Later that night, after several drinks and what felt like hours of dancing, I finally insisted I was okay enough to drive home. Adam had walked me back to my car. He'd pressed me against the car, kissing me until we were both panting. I dreamt that night of him kissing me again, but every time I pulled back I saw Stiles grinning down at me instead of Adam. When I woke up, I entertained the thought of Stiles in bed for a few minutes before shaking the thought and getting ready to face my day.

"Morning, sleepyhead." I joked as my brother trudged out of his room when the coffeemaker went off.

"Christ, I need my weekend." Was all he said, collapsing on the couch with his cup of coffee. I sat on the chair next to him as he turned the tv on, switching it to a show we were watching together.

We made small talk for a little over an hour, him updating me on his new relationship with a girl named Karen, and me telling him about Adam. He high fived me when I told him we'd kissed last night, but threatened to take my keys away when I told him I'd been drinking and driving.

My brother and I were close. Like, uncomfortably close for a brother and sister. He always alerted me when he planned on bringing girls home. He listened to me talk about my boy drama, and understood that I, as a teenager with hormones, was engaging in sexual activity. But as long as I was careful, he would never judge me for my choices. I loved Finn. Sometimes it felt like he had been there for me more than my parents ever had.

We never really talked about our parents, as it was still a sore subject. There was nothing like the knowledge that your father was out somewhere, living his life, not caring that he'd abandoned two kids who had needed him more than ever. I knew that sometimes my brother cheated on girlfriends, and on occasion he'd drink himself into a stupor, but he was always back to normal within the next few days. Finn was strong for a 23 year old, but sometimes I wondered just how much of a toll raising me was. If my father had stuck around, would we still spend our Saturday mornings being lazy on the couch? Would Finn and I even be talking?

"So how is Erica?" He asked, refilling our cups with coffee.

"Uh, she's great. I guess." I answered, turning my attention to my nails.

"You guess?" He prodded, sitting back on the couch.

"I don't know. She's being weird. Like. . . Like she's been taking something that's been making her super pretty and confident all of a sudden." I didn't want to tell him that she'd made an offer to me for whatever she was taking.

"Shouldn't you be happy for her?" Finn set his coffee on the table, reclining in the seat.

"I should. . ." I trailed off. "But she just keeps leaving me behind, you know?" I struggled to get out without revealing too much. "Like she never even called me after her seizure, and then showed up Friday and ignored every question I asked. But then last night at the fire, she just apologized and said she'd make it up to me. And now she wants to come over tonight for our movie marathon, but it just doesn't feel right, you know?" I burst like a dam, not having intended to go into such detail. Regardless, I turned onto my stomach so I could look at him while he gave me his wise-brotherly advice.

"Do you think you might just be jealous?" He asked with a joking smile. I was a Gallagher, we don't get jealous. I threw my pillow at him in mock anger, and he laughed as he swatted it aside. "Seriously though. Maybe you're just not used to the shift of attention and the weirdness you feel is a new dynamic you're not used to. Give it a few days, you two will be joined at the hip again." I nodded in appreciation of his perspective. Maybe he was right. Maybe underneath her cockiness was still the same Erica.

We spent the rest of the morning being lazy around the house, until I had to go to work. I worked at the local pizza place, usually just as a cashier, although occasionally I picked up a waitressing shift. Especially on my free Friday and Saturday nights when I knew there'd be plenty of good tips.

The job was pretty easy, and many of the other workers often tried to call out, giving me plenty of chances to take up extra shifts when I needed it.

I had once offered to get Erica a job here, but she'd insisted she didn't want one, and instead the position had gone to my teammate Jessica. She had long brown hair that was always stick straight, and she was a lot taller than me. However, she was nice and we always had a good time when we worked together.

"There she is!" Jessica called out as I walked in, already rolling silverware. "How's your eye?" She asked, squinting to see under my glasses. Normally, I wore my contacts everywhere, but there were just days like today where I didn't want to wear them.

I had honestly forgotten about even being punched. The skin that had felt so tender last night was back to normal, and my skin didn't even have a bruise. I shrugged it off as I sat beside her, picking up a fork and knife to roll into a soft napkin with her.

"I feel great actually." I told her with a smile.

She nudged my shoulder, a suggestive grin on her face. "So you took Adam home, right?"

"No!" I replied defensively. "Although I definitely thought about it."

Jessica squealed and knocked into me excitedly. "So are you guys like, going steady?" She asked, her eyes carefully watching the blush rising on my face.

"This is not the 1950's!" I told her. "I am not limiting myself to one boy that is probably seeing three other girls on the side." I told her as the bell rang, indicating someone had walked in.

"Is there anyone else, then?" She asked, keeping her eyes on me while she gathered menus to take to the customers.

"I don't know. Maybe." I finally said, making her groan in frustration at my lack of information. A smile spread across my face unconsciously as I thought of Stiles goofy grin from Thursday.

"Oh, hey Stiles! Sheriff Stilinski, welcome!" Jessica called out. I had turned around at Stiles' name, not quite believing that he'd managed to walk in just when I'd been thinking of him.

And yet, there he was, following Jessica to a table with his back to me. I sat forward again, indecisive about how to react. I mean, did I want to be casual and notice him later, or did I want to get up now to go greet them? Would I look like a jerk if I pretended I hadn't heard his name being called out?

When I heard Jessica making their drinks, I made my move, offering to take the table from her.

"Why do you want it so bad?" She asked, her eyes narrowing in curiosity. "Does Stilinski tip good?"

I rolled my eyes at her, wavering between wanting to tell her or not. "Remember when I said there might be someone else?" I hinted, nodding my head towards Stiles' table. Her eyebrows shot up, and she leaned around the corner to look at Stiles, before looking back to me.

"Really?" She asked, getting the tray ready with their drinks before sliding it back to me.

I didn't answer her, instead setting the tray on my hand and shrugging with nonchalance while walking backwards.

I turned back to face the pair as soon as Jessica was out of my sight. Stiles was wearing a long sleeved t-shirt, the torso of it a light grey and the sleeves a forest green color. He had his menu splayed out on the table, pointing at something while looking very seriously across the table.

"Hey there, Stilinski." I casually called out, causing both of them to look over at me. I faltered in my stride, the momentary lapse in memory that both of them had the same last name. "Uh, sorry." I got out, setting a basket of breadsticks on the table. "Coke?" I asked, holding the glass up with a cheesy smile.

Stiles raised his hand, and I set down the drink in front of him, putting the Diet Coke in front of Sheriff. "I didn't know you worked here, Claire." Stiles looked up at me, sipping through his straw.

"I have for the past year." I told him while I held the tray in front of my stomach. "Care to introduce us?" I asked Stiles casually, turning to Sheriff. I had seen him around, and while I was always courteous I had never been properly introduced.

"Oh, Dad. This is Clarimond Gallagher, star soccer player. Claire, this is Dad." I rolled my eyes at the use of my full name. No one ever used my full first name, it was ridiculous.

"Clarimond, huh?" Sheriff asked, sticking his hand out.

"It's Irish." I shrugged, shaking hands. "My parents wanted my name to go back to my roots. You can just call me Clara." I supplied lamely after Sheriff let go.

"Well it's nice to meet you, Clara." Sheriff smiled at me, his eyes looking tired.

"Likewise, Dad." I joked. His eyes twinkled for a minute, and I felt an accomplished smile spread across my face.

"Not to break up this beautiful family moment or anything-" Stiles began, looking down at his phone for a moment. "But we have exactly 42 minutes before you have to be back at the station." Stiles linked his hands together, looking up at me expectantly. I rolled my eyes lightly and turned back, my pen already poised over the paper to write an order.

"What's the healthiest salad you have?" Stiles asked, closing his menu and looking up at me.

"Greek salad?" I asked, listing off the vegetables that topped it.

"Great, he will take one of those. And I want the greasiest, most delicious supreme pizza you can make me." He grinned at me widely, passing me both his father and his menus. I took them with a smile and turned to walk away, glad that I had decided to wear a short black skirt instead of my usual dress pants. Although I wasn't sure, I made sure to swing my hips a little more than usual. Just in case Stiles was watching.

The instant I was around the corner, Jessica was on my back, whispering questions. I swatted off her curiosity, putting in the order. She tugged me to the corner where we scarfed down extra food during our shifts. There was already a plate of French fries that she had been munching on without me.

"Seriously though. Stiles? Isn't he like. . . A mega nerd?" She asked, blocking my way to go back to the dine in area. I stood for a moment in thought. I really didn't know him that well. But he was cute, and he was funny. I was a sucker for funny boys. And he was on the lacrosse team, so he had to at least be kind of athletic.

"The heart wants what the heart wants." I finally insisted with a shrug.

"But your heart has been wanting Adam for like. . ." She threw her hands up in frustration.

"Me and Adam are like barely even talking." I admitted. He hadn't even sent me a text this morning. Granted, maybe he was one of those guys that followed the 3 day rule. I hated those guys. I mean, if you like a girl, don't ignore her. It was honestly that simple.

"Okay so then what happens if they both want to get serious?" Jessica asked, leaning against the wall. I flopped my mouth open, not entirely sure what I would do.

I mean, I had been chasing after Adam for the entire school year. He was just now looking at me as more than a friend. But Stiles was something new, and exciting, and it was easy to see that he was into me. I shook my confusion off.

"Stiles is just like. . . The French fries with my meal." I replied with a smile. Jessica let out a laugh, motioning for me to explain while she tossed a French fry in her mouth. "Okay," I began. "So I'm starving for this really damn good sandwich. Something that I know will be delicious, with blue eyes and curly brown hair that I just want to run my hands through." I joked, while Jessica grinned at making my sandwich choices so obvious. "And so I order the sandwich, and when I open the box, there's french fries that just look so mouthwatering and delicious. And now, I'm left wondering did I really even want the sandwich? Maybe I'm just craving some French fries first. And if the French fries turn out bad, then I can easily get rid of them and focus on the sandwich." I smiled at my perfect analogy, popping a french fry into my mouth.

"That is absolutely horrible!" Jessica said with a smile, nudging my hip. "What if the sandwich finds out about the French fries?" I shrugged, but I felt a bit of nerves forming.

"What if the sandwich was with other girls too?" I asked, justifying my thinking. "I heard one of the juniors say they were going on a date last week." Jessica's mouth dropped open at the bit of information.

"And you kissed him last night?" She asked in shock while I shrugged, not too upset about it. "Just tell me. How was it?"

I grinned and shot her a wink as Sheriff Stilinski's food came up, giving me a reason to leave the conversation.

The rest of my shift went on as normal, making a bit off small talk with Stiles and his father before they left.

Jessica and I continued our gossip before I left. She had made me insist on keeping her up to date with my love life, as she faithful to her boyfriend of a year and craved the drama of mine.

I got back to the house just as Finn was leaving for a date, promising to let me have the house for the night.

Erica didn't even bother showing up until after 8, her boyfriend dropping her off.

"Come on, you'll love him!" She insisted, dragging me out to the door. The tall boy was leaning against his car, wearing a leather jacket with a blue shirt underneath. He stood up from the car when I came out, flashing me a charming smile. Erica dragged me over to him until I was standing right in front of him.

"Clara, right?" He asked, sticking a hand out. I shook it with a weak smile, completely distrusting him. What was he even after? "I'm Derek." He tried, releasing my hand. "Erica's told me a lot about you!"

I looked him over for moment. He was attractive, there was no doubt, but I just didn't understand. I could not for the life of me put two and two together. "All good things, I hope." I replied, shaking off my bad feeling.

"Great things! She says you play soccer?" He asked, trying to start a conversation.

"Uh, yeah. Go cyclones." I weakly cheered, a sarcastic hand raising.

"Are you planning on going pro?" He asked, resuming his position against his car.

"I'm just trying to get through high school first." I answered, trying to let my guard down a little bit. "I'm hoping I'll at least be able to get a scholarship off of it."

"Well, maybe we'll be able to go to your next game and cheer you on!" He told me before looking at his watch. "Sorry, guys. I have to get out of here. I'll see you tomorrow." He gave Erica a quick kiss on the cheek, who smiled as he gracefully got into his car.

"So." Erica began tugging me back inside my house, glancing back with a smile and wave at Derek leaving. "What did you think of him?" She questioned as she strode into the living room and fell onto the couch. "Cute, right?" She answered herself, picking up a magazine.

"Uh, yeah. I guess." I answered. Which wasn't a lie. "He seems. . . Nice?" I offered, preparing the tv to watch our movies.

"You're such a terrible liar." Erica told with a scoff. I rolled my eyes at her bluntness.

"What? You were expecting me to fall in love with the guy that has been changing you so drastically?" I threw my arms into the air in frustration. I was already so tired of bottling up everything that Erica had been doing to me, whether subconsciously or not. How did she expect me to welcome Derek with open arms if it felt like she was cutting me out of her life?

Her own anger seemed to grow at my statement, and she abruptly stood up. She'd been way overdressed for our movie night, and it made me wonder if she'd even planned on staying.

"I expected you to give him a fair chance." She answered, swinging her bag over her shoulder. "I didn't come to be bitched at more." She drug out the word more, as though I had been constantly hounding her for her behavior.

Erica had been making a purposeful strut to the door, and just as she was reaching out for the door handle, I jumped up from my seat.

"Wait." I sighed, running my hands through my hair. Surprisingly, she stopped. "I'm sorry." I finally spat out, feeling suddenly hurt. "It's just been such a fast change, I just don't feel like he's good for you-Not that he actually is bad for you, it's just everything happening at once, you know?" I spewed, practically pleading for her to come back and sit down. "Let's just forget it, okay?" I asked, tired of feeling like the bad guy. "Please, let's just get back to our movies. I'll get over myself."

Erica practically skipped back to the couch, barely concealing a smirk. I sunk back into my seat, choosing to ignore it instead of picking another fight.

As the movie started, we both quieted down. Hers out of interest for the movie, but my lack of conversation was mostly due to feeling like I was stepping on thin glass. When the first kissing scene came on, I felt Erica look over at me.

"What?" I asked, barely looking away from the tv to glance at her.

"I have to tell you about how great of a kisser he is!" I rolled my eyes as familiarity rolled over me. Although it was Erica's first story about kissing, this was easy girl territory. I could pretend for the moment that it was just me and her again. She gushed about their makeout sessions, using explicit detail about how he tossed her around roughly. Even more surprising, she enjoyed it. When she started to go into detail about the sex, I listened with surprise as she told me how the first time, he'd been surprisingly gentle. Above all else, that gave me some relief. At least for her first time, he'd made it a memorable experience for her.

Erica seemed glad to be able to finally talk about it. She kept telling me how although she was enjoying the sex with Derek, it made her realize that there were so many more options out there. When the subject was thoroughly exhausted, she turned on me, grilling me about my night with Adam.

"We didn't really do anything last night except kissing and dancing." I simplified. "It was practically our first date." I told her easily, brushing my hair behind my ears.

"Come ooooonnnn." She pleaded, moving to sit on her knees in front of me. Her hands tugged mine to be cradled between hers. "I gave you like every little detail. It's your turn."

I smiled for a moment, my eyes closing to remember the way Adam held my hips close to his while we danced. Once or twice he'd slid it a bit lower, pulling me closer to him with the pockets of my jeans. I tried to explain it to Erica the way he made my heart feel like it was thumping in my throat each time he kissed me.

I'd had sex before, but it'd been in the cab of some truck with some guy I'd barely known, simply wanting to get my first time over with. I'd almost had sex with another guy a few months ago, during Summer, but when I was rolling a condom on he'd gotten. . . Just a bit too excited.

I thought about telling Erica about Stiles, but quickly decided against it. After all, it was just beginning to feel like some semblance of normal. Did I really want to destroy that by telling her I may be harboring a crush on the same boy she'd obsessed over for a year?

And then the guilt kicked in. If we were going to be friends, I had to be truthful to her. Right? For now, I put it at the back of my thoughts. It was a different problem for a different day.

And there you have it! The latest installment in Run. Clara's accepting that she definitely has a crush on Stiles, but now that she and Adam are beginning to get serious, how will that threaten her and Stiles relationship? As always, reviews are appreciated!

Izi Wilson: I don't plan on Clara being a werewolf :) I feel like sometimes that just gets overused, you know?