Hello!
For those who are new to my stories, welcome! For those who are... I'm alive!
I know I have so many unfinished stories on my account, but this is the one I am determined to finish. Unlike my other ones, I have a clear idea of where I want this go. I even wrote down the main ideas I have for my OC(s) in each season so I have something to refer to for when I'm writing this out. OC stories are either a hit or miss within this fandom, but I really hope you guys give this one a chance!
So without further ado, here is Fortune Faded!
Catalina "Cat" Luca- Gracie Gillam
Viviana "Vivi" Luca- Elizabeth Olsen
Tommy Montez- Robert Roldan
When Spellbound Sweets first opened its doors only at the beginning of the year prior, not even Viviana Luca could predict how busy it was going to be. Beacon Hills wasn't exactly the smallest town, so Vivi knew that there were going to be other bakeries she and her best friend Tommy would be up against. There were so many doubts boggling in her mind when they came up with this business plan. What if her desserts weren't good enough? What if they didn't get any customers? Oh, God, what if they went bankrupt? Then what will they do?
"Vivi, I love you and all, but shut up and let's just do the damn thing."
Wiser words couldn't have been spoken by Tommy. So that was what the pair did and Vivi couldn't thank him enough.
A year had come and gone and business was booming to say the least. Vivi couldn't believe it. It was crazy to think she and Tommy went from selling cakes, cupcakes, and cookies from their janky and rundown apartment to actually making enough money to open up a storefront downtown. They were even able to hire people to help support their dream. And now they could finally afford to buy the loft above the bakery to not only fit them and Vivi's little sister, they no longer had to stress over their power being turned off or taking cold showers ever again. Surreal couldn't even describe how Vivi viewed it all. How she went from her shameful life to now being a successful business owner and baker extraordinaire, she couldn't tell you. But Vivi prayed that it wouldn't crumble anytime soon.
New Years had just passed a few days ago, yet it wasn't stopped customers from coming in and ordering all kinds of the goodies they sold, despite their unrealistic resolutions. Both Vivi and Tommy were busy at work, Tommy at the front of house where his expertise remained while Vivi kept herself occupied in the kitchen. It was reaching 3pm so the other two bakers had already been released to go home for the day. However, being the overachiever Vivi was, she was staying overtime again to finish decorating a couple of cakes for preorders.
And that was how one of their new hires Erica found Vivi, dark auburn hair piled on top of her head and flour and various colors of buttercream smeared all over black apron. She was dripping chocolate ganache down the sides of the cake when the teenager hesitantly entered the kitchen.
"Hey, Viviana," Erica greeted nervously, "can I talk to you about my availability for a minute before I clock out?"
"Yeah, yeah, of course!" Vivi chirped, setting down the squeeze bottle and wiping her hands on her rag, "And you know you can call me Vivi, Erica."
"Right," Erica chuckled. They sat down over at Vivi's desk on the other side of the kitchen. "So I'm sure you know that tomorrow's the first day back to school since I know your sister is in the same class as me and I know I should've told you about making changes to my availability earlier but my parents are on my case about balancing school, especially with this new job and I've just been so overwhelmed and-"
"Whoa, whoa, Erica." Vivi held up her hand. "Relax. Just take a deep breath."
The girl did as she was told, inhaling for a few seconds and then letting it all out slowly. She lowered her head in embarrassment. "Sorry."
"It's okay. And don't worry about it. I had a feeling we were going to have this conversation so I already made the adjustments to your upcoming schedules. From now on you'll be scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings from 8am to 2pm so that can allow you to get any school work done and to have some downtime for yourself. Schoolwork can get pretty hectic and I wanna make sure that you have time to do it all without burning yourself out. How does that sound?"
Erica nodded. "Yeah, I think that sounds good. Thank you."
"It's no problem," Vivi smiled, "and trust me, I know how parents can get when it comes to teenagers."
"Were yours overbearing, too?"
Vivi snorted. "Ah, that's being a little too generous."
Before Erica could even begin to ask what her boss meant, a tall man with tanned skin who was about the same age as his business partner entered the kitchen. Unlike Vivi, Tommy's appearance was much cleaner and well kept. The benefits of being in charge of the front of the house, apparently.
He notices the two women. "Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting?"
"No, it's okay," Erica assured, already getting up, "I was just about to clock out anyway." She turned to Vivi. "Thank you again."
"Anytime, honey," Vivi smiled, "Have a great first week back at school."
"Thanks." Erica smiled shyly went she passed Tommy. "See you next weekend, Tommy."
"You too, Erica," Tommy nodded. He watched his best friend stand back up and walk back to the cake she was working on. "V, you've been here since five this morning. Are you planning on stopping anytime soon?" Vivi just shot him a knowing look. Tommy sighed. "Yeah, I know. Stupid question."
"If you want an actual answer, no. I wanted to test out that new peanut butter cup cookie recipe so we can add it to our rotating member. Plus, I have to put together that cake Sheriff Stilinski ordered for one of his deputies. I totally forgot he was picking it up in a couple days."
"And this is what happens when you take on way too many orders."
"Well, one of us has to be the breadwinner in this friendship," Vivi grinned cheekily.
This made Tommy stick his tongue out at her like a child. He was just about to taunt back but then they both heard footsteps making their way down the staircase that connected the bakery to their apartment.
"Hey, look what the cat dragged in," Tommy beamed.
Stopping at the bottom of the staircase was a sixteen year old girl that was the polar opposite of her older sister. In contrast of Vivi's redder hair, piercing green eyes, and fair skin, this girl's skin was much paler, making her long midnight black hair and crystal blue eyes more prominent. She looked like your typical angsty teenager that hated the world, right from the black beanie sitting on the top of her head down to her black hoodie, distressed jeans, and black Doc Martens. Even the Persian cat sitting its carrier the girl was carrying was all black, only completing the look.
Her eye roll was so dramatic it deserved its own Oscar. "Nice. Was that directed towards me or Wanda?"
"It's not my fault you decided to get a pet that has the same name as you," Tommy teased.
"First of all, Wanda does not share the same name as me," the girl told him, "My name, Cat, happens to be the type of animal she is. Big difference. And second, I originally wanted a snake but my lovely older sister wouldn't let me so a cat was my second choice." She set the carrier on Vivi's table.
"No, no, no," Vivi said, instantly picking up the carrier, "As much as I love Wanda, she goes nowhere near the cakes. Where are you even taking her?"
"Work, remember?" Cat reminded, "Deaton said that I could bring her in the animal clinic since she hasn't had her vaccines yet. So I get to practice giving her shots tonight."
"They're actually letting you handle needles?" Tommy laughed, "Wanda better run then." Cat stuck her middle finger up at him.
Vivi lowered her sister's hand. "Easy. I still can't believe you actually wanna work at an animal clinic. You know Tommy and I wouldn't have a problem giving you a job here."
"As sweet as that offer is," Cat said, "I'm not about to have my sister be my boss. Besides, I like working with animals. Unlike people, they're cuter and don't talk back and tell me how to do my job."
"But they do scratch and bite when they're angry," Tommy said.
With a scoff, Cat said, "I've seen the customers you deal with. They do too." She took the carrier from Vivi. "Alright, I'm out."
"Do you need a ride?" Vivi asked.
"Nah, I'll walk. I could use the steps." Cat grabbed a couple of cookies from the baking rack. "See you guys later."
"Bye!" But Cat was already out of the kitchen before she could hear Vivi. The oldest Luca sister sighed. "I worry about her sometimes, Tommy. We've been in Beacon Hills for almost two years and that kid still hasn't made any friends and just keeps getting moodier and lonelier. I'm afraid she's gonna end up getting herself into trouble one of these days."
"You worry way too much, V," Tommy said, "Cat's a teenager. All teenagers are moody and angsty. It's practically a requirement." That earned a small laugh from his best friend. Tommy smiled softly. "She'll be fine. Now please take a break. And eat something."
After squeezing Vivi's shoulder, it was Tommy's turn to exit the kitchen. Now it was just the young woman alone with her cakes and her thoughts.
She knew that she really didn't need to worry about Cat making any wrong choices or getting into trouble, at least with the law. Maybe it was the overprotectiveness built within Vivi. But given the circumstances both sisters have dealt with over the past five years, it was second nature for Vivi to want to shield Cat from all of the scary things the world has to offer. Was that so bad?
In reality, Vivi had to accept that Cat was getting older and needed to make her own decisions. All the baker could do was just trust and support her sister to not take the wrong paths as she did. So Vivi was going to keep quiet and continue decorating her cake, disregarding Tommy's wishes.
"Alright, Cat, remember to keep your hand and the needle steady. Find the right spot. There, now insert the needle. That's it. And… done."
Finally Cat can release the breath she was holding as she removed the needle from Wanda's backside. She handed the tool off to her boss, Dr. Deaton, who smiled at his employee proudly.
"Nice work," he praised, "Both you and Scott did very well on your first vaccinations today."
"Oh, it was all Cat here," said girl's coworker, Scott McCall chimed in as he scratched behind Wanda's ear, "I just kept Wanda steady."
"Which is a task in itself, truly," Cat told him, "Just be glad that your face lives to see another day intact."
"Thank God for that," Scott chuckled, earning a laugh from his coworker herself.
"And on that note, you've both ended your shift on a high note," Deaton said as he picked up the cat, "I'll get Wanda's paperwork all sorted out, and in the meantime, you two can get started on the cleanup."
Both teenagers nodded. "Will do, Doc," Scott said. Deaton returned the gesture before heading over to his office in the other room.
It fell into a comfortable silence while Scott and Cat worked on their closing tasks together, which included disinfecting the medical equipment and wiping down the counters and operating table. That was the one thing Cat had liked about working side by side with Scott over the past couple months. Neither of them could say a word while they were alone together and it wouldn't be awkward for either one of them at all. Although they did tend to fall into easy conversations more often than not.
Not that Cat minded, really. In fact, unlike most people her age, she actually quite enjoyed Scott's company. More than she was proud to admit to anyone. How could anyone not like Scott? He was sweet, dorky, funny, easy to talk to… he was even kind of cute.
Okay, fine. Maybe Cat had a bit of a crush on the boy. A pathetic crush that has gone on since her first day of working at the animal clinic. It was hard for Cat to resist those brown puppy dog eyes and crooked jawline that only added to Scott's geeky charm. And Cat wasn't the type of girl that could be charmed by anyone. Not even Chris Evans in that flattering Captain America suit.
Yet somehow Scott McCall had captured her attention and heart like it was the easiest thing in the world.
"So," Scott said suddenly, breaking Cat out of her embarrassing thoughts. She turned around to see him spraying the operation table with cleaner. "Tomorrow's the first day back at school. Are you ready for it at all?"
"Mentally? No," Cat answered as she continued to restock the rubber gloves and cotton balls, "These past two weeks have flown by so fast that it didn't even feel like I actually got to rest. Now I get to go back to Harris's class and pretend to care as he blabs on about molecules or some shit. Woo hoo."
"Come on, Harris's class isn't that bad," Scott said with that naive optimism that Cat had grown fond of. Sometimes. "Remember that time when we got to do that experiment where we dehydrated sugar? That was pretty neat."
"Yeah, up until your buddy Stiles got the measurements wrong and ended up setting his beaker on fire."
Pondering back on his best friend's mishap made Scott wince. "And to this day, I still don't know how that happened. But hey, at least he and I ended up passing with a C on it. I'd call that a success."
"Classic Scott McCall- always looking on the bright side of things," Cat smirked.
"I'm definitely gonna have to keep that up for after school tomorrow."
"You have lacrosse practice tomorrow?"
Scott nodded. "Yeah. Even though all I did was warm the bench the entire time last season, I'm determined to actually play this year. I've been practicing all winter break, and I think I might have a decent shot. Maybe I'll even make first line."
Eyebrows shot up, Cat let out an amused chuckle. She stood on the other side of the operating table. "That's quite the goal there, Scott."
The boy shrugged. "It can't hurt to have goals, right? No matter how unrealistic they can be."
"I guess not." Cat rested her hands on the table. "And if you believe that you can do it, then I do to. You'll be great out there."
God, when did she become a motivational speaker? She should start doing Ted Talks or something.
It did seem to make Scott smile though so at least she could pat herself on the back for that. "Thanks, Cat. The practices are open for everyone to watch. You should swing by if you're not doing anything before work."
As always, Cat wasn't. So it was easy to tell her crush, "Sure. I wouldn't miss it."
The sky was dark and the crescent moon had made its appearance by the time the teenagers finished up with their work. Since Cat had Wanda with her, being the generous human he was, Scott offered to give them a lift to her loft. Cat wasn't about to turn him down, especially when that meant another nine minutes spent with him. But man, did she really need to get her own set of wheels now that she was sixteen.
Whatever. Not the point right now.
Scott soon pulled up at the curb in front of the loft but kept the car running. Like Cat, Scott also did not have his own car so he borrowed his mom's whenever she had the night off from the hospital. And if he didn't return said car at a timely matter… well, he honestly didn't want to know what would happen.
"Thanks for the ride again, Scott," Cat said as she unbuckled her seatbelt, "I wasn't about to release Wanda on any creeps that would've followed me home."
"It's not a problem at all," Scott assured, "If you ever need a ride to or from work, I'd be happy to do it. That's if I have the car, of course."
Cat smiled softly. "I appreciate it. I'll see you tomorrow at school. Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Cat," Scott smiled back, "And goodnight to you as well, Wanda."
He reached through the wiring of the door to the carrier and lightly booped the cat's nose. She licked his finger, making the teenagers chuckle. Bidding one last goodbye, Cat hopped out of the car with the carrier and made her way to the door to the building. She turned back around and waved at Scott, who did the same with that boyish cute smile.
Once Cat shut the door behind her when she walked inside the building, she leaned her back against it and letting out a drawn out sigh.
"God, I'm such a loser," she whined. Wanda let out a small meow. "Thanks for your encouragement." The cat licked her paw. Cat tapped on the carrier. "Come on, girl. Hopefully after I get some food in me I can actually get a good night's sleep for once."
Cold sweat dewed on her forehead despite her room being only 57 degrees. No matter how comfortable she tried to make herself in her bed, she just couldn't stop tossing and turning. The sound frequency she had turned on before falling asleep had shut off in the middle of the night so she had nothing to soothe her anymore. As if it were working anyway. She was still having the same dream that she had been having for the past couple weeks.
Actually… it was more of a nightmare.
She was trapped in the movie rental store, dodging every shelf that came crashing down along with hundreds of DVDs. Lights flickered on and off to add onto the horror factor. She couldn't make out what she was running after, but the loud growling was enough to keep her imagination going wild.
Just when she thought that she could outrun whatever the thing was, she tripped over a pile of fallen DVDs. She tried to get up, but she was cornered. All she could see was a black shadow before the next scene took place.
Again she was running. Only this time, she seemed to be running through the halls of her high school. The lights in this place were off so she could only assume that it was during after hours. She wasn't alone either, but she wasn't too clear on who she was with. The mysterious creature was the same from the first part of the dream, she assumed. And it held the three teenagers captive right where it wanted them.
This final part was always the worst for her, making her sweat profusely. There was a man on fire, screaming in agonizing pain as he flailed around in hopes to put the flames out. No one was helping him. Including her. Why couldn't she move? She just stood there watched as this man snapped his head towards her. She couldn't even back away when he suddenly ran at her and pounced.
The last thing she saw before she woke up was red eyes.
Gasping, Cat sat up in her bed so abruptly she had made herself dizzy. Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath. She pushed her thick hair out of her face. Thank God Cat was planning on showering before school because she could feel the sweat dripping down her back. It wasn't a good feeling at all.
This had been a reoccurring inconvenience for days and Cat just couldn't understand why. She even stopped watching scary movies after the third nightmare. And hardly anything ever scared her! At least it was all just a dream. And dreams aren't reality. Cat repeated that to herself a couple of times in hopes that she could try to go back to sleep.
However, that wasn't going to happen. Suddenly Cat's alarm went off to signal that it was time to get her ass up and get ready for the first day back at school. She slammed her hand down to shut the alarm off and flopped back down with a groan.
I really hope you guys enjoy this! Please review, favorite, and follow to keep updated on this story! I'll be updating soon! Xoxo, Maddie