Phase

Chapter 7 (Rabbit Heart)


After having tests in almost all of her morning classes, Samantha walked into the girls bathroom at school.

She sat her schoolbag down on the floor by the sink and pulled her phone from her pocket to check the time and see when Erica was coming to school that day.

Before she could read the text from Erica, she heard someone crying in the stall.

Pausing she listened and the sobs grew louder.

"Um… hello?" Sam called out.

"Who's out there?" Lydia asked.

"Sam." She responded.

"Sam who?" Lydia asked, not able to hold her tears in from the experience she'd just had between classes.

Jackson had cornered her and said everything bad that happened to him was her fault, but she had no idea what he'd been talking about.

"Samantha Evans." She answered, thinking Lydia probably wouldn't remember her.

"Oh, you're Allison's friend." Lydia realized, relived it was someone she at least kind of knew.

"No, I'm not really..." She started to deny, then realizing details didn't matter at the moment she cleared her throat and said, "Yeah, it's me."

"Are you okay?" Sam asked worried about her.

"It's just… I don't know why he's so mad at me, and he just kept going on and on about how I've ruined things for him." Lydia sobbed, a fresh wave of tears hitting her.

"Who said that?" She asked, trying to keep up.

"Jackson!" Lydia shrieked, causing Sam to jump from the unexpected outburst.

Lydia opened her mouth to say more, then stopped when she heard the bathroom door open again.

"Who came in?" Lydia asked, wiping her eyes with more toilet paper.

"It's just us in here." Sam assured her.

Looking down Lydia gasped when she saw a pair of men's feet covered in dirt.

"This is the girls room…" She managed to say through her tears.

"Lydia?" Sam asked, but she didn't respond.

A few moments later the stall door opened and Lydia looked around the room, not even appearing to see Sam standing there, before she ran from the room.

Concerned and confused, Sam chased after her through the empty hallway and down a small set of stairs, until she came to stop in front of a trophy case.

"Lydia?" Sam asked as she lightly reached out and touched her arm.

As if being woken from a dream Lydia gasped and jumped back.

"Didn't you see him?" She questioned.

Sam's eyes widened, "See who? You just… bolted from the bathroom and then stood here staring at the trophies."

"No, I followed the man who came in the girls bathroom." Lydia argued her eyebrows raised.

"I didn't see anyone." Sam said, not wanting to argue with her any longer.

"I… uh, I left my bag in there." Lydia said as she rubbed her watery eyes and headed back into the bathroom, with Sam right on her heels.

Silently Sam pulled on her book bag while Lydia dug through her own bag and sighed heavily. Out of all days to forget her travel make-up bag, it had to be the day she'd resorted to crying in the bathroom.

"Do you have any mascara?" She finally asked the other girl.

"I think there's some in there, but I've had all of it for a while." She apologized as she handed Lydia small make up bag containing only a few items.

"Thanks for listening to me, new girl." Lydia responded, as she glanced up at Sam.

Sam shook her head, Lydia still thought she was a new girl at school since she'd never noticed her before.

"I think that Jackson may have some other things going on right now…" she offered.

Lydia pulled the tube of black mascara from the bag and looked at her with raised eyebrows, "How would you know?"

Shrugging Sam replied, "I mean, he'd have to, to be treating you like that. Lydia, you're a freaking genius not to mention beautiful. So trust me, whatever the hell Jackson is saying or doing… he's an idiot and it's on him not you. You don't need him."

Lydia pulled the wand from the tube and looked at the dry flaking mascara.

Quickly she put the lid the back on and looked at Sam, "I like you."

"Thanks?" Sam said back, wondering if the statement was going to be followed with a sarcastic hurtful remark.

Crossing the bathroom Lydia dumped the contents from the make-up bag into the trashcan, causing Sam to gasp.

"Which is why I just did you a favor, everything in that bag was years old… not to mention the completely wrong color for your skin tone." Lydia explained as she handed her the empty bag back.

Sam's blue eyes were wide as she continued to stare at Lydia in shock.

"We're going shopping after school." Lydia said as she gave her a smile.

"Oh…" Sam said, still not sure how to react to her.

A few minutes later the bell rang signaling the end of the class they'd both skipped, and the start of lunch.

"See you after school, new girl." Lydia called over her shoulder a she left the bathroom.

After getting her tray Samantha sat down at her usual table by herself and finally read the text from Erica, saying that she was making her grand appearance at school during lunch.

Laying her phone down on the table she smiled to herself, she'd spoken on the phone with Erica before school that day.

And without all the side effects from her medication the teen had woken up truly feeling like a new person.

She was halfway through peeling her orange when she looked up and saw Erica walk into the doorway of the cafeteria.

She was wearing leopard print high heels, a black leather miniskirt, white tank top and completed her outfit with a black leather jacket.

Her hair and makeup were flawless.

All eyes were on Erica as she strutted into the lunchroom, feeding from all the attention she was getting. A feeling she'd never had before.

Leaning over a table full of guys, she took one of the apples and took a bite from it. As she wiped her lip with her finger she looked over at Sam, as she gave her a wide smile and winked at her.

Sam smiled back, she could feel how incredibly happy Erica was in that moment.

Turning she left the room, only looking back once to take another bite from her apple.

Hearing chairs skidding across the floor she looked over to see Scott and Stiles running after her.

A little while later they came back in the room and headed straight for Sam's table.

"What the hell happened?" Scott asked her.

"You know it takes more than a few wolves to make a pack, especially a strong pack." Samantha said nonchalantly.

Stiles looked around the room and then said, "Is Derek turning anyone else?"

"If they're willing." She answered.

"Willing? Is he not explaining everything to them? About the hunters, how the bite could kill them?" Scott asked, knowing how dangerous it was to be a werewolf in Beacon Hills.

"He's explaining everything." She said shaking her head.

"And the hunters aren't enough to scare you all away?" Stiles asked her, as he looked back to where he had been sitting wishing he'd taken his tray with him.

"I know this may be a hard concept for you both to grasp, but sometimes the thought of going on day to day being more miserable than the last… is a scarier thought than death. You saw Erica, she feels amazing." Samantha defended her pack.

"She looks amazing…" Stiles said, his voice trailing off as he thought back to the other teenager walking into the room.

Sam nodded in agreement.

"How amazing is she going to look with a bullet in her head, Sam? You were in the woods that night, the hunters declared war. No one is safe…" Scott reasoned, his eyes drifting over the other students at lunch wondering who might be next.

"We're strong as a pack, and we'd be a lot strong with you." She said, Derek had told her how badly they needed Scott in their pack.

His eyes widened, "You're trying to recruit me too?"

"Derek says…" She began to explain but he cut her off.

"What Derek is doing is wrong, don't you get that?" He argued.

She bit down on her lower lip, trying to keep her anger in check.

"Maybe you shouldn't be so judgmental, Scott. When was the last time you woke up feeling so trapped by life that you'd rather be dead? Or have your father beat the hell out of you with nowhere to turn? Or been bullied and picked on because you have epilepsy and your medicine gave you acne and weight gain?" She asked, referring to everyone Derek had turned to be in his pack.

Scott looked down to the table and then back up to her as he said, "You're right. I haven't exactly walked a mile in anyone else's shoes. But I know what the hunters are capable of, and I don't want to see anyone get hurt… or killed."

~(After school)~

She was supposed to meet Derek after school, he was starting Erica's training that day and furthering Isaac's and he thought she knew enough now to help him train the others.

But Lydia said they were going shopping together after school and Samantha had never had a friend to go shopping with.

"Ready?" Lydia asked as she found Sam at her locker.

"Yeah… lets go." She said, making up her mind to try to a be a normal teenager for the day.

As Lydia drove them towards the mall she noticed Sam kept checking her phone.

"Waiting on a call from someone?" she questioned as she turned the radio down.

"No… I was kind of supposed to help someone after school but I came with you instead." Samantha explained, not going into detail.

"Just text whoever it is and tell him you had an emergency." Lydia responded.

Letting out small laugh Sam looked around the cars interior as she said, "Somehow I don't think he'd accept the fashion emergency excuse."

"Once he sees you when I'm done, he won't be mad. Trust me." Lydia said smiling as she looked over to Sam.

"Oh… um, no… he's not like my boyfriend or anything." She quickly stammered out, realizing Lydia had the wrong idea.

"Well no, not yet… but once you look like a girl, he'll want to be." Lydia reasoned as she pulled into the mall parking lot.

"Look like a girl?" Sam asked as she looked down to her baggy t-shirt and jeans.

"Mhmm." Lydia hummed, "I'm fully convinced that under those bad, loose fitting clothes you have curves in all the right places."

Sam didn't say anything back, she wasn't sure how to even respond to her words.

"You want him to notice you, right?" Lydia questioned as he unbuckled her seatbelt and shut the car off.

"What? No! Why would you think that?" Sam stuttered out, caught off guard by Lydia's question.

"Certainty not from the way you blush and start stuttering when you talk about him." She said raising her eyebrows as she got out of the car.

A few hours later they emerged from the mall, both of their hands full of shopping bags.

Lydia looked over at Samantha and smiled to herself at the makeover she was responsible for.

Sam was wearing a short, strapless champagne colored dress, and a pair of dark blue heels. Lydia told her since the color of her dress was subtle she needed her shoes to be bold and make a statement.

Lydia had insisted she not only have her make up done, but also get her eyebrows waxed and have some low-lights added to her hair.

The drive back to the school was silent and Lydia looked over at her once she parked next to where Sam's car was in the parking lot.

"Thank you for this." She said as she tucked some of her shiny hair behind her ear.

"You're welcome. I had fun." Lydia said, returning the smile.

As she got out of the car and gathered her bags, she put them in her trunk and spun around when she heard Lydia clear her throat from behind her.

"These too." She said pushing the other half of the bags into her arms.

"What?" Sam asked confused.

"I got these for you." She clarified, looking at Sam like she should have already known that.

"Lydia, no… there's like over three hundred dollars' worth of clothes, jewelry and make up here." Sam argued truing to give the bags back.

"Correct, well over three hundred dollars' worth of clothes, accessories and make up that are all wrong for my complexion and hair color." Lydia said as she took the bags from Sam and then walked around her to put them in her trunk as she continued, "But perfect for you, Sam."

"Did you really just call me by name instead of new girl?" She asked shocked.

"Now, I have to go. I'm meeting Allison, Scott and Stiles at the ice skating rink. See you tomorrow, and you better be dressed in your new clothes." Lydia called over her shoulder as she got back in her own car.

Sam thanked her again before she got in her own car and headed for Derek's wondering how mad he was at her for being so late.

Pulling to a stop near the entrance of the underground place, she liked to call the lair she took a deep breath and headed down the stairs.

"I was really starting to think…" Derek began to lecture as he turned around to see Sam coming down the stairs but his voice trailed off as she came to a stop and looked at him.

"I'm sorry I'm late. There were some things I needed to do." She apologized, unable to read the look in his eyes.

Erica looked up from where she was sitting on the floor and gave her a wide smile at seeing her new look.

"I think it was worth it." Isaac said, nodding to her.

She smiled and glanced down to the floor, before looking back up her eyes meeting Derek's gaze.

Breaking the eye contact, his eyes roamed over her body meeting hers again.

Erica looked between the two of them and smiled to herself at how Sam had left Derek speechless. She'd been sure there was something between the two of them since she first saw them together.

"Are you okay?" She asked, when Derek still hadn't spoken.

"You can't really help me train them in those clothes." He said, but his words came out a little gruffer than he'd meant them too and he immediately regretted it when he saw her face fall.

"I… uh, I can change. I have some jeans in the car." She said as she turned and started for the stairs.

"It's okay. I think we're done for today." Derek said, as he looked between Erica and Isaac both who looked exhausted.

"I work tomorrow, but I'll be here right after." She said, her voice soft as she kept her eyes glued to the floor, feeling like a complete idiot for thinking even for a second that he might look at her as more than just one of his beta wolves.

Erica gave her an empathetic smile and squeezed her arm as she walked past her on her way out of the lair.

And Isaac waved at her before he headed inside of the subway car.

Derek watched as Sam shifted uncomfortably and glanced around before she said, "I'm just going to head home…"

"We need to pick up a few things before the full moon." He said as he picked his leather jacket up from the back of a folding chair and nodded for her to follow him up the stairs.

She pinned her eyes shut and let out the breath she'd been holding, as far as she'd come from her old self it bothered her that it took so little for her to feel like a bullied kid backed into a corner.

Once she was up the stairs she headed for her car.

"We'll take my car." Derek said as he saw where she was heading.

"I want to change first." Samantha said, her voice showed a hint of anger as she pulled her jeans and t-shirt she'd been wearing that day from one of the shopping bags.

"Come on, Sam." He said with a sigh.

"No, no… you're completely right. I look ridiculous, the whole 'look better to feel better' thing is myth." She mumbled as she fumbled with the button and zipper to unfasten them.

Walking over he pulled the clothes from her hand and threw them in her trunk before shutting it.

"I never said you looked ridiculous. I was mad because you didn't show up when you were supposed to." He explained, not liking how she wouldn't make eye contact with him now.

"Well, I feel pretty ridiculous. Just let me change and we can go." She said as she started to open her trunk again, but he stopped her.

"You're not changing, you don't need to." He tried to assure her, still feeling guilty for bringing her mood down so much.

"I do too, you're a guy. You don't understand." She said, feeling her eyes start with burn with tears.

Every second she stood there in that dress and heels she felt more insecure.

"You're right, I am a guy. And as a guy, I'm telling you that you look great and don't need to change." She opened her mouth to argue with him, but then her eyes widened as she realized what he'd said to her.

Finally looking back up at him, she asked "You… think I look good?"

Nodding, his eyes locked with hers a he said, "The word beautiful comes to mind."

She was pretty sure her heart had stopped beating at his words.

By the time she managed to recover and get a breath, he was halfway to where his car was parked.

"The hardware store is going to close soon, come on." He yelled over his shoulder, as if he hadn't just indirectly called her beautiful.

Once they got to the store, he said "If you were able to break out of the subway car your first full moon, it won't hold the others either. So we need to get better chains along with things to secure the seats to the car."

"Okay." She said nodding as she grabbed a cart and walked quickly to catch up with him.

It was close to twenty minutes later that she got distracted by a paint display, she'd been wanting to paint her room for a while, and now seemed like a perfect time. She was finally really starting to feel like a different person.

She picked up a strip with 4 shades of blue her eyes immediately going to the last one, "Calypso blue…" she said out loud.

"You know, the color blue is known for its calming effect." A voice said.

Looking over she saw Matt standing not too far away from her.

"Hey Matt." She greeted.

"Painting your room?" He questioned walking up to her.

"I think so… I just don't know which color." She answered with a small laugh.

"You look really great." He said smiling at her.

"Thanks, uh… Lydia Martin took me shopping." She explained as she returned the blue color strip to the display.

"I didn't know you were friend with Lydia." He admitted as he saw her eyeing the green color shades.

"I didn't either." She agreed.

"So what are you doing here?" She asked as she picked up a yellow color strip and then quickly returned it to its spot.

"My dad's replacing the sink in the downstairs bathroom." He explained, pausing he asked "What about you? Just looking at paint?"

"No, I needed to pick up a few things." She explained nodding to the cart beside her.

"Uh…" He said his voice trailing off.

Samantha looked down to see the contents of the cart were several heavy duty padlocks, an electric drill with a few boxes of large bolts along with some metal reinforcement pieces.

Letting out a nervous laugh she said, "I know it looks weird but I can explain."

He waited and she wasn't able to come up with an excuse.

"Okay, no I actually don't have an explanation." She admitted looking down to the floor.

"It's okay, I didn't have a reason when I bought the same stuff last week." He tried to joke.

"What?" she asked him confused.

"Nothing, it was just a joke… a really lame joke." He said under his breath as he shook his head at himself.

"This is the strongest chain they carry." Derek announced to her as he dropped a large amount of heavy, metal chain in the cart.

Her eyes widened and she nodded her head sideways to where matt was standing.

"What?" Derek asked her, before he briefly looked the teenage boy over.

"Hi, I'm Matt." He introduced himself a he extended a hand.

Derek looked at his hand and then turned his attention back towards Samantha as he said, "I'm going to make sure they don't have any stronger locks."

"I told you I got the strongest ones they had." She called after him.

Matt lowered his hand awkwardly and looked around.

"Sorry, he's… well, he's just him." Was the only excuse Sam had.

"He's your friend?" He asked a little surprised, Derek didn't seem like the type of person she'd be hanging out with at all.

"Yeah, he's a really good friend of mine." She explained as she picked up one of the green color swatches.

"Is he always like that?" Matt asked her, trying to see if she and Derek we're more than just friends.

She nodded and smiled to herself as she said, "He grows on you."

"Right…" Matt breathed out disbelievingly.

"What does green mean?" she questioned, remembering he'd explained the effect the color blue has on a person.

Smiling at her wanting to talk to him he said, "Well, brides in the middle ages wore green as a sign of fertility."

"Yikes." She said as she put the green back.

"Maybe it's not the right time to paint my room after all." She reasoned.

Derek walked back up to them after checking the locks. She was right, they already had the strongest ones the store had.

"What about this." Matt said as he handed her a strip of purple colors, purposely brushing his hand against hers.

"Purple, why? Because I'm a girl?" she joked.

"No, I think purple is the perfect color for you." He said, watching her closely.

She gave him a questioning look.

"Purple represents strength, it's the color of royalty. It's also a feminine and romantic color. It represents a special kind of beauty because the color purple is rare in nature." He explained, his voice low as he leaned in and spoke to her.

Derek rolled his eyes as he watched Matt talking to Sam.

"Purple with a purpose." She read the name of one of the colors that caught her eye.

"Who names these things?" Matt joked back.

"I love it though. Thank you." She said as she tucked some of her hair behind her ear.

"Yeah, no problem. I better find my dad, but if you need any help painting your room… let me know." He said waving at her and glancing over at Derek before he headed off.


A/N- Thank you for reading. I hope you all liked the chapter.

I'm sorry updates have been so slow, I have a very limited amount of time on my computer and believe when I say it's not just this story I've been slacking on updating. I appreciate you all bearing with me.

But I am certainly not giving up on this story, it's one of my absolute favorites to write.

I hope you're all having a great holiday season and that 2014 brings you everything you're hoping for!

XO