Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf. I only own my characters and plot. If you recognize it, I probably don't own it.

The Unexpected

Chapter Six: The Truth Shall Set You Free But A Lie Is Much More Aesthetically Pleasing


The loud slam of a metal locker door reverberated through the hallway as the petite blonde huffed a large sigh. Another morning without Boyd, it was starting to take a toll on her. Seeing someone everyday for practically your entire life, and suddenly they aren't there to help you when you need it, or to be there when you don't, it's an exhausting thing to go through. She wasn't sure how much longer she could keep up her cherade. When Cara turned away from the metal cubical, she was met with two pairs of brown of eyes. Stiles and Scott.

"God," She sighed, holding a hand to her chest. The pounding of her heart reverberated in Scott's ears.

"Uh, hey Cara." Stiles said, unsure. He picked up on her mood along with Scott. Who could hear her pounding heart and smell the depression on her from all the way down the hall and nearly jumped out of his werewolf skin when she slammed her locker closed.

"Hey Stiles," She nodded at the lanky boy then turned to the other one. "Scott." Scott smiled, trying to pull the disheartened girl from her sour mood. She only acknowledged his efforts with a small simper. "What's up?"

"We were headed to class, and thought we'd stop by." Scott said. She nodded, brushing some hair behind her ear. This morning she had woken up remarkably late and only had enough time to swap out her pajamas for jeans and a black hoodie, yank her hair into a disheveled pony tail, slip on a random pair of shoes by the front door (which turned out to be her least favorite pair, blue tennis shoes with ghastly orange stars on the side) and run to catch her bus before it left her behind. So, she was a little self concious about her look, but didn't let it show on her face.

"Yeah, you look a little worse for wear there, Cara." Stiles said, grimacing immediately at his choice of words.

"Gee, Stiles. You know exactly what to say to make a girl's liver quiver." Cara rolled her eyes and pushed in between the pair to walk in the direction of her math class. The boys quickly trailed after her.

"Sorry about that, I meant that-uh, you look like you had a rough moring. Everything alright?" It was an innocent question. But it made Cara want to cry, punch something, or take a really, really long nap. And although her and Stiles had been friends for about a month now, and her and Scott had grown somewhat close, she still hadn't had it in her to spill about her home life. Or about what happened with Boyd. It simply hadn't come up. Until now. She debated for a short second telling them about the ongoings inside her house. But, she pictured their faces after telling them. Their pitiful, sympathetic, puppy-dog faces. Scott's big brown eyes looking at her with remorse. Stiles telling his dad out of concern. No. That can't happen.

"Yeah," She said, feigning apethy. "Just tired."

Scott heard her heart beat jump, knowing that she was lying. But, didn't think about calling her out on it. Sure, he was worried. He had grown to like and even care for the blonde. Her gruff demeanor, bristly attitude, curly locks and all. But if she didn't feel comfortable telling the two of them, he didn't need to make a big deal out of it. She could have been on her period or something for all he knew. Wait, could I know? He shivered minutely.

They nodded and continued to follow her as she walked to her math class.

"Are you finally done with your detentions?" Stiles asked, itching the back of his head habitually.

"I have no idea, but I will let you know today." She replied with a soft sigh. "Hopefully, Harrison is feeling merciful."

"Yeah, hopefully." Scott remarked, scoffing. Cara shot him a callous look, he shrugged.

"Well, if you don't have detention I'll give you a ride home, if-if you want." Stiles offered, optimistically. He knew she walked home everyday and wouldn't mind giving the blonde a lift home if her daily imprisonments were through. She bit her lip, shrugging.

"I'm fine with walking. It's not like I'm not used to it." Cara was petrified of letting the boy see her house. Her trailer. And she wouldn't doubt that if a boy-let alone a boy who wasn't Boyd-gave her a ride home, her mother wouldn't shut up about it, either.

"Ah come on," He pushed, throwing a careless arm around the girl. "Let me do something for you, huh? Let me do something for me, do something for you. Let me, do something for you, do something for me, do something for you, yeah?" Cara shrugged off his arm lightly.

"I have no idea what you just said, but no thanks." She nodded at the two adolescent boys in farewell before walking into her math class quickly. Stiles sighed.

"She was lying wasn't she?" He inquired of his supernatural friend.

"What?"

"When she said she was tired," He reiterated. "She was lying, huh?"

"Yeah,"


Scott watched anxiously as his first period English teacher handed out the graded tests from the previous week. His feet tapped restlessly and his fingers fidgeted with his yellow pencil. He had to pass. He couldn't fail this, it was not an option right now. He had enough to worry about and having to make up a dumb test was low on his list of priorities. He felt a tap on his back right before babble was washing through his hypersensative ears.

"If Derek isn't the alpha, if he isn't the one who bit you, then who did?" Stiles asked sparatically. Scott thought for a moment. If Derek didn't bite me, than that means theres a whole other creature out there, viscious, angry, and unmerciful. But who?

"I don't know." He said pitifully.

"Did the alpha kill the bus driver?" Stiles asked, a direct line from his thoughts to his mouth spilling all his worries brutally.

"I don't know." Stiles sat back into his chair and sighed through his nose. Thinking of all the messed up, stupid crap that him and his friend have to go through. Which for some reason, made him think of Cara.

"Why do you think Cara lied today?"

"I don't know." Scott threw his hands up, hopefully displaying to his friend that he didn't want to talk about things that he didn't have the answers to. It made him feel useless, like even though he had all these cool new abilities, what good were they if he had no idea how to use them or control them. Or what to even use them against. He felt pathetic.

"Does Alison's dad know about the alph-"

"I don't know!"Scott yelled at his best friend, exapserated. He was done talking about things he didn't know. He didn't want to feel pathetic anymore. Just after he turned back around in his desk, his teacher dropped the test in his hands. D- it read, Not like you! See me after class. Scott sighed. Shit.

"Dude, you need to study more." Stiles remarked, smirking at his friend's awful grade compared to his A. Scott rolled his eyes and ignored his friend. "That was a joke." He said, as if that would change his grade. "Scott, it's one test. You're gonna make it up." Still nothing. "Do you want help studying?" Scott shook his head then.

"No, I'm studying with Alison after school today."

"That's my boy." Stiles smirked.

"We're just studying." Scott reassured, knowing where his friend was going with this.

"Uh, no you're not."

"No I'm not?" Scott mumbled.

"Not if I'm forced to live vicariously through you." Stiles shot, leaning over his desk to talk directly into the werewolf's ear. As if the hypersensetive one can't hear clear as day already. Unbelievable. "If you go to her house today, and squander that collosale opportunity, I sw-I sware to God, I'll have you de-balled."

"Okay, okay." Scott sighed, looking back at his frantic friend. "Just stop with the questions, man."

"Done." Stiles complied. "No more questions. No more talk about the alpha, or Derek. Especially Derek. Who still scares me."

"And I have another condition." Scott said, turning to look at his buzz head friend.

"Shoot." Stiles said, folding his hands in a mocking manner.

"You make sure you give Cara that ride home today. You hear me? Because if you squander that collosale opportunity, I'll have you de-balled."

"Stop stealing my threats."

"Stiles,"

"Alright, alright." He waved Scott off. "I'll do it. I'll give her a ride home. Just shut up all ready, jeesh."


I guess there really is no rest for the wicked. Cara thought to herself as she walked to her locker. She had been trying to cop a nap during her whole math class, but her teacher just wouldn't have it. He called on her everytime no one raised their hands, and whenever her head was down for more than a few minutes the teacher reprimanded her. All she wanted was some sleep. She prayed that she could find solitude in her english class. She opened her locker with ease and began exchanging her supplies.

A hand slammed into her locker, making her jump out of her skin and drop the pencil in her hand. A man saught stead against Cara's locker, she looked up at him. He had a line of sweat on his brow and his eyes were drooping with bags. It looked like he had been wearing the same clothes for days and his hair was a mess. His skin tone was sallow and he couldn't even keep his hands steady. Crack-head, were the first words that popped into Cara's head. She had seen enough in her trailer park to recognize one. Her eyebrows raised.

"Um, can I help you?"

"Scott McCall." He rasped. "Where is he?" Cara closed her locker and defensively crossed her arms over her English text book. The fallen pencil totally forgotten.

"And who the hell are you?"

"A friend." He said, holding his injured arm in a shaky hand.

"Right. And why should I tell you where he is?" She asked, raising one eyebrow in questioning.

"Because I need him." Derek let out a deep breath at the exhaustion of having to stay standing in the middle of this hallway, to talk to this smart ass girl. He smells Scott's scent on her, he knows she has seen him. He knows she knows where he is. "Now, where can I find Scott McCall?"

"Hm, don't believe I know a Scott McCall." Cara said, pronouncing every syllable of the werewolf's name, as if to test it out, taste it on her tongue. "Can't help you, sorry." She moved to walk around the unstable man when he grabbed her fore arm roughly.

"I need to find him, now." She renched her arm from his hand and the sullen man had just enough time to retracted his claws before the blonde noticed them.

"Well, good luck finding him." She smirked at him. A man who was unstable, two times her size, had an undetermined mental state, and was on a man hunt for her friend. I'm probably an idiot, she thought carelessly to herself."Now, have a nice day. And do yourself a favor," Her emerald eyes were glued to his. "Lay off the cocaine. It doesn't do well for your complexion."


"Mister Harrison, please."

"Look, Cara, I don't think that if I let up now you'll learn your lesson."

"I have learned my lesson! I promise to never call you out when you screw up ever again. Just please, no more detentions!"

"That! Right there! That's what I'm talking about." Harrison sighed, holding the bridge of his nose between his index finger and thumb. His glasses felt like they were squeezing his cranium. "I'm tired of being disrespected, and you, Cara, are my number one culprit. I'm tired of it."

"Please, Harrison. Next time I mess up you can give me detentions for the whole year. Take away Winter Formal, lacrosse games, prom, whatever! But I'm done with detentions." The blonde yanked an irritating piece of hair behind her ear and shifted her weight from her right hip to her left. Standing up to The Man is the only way to stop The Man.

"Miss Rodgers, I can't just go back on my word."

"You said a long time. Trust me, it's been a long time. I'm starting to lose my mind here, H."

"Don't call me that."

"Sorry." Cara pursed her lips, taking a deep, much needed, breath in through her nose and releasing it out of her mouth. "Look, I promise to try my best to abide by your rules and not disrespect you in class. You have my word." It was a few agonizing seconds before Harrison replied. His jaw was set and his eyebrows sat low on his forehead.

"Fine."

"Really?" Something close to a smile, as close as she can get when in the presense of Harrison, stretched across her pale face.

"Yes." He sighed, taking his glasses off to rub his tired and weary eyes. "Just keep your promise. I will have no mercy next time." As if you had any to begin with, Cara thought. But she figured it would be best not to voice that out loud.

"I will, cross my heart."

"Oh, give me a break." Harrison mumbled, waving his hand to shoo Cara away from his desk and out the door. The first day this year that Cara could go home when school actually let out and Boyd wasn't even around to see it. That made Cara's mood drop from relieved and happy to morose and lonely.

For a split second, Cara thought about finding Stiles. But, remembered that little issue about her house, and her mom, and thought better of it. She strode down the hallway, holding the strap of her bookbag that dangled off her right shoulder as if it was a life jacket that would bring her bobbing to the surface of these dangerously sullen waters. This day went from awful, to bizare, to acceptable, to terrific, right back to awful again. Cara couldn't help but sigh as she felt the weight of her world in her back pack.

"Cara!" And just when she thought that things couldn't possibly get any worse. There's Stiles now, running towards her from the end of the hallway. His arms flailing and his legs spastically flying in awkard directions. Running just the way that Stiles would run, which almost makes it endearing. "Cara, hey!" He stopped in front of her, panting and gasping slightly, smiling too wide to be so out of breath.

"Hey Stiles," She uttered, as if those particular words would ensue a tragic death of some kind. But they would only bring the tragic downfall of Cara's resolve.

"So, what's the verdict?" He asked expectantly. Cara shrugged, playing dumb.

"What do you mean?"

"Shut up, you know. Your detentions." Stiles said, giving Cara a small shove in the shoulder. "Are they over? Are you done?" A terribly faux smile graced Cara's heart shaped face as she bobbed her head.

"Yup." She said, popping the 'p' between her lips.

"That's great! You're finally free from Harrison's wrath. How does it feel?" Stiles spoke a mile a minute, his mouth permanently etched into a stunning smile, just for Cara. This thought did not escape her.

"Um, great? I guess. I don't know. Better than yesterday." She pursed her lips and crossed her arms, feeling self-conscious standing in front of this tall lanky boy who, she thought, shouldn't be inducing these nerves.

"Well, I guess that means that you're free to accept my ride home then." He said, wrapping his slender arm around Cara's shoulders to pull her in the direction of his jeep. He wasn't taking no for an answer. Cara tried to shrug him off, but he was relentless.

"Stiles. Stiles, stop. Let me go. Stiles!" She wiggled but he wouldn't budge and she watched helplessly as he took her out of the school and into the parking lot and all the way to his jeep. "Hmm," She mused, "Didn't think it'd be this color in the daylight."

"Hush up and get in the jeep."

"I'm not telling you where I live."

"Don't be so dramatic." Stiles said, opening the door for Cara to climb into the passenger seat. He waved his hand in front of him and bowed to her, making Cara smile while his head was down.

"Practice what you preach." She scoffed, folding her arms over her chest once again.

"I will stand here all day, I'm not taking no for an answer here." Cara wasn't planning on relenting. She really wasn't. But, those eyes and those moles and that smile. She couldn't not say yes. So, with a fake pout, she climbed into his jeep and let him shut the door behind her. He climbed in after and started the engine, pulling out of the space and into the direction of the exit.

When a man walked in front of the jeep, holding his hand out to stop it, Cara figured that this day could not get any worse. Oh, how wrong she is.

"Oh my god," Stiles exclaimed, braking the jeep hard. It julted Cara forward and if she hadn't buckled up, her precious face would be in Stiles' precious dashboard. There were honks from the angry drivers behind them, but Stiles and Cara were looking at the man in front of them. Cara vaguely recognized him as the crack head she so rudely told off this morning. And watched as he collapsed on the ground. "You gotta be kidding me, this guy is everywhere." Cara looked at Stiles.

"You know this guy?" She asked, gesturing to the subdued crack head.

"You know this guy?" Stiles retorted. But before they could delve into that particular dream pool, Scott came running up to the jeep.

"What the hell?" Stiles jumped out of the jeep to follow Scott to the man on the ground. Cara's hand ghosted over the door handle a couple of times before she finally yanked it open to join the threesome in front of the jeep.

"I can't," Derek said. "It was a different kind of bullet."

"Wh- A silver bullet?" Stiles asked excitedly, completely ignoring the fact that Cara was standing right there. Everybody was. But she didn't mind, she liked being in the loop for once.

"No you idiot." Derek replied, shooting Cara a glance before assuming that she was, in fact, in the loop.

"Wait, wait," Scott said, also focused on the near death Derek rather than the innocent bystander listening to their gibberish. "That's what she meant when she said you have forty eight hours."

"What? Wh-Who said forty eight hours?" Derek rasped.

"Who shot you?" Scott asked back.

"Okay, what the hell are you guys talking about?" Cara yelled. "He was shot? Shouldn't he be at the hospital?" Stiles and Scott's faces bolted up to look at Cara. Her face was a mix of desperation and confusion. They were talking about a man being shot, in the middle of a school parking lot. Where was everyone's sanity? But, Derek groaning grabbed their attention back again. His eyes flashed a bright, vibrant blue before going back to normal again.

"What are you doing?" Scott demanded, looking around them to see if anyone saw. "Stop that!"

"I'm trying to tell you, I cant!" Derek growled, clenching his teeth to try and stop from doing it once more. Scott grabbed his shoulder and looked into his bloodshot eyes.

"Derek, get up." Derek's eyes flashed blue again and Cara's last shred of sanity was lost. Scott got up and moved around to grip Derek under his arms. "Help me put him in your car." He directed at Stiles. Stiles shot Cara an apologetic look and ran to help Scott. Cara stood there a moment, ready to ring Stiles' head. She felt confused, angry, betrayed. What the hell was going on? She followed behind Stiles. Oh, she was getting her ride home. Whether he wanted to give it now or not. He opened the door to push the driver seat forward so Cara could climb into the back. She plopped down, giving Derek a disturbed look. "Get him outta here." Scott told Stiles. Stiles glanced at Cara in the rear view mirror regretfully.

"I hate you for this, so much." He said between clenched teeth. He put the jeep in the proper gear and peeled off the pavement, making Cara, once again, be thankful she was wearing her seat belt. "Oh shit. Oh shit, shit, shit, shit, shit."

"Okay, what the hell is going on?" Cara asked, leaning in between the passenger and the driver seat. Stiles only clenched his jaw and gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Stiles! Answer me."

"What do you want me to say, huh? That I haven't exactly told you the whole truth?" Stiles slammed on his brakes at a stop sign, making Derek's arm hit painfully against his seat belt. But besides his groan of pain, he stayed quiet. Stiles turned around to look at Cara dead on. "You haven't been the most truthful with me either Cara."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Cara fingers ran through her hair on instinct, which only pulled pieces of her golden locks from her ponytail. But that was something she didn't have time to worry about. Stiles was in front of her, unraveling her carefully threaded life.

"I know there's something more going on with you, okay? Something that you're not telling me and Scott. So, if you want me to be honest with you, you have to be honest with me."


A/N

I am so sorry. There is really no excuse for the fact that I haven't been updated. I have had plenty of opportunities to get on my laptop and write, but I just haven't had the inspiration. But, alas, I am here. And I have brought you an update. An update, that has probably ruined your day. So sorry about it. (not really)

Breaking news, Cara and Stiles ship name shall, now and forever more, be Stara. Live it, love it, ship it. Okay, so, hashtag "#stara" on tumblr and twitter with your thoughts about the pair. My tumblr is stilesofassgard and my twitter is stilesofassgard. So check me out. I will put up sneak peeks, pictures, thoughts, ideas, and basically whatever else to do with this story on mostly my tumblr, so definitely check me out there.

SNEAK PEEK TO THE NEXT CHAPTER ON MY TUMBLR. STILESOFASSGARD. GO FIND IT. READ IT. TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS. BIG THINGS HAPPENING NEXT CHAPTER, SHOULD BE OUT THIS SATURDAY, WATCH FOR IT.

And big news, I have made a video. Yes, that's right, a video. Mostly it's just me being an idiot, but I do talk about my stories and some things I have planned for the future. So, if you would like to check that out, go to my bio, the link is there. Trust me, my idiocy is hella entertaining.

Thank you to all my readers. And a special thank you to my 30 favorites and my 49 follows. It means the world, honestly. And also thanks to my 11 reviewers. You guys are amazing.

-blahicantthinkofaname xoxo

(yup, i think that name will stick for a while)