So sorry it took me so long to update this! Writer's block and having to study for the PSATs is not a good combination. So I was originally going to post the entire party scene as part of this chapter, but I decided to just make it another chapter, just because it's so much content. I'm going to try to post once a week from now on, so fingers crossed that that works out. Once again, I've posted Carolina's outfits for the chapter on my profile, so you can go look at those sets. I'd like to thank Fawkestheangelinthetardis, Tarafina, and the guests for reviewing my story. I love to hear what you guys think about my new chapters, so please please please review!
Hey guys, shocker: I don't own Teen Wolf.
Carolina's eyes flew open as her phone vibrated violently under her pillow, an obnoxious beeping keeping time with the buzzes. Over the years she had found that the most effective way of waking herself up was to put her cellphone underneath her pillow, so that way the vibrations would jolt her awake. Of course, it was not exactly a fail-safe method. Carolina was a miraculously impressive sleeper. She could fall asleep within two minutes after she closed her eyes, and once asleep, it usually took a large effort to wake her back up. Whenever she was uninterested in something, she would doze off. Carolina especially felt embarrassed when she fell asleep during art. Once she had dozed off while watercolor painting, and she had woken up with her face stuck to the paper. Took a little while for the stains to come off of her face, so she walked around the rest of the day with a muddy blue and purple blur on her cheek. People kept asking what had happened to her face, because it seemed as though she had a nasty bruise. The only time she was certain to not fall asleep was when she was playing violin. It was something she so avidly enjoyed, she could never imagine neglecting it. Her violin was her baby; if anything were to happen to it, heads would roll.
Groaning, Carolina quickly shut the alarm off, unplugging her phone from the charger. She rolled over and, swinging her legs off her twin bed, shoved her feet into her slippers. Standing up, her vision went black for a moment as her blood rushed down to her feet. She shuffled over to the bathroom and washed her face, putting in her contacts. Carolina blinked a few times and waited for her vision to get back into focus. When she could see properly, she went back to her room and changed into the first things in her drawers. It was too early to be making an effort, so her routine usually just consisted of throwing on clothes and eating breakfast. It wasn't like she had anyone to impress at school, and makeup had always been a no-go for her. Carolina's sister, Isabela, used to try to give her a makeover, but she would stubbornly refuse. She just never really saw any point in wearing it.
Carolina made her way over to the bathroom, washing her face with cool water in an attempt to wake up. Once she'd brushed her teeth, she trudged downstairs. She decided to take the quick option and speed eat an apple.
Carolina dashed back up the stairs, slowing as she got to the top. She poked her head into her father's room, reluctant to wake him. He'd been working himself to the bone ever since the accident concerning Isabela, and the only time he looked peaceful was when he was fast asleep. While Carolina wanted to just give up, to just lay in bed and not bother with anything, Thomas tended to deal with his grief by immersing himself completely in his work. He overworked himself so that it was the only thing that occupied his mind, instead of painful memories and unwelcome hurt.
Carolina watched him for a moment. There was a sort of emptiness in his expression nowadays, something that was completely undetectable during sleep. She was about to enter and wake him when a loud, obnoxious honking startled her. Carolina let out a shriek, jumping and hitting her head against the door jam. Cursing, she ran down the stairs, the blaring noise still cutting through the previously peaceful morning every once in a while. She was surprised, however, to look out the window to see a familiar blue jeep in her driveway. Carolina stuffed her feet into a worn pair of sneakers, hoisted her backpack onto her shoulder, and headed out the door.
She approached Stiles' jeep with caution, ears firmly covered. Once close enough, she elbowed his window to get his attention. Stiles, who had been periodically punching the steering wheel, halted in mid swing and quickly began to crank down his window.
"Hey Carolina," he chirped, giving a grin. Ugh. It was way too early for smiles. The happy expression quickly slid off his face when he was met with Carolina's stony one.
"Hi Stiles," she sighed. "What are you doing here?" It wasn't hostile, just merely a curious question.
"Well, I was supposed to pick up Scott, but he just texted me saying he doesn't need a ride, since he's running late. Something about sleep walking and bad dreams, I dunno. But since I was already in the neighborhood, I figured you might still be up for that ride I mentioned yesterday."
Carolina nodded, cocking her head slightly. "I said I didn't need a ride." Stiles sighed, and pulled the jeep into reverse. But Carolina put her hand up, making him stop in his tracks. "But... since you're already here, you might as well save my dad the trip. That is, if you didn't wake him up."
She reached into the jeep, slapping him across the back of his head, a la Agent Gibbs.
"Ow - What was that for?"
"That was for waking up the entire neighborhood." She held out her hand, palm facing up. Stiles gave her a blank look, slapping it in a high five. Carolina rolled her eyes, continuing to hold her hand out. "Your phone, numbskull."
Stiles let out a small, "Ah," before leaning over and digging through his backpack.
"C'mon, don't have all day." Carolina walked around the jeep and hopped into the passenger seat.
Stiles looked up, a paper between his lips. "Patience," he mumbled, voice muffled by the paper, "Is a virtue, Whitney." Punctuating the sentence by slapping his phone into her hand, he pulled the car into reverse once more, giving Carolina barely enough time to slam her door shut. She turned to Stiles and stuck her tongue out quickly. He returned the gesture, and soon enough they were speeding in the direction of the high school. Carolina shot her dad a quick text to let him know that she got a ride to school. No doubt he'd want to know where she was. That is, unless he were struck by another idea, in which case he would tune everything else out, because it could wait.
Once she'd buckled herself in and actually put on her shoes properly, Carolina turned to Stiles. "So, why couldn't you let me know you were here without blowing out my eardrums?"
"Well, I didn't have your phone number!" He kept one hand on the steering wheel while gesturing wildly with the other.
"And what was stopping you from walking up and knocking on the door like a normal human being?"
"Eh, that's boring. I thought you should get the same treatment Scott gets. I'm all for equal rights. Yep, that's me. Totally against sexism and all."
Carolina couldn't help but smile at Stiles' weak excuse. "Clearly." She leaned forward, hair falling into her face as she turned the radio on. Settling on the same station as the previous day, she sat back in her seat and closed her eyes. She was too tired to worry whether or not the lack of conversation between them was awkward or not. But she felt comfortable enough in her slightly meditative state. Every once in a while, Stiles would glance over to see her sitting there, eyes closed, mumbling along to the words. After a few minutes, Carolina opened her eyes and looked at Stiles.
"Sorry about my grumpiness. As you can probably tell, I can be sort of... blergh." She tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, sighing slightly.
"Nah, don't worry about it. Wait... was that a 30 Rock reference?" Stiles shot her a goofy grin, pulling into the school parking lot.
"You know it. That show was the best thing to happen to me. Just a warning, I do quote Liz Lemon quite a lot." Carolina smiled. The conversation took a turn to the glorious topic of 30 Rock, reminiscing about the genius of Tina Fey. They were slightly later than they probably should've been, and most of the parking spots were already occupied. It took Stiles a couple minutes to locate a parking spot, which Carolina pointed out in the corner of the plot. Expertly maneuvering his vehicle into the tight space, Stiles pulled it into park. Carolina hopped out of the jeep, grabbing her backpack and following Stiles into the building, avidly quoting one of her favorite episodes. She stopped at her locker.
"Well, thanks for the ride. You've done my father a service, letting him sleep for an extra few hours." Carolina gave Stiles a two fingered salute out of habit, which he quickly returned.
"No problem. I'll be sure to honk if I'm ever in the neighborhood again." Carolina shoved him with her shoulder.
"Hey, I didn't give you my number for shits and giggles. Put it to some use." She thought for a moment. "But I don't really text. So if you expect a conversation, you're gonna have to call me. Sorry, I'm lazy like that. I'd much rather say something rather than type it out. Takes too long."
"Whatever you say, chief." Stiles looked up as the warning bell rang. "Ah, gotta go to my locker. See you in a few."
Carolina watched as he jogged down the hall and disappeared around the corner. She shook her head and dialed the combination into her locker. Once she'd gotten the books she needed for the first half of the day, she headed in the direction of her English class. She got there before Stiles but after the majority of the class. She walked with noticeably more dignity than the day before to her seat towards the back of the classroom, giving a wave and smile to Allison as she slid into her desk. The seat in front of Allison was empty, as well as the one on the other side of Allison, opposite to Carolina. But just as the bell was ringing, signaling the beginning of the period, Scott and Stiles slipped into class, just barely on time. Stiles took his seat next to Allison, Scott sitting in front of her, in the same formation as the day before.
The two were deep in conversation, whispering furiously to one another. Scott had a vaguely worried expression on his face, bordering alarm, as he continued to tell Stiles something. The paler boy had a similarly concerned expression. It was odd seeing him so uncharacteristically serious. Intrigued, Carolina straightened up in her chair and strained her ears in an attempt to overhear what Scott was saying. She caught small snippets of their conversation, but it wasn't very interesting considering she couldn't hear the entire conversation.
Frustrated that her snooping tactics weren't up to par, she instead turned her attention towards Allison. "So, how was your first night of homework?" Allison glanced up from the notebook she was doodling in. Placing down her pen, she had a whisper of a smile on her face.
"Well, I didn't end up getting much done." Allison glanced at the back of Scott's head. He went extremely still and had become slightly detached from his and Stiles' conversation.
Carolina's eyes widened, and she looked between the two. "No... You didn't...?"
Allison blushed furiously, and Scott's head ducked down slightly. Waving her hands around, Allison shook her head. "No, no. Not like that, you sicko. I'm not that easy."
Mr. Davis began to write on the blackboard and the class went relatively quiet as they started to copy the information down.
Allison whispered, "I'll tell you later."
Carolina pouted, but opened her notebook and jotted down the notes on Kafka's Metamorphosis. English flew by surprisingly quickly, as did history, and her favorite class, Orchestra. She had been playing violin since she was in first grade, and had stuck with it, taking private lessons for nine years. Carolina had an ever present violin hickey on her throat, making it seem like she got a lot more action than she actually did (which was none). After a couple more periods, lunch finally rolled around.
Carolina had already somewhat gotten a sense of the general pattern of the cafeteria layout. The jocks and barbie dolls occupied two tables in the middle of the lunchroom, near the doors. Nerds, gamers, and outcasts bordered the cafeteria, and Scott and Stiles had their own table, towards the outskirts of the room. Druggies, skaters, preppies, and everyone in between filled in the extra space in the middle. Carolina sat with Harley and a few of her friends - a peppy blond girl obsessed with her grades named Ilana, a dramatic asian girl known as Molly who spent most of her lunch periods in the chorus room, and a quiet, seemingly shy redhead, Eriel. She didn't talk much, but when she did, it was usually very observant or very philosophical.
Carolina plopped into her seat next to Harley and pulled her lunch out of her backpack. Harley looked up and smiled. "Hey Caro." Ilana and Eriel glanced up and waved, before going back to what appeared to be an English project.
"Hey guys. What's new?" Carolina glanced at each girl, but Harley was the only one that acknowledged her question. The other two girls were too distracted with their schoolwork.
"Not much." Harley paused for a moment. "Actually, Ilana here just told me that Harris is planning on assigning us some big lab to do at home with our partners. Due next week. So that blows."
Carolina made a noise of disgust, tearing a bite out of her sandwich.
"Yeah. Also, tonight's that big party. First one of the new school year. You going?"
Carolina looked up from her food and hastily shook her head. "Nope. Nu-uh. Parties aren't really my scene."
Harley stuck out her lower lip. "Oh, c'mon. Give me one good reason why you can't go."
"I have a ton of homework." Harley raised her eyebrows disbelievingly. "And I uh... Oh! I totally forgot, I have to volunteer at the hospital tonight." It was completely untrue, and blatantly so. Carolina plastered a phony grin on her face in an attempt to sell the lie.
"Bullshit."
Carolina opened her mouth indignantly. "Wha - no! I swear I have to."
"No, that is complete and utter bullshit. Any other excuses?" Harley smirked as Carolina opened her closed her mouth several times like a fish.
"Fine. I can give you three reasons. One, I dance like an inebriated chicken. Two, I don't like big crowds, it sucks for my anxiety. And three, I despise club music. It should not be allowed to be considered music."
Harley waved her hand dismissively. "Nope, none of those points are valid. You're going."
"No I'm not. Like I said, hospital."
"Yes you are. Please, Carolina?"
"Nein."
"Please. I'll... I'll to the science lab by myself. You won't have to lift a finger. C'mon. It won't kill you to be social for one night. And if you're having a terrible time after a couple hours, we can ditch the party."
It was too good an offer to pass up. Carolina huffed, glaring at Harley. "Fine. Only if you do the entire lab. But FYI, that's just low, bribing me with homework."
Harley thrust her fist in the air with victory. "Don't worry, you'll get over it when you're sitting at home doing nothing while I'm slaving away."
Carolina grinned. "Yeah, I'm definitely going to enjoy that."
"Also, you're letting me come over to pick you out an outfit and do your makeup."
"What? No, that wasn't part of the agreement." Carolina glared at Harley.
"Too bad. Remember, I'm the one that got the short end of the stick. So we're doing this my way. If I have to suffer through the lab, you get to suffer through a makeover."
Grumbling to herself, Carolina tore off a bite of her sandwich, chewing crossly. This had better be worth it.
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As promised, Harris did assign a huge lab project. Carolina was put in a slightly better mood, knowing she wouldn't have to participate in it. When the final bell rang, she booked it to her locker, shoving whatever binders and notebooks she would need. Harley approached her just as she shut her locker.
The girl bounced on the balls of her feet. "Okay, let's go."
Carolina's brow furrowed. "Where?"
Harley rolled her eyes. "To lacrosse. We're watching, obviously."
Of course. And Stiles was at practice too, so there was no hope of her catching another ride from him. Carolina let out a resigned sigh and followed Harley out to the field. At least she wouldn't have to sit with Lydia again. She didn't despise the girl, but it was exhausting listening to her chatter on about the latest trends or what Glamour magazine said about picking the right foundation shade. There had to be more to her than high heels and short skirts.
Carolina and Harley made their way out to the field, snagging seats at the end of the bleachers.
"So I've been thinking, and I think I want to do a sort of natural, nude smoky eye on you. It'd really make your eyes pop." Carolina blankly nodded, pretending as if she actually knew what Harley was going on about. She tuned Harley out, momentarily distracted by the way Stiles was frantically and jerkily attempting to get Scott's attention. However, Scott shrugged Stiles off, leaving him standing on the sideline, a distressed look on his face. Carolina could only imagine what was making the two act so strangely. She was jolted out of her thoughts when the air was filled with the shouts of players as they sprang into action. Almost immediately, a scrimmage was started up, and the ball was being passed from player to player. Scott got the ball, and Carolina clapped as he ran with it. But she winced as he was brutally checked by another player. Her suspicions as to who it was were confirmed as Jackson took his helmet off.
"Ugh... He can be a real jagweed sometimes." Harley nodded in agreement, and the pair continued to watch as the players milled around the field, scoring every so often. At one point, Scott and Jackson faced off. As the whistle blew, Scott scooped the ball up and dashed down the field. He dodged and cut around player after player. When he came to the last batch of defenders, Scott made a miraculous flip over the players and launched the ball straight into the net. Carolina gaped, dumbfounded. She was pulled to her feet by Harley, who was now bouncing around gleefully. Carolina clapped slowly, still confused as to how the feat Scott had just performed was possible. The apparent giddiness of the crowd faded slightly when Scott was pulled to the side. Coach started yelling animatedly, seeming to scold him, shouting something about gymnastics. But when he declared that the boy made first line, a huge applause erupted. Carolina clapped along, now happy for Scott, but she faltered when she saw the look on Stiles' face as he turned to glance into the crowd. Their eyes met, and he gave her a small smile before seeming to spot someone else in the crowd, who he spent a good amount of time looking at. It was strange. Instead of seeming proud, or even jealous, Stiles just looked... nervous. But Carolina didn't dwell on it for too long. The look on Jackson's face was too priceless to ignore.
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Carolina collapsed onto her bed, thoroughly exhausted. Once practice had ended, she and Harley had first stopped at Harley's house to pick up a few things (a 'few' things being what appeared to be Harley's entire makeup collection and a slew of possible outfits) and then headed over to the Whitney's. Harley had made her try on several different outfits before Carolina made a bit of a scene, demanding the girl at least let her wear jeans. After much bickering, they had settled on something that was, though very different from what she normally wore, bearable for her to wear. Or so she thought. At least she didn't have to wear one of the frilly skirts Harley had brought with her.
After Carolina was dressed, Harley slathered multiple face creams and makeup products on Carolina's bare face. It was a very foreign feeling, and Harley slapped her hand more than once to prevent her from rubbing the eye makeup off. The result, though very pretty, made Carolina feel like she was wearing a mask. She was afraid to touch her face for fear that she'd smudge all of Harley's hard work, and felt that the makeup would melt off before they even got to the party.
So instead of moving around and risking the possibility of ruining all of Harley's hard work, Carolina found herself dozing off as she stared up at the ceiling. She was rudely brought back to reality as Harley slammed a powder brush onto the dresser.
"Done."
Carolina sat up, giving Harley a once-over. Damn, she looked good. Carolina strangely found herself hoping that she looked just as good. Truth be told, she had actually somewhat enjoyed the makeover she'd been bribed into. Though she'd never admit that to Harley.
"Finally."
"Hey, I had to do my makeup too. Couldn't let you be the only knockout."
Carolina rolled her eyes.
"Oh, c'mon. You love looking smoking hot, don't lie." A small grin crept onto Carolina's face.
"Okay, maybe I don't hate it as much as I thought I would." Harley smiled triumphantly, and Carolina brandished a finger towards her friend. "But don't think I want this to be a regular thing. It's way too much work to do this more than once a month."
Unfortunately, that was apparently the wrong thing to say. Harley glanced innocently at her friend. "So we can do this every month? Sounds good to me."
Carolina spluttered. "Wha - that's not what I said!" But Harley was already flouncing out of the bedroom. Heaving a sigh, Carolina followed, heading downstairs, where she nearly ran her father over.
"Hey Dad." She gave him an innocent smile. She was secretly hoping that her father would forbid her from going to the party, so she decided to drop a couple hints. "Just heading out to some crazy party. But if you'd rather me stay home, I will."
Thomas returned the smile, "No, no, that's okay. Go have fun. I'm glad you're getting out and making friends."
He made a movement towards the staircase, and Carolina opened her mouth to say something else, but was cut off by Harley. "Alright, great! Thanks so much, I'll get her home around eleven or twelve."
Harley half ushered, half shoved Carolina out of the house, a firm grip on her arm. Carolina tried to get out of her friend's grasp, but she suspected that Harley didn't trust her to go through with their deal. With good reason.
Hope you liked this chapter! Be sure to review - I really appreciate all of your input, so keep the critiques coming. The next chapter's going to get pretty interesting - sorry if this one was a bit dull, but I need to build up to the action. Thanks so much for following/favoriting, and feel free to review!
~Erin