"Ro - got a sec?"
"What is it, Stiles?" Rowan inquired, running a hand through her hair, and exhaling as she realized that in spite of her best efforts to try a new style for the party she was getting ready for, the reflection she saw in the mirror was as good as it was going to get, "I'm kind of in the middle of something, here-"
"I know. I know. But this is - well, it's kinda important."
"What is it?"
"Remember that joke I made in the woods? About Scott being a werewolf?"
"Vividly."
"What if it's not a joke anymore?" Stiles began, aware of his sister's almost immediate skeptical look, and holding out a hand to stop her from interrupting before he could finish, "What if - what if it's true?"
"Stiles, that's absolutely ridiculous."
"Not really. You heard him say he could hear and smell things he shouldn't be able to hear and smell."
"Yeah. And I think you read a little too much into all of those movies we watched together over the summer," Rowan quipped, momentarily abandoning her search for a suitable tube of lip gloss in favor of looking Stiles in the eye, her partially amused expression faltering as soon as she took note of the absolute seriousness in his answering gaze, "My God, you actually think this is real, don't you?"
"I'm starting to."
"Stiles-"
"No, Rowan, just - just listen for a second," Stiles pleaded, glancing down to a few of the papers he held in his hands, shuffling through them before locating the one he wanted and practically shoving it in her face, "It says it all right here."
"What is this, a scholarly article?"
"No. But it - it's from a legit source that seems to know a heck of a lot about lycanthropy."
"You mean from a source that talks about something that doesn't exist."
"Can you - Ro, would you just read it? Please?"
"Okay. Okay, I'll read it," Rowan relented, grabbing the paper before Stiles could rattle it in front of her face again, and turning to head over towards her bed so that she could perch on the edge of the mattress, knowing somehow that Stiles would move to do the same, not trusting her to do as she had promised unless he did, "It might go a lot quicker without you breathing down my neck, you know."
"I'll hold my breath."
Stifling a laugh even in spite of her lingering exasperation, Rowan scooted a bit farther back on the mattress so that she could cross her legs beneath her, her eyes skimming over the article that had clearly just been printed, judging by the warmth remaining in the paper. Even from a cursory glance, she could tell the author appeared just as convinced of the reality of werewolves as Stiles appeared to be, her teeth biting into her lower lip as she struggled to restrain a sigh.
Even she had to admit the article was worded in order to be remarkably convincing…
Which of course meant that she would have an even harder time talking Stiles out of this most recent obsession than she may have, otherwise.
"Well?"
"It's-"
"It's what? And if you say it's insane, Rowan, I swear to God-"
"It's an interesting read," Rowan supplied, once again biting back a smile at the sudden consternation on Stiles' face, and lifting a brow as soon as she realized he was shoving the rest of the papers he had printed into her lap, "Stiles, come on, I have to finish getting ready for the party."
"That's just it," Stiles sighed, running his hand over his close-cropped hair, his anxiousness apparent in every last facet of his expression, "I'm thinking you kinda want to read these before you go to the party."
"And why is that?"
"Because tonight's the full moon."
"And you think Scott is going to-"
"Turn into a werewolf. Yeah."
"Okay. Let's just say, for argument's sake, that you're right," Rowan mused, glancing down at the papers Stiles had shoved her way, and wetting her lips with the tip of her tongue before going on, "Let's say Scott goes full werewolf at this party. That still doesn't answer one question that seems kind of important."
"What question is that?"
"How the hell are we supposed to do anything about it?"
"That's - that's kind of the part that I hadn't figured out, yet," Stiles confessed, frowning as soon as he saw Rowan's answering roll of the eyes, and reaching out to snag her arm before she could uncross her legs and move to stand, "Look, I tried to talk to Scott about this. It - it didn't really go as planned."
"Meaning he probably thought you were crazy, and left to get ready, himself."
"Yeah. Yeah, that's about it."
"Well I'm sure he'll get over being angry with you as soon as he gets some time with Allison tonight," Rowan shrugged, knowing with just a single glance that her words had done nothing to alleviate her brother's nerves, and yet persisting in the act of straightening the papers in her hands and giving them back to him, regardless, "And after he makes it through the party unscathed, we can give up on this little game entirely."
"You know, saying we implies you actually believe me, Ro," Stiles said, grinning a bit as he watched Rowan's eyes narrow almost predictably, though he did manage to duck out of the way before she was able to chuck one of her stuffed animals at his head, "I'm just saying-"
"Yeah, well, you can just say things somewhere else. Unless you want to stay here while I strip down and find something else to wear tonight."
"Nope. Nope, point taken. I'm out."
"That's what I thought," Rowan smirked, making a show of an extravagant gesture with her hand to usher her brother out the door, and pausing in the act of closing it completely in favor of going on, "Go get ready. I promised Cass we'd pick her up in half an hour."
"I thought she had her own car."
"She borrows her mother's. But Elena has a late shift at the hospital tonight so she's gonna need a ride."
"Gotcha," Stiles remarked, glancing down at the papers he had been so sure would succeed in convincing Rowan to see what he saw with a small frown, only to find himself flinching as she laughed and closed the door on him before he could say another word.
"Go, Stiles. Or I'll steal your keys and take Cass to the party myself."
With the door as a firm barrier between them, Stiles was left with no choice but to retreat to his own room, depositing the papers on top of his desk, his need to get Rowan to see the reality of their situation at odds with an almost fervent hope that he was exactly as crazy for thinking what he was thinking as both she and Scott seemed to believe.
…
"So - you must be Allison," Rowan commented, handing one of the cups in her hand to the brunette that had so quickly caught Scott's eye, and grinning as soon as she saw the startled look that flashed across her newfound companion's expression in response, "I'm Stiles' sister, Rowan."
"Oh. One of the partners in crime."
"Scott told you about that?"
"He did. It seems you and Stiles are kind of a big deal where he's concerned," Allison informed, taking note of the slight lift to one of Rowan's brows and hurrying to explain before she could question anything, "I kind of got the low-down on your friendship over the years."
"Wow. And you're not old and grey yet. I'm impressed."
"It did take the better part of an afternoon via text."
"I'm not surprised," Rowan confessed, taking a sip of the beverage that had been labeled as 'punch' in her own glass, and wincing as soon as whatever form of alcohol it contained burned its way down her throat, "Woah. Do yourself a favor and drink this slowly if you don't want to be buzzed all night."
"Noted."
"Who's going to be buzzed all night?"
"Us, if we throw these back as quickly as everyone else seems to be," Allison supplied, glancing towards the cup held in the newcomer's hand, and lifting a brow as the other girl lifted it to her lips in seconds, flat, "Which is fine, if you're into that sort of thing."
"It just so happens that I am. I'm Cass."
"Allison."
"And it looks like you've already met Rowan," Cass surmised, throwing her best friend a smile before going on, "Never took you as one to get the new girl wasted before, Ro."
"That is definitely not what I'm doing."
"It's true. She was actually kind of trying to save me. I think," Allison agreed, sending Rowan a nod of appreciation, and finding herself more than a little pleased that she received a smile, albeit a slightly startled one, in return, "Thanks for that, by the way."
"Any time."
"You're here with Scott, right?" Cass went on, aware of Allison's nod of confirmation, and glancing around the crowd that surrounded them not long after, "Where is he?"
"Probably somewhere with Stiles," Rowan assumed, knowing the comment would likely have Cass looking for any sign of Scott even more fervently now, and sending her friend a knowing look in response, "I'm sure they'll turn up eventually."
"More like we'll turn up right now. Or one of us will, anyway," Scott stated, the expression on his face as he seemed to become all but transfixed on Allison prompting Rowan to bite down on the inside of her cheek and loop an arm through Cassidy's to begin towing her away.
"Right, well, we'll take that as our cue to leave, then."
"No! No, Rowan, you don't have to-"
"It's okay, Scott. Have fun with Allison. Maybe she'll even convince you to dance," Rowan teased, offering Scott an innocent grin before turning to drag Cass off in the direction of the patio instead, only pausing for long enough to risk another sip of her drink along the way. A part of her knew it was hardly wise, given what she had just warned Allison about mere moments before. But the more Rowan thought about it - about the persistent sense of unease that had plagued her the whole week - the red eyes at the edge of the lacrosse field - Stiles' apparent obsession with werewolves - the more she thought that maybe a little buzz wouldn't be so bad after all.
Especially when she saw Cass freezing in mid step not long after they reached the patio, her expression falling as she watched Stiles, who was obviously very busy not watching her…
He was otherwise occupied standing stock still as Jackson Whittemore pinned Lydia against a wall to kiss her senseless.
"Come on, Cass. Let's dance."
"Rowan-"
"Come on. That's what we came here for, right? To have a good time?" Rowan persisted, dragging Cassidy past Stiles, and into the center of the throng of fellow students who were already occupied dancing as if their lives depended on it, "Don't leave me hanging, here-"
For a moment, Rowan almost believed Cassidy would refuse, her expression nothing short of hesitant as she eyed her friend, her own glass temporarily forgotten in one hand. But as soon as Cass had made her decision, she was offering Rowan a brilliant smile, throwing back what was left in her glass in a few quick gulps before beginning to dance in earnest…
They were there to have a good time.
That was all that mattered.
…
Some time later, Rowan found herself leaning against the brick at the side of the patio, her head tilted back as she stared at the full moon with a quizzical eye. After her third drink, she had almost found herself drawn to it, despite having no feasible explanation as to why she felt such a thing to begin with. And so, there she was, at the very edge of the party, shifting idly against the brick wall, transfixed by the full moon and all that Stiles seemed so determined that it might mean.
It was pretty enough to look at, sure. But beyond that, Rowan really didn't see what the big deal was.
Laughing softly to herself, Rowan glanced back towards where the majority of the party was still in full-swing, pleased to see that Cass was now dancing with Danny, and for the moment at least, completely oblivious to Stiles and his apparent penchant for missing the signs completely. For a member of the lacrosse team, and Jackson's best friend, Danny was a surprisingly decent guy, and Rowan allowed herself to rest easy knowing that, for the moment at least, Cass was in very good hands.
Hands that would never do anything untoward, considering Danny played for another team, entirely.
Reassured, Rowan pushed off of the brick wall she had been leaning against and began to meander towards the far edge of the yard, allowing herself to become almost fully absorbed in the dull thud of the bass coming from speakers interspersed throughout the yard in the process. For a moment, she was not even fully aware of where exactly she was heading, moving as though pulled toward a certain location by instinct alone.
Perhaps that was why she was suddenly stunned as she was forced to latch onto a nearby shrub to keep herself upright, her head shaking for a moment as she glanced at her surroundings and realized with a jolt that she had obviously stepped through an artfully sculpted path lined by plants, and ended up in a portion of the yard that was relatively shielded from the party as a result.
With a frustrated sigh, Rowan turned to attempt heading back towards the rest of her classmates, some small tingle of apprehension making itself known even in spite of the buzz the alcohol had created in her mind. But as soon as she had taken the first step, she found herself freezing in response to the sudden sound of a low growl, her body going cold as she swallowed thickly and turned back toward the direction in which she had originally been heading, whether she wanted to or not.
Rowan knew what she would see even before she turned all the way around, a scream dying in her throat as she found herself face to face with a pair of glowing red eyes…
The same eyes she now knew for a fact she had seen outside the lacrosse field just the other day.
Eyes that were coming closer, causing her heart to ricochet against her ribs as she took a single, tremulous step back.
"No. No, no, no, no…"
Knowing that she would risk leading whatever this - thing - was back to her classmates - her friends - if she ran back to the party now, Rowan turned to head in the opposite direction instead, heading farther into the maze of landscaping as quickly as she could, given the effects of the alcohol that kept her steps uncoordinated at best, and stumbling at the worst. She could still hear the growls behind her, indicating that whatever it was was still following. But the farther she stumbled, the more Rowan realized something - something that had her brow furrowing as she continued to move in spite of the burning in her lungs.
If it was an animal of any significant size and speed as she suspected it was, it should have caught her by now, but it hadn't.
It was toying with her. Maybe even trying to corral her where it wanted before making the final, killing strike. But before she could make heads or tails out of what to do about that particular realization, Rowan was rounding another corner in the sculpted shrubs, the breath knocking out of her lungs in a whoosh as she collided with something hard.
Something that still managed to keep her standing by a firm grip on either of her arms, instinct prompting her to struggle against the hold regardless of how futile the effort truly was.
"No! No, let me go, we have to go!" She exclaimed, once again attempting to yank herself free, and finally directing a glare up at the one restraining her, until she realized exactly who it was that had stopped her fall in the first place.
Derek Hale…
"Let. Me. Go," Rowan repeated, the lingering sound of a distant growl giving her a surprising rush of adrenaline, and allowing her to slam her knee up against her would be captor's groin, the grunt he gave in response as his hold on her arms loosened proving to be just enough for her to wriggle free, and giving her all the courage she needed to attempt bolting around him once again. She almost made it, pushing down the small part of her that regretted leaving him behind to face whatever it was that had been chasing her on his own. But just as she thought she had cleared him, Rowan felt a renewed grip latching onto her forearm, the instinctive pull she made to break free causing her to fall, off-balance, until the back of her head knocked against the ground and she knew no more…
…
Hey there, dolls! And welcome, once again, to a brand new chapter in Rowan's tale! I honestly hadn't intended to have her getting another run-in with Derek so quickly, but apparently the muses had other ideas. So hopefully none of you mind the little detour all that much. As I always say, I am having far too much fun to stop now!
Once again, I offer my heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you that has taken the time to read, follow, favorite and review this story so far! Special thanks to last chapter's reviewer, mercury30, for leaving such kind words the last time around! I truly do appreciate the support and I cannot wait to hear what everyone thinks of this latest installment!
Until next time, lovelies…
MOMM