Just as a reminder to all of those who are reading: When the text is written in bold and italicized lettering "like this," that is the part of the conversation had in sign language.

So, I'm a little late posting this, but I honestly didn't have much of a plan for this chapter so it took a little longer to put together and it has some filler-y vibes to it, which kinda makes me ehhhhh. But it's cool.

To my reviewers: ItsJustMe-94, dude, you are awesome. I sound awful saying this, but it's my goal to make y'all cry. So, yay, but also, don't cry. Thanks for your review. Rena Edmonds, trust I am continuing with season 3B. I've got most of the season mapped out, just have to work on fine-tuning and writing. Thanks for the review! Brooklyns Finest Hufflepuff, thanks so much for your compliment. I'll definitely be doing more dialogue between everyone now that they're getting better acquainted. Thanks for your review!

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf. I also have no claim on any pop culture references that I may use throughout my writings. I only own my OCs. Enjoy the read.

(o.o)

Chapter 1.21

Stiles and I loaded up in his Jeep after I said yes to going on a date with him. I had to admit that I really liked the fact that he was trying to level with me. That Stiles was picking up things that I was signing and learning them for himself. It made me happy to know that he was trying to get rid of the divide that was between us.

Stiles looked at me once I got my seatbelt on. "So, what are we going to do on this date that we're on?"

I thought, trying to recall the things that Beacon Hills had to do. "Is the arcade still up and running?" I asked, hoping that it was.

"Barely. Wanna play some games?" Stiles asked.

I nodded. We got there and split the cost of a couple of hours worth of playing. We played most of the co-op shooting games just to see how far we could get. The racing games were the most fun. I couldn't seem to be able to drive the digital car. Every time I turned the wheel to the right, it went too far right and I ended up off of the track. Stiles would try to reach over, grab my steering wheel, and get me back on the road, but that would result in his car going off the road.

When we were done playing games, we'd grabbed a couple of servings of greasy french fries to share as a snack while we sat.

Stiles picked up a fry, dipping it in the ketchup. "You know, I'm actually impressed with how well you play those games."

I bit my lip, wiping the grease from my fingers. I shrugged. "It was something that Carter and I used to do."

"Really?"

I nodded. "We used to come here the day before school started. It was a kind of end of the year bash. The high score on that one in the corner that you tried to beat?" I shared, earning a nod from Stiles. "That was Carter's. Spent all day and nearly twenty dollars trying to get it."

"Damn, I couldn't even get close to the lowest score on that one."

"He was good at it. We kept up the tradition to go to an arcade after we moved away." I looked around. "It was what we were doing before we got into the accident. We were coming home from the arcade."

Stiles offered me a sad, but supportive smile.

"You'd think I'd be sad to be here since the last time I was, I was with him."

Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "You had fun with him here. That's something to look back at with good memories. No need to hate someplace you loved."

I nodded. That made sense. I reached for one of the last fries and tossed it in my mouth.

Stiles looked to the empty plate. "Are you good?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Cool. I've got one more thing to show you." Stiles said like he had a secret. He slid out of the booth, taking the plate with him and throwing it in the trash. "C'mon." Stiles waved me along.

I got up and followed him back to the Jeep. Stiles wasn't driving for long before he parked. In front of us was a sign. Beacon Hills Park. I looked over at Stiles. "What are we doing here?"

"Will you just trust me?" Stiles asked with a joking smile.

"Okay." I nodded, getting out of the Jeep and joining him at the front of the car. Stiles reached for my hand and led us through the park. There were sidewalks that seemed to make a track through the park if anyone wanted to walk around it. In the opposite direction that we were going, I saw a playground with swings and a slide.

Stiles stopped at a bench and sat down at it.

I did the same, though I was still insanely confused as to what we were doing. "Stiles, what's going on?" I asked, looking at him.

"This is my spot," Stiles said, furthering my confusion. He sighed. "With my mom."

My face changed from one of wonder to seriousness.

"We came here on one of her last good days. We'd sit here and makeup stories about people's lives as they passed." Stiles shook his head, looking at his hands. "I was, like, eight the last time we were here, so the stories were mostly about superheroes and bad guys."

I laughed. "Stiles, that's pretty great." I reached over and grabbed his hand, holding it in mine. "Thanks for showing me this. It really is nice here." I looked out into the small crowd. It was starting to get colder in Beacon Hills so fewer people were hanging out outside. I, however, enjoyed the breeze.

Stiles squeezed my hand and I turned to him. "So, were you, uh, were you born deaf?" He looked worried, like asking the question was rude.

I shook my head. "Nope. It happened when I was nine. I'm pretty sure it was because of the Hale Fire."

"Really?"

"Well, with what I am, what Carter was, it makes sense. When the house went up in flames, I got a really bad fever. Now, everything's not connected like it should be." I said, pointing to my head.

"You learned to sign after the fact?" Stiles asked.

I nodded. "It was hard. I got frustrated a lot because I also couldn't read lips at the time. I spent way too much of fifth grade fighting with everyone because I couldn't understand them."

"But, you're okay now? I mean, you can understand me just fine."

"I can, but that's from almost ten years of practice. Things get jumbled a lot because someone has an accent or something."

Stiles pursed his lips to one side, thinking. "Will you teach me? To sign, I mean."

I was taken aback. "You want to learn to sign?" I asked. "You know it's not something that you can learn overnight."

"Yeah, but it's something that would help you," Stiles said, "And I really like you, so I think it would be cool to learn it."

I blushed, "It would be cool." I sighed. This whole date thing didn't turn out nearly as bad as I thought it would be. It had been a while since I'd even considered dating, let alone someone who couldn't sign. I felt good about Stiles though. I got the butterflies every time I saw his Jeep pull up in front of my house and every text I got.

Stiles tapped my arm. "You ready to go?"

I nodded, standing from the bench. I still held his hand in mine and he went to move before I did, causing him to bump into me. "Shoot," I said, catching myself, by grabbing Stiles' other hand.

"You okay?" He asked his face inches from mine.

I looked up at him and then the small distance between us. "Yeah, I-I'm good." My hands moved automatically to his sides and I could feel his make their way up to my face.

Stiles' hands cradled my cheeks softly. He looked down at my lips. "Hey, so are we - ?"

I nodded, "Yeah," I said with a smile before pushing up on my toes to touch my lips to his. The kiss was short, but still, it felt pretty amazing. The butterflies just wouldn't stop fluttering about.

Stiles lowered his hands, still standing close. "We should get going."

"Again. This time, maybe, don't run me over?" I said, taking a step away from him.

Stiles laughed and shook his head. "Alright. I'll be more careful."

We went back to the car and he drove to my house, parking his Jeep on the side of the road in front of it. I stared at the front door. There was a car missing from the driveway; my mom's car. I felt Stiles put a hand on my arm and looked back at him.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded. "My mom's not home. She and my dad were fighting before I left. About me and...everything else."

"We could always go to my house if you don't want to go inside," Stiles suggested. "My dad won't mind."

I shook my head. "My dad's home. He's not the one I'm worried about. At least not anymore."

Stiles nodded, holding an arm open. "C'mere."

I leaned over and hugged Stiles. "Thank you for today. It was fun."

"Of course."

I placed a hand on the side of his face, leaning in for another kiss. "I'll see you tomorrow?" I said, after pulling away.

Stiles was frozen in his spot for a moment before he kicked into gear. "Yeah," he said, after shaking his head, making me chuckle. "I'll pick you up for school."

I left him with a smile and walked up to the front door. I waved him off, opened the door, and went inside, looking for my dad. "Dad!" I called, hoping he'd come out. Thankfully, he was only in the kitchen.

Dad greeted me with a large smile, making his way towards me. "Hey, CJ." he hugged my shoulders.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, pulling away.

Dad nodded. "Where'd you go? You weren't at the cemetery."

"I was for a little bit, but then…" I felt the heat rise to my face. "I went on a date. With Stiles."

Dad raised a brow. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," I said, knowing the largest smile was unconsciously stuck on my face.

"Good." he smiled, "I'm gonna meet him right?"

"Absolutely. Maybe we can do pizza this week." I bit the end of my thumbnail. "Hey, where's Mom?"

Dad let out a long sigh, watching my confusion grow. "Your mother is at Natalie's for an indefinite amount of time."

My jaw dropped. "What?"

"She won't accept it. Derek being a werewolf and all the other wolves. She won't accept you. Thinks she can just live in some land of ignorance and it will all go away."

I furrowed my brow. As much as I wasn't a fan of my mother, especially recently, it still hurt to hear that she didn't accept who I was. It was something I couldn't change.

"If she can't accept you, then I don't want her here. Especially with how sensitive your abilities are." Dad explained. "If you feel differently, I can call her and - "

I quickly shook my head. "No, you're right. It's harder with her around. She's been different since losing Carter."

"She has," Dad admitted. "So, if you and I are going to do this, you have to be honest with me, right? No more sneaking around. I won't push you to tell me about everything concerning what you see, but we're gonna be open with one another."

I nodded my head.

"The world that you're a part of is dangerous, CJ. I have all the faith in the world that you can handle it, but the second you can't, you need to come to me."

"I will, Dad."

(o.o)

I entered the school building the next morning with Stiles' hand in mine. I looked around at everyone crowding in the hallway and made a realization. Nothing was different. Not for them at least. None of them knew what happened in the woods just a few days ago. None of them knew that three people were almost sacrificed and, with the help of my friends, we'd stopped it. Nothing was changed for them, but almost everything for me was different. I knew things I didn't know when I first stepped into the hallways of Beacon Hills.

Stiles dropped my hand when he saw Scott at the end of the hallway. He hurried to catch up to him and greeted him with a pat on the back.

I trailed after Stiles, catching up to him. He'd asked for my hand once he was done hugging his best friend.

Scott looked to me with an inquisitive smile, noticing our hands. "Hey, CJ."

"Hey, Scott." I smiled at him. "How are you doing?"

"I'm alright." He said, with a smile. At that moment, I wondered what Stiles had mentioned to his best friend about us. Surely, he told Scott something or he wouldn't have been smirking the way he was.

I shook my head and looked further down the hallway. I saw Lydia leaning against the lockers with Aiden looking at her with admiration in his eyes. I was still very wary of the boy, but Lydia seemed happy. I couldn't fault her for that. Especially since, these days, I've been pretty happy, too.

Lydia's eyes met mine and hers widened. She pushed Aiden away from her slightly and slipped out, making her way over to me. "What's going on?" She asked, signing the words.

"What do you mean?"

"Your mom is at my house."

"Oh, shit. I totally forgot." I realized. I mean, my dad had only told me yesterday, but my mind was preoccupied with other things. I released my hold on Stiles' hand and lifted my own. "I told her about me. And my dad. She didn't want to believe it and basically called me crazy. I think my dad kicked her out."

"Really?" Lydia questioned. "Oh, my god."

I shrugged. "I'm sorry. I didn't think she'd get dumped with you."

"I don't think she is. She and my mom were going to look at apartments today." Lydia looked behind me. Stiles had taken a step forward and put a hand on my back. "I think - "

I nodded. "I know what it means," I said, quickly. "I think it's for the best. You know my mom, Lydia." I glanced back at Stiles. "It's okay. Honestly, I expected it a long time ago."

(o.o)

The whole rest of the week, after school was over, Stiles and I went back to his house to do our homework and then work on a few signs. On Friday, when I'd broken the news to Stiles that my father wanted him to come over and have dinner that night, he was visually nervous. Stiles knew of the horror stories that happened in tv shows and movies when it came to the first meeting of the guy and the girl's father.

I laughed at him, "Stiles, my dad is nothing like those movies." I promised him. "The man doesn't even own a gun."

Stiles relaxed a bit, but his eyes still showed the apprehension.

"Well, mostly because he wouldn't need one."

We were laid out on his bed, but he quickly shifted away from me.

"I'm kidding, Stiles," I said, pulling him back towards me. "Look, if you want to compare my dad to someone from a movie, try Liam Neeson in Love Actually."

"Not, like, Taken?"

I shook my head. "Definitely not Taken," I assured him. "Dad's just gonna order pizza, and get to know you. That's all. It'll be just like it is when I spend time here, with your dad."

"That's different."

"Because it's your dad, I know." I agreed. "But I was just as nervous about meeting your dad. That day that he found me hanging out on the sidewalk, I was shaking."

Stiles furrowed his brows, "But my dad is the coolest."

I laughed. "He's very cool. I know that now. And once we have this dinner, you will know that you've been wrong this whole time and find that my dad is actually the coolest." I smiled at him. "I promise it won't be terrible. And it's not like you have to have a biography and medical records handy. He just wants to make sure you're not an asshole." I offered.

"So, he's ordering pizza?" Stiles thought.

"Any kind you want." I offered, batting my eyelashes for an extra effect.

Stiles sighed, dramatically, but I knew he didn't really mean it. "Alright. Let's go."

(o.o)

Dinner hadn't gone nearly as bad as Stiles would have thought. Dad was very laid back about it, and he ordered way too much food which, regrettably, all got eaten.

Dad took his last bite of pizza, looking to me and raising a hand to sign. "What's going on with Derek? I haven't seen him in a week."

I opened my mouth to say, but then I realized that he didn't already know. "Well, Cora is alive," I said with a smile.

Dad raised his brow. "She is?"

I nodded, looking to Stiles. "That was my reaction, too. She survived the fire. Must've gotten out or something. I probably should have asked."

"Well, they both should come over. I'll fire up the grill. It'll be like old times." Dad turned to Stiles. "You're more than welcome, too. And your other friends."

I smiled at my dad. "I tried, but Derek actually is currently bringing her back to South America," I explained. "Apparently that's where she was this whole time. There's a pack down there that she feels at home in. She's gonna keep in touch though."

"Well, I wish she would have dropped by."

"She was only in town for a month," Stiles said.

"Oh, yeah. And we were kinda dealing with an evil druid for most of the time." I joked though I wasn't sure that Dad found me very funny. I shrugged, "She said it was hard being back. Seeing Beacon Hills for what it is, without her family. I mean, Derek's all she has left. Laura, Auntie Talia, the rest of the pack, they're all gone. I wouldn't want to stay either."

Dad nodded, "But you are staying."

"Oh, yeah. It's feeling more and more like home every day. Even without Carter."