Stiles Stilinski's Ten Rules for Surviving the Supernatural World:

1. First rule of Supernatural Squad, you don't talk about Supernatural Squad.

2. Second rule of Supernatural Squad, you don't talk about Supernatural Squad. Rule is repeated for emphasis.

3. Don't go anywhere alone. Wait for back-up. Wanna explore a spooky church in an abandoned town in Mexico? Or you just wanna check out that unusual noise in the basement? Always wait for back-up.

4. Don't hesitate to run for your life. Run fast. I wanna see some hustle, Anderson.

5. Something's weird? Share with the group. Knowledge is power.

6. No touching strange magical objects. And that includes a questionable jar of mayo. Consult a witch first (Bonnie).

7. When in doubt, ask a witch (Bonnie).

8. Are you injured? Scratch from a werewolf? Or you skinned your knee running away from a berserker? Ask help from a witch (Bonnie again).

9. Read and reply to texts. Answer calls. Please. Even just a "not dead" will do.

10. Nobody gets left behind. All for one and one for all. And all that jazz.

Jessica finished reading and passed the piece of paper over to Edward. It must've been ripped from Stiles' notebook and he probably wrote it during class. He handed it to her as they bumped into each other in the middle of the hallway and he firmly told her to memorize the list, stressing it was a matter of life and death. She had learn over the past few weeks that Stiles considered a lot of things a matter of life and death including a trip to Domino's in the middle of the night or getting to sit under his favorite oak tree on campus so Stiles could commune with nature.

Jessica liked Stiles even if she found him annoying at times. Edward on the other hand, hated Stiles as Edward found him incredibly exasperating. Stiles shared Jessica's gift of the gab and that meant they could talk for hours about any topic while Edward had an existential crisis in the corner. Despite Edward admitting that fae blood was intoxicating to his kind Stiles' witty jokes and prone to hyperbole made Edward want to kill him but not for his blood.

Stiles didn't really like Edward and he didn't hide it. Kira had explained to them that one of their friends in high school, Caroline, was turned into a vampire in their senior year and Stiles had taken it the hardest and now he disliked vampires in general. Jessica didn't think Stiles' bias towards Edward was fair but she didn't know the whole story about what happened in New Orleans and she didn't know all of them long enough to earn it yet. She hoped she did someday as she really liked these people.

Edward grimaced as he finished reading, folding it in half and placing it on her bedside table. "What does he think we do in our spare time? Fight the forces of evil? Try to topple a dictatorial government?"

"Apparently NOLA is a really interesting place," Jessica replied. "Nothing like Forks."

"Nothing happens in Forks."

"Aside from the vampire family moving in and our friendly neighborhood wolf pack," She grinned. "You're right though. Forks is boring compared to, well, anywhere."

"Not true," he countered. "Forks has some interesting people. Like there's this girl who fell in love with a vampire…"

"Ooh, yes. I heard about them," she agreed. "Very Romeo and Juliet. Forbidden love and tragedy, kissing on the balcony…"

"I was thinking more like Taming of the Shrew."

She gaped at him. "Are you calling me a shrew, Cullen?"

"If the shoe fits…"

She smacked his arm and he just laughed. "You are the worst boyfriend ever! I should dump you and elope with Kira and we can live in Iceland with our adopted ten children!"

"Stiles would never let you take Kira away from him," Bonnie remarked as she entered the room, having just come back from her last class. "And if you're gonna ask anybody to elope with you and be your girlfriend, it should be me."

"I thought about it, Bon, but I can't win a duel against Scott. He's got muscles," Jessica replied matter-of-factly. "I can, however, take on Stiles and his spaghetti arms."

"He's stronger than he looks," Bonnie took a seat on her bed, relieved that day was over. "Have you picked a topic for your English paper? Professor Sienna is not up for the hidden feminism of Austen's work."

"I don't know what she wants," Jessica pouted. "I wanted to talk about Frankenstein and the parallels of the story to Mary Shelley's life but she turned it down."

Edward questioned. "Frankenstein?"

She cocked an eyebrow at him. "It's that or Dracula."

Bonnie shook her head. "Carmilla would be a better choice and you can talk about men's fear of and the demonizing of women's sexuality."

"Which has similar themes in Dracula," Jessica wanted to clap her hands in excitement but deflated. "Sienna isn't gonna go for it though. That woman does not like classic horror."

"How about Pride and Prejudice and how romance can take time to develop?" Edward offered. "Their first impressions on each other were wrong and it's only when they let go of their preconceived biases on each other that they could really fall in love."

"You want me to make a comparison between one of the greatest literary love stories of all time and the two of us?"

He smiled. "Why not?"

Bonnie got to her feet, grabbing her bag. "I'm gonna go to the library and look for a topic there instead of having to watch you two make moony eyes at each other."

Moony eyes? As if Bonnie had a leg to stand on. Scott looked at Bonnie like she hung the moon and all the stars in the sky. Edward looked at Jessica the same way.


October came and with it the terrifying promise of midterms. Jessica spent a good deal of time studying at the library with Riley and Bonnie. She gave up studying with Kira and Stiles (who were a package deal) as Stiles would get distracted and could waste an hour on unrelated topics like the Han Shot First debate or if Edward's telepathy could be harnessed to work on animals. Scott would join them occasionally and Riley would tutor him in Math.

Edward didn't share any classes with them and he didn't need to be as studious so he usually did his own thing and they would meet up before or after. He still believed Riley had a crush on Jessica and there was a weird tension that Riley was obliviously ignoring. Surprisingly, the person Edward got along best within the group was Scott. Despite being enemy species, Scott was too warm and friendly to dislike and it made easy for the two of them to put aside whatever prejudices they had and get along.

Jessica was coming back from a study session when she spotted Edward and Scott standing under the shade of Stiles' favorite oak tree. She walked up to them and greeted them. They both shushed her. She frowned and asked in a whisper, "Why do I have to be quiet?"

Edward inclined his head towards where Bonnie was talking to another student. He was a tall, dark, and handsome with a perfect smile. He said something that made Bonnie smile. Scott was glaring at him, his eyes beginning to glow a bit blue.

"Scott," she hissed. "Don't go all The Wolfman on us."

He closed his eyes, head bowing as he tried to keep himself under control. He sat down on the ground as he began chanting that Buddhist mantra he liked. "Three things cannot be long hidden – the sun, the moon, and the truth…"

She turned back to Edward and he was still staring at Bonnie and the other student. "Were you two listening in on their conversation?"

Edward grimaced. "Not exactly…"

"Which means you were and you're listening to their thoughts too," Jessica shook her head in disapproval. "Do either of you know what privacy means?"

"We're just concerned for Bonnie."

"More like Scott here is jealous and you're helping him spy on my roommate."

"And we also want to make sure that Bonnie isn't being approached by somebody that would do her harm."

"Translation – yeah, we're being creepy but we're doing it for Bonnie's sake," Jessica countered. "And FYI, the guy she's talking to is Jesse Sampson. He's a Third Year Biology major. Riley knows him and says he's a good guy."

Scott had recovered and got to his feet, sheepishly smiling at her. "Sorry, Jessica. When it comes to Bonnie, I get all stupid."

"You need to trust her. I know things are complicated between the two of you but stalking her and invading her privacy is not going to win you any brownie points."

He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck. "Duly noted."

She turned back to Edward and poked him in the sternum. "And you should not be recruiting people into your bad habits."

"I was just trying to help my friend."

And she knew he really was in Edward's twisted logic of things. Edward did not like having to go out of his way to do things for people and he was trying to help Scott. As much as she disapproved how they chose to bond, she was glad Edward was making a friend. He needed one. It was healthy for him.

Bonnie finally done talking to Jesse came over. "Hey. What's going on?"

Jessica smiled brightly. "Nothing. Just the boys treating us to dinner."

Bonnie raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"

Scott deflated a bit at the look Jessica gave him and guiltily nodded in defeat. "Sure, Bon. Anything you want."

"Well, how thoughtful."

She moved closer to Scott and took his hand. He smiled widely. They began discussing where to have dinner and debated their options. Jessica and Edward followed behind them.

The sun had set and they were at dusk. Edward didn't need an umbrella as they walked around campus. The sky was a painting of oranges and purples. This time of the day suited Edward best.

She wrapped her arm around his and leaned into him. "I'm glad you're making a friend but no more stalking, okay?"

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

She hoped he kept that promise. Edward couldn't help himself at times. She had to have faith in him. He was learning just like she was.


Jessica told Riley about Scott and Edward spying on Bonnie (sans super hearing and telepathy) and it made Riley laugh in disbelief.

"Jesse?" he said. "He won't go for a girl that's taken. That's not who he is."

"Right? And even if he was, Scott should trust Bonnie. She does love him even if they can't seem to make it work," Jessica responded. "And Bonnie's not really interested in anybody else. She looks at Scott like he's the sun."

"Maybe not everyone's like you and Edward," Riley looked wistful. "It's not as easy for everybody else."

"It's not easy between us. Far from it. We have to work on our relationship," she explained. "And I don't think any relationship is easy. Maybe you just have to make a choice to choose that person, you know? Choose them every day over everything else."

"What happens when choosing them doesn't feel worth it anymore?"

She paused then asked, "You and your girlfriend still fighting?"

"Every time we talk we're either in an argument or it's just awkward. Everyone tells you that long distance is hard but I didn't know it was going to be this hard," He sighed. "And she gets jealous. If I mention you or Bonnie or the barista at the café, she immediately thinks I'm looking for a replacement."

"But you're not."

"And I've told her that many times. She gets really angry when I mention you. She thinks I'm thinking about running away into the sunset with you."

"Did you tell her I have a boyfriend?"

"I did. She doesn't want to listen," He ran a hand through his sandy blonde hair, a nervous habit of his. "She wants me to transfer to Santa Fe next semester. She wants to give up Stanford for her."

Dread pooled in her belly. "Are you going to?"

"No. I won't and I never will," He looked around at the numerous books surrounding them. "Give up all of this for a girl? I would have to be crazy to do that."

She remembered when she got her acceptance letter and she realized that she might not have Edward with her in college. She had been apprehensive to have to ask him to go to California with her but it never crossed her mind to go to a college in Boston or New York for him. She knew that even if he asked her to give up her dream college for him, she would've refused. Even if it came at the cost of the relationship, even if she lost him, she would never make that sacrifice.

He looked back at her, his brown eyes staring into hers. "What do you think? Should I break up with her?"

"I don't think I should be the one-"

"If you were me, would you break up with her?" When she didn't answer, he reached across the table and took her hand in his. His hands were calloused from years of guitar. "Please, Jess? I need your advice."

"If it were me…" She swallowed, closing her eyes as she spoke the truth. "I would choose Stanford."

"Yeah…" Riley pulled away. She opened her eyes and stared at him in regret as he looked down at the table with a sad smile. "And that's the end of a three year relationship."

She felt guilty but Riley had pushed her. Maybe she was a bad friend for being too honest. Maybe she told him what he wanted but not what he needed. She wished she had Angela or Bonnie there to ask for their help. They were better at these things.

She asked, "What's her name again?"

"Vicki," he answered, reaching for his phone on the table and unlocking it to show her a photo of a pretty brunette. "Vicki Donovan. I've known her since grade school."

She stared at the smiling girl and felt sorry for her. It couldn't be easy being miles away from the boy you loved, wondering if he was finding another girl to take your place. She tried to imagine Edward in New York with his family surrounded by girls who talked to him about classical music as their relationship slowly disintegrated into nothing. Would she be jealous and scared and beg Edward to give up his new life for her too?

Riley put away his phone. "Bye bye, Vicki."

Would she have been any better? She honestly didn't know. And she was glad she didn't have to know what it was like to be Vicki Donovan. Bye bye, Vicki.


Hi. It's been a while. I needed to take a break from writing and now I'm feeling better. I still won't be updating daily. That's too much.

1. Jesse and Vicki Donovan are characters in TVD who I've repurposed as minor characters for this story. Jesse was a college student at Whitmore with Bonnie, Caroline, and Elena. Vicki was a high school student in Mystic Falls who I've relocated to Santa Fe.

2. Chapter title is from a song in Alice in Wonderland (1951).

3. Trying to remember my college days is giving me anxiety. Oh, midterms. Dear Lord.