#7

Elie was doing her homework on the bed, listening to Florence and the Machine when she heard something or someone knock on her window. Her room was on the second floor, so she wondered whether she was hearing things, but turned the music off just to make sure. She heard it again, clearly this time, so she hopped over to open the curtain (her knee was still sore) and found Scott sheepishly grinning outside her window. She had asked him to come over to talk, but she wasn't expecting him to come in from her window. She opened the window to let him in.

"So, wolf-boy, I guess you're not using the front door anymore?"

"You heard everything from Stiles?" asked Scott, as he climbed into Elie's room. The three of them had usually hung out in Stile's room so he couldn't remember the last time he was in her room. Elie had been one of the boys ever since they were little, but seeing her neatly organised room that faintly smelled of the perfume reminded him that Elie was a girl. He sniffed and wondered since when his friend wore perfume. Elie noticed Scott sniffing and remembered that he now had keen sense of smell.

"Scented candle…Sorry, is it too strong?"

"No, it's nice….hey, did you change the wheels on this thing?" Scott sat down on Elie's bed and picked up the longboard that was lying on the floor, and gave the wheels a spin. It reminded him of the holidays, when they fooled around riding skateboards, and the only worry he had was making it to the first line of lacrosse team when the school started.

Elie swiveled her desk chair towards Scott and sat down. She asked him what had been bugging her the whole time.

"So, how come you didn't tell me about being a werewolf?"

"Well to be fair, Stiles was the one who figured it all out first…"

"Huh? But you were the one with the bite!"

"I know…but I had no idea what was going on, and Stiles told me that I was a werewolf. I didn't believe him until I began to feel weird at Lydia's party…I nearly changed in front of everyone." Scott shuddered at the thought. Stiles had been adamant that they leave Elie out of all this werewolf business and Scott didn't argue with him, because he couldn't even control his own transformation. He had also been concerned about how she'd react. He put down the longboard and looked up at Ellie.

"Besides, I didn't want you to think that I was a…a freak or something."

"I don't think you're a freak," Elie looked Scott straight in the eyes and answered him. She hadn't seen him change into a werewolf yet so she didn't know what to think. Was it going to be like The Twilight films where they go completely wolf? Or more Michael Jackson kind of werewolf, from the music video for Thriller where only the face and hands changed. To be honest, Elie was a little curious.

"Well, you haven't seen me change…."

"Then show me." When Elie blatantly demanded, Scott was startled and hastily refused.

"What? Now? No! I mean, I haven't figured out how it all works….and I could go crazy and hurt you!"

"…So I'll get to see it next full moon?"

"Uh…hopefully I can learn to control it by then…"

"How?"

"I…..have no idea."

Elie looked at Scott and started feeling sorry for him. She could relate to being overwhelmed by change…She hated the way her body was changing and was frustrated that there was nothing she could do to stop it. Her body growing up and him becoming a werewolf was a completely different thing, but still, she could understand how difficult it must be for Scott to deal with his condition, and the frustration he must be feeling towards not being able to stop it or control it. She could also relate to not being able to ask anyone for help. It's not like there is a support-line or meetings he could attend for being a werewolf. At least she had Melissa and Jessie. In an attempt to cheer him up, Elie brought up the cons of being a werewolf.

"Well, at least you're awesome at lacrosse now, and you've got a hot girlfriend."

"Yeah, she is…isn't she?" Scott stared into air and started to look dreamy, so Elie quickly asked something that had been in her mind for a while, before he drifted further away into his daydream.

"How do you know she's the one?"

"Uh, I don't know…but when she walked into the class room and smiled, it felt like the time had stopped…and…and I just knew."

"So, it was like love at first sight?" Before Scott could answer, she heard loud footsteps charging towards her room and the door burst open.

"Hey! Elie, come down…..Oh! Hey, Scott! What are you doing here? I mean what are you guys doing?" Stiles looked puzzled. He didn't hear him come in. What were they talking about anyway? Before Stiles could ask, Elie quickly answered, because she didn't want Stiles to find out that they had been talking about falling for someone. Unlike Scott, Stile would badger on and somehow figure out that she had 'feelings' for Derek and knowing Stiles, he would freak out and over-react.

Besides, she wasn't really sure what to make of the whole situation anyway. She had never felt this way about a guy before. When she was little and went to one of those sleepovers, she was forced to name some random boy as her 'crush.' Under the pressure to 'reveal' a secret, she had picked some boy that she had met while they were on holiday. She used to sit there feeling dumb as other girls giggled and gossiped about boys. She knew she could tell Jessie anything and she wouldn't make fun of her but still, it was difficult for Elie to talk about guys. She had no idea what to say, and for some reason, it was really really embarrassing. Maybe it was because she wasn't used to seeing the boys as boys.

So in order to avoid having an awkward conversation with her brother, Elie pointed at Scott and meekly answered, "I wanted to see him go wolf but he won't change."

"WHAT!? Are you out your mind?! I told you he's dangerous when he goes wolf!"

"Yeah, but I was curious."

"Curious!? You could die, Elie! He tried to kill me remember?!"

"But you didn't, obviously."

"I was THIS close! You saw my chair! He could rip you open!"

"Hey, guys….I'm right here you know"

When Scott interrupted, the twins looked at Scott and then each other, and then back at Scott who seemed a little upset.

"Sorry" "Sorry"

"By the way, what did you want?" Wanting to change the subject, Scott asked Stiles who for a moment looked confused as if he had forgotten why he had barged into Elie's room. When he remembered, he slapped his forehead and said,

"Oh, yeah…The Conjuring is going to be on TV! Come on! I'll make the popcorn!"

It was a horror movie that the twins had been looking forward to, so they headed downstairs to the living room while Stiles stormed into the kitchen to microwave the popcorn. As they sat down on the couch waiting for the film to start, Elie realised that it had been a while since the three of them had spent some time together like this. She couldn't stop smiling because it seemed like everything was back to 'normal.' Well, almost normal.

She was still not sure what to think about the werewolf situation because she hasn't seen Scott, or Derek change….Oh, I wonder if Derek is okay, thought Elie. She didn't really get to talk to him since the boys had been around the whole time and she didn't feel giddy like she did at the diner, probably because the whole situation of him nearly dying was freaking her out. Elie's thoughts were interrupted when her brother threw a popcorn at her and announced that the movie was about to start.

"What were you thinking about? You were zoning out…" Scott asked Elie as he munched on the popcorn. Before Elie could answer, they were shushed by Stiles, so Elie quietly told Scott that it was nothing and turned her attention towards the movie.

The next day when the bell rang, Elie told her brother that she won't be riding home with him.

"Sandy's going to pick me up after school. We're going straight to the diner."

"What? You're going to work? With that knee?"

"I keep telling people it's just a sprain! Besides, I can walk without the crutches now!"

"That's limping, not walking."

"Yeah, whatever, I can move. I'm going to back to work."

"So you're not going to be home for dinner?"

"No, it's just you and dad tonight. Try and get something healthy, Okay?"

"Okay, Okay….Hey, can you get me a slice of the cherry pie? They are soooo good."

Elie promised him the pie, waved him goodbye and she hurried towards the blue Ford Fiesta where Sandy was touching up her make-up.

"Thanks for the ride, Sandy" said Elie as she climbed into the passenger seat. Sandy's car smelt like cigarettes and Calvin Klein's CK One. Sandy put her mascara away and gave Elie a huge smile as she started the car.

"No problem, babe. So, how's your knee? Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yup…I've got this knee support band thingy so it'll be fine."

As they drove to the diner, Sandy asked about Derek, with a huge grin on her face.

"So, did you give him a call?"

"No."

"What? For real?"

"Um….but I saw him the other day."

"Ooooohh…"

"Nothing happened. As it turns out, he knew Stiles and Scott…."

"Did he say anything?"

"Um….No…he was kind of busy." Busy dying, she added in her head. To her relief, Sandy left it at that and began gossiping about the drama at the diner. Elie wasn't particularly interested in a feud between the kitchen staff and the waitresses but she didn't want Sandy to bring up Derek again, so she was happy to listen.

Just before the end of her shift, Elie heard a loud siren as a police car sped by the diner. She didn't give it much thought and kept serving the customers, but when it was followed by another siren, this time of the ambulance, she began to wonder what was going on. Elie put a slice of cherry pie in the take-out plastic container for her brother, took off her apron, and sorted her tip money to go home. She took her phone out to call Stiles but decided to grab something to eat at one of her favourite Mexican restaurant few blocks away so she put it back into her pocket, and walked out of the diner.

The street was deserted and unusually quiet, which made her a little nervous, as she remembered the sirens earlier. When she finally got to the restaurant, the door was closed and Elie was staring at the 'Closed' sign.

"Ow, COME ON! Are you freaking kidding me?!" Elie yelled in frustration. She looked around but she didn't feel like getting a burger or Chinese so she sighed, and decided to walk back to the diner and just grab the grilled cheese sandwich or something.

As she started walking, and the restaurants behind her got further away, she began to feel uneasy. She felt like she was being watched, so she nervously looked around but there was no one around. It was quiet and the street lights flickered, making the atmosphere slightly eerie. She tried to think that the horror movie she watched last night was making her jumpy, but deep down she knew that the lingering memories of the scary scenes were not the source of her uneasiness. She felt the hair on her neck stand up, and the uneasy feeling surged, so ignoring the pain in her knee, she picked up the pace. Looking behind her shoulder, Elie could see that no one was following her, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that she was being watched.

When Elie finally got to the diner, she felt a wave of relief wash over her and she began to feel silly. As Elie walked into the diner and made her way to the kitchen, Sandy rushed over.

"Elie, did you hear? Someone was killed at the video store!"

"What?"

"I just heard from one of the customers!"

"Was it a robbery or something?"

Sandy told Elie that all she knew was, that someone had died, and she went back to filling up the empty coffee mugs. After ordering her sandwich, Elie took out her phone to call Stiles, but it rang before she could the press 'call' button. It was Stiles, so she quickly answered it.

"Great timing Stiles…can you pick me up?"

Ignoring Elie, Stiles said,

"I'm at the video store with dad, and you're not going to believe this!"

"Someone died?"

"WHAT?! How did you know?"

"Word gets around fast in this town remember? One of the customers told Sandy, and she told me. If you're down at the video store, I can walk over there. It's only a few blocks away anyway."

"NO!"

"Why not?"

"Whatever killed the guy might still be out there! Stay!"

"You mean….it was 'you-know-what' that killed the guy?" Elie held her hand over her phone and whispered.

"Not sure yet…but murder used to be rare in this town until this alpha turned up, so I have my suspicions. You stay there, and as soon as dad's done here, we'll come and get you."

"Okay"

"Wait inside okay? And don't forget that pie."

"Okay, okay"

She sat down at the counter and decided to eat her sandwich, since her dad might take a while at the crime scene. As she ate, she wondered whether the alpha could have actually been lurking around the dark alley just then, or she was just being paranoid.

"I'm certain they saw something last night!" Stiles ranted to Elie as they left the school parking lot in Stiles' Jeep.

"Lydia's not here and Jackson's acting weird."

"Well, they saw a dead body, and for most people it can be a traumatising experience."

"No, it's more than that…I'm sure of it. It's got Jackson completely spooked!"

"Why are you so on edge?" Elie asked as she detected a hint of anxiety in her brother's voice.

"There's alpha running around and Scott's fooling around with Allison!"

"Stop freaking out about it, you're starting to freak me out."

"People are dying, Elie!"

"Yeah, but it's not exactly Scott's responsibility is it? I mean it's not like he asked for it. He's a werewolf, not a batman. His fur doesn't come with any responsibilities."

"But he's the only one who can do something about it!"

"Well, there's Derek."

"…."

"And I thought Allison's family were hunters. Why aren't they hunting the alpha? It's their job right?"

"I've seen Scott change and…it's scary. If the alpha is as strong as Derek says it is, no human can stop it…I still don't trust Derek so the only person I can depend on is Scott! Who, may I remind you, is running around God knows where with a girl!"

"Give him a break- Hey? Where are we going?" Elie asked as Stiles as she noticed that they weren't heading home.

"We're going to Lydia's place." Stiles answered as a matter-of-factly.

"What? Why?"

"To see how she's doing, and to find out what she saw last night. You can wait in the car."

Great, Elie thought.

"So, how was Lydia?" Elie asked Stiles as he climbed back into his Jeep.

"…she's high on pills." Stiles answered as he turned the ignition.

"Oh…um, were you able to get anything out of her?" When Elie asked, Stiles hesitated for a moment and then handed her a phone and said,

"Play the file."

Elie opened the file, and saw a huge black silhouette jumping through the window. Staring into the close-up shot of a monster with red glaring eyes, Elie whispered,

"Is this what Scott looks like when he changes?"

"No, he just gets this wolf-looking face and really sharp claws."

"Oh. So he's more of Michael Jackson then." Elie muttered to herself.

"What are you talking about? What Michael Jackson?"

"Thriller."

"Oh, yeah. But Scott in wolf-form is scary. He doesn't sing and dance, he tries to rip you apart."

"Hmmmmm, what did Lydia say?"

"That she saw a mountain lion."

"This is NOT a mountain lion."

"I know."

When they got home, Elie sat down on Stiles' bed and watched him pace around his room. He grabbed his phone and ranted to Scott's voicemail.

"Hey it's me again. Look, I found something and I don't know what to do…okay? So if you could turn your phone on, right now? That'd be great. Or else, I'll kill you. Do you understand me? I'm gonna kill you. And I'm too upset to come up with a witty description about how exactly I'm going to kill you but I'm just going to do it. Okay? I'm gonna- ughhhn! …Goodbye."

Stiles threw down his phone in frustration, and sat on his chair and buried his head in his arms when their father came to the door.

"Hey, Dad,"

"Hey, Elie…Stiles, Please tell me I'm gonna hear good news at this parent-teacher thing tonight." The Sheriff looked at Stiles pleadingly.

"Well, it depends on how you define good news" Stiles stalled.

"I define it as you getting straight A's with no behavioral issues?"

"You might want to rethink that definition" Stiles answered, looking guilty.

"Enough said" and with that the sheriff trudged off.

As soon as the sheriff left the room, Stiles looked at his phone and muttered,

"Come on Scott, where the hell are you?"

"What should I do with this?" He turned around and asked Elie.

"Um, I don't know….but it's not like we can figure out who it is, I mean what it looks like in its human form from this. So it's not exactly helpful is it? It does confirm that the alpha was responsible for killing the guy, but you know, that's about it."

"Yeah…." Stiles looked at the file again for the last time and then deleted it. He stood up and stormed out of the room with a determined look on his face. Elie quickly followed him down to the shriff's study.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to figure things out," said Stiles as he rummaged through his father's files.

Elie followed him as he walked back to his room, his arms full of documents and files. He sat down on his bed and began to go through the documents in silence, so she lay down next to him and picked up one of the paper. It was an incident report for the fire at the Hale residence.

"Stiles?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because someone has to. I can't fight the alpha like Scott, but I can try and figure out who the alpha is and stop him…well, get Scott to stop him from killing more people." Stiles answered without taking his eyes off the paper.

It slowly dawned on Elie that he might be doing this to protect their father, who was investigating the murders. If they could figure out who the alpha was, may be they could stop it from attacking more people and more importantly, their father won't have to face the beast. She shuddered as she remembered the red glaring eyes and threatening fangs of the alpha that she saw earlier that day. How do you fight the werewolves anyway?

Thank you for reading and for your reviews :)