Chapter Two: Heartbeat

"Everytime that we meet, I skip a heartbeat,"

Scouting for Girls, Heartbeat

She didn't quite understand why she had a shiver go up her arm as she saw the sign that read 'Welcome to Beacon Hills'. It could have been the fact that while in Palo Alto she has felt safer than she has since her family moved to Beacon Hills. She had pushed her mother to let her stay with her until she was brought back home, but she wouldn't have it. Apparently all the parents believed their kids were missing enough school as it was.

"Are you alright?" the elderly woman next to her asked, waking Kira from her conscious trance.

"Oh…um…yeah. Fine…," Kira reassured her with a smile.

"It's alright dear, I have lived in Beacon Hills for thirty years. I feel the same way every time I get back into town from a trip," the woman smiled.

'If only she knew,' Kira had thought to herself. Of course for all Kira knew this woman could be a werewolf who was going to go run in the woods after getting off the bus, or a wendigo whose family had some fresh bodies ready to munch on as a late night snack when she got home.

"Last stop, Beacon Hills Bus Terminal," the driver spoke over the sound system.

Kira removed the earphones from her ears and wrapped them around her iPod. She put on her leather jacket, and looked down at her phone.

From: Scott

Liam and I are going to meet you at the terminal. Miss you. See you soon xoxo

She grinned, excited that she was going to see her boyfriend soon enough. There was some bonuses to getting back to town after all.

The bus came to a stop and she let everyone in front of her get out of the bus.

"Thank you," she said to the driver and she hopped off the bus.

This is the part Kira hated. Looking for a familiar face in a crowd. Then not finding that face, being left alone. She was not as much of an independent strong female as some thought. Her social awkwardness was enough to limit her human interaction too rarely, especially before the whole kitsune thing.

"KIRA!" a voice yelled.

She turned around and smiled, racing into the arms of Scott. Home. Scott was home. She didn't know why but whenever she was in his arms or even just standing in the same room she felt a sense of safety lift over her.

"I missed you so much, I was worried. I thought they would follow you to Palo, Alto. Where I couldn't protect you," he muttered into her neck.

"I'm okay, I was safe," she whispered back.

"Hi Kira," Liam, who she had just noticed said to her, a wide smile on his face.

Kira thought Liam was a nice kid. A wonderful lacrosse player, and she knew he was going to be an excellent addition to the pack. He did have an anger issue but everyone has something to work on. She just thought that he needed to find his anchor like everyone else. Someone who made his heart skip a beat and relax.

"Hi Liam," she replied with a wave.

They headed toward the parking lot where her car was parked where she left it.

"Liam is going to ride with you, I am going to be right behind you," Scott explained the trip home to her.

"Sounds good, I hope you like some of my girl Iggy Azalea, Liam," Kira teased leading him to her car.

"We are meeting at Stiles'," Scott told her.

"Okay, be safe," she said, pulling him into a hug and he leaned down bringing his lips to hers in a soft but firm embrace.

Liam's POV:

Stop! Stop! Stop! It was all Liam could think as Kira and Scott said a temporary goodbye in the way any couple would…with a kiss. It hurt and he wished it didn't. In fact if he could stop feeling things for Kira, it would be a godsend. A Christmas miracle come early!

They pulled apart, hopefully realizing that they weren't alone.

"Sorry, Liam. We didn't mean to make you the awkward third wheel," Scott chuckled.

The worst part, was that Liam didn't even hate Scott for having her. He was a nice guy who deserved a nice girl like Kira. It it's always worse when you feel things that could hurt a good person.

"Let's get going," Kira suggested making her way to the driver's seat.

Liam followed, opening the passenger door and sitting on the leather interior seat.

"Buckle up," she told him, and he followed suit.

Crazy for You by Hedley came onto the radio, Kira put down the windows in the front seats and started the ignition. The car ride began with twenty minutes of silence, it wasn't awkward though, rather a relaxed and calm silence. At least that is what we perceived it to be like. Yet, Liam thought it was about time that he talked to the girl his head couldn't stop thinking about. Perhaps if he got to know the girl better, he might not like her in a romantic way, and his feelings could switch to a more platonic route.

"How is your mom?" he asked her.

"She is doing okay, they say she should be back in Beacon Hills by Tuesday. My dad is down there with her so I am staying with Lydia and her mom for a few days," she began to talk. "How about you? How is the whole new werewolf thing going for you?"

Liam grinned, "As expected, it's a lot of added pressure. I mean there are obvious advantages; strength, hearing, smell, and agility. Yet, it sucks that we all might be dead before I get a hang of things."

Kira let out a loud laugh, "Yeah, I mean this is like the fifth supernatural disaster Scott and Stiles have had to deal with. If I was them I would definitely not be able to graduate with all the craziness going on in this town."

"This town is a little weird," Liam smiled.

"I mean even today, when I passed the town lines. It feels different being in Beacon Hills than the rest of the world. I used to be able to go around and think the worst that could be out there was a murderer, or rapist. I never even imagined that they could also be supernatural, giving no normal person a fair chance. Just the other day I was grocery shopping and I kept thinking over and over, are they really just human?" Kira ranted.

Liam gave this a long thought. He didn't think like her. He thought about things quickly, usually too quickly. He never gave things thought. That is what led to most of the bad things in his life.

"Sorry, I tend to ramble, and no one understands what I say," Kira apologized, a blush growing over her face.

"No! I heard everything! I was just thinking about what you said," he reassured her.

She gave him a shy smile.

She was a wonderful person to talk to. The car ride was the longest Liam had ever talked to someone and that included his parents, stepdad, and Mason. Kira didn`t judge, she listened to what you had to say and he wasn`t afraid to admit the stuff he talked about in anger management because he knew she wouldn`t tell anyone is he didn`t want her to.

He liked hearing about her too. Especially her life back in New York, before she found out about her kitsune heritage. She spoke of her friends, a past boyfriend who Liam felt was a huge douchebag.

Unfortunately Liam`s sanctuary away from the real world had to end, and it did when they pulled into the Stilinski driveway. Scott pulled up a minute later.

Sheriff Stilinski, Deputy Parrish and Agent McCall came racing out the door.

"Where are Stiles and Lydia?" Stilinski demanded.

"They haven't got here yet?" Scott asked in a panic.

"What's going on?" Agent McCall questioned.

"We think Lydia and Stiles may be in trouble," Kira stated, Scott putting his arm around her.

Yup, his sanctuary with just Kira was definitely over.

"Where were they going?" Parrish asked although he looked like he already knew the answer.

"Eichen House," Scott sighed.