HARSHER THAN THE BARK
A/N: Okay so without giving anything away about what exactly happens in this chapter, please don't hate Scarlett for how she reacts to things...
Enjoy!
Scarlett let out a loud cry of pain as she ended up falling onto her ankle in an awkward position. Everyone stopped the routine and the music and they all crowded around her as she lay on her back, clutching her ankle to her body in pain.
"Is it broken?" Taylor asked in a panic. Scarlett replied with another pain-filled noise. "Guys, I think it's broken."
"It isn't broken." Brooke drawled from beside her.
"How would you know? It's your fault anyway; we all told you that move would end badly!" Someone else snapped at her. Scarlett groaned again and sat up.
"It's not broken. It hurts like hell though. I think it might be sprained." She told them.
"You're not a doctor. We should get you to the hospital and have them check it out." Taylor said.
"No, no. I don't need the hospital." Scarlett protested, standing up with the help of a few people.
"Whatever, I'm taking you to the hospital." Taylor told her, leading her away from the squad.
"You can't just cut practice!" Brooke called after them.
"Screw you. If the roles were reversed you would be asking for an ambulance!" Taylor shouted back. Scarlett smirked, impressed that Taylor had it in her to put Brooke in her place.
Taylor drove them both to the hospital and when they got there they went straight for the front desk.
"Is my mom here?" Scarlett asked one of the nurses that she knew worked with Melissa.
"She's with a patient right now but she should be out soon, if you wanna have a seat and wait. Is there anything I can help with Scarlett?" The woman asked. Though they had met before, the woman's name seemed to escape Scarlett completely so she had to check her name tag to remember.
"Uh, no. I'll just wait for my mom. Thanks Cindy." Scarlett smiled and turned to her blonde friend who was waiting patiently. "You don't have to stay you know. I can call Scott to come and get me when my mom's checked it out."
"Well I don't really want to leave you by yourself." Taylor said sincerely. Scarlett shook her head and smiled.
"Really, it's fine. Go, you'll get in trouble if you miss school."
Taylor pondered it for a moment before answering. "You know, you're probably right. I need to go and talk Brooke out of whatever punishment she's thinking of giving you anyway."
Scarlett laughed melodically at that. "Thanks Taylor. I'll see you back at school."
"Catch ya later Scar." Taylor told her, pulling Scarlett in for a quick hug before smiling and hurrying out of the hospital and back to school where she would have to face Brooke.
Scarlett watched as Taylor left, her blonde ponytail bouncing behind her as she went. Taylor was a nice girl, bubbly, fun and bright, not in the smart way though. She could be a bit dim-witted at times but she attracted positive energy which was good. She was well-liked by almost everyone even though she was known for sleeping around quite a bit. People saw past that though and they got on well with her just like Scarlett did. Not to mention that they had been friends since the fifth grade. They weren't close but Taylor was still a good friend to have.
Sighing quietly, Scarlett sat down in one of the chairs that were in the waiting area, bouncing her knee while she propped her injured ankle up on her thigh and looked around.
"Scar?" She heard her mother ask. Scarlett looked at Melissa and stood up. "What're you doing here?"
Scarlett gestured to her ankle which was red and slightly swollen. "Cheerleading's a bitch." She shrugged. Melissa sighed but laughed slightly.
"Come on, we'll get it bandaged up." She said, leading her into a spare room. Melissa touched Scarlett's ankle tenderly, which made her hiss slightly. "Stop being a drama queen. It isn't broken or sprained. You just bruised it pretty bad." Melissa took out some gauze and started wrapping it around her daughter's bruising ankle gently. When it was all done she took her ankle and pressed a soft kiss to the bandage like she always did when Scarlett injured herself. "All done."
"Thank you momma bear." Scarlett smiled at her.
"How are you getting back home?" Melissa asked curiously, suddenly becoming aware that Scarlett wasn't with anyone and doubting that she had driven herself there.
"I'll just call Scott. I think he has a free period anyway." Scarlett shrugged. Melissa nodded and gave Scarlett a loving hug, kissing her head and then smoothing down any flyaway hairs that she had.
"I'll see you at home then kiddo." She said as the two of them walked out of the room. "Love you."
"Love you mom." Scarlett said, taking out her phone and heading in the other direction. She dialled Scott's number and started walking around aimlessly. She stopped when she saw two figures emerging from the corridor where the morgue was.
"Hello?" Scott answered.
"Derek?" Scarlett asked, narrowing her eyes at the two people ahead of her. His head snapped back towards her and so did the girl's he was with. Scarlett knew her…Erica Reyes. She also knew about her and how she was epileptic and a bit of a loner. Her best guess was that Derek was planning on turning her but the way they were looking so close made Scarlett uneasy and she quickly turned around, pretending to not have seen them.
"No, Scar. It's Scott. Why'd you say Derek?"
"Scarlett!" She heard Derek behind her but she ignored him, picking up her pace and trying not to put too much pressure on her ankle which was beginning to throb.
"I'm at the hospital Scotty, come pick me up. Now, please." She said, hanging up the phone and looking behind her. She sighed in relief when she saw no one but she jumped when she came face to face with Derek, who slammed her against the wall holding her arms. "What the hell?!"
"What's your problem?" He hissed at her.
Her eyes widened slightly as she struggled against his grip. "My problem?" She hissed right back at him. "What the hell are you doing with Erica?"
"I'm helping her." He told her, tightening his grip and giving her a stern look.
"Helping her? Helping her by doing what? Turning her? My ass." She couldn't help the horrible jealousy that was sweeping through her like wildfire. If it was a normal day then she would have no competition with Erica Reyes because well, no one really took much notice of her. Everyone just saw her as the epileptic girl that wasn't as sociable as everyone else. And Scarlett thought those people were shallow. She felt bad for Erica most of the time but it was never really her problem, which sounds terrible. But right now, she didn't care. All she could think about was how if Derek just gave Erica the bite then all of her health problems would go away and she's become more confident. Like Scott had.
"Stop being jealous Scarlett." Derek said, rolling his eyes at her.
"I am not jealous Derek." She mocked him.
"Even if I couldn't hear your heart beat I would still know you're lying. I can literally feel the jealously seeping out of you. All of it." His voice was quiet but strict which only pissed Scarlett off further making her glare daggers at him until her phone started ringing. She looked at it quickly to see Scott's name appear, along with a text telling her he was almost there. Derek snatched the phone out of her hand and she grabbed for it.
"Hey! Give it back." She said angrily when she finally managed to push him away.
"No. Not until you tell me what your problem is." He said seriously, putting her phone in his pocket.
"God, you're such a dick!" Scarlett was seething at this point and she wasn't even sure why. She had no clue why she was getting so riled up over nothing, all she could think about was getting away from Derek at the moment. She was most definitely not in the mood for confrontation and that was what she was going to get if she stayed there for much longer. Shaking her head at him, anger swimming in her eyes, she pushed passed him roughly.
"Scar, wait." Derek tried to reason with her but it was too late, she had already stalked off outside leaving him to watch after her with a tormented expression. He couldn't make total sense of what had just happened but he was fairly certain that Scarlett had let the jealous side of her take over and he convinced himself that if he waited a while then her fiery temper would simmer down and they would both forget the strange outburst.
"What was that about?" Erica asked in a small voice once Derek had made his way back to where she was standing.
Derek shook his head, brushing off the display of pure jealousy and wrong assumptions. "It was nothing."
Scott pulled up outside just as Scarlett rushed out the door of the hospital. She sighed thankfully and hurried to the car, yanking the door open and slamming it shut behind her when she was seated. She sat up a little straighter and fixed her uniform and her makeup so that she didn't look so disorientated.
"What happened to you?" Scott asked, his tone suspicious and curious.
"Cheerleading accident. It's fine though, just a bruise. It'll be gone in a few days hopefully." Scarlett informed him, not letting the annoyance that she was feeling show in her voice. Scott caught a scent on her that smelled like Derek but he didn't bring it up because he just assumed it must've been something else although somewhere in the back of his mind, he was telling himself otherwise.
Scarlett sat with her head against the window, replaying what happened in her head over and over again. Why did she have to overreact all the fucking time? What was wrong with her? Of course there wasn't anything going on between Derek and Erica. They had just met and Scarlett had to go and jump to conclusions. Maybe she was just a paranoid bitch. No wonder Derek didn't go after her like she half expected him to, why the hell would he want to be around her when she had just acted like a complete brat? There was nothing for her to feel threatened about anyway, it was only Erica after all. She was harmless.
They got back to school a little while before lunch started so Scarlett used the time to change back into normal clothing and when lunch did roll around, Scarlett didn't feel like eating anything so she just sat next to Scott and Stiles, picking at her nails and occasionally checking her phone.
"I'll pick you up right after work tonight and we'll meet at the rink." Stiles told Scott, a look of excitement adorning his face as he spoke the words.
"The ice rink?" Scarlett queried. No one had told her anything about them going to the ice rink. And it wasn't as if she asked to be informed about every single thing that was happening in her brother's life it's just that he usually told her about stuff like that.
"Yeah, with Allison and Lydia." Stiles answered before, like Scott's, his attention turned to the entrance of the cafeteria. Everyone stopped to stare and look as Erica strutted in looking, well…sexy. Scarlett's eyes widened as she took in Erica's new appearance. She looked healthy for one, just like Scarlett suspected she would but the rest well, the rest she never guessed would've happened. Erica was sporting a pair of leopard print heels, a leather black miniskirt, a plain white shirt that exposed a generous amount of cleavage and a black leather jacket. Her hair didn't look dead and un-kept anymore. It was silky smooth and fell in voluptuous blonde curls. Then, there was her dramatic makeup. Eyes rimmed with black liner and her lips coated in red lipstick. Her outfit wasn't something Scarlett would ever wear but she had to admit that Erica looked good. And that made her sick to her stomach because it was Derek that had made her look that way.
They, being everyone in the cafeteria at the time, all watched as Erica leaned down to a random boy and took the apple off of his tray, taking a bite out of it innocently. Scarlett didn't even look up when Lydia slammed her hands down on their table, she was too entranced in the big display that Erica was putting on at the moment.
"What…the holy hell…is that?" She asked.
"Erica." Scarlett stated, glaring at Erica's retreating figure before jumping up and walking after her as quickly as she could, followed by Scott and Stiles. When she made it outside she watched as Erica opened the passenger door to Derek's car, flashed the three of them a smile and then got in. Scarlett's blood boiled as Derek turned to face them, giving them one of his dazzling smiles and driving off with Erica. What the hell just happened? Scarlett dug her nails into her palms trying to push away the jealousy. Was she seriously going to have to compete with Erica for Derek?
"Gimme the keys." Scarlett said, holding her hand out to Scott.
"Why?"
"Because I'm going home." She mumbled, grabbing the keys from him as soon as he took them out of his pocket. She turned away from the two of them and made her way to the car, ignoring the pain that her ankle was causing her. She had opted to stick with her cheerleading sneakers because she didn't think that walking in heels would be ideal but her ankle still hurt nonetheless.
On the drive home, Scarlett kept a scowl on her face as she thought about what she knew. So, Erica was now a werewolf who obviously couldn't wait to claw off Derek's clothes. Scarlett's scowl dropped and she sighed. She was being petty. Maybe that wasn't what Erica wanted. Maybe. But it still irked her that she was going to be dressing like that around him. And up until now, she'd never noticed how pretty Erica actually was. Nobody had. But now, Scarlett definitely felt threatened. She knew herself that she was pretty good looking and she could accept that because hey, a girl is a allowed to feel good about herself but now Erica was also extremely good looking and that would be completely fine if she wasn't going to be spending shit loads of time with Derek. Sure, Scarlett was being a little shallow but her relationship with Derek could crumble if Erica tried to get with him. Derek had already told Scarlett that she was his, that much was clear, but she had never voiced the fact that he was hers. And Scarlett was very protective over what was hers which could only mean trouble.
When Scarlett arrived home she screamed into a cushion, trying to rid herself of the frustration she was feeling. It didn't really help so she went on to making herself tea, her go-to relaxation method. She went upstairs to her room and sat on her bed, watching whatever cheesy movie was on TV at the time. She hardly paid attention to it though, her mind was still racing about everything and how she was going to make sure Derek remained hers. She wondered if he had even told Erica about them…he probably hadn't because they had said they wouldn't tell anyone which only made things worse. Maybe if she knew the truth about Derek's relationship with Scarlett then she would lay off. Then again, Scarlett could just be jumping to conclusions. But then maybe she wasn't. Derek was extremely attractive and if Erica thought that he was fair game then she could easily go for him.
After a while of contemplating whether or not she should change her appearance slightly to make herself more desirable, Scarlett decided against it. She was already desirable enough. And she refused to start dressing slutty. She had more class than that. And screw everything else. If Erica knew the truth then she wouldn't have a problem. Scarlett had already won Derek's affections so she was just overreacting, yet again. Derek thought Scarlett was beautiful. Did he think Erica fucking Reyes was beautiful? Scarlett sighed again as she answered her own question.
Probably.
Reaching into her pocket for her phone, she found it empty and remembered that Derek still had it. She groaned and looked at the clock for the time, realising that she should probably start getting ready for work. She quickly changed and headed out to the car where she saw Derek leaning against it. Despite everything she said about making sure he stayed hers, just the sight of him was enough to make her angry. Keeping a cold look on her face she walked towards him and stopped right in front of his intimidating stature.
"Move, I have a job to get to." Scarlett said quietly, not looking at him. His eyes trailed down to her ankle after noticing her limping slightly.
"What the hell happened?" He questioned, gesturing to her ankle.
"It was an accident." She answered simply.
"What kind of accident?" Derek demanded, feeling his temper rise at the thought of someone or something hurting his Scarlett.
"A cheerleading one. Now, can you please move? I'm gonna be late." She told him urgently.
"You can't keep running away Scarlett." He said with a sigh, still not too happy that she was injured but able to move on considering he knew that nothing had purposefully hurt her.
"I'm not running away. I'm asking you nicely to move so that I'm not late for work." Scarlett countered quickly.
"I'm not moving. Not until you talk to me. Not until you tell me what's going on with you."
"So you're just gonna stand there? All night? You sure Erica won't miss you?" Scarlett snapped before she could stop herself. Derek shook his head at her.
"Why are you getting so jealous?" He asked with a hint of amusement lacing his voice as he cupped the sides of her face, towering over her small frame.
"I already told you I'm not jealous. I just uh…I'm not-" She couldn't find the exact words to say to express what she was feeling without proving him right and sounding like a jealous bitch. "Taking a page from Lydia's book; I don't want to fall prey to society's desire to turn girls into insecure narcotic freaks but…that's- that's exactly what I am." She sighed finally, hanging her head, defeated by the weight of the truth. Derek stared at her, wondering how the hell she could possibly be feeling the way she was. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, not to mention she was smart and funny as well and she was idiotic to be jealous of Erica because Erica didn't hold a candle to Scarlett.
"Scarlett," He said softly, making her look up at him. "Despite what your crazy little mind thinks, I don't see Erica in that way. She's a part of my pack so she's more like family. She needed it though, that confidence boost. And I needed another werewolf."
"So you're not like…attracted to her, or anything?" Scarlett asked quietly, eyes filled with hope.
Derek laughed and shook his head. "No. But I am however, attracted to you." Scarlett blushed and gave him a small smile, leaning up to meet his lips with her own.
"But seriously, she better keep her hands off you. Oh and, where's my phone?" Scarlett flashed a bittersweet smile and Derek smirked, taking her phone out of his pocket and handing it to her before moving to open her door for her. "Well shit. I'm late." She told him with a small laugh, checking her phone once she was in the car. Derek closed the door for her and she smiled again before driving off way past the speed limit.
"Hey, whoa there hon." Mary said, taking the coffee out of Scarlett's hand as she stumbled again. "Is it your ankle?"
"I think so, it hurts like hell." Scarlett told her with a sigh. "My mom said it would be fine but I'm not too sure."
"I think you need some coffee." Mary told her, going about making her a shot of espresso. Scarlett took it gratefully and downed it quickly so that no one would see. There weren't many people in the café but still, she would be scolded if her boss saw her drinking the coffee. "Better?"
"Much." She nodded, walking to the till when she saw another customer. After that she and Mary took turns taking orders and when they weren't doing that they were talking about anything and everything.
"Wait, so let me get this right. You like this boy and he has some other girl?" Mary asked when Scarlett vaguely explained the Derek situation without mentioning any names.
"No. Not really, but there is another girl and I know I shouldn't feel threatened by her but I kind of do and I can't help it. She's fucking sexy." Scarlett told her exasperatedly.
"Oh pumpkin, if I were you I wouldn't worry about a thing. I had a similar problem back in school and you know what I did to solve it? I showed the dumb bitch that Tucker was my man and she backed off and now look at us, we're happy as pie." Mary told her, flashing a bright smile. Oh, if only it were that easy for Scarlett to do. But, she had already told Derek that she was fine with not telling anyone about them so if she told Erica then the whole speech would have been for nothing. Not to mention Derek had just reassured her that he only had eyes for her but Scarlett was still a little wary. "Besides, look at yourself sugar! I dare any bimbo to try and outshine you." Scarlett rolled her eyes and laughed. "If you really like this guy and he's genuine then I say go for it. I know you mentioned you hadn't told anyone yet but what are you waiting for? Ain't no one stopping you. And if he makes you happy then why not be happy publicly? Show everyone who he belongs to. Trust me; you'll feel a whole lot better once you do."
Scarlett looked at Mary, giving her a look of admiration. "When did you get so wise?"
Mary let out a melodic laugh. "Sweetie, I've been giving advice all my life. It's just what I do."
The two of them laughed again and then waited until the last people had left before clearing everything up and closing the shop. They were the only staff on tonight so they decided to walk out with each other once Mary had locked the back door.
"Alright Scar, well I'll see you later alright?" Mary said, stopping at her car.
"Yeah of course, drive safely." Scarlett told her with a smile, walking to her own car.
"You too sweet pea!" When Scarlett was outside her car, Mary was already driving past. They waved at each other and Scarlett opened her door about to get in when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stick up like someone was watching her. She whipped her head around quickly. There was nothing there so she checked all around her again and she thought she saw a flash of something…like a tail, going into the alley across the street but she shook it off and guessed that it was just her mind playing tricks on her to freak her out. She quickly got into the car and drove away, not noticing the figure watching her from the shadows or the creature next to them.
"He told you to spy on Lydia?" Scarlett asked Allison, referring to Mr Argent.
"More or less. He said…'we want you to keep an eye on your friend.' Doesn't that basically mean spying?" Allison asked as they walked through the halls together.
Scarlett thought back to Derek telling her to keep an eye on Isaac. Did he mean that she was to spy on him…? Didn't really matter anymore. Isaac hadn't been in school for days, probably because the cops were after him. "Well, not necessarily but I think that's exactly what it means in this case."
"Great." Allison sighed, pulling her binder to her chest.
"So…how was the date last night?" Scarlett asked, trying to get onto a happier subject.
Allison smiled like she was thinking back to it and she nodded. "It was really good, while it lasted at least. I felt horrible for Lydia though. She seemed so freaked out. I don't blame her for taking the day off."
Scott had told Scarlett last night that they ended up cutting the whole thing short because Lydia started screaming and having some sort of panic attack. "I wonder what's going on with her…Why she's having all these hallucinations that are scaring her."
"What hallucinations?" Allison asked with a raised brow.
"She doesn't talk about it much but she let it slip when we were on the phone one night. Apparently she's seeing things. I'm pretty sure it has something to do with Peter attacking her and her wandering around in the woods I just wish I knew what it was exactly so that we could help her." Scarlett said, looking down. The two of them came to a stop at the end of the corridor when they saw Erica pushing Scott up against the lockers before looking over to them, obviously trying to get under their skin. Well, mostly Allison's but it bugged Scarlett as well. "Come on. Scott can handle himself." Scarlett took Allison's arm gently and led her away.
"Are you gonna come get lunch?" Allison asked as they approached the cafeteria. Scarlett looked inside and made a face.
"I think I'm gonna go sit outside and study instead. I'm not in the mood for people." Scarlett said with a small smile. "See you later."
"Bye Scar." Allison said, walking into the cafeteria while Scarlett headed in the other direction. Just as Scarlett was about to walk outside she felt herself being slammed up against the wall.
"Hey there princess." Erica said sarcastically, keeping once clawed hand pressed against Scarlett's throat just hard enough so that she was having a little trouble breathing properly.
"What the hell do you want?" Scarlett croaked out, putting her hand on Erica's wrist trying to pry it off but to no avail.
"I just wanna talk." She said with a smirk.
"Then talk." Scarlett said, glaring furiously at her.
"Oh look at you…so helpless. You may be bold and fearless in social confrontation but when it comes to the physical…well, let's just say you aren't exactly the one with the power to crush someone else."
"I've never done anything to you." Scarlett breathed.
Erica ignored her and continued with what she was saying. "You've always been the pretty one, the popular one, the one that the guys want and you've never had to be the one to watch someone else in the limelight your whole life. But now you will. You see, now that I've turned, I'm beautiful and more confident and you, well you get to sit back and watch as I get the attention, not for being the epileptic freak but for being hot." Erica touched Scarlett's cheek with one of her claws, dragging it down, not breaking the skin. When Scarlett cringed Erica smirked again. "Fun chat, but I'm afraid I'm needed elsewhere."
She let go of Scarlett's throat and Scarlett stumbled a little bit, glaring after her with wide eyes. Putting her hands to her throat, she rubbed it, replaying what just happened. The girl had some serious issues. Scarlett had never once done anything to her or said anything and yet she was targeting her. What the hell was that all about? If Erica was trying to make a point that she wanted popularity then she made it loud and clear and Scarlett couldn't care less. Good for her that she was more confident but Scarlett didn't really need her to tell her that. Was she supposed to feel threatened about losing her popularity status? Because she wasn't. In fact, she wouldn't really care if nobody liked her anymore. All she cared about was Erica staying away from Derek. If she did that then they really wouldn't have a problem.
Scarlett looked up when she heard footsteps coming towards her.
"Scar…what happened? Are you okay?" Scott asked, literally sensing how shaken up she was. Scarlett looked at him blankly before nodding and after a few seconds she threw herself into his arms. "Hey, it's okay." He said, stroking her hair as she clung to him silently.
"She's crazy Scott." Scarlett told him once she pulled away.
"Erica?" He asked, seeming to already know. She nodded and sighed, picking her bag up off the floor. "Okay, just come with me. We're going to the ice rink to talk Boyd out of getting the bite."
Scarlett raised a brow at her brother. "Why are we doing that?"
Scott looked at her incredulously. "Are you freaking kidding me? He could get killed by letting Derek do this. If not by the bite then by the Argent's who are planning on killing every werewolf they find!"
"Good point." Scarlett said after a few seconds. It was only really hitting her how badly things could turn out if Derek kept turning teenagers. If any of them died…it wouldn't just be on him, it would be on all of them. Scott nodded at the realisation on her face before the two of them jogged off to the car.
Scarlett shivered upon entering the ice rink. Of course that would be the day that she chose to wear a bralette and a skirt. She pulled the sleeves of her cardigan down around her hands as she held onto Scott as to not slip on the ice.
"Boyd!" Scott called out to Boyd who was on the Zamboni, cleaning and smoothing the ice. "I just wanna talk! Come on Boyd, please." Boyd ignored them and kept the machine moving. "Did Derek tell you everything? And I don't just mean going out of control on the full moons I mean everything." When Scott said that Boyd turned off the Zamboni and turned to face them.
"He told me about the hunters."
"And that doesn't freak you out enough to say no?" Scarlett asked him.
"Whatever you want, there's other ways to get it." Scott tried to reason with him but Boyd cut him off.
"Look, I just wanna not eat lunch alone every day." Scarlett looked down, feeling bad for the guy. She understood why Derek chose the people he did. They were all outcasts that needed help and confidence and for a second she thought maybe she and Scott should stop and just let it happen. Scarlett herself had never had the problem of not having friends and neither had Scott really, he had always had Stiles and now he was actually popular since he got the bite. So, why shouldn't these guys get that chance as well?
"If you're looking for friends, you can do…a lot better than Derek."
"Scott." Scarlett hissed, elbowing him. She may not agree a hundred percent with what Derek was doing but they were still together and even though Scott didn't know it, it didn't mean she couldn't try and stick up for him.
"What?" Scott hissed back.
"That really hurt Scott." They heard from behind them. The twins both turned to see Derek with his arms behind his back, Isaac and Erica by his side. "If you're going to review me…at least take a…consensus." He said, gesturing to the other werewolves. "Erica, how's life been for you since we met?"
"Hmm. In a word…transformative." She said before growling at them, flashing her fangs. Scarlett thought back to earlier and it made her glare even harder at Erica.
"Isaac?" Derek asked.
"Well I'm a little bummed about being a fugitive but other than that I'm great." Isaac answered casually. Derek's gaze turned to Scarlett and Scott followed his gaze, eyes narrowing at the look Derek was giving his sister. Scarlett looked at them both with a blank expression. She didn't want Scott to assume anything from the two of them exchanging longing looks, which may have already happened.
"This isn't exactly a fair fight." Scott said, tearing his eyes away from Scarlett to train them on Derek, giving him a glare.
"Then go home Scott." Derek said with a carefree smile. He nodded to Isaac and Erica and they immediately went for Scott and Scarlett but they stopped when Scott slammed his fist against the ice, breaking it and making Scarlett move away quickly. When Scott looked back up he had shifted and Scarlett moved even further away towards the exit so that she wasn't caught up in the brawl. She hoped to God that Derek wouldn't let them actually kill Scott but at the same time she had a feeling that Scott would be able to take the both of them.
"I meant fair for them." Scott growled loudly causing Scarlett to jump and trip backwards. She braced herself for the impact of the cold ice but it never came. Instead she found that Derek had caught her and when she straightened up, he didn't let go.
"What the hell are you doing?" Scarlett asked, her voice holding the same amount of worry that her face did. Derek spared her a glance but otherwise ignored her question, turning his attention back to the other werewolves. Angered at the silence she received from Derek, Scarlett decided to ignore the grip on her arm for the time being and look at the fight taking place.
Scott threw Isaac across the rink and he slammed Erica into the Zamboni where Boyd still sat, watching the fight. When Isaac got back up, he walked to Scott and Scott was ready to take him but Erica got a grip on him from behind and they managed to throw him across the ice. He rebounded quickly and went for Isaac. When Scott had him on the ground though, Erica jumped on his back clawing at him. For a minute it looked like Scott wasn't going to get out and Scarlett panicked.
"Scott!" She shouted, trying to tug her arm away from Derek. His grip on her only tightened while he watched on intently. "Derek, please. They're hurting him!" She struggled against him and he continued to hold her back.
"He'll heal. Stop struggling." He said sternly, watching in slight surprise as Scott managed to knock both Isaac and Erica out. When Scarlett saw this, she smiled and felt the need to cheer for her brother's victory but she contained herself.
"Don't you get it?! He's not doing this for you! He's just adding to his own power!" Scott shouted at the other two betas on the ground. "It's all about him. You may think he's giving you some kind of gift but all he's done has turned you into a bunch of guard dogs!" Scott gripped them and sent them sliding across the ice to Derek and Scarlett's feet.
Scarlett glanced at Derek and then looked down again. She didn't want to believe that it was all about power for Derek. She really didn't, but she might end up having no choice because it seemed to be becoming truer and truer. And that thought hurt her deeply. What if in the end he decided that she wasn't enough for him? That she didn't add to his power in any way so he just tossed her aside like she was nothing? Thinking about that scared her more than she'd care to admit.
"It's true. It is about power." Scarlett's eyes widened slightly as she looked up at Derek who had let her go by this point and was now walking towards Scott. She watched with a panicked expression as Derek, now fully shifted, head-butted Scott and then slashed his torso, punching and hitting him until he slammed him against the ice. Scott spat out a mouthful of blood and choked slightly when Derek pressed his foot against Scott's throat.
Scarlett couldn't stand watching any longer so she ran towards them. "Derek, stop!" She shouted, pushing him out of the way and sliding on her knees next to Scott, making sure he was okay. Scott was groaning in pain and clutching his side. "Scott the struggling is only going to make it worse." Scarlett told him, checking his side. He sat up slightly when Boyd jumped down from the Zamboni about to follow Derek.
"Don't! You don't wanna be like him." Scott said gruffly.
Scarlett looked up at Boyd as well. "You're right." He said, lifting his sweatshirt to reveal the bite. "I wanna be like you." Scarlett shook her head slightly and looked at Derek who was already looking at her as if he was disappointed in her. Well screw him. She watched all four of them walk away before turning her full attention to Scott who actually needed her help.
"I'll be fine." He said shortly, pushing her hands away and standing up. Scarlett gave him an incredulous look and shook her head at him.
"You won't be fine unless we get you patched up, Scotty. Here, just let me help." She pleaded, trying to examine his injuries while he kept refusing. "Scott!" Scarlett snapped making him sigh but stop pushing her away. "Thank you." She lifted his shirt again to look at the deep scratches on his side and cringed at the sight of them, gingerly touching the skin around them making Scott wince. Scarlett let his shirt drop and stepped away slightly. "You need to see Deaton."
"Yeah, I will as soon as you tell me what's going on between you and Derek." Scott said, giving her a stern look that said he meant business. Scarlett knew he wasn't just messing around now. He wanted an answer and she wasn't capable of keeping him in the dark about her relationship. He was her brother after all, her twin, the person she so often turned to and somewhere inside of her; Scarlett knew that he deserved to know the truth.
"Scotty look," She began but Scott cut her off quickly.
"Scarlett I just want to know the truth. I-I know that you've been keeping things from me because believe it or not, you're not as good as a liar as you think you are." Scott stated, shaking his head slightly.
Scarlett nodded in understanding and decided that she needed to man-up and just say it. Say what she needed to say and then it would be out there. Scott would know the truth and she wouldn't be burdened by the weight of the secret any longer. "You're right. No more bullshit. I'll tell you…but I think you already know."
"Know what?" Scott pressed. Even though Scarlett was right, he had a pretty good idea of what she was keeping from him, he was not up for accepting it. He refused to believe what his instincts were telling him and what they had been telling him for weeks now.
Scarlett opened her mouth to speak but the words seemed to just keep getting stuck in her throat. There was no easy way to say it or explain it. She knew what the outcome would be. Scott would be pissed, for a while at least. She was counting on the fact that he would see past it and forgive her although, in Scarlett's mind, there wasn't much for him to forgive her for. It's not like she had done anything wrong. It's not like she chose to fall for Derek because Scott didn't like him. That wasn't it at all. "I- we, uh…Derek and I…we are- you know, we're kind of um, together…"
Scott's stare hardened and his jaw clenched tightly making Scarlett's heartbeat speed up immensely as she could practically see the anger bubbling within him. "What?" He demanded harshly. Much to Scott's dismay, he had been right and now, he was furious.
"Please, Scott, just listen for a second-"
"How together are you?" Scott asked, his voice low and dangerous as he took a step towards Scarlett who immediately took a step back.
"W-what?" Her voice wavered from the sheer fright she was feeling at the moment.
"How. Together. Are. You?" He asked again. He talked slowly this time, speaking each word clearly as his fists clenched at his sides.
Something snapped inside Scarlett suddenly and she took a moment to think about what was happening. This was her brother. Why the hell was she scared of her brother? Scott would never hurt her. She drew in a breath, straightening up and gaining more confidence. "You already know Scott. I know you do. You're just afraid to hear it." Scott was a little taken aback by her words but he kept his menacing demeanour perfectly intact. "You're just afraid to hear it because of how much you hate Derek. But you know what? You need to hear it. You need to know that it doesn't matter what you think, what you say or what you do, nothing is going to change the fact that I've already fucked Derek." Something dark came over Scarlett and it was as if she couldn't stop the words falling out of her mouth. She let out a jeering laugh and sneered at Scott. "And you didn't even know…so much for those werewolf senses."
"Stop it." Scott bit out, not wanting to hear or believe what Scarlett had just said. He didn't want to hear about these things. Not from Scarlett. Not from his little sister. And what's worse is that she wasn't just talking about some random guy. She was talking about Derek. Derek who was dangerous and would only end up hurting her in the end, both physically and emotionally.
"Why, Scott? When it's the truth. You wanted to know the truth right? Now you have it." Scarlett hadn't planned to be so cruel. She wasn't even sure why she was doing it. She guessed it was just because she knew that Scott was going to be mad and she didn't think he had the right. Why the hell did he get to be happy with Allison and she wasn't allowed to be happy with Derek? She guessed that since he was going to be pissed anyway, she had nothing to lose.
"You know that whatever he's told you is a lie, right?" Scott questioned nastily. "You know that he doesn't give a damn about you? All he wants is power and if you can't see that then you're pretty stupid Scarlett."
"Shut up." Scarlett barked, glaring ferociously at Scott.
"Can't you see that what you think you have with him isn't real? He doesn't care about you."
"What would you know about what Derek cares about?" Scarlett shouted. "You don't know him, Scott! Not like I do."
"I know him enough to know that all he's gonna do is dump you on your ass." Scott bit back, his words seeming to contain venom that stung Scarlett like a bitch.
"You're a real dick, you know that?" Scarlett said, tears stinging her eyes. She never meant to get in a fight but it was too late now and she was pissed and upset.
Scott's eyes widened a fraction and he sighed, shaking his head. "Look, I don't care what Derek has told you. It doesn't matter. What does matter is that he's dangerous and not good for you. He's power-hungry and that's all he is. If you can't see that then- then, I don't know what to tell you. But if you stick around with him then you're gonna end up hurt or worse."
"That's not true and you know it." Scarlett protested fiercely.
"Get your head out of your ass Scarlett. It is true. And you should leave him."
Scarlett's eyes narrowed and she shook her head. "Fuck you." Scott's eyes widened before filling with hurt. He hadn't expected her to say that and he hadn't expected two little words to sting as much as they did. She may as well have just slapped him across the face. Instead of saying anything else, Scott let his hurt and disappointment show through him shaking his head at her and turning away to leave her there.
When Scott had left Scarlett ran her shaky hands through her hair before falling to the ice on her knees. She ignored the cold sting of the ice against her skin as she immediately regretted everything she had said. She had allowed her temper to get the best of her and she shouldn't have let that happen. Now she was on the outs with Scott and it actually hurt like a bitch. It was as if she could feel what he was feeling. It had always been like that for them. She hated this. She hated that Scott was pissed at her. She hated that she was pissed at Scott. It was all a shamble. Her telling Scott shouldn't have gone like that and she wished she could start again. Maybe if she would have said it nicer or explained it properly instead of letting all of her words be harsh and careless then Scott wouldn't have been as angry. Well, scratch that. Of course he would've been just as angry but they could've at least talked about it like civilised people rather than intentionally trying to hurt each other with their words. Scarlett had to admit to herself that it wasn't fair of her to come out with it like that but it also wasn't fair of Scott to tell her that Derek didn't care about her. That was complete bullshit. She had been right when she said Scott didn't know Derek because he didn't. He knew the side of Derek that was hostile and cocky and intimidating but he had never met the side of Derek that actually cared and if he had then it was guaranteed his reaction would've been so much different.
Eventually, Scarlett stood up shakily and regained her composure by straightening out her outfit and wiping the tears from her eyes. She didn't want to cry over her fight with Scott. They had fights all the time and she didn't cry about them but this one seemed to be different. Scott seemed to feel betrayed and the fact that she was the one who had unintentionally betrayed him killed her inside. She knew that they weren't going to rebound from the fight as quickly as she would've liked.
Taking out her phone, Scarlett pondered who to call for a second or two before realising exactly who she needed. Despite her longing to be back in Derek's arms at the moment, she didn't feel it was right to go to him. As amazing as he was, she seriously doubted that he would understand completely and that was fine but she needed someone else. Someone, who had been through times like this with her for longer than she could remember, someone who knew exactly how to make her feel better. And of course, that someone was her best friend. The girl that she needed more than anything right now. The girl who had seen her cry countless times before…she needed Lydia.
"Hello?" Lydia picked up on the third ring, her voice sounding casual and unamused like always.
"Hey Lyds," Lydia immediately picked up on the saddened tone of Scarlett's voice.
"Scar, what is it?" She asked quickly.
"Um, I kind of need a ride…I'm at the ice rink." Scarlett said quietly.
"I'll be there in a few." Lydia told her without question before hanging up. She may be self-absorbed a lot of the time but Lydia really always did pull through when it was a best friend emergency.
Scarlett put her phone away and made her way out of the ice rink, waiting outside for a little while before Lydia pulled up in front of her.