scott's hand on my cheek, and I close my eyes, remembering how much I had missed his touch. I also notice that the stinging feeling is gone, and I open my eyes, a little scared to see thin black streams under the surface of the skin of his arm. I suddenly realize what he's doing, taking away my pain, and it takes a lot of willpower to not break down in a fit of sobs, taking comfort in his arms.
"Scott, you don't have to..."
"It's okay. It's my fault this happened."
I tilt my head, my eyes squinting.
"What do you mean? Of course it wasn't your fault."
He sighs, looking down, "How could it not be my fault, Lani?"
"Anyone can be attacked my a werewolf, Scott." I assure him, trying to keep my tone light, so as to not upset him.
"But-"
I hold a finger up to his lips to quiet him, "You saved me, Scott. If it wasn't for you, I would be dead."
That seems to quiet him for now. The next thing I know, Melissa is talking again.
"Okay. This arm is done, so I'll need your other one."
I look down to see that my left forearm is bandaged.
Melissa does the same to my right arm, while I lean my head on Scott's chest, listening to his heartbeat.
Soon, both my arms are bandaged, and Melissa has left the room so I can talk alone with Scott.
"What did I do, Scott?" I ask quickly, surprising him.
"Lani, you didn't do anything."
I roll my eyes, "Well, obviously I did something to make you so mad!"
He sighed, "I'm not mad."
"Then what's wrong?"
"I'm a terrible person!"
I stare at him incredulously.
How can Scott McCall think he is a terrible person?
He literally just saved my life!
"Scott...you are one of the bravest, nicest people I know!" I place my hand on his cheek, staring into his eyes, "What makes you think you are a terrible person?"
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath.
"All this time that we've been together, we've only ever talked about my life. What's going on with me and my friends. We've been dating for over two months, and I barely know anything about you. I realized that last night when we were at Derek's apartment, when you said you wanted to be a teacher. I had never known that, because I never even bothered to ask.
"I don't know your favorite books, or what music you listen to. You've never even told me your middle name. The only time we have ever really talked about you was our first date!"
I stare at him sadly, realizing that he was right. Over the past couple months, he was so focused on finding Derek, or working at the clinic. We never really talked about my life, which I was actually kind of okay with. Usually I hate talking about myself, because I always have to leave out all the weird, depressing things about myself, and come up with something cool and interesting about myself, which is a difficult thing to do when you aren't cool or interesting.
It stays silent for a minute or two longer, Scott looking sadly at the floor, and I looking at him, trying to decide what to say.
"Carter." I finally say, speaking quietly.
He looks up at me, confusion etched across his face.
"What?" he asks softly.
I walk forward a few steps and take his hands in mine.
"That's my middle name. Carter."
I see a hint of a smile on his face, but it soon disappears, and is replaced with a frown.
I sigh, kissing his cheek quickly before pulling him to the front door.
"Come with me."
He doesn't hesitate, or even respond at all. At least, not until he figures out where we are going.
"Why are we going to your house? Aren't like...your grandparents and stuff here?"
I smirk, not answering until we are standing in the front lawn of my house.
"Don't worry, I won't let them see you. I just need to get something."
I squeeze his hand reassuringly, "I'm going to go up to my room, meet me at my window in exactly one minute."
He nods, still looking confused. I sneak back inside, narrowly avoiding my grandmother, who was heading to the living room fron the kitchen. I run up the stairs and open my bedroom door, seeing Thing 1 and 2 trying to sleep.
"Get out." I tell them urgently.
They both look at me like I'm crazy.
"Why?" one of them asks.
I huff, "Because it's my room! I have something I need to do, and if you don't leave in the next ten seconds, I swear I will throw you out."
They both roll their eyes, gathering a pillow and blanket each, before leaving the room. I close my door, then turn towards the window just in time to see Scott climb up the tree limb. I walk over and quietly slide open the window, immediately pulling him in and shutting it.
"What's going on?" he asks, sounding a little worried.
I smile, then walk over to my closet, pulling out the medium-sized gift box, handing it to Scott.
"Merry Christmas, Scott McCall."
His eyes widen a bit, "Christmas is still a few days away."
I roll my eyes, "After our conversation, I think now is the perfect time to give you this."
He tilts his head and smiles a bit, then sits down on my bed and takes the lid off the box.
"That day in the mall when I called you, you said all you wanted for a present was me. So...I got you some of my favorite things."
He looks at me incredulously, but he's smiling, so I don't worry too much about it.
"Go on, look inside!"
He does just that, and the first thing he holds up is my favorite book, The Perks Of Being A Wallflower. Then, a small stack of CDs. He reads off the names as he looks at each one.
"Arctic Monkeys. Heartless Bastards. Cold War kids. The 1975. And...Beyonce?" he laughs at the last one, and I hold my hands up in defense.
"Hey, you have to admit, that woman is amazing." I tell him, which makes him laugh a little more.
The next thing is a little girly, but oh well.
"A pumpkin waffles scented candle?" he asks, raising his eyebrows.
"Trust me, that candle smells so good, you're gonna want to eat it!" I assure him.
Scott holds up the next thing, furrowing his eyebrows.
"This is the cologne that I use." he states, looking at me curiously.
"Yeah, you always smell like that cologne. I really like it." I blush a little, but he just smiles cutely, picking up another item.
The last few things are Reese's Cups, a few movies (including Lilo and Stitch) and a picture that I found when I was cleaning out my desk drawers. The picture is from my freshman year of high school, and Caleb had taken it of me. She had insisted that I needed a photo of my first day, so I could always remember it.
The picture had never meant much to me, until I found it about a month after Scott and I started dating. In the picture, I'm smiling and laughing at the same time, and to my left, you can see Scott leaning against his locker, obviously looking at me, with a goofy grin on his face.
"Oh, wow." is all Scott says, his face blushing furiously.
I smile and kiss his cheek, then his lips. Things start getting a little more heated, then we hear a knock on my door.
"Lani, when are you going to let us back in?"
Damn those fucking twins.
"Just a minute, girls." I say loudly.
I kiss Scott once more before standing and helping him place everything back into the box. He opens the window, kissing me once more before climbing out and working his way back down the tree.
I take a deep breath before opening my door, seeing the twin girls glaring at me. I open the door wider to let them in.
"Get some rest, girls. You're leaving tomorrow, right?" I say, making it obvious that I was excited for them to get the hell out of my house.
They roll their eyes and plop back down on their air mattresses.
A/N This one was a little longer than usual, but I needed to get all this stuff out of the way. Hopefully the next chapter will be happier, and easier for me to write. Please review and tell me what you think!
Thanks to AnimexGoddess, Boremi18, CaliGirl17, Celestee00, Eyessettokill92, XXArmageddonXX, bitcchymermaidwhoreee (wow, nice username) lineelming, and stephanielw161997 for following, you guys are cooler than ice...sorry that joke was terrible.
- Maria
