Chapter 4:
I stood there staring at the girl staring back at me. There's no way we're the same person. This girl was actually pretty. Me? I'm no where's near this pretty. There's just no comparison.
Running my hands down to the hem of the blue dress, I looked over my outfit. The cute light blue dress was sleeveless and had a sweetheart neckline. It had a black belt under the cups before it flowed down with slight ruffles to end right above my knees. And me being the insecure girl I am, I wore some black tights with a pair of black flats. My hair was straightened and my makeup was done like it always was but I just could wrap myself around the idea that the girl in the mirror was me.
The click-click of my mom's heels sounded down the hall only to stop at my doorway. I glanced over sheepishly to see my mother smiling at me. "Well don't just stand there, twirl!" I laughed at my mom as she made a strange gesture for me to do as she said. So I twirled for her, the dress swaying with me.
Once I finished my twirl, my mom began to clap and put on a poker face. I laughed before pulling myself together and bowing like some kind of performer. I kept myself composed until I met my mom's gaze. We began busting up in laughter, just like always.
When we settled down, my mom smiled brightly at me and said, "I don't remember the last time you wore a dress like that. Was it 3 years ago?" Laughing shortly, I said, "Eh, a couple years ago. But what can I say? I don't really care for dresses." She raised her eyebrows since she could never do the 'one eyebrow thing' like me and my dad. "Then why are you wearing one?"
Biting down lightly on my bottom lip, I looked back at the full-length mirror that hung on the side of the wall and swayed back and forth, my hands joined together behind my back. It was an innocent pose, one I used to do all the time. "I told Erica I'd wear whatever she picked out for me yesterday", the words slipped off my tongue and for once, I was happy to talk to my mom about my friends.
"Ooh, Maya has a friend?" She cooed as she walked a little further into my room. I just flipped her the bird and said, "Shush up." My mom just laughed and said, "Love you too, Hun." Then she leaned against the wall and said, "So… when do I get to meet this famous Erica?" I rolled my eyes at her and said, "I don't know… when you meet her." She shot me a playful glare and said emotionlessly, "Ha-ha, very funny."
Ok, it'll be fine. You're just wearing a dress… to school. Oh god, I should just turn back around. No, stop it Maya. Face it; you're attending school while wearing a dress. It's just like wearing a skirt… kind of. But then again, I don't wear a lot of skirts. Uhg, I'm so dysfunctional.
Slowly, I climbed out of the car and locked it. Then I took a deep breath before I started my walk… or should I say stride… towards the front doors. As a passed a few people some of their heads turned but they all had shocked looks on their faces. Well, I actually don't blame them for being shocked. It's not every day you see the school's new loser wearing a dress.
Almost immediately, I saw Erica at the door waiting with her arms crossed. When she saw me, she smiled wide and met me halfway before giving me a hug, which I gladly accepted. Once we separated, she linked arms with me and we began to prance into the school. And I have to say, I did feel a bit badass.
"Ooh, look at all the guys staring at you", she whispered in my ear. I chuckled and whispered back, "Or they're just staring at your cleavage." She flipped a few strands of hair behind her shoulder and said, "Well I always liked to tease the boys." With that said, she touched some guy's shoulder and trailed her finger along his collarbone as we passed. I laughed at her and said, "Yep, a tease you are."
We got to my locker in no time and me being me, I stood on my tip-toes to put my combination in even though I didn't need to. It's just a habit I inherited from my mom. But as I was swapping out books that I didn't need for the ones I did, I felt Erica's elbow nudge me in my ribcage. Instinctively, I shrunk a little before straightening my posture again and looked over at her with a quizzical look. She just smirked and whispered, "Looks like someone can't take a hint."
I gave her another confused look. Rolled her eyes, she pointed to my left. Turning around, I saw who she was talking about: Stiles. He was leaning against his locker and was looking at me up and down. His eyes were glowing with nerves and… want? Ok, something's defiantly wrong with me. I'm not reading people right. Uhg, this town's changing me, and I don't like it.
When I rolled back into reality, I realized that I still looking at him but now his eyes were glued to mine. Oh god, look away! Look away! Quickly, I looked down at the floor next to me before closing my locker. Then I looked up at Erica who was shooting an ice-cold glare at someone but I didn't want to turn around and see who it was. I'm pretty sure I already know who it is.
Tugging on her jacket arm, I whispered urgently, "C'mon Erica. Let's get out of here." She looked down at me confused but then realization of what I was referring to crossed over her face. I gave a sideways nod and a side-smirk to tell her that she guessed right. She gave me a smile and linked her arm with mine again and we trotted to class.
A downside to not having every class with Erica is that you have to walk to them without her; which also means you're an open target. I was walking to my next class when I heard a girl scoff as I passed her. Rolling my eyes, I kept on walking. But just then, someone grabbed my hair and pulled it. I didn't make a sound, of course. Yet my head stung greatly afterwards.
Holding my hair in pain, I spun around to come face-to-face with the girl who scoffed at me. Her nose was scrunched up and her nostrils were flared. Well, looks like someone's mad… "Don't you ever roll your eyes at me, loser!" She yelled in a high-pitched voice.
She raised her finger to say something, probably something she thought was smart, but was slammed into some of the lockers before she had a chance. There, holding the back of the girl's neck stood Erica, her blonde curls flowing with the sudden action. "If you ever touch her again I'll rip you to shreds!" Erica's voice was dripped with venom and I could tell by the tone she took on that she wasn't kidding either.
The girl held up her hands as if to surrender but after a few moments, her hands reached backwards, trying to grab Erica's face. But my dear friend wouldn't let that happen. She gripped the girl's neck harder before raising her in the air a little while backing away from the lockers. Then she threw the girl on the ground. I could hear the landing and let me tell you, it wasn't a good sound.
Erica climbed on top of the girl and lifted the girl's head. I looked at the girl's face and directly at her nose which was bleeding. Slowly, Erica leaned forward until she was at the girl's ear and whispered, "Care to try again?" "No!" The girl practically yelled as her eyes started to water. A smirk played on Erica's lips as she whispered, "Are you going to make fun of my friend?" "No, no, no, no", the girl whimpered.
Erica tilted her head with a smirk on her face before she pushed the girl's head away from her and stood up from her. Then she walked over to me and linked her arm in mine. "C'mon, let's go before a teacher"- she was cut off by the couch yelling, "What is going on here!" I frantically looked around, now realizing that there was a full crowd around the scene. And most importantly, I saw Scott and Stiles looking at the scene.
Coach Finstock pushed through the crowd of my fellow classmates to get to the center of it all. Automatically, I started shrinking into the crowd. Erica followed my action without a word. When the coach got there, he looked down at the girl dumbfounded. Then he looked up and pointed to the girl, scanned the crowd, and yelled, "How did this!"
Oh god, please oh please don't… don't. But of course, the girl did exactly what I was dreading and wishing she wouldn't do. The girl held her nose in one hand while pointed to Erica and me and yelled, "They did it!" The coach followed her finger to us and gave us a frustrated, anger filled expression. He pointed to us and yelled furiously, "You two, detention!" I bit my lip and looked down at my shoes. Great, this is just great.
"I texted Derek and told him about the detention", Erica whispered to me in our next class. I glanced over at her before looking back at my notes. "So we aren't going to hang out?" She shook her head and whispered, "Not today." I nodded slowly, not showing the relief that I was feeling.
Ok, this is good. I get some time to research the town. I didn't get to yesterday since Erica stayed over and had supper with me and my mom. It was actually really funny. My mom made spaghetti and Erica was twirling hers on her fork when she got bumped by my mom so it flung into my face. And so a food fight commenced. Let's just say I'm still not sure who won.
"But what about tomorrow?" Erica whispered to me. I shrugged and said, "Uh, sure. I'll tell my mom when she gets home." She chuckled lightly and said, "Ok then, see you at detention." I smiled back at her and said, "You sure will."
The final bell rang and I grabbed my stuff, putting them away in my bag. When I was all packed up and ready to go, I walked out of the classroom and headed down to the field since the coach said to go there. He also said they we were going to do something 'special' for detention. Yay- note my sarcasm.
As I walked down the hall, I heard Erica say, "So how's it going?" I jumped up before putting my hand on my heart. Then I glanced at Erica who walked by my side. She just gave me a sly smirk and said, "Awe, did I scare you?" I rolled my eyes and lightly punched her shoulder. She chuckled before putting her hands up in surrender and saying, "Ok, ok, you got me."
Side-smirking, I said, "Damn right I do." She laughed as we walked out of the field. Just then, I heard a crash. I shot my attention to the field only to see a guy helping another up, both of them in jerseys and lacrosse gear. "Oh, crap", I muttered under my breath. Erica looked at me then back at the field. "Well now we know what the coach was calling special", she stated as she licked her lips. Then she linked her arm in mine and marched onto the field, dragging me with her.
"Come on guys! You've got to give it more! My dead grandmother's better than you!" The coach yelled at the guys as if they weren't trying their best. Then just shook his head and said, "Stilinski, you're up!" I felt my heart pick up. Oh god, he's on the lacrosse team? I've got to get out of here. Maybe I could make a run for it. Wait, am I seriously thinking about leaving Erica all alone with a bunch of guys dressed the way she's dressed? No, I've got to stay and grin and bear it.
My stomach churned and tightened into knots at the anticipation of him realizing that we're here. What if he looks at me? Then you look away and pretend you didn't see him. But what if he calls my name? Pretend you don't hear him. What if he comes up to me? Start talking to Erica before he has a chance. What if he thinks I'm a bitch? Oh, um… oh god.
The sound of the whistle blowing loudly snapped me back to reality. "Erica! Maya! It's about time!" He yelled at us as he came closer. The team just stood there and watched. Wow, thanks for the help guys… Erica raised her hand and said in a cocky voice, "Excuse me, sir, but what exactly are we doing? Don't you need to carry on with lacrosse practice?"
Coach Finstock stalked closer to us, his head a little pushed forward as he said, "I will continue to teach these girls while you guys help." Help? Is he joking? I don't know the first thing about lacrosse! "Um, h-how are we going to do th-that?" I heard myself ask. I mentally face-palmed myself as the coach smirked and said, "You girls are going to give them water, dry off their sweat for them, and cheer them on." He counted them down on his fingers and I could feel my heart beat become vicious and fast. Wow, I really appreciate it coach.
Then Coach Finstock blew his whistle without taking his eyes off of us. "Go Stilinski!" He yelled before swiftly, well, as swiftly as he could, turned around and started towards his original spot. Stiles whispered something to Scott before catching the little ball in his net and tightened his grip on the stick. He took a deep breath before his legs kicked into gear and he started running. As he ran, he pulled the stick back and pushed it forward. The ball flew from its original spot and dove straight into the net, leaving the goalie defeated.
A breath I didn't know I was holding flew from my lips as I watched Stiles. He watched the ball go in and waited a few minutes before raising his arms in the air. His face was priceless: a look of shock, pride, and joy all mixed in one. And before I could stop myself, my lips went up into a smile.
Stiles started making his way back to the end of the line but put his hand out for a high-five. Scott gave him the high-five before he put it back down and took his place in the back. And then he did the thing I thought I would dread. He looked over at me. I think he saw my smile and that's the reason why he smiled. But whatever it was, it made my heart rate pick up just a little bit, if that's even possible.
"So", my head quickly spun to Erica, remembering that she was right there. She was looking forward as she said, "You like Stiles." My heart rate stayed the same which kind of freaked me out. I don't like Stiles, right? No, I don't know anything about him. Well, other than his name's Stiles Stilinski and he's best friend's with Scott McCall. Oh, and he's on the lacrosse team. Uhg, listen to yourself Maya. You sound like a love drunk idiot! There is no way in hell you like Stiles. You were just impressed, that's all.
I chuckled and said, "No, that was just impressive is all. After all, did you expect Stiles to pull of something like that?" I'm a bitch, I'm a bitch, I'm a bitch. She just looked at me and laughed. My eyebrows furrowed, pushing her to elaborate. Erica smirked and said, "I know you Maya, remember? Yesterday at your house you told me about everything. You told me about your dad, about all the past boyfriends you've had, and about those little things that you've inherited from you parents. I know that when you talk about someone you care about a lot, your eyes start to… I don't know… sparkle? And I know that you like Stiles. I heard what happened yesterday."
My eyes widened and I stuttered out, "H-how d-did you h-hear about th-that?" She laughed at my reaction and said, "The whole lacrosse team saw you two, May. Of course they could share." I could feel some heat rise to my cheeks.
She saw too because her face darken as she said, "But don't forget what I said earlier." I nodded and said, "I wouldn't forget. That's why I was with Stiles: to tell him that I couldn't be friends with him." Now it was her turn to widen her eyes. "Really?" Her voice was full of hope and surprise. I nodded slowly, saying, "Yeah." Then her signature smirk played on her lips as she put an arm around my shoulder and pulled me in a little, saying, "That's my girl! Show those guys who's boss!" I laughed at her words. Yep, that's my best friend right there.
Just as Coach Finstock told us, we gave all the guys some water bottles, wiped their sweat off of their foreheads and arms, and we cheered them on. As I wiped off the last of sweat on Danny's forehead, he continued to talk, "So how do you like the school." I shrugged and said, "Eh, its fine I guess." He raised his eyebrows and said, "What about Stiles?" I paused a little but them continued. "Oh, him? What about him?"
He raised his eyebrows more and said, "Well yesterday you two looked"- "Danny!" The coach yelled for him and for once, I actually liked him. I don't know what I would have said if we continued our conversation.
Pulling the towel away from Danny so that he could get up, I smiled at him and said, "Nice talking with you." He returned my smile and said, "You too." And with that, he ran onto the field and took his place at the goal.
Turning around, I said, "Switch!" Erica handed the co-captain of the lacrosse team, Jackson, his water bottle. Jackson snatched the bottle from her hands and glared at her before downing the thing. When he was through, he threw the bottle on the grass while glaring at me. Then he stood up and bumped into my shoulder as he passed me.
I shot a glare at his back as I mumbled, "Dick." Rubbing my shoulder, I replaced Erica at the 'water bottle station' as she replaced me at the bench. Noticing that the station was a little bit dysfunctional, I started tidying up a little. But, of course, a water bottle would roll off the bench. I glared at the water bottle for a little bit, wishing it would move on its own but knowing it wouldn't. So I kneeled down and picked it up. Then I started wiping away some grass off of the outside of the bottle.
Someone cleared their throat behind me. I jumped before composing myself and standing up again. "Water bottle?" I asked the person as I turned around to face them. Scott. He smiled at me and grabbed the bottle out of my outstretched hand. I side-smiled at him before continued to organize a little more. He sat down on the bench and took a sip of his water.
It was silent for a little while before Scott said, "So how have you been, Maya?" I glanced up at him through my bangs to see him looking straight ahead. "Um, fine I guess. What about you?" He shrugged and said, "Same." And then the silence returned.
"McCall!" Scott set his water bottle down and got up, shooting me a smile before he ran out onto the field. While he was off playing and having a good time, I was stuck with these thoughts swarming around in my head. Scott's nice. But he might not be. It might be just a show. But why would he do that? God, I'm a bitch.
"Switch", Erica said as she came to stand beside me. I took in a deep breath before heading back to the other side of the bench and getting the towels ready. What? I fidget with things sometimes. Is that a bad thing? My mom says my dad used to do the same thing.
Someone sat down on the bench. I sighed, not even bothering to look at who it was, and got a towel ready. Then I turned around and saw Stiles. Damn, are these guys going to give me a break? Well, here goes nothing.
I went up behind him and tilted his head up a little. Then I started dabbing at the sweat that dripped down his face. Do guys always get this sweaty? I kept on looking anywhere but his eyes. Those hazel orbs were just too mesmerizing. And right now isn't the time for being mesmerized.
When I was done with him, I put the towel away with the other dirty ones and watched as Stiles stood up and walked back to the field, glancing back at me every now and then. Well, at least he didn't try to strike up a conversation. That's a plus, right? But why do I feel bad? Oh, wow Maya. You so have to get over him. He doesn't like you and you aren't going to be his friend. So just stop feeling these feelings.
Soon, the coach forced the guys back into the locker room and Erica and I were in the parking lot. "So we'll pick you up at 6, ok?" I looked at her with confusion and asked, "Why don't I just drive there?" Erica just smiled and said, "Do you really want to ride in your old car? Or ride in a sexy Camaro?" Well, she did have a point. I sighed in defeat and said, "Ok, I'll be ready."
She smiled at me right as Derek's car drove up. I gave her a quick hug before she walked to the other side and got into the passenger seat. Derek just watched as she got in before turning to me and sending me a smile. I half-smiled back and waved as they sped off. Then I made my way to my car and drove home.
When I got home, I shot up the stairs and into my bedroom. I was going to research this town if it took me all night. Throwing my bag on my bed carelessly, I pulled up a chair to my desk and turned on my laptop. And as fast as my fingers could go, I went to my browser and typed 'Beacon Hills, California' in. I was ready to find out everything about this town or so I thought…
I stared at the sheet of paper I filled up with facts about Beacon Hills. There was the Hale fire which was set by Kate Argent. Wasn't Derek's last name Hale? And then there was the dead girl who was ripped in half by some animal. Her name was Laura Hale. Wow, another Hale? Derek's defiantly not as innocent as I thought. Next I had put down the animal attack on a local bus driver. He didn't make it. And then there was all these cougar attacks recorded. Ok, this town is defiantly not that innocent.
Why were there so many cougar attacks? It just didn't add up! And then there was an attack on some guys at a gay bar. Well that surely wasn't expected.
Maybe I shouldn't go tomorrow with Erica. After all, all this evidence is against Derek's innocence. So why should I trust him? Well, everyone's innocent until proven guilty and technically I don't really have anything on him that much other than the fact that all of his family's dead. And let's just face it, that's just sad.
I am going to go with Erica tomorrow. I will keep my mouth shut, and I will not tell anyone what I found out. After all, what's the point? They all know already. I just need to calm down and go to sleep. Maybe tomorrow won't be so bad after all.
Hey guys so what do you think? Please don't be silent readers! Oh, and thanks Silvereyed Queen for the reviews. They were really nice I hope you're enjoying the story!