#5

"Elie! Elie! Wake up!" Stiles jumped up on to her bed and shook her awake.

"…..ugh….what the hell, Stiles!?" Elie kicked her brother off of her bed and pulled the bed sheet over her head.

"We need to talk." Stiles sat on the floor, he reached for the bed sheet and tried to pull it back but Elie resisted and grumbled that they can talk in the morning.

"It's urgent! It's about Derek."

Elie peeped out of the sheets, prompting Stiles to continue.

"The police had to let him go…because…um…they don't have any evidence."

"…so he's not the killer?"

"He…..he's dangerous, Elie."

"How do you know that?"

"Just….just, trust me on this okay?"

"…."

"Look, you have to stay away from him okay?"

"Why? Because you said so? You don't get to tell me what to do!"

"Because….because he's dangerous! Even if he didn't kill that girl, he's dangerous!"

Stiles yelled back, getting frustrated with his sister, and with the whole situation. Why was she being so stubborn?! Stiles turned his back, leaned on the side of Elie's bed, and not knowing what to do, he frantically scratched his head.

"How do you know he's dangerous?"

"I just do! Okay?!" Stiles threw up his arms, turned around and looked up into Elie's eyes from the floor and pleaded with her.

"Look, Elie please. Promise you won't talk to him, or get close to him."

"….then tell me why"

"Because I don't want anything to happen to you!" Stiles cried out desperately.

Elie sat up on her bed and looked into her brother's eyes.

"I hate it when you keep secrets from me, Stiles."

"I know…and I'm sorry. But….but right now all I can tell you is….to stay away from Derek."

Elie felt puzzled by Stiles' conviction towards Derek. Did he know something that police didn't?

Taking Elie's silence as a refusal, Stiles got up from the floor, sat on the corner of Elie's bed and asked,

"Why is that such a problem? Do you like him or something?"

"No! wha- No! No way!" Elie denied it but she felt her ears starting to turn red in embarrassment. God, what is happening? Why am I reacting like this? She wasn't sure whether she was being stubborn because she was angry at Stiles for keeping secrets, or because she didn't want to believe that Derek was the killer. Or both. But I hardly know him!

"Then promise me Elie, that you'll have nothing to do with him."

"…okay."

"You're lying. I'm serious."

"Okay, okay. I promise to stay away from Derek."

"Pinky swear"

Elie rolled her eyes and wrapped her pinky finger around Stiles' and they shook on it.

"Now, that wasn't too hard was it?" Stiles said with a huge grin on his face.

"…now get out of my room. I'm going back to sleep." Elie grumbled as she got back under the sheet.

"Okay, okay….good night!" Stiles jumped up from the bed and left the room. As he returned to his room, he wondered how long he could keep this up. He knew he couldn't keep the werewolf thing a secret from Elie forever.

The next day, when Stiles heard about Scott's dream and saw the bloodied bus, it made him more determined not to tell Elie about the werewolves roaming around Beacon Hills. That meant that he had to keep his sister away not only from Derek, but also from Scott, at least until he finds a way to keep his wolf powers under control. He hated seeing his sister being upset, but being upset and alive was better than being happy and…dead. His heart beat faster, his fingers felt numb and he began to breathe heavily. Stiles stopped thinking further, as the mere possibility of losing Elie was enough to trigger a panic attack. For now, he had to focus on helping Scott control his wolf powers so he wouldn't go berserk and eat someone.

#

"Oh my god, look who's sitting with Lydia!" Jessie nudged Elie who was picking out an apple at the cafeteria line. She turned around and looked where Jessie was looking, and saw her brother and Scott surrounded by Lydia and her gang. It was upsetting to see them sitting with someone else at lunch but she didn't want to look jealous, so she quickly turned around and concentrated on selecting her lunch.

"Well, I think it's because Scott made it to the first line and Allison likes him,"

"I guess they're really climbing up the social ladder, huh?"

"Good for them, I guess…" Elie was trying to hide it but it was clear to Jessie that this was upsetting her friend. So Jessie suggested taking their lunch outside. Elie gladly followed her friend out of the cafeteria but glanced back at the boys just once as they left.

Elie was trying to come to terms with the fact that they may be growing apart. Scott had always wanted to make it to the first line, and she guessed that since he had achieved it, hanging around different group of friends came with it naturally. Bonding with other team mates would be good for him. May be not Jackson but Scott will need a friend in the first line, and it seemed like Stiles won't be making it to first line just yet, so Scott hanging around the boys from lacrosse team was a good thing. And as added bonus, Stiles gets to hang around his beloved Lydia, even though she would be ignoring him most of the time. So everyone is happy. Except for Elie, who wanted things to stay the way they were.

Stiles said that nothing had changed between the three of them, but Elie knew that things were changing whether she liked it or not. She hated it but she couldn't stop it. She was angry, but she also realised that being angry and acting out aggression towards the boys would only push them away, make things worse. She knew she was being selfish and childish. She could stomp and fume all she liked but the reality was that they were growing up. They weren't five anymore. There was going to be girlfriends, college, work…all the things that pushed them further apart. It dawned on her then that the only way for her to get over it was to accept it and go along with it.

As she listened to Jessie talk about the football game she had watched with her father (probably to keep Elie's mind off her problems), Elie realised that she had to get her shit together and act like a friend and be happy for the boys.

#

"Am I attractive to gay guy-….?! You didn't answer my questi-"

"You've finally given up on Lydia then?" Elie sneaked up on Stiles who seemed startled by her.

"Elieee…..what up? Wait, were you listening to us the whole time?"

"Um…from 'I don't think Danny likes me very much' why?"

"Nothing, nothing…Scott was having a minor breakdown. He does not know how to talk in front of girls."

They started walking out to the parking lot together.

"So, Scott's finally going out with Allison, huh?"

"Tomorrow. Um…it's a double date with Lydia and Jackson."

"Seriously?!" Elie burst out laughing.

"I know, right? Anyways, since Scott's going to be busy, wanna go see a movie tomorrow?" Stiles was relieved by his sister's laugh. It seemed like it was ages since he had heard her laugh.

"You'll have to watch on your own, I've got a game to play, remember?" said Elie as she walked off towards Stiles' Jeep. Stiles pulled out his phone and checked his calendar.

"What? Your game's tomorrow? I thought it was -…oh…then the movie can wait."

"You're coming to the game?" sounding surprised, Elie turned around.

"I always go to your games," said Stiles matter-of-factly.

"Yeah….but we don't hang around that much anymore so, you know…." Stiles noticed his sister's expression clouding, so he quickly assured her as they both got into his Jeep.

"I'll be there. I'm your personal cheerleader remember?"

Elie laughed again as she put her seat belt on.

Elie listened to 'The Fight Song' as she got ready for the lacrosse game in the locker room. It was one of the songs that she listened to, before the game to get her adrenalin pumping. She had received a warning from the coach because she had missed a practice the day before…so she knew she had to perform well tonight, to get her name crossed off coach's black list and keep her place in the first line. She turned off her music player and pulled out her earphones when the coach told them to gather around in circle.

She loved playing lacrosse and the she loved rush that she felt from setting her foot on the field at the game. She could see her father and Stiles in the crowds cheering her on. It was great seeing her family at the game supporting her but she felt a pang of disappointment at the empty seat beside Stiles, where Scott normally sat. Scott is on double date with Allison remember? She shook her head as if to keep negative thoughts out of her head. I'm going to get my shit together, and I really needed to concentrate on the game so STOP THINKING ABOUT SCOTT, she thought as the whistle signaled the start of a game.

#

By half-time, the score was 2 to 1 and they were winning. Over the loud cheers, she could hear Stiles and her father screaming in excitement. Elie and her team mates were in good spirits, as the flow of the game was in their favour right through the first half of the game. If they could keep it up, they could win the game easily. The coach came up to Elie, who was gulping down water, and gave her a big slap on the back for scoring a goal. She looked back at her father and Stiles who were waving their arms like monkeys high on recreational drugs or something. She shook her head but she couldn't help smiling.

After the half-time, the game became more intense as the other team became more and more desperate and aggressive. The score board had stopped at 3 to 2, and as they ran up and down the field, the time kept ticking away.

When Elie caught the ball with only few minutes left, the crowd erupted. She ran across the field, dodging the defense right and left, and out of the corner of her eye, she saw two players running towards her at full speed but her team mates weren't in range so she sprinted on and was about to score her second goal, when the two players crashed into her and they all bulldozed into the goalie. As she fell, she felt a sharp pain in her right knee and heard the whistle blow.

#

"Awwww!" Elie yelled out in pain as the medic was probing her leg to figure out the injury. Her father and Stiles were looking down at her with a concerned look.

"I'm fine, I'm fine…I can play…" Elie sat up and pushed away the medic's hand.

"Elie! PRICE! Don't you know anything about the PRICE protocol? Protection and Rest! You can't play"

Stiles yelled out from above her head. What the hell was he talking about? The medic motioned her not to get up, grabbed an ice pack from his bag and said,

"Young lady, you can't play…your knee is already beginning to swell up. See?"

"Yes! Ice! We need ice! C is…c, compression! You need to –"

"Stiles, shut up and let the man do his job," said the Sheriff as he pulled his son back, so the medic could tend to his daughter's injury without Stiles hovering over him.

"But, the game…"

"We're winning, and there's only like three minutes left…they can handle it," said Stiles.

"If you play on, you'll make it worse and you won't be playing for a long time."

As if making his point, the medic applied pressure to Elie's knee and she cried out in pain.

" #$%!"

#

"You were fierce tonight princess," said the Sheriff as he drove Elie to the hospital. She just grunted.

"It was a great game! I'm proud of you," he continued. They had won. Elie was happy about the game, but the throbbing pain in her knee was getting worse. When they got to the hospital, even standing up was painful, as sharp pain pierced through her leg and she winced as she got out of her father's car. The sheriff quickly moved to her side and put her arms around his neck and helped her walk.

"Let me just carry you – "

"NO, Dad…I'm too old to be carried around…I'm walking"

"But you're hurt! And this is not walking. You're limping"

"Yes, Dad but unless I've broken both my legs, you don't get to pick me up and carry me around like a little girl…"

"Okay, okay…."

When they entered the hospital, Melissa came running towards them.

"Oh my god, Elie what happened?"

"It's nothing serious, just sprained knee…I think"

"How was the game?" Melissa asked, as she led them to one of the doctors.

"It was great! She scored a goal and we won 3 to 2!" the Sheriff proudly replied.

"You go girl!"

"Thanks, Dad…but I'm okay so you just sit and wait in the lobby!"

#

"What did the doctor say?" the Sheriff asked, as he put down the magazine he was reading.

"Just a sprain. I have to rest it for three days or something… So I need to use these stupid things for a while…." Elie waved around the crutches.

"If you don't like them I can always carry you back to the car?"

"Daaaaad!" the Sheriff chuckled as his daughter groaned.

"Come on, let's get you home" he put his arm around his daughters shoulder and squeezed it tight.

"Do you want to get some ice cream on the way back?"

"Daaaaaaaaad!"

"So no ice cream?"

"….well….yeah, okay. I'll have chocolate."

The sheriff smiled as he led his wincing daughter to his car.

Sorry, I couldn't update earlier...I had a mild case of stomach bug...I'm feeling much better and couldn't sleep so here's an update! Hope you enjoy it :)

Thank you so much for the reviews, follows…and just reading! I'm starting to freak out at the number of people reading this...:s