Welcome to another chapter!
I would like to thank all of you who have favorited or alerted this story. I would love to hear from you guys in the reviews :D
Also, my biggest thanks goes to my reviewers: RandomWeirdGirl, jayeshdms, DieForPie and siriuslylovehp! You guys make me write so quickly :D
Enjoy!
Chapter 12: Coincidence
Simone gasped, shooting up in her bed. Minuit jumped off of his position on her chest, meowing disgruntledly as he moved to the spot in front of the door. The witch raked one hand through her messy hair, trying to calm both her breathing and her pounding magic.
"Sorry, Midnight." She told the cat. "Insane dreamwalk." The cat let out a meow, like he understood her, before dozing off. The witch looked out through the window. The first rays of sunlight were slowly peeking over the horizon, lighting up the numerous treetops of the preserve. She pushed the covers off. She knew by now that there would be no sleep after a dreamwalk.
After a quick shower, the blonde witch managed to brush out her hair with the help of a ton of conditioner. It was that kind that you didn't wash out, but put on after a shower and it smelled softly of apricots. After that, she had the hardest part of the morning: choosing an outfit. The young witch was by no means a fashion nut, but since Eve had given her a small makeover, she hadn't been able to forget the way that she had felt in those clothes. A simple, burgundy dress had made her feel like she was untouchable. She wanted to feel that again.
The girl chose dark skinny jeans and a band T-shirt in the end, along with a grey kimono top. After tying her hair behind in a loose ponytail, the teen looked at her desk. A single necklace lay there, silver with a blue gem as a pendant. Eve had given it to her a couple of days ago, to wear with her outfit, and the witch had charmed it the next day. For luck, she'd told herself. Yet, the spell hadn't done her much good. She hadn't had any more or less luck than usual.
After tracing her finger along the necklace, Simone turned away, leaving it on the desk. She had something else that she needed to do before Eve and Dan woke up. The young witch took her Dr. Marten's into her hand, creeping into the hallway slowly. Minuit got up as well, following her in silence. The witch slowly descended the stairs, all four floors, right into the basement. The Inn was deathly silent in the morning light, everyone still asleep.
Simone unlocked her phone as soon as she got to the library, turning on the flashlight. She wouldn't risk turning the lights on. After all, she was about to disobey her Godmother.
The young witch had already familiarized herself with the Forester library, so she skipped the non-supernatural isles and ventured into the ones in the back. She easily found the section for creatures and began browsing. However, there was no 'Werewolves' title. Nothing. Simone bit her lip, going further along, into the magic section. There was nothing.
Then, she spotted a black book with a 'WW' and a full moon on its spine. Pulling it out, the witch opened it, listing through. Alfa, Beta, Omega, she read the descriptions quickly and went further into the tome. Packs. Alfa packs. True Alfa. Pack power. It was borderline fascinating, yet terrifying. If the creature that she had spotted in the woods was an Alfa werewolf, she was pretty much useless against it. At least, with her level of magic.
The girl closed the book and then began looking for the other one, The Book of Fire. It wasn't there. Simone felt magic pounding in her head, in alarm. Eve knew. That's why she was so mad last night. She knew that the teen had been studying advanced magic on her own. This had nothing to do with werewolves. Simone was just screwed.
The witch shut the book about werewolves and tucked it under her arm. She covered it with her kimono before sneaking out of the library and towards the staircase.
"Simone!" The cheery and familiar voice of their youngest guest Thomas stopped the witch in her tracks. Her heart was pounding, cold sweat making her AC/DC shirt stick uncomfortably to her back. She managed a smile.
"Hey, Thomas." The blonde replied, just as another figure appeared from the kitchen. It was Dan. "What are you up to?" The warlock was making chocking motions in the background, along with a couple of silly faces. However, Simone knew after his reaction last night, if he saw the book hidden under her left arm, he wouldn't be smiling.
Thomas was chattering something about the rare owl that he had seen last night in the woods of the preserve, but the witch couldn't hear anything that made sense. There was a dull thrum of her own magic in her ears, obscuring everything. Sound vanished completely. She could feel the drop of sweat slowly sliding down her back and into the rim of her jeans. Dan gave a wave and vanished behind the wall back into the kitchen, and the teen allowed the fake smile to slide from her face.
"I'm sorry Thomas." Simone said absent-mindedly. "I need to go… school, you know." And the teen rushed upstairs without waiting for an answer.
The whistle sounded loudly, before Coach Finstock began yelling unnecessary comments across the court. Simone brushed her hair back for the tenth time, as the breeze was messing it up. She was clutching her bag tightly on her lap, unusually aware of the fact that she had a book there. And not a school book. A book about magic.
Now that she thought the situation through, she probably had done a stupid thing, taking the tome with her. Then again, it would've been worse leaving it in her room, where both Eve and Dan ventured without much reservation. This had been the closest 'safe place' that she could think of at that moment. With her.
Of course, the presence of the book was making her beyond paranoid. Dan had taken her to school, as usual, but it hadn't been enjoyable. Simone had managed to keep a smile on her face, but it wasn't right. She had cleared her thoughts, thinking obsessively about her Chemistry assignment just so the warlock wouldn't find out about the book. When he had asked her about her nervous behavior, she had even managed to brush it off as nerves about the group work.
Unfortunately, Harley had decided to drag the two members of their Chemistry team to lacrosse practice. This had led Simone into her current position of clutching her bag in complete paranoia, as Rory relayed her dull commentary of the game, riddled with swear-words.
The teens in the stands went nuts, jumping up and cheering. Simone looked out to the field to see one of the players getting clapped on the back by his teammates.
"Did you see that?" Harley asked with a happy grin. "Did you?" She turned to Simone and Rory. "Scott is amazing! All that practice is finally paying off!"
"Well… He certainly is something." Rory commented with a frown. She hadn't gotten up from her seat, instead choosing to simply clap from that position. "He sucked pretty bad last year, didn't he?"
"He practiced all summer, Rory." Harley jabbed back, defending her friend. Simone couldn't help but feel like a third wheel. She realized that she often felt like that when the two girls were concerned, as they bickered a lot. Then, they would go back to getting along and gossiping once more. It was strange. Girls were strange.
Practice didn't drag on too long and pretty soon the girls were at Harley's once more, forsaking their assignment in favor of talking about the party. Ah, the party. It wasn't just any party. It was Lydia Martin's party.
You see, the queen bee of Beacon High was not just rich, popular and beautiful. She was also quite the party-maker. Due to the fact that her boyfriend was Jackson Whittemore, the Captain of the lacrosse team, it was only natural that the strawberry blonde would make the best parties. There was either an exclusive invitation list, one that only the members of the 'popular crowd' could decipher, or there was simply an event where everyone who wanted to would come.
The Friday night party was obviously one of the latter ones, as Rory and Harley dug into the black girl's closet, searching for the perfect outfit. "God, no!" The skater tossed a sparkly, mini dress onto the bed where Simone was sitting, looking a little lost.
"Why not?" Harley frowned, turning away from her messy closet.
"It would look like you are wearing a disco ball." Rory snorted, hopping on the bed next to the witch, throwing her head back. "I might just skip the stupid thing anyways."
"That's social suicide." Harley sassed, turning back to her closet and rummaging once more. "I am not committing social suicide just because you 'don't feel like it'." A couple of shirts landed on the bed, the teen rejecting them for being too casual. "How about this?" She showed them a purple sleeveless top with a sweetheart neckline.
"With jeans?" Rory asked, propping herself onto her elbows.
"I think a skirt would go better." Simone piped up, immediately blushing once she got the attention of the two girls. "If you have a short, dark one and some fishnet leggings or something…" The girl trailed off, looking at the ground.
"Surprisingly, you have style for an emo." Harley laughed, turning to her closet to look for the desired items. The look that Rory tossed Simone clearly told the young witch that she actually knew what emo was, unlike their rather peppy friend.
A couple of hours later, the girls decided to disperse, as Harley had gotten ready for the party. Her hair was down, washed and brushed out, perfectly styled. The wide hoop earrings that her mother had bought for her were on her ears, and a couple of bracelets were jingling on her wrist. Other than that, she had no 'bling', as she called it, and she was perfectly ready for her party. The black girl had refused to wear high heels, gifting the two, not quite interested, teens with a lengthy speech of the oppression of the female gender via shoe wear. In Simone's opinion, it was something that was straight up Rory's feministic alley, which she had confirmed by the smirk on the skater girl's face.
Regardless, the situation had brought the young witch into her current demise. She had told the girls that they could go ahead and that she would phone Dan and simply wait in front of Harley's for him. The girls left her, a little reluctantly, in the quickly darkening evening.
The teen had waited until Harley's car was out of sight before turning and beginning to walk in the opposite direction. She knew the way back to the Inn from her friend's place, as Dan had picked her up on his bike once already. It was a simple path, as it was pretty much just following the highway, so she wasn't worried about getting lost. The only problem was, that the walk would take her at least an hour, if she didn't stop to rest.
Of course, calling Dan wasn't an option. No, not because Simone was paranoid, and she still was, but because he was busy. He had told her to ring Eve when she was done, as he was going with his college buddies somewhere. But, after a single glance at the green Messages app on her phone, the teen had locked the thing and placed it into her pocket once more.
She couldn't call Eve. It wasn't that she didn't trust that her Godmother would come and pick her up. No. It had more to do with the cold air that she still couldn't shake. She knew that her Godmother was a powerful witch. After all, she was the head of one of the most powerful ancient families of witches that could be tracked all the way back to Europe, to the original paganism.
But, she had never thought that the magic would have been directed towards her. Eve had been ready to cast a spell that evening. Simone could tell. It was the hum of her magic. It was like a sensor, like a signal. And during dinner, it had gone off in her head, screaming at her to run. To fight. To do something.
As the teen finally got out of the streets of the town, which had taken her at least half an hour, a chill passed down her spine. As soon as she chose a safe spot along the highway, where the cars wouldn't hit her, she looked up. The moon was full, lighting her way home perfectly. Yet, the woods all around the road seemed menacing, as if they were watching her. Hiding something in their shadows.
Simone's eyes connected to the darkness among the trees on the other side of the road, her paranoia creeping up on her like the Ghost of Christmas Past. Her breathing became shaky and she sped up, not averting her eyes from the shadows. She knew that her fear was irrational. She was still in Beacon Hills, after all. On the other side of the highway, there were roads, houses and lights which were turned on, shining brightly. She was safe, she knew that. Yet, she couldn't shake off the feeling in the pit of her stomach. And if there was one thing that her grandmother had taught her about witches was no always trust her instincts.
With cold, shaky hands, the girl dug through her bag, looking for her headphones. She touched the book about werewolves, relieved that it was still there. It took her three shaky attempts to plug in her headphones, but as soon as the familiar vocals of Taylor Momsen began playing, she calmed down a tad. Yet, the witch couldn't help keeping her eyes on the other side of the highway, on the shadows. Waiting.
After the whole Light Me Up album had played through, the girl reached for her phone, playing some Three Days Grace this time. The drums and the guitar were loud enough to drown out any sounds that Simone had been too terrified to hear. She began thinking that calling Eve wasn't such a bad idea anymore. However, before she could do anything, something moved in her peripheral vision.
She froze and dug into her spot on the deserted highway, staring into the shadows. The teen lowered the volume of her music so that it was almost on mute, and then finally allowed it to go completely silent.
She could hear nothing.
The woods were completely quiet, not even a bird flying or a hoot of an owl to be heard. The moon was still high in the sky, bright, but slowly, the road was going dark. As nothing was moving, Simone chanced a glance at her sole light source, only to see a cloud slowly creeping over it. She cursed inside her head, her heart speeding up. Damn the disagreement, she should've called Eve. The night of the full moon was no time for a walk, the witch had known that before she had learned her ABCs.
Something cracked in the forest and the girl stuffed her phone into her pocket, tossing her messenger bag so that it was on her back, instead of swinging by her side. She extended her hands next, positioning them in a familiar stance that she had practiced in her room. True, the battle magic hadn't worked for her even once, but she was betting on her fear this time. After all, the magic inside of her was a raging storm, building up like a tornado, ready to burst out when she called for it. There was no other way. She would manage the spell somehow and think about the consequences later.
A car horn blared from her left and Simone jumped out of the way, screaming a little. Her heart was beating like it was a little caged bird, and finally, the sound of tires screeching stopped. The blue Jeep that had almost ran her over backed up, the driver bending towards her, lowering the window glass.
"Oh my God!" The familiar voice yelled. "Are you okay? I didn't see you!" As the girl breathlessly nodded, the teenager in the car recognized her. "You're the no-nickname girl. N-no, Simone!" Stiles seemed just as breathless as she was, red blotches on his cheeks. His eyes were wide and he looked rather shifty. "What are you doing out here?"
Obviously, he hadn't inherited any instincts for his father's job, Simone thought. "Walking home." Her voice cracked, her whole body still shaking from the adrenaline of her previous scare. She brushed her messy hair back, licking her shaky lips to moisten them. The woods weren't that silent anymore. She could hear an owl hooting in the distance.
"At this hour?" Stiles asked, then, he turned in his seat rather happily towards her. "Do you need a ride?" After he spoke the words, Simone could see a dilemma clear on his face. He was going somewhere, she figured. She didn't want to bother him. Heck, she barely knew him. Then again, she also didn't want to stay in the woods.
"Are you offering?" She scooted away from the edge of the highway and towards the car door, looking out to the woods behind the boy nervously. They needed to get out of there. Now.
Stiles opened his mouth, closed it, then hit the steering wheel in some form of weird agony and then broke. "You don't have a curfew or anything, right? I just need to make a tiny stop before I drop you off." He didn't let her answer before he continued babbling. "Wherever you want, of course, no problem. It doesn't matter if you're going home or to your boyfriend's or… Well, you get the idea." He seemed to want to smack himself and Simone managed a shaky smile despite her panicked state. He was as awkward with girls as she was with guys.
"Not at all. Your car, your rules."
The teen stretched over, opening the door and Simone jumped into her safety space. As she slammed the door closed, she pulled the seat belt around, glancing once more out into the woods. She couldn't see anything except darkness.
Stiles didn't wait for her to buckle up, but floored it, sending the Jeep flying down the road. It was a quick, nervous ride in silence, as the boy was rather tense and Simone was attempting to calm her magic down before it exploded. Stiles drove off the highway and back into the residential area, without even slowing down. His fingers were thrumming against the wheel nervously and he was whispering something that suspiciously sounded like 'come on, come on' over and over under his breath.
Then, the Jeep finally skidded to a stop in front of a large house and the teen flew out of the driver's side of the door, not bothering to close it, and ran to the doorbell. Simone stared, clutching her bag on her lap, as Stiles rang the bell and then pounded on the door impatiently when no-one answered. The witch finally noticed that he was actually wearing a dress shirt, along with a grey blazer. It looked borderline ridiculous with his red converse.
The door opened, a ray of light illuminating the shifty boy who began blabbing something nervously, waving his arms about. Then, the witch noticed that he became still, seeming rather shocked, before touching his head with both arms and laughing. A girl came into the doorway, a very pretty girl mind you, and talked to Stiles for a few moments. He then awkwardly said his goodbyes, even waving at someone behind the teen, before the door closed.
Stiles once more raked his hands through his short hair nervously, and then walked slowly to the Jeep. He entered it through the already open door and sat in his seat for a second, looking rather shocked and more than relieved. Then, he looked to his right, noticing Simone and seemed a bit surprised, as if he had forgotten all about her. He thrummed his fingers awkwardly on the steering wheel before speaking.
"Where to?" The teen started the car, this time driving in a much more sane and relaxed manner, so different from Dan's thrill-ride, and pulled out into the street. Simone then realized that she had no idea what the address of the Inn was and looked down, twirling a piece of her hair nervously.
"I-I don't know the address…" She stammered quietly, the boy straining his ears to hear her. He made an exasperated motion with his hands.
"Can your boyfriend text it to you? Or something?" Stiles slowed down, before stopping at the highway exit.
"I can tell you where to go." Simone looked up, pointing to the highway. "Right here, and then past the end of the town." She explained. After the Jeep moved on its way, she convinced herself to say the sentence that was on her mind. "I don't have a boyfriend."
"I didn't mean it- I wasn't asking yo- You know." He finished lamely and then after a moment of silence spoke again. "There's a rumor, just, that you came here to live with your boyfriend, the one that takes you to school every day." Before Simone could say anything, he continued to blab nervously. "I mean, it's a common rumor, not that that's bad. It's just, not a Lydia Martin rumor." Then he seemed to remember that Simone was fairly new. "You do know who Lydia Martin is, right?"
"The redhead?" The witch asked, remembering the brief encounter with the girl.
"Strawberry blonde." Stiles said. When he noticed Simone's confusion, he clarified. "Her hair is strawberry blonde." An awkward silence ensued and lasted. The witch looked out the window, suddenly much more relaxed. The tension from before had vanished and despite the awkward feel of the atmosphere in the car, she felt comfortable. Stiles made her feel comfortable.
"Right here." Simone pointed at the highway exit and Stiles turned effortlessly. He was a pretty good driver, the teen noted.
"You live at the Lighthouse Inn?" The boy exclaimed in surprise, driving along the dirt road. When Simone nodded, he grinned. "That's wicked! I've always wanted to go there. My dad told me that it was full of spooky things. You ever notice anything strange?" Simone shook her head a bit too quickly, wondering just how many failed spells fiascos had Dan and Eve had at the villa. Then, he laughed. "You do know that there is a rumor about the owner being a witch, right?"
"She's my Godmother."
"Well… That's cool." Stiles nodded a bit awkwardly. "She seems cool." It was a complete and blatant lie, but it made Simone grin.
"Despite the rumor, she is." The teen said as the blue Jeep pulled into the familiar parking lot. She unbuckled her seat belt and opened the door, sliding out onto the ground, making the numerous white stones crackle under her Dr. Marten's. "Thanks for the ride, Stiles. I owe you one."
"No, no. Nothing. I mean, it was nothing." The boy smiled as well, with an exaggerated nodding motion. Then, he tapped the wheel once more with his fingers, a nervous habit, and gestured towards the road. "I should- My dad is probably waiting for me." And after one more nod, he started the Jeep.
"See you at school!" Simone waved at the retreating car. The boy stuck his left hand out the window, doing a small salute before driving away. The teenage witch giggled, shaking her head.
She hadn't even managed to climb to the door before it opened, Eve rushing out. She grabbed Simone into a tight hug, enveloping her in the scent of coconut and vanilla. "There you are." She murmured, not letting go. "Goddess, I was so worried. Dan said that you would call, but you didn't." Still hugging her with one arm, the witch led her into the Inn, closing the door behind them. A lone hoot of an owl sounded in the darkness, as if it was cheering at the full moon above it. Silence ensued.
That's all folks!
Facts for this chapter:
- We have officially made it past episode one! From now on, the pace will be a tad faster
- Stiles picks up Simone on his way to check on Allison in Wolf Moon
- There are owls in California, the most common being a barn owl
Onto the reviews!
Jayeshdms: Thank you for another beautiful review!
Rory and Harley are very important to Simone. I didn't want to go with a cliché friendship with Allison and Lydia, so she needed another group to hand out with. Besides, she hasn't had many friends before, so those two are very special to her.
Yeah, Harley was supposed to be friends with Scott and Stiles, but she got dropped off the show from some reason. I simply couldn't resist taking the opportunity :D After all, it's a bit weird that Scott and Stiles are only friends with each other, isn't it?
Yeah, Stiles finally appeared properly :P I'm glad that I managed to properly portray him xD We will see about the nickname, though :D
Seriously? I'm glad that you ship Eve and Sheriff as well :D We will see how that will develop though… I really can't promise anything.
I hope that you're enjoying the story!
Siriuslylovehp: Thank you for the lovely review! I'm so glad that you left one. By the way, I adore your username! Sirius and HP in the same line 3 I love that man more than I should…
Anyways, thank you so much for liking my version of Stiles! I'm often in a dilemma if I'm doing the right thing with him, especially after reading so many fanfics myself xD
Stiles is completely enamored with Lydia and it's hard for him to change his feelings. Even when Malia came on the show, I had my doubts about the pairing. Besides, if one compared Simone and Lydia, the latter is definitely prettier, smarter and genuinely more 'girlfriend material'. I can't help but love Lydia, because she grows as a character so much throughout the series. So, Simone is in for it, pretty hard. After all, love hurts, right?
RandomWeirdGirl: I just realized how difficult Stiles is to write, but I think that I'm managing…
Rory is a bit of an ass, but she is, deep down, a really good person. As for Harley, she is pretty cute, but we will see how she progresses, as she really isn't my focus, sorry :(
Eve, as Disney Princess-like as she is, is a witch in the end. We still have to see the full extent of her powers, though :D I can't wait to write that! Badass!Eve is the best :) We will see what she knows about the whole werewolf business, though :D Don't forget that the motto of the Forester witches is to 'Stay neutral'.
Oh man, thank you so much for the compliment. I can't even describe how happy I was while reading it *_* I can't promise that my plot is not a cliché, but I am trying to make it fun to read :D I do listen to my reviewers a lot, though. I like to know what you want to read and then go from there :) Then again, I also do keep to my plot and OC profiles (I love making OCs)
One Piece is amazing :D It is soooo looong, but it is so amazing :D I have re-watched it quite a few times.
Oh! Fairy Tail is wonderful :) I love Natsu and the gang. They are sooo funny xD I prefer the manga, though, but I love the OST collection from the anime, as well :) I've seen most of those that you listed, as well. That's one awesome selection :)
I hope you enjoyed the chapter :D
DieForPie: Thank you once more for reviewing! I'm so glad that you liked the way I portray Stiles, as he is a really difficult character to write.
Character building, especially for OCs is very important to me as well, so I'm glad that you stuck with the story :D I really like doing research and planning out an OC, so I like to brag about all the detail work that I've done throughout my story :D
I hope you enjoyed!
