"Hey!" Bella greeted as she opened the door.
"Hi," Isaac smiled sheepishly.
"Thanks for coming," Bella smiled, stepping aside to let him into her dad's house.
"I'm really sorry about snapping at you the other day," he apologised.
"Oh please," she waved her hand. "Don't be sorry."
"What did you need help with?" he asked.
Bella sucked in a deep breath and gestured over to the couch and they moved to sit down.
"You remember how I told you what happened at the school last week?"
"Yeah, are you ok? Did you want to talk some more about it?"
"No," Bella shook her head. "There was one thing I left out when I told you the story," she revealed as she leaned over and grabbed the crumpled-up piece of paper from the side table and handed it to him.
"Ask about your birth parents?" he read.
"That's what was passed under the door when I was locked in the classroom."
"Derek Hale wrote you this note?"
"I don't think it was Derek though."
"Yeah, I remember you saying," he muttered. "Do you know anything about your birth parents?"
"Not a lot. I never wanted to know."
"But you want to know now?" he asked and she nodded. "Bella I don't know if this is a good idea."
"But Isaac, what if it is a clue as to what happened the other night? Whoever was at the school wanted to kill everyone but they locked me in a room. They didn't try to come in. They clearly know more about me than I do," she muttered grouchily.
"Why did you never want to know about your birth parents?" he asked.
"I'm happy with the family I have," she shrugged. "I mean I'm sure they had a reason for giving me up, but I'm happy here. I didn't want to dwell on what could have been."
"And now you want to know?"
"I was born in New York and it was a private agreement. My mom and dad always said that my adoption was open but in my control."
"What does that mean?" Isaac asked.
"Meaning that my birth parents' details aren't hidden from me. I can find out and initiate contact with my birth family if I want. But it's in my control, so if I don't want to then nothing happens."
"And now you want to?"
"Not really," Bella denied. "I want to find out who they are. See if the names somehow connect to what happened at the school the other night. I don't really want contact though."
"Are you sure about this Bella? I mean finding out who your birth parents are is a big deal."
"That's why I asked you to come over," she said quietly as she fidgeted on the couch. "I mean you don't have to help me if you don't want to. But I'd really appreciate your help."
"You want me to help you?" he asked shocked, and she nodded.
"Just to go through some boxes of documents. Try and find a name. No pressure if you don't want to. I won't blame you or be annoyed or anything."
"No, I want to help," he smiled. "Of course, I'll help you. Now, where are these boxes?"
"Your dad really keeps everything doesn't he," Isaac grunted as he lifted another box. The pair had searched through 5 boxes of her dad's documents and there were no papers related to her at all.
"Turns out my dad is a document hoarder," Bella joked. "I'm sorry about this. I'm sure you'd rather spend your Thursday night doing other things."
"I can honestly say that's not true," he smiled at her.
"Well thank you nonetheless," Bella smiled at him as they opened the next box.
"Well it looks like we hit the jackpot," Isaac said immediately.
"What?" she asked excitedly as she moved around to sit beside him. He froze as he looked over at her. "Go on," she gestured nervously to the paper in his hand.
"Your birth certificate. With the Martin's on it," he said as he handed it to her. "We must be in the right box."
"Oh my god," she placed the paper to the side and began digging through the box for more.
"This looks like it's it. Bella, I think I found it," he ripped the paper out of the box and read it. "Oh," he muttered.
"What? What?"
"I think it has your birth mother's family details on it. But…"
"But?"
"Your birth father, his details are redacted," he handed her the piece of paper and she looked over it.
Isaac was right. The section with her birth mother's details was filled in, but her father's side was blacked out.
"Emelie Albright," Bella read the name of her birth mother aloud before looking up at Isaac.
"How do you feel?"
"I don't know," Bella shook her head as she laid the paper to the side. "Is there anything else in the box?" she asked quietly.
Isaac continued to rummage through the box. "Everything has your father's name redacted."
"I don't understand. Why would his name be covered?"
"Maybe he didn't agree to the open part?" Isaac suggested.
"But that doesn't make sense," Bella queried. "Look, it's redacted with a marker. Surely if he didn't want to be known to me it would be covered when it was printed… it's almost like it's been covered at a later time."
"Bella?" her dad's voice called up the stairs. "You up there?"
"Yeah! Coming!" she yelled frantically. "Quick help me tidy," she whispered to Isaac.
"You don't want to tell your dad what you're doing?" he asked as he began piling up the boxes.
"Not yet," she shook her head. "I don't want to freak him out about what happened at the school. Come on," she gestured, grabbing the box with her birth records in it and raced it out of her dad's office and dumped it in her bedroom. She then ran back and grabbed Isaac's hand and dragged him downstairs with her.
"There you are," her dad greeted before his eyes widened as he looked down at his daughter's hand that was connected with Isaac's.
Bella quickly withdrew her hand. "You're home early," she noted.
"Yeah. You two were upstairs?" he asked suspiciously.
"Studying," she responded quickly.
"Where are your books?" her dad asked Isaac.
"Uhhh…" Isaac hesitated.
"I'm going to walk Isaac out," Bella grabbed his arm, pulling him away from her dad.
"You do that," her dad smiled.
"I'm so sorry," Bella apologised as she and Isaac reached the front door.
"Don't be sorry, I get it," he smiled. "Do you want any more help with any of this stuff? With your parents?"
"I don't know, maybe I'll just leave it for now," she sighed. "But if I do, you bet I'll be calling you," she smiled.
"Do you… you don't have any plans next week do you?" Isaac asked nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck.
"Next week?" she smiled.
"Yeah. I mean you probably have plans next Friday, I'm sure someone's already asked you."
"I don't have a date if that's what you're asking. To the winter formal, I don't have a date."
"Would you want to go with me by any chance?" he asked.
"I would," Bella smiled and Isaac's eyes widened in shock.
"Bella," her dad called out.
"Yep, yep coming," she yelled back. "I'll see you tomorrow Isaac."
"See you tomorrow," he smiled as he walked down the path of her front yard.
"Oh please," Bella scoffed as she, Lydia and Allison got on the escalators at Macy's. "Something's wrong."
"Nothing's wrong," Allison denied. "I just have a lot on my mind."
"You could smile at least," Lydia suggested. "Ever heard of the saying, 'never frown, someone could be falling in love with your smile.' Smile, Allison."
"You've been cagey all week," Bella pointed out. "You know you can talk to us right?"
"I know," Allison smiled. "It's just family stuff."
"Tell me about it," Bella agreed and Lydia turned to her.
"What do you mean?" Lydia asked.
"I…" Bella stuttered. She hadn't told her sister she wanted to look into her birth family. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you Lyds. Isaac came over to dad's the other day…"
"I still can't believe you're going to the dance with him," Lydia rolled her eyes.
"I like him," Bella defended. "But he came over and helped me look through boxes. Looking for my adoption records."
"Oh my god, are you ok?" Allison asked.
Bella nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I found out details about my mother, but not my father."
"You didn't tell me," Lydia muttered quietly as they stepped off the escalator.
"I'm sorry, I just didn't know how I felt about it."
"Don't apologise," Lydia shook her head. "It's your right, I just wish you felt comfortable talking to me about it."
"I'll come to you next time?"
"Deal," Lydia nodded as she quickly hugged Bella.
"Ok I really hate to ruin this moment but I may have made a mistake," Allison interrupted.
"What do you mean?" Bella asked.
"Well, you had no date. And you didn't tell me you were going with Isaac," Allison stuttered as she nervously tucked some hair behind her ear. "So I may have organised a date for you."
"You did what!"
"I'm so sorry!"
"Urgh," Lydia groaned. "You say you actually like Isaac, fine, I'll cancel my date and go with the guy Allison organised for you. Who is it?" she asked.
"Him," Allison turned to gesture to Stiles who was waiting for them at the perfume stand.
"Oh," Lydia's smile fell.
"Don't frown, Lydia," Allison teased. "Someone could be falling in love with your smile."
Bella was looking through the racks of dresses when an arm came around her side and pulled out a dress.
"If I could intrude," a man spoke and she turned her head to look at him. "I'd recommend this. School dance right?" he asked.
"Yeah, school dance," she nodded and she looked at the dress he pulled out. "You've got good taste," she noted. "Thanks," she took it from him and turned away.
"Do you have a date?" he asked and she froze and slowly turned back around to look at him. That was an uncomfortable question for a stranger to be asking her.
"Yeah, I do."
"Boyfriend?"
"No."
"But you'd like him to be."
"I'm not sure…" Bella trailed off. "Do I know you?"
The man merely smirked at her. "In a way. You remind me of someone I used to know."
"Right. Well, I'm going to get back to my sister. She's probably waiting for me," Bella jerked her thumb behind her, desperate to exit the conversation.
"Bella!" Stiles yelled as he ran up to her, grabbing her arm and looking her over. "Are you ok?"
"I'm fine," she scrunched her eyebrows. "Are you?" she whispered.
Stiles didn't answer, he just turned to look at the man who'd been talking to her.
"Ok," Bella hummed. "Well thanks for your help with the dress," she awkwardly waved the dress in the air.
"Of course, of course," he nodded. "I wouldn't want to keep you. Enjoy your dance."
"Thanks," Bella muttered, allowing Stiles to grab her arm and lead her away.
"What did he say to you?"
"Nothing," she pulled her arm away.
"Bella, I'm serious."
"He just gave me a dress recommendation and then said I reminded him of someone. As I said, it was nothing."
"Bella," Stiles grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "Did he say anything else?"
"No," she hissed, looking around in embarrassment. "Stiles, let me go." He immediately released his hold on her and she turned around only to meet the eyes of the man from before. He was watching her. The stare felt familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.
"Are you sure he's coming?" Lydia asked as Bella twiddled her thumbs in the backseat of Stiles' jeep. They'd just pulled up to the winter formal.
"I mean he was meant to pick me up but I guess he was just running late," Bella said as she checked her phone again. "And he hasn't called me back."
"There is no way Isaac Lahey is standing you up," Lydia scowled.
"He wouldn't do that," Bella denied. "I'm kind of worried. Maybe I should go past his place and check on him?"
"Bella," Lydia lectured, turning around. "You are Bella freaking Martin. You're going to walk into that dance and you are going to have a good time. Understood?"
"Understood," Bella laughed as Stiles opened up Lydia's door, allowing her to jump out. He then slid the front seat forward and held his hand out for Bella to take. "Thank you," Bella smiled as she grasped his hand, allowing him to assist her out of the jeep.
"You're welcome," he smiled down at her.
"I guess I'm going in stag until Isaac shows up," Bella muttered nervously as she checked her phone again.
"You can come in with us?" Stiles offered.
"No that's ok. You guys came together. I'm just going to try calling him again. I'll meet you inside," Bella mumbled as she walked away from them.
"He's still not here," Bella moaned as she sat down next to Lydia. "I'm worried. I think I want to leave and go check on him."
"Bella, no. Don't do it."
"He hasn't even sent me a text Lydia. He always replies."
"Look, he probably got intimidated and backed out like a coward. I wouldn't be surprised."
"Lydia I'm being serious. I'm actually worried."
"I'm sure he's ok," Stiles tried to calm her down as he leant across the table. "I mean we all saw him at school today."
"Yeah and at school he was talking about the dance tonight," Bella argued. "I don't understand why he'd bail, it makes no sense."
"Look, if you want, on my way to drop you two home we can swing by his place?" Stiles suggested. "That way you can check on him. But until then I really think you should enjoy tonight."
Bella bit her lip and looked around before nodding. She did love school dances. "Mind if I steal your date for a dance?" she asked Lydia.
"Go for it. I'm not in the mood," Lydia grumbled.
"Wait, really?" Stiles asked in shock.
"Yeah, do you mind?" Bella smiled softly.
"No, no, not at all," he nodded excitedly, standing up from his seat so quickly he almost tripped, making her giggle.
"Come on," she took his hand and lead him to the dance floor.
"Can I ask you something?" he asked as they started dancing.
"What's up?"
"You and Lydia. Why do you two not let people know how smart you are? I notice. I think I might be one of the only ones who notice," he admitted.
Bella swallowed as she nodded. "Lydia is a lot smarter than me. She's so naturally gifted and I always wanted to be as smart as her," she smiled. "I'm smart but I'm no Lydia," she laughed. "I don't have an answer for you though. At least not one you'd like. I don't know why we do it. I just think it's easier when people have low expectations of you, you know. Everyone looks at us and expects to see airheads, so they're always impressed. I like the feeling of defying expectations."
"There's nothing wrong with being smart Bella."
"I know there's nothing wrong with it. But this way no one expects anything of me. It's hard to explain," she sighed as she looked around and noticed Lydia was gone. "Did you see where she went?" Bella gestured with her head to the empty seat.
Stiles and Bella stopped dancing as they both scanned around the gym. They couldn't see Lydia anywhere.
"Jackson's gone as well," Stiles pointed out.
"Oh crap," Bella sighed. "She's probably gone off to find him. We need to find her first. I don't trust him around her lately. Could you help me look?"
"Yeah, yeah of course," Stiles nodded.
"Can you check outside? I'll check in some of the classrooms."
"Sounds good," Stiles nodded.
"Text me if you find her."
"Lydia?" Bella called out as she opened another classroom. "Hello. Where are you, you psycho strawberry blonde," Bella muttered under her breath.
"Why hello again," a man said and she spun around to see him leaning against a locker.
"You…" Bella breathed in alarm.
"Me," he smiled as he stood up and walked towards her. It was the same man who spoke to her in Macy's a few days prior.
She stood her ground, not wanting to seem afraid.
"Did you do what I asked?"
"What you asked?"
"Ask about your birth parents," he whispered in her ear and she straightened up.
"Oh my god," she let out a sob. He'd been the one to shove the note under the door, he was the one at the school that night. "It was you. You're the one that tried to kill us."
"Believe me, my dear, I had no intention of killing you. You could not even begin to comprehend the power you have. Did you do your research?"
"I got the name of my birth mother."
"And she was?"
"Emelie Albright."
"Just as I thought," he smiled. "And your father?"
"I don't know. It was redacted," she let a tear slip down her cheek.
The man's eyes darkened. "Of course it is. I'd love to stay and chat further, but tonight's the night. And I can't risk you saying something to the wrong person and it interfering with my plans."
"What?" Bella asked. She had no idea what he was talking about.
"Please know. I do not want to do this. We'll speak again, one way or the other," he smiled down at her before grabbing the side of her head and smashing it into the lockers.
