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On Wednesday, Cora and Lydia actually talked. Like a legit conversation. Okay, so it wasn't a real conversation, but it was more than usual. It started in Advanced Bio. Their teacher left the room for a few minutes and instructed the class to not get rowdy. Big mistake. Naturally, everyone turned and talked to their neighbor or even their friends from across the room. Cora took the opportunity to begin the homework that had already been assigned for the next day when she saw a bundle of strawberry blond waves whip in front of her face. Lydia turned around to face Cora, saying nothing.

"Uh can I help you?" Cora asked the red head questionably.

"We're having a movie night at my house this Friday. I expect to see you there," she responded assertively.

"Um why?" Cora asked with an eyebrow raised. She didn't care if the Queen requested her presence at the Royal Wedding, she didn't take demands from anyone. Especially not a demand as odd as this one.

"Because, we're watching a movie from every genre. You're bound to like one of them. And maybe if we watch one you really like, your face will have an expression other than one that reads 'back-off", Lydia responded with a small smile.

Cora let out a small laugh at that. She usually did make it a point to let other know that she was not in the mood for friendly chit chat.

"What time?"

"Six-thirty. And I'm sure one of us can give you a ride to and from my place if Derek can't."

Cora let out a small sigh. "I guess I'll be there then."

"Great!" Lydia was beaming as she turned back around and their teacher entered the classroom again.


Thursday came around and Cora was excited. For P.E., Coach Finstock had decided that they would be running the trail near the school, meaning Cora could get some fresh and crisp air in her lungs. Midway through the class, she was so trapped in her own thoughts, that she didn't notice someone next to her.

"Hey!" Scott called out from beside her.

Her running slowed down just a tad, but not coming to a complete halt. She wanted to be able to respond without losing her breath.

"Hey, what's up?" she replied blandly. Running the trail was her favorite thing. She didn't like interruptions.

"You know how you said I could ask you if I needed anymore help with Algebra? My teacher gave us some practice problems and I didn't understand a few of them," Scott replied sheepishly.

Cora already knew where the conversation was going.

"You want me to meet you at the bike after school?"

"Please?" He responded eagerly.

Cora laughed lightly.

"Alright then," she said to conclude the conversation. She caught more speed and was soon beyond most of the class on the trail.


The questions that Scott didn't understand were actually some of the harder ones, which was a relief to Cora. If they were the easier ones then the definitely would have been pulling an all-nighter, and the test was the next day. She reviewed each problem he got wrong and corrected his mistakes. After he did a few that were similar to the ones he missed, Cora decided that he had mastered everything and she had taught him everything he could.

"Thanks again for all your help Cora, I really appreciate it," Scott said.

"Don't worry about it," she responded with a small smile.

"I know it isn't exactly time for dinner, but do you want something to eat? We can go grab something or I can order-in. Chinese take-out, maybe? I'd like to show my appreciation by at least feeding you," Scott suggested with a kind smile.

Cora let out a light chuckle. It had been a while since she had take-out. More like years. They didn't have many Chinese restaurants in Colombia, and when Derek didn't cook, they usually grabbed burgers.

"Chinese actually does sound pretty good," she replied.

"Chinese it is then," he stated. Scott pulled out his phone and dialed the pizza place.

Cora began reading the assigned pages in the text for her literature class the next day. They were poems by British authors again. There were just two of them and they were fairly short. By the time Scott was done speaking to the woman taking his order on the other end of the line, Cora had finished reading and analyzing one of them.

"What'cha reading?"

"Just a couple of pages for Lit tomorrow. I'm almost finished," she said. She didn't want to seem rude to be doing homework instead of actually being a good guest in his home.

"No! Take your time. I know you probably have a ton of homework to do, especially because of all your honors classes," he guessed.

"It isn't that much. I actually do most of it during class," she explained while closing her textbook.

"You do it as the teacher…teaches?" Scott speculated.

"Yeah. Most of what my teachers are going over, I've already learned. I still pay a little attention to the lesson in case there's something interesting or don't remember learning in Colombia," she corrected.

"Wow," Scott said in wonderment.

Cora changed the subject.

"Your mom still on the late shift?" She inquired.

"Yeah. I'll see her more next week. She has a couple of days off for the new rotation, and then she works while we're in school, so we'll be home around the same time."

Cora nodded. She remembered Melissa a little from when she was hospitalized during the Darach debacle. Of course, she was in and out of consciousness, but from what she could piece together, Melissa had been the main nurse to take care of her, seeing as though she was the only one aware of the supernatural.

"You dad works late too?"

"For the most part. I'm not really sure why he's still here though. My parents are divorced. He works in San Francisco but he came back to investigate a bunch of stuff in Beacon Hills.

"Oh." That was all Cora could say. She wasn't sure if that meant Scott and his father didn't communicate very much or very well, so she didn't ask any questions.

"How are things with Derek?" Scott questioned.

"Fine," she responded.

"Does he like, ya know, talk to you?" Scott pushed further with a raised eyebrow. His face dripped with inquiry.

Cora laughed. "Yeah we do talk to each other. Although we don't exactly have much in common. Six years apart can do that to people."

"Right. Got it."

His face sort of fell, as if he was expecting more from the conversation, like he wanted to know more about her life. But Cora wasn't about to divulge her entire life story to him.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, when they heard a knock at the door.

"Must be the food," Scott assumed.

He went to the door, and when he came back, Cora could smell the soy sauce-y goodness invade her nostrils. Her stomach also did an angry and unintentional growl that she hoped he hadn't heard. He did.

"Well it's good to know you're hungry," he chuckled.

He grabbed plates and glasses of water for each of them. They both dug into the pizza hungrily, not realizing how they hungry they were until the food arrived. They ate in silence for a few minutes until Scott spoke up.

"So, what do you do when you get home then? Like if all your homework is already done?"

"I read," she stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Oh."

"Well what am I supposed to do?" she asked quizzically. What was he getting at?

"I don't know. I guess it's just because I've always had something to do besides school. I play lacrosse, but the season hasn't begun yet. And during the offseason I run cross country, but that just ended two weeks ago. I guess I figured you played a sport or something."

"Why?"

He sighed. "Well you're in shape. Not like you just eat healthy. Like you have muscle. And you run really fast, so you obviously work out. I just assumed you played something that's all," he sputtered out.

He was obviously a little flustered. Had he been checking her out? It seemed like it, by the way his eyes were looking anywhere but her face now. She felt a little proud at the idea that he obviously paid more attention to her in settings beyond their tutoring sessions.

"I played soccer in Colombia. I even played in the Youth League here when I was little," she explained.

"Well you should play here when it's time for try outs. You'd probably be good."

Cora didn't respond; she just let out a small smile.

"Why did you ask me to tutor you?" Cora asked suddenly. She hadn't really thought about the question before she spoke, and now it just sounded stupid.

"Well in case you weren't here the last couple of days, I have a test tomorrow that I was going to fail if I hadn't asked you to tutor me. Then, I would have a D on my progress report and my mom would have to meet with my guidance counselor and then I would be grounded. Which would suck," Scott laughed as he bit into his low-mien.

Cora rolled her eyes.

"No, I mean, why didn't you ask Lydia to tutor you?"

Scott stopped chewing. He looked up at her as he swallowed slowly. His eyes widened a little and Cora could tell he wasn't expecting her to ask that question.

"Uh, I'm not really sure why I guess. I knew you would be a good tutor and I just kind of asked you. Lydia is fine, I just didn't ask her. Why?"

"No reason. I just know you guys are friends, and she's pretty smart. I guess I just assumed you would ask her before you ask me," Cora said.

"I actually thought it would be nice to get to know you a little better, too," Scott admitted.

Ah. He was trying to get the dirt on her. He still wasn't sure if she was trustworthy. He had just been caught.

"Basically you wanted to sniff me out?" Cora accused with her eyes pointed.

"I wasn't trying to monitor you or anything. I just wanted know a little more about you. You're Derek's sister. And you're Peter's niece. And you were supposed to be dead the last six years. Instead you were living in Colombia, which is still pretty crazy since you were 11. I mean even with aliases I don't understand how an 11 year old gets to Colombia," Scott rambled.

His face was flushed, as if he had been holding all of his inner thoughts to himself for quite some time. Although Cora knew that he had shared some of these feelings with Stiles, they were obviously wearing pretty heavy on his mind.

"You know you could have just asked me?" Cora suggested.

"No offense, but from our tutoring sessions, and brief moments of working together because of the whole Darach thing, I don't think you're the type of person who is ok with someone digging into their personal life," Scott observed.

Well, Cora couldn't deny that. She was very private, and she did like it that way. But she didn't want any tension with Beacon Hills' resident True Alpha. If he wanted to know more about her to trust her, she was going to have to bend a little. Derek was big on Cora and the whole "trust" thing with Scott's pack.

"You're right. I don't like to talk too much about my private life. But Derek would like for me to get along with you, and the pack. And I have a feeling if you don't trust me, then neither will they. So, have you ever heard the phrase quid pro quo?"

"Yeah…" he trailed off.

"Good. If you want to know more about me, then I will have to learn more about you. So, I'll start. I called a Beta named Maria from Texas. Her alpha was friends with my mother so I knew I could trust her. Maria came to Beacon Hills, and got me the passport to get to Colombia where she had contacted the alpha of a pack she trusted. I got to Colombia and the pack got a bunch of the paperwork figured out for me. Birth certificate, adoption papers, etc."

"So how did you get back to Beacon Hills?" He questioned.

"Your turn," Cora replied.

"Right. Uh, what do you want to know?"

"Whatever you want to tell me I guess," she responded. She actually didn't have any specific questions lined up for Scott. She just figured if she had to share, then so did he.

By now, both wolves had finished their noodles and orange chicken, and they were looking at each other intently. Scott was trying to figure Cora out, and Cora just wanted Scott to not think she was a serial killer.

"I like animals? I work at the vet clinic with Deaton," he said simply. Cora nodded, it was her turn now.

"Maria called my alpha. I overheard them talking about how Deaton had called Maria's emissary and started asking questions about "alpha inheritance" and "Kanima's." In one of their conversations he let it slip that a Hale was alive. The emissary told Maria. Maria told my alpha. I overheard the conversation. So, I saved up some money, got a plane ticket, and came back."

Scott nodded.

"I once tried to find a cure for the bite."

Cora's eyes widened. A cure? She could have laughed out loud. There was no such thing. The fact that Scott tried to find one was a true sign of naivety. She lightly laughed.

"I like dogs. I had one when I was little."

"I love dogs," Scott said with a wide smile.

"Well I hoped so. You work at an animal hospital," she said with her usually sarcasm, but also a smile.

"Right," Scott said as he felt his neck heat up.

The two sat in silence for a few moments. Neither of them saying anything, yet still look at each other intently. It was as if they were studying each other's faces. Scott analyzed her alabaster skin. Her deep brown eyes. The sparse, miniscule freckles that draped the bridge of her nose and the few near her eyes. Her lips were full, but not wide. Like pillows.

Cora watched Scott. His eyes were like chocolate. And his lips were so thin, she wondered how they could stretch into the wide smile she would see him give at lunch. His chin was slightly crooked, but his jaw was still chiseled on both sides. His skin wasn't tan, but it wasn't like her milky flesh. His skin reminded her of the sands of the beaches during the summer. It looked warm like the sand the tide doesn't reach, but smooth where the waves hit the sand closest to the shore. The part where the little kids stand because it feels cool when the water reaches their toes, but when the water rolls back, it makes them feel like they're being whisked away.

Now Cora's neck was starting to heat up. Her throat felt dry and her palms were sticky. She broke her reverie and took a large gulp from her glass. This seemed to shake Scott from his trance as he quickly looked away and cleared his throat.

"So I should probably get home soon. I actually have some work to do tonight," Cora suggested.

"Yeah sure! I know I probably took up a lot of your time this week," scott said sheepishly.

"No! I mean, it wasn't a big deal. I usually don't have too much work to do, but today I just didn't do that much during class."

"Right. Well if you're finished, we can head out now?"

Cora nodded. She gathered her things and helped Scott put the food away in the kitchen. While washing their dishes in the sink, Scott brushed past her, and she inhaled a whiff of that scent again. She couldn't help but take a deep breath. Scott noticed. He looked at her as she put the dishes up with a concerned expression she could see in his eyebrows.

"You okay?"

"Oh yeah, I'm fine," she tried to cover up. She didn't think she did a good job, but Scott didn't protest.

Once they were finished, they headed out to the bike, and sped off. As they approached the parking garage at the loft, Cora untangled her arms from Scott's waist and handed him the helmet she wore.

"Thanks again for everything, Cora," he said sincerely with a small smile.

"Don't mention it, Scott," she replied with a half grin. She headed up the stairs, and she heard the bike pulling out of the lot.


Sorry about the long wait guys! I hope this extra long chapter makes up for it. I'm back a school now, so that definitely takes priority. BUT, I'm still going to try and update as often as I can, probably on weekends.

You know the drill. Read and review please!