"Sadie!"
I froze at my locker, looking wildly around as Allison sped down the hallway towards me, huge smile on her face. I raised my eyebrows at her excitement. Usually I got to school earlier, so I would meet her at her locker. But apparently there was something so pressing that it couldn't wait.
"Hey, slow down there," I laughed, closing my locker and smoothing out my abstractly printed yellow and white dress. "Good morning to you too, Allison." She laughed as she barreled up to me, one hand tucking her books against her chest and the other on her hip as she caught her breath.
"Hi!" she said brightly.
"What's up?" I inquired with a giggle.
"What's up is that my Aunt Kate just got into town last night," she gushed, falling into step beside me as we headed for English. "She's like my favorite relative and she's coming to live with us for a while."
"Oh, well that's fun," I grinned, and Allison turned to look at me, still beaming.
"She's really awesome, and I want you to come over and meet her. You guys are gonna get along great, I can tell."
"Aw, so I get to meet the family?" I teased.
"Well, yeah," she replied. "I mean she's gonna want to meet my best friend." I dropped my shoulders and smiled at her, but didn't reply. I knew better than to get into the whole "aw thank you" "no thank you" argument.
"So!" I said instead. "When should I come over to meet your badass Aunt Kate?"
"Um, I was thinking like tomorrow or the day after?" she offered. "I'd have you come today, but you know, I guess she wants to get settled and um, I'm having Scott over to study so…" I immediately grabbed her shoulder.
"Excuse me," I said with a smirk. "As much as I love hearing that I'm your best friend and I'm gonna meet your family, you don't think it was a little more pressing to tell me that you have a scheduled make out session with Scott today?"
"I-It's not a make out session!" Allison defended shyly. "It's a study session!"
"Mhm," I replied, completely unconvinced and enjoying her discomfort. "Right, of course. Well, I hope you're doing well in all your classes cause the only thing you and Scott are gonna be studying is anatomy." Allison laughed incredulously, shoving me through the door of the English room. I giggled, walking back to my seat as the bell rang and Mr. Neske started handing out our tests. I tapped the corner of Scott's desk as I passed teasing, "Good luck!" in a singsong voice. Scott looked mildly confused, but Allison pushed me past him.
"Sit down!" she hissed, glaring playfully. I held up my hands in defense, smirking and taking a seat.
I didn't stop teasing Allison all day, but I kept it to a bare minimum around Scott. I didn't know if the poor puppy boy had even realized what he was agreeing to when he said he'd come over to study. Even if he did, I knew how nervous he could get around Allison, and he didn't need to be freaked out by my jokes. So mostly, I just smirked at her, or poked her occasionally, and left the puns to classes we just had by ourselves. This became especially hard during lunch, when I sat with Allison, Scott and Stiles again. Apparently, Stiles had also been informed that Scott was going over to "study" and he also had a huge smirk plastered on his face while he watched Allison and Scott talking. I had to leave the table at least three times to recollect myself because every time there was an opportunity for a joke, or when Allison and Scott blushed or giggled, we caught each other's eye and nearly broke out laughing. That was something I was determined not to do, as funny as the situation may have seemed. But I managed to make it through the day without cracking up once, and for that, I was very proud. I'd also managed to keep the secret from Lydia. Well, until the end of the day.
Allison, Lydia and I had all been walking around the hallway chatting about Lydia's fashion choices. She had complimented Allison's purple dress, and then gone on a rant about how well purple worked on brunettes, hence her purchase of the lilac blazer she had chosen for me, which I was sporting today with a white button down, dark purple beads, plum colored heels and blue jeans. Then she went on to talk about how good she looked in green because of her strawberry blonde hair, using her forest green cardigan as an example.
"God, I feel like we need to hang out more," Lydia said, laying a hand on Allison's arm. "It feels like ages since you kicked ass at bowling."
"It hasn't been that long," Allison chuckled, but Lydia was on a roll.
"Ooh! I know! Why don't you come over to our house today? You can try on some of the stuff I got for Sadie and we'll see what looks good on you!"
"She can't," I answered before Allison could supply an answer. "She has a bedroom date with her boyfriend." Allison rolled her eyes, obviously not amused.
"Scott's coming over?" Lydia prodded. "Tonight?"
"We're just studying together," Allison clarified. But Lydia scoffed, clearly on my side.
"Just studying never ends with just studying," she advised with a smirk. "It's like getting into a hot tub… Somebody eventually cops a feel." I raised my eyebrows at Allison, silently saying, "I told you so" before I turned around and began following Lydia up the stairs.
"Well, so what are you saying?" Allison asked, scurrying after us.
"I'm just saying, you know, make sure he covers up."
"Lydia!" I scolded.
"What?" she asked, looking at me innocently. "It's true. You can't trust boys to remember!" Allison looked frantically back and forth between the two of us. Lydia chuckled at her panicked look. "God, it's like you two are innocent Disney princesses! Hello, Belle and Snow White! I'm talking about a condom!" I shook my head as Allison choked out a nervous laugh.
"Are you kidding?" she asked incredulously. "After one date?"
"Two," I corrected her. She smirked.
"I thought that first one wasn't allowed to count as a date." I rolled my eyes as Lydia cut in.
"One or two doesn't matter," she scoffed. "Don't be a total prude. Give him a little taste."
"Well, I-I mean," Allison stuttered as Lydia lightly slapped her chest. "How much is a little taste?" Lydia stared at her for a moment, considering her response.
"Oh God. You really like him, don't you?"
"You have no idea," I groaned. Allison chuckled.
"Well," she started, before sighing. "He's just different. When I first moved here, I had a plan. No boyfriends till college. I just move too much, but…then I met him, and…he was different…I don't know…" Lydia raised her eyebrows as Allison retold the story I'd heard at least three times. Still, the shyness in her voice made me smile a little bit. "I don't know," she laughed. "I can't explain it."
"I can," Lydia replied simply. "It's your brain flooding with phenylethylamine."
"What?" Allison laughed, completely at a loss.
"Neuromodulator," I added, not missing a beat. "You know, dopamine, norepinephrine…" Allison continued to stare at us in amused confusion. "It's chemistry's way of saying your horny," I summarized, and without looking at each other, Lydia and I high-fived. Allison laughed loudly, her face flushing again.
"I'll tell you what to do," Lydia conceded tipping her head back and pointing at her. "When's he coming over?"
"Right after school…?" Allison answered tentatively.
"Hm," Lydia mused, before the final bell rang. "So I guess that means you don't have time to run home and slip into something more comfortable." She winked and Allison blushed as we slowly made our way to the parking lot. "So, try and hold him off for a little, tease him. Blow him off the first couple times he tries anything."
"No," I interrupted, shaking my head. "First of all, Scott's such a nervous wreck if you shut him down once he might not even try again. Second, he's still working the skittish puppy dog thing, so it's more likely you'll be making the first move." Allison nodded in understanding, and Lydia let out a frustrated scoff.
"God I hate timid boys. They're so unpredictable."
"Well that's why you have Jackson," I shot, looping my arm through Allison's. "Now stop talking bad about Scott."
"Fine," Lydia agreed, holding on to Allison's other arm. "So, you guys have already kissed, and I guess if you're still with him that must mean he's good enough. But make sure you 'study' in your bedroom so you've got the bed to make out on. I'd say don't go farther than hands under bra."
"Under shirt, over bra," I advised. "You're both still new, and you don't want to break Scott the first time round." Allison let out a breathy laugh, face slowly turning grapefruit pink. Lydia shot me a look. "What? It'd be a mood killer if he died from excitement."
"No it's a fine point," she conceded. "I'm just wondering when you got so good at this." I shrugged, smiling proudly.
"I'm inexperienced, not quite useless." Lydia giggled, pouting at me affectionately.
"Aw, you're gonna make me so proud one day!" We all laughed as we walked through the doors to the front lawn.
"So Allison, are you sure you're gonna be okay?" She nodded, pulling away from Lydia and I.
"Hopefully…"
"Just go with it," Lydia assured her. "Do what feels right, and don't do anything I wouldn't do." She winked and quickly hugged Allison goodbye.
"Good luck!" I called after I hugged her, and Lydia pulled me off to go find Jackson in the parking lot. We found him leaning against his Porsche, looking even surlier than usual.
"You okay?" Lydia asked, waltzing up to him and kissing him firmly. He wrapped his arms around her waist, but hissed in pain when she tried to reach around his neck. "Jackson?"
"What happened?" I asked, placing my backpack in the back seat.
"Some crazy asshole practically shanked me," Jackson growled, fingers brushing over the back of his neck.
"When was this?" Lydia asked in concern.
"A little after lunch," he spat. "Some out of whack older dude looking for McCall."
"Lemme see," Lydia cooed as I froze. There was only one creepy older guy I knew of who would be looking for Scott. "Ouch," Lydia hissed as she jerked the collar of Jackson's jacket down. "That doesn't look like you got shanked, that looks like he dug his fingernails into your neck. Looks painful."
"Yeah?" Jackson snapped. "How do you think I feel with you yanking my neck around?"
"There was a creepy older guy looking for Scott?" I asked finally.
"Yeah," Jackson replied, glaring at his girlfriend and pushing his seat forward so I could crawl in the back. "Probably his drug dealer. He looked wrecked, but the freak did this before I could get a straight answer from him."
"Big, gruff guy with black hair and a leather jacket?" Jackson paused.
"Yeah. You know him?" I looked frantically around the parking lot. Sure, he'd told Jackson he was just here to see Scott, but he'd hurt him too. If Derek Hale was hurting my friends on campus, I wanted to keep tabs on him.
"Uh, not really," I replied. "I've seen him lurking around once or twice."
"Probably waiting for customers," Jackson scoffed, putting the seat back and climbing into the car. "I swear to God, once I find out what McCall is on…"
"We know," Lydia interrupted, clearly bored. "You'll get as much as you can of whatever it is and then you'll show him who the boss is."
"Then I'm gonna cut him off," Jackson seethed. "And he can go back to being a loser and everything can go back to normal." This part of the conversation was nearly lost on me however, as I was too busy looking around for my supposed stalker.
Jackson pulled out of the spot and into the queue of cars, but we'd only been inching along for a few seconds before the car came to a complete stop. He waited impatiently, drumming his hands on the steering wheel and glaring at the back of the car in front of him.
"Come on," he groaned, honking the car horn. Nothing happened. Like any self-entitled teenage boy, Jackson seemed to think laying on the horn was the best solution. He apparently wasn't the only one. Everybody in the parking lot seemed to be honking at the jam. Jackson slammed the horn continuously, but just as my head was starting to ache from all of the noise, Lydia grabbed his wrist.
"Oh my God, Jackson! Stop acting like a child! Just get out of the car and see what's wrong." Her boyfriend glared at her, snatching his arm back and storming out of the car. I tried the best I could to crane my neck, trying to peer around the car in front of us to see what was causing the backup. But unfortunately, as I was confined to the backseat with no car door, I was completely clueless. I saw several other people climb out of their cars to check out the damage too, but no one around the car was saying anything distinctive enough to get a good idea of what was going on. A few minutes later, Jackson ripped the door open, climbing angrily back inside.
"Shoulda known this shit would have something to do with those losers," he grumbled, waiting for the line to start moving again.
"What did Scott do now?" Lydia asked, examining her fingernails.
"Just helping his drug dealer into Stilinski's piece of crap," Jackson fumed.
"What?" I demanded frantically, looking around for a sign of Derek or Stiles's Jeep. "Where were they taking him?" Jackson furrowed his brow staring at me in the rearview mirror.
"Um, how the hell should I know?" he asked. "Probably the bank so the loser can take out his life savings for some juice. If he starts using the same shit as McCall…"
I tuned Jackson out, not prepared to listen to the same threats for another time that day. So one minute, Derek just wanted to gain Scott's trust. The next, he was visiting him at school and getting rides from Stiles even though the boys had gotten him thrown in jail? I understood Derek's persistence, but what I didn't get was Stiles and Scott's willingness to help. They'd made it very clear that they didn't like being around Derek, so I doubted they'd just offered to give him a ride home. If Scott had been helping Derek into the Jeep, did that mean Derek was hurt? And if he was, why go to Scott for help instead of the hospital? Was Stiles taking him to the hospital? I groaned inwardly. I'd managed to push off my concerns about Derek for a while, but there was something that still didn't add up about his relationship with the boys. I doubted Derek was just some sketchy guy with an interest in Scott and I, who they wanted me to stay away from. There had to be more to it than that.
Regardless of whether or not he was hurt, Derek was obviously comfortable enough with Scott and Stiles to talk to them, which meant that they boys might have an opportunity to ask about how he knew me. I realized that if he was hurt, it was likely that asking about me would take a back seat. Scott and Stiles at least seemed like they would be the kind of people to help anyone who was hurt, unless they had a really good reason. But I figured it was worth a shot.
I pulled my phone out of my purse, and even though I knew he was driving, I decided to text Stiles first.
"Are you with Derek?"
But by the time Jackson had pulled up to our house to drop Lydia and I off, he hadn't texted me back. I bit my lip, trying again as I walked up the steps to the house.
"Let me rephrase that. I know you're with Derek. Is everything okay?"
When we got inside, Lydia dragged Jackson off to the bathroom to patch up his neck, and then assumedly retreated to her bedroom with him. I stopped in the kitchen to grab a glass of ice tea before I locked myself in my room to do my homework. Before I started my English, I decided to text Scott too. I knew that he was "studying" with Allison, but decided the issue was important enough to ask anyway.
"Why was Derek at school today?"
I paused to send Scott or Stiles a text message every time I finished my homework for a subject. I was sure they both had a pile of messages from me by the end of the night, but neither of them had bothered to text me back. I was angry, sure, but I was also worried. Scott and Stiles both seemed intent on keeping me away from Derek because they seemed to think he could be dangerous. Originally, I'd sided with the police. If they said that Derek hadn't killed anyone, then he could just be a super creepy but misunderstood guy. But now that I'd seen what he did to Jackson, my fears about him knowing who I was resurfaced. He'd climbed into a car with Stiles, who suddenly wasn't answering my texts. I didn't message him a lot, but he was usually pretty prompt with replies, and I knew he generally would have been if I were worried about the topic Derek specifically. Scott, I assumed, was too wrapped up in Allison, literally, but what reason did Stiles have to ignore my messages unless…unless he was hurt... Needless to say I found it fairly difficult to concentrate on my work. It took me much longer than usual to finish all of my assignments, well past dinner. And to add to my worries, I got a text from Allison just as I finished my biology homework.
"Oh my God that was one of the worst experiences of my life."
I fumbled with my phone in my haste to text her back. Flashes of our conversation about Scott coming over flashed in my mind, and I prayed that he hadn't screwed everything up.
"What the hell happened?! What'd Scott do?!"
I bounced my leg nervously as I waited for the reply.
"Scott didn't do anything. It was my freak family that ruined everything."
"Good boy, Scott," I sighed, half in pity and half in relief. I was glad Scott hadn't done anything I'd have to physically hurt him for, and at least awkward family interruptions were a normal part of a high school relationship. Nothing too crazy.
"I wouldn't worry too much. It'll probably take a little more than a crazy family to keep Scott away from you."
Allison replied almost instantly.
"Yeah, well I wouldn't blame him if he never wanted to talk to me again after tonight."
I rolled my eyes, putting my books back in my book bag before texting her back.
"Well what happened?"
I kept the phone in my hand while I went to grab a pair of pajamas from my dresser, so that when it went off a few seconds later, I was ready.
"Short version? Dad caught us in the garage, freaked out, and then my Aunt Kate roped him into staying for the worst family dinner of all time."
I winced from secondhand embarrassment as I read the text before sending a simple reply.
"Ouch."
Allison wasted no time in texting me back.
"Yeah. Full story tomorrow, though. Night!"
I didn't bother replying, instead deciding to chuck the phone carefully across the room onto my bed, where it landed neatly next to my pillow. I collected my clean clothes and closed my bedroom door behind me as I made my way to the bathroom for a hot shower. I spent probably twice as much time in there as I normally did, trying to keep my mind blank and away from anything Derek related. Though, as he now seemed to be involved with every one of my closest friends, that was pretty difficult.
When I finally got out my fingertips were extremely wrinkled and pruned, but I felt at least a little more refreshed and relaxed. I changed into my pajamas and dried my hair before shuffling back to my room to collapse into my bed. I tugged the hangings closed and curled up on my side, more than ready to be unconscious so I could stop thinking for a while. But only a few seconds later I was nearly blinded as my phone lit up right next to my face. I heaved myself up onto my elbow, blearily opening the new message.
"Hey I know it's late but I just wanted to let you know everything was okay. Talk to you tomorrow."
I smiled a little when I realized the message was from Stiles. He wasn't completely off the hook for not messaging me back all day, but at least he'd attempted to reassure me. Vowing to interrogate him the next morning, I put my phone to sleep and tucked it under my pillow, already much more comfortable falling asleep now that I knew everyone was safe.
However, that beautiful, calm feeling didn't last for long. I woke up a little late the next morning and had to rush to get changed into the clothes I'd set out the night before: black stockings with a black and white patterned dress, all tied together with a red belt around my waist, red heels, and a red headband with a bow. I tried to make it look like I was wearing a decent amount of makeup by putting on some red lipstick to distract from the rest of my face. Then I slipped on my trusty leather jacket and raced down the stairs into the Beatle. My outfit received Lydia's blessing and even praise, and she let me fix my makeup in the mirror on the way to school. By the time we got there, I bore no signs of waking up late.
I quickly grabbed my things from my locker before walking to the hallway where Allison's locker was. While she wasn't at school yet, my prime targets were, so I breezed past our usual meeting place and right up to Scott and Stiles at theirs.
"You both owe me some serious explanations," I growled, digging my foot and crossing my arms over my chest. Scott and Stiles glanced at each other warily, Stiles already beginning to stutter. "You first," I demanded, directing all my attention to the nervous boy. "I know you were with Derek. What the hell happened and why didn't you text me back?"
"Um, I-I uh… You see Derek was…"
"He was hurt, right?" I asked, and I watched the boys exchange another look.
"Yeah," Scott agreed. "He got into a minor car accident walking down the road nearby." I was about to ask whether or not he was okay before another thought crossed my mind.
"What was he doing walking around by the school?" I asked nervously.
"Coming to talk to me," Scott informed me. "I-I told him that I needed to talk to him, you know cause I still hadn't asked about you, and instead he got hit by a car on his way here."
"We weren't really sure what the damage was," Stiles jumped in, beginning to ramble. "And—and—and since Scott doesn't have a car, I had to take him to the hospital wh-which—which is the reason I couldn't text you back because, because you're not allowed to use your phone in the hospital and I was there for like a really long time making sure that Derek was okay, which he is now, you know, he's completely okay which is kind of awesome, b-but he was like in care for a lot of the time while I was waiting and it was pretty hectic s-so I didn't get a chance to ask him why he knows who you are…yeah…sorry…" I stared at him blankly as the boy blabbered himself into silence. I thought over the story in my head for a few seconds, before finally deciding it was decently plausible. I'd known Derek got hurt, and if he walked to the school, Stiles was probably the closest person to get a ride with to the hospital. I didn't quite buy that he hadn't seen my text messages for the entire night, but could understand that he may have been too stressed to really text back a decent reply. Having to rush your frenemy to the hospital in critical condition would realistically be a little disorienting. I decided to let him have that one. Instead, I turned to Scott.
"Okay. And what's your excuse for not messaging me back?" Scott smiled sheepishly.
"Allison," he replied simply, and I smirked.
"Fair enough. I heard that you guys had a rough night." Stiles snorted next to me, and I shoved him forcibly into the lockers with one hand. He winced, but I kept my eyes and attention on Scott. "Glad to see you're still in one piece."
"I'm lucky to be in one piece," he confided, now speaking to both me and Stiles, who I gathered hadn't heard the story yet either. "Her dad definitely hates every fiber of my being, and the rest of her family…just really scares me…" I giggled as Stiles shivered theatrically.
"I'm supposed to go over to meet her Aunt Kate tonight," I informed them. "Allison seems to think we'll get along great. Should I be worried?" Scott and Stiles shared one of their increasingly familiar, panicked looks, but any response they had was cut short by the arrival of Allison.
"Good morning, everyone," she smirked, strolling right up to her boyfriend. Stiles and I looked at each other with awkward smiles as the couple eagerly kissed beside us. Scott looked thoroughly dazed by the time Allison pulled away.
"Maybe we should meet at my locker more often," he suggested, draping an arm around Allison's waist. She giggled.
"I'm still really sorry about yesterday," Allison admitted shyly.
"Hey, don't be," Scott insisted, looked down at her earnestly. "It—It wasn't that bad and, trust me, I've been through worse."
"They're just protective," she went on, obviously trying to reassure herself more than us. I cleared my throat, bringing the conversation back to the public realm.
"Speaking of," I interjected. "Am I still coming over after school or are you quarantining your family after last night?" Allison chuckled, ducking her head in embarrassment.
"No, no, you can still come over. I brought my car today, so we can just meet up after the bell." I easily agreed, and the four of us all walked to English together to get our tests back.
Once we were away from Scott and Stiles, Allison told me all about the fiasco at her house the night before. Apparently he'd been really jumpy while they were making out, and at some point started to look through the boxes in her room. She'd taken him down to the garage to show him some of her other stuff, where they started making out again, until her dad burst in and caught them, at which point she and Scott were forced to awkwardly help bring in the groceries. Then in an attempt to be nice, her aunt had stopped Mr. Argent from just sending Scott home, insisting that he stay for dinner. Her dad had grilled Scott about everything from alcohol to drugs, and downplayed his lacrosse talent just because he was angry. Scott had to suffer through dinner and desert at Kate's insistence before he was allowed to rush home. Just when Allison thought things couldn't get any worse, Kate had stopped Scott from leaving because she thought he'd been going through her stuff. I nearly screamed when I found out it'd only been Allison looking for a condom.
"What?!" I squealed, and she blushed.
"I-I just wanted to have it just in case!"
"Oh my God, Allison," I giggled. "Why didn't you just ask Lydia for one?"
"Because I wasn't sure I wanted you guys to know!" she whined. "You guys were giving me all these specifics about what to do and how far I should go, and I wasn't sure what you'd say if…if I said that I wanted it, let alone used it." I patted her shoulder.
"Well if that's how you feel we should probably get you a box stat. No more rummaging through your aunt's stuff," I joked. "And who cares what I think or what Lydia thinks? It's your life, and if you and Scott decide to do it then, you know, just be careful. And I certainly hope you'll decide to tell me." Allison smiled gratefully at the reassurance.
I finally managed to get a decently graphic play-by-play out of her on the car ride to her house. When it came down to it, Allison had been the one to take charge, but Scott didn't seem too far behind, and she seemed more than satisfied with the results. I tried to keep the teasing to a minimum, figuring I'd maxed out my quota by repeatedly testing her patience at school the day before. So when we did get to her house, I just focused on my homework, letting Allison talk herself hoarse and tell me everything in her own time. We'd been at it for an hour or two when there was a knock on Allison's door.
"Come in!" Allison called. The door swung open to reveal a very pretty woman in her late twenties. She had gentle curling hair that was light brown, bordering on dirty blonde. Her hazel eyes were razor sharp, just as Allison's parents were, but unlike them they also had a mischievous sparkle to them, magnified by her smirking expression. The green V-neck sweater she wore brought out the green side of her eyes, on top of accentuating her figure. She strode into the room practically seeping confidence, and smiled slyly when she saw us sitting on Allison's bed.
"Well I hoped you weren't talking to yourself," she joked. Allison beamed.
"Sadie, this is my dad's sister Kate. Kate, this is Sadie Bennet."
"Nice to meet you, Miss Argent," I greeted, holding out my hand to shake.
"Oh God," she snorted, batting my hand away as if it might be diseased. "Don't make me feel so damn old. Just Kate."
"Okay, Kate," I agreed, holding up my hands in momentary surrender. "But I shook Allison's hand when I met her too. Less respect for your elders, more creature of habit." Kate smirked as I offered my hand again.
"Hm, insistent. I like it," she observed, accepting my hand firmly. "And you must be the all-star best friend Allison's been talking about all the time." I narrowed my eyes, mimicking her smirk.
"Really?" I asked skeptically. "All the time?" Allison smacked my arm as Kate threw her head back.
"No, no you're right!" she laughed. "She was definitely not talking about you last night."
"Shut up," Allison ordered playfully. "That's enough you two." Kate held up her hands in defeat, much as I had a few moments ago.
"I really am sorry about how I acted last night," she apologized sincerely. "It just didn't even occur to me that you'd look through my bags instead of asking. Are you the one who advised my favorite niece to steal a condom?" she asked, smirking at me.
"No," I replied innocently. "I specifically remember telling her 'under-shirt-over-bra,' actually. But I'm glad she decided to be prepared." I smiled sweetly, earning a shove from Allison that nearly had me tumbling off the bed.
"Oh you have got to stay for dinner," Kate chuckled, shaking her head. "Allison told me I was gonna like you, but I didn't know it was gonna be this much. Oh don't worry," she added when she saw Allison's warning look. "It's not gonna be anything like yesterday. Your parents already know Sadie's not trying to steal away your innocence, I just wanna get to know her." She winked, and I laughed while Allison covered her face with her hands. "I'll go let the 'rents know you're staying. Have fun, girls!" And without another word, she sauntered right back out into the hallway, closing the door behind her. I turned to Allison with a smile, and she grinned at me warily.
"Introducing you two is either going to be the best idea I've ever had, or the absolute worst." I laughed, shoving her shoulder once more before we returned to our homework.
Mrs. Argent popped in a little while later to inform us that dinner was ready, and we headed downstairs to the dining room. Allison and I switched the seats we had the previous visit so that she could be closer to Kate, sitting by her father's side. I could practically feel the residual embarrassment in the chair where I assumed Scott must have been sitting the night before.
Kate wound up asking me many of the same questions Mr. and Mrs. Argent had my first night over. How was I liking Beacon Hills? How was I doing in school? Did I have a lot of friends? I'd learned that she herself had lived in Beacon Hills when she was younger, and it was her actually her suggestion that had led Allison and her family to move here. She'd also asked me a couple questions about alcohol and drugs in a deep, teasing voice, assumedly to mock and generally piss off her brother. I smirked, but answered the questions anyway, using my best, overly polite voice so it sounded like I was reading prompted lines off the page. Playing along earned me bonus points with Kate, who laughed and lightly smacked Mr. Argent on the arm.
"God, you are just flying through these questions, girlie!" she complimented. "Maybe Allison should be dating you instead of Scott." She laughed heartily at her own joke while Mrs. Argent and I both released a polite chuckle. Allison and her father were both clearly fighting to look amused. "So, tell me, Sadie," Kate pushed on, leaning forward on the table. "What do you really think about Scott?" I immediately felt the tension congealing in the air, and Allison practically stopped breathing next to me. I knew that Mr. and Mrs. Argent were both listening intently, and I felt slightly nervous that I was being used as a personal reference for Scott.
"For the most part I think of him as an adorable lost puppy," I offered with a grin. Kate barked out a laugh, brandishing a finger at me.
"I know! Oh God, those eyes, right?!" All I had time to do was nod in agreement.
"For the most part?" Mr. Argent repeated, feigning disinterest. I smiled sympathetically.
"Scott's a genuinely sweet person to everyone," I reported. "He's just sort of private. From what I know, up until this year he's been a pretty shy, wallflower kind of guy. But he really practiced to get on first line, and now he's fantastic. I think he's still kind of getting used to all of the attention. But other than that, he's a really great guy with good intentions, and I know that he is crazy about Allison." Mr. Argent pursed his lips, and Allison smiled over at me in appreciation.
"Well, sounds like the kid's got the Sadie Bennet stamp of approval," Kate announced with a grin. She was clearly loving her brother's annoyance. "So what about you, Sadie? You and Allison are like supermodels. I bet you've got a line of guys waiting on you, hm?"
"Nah," I dismissed. "No one I'm interested in." Allison nearly dropped her fork in excited realization.
"Oh my God," she breathed, looking back and forth between Kate and I. "No, Sadie, you have to tell her!"
"Ooh, tell me what?" Kate gushed.
"Nothing!" I exclaimed.
"She's in denial about this guy at school," Allison informed her aunt matter-of-factly. I groaned.
"Allison! I just said he's a decent person! Can you drop it?!"
"Aw, no!" Kate whined. "Come on! I love talking about boys!"
"Well I don't," Mr. Argent interrupted. "So, so can we move onto something Dad's a little more comfortable with?" Kate's entire body moved with the force of her eye roll.
"Ugh, don't be such a stick in the mud, Chris. Your dad ever like this?" Allison patted my hand reassuringly at the slightly abrupt redirection, and my other hand caressed the dog tags.
"He never really got the chance to be," I commented calmly. "I mean, he did make the 'I'll go get my gun' joke a couple times."
"Mm, guns?" Kate inquired, perking up. "What did your dad do?"
"He was a police officer." She smirked.
"He ever take you shooting?"
"Kate," Mr. Argent said in a warning tone, but she didn't even glance at him as she waved him off.
"Yeah, once or twice," I said with a grin. Kate smiled.
"Pretty fun, huh?" I nodded, remembering how my dad had shown me how to stand, corrected my grip and taught me how to control the recoil. "You know, Allison used to be a pretty talented archer." Allison groaned in slight embarrassment, apparently not too excited to discuss what her aunt had brought up. But like Kate a minute before, I perked up.
"Oh my god, you do archery?" I asked excitedly, and she nodded timidly. "Ah, that is so awesome. I mean archery and killer gymnastics! I wish I was that cool." Everyone around the table smiled.
"You know," Kate mused, "there's still a bunch of stuff in the garage. Why don't we get something set up? Have a little training session?"
"Kate, no," Mr. Argent said immediately.
"Oh, come on, Chris," she retorted. "It's not like we're taking it to the street. Let me shuffle the cars around, set up a target, and let 'em shoot aluminum blunt tips in the garage. Just so she can try it out." Allison's father glared at her, but Kate remained completely un-phased. After a few moments, he reverted judgment to his wife.
"Do you think that might be something you're interested in, Sadie?" she asked formally. I bit my lip, trying to contain a smile.
"I mean, i-if it isn't too much trouble," I responded. "I'd love to see Allison's number one talent, and I just find archery really fascinating." Mrs. Argent smiled, but it was nothing compared to Kate's victorious smirk.
"Alright, then."
"Yes!" Kate cheered, clapping her hands. "I will go move the cars!" She excused herself and practically strutted out of the room, grabbing a pair of keys and heading to the garage. Allison and I stayed to help clean the table, bringing dishes back into the kitchen and loading the empty plates gently into the sink. By the time we entered the garage, it was void of cars, and the mechanical door was shut again. Hanging on the far wall was a very large, padded target. I could see the illuminated cage of guns that Mr. Argent had locked up for work, and on the other side of the garage Kate was rustling through some cardboard boxes.
"Okay!" she cheered when we entered. "Allison, here is your compound bow, and Sadie… Here, use this one." She handed Allison a lethal looking blue bow, with a bright green string and several stabilizing and assisting attachments, then handed me a simpler looking, more traditional black one. "Little bit bigger cause you're so tall," she explained with a wink, before pulling out a large quiver of training arrows. She waved over her shoulder, gesturing us to follow her to the wall against the house. "Okay, Allison. Show me that you still got it." Allison chuckled, gracefully pulling one of the arrows from the quiver. She paused as she notched it, turning back to look at me and biting her lip.
"Promise you won't laugh?" I grinned.
"Allison, this is like the coolest thing ever, and I'm gonna be ten thousand times worse. I swear I'm not gonna laugh." She nodded once or twice before turning back to the target. Very carefully, she positioned her body sideways and drew the bow with a refinement that proved she'd been doing this for years. She breathed deeply, remaining perfectly still for a few seconds. The suddenly she released the cord. There was a faint whizzing sound as the around flew through the air before landing in the center of the target with a dull thunk. My mouth fell open.
"Hey, hey baby girl!" Kate cheered. "Like riding a bike! Come on, sink a few more!" I watched in awe as Allison notched arrow after arrow, continuously smacking the target within the inner two rings. After she's shot about seven more, she lowered to bow. I mechanically began to applaud, still staring at the impaled target.
"Geez, Allison," I smirked. "Remind me not to get on your bad side." Allison flushed proudly.
"Eh, consistency's a little rusty," Kate commented. "But a little practice and you'll be back in that center ring and splitting arrows in no time. Proud of you, babe." She tousled her niece's hair and Allison giggled in response. She ran off to the target to retrieve the arrows while Kate pulled me over to where Allison had been shooting. She pulled one of the arrows from the quiver. "Okay, so this is what you're gonna be shooting. Basically a lightweight arrow without a head, just a dull aluminum tip. It's pretty hard to hurt someone with one of these." I bit my lip, staring at the tip warily and thinking over about twenty different situations where I was so terrible at archery that I got Allison, Kate or myself impaled. "Don't worry," she added, seeing my panicked look. "I mean you'd have to be like an insanely good, trained killer. You're not gonna hurt a fly." I nodded as she positioned herself in front of me, taking the bow. "Now you've used a gun, so you know how to keep a steady stance, but with archery you're facing perpendicular to the target instead of straight at it. Your dominant hand's on the string, and your other on the bow because you won't be moving the hand too much. You just want a good grip." She demonstrated with the bow as she talked me through it. "So, you take the arrow, notch it over this brass piece on the string and rest it on this part of the bow. With your right hand, I want you to make a two finger hook like this, see? And that's how you pull the string back. You have to be careful, cause if your skin grabs and twists the string, the arrow's not gonna stay tight to the bow. Okay? Then you extent this arm in front of you, and pull your right hand back up to your chin, same part every time. That's called your anchor point. And after that you just…take aim…and…release!" Kate's arrow whizzed through the air, landing on the outer edge of the second ring. She laughed. "As you can see, I'm not really an archery person. I'm a gun girl, but you get the point. Your turn."
I took a deep breath as both Kate and Allison sent me reassuring smiles. The older woman repositioned my posture once or twice, reminding me point by point what to do. I took a deep breath and released the string. I clenched my eyes shut, waiting a second before I peeled my eyes open to survey the damage. I had at least managed to hit the target, which I was grateful for. I was sure Mr. and Mrs. Argent wouldn't appreciate holes or dents in their walls, even if Kate might have gotten a kick out of it. Regardless, it hadn't been a very good hit. The end of the arrow was still wobbling a little in its place, sticking in the outermost ring all the way at the top.
"Hey!" Allison cheered with a smile. "Nice job!"
"Are you kidding?" I groaned, raising my eyebrows. "I'm as far away as I can get."
"Yeah, on your first try!" Kate praised. "A lot of people don't even hit first time round. Besides, you're pretty damned centered, just super high. Pull the string back again." I did as I was told, holding my stance even though the bow wasn't loaded. "You've got to keep your eye on the target. Not just look at it, but look only at the target. Now your mind is subconsciously gonna try and line up the arrow tip with your target, but with a bow like this, the tip's just below your line of sight. From where I'm standing over here you can see straight away you're pointing the bow up. So, forget the arrow. Just look at the center, and trust your arm to shoot, okay? Once you get the hang of it, it's muscle memory, you'll be able to do it every time. Try again."
And so I shot. And I shot. And I shot. I kept shooting and shooting, Kate and Allison giving me pro tips and encouragement after just about every go. The fingers of my right hand were aching and swelling, and my left forearm felt raw and bruised from string recoil. But I kept shooting until finally, I managed to shoot two consecutive arrows into the inner circle. Allison and Kate cheered, and I threw my arms up in the air in victory, placing the bow back down on the table behind me. Allison hugged me.
"Gee, remind me not to get on your bad side," she echoed making me chuckle. Kate walked up between us, throwing an arm around each of our shoulders as we looked at the hole-covered target.
"Damn, you see that progress? You're a natural, Sadie!" I beamed, admiring my handiwork. "Seriously, Allison, let's adopt her." The three of us laughed before beginning to clean up the garage so I could head home.
I decided that I liked Kate. Allison was right when she'd assumed we'd get along. We were both very teasing and snarky, though Kate oozed confidence and had a proud swagger to her walk that I was still faking. It was clear that she knew who she was and was proud of it; the sort of self-esteem I had yet to achieve in life, and likely wouldn't anytime soon. But I could see myself growing into someone like Kate over time. And for now, that seemed like a pretty good option.
A/N: Phew! Okay! Sorry this one took a little longer than usual, but the next chapter is gonna be interesting. ;) Thank you SO MUCH for all the wonderful reviews I've gotten these past few days! There are very few things that make me happier than when I get an email with a long review. So, thank you very much to ScornedxRose, xxxxninaxxxx, becca1130, KageNoUta27, realityalways-getsintheway (I've taken to calling their ship name "Sadles" now, thank you for that haha), IrisstoneHPfan, LifeToDeath, and Lojo2014o! Your comments and enthusiasm are what keeps me going. Keep it up!
Also, don't forget to check out the visuals and tidbits I've put on my tumblr if you're bored and waiting for the next chapter. All of that info is on my profile page. Thanks so much for reading!
