Disclaimer: teen wolf does not belong to me in any way shape or form, eternally sad about that haha, and thanks for your continued support and a massive shoutout to CarleighAlpha, guest, guest, TheQueenofGoodbyes,guest and guest for reviewing, means the world :)
"You should have just let me drive" Kayla grumbled, peeing her head from the window it had got slammed against for the fifth time, "I can drive way better than this"
Stiles threw her an exhausted look, "if I wanted to crash, then yes, I would have given you the keys but I don't so..."
"And how is your rallying any better?"
"I know how to drive roscoe, so pipe down"
She rolled her eyes, "don't tell me to pipe down. You pipe down"
"I never pipe down" he retaliated, their bickering gaining momentum.
"Where are we going anyway?" grabbing a hold of the door handle to stop from being thrown across the front seat as Stiles turned a corner rather hastily.
"Scott's house" he answered, "seems like a good starting point"
"And if he's not there?"
Stiles just threw her a sideways glance, "enough of the negativity please"
"Sorry, it's a character trait of mine" she muttered sarcastically, "but that doesn't answer my question"
"And you haven't answered mine"
"You haven't asked" she pointed out with a smirk, "and I don't have the ability to read minds"
"Thank god for that" he murmured under his breath, his tongue sticking out slightly as he concentrated on the road, jittery in his seat as he fidgeted.
"Well, I am sorry for telling you like that" referring to the bombshell she dropped about lycanthropy, "but I know you were thinking it"
"Thinking it and knowing it are two completely different things"
She smirked, watching him closely. He was on edge, that much was clear, but she admired his loyalty to his best friend, the pure frantic worry evident in his very behaviour. It was love. Brotherhood. Something so true and honest it was actually kind of sweet.
"What do you want to know?"
He threw her a cautious look, mistrust gleaming in his eyes.
"And how do I know you're telling the truth?"
She shrugged, "you don't, but I am" she said confidently, "I have no reason to lie"
He looked her up and down once more before turning back to the road, his grip tightening on the steering wheel, glancing nervously at the full moon shining down overhead.
"So you're... not a werewolf?"
"Nope" she confirmed with a playful smirk, "I drew the short straw from the gene pool"
He breathed an audible sigh of relief, relaxing ever so slightly but still mistrustful of her, that much was obvious, but that seemed to be his negative character trait. Much the same as her.
"And... and what's happening to Scott?"
"It's his first full moon" Kayla explained, "that is, by far, the worst change. The pain, the fear, the bloodlust... completely at its peak. He'll be nearly uncontrollable"
"And you didn't think to mention this before, say, I don't know... the full moon?" Stiles demanded, his voice gaining a few octaves higher with stress and worry but still maintaining that typical sarcastic tone, "like lunch hour?"
"I didn't know for sure" she sighed, "I just suspected because of his behaviour. Derek didn't know either. That's why I came to the party tonight, so I could keep a look out and-"
"Only thing you were looking at were Brian's tonsils" Stiles grumbled and she rolled her eyes at the blatant attack.
"Yeah, I know, I'm a shit lookout" she exclaimed, "but if you suspected too, why did you let him come?"
Stiles' expression turned a little guilty, his jaw clenching almost unnoticeably.
"I uh... I tried to stop him but, uh, he got mad. Slashed up my desk chair. And let's just say normal fingernails couldn't do the damage that he did"
"It wasn't him. Not really" she reassured, "emotions are heightened drastically on a full moon. He probably wasn't in control of himself"
"Yeah, well, tell that to my desk chair. That thing cost two hundred dollars"
She snorted in amusement, "you're not going to bill him for the damages are you?"
"Depends if he tries and rips my throat out tonight"
"As if I would let him do that" she chuckled, "that throat is way too pretty to be slashed open"
He flushed a light pink, beginning to relax in her company once again.
"But if you're not a werewolf then how can you-"
"Stop him? Protect myself?" she asked rhetorically, "dude, I grew up with werewolves. I learnt a thing or two about protecting myself by the time I was like, eight. The joys of being seen as the most vulnerable" she added sarcastically, hating being seen as weaker compared to her werewolf family counterparts. Hence, the intense training schedule she abided by to always, constantly, be at the top of her game.
Stiles cast her a glance, his brain working quickly to decipher what she was saying, trying to understand the inner workings of her brain. He may have only known her four days, but in this last four minutes he was finding out more than he had before, chipping away at her outer layer.
"And what about Derek?"
Kayla smirked, "what about Derek?"
"He's a werewolf"
It wasn't a question, more of a dubious statement. His brows knitting together in confusion.
"Duh"
Stiles ran a hand down his face, "I knew there was something off about him"
"There's a lot of things off with Derek" Kayla chuckled, "and being a werewolf is way at the bottom of that list"
"He gives me bad vibes"
"That's just Derek" Kayla snickered, "he's a sour wolf"
Stiles suddenly slammed on the brakes on the road outside a house, rushing to unbuckle his seatbelt.
"Oh, here already?" she wondered, going to open the door and jump out but forgot she had the seatbelt wrapped around her and, as she went to jump, she got yanked back, her feet not so graciously dangling out the jeep as he her bum began slipping off the seat.
"Uh. Little help here?"
Stiles rolled his eyes but backtracked none the less, untangling her from the belt and helping her stand on wobbly legs.
"Still drunk huh?"
"Nonsense" she declared, holding her head high and taking a step forward but her stubbornness was short lived as the toe of her boot caught the kerb and she stumbled, falling forward onto her hands and knees on the cement sidewalk.
"...Ow" she muttered, pouting as she glanced down at the scrapes on her palms, "I got an ouchie"
Stiles rolled his eyes, grabbing her forearms and helping her to her feet, pushing her back to the jeep.
"You - stay here" he ordered, holding her with one arm as he opened the jeep door and encouraged her to sit in it, "I'll check Scott's house. Last thing we need is you attempting stairs"
"Oh, more ouchies" she mumbled, glancing down at her bare legs that were dangling from the seat in the jeep out the door, touching the bloodied scrapes on her knee caps, "whoopsies"
"Told you. Still drunk" Stiles muttered, beginning to rush towards the house, "stay there. Don't move"
She wasn't really paying attention, waving him off as she touched the scrapes on her knees and giggled as they stung a little, the skin blotting with fine pin pricks of blood.
Okay, maybe she was still a tad drunk.
Just a little though.
It was dangerous territory, she knew that. It was too much temptation - parties, that was. She didn't know why she went all out, but she did. She acted out because, deep down, she was hurting but she had no one to tell that too. No one to open up to.
It was a big change, moving here to Beacon Hills. She might not show it but there was a lot of traumatic memories here for her, memories that brought her nothing but pain and sorrow and she was just expected to accept this change without so much as an ounce of rebellion?
She hadn't long been back on the straight and narrow before her mom had packed them up and moved here. Still such fragile territory, so ready to break.
She had made a promise to herself and she broke it. She let her emotions get in the way and almost ruin her progress... her recovery.
She was stronger than that... she knew she was. She didn't want to fall back into the pattern again. She couldn't afford to because she knew, if she did, there was a big chance she wasn't getting out alive.
She had been lucky before. Multiple times being saved by hospital staff, pumping her stomach before it was too late to do any permanent and lasting damage but she had been playing with fire. All it took was one bad batch of drugs or one dumpster to fall into and she might not ever wakened again.
Eventually, her luck was due to run out. She couldn't keep getting close to that flame or she really would be burnt. It was only a matter of time.
She had to do better.
She had to.
Living was hard. It was. Excruciating sometimes, but she had to remain positive. She had to remember what her therapist told her - that life wasn't all bad. That good things happened too. She just had to wait for the scales to tip in her favour, to breathe some life into her exhausted and bitter body.
She had to do better... to honour them. To honour her family. The thought of disappointing them tore her heart in two, shattering her already so fragile soul.
She did not want to be that person again.
When she thought back on those months of reckless and dangerous behaviour, it was like she was watching a movie, unable to recognise herself.
She had always been a bit of a loose canon, but not in a selfish or dangerous way. Just a bit fiesty and untameable, attracting nothing but bad luck and trouble but still managed to keep her heart. After her dad and brother were murdered, it was like she, too, had died. The Kayla she had been before, a little damaged and hot headed but still endearing, had been killed. Instead, in its place, was this wild, thoughtless, insensitive person that dove head first into danger, toying with death.
She had no purpose, no sense of right or wrong and certainly no morals. She let the pain and grief eat her whole, ruining months of her life.
She didn't feel worthy of living, of being in a world that her family wasn't, so she turned to drink and drugs and boys to dampen her pain but it was never permanent. It only lasted as long as the hit did and then the pain slammed into her again, ten times worse than before, and so the cycle began. More alcohol, more drugs and less time being a functioning human being.
She had lost so much time it was humiliating.
Days of her life riding a drug binge high before crashing for hours at a time.
Getting involved with Aiden, the worst kind of person to hang with, didn't help. They encouraged each other down the path of self destruction. The violence they shared in their time together was brutal, and sometimes she wondered how she got out of that relationship alive.
So why, knowing all that, did she almost ruin her second chance?
Did she really hate herself that much?
She sighed, pursing her lips as she swung her feet back and forth out of the jeep, waiting for Stiles.
She didn't want to be this person... this negative, self destructive version of herself. She wanted to be better, do better, be the kind of person that was worthy of a second chance.
But, deep down, the guilt was still there.
Survivors guilt.
One of the last remaining Hales.
So much pressure.
So much expectation.
She needed to handle it better.
She wanted to have a good life. She wanted her soul to find peace. In order to do that, she needed to be stronger.
She needed to try harder.
No more excuses.
'Just own your fucking pain Kayla' she thought to herself, 'own it and get your shit together'.
She glanced down at herself, still clearly - at the very least - tipsy, and sighed in disappointment.
She couldn't afford to fall at any more hurdles.
She had to do better.
A movement from Scott's house caught her attention as she glanced up, prying herself away from her destructive thoughts and trying to shake off the negative energy that was accumulating around her and squinted through the bleariness to see Scott - or who she assumed was Scott - leap from a second story window, landing gracefully on the ground without so much as a falter.
She swallowed, watching nervously as he threw his head back, a startling roar escaping his throat and she recognised that type of roar.
Scott was angry. Vengeful.
Something had happened to make him furious.
She carefully stepped down from the jeep, keeping her jelly legs in check as she took a few steps forward, hesitantly at first, unsure of Scott's motives but he wasn't paying attention to her, hyper focused on something completely different.
"Scott?" she called out, "Scott, it's okay, let us help..."
He roared again and she instinctively covered her ears with her hands, the sound penetrating right through to her very bones as he suddenly took off on all fours, leaping past her without another look and disappeared through his neighbours across the streets back gardens.
Huh... okay, that was different.
A new werewolf normally displayed so much bloodlust, so much unpredictability and were usually never able to control themselves around humans. He should have seen her, caught her scent and wanted to rip her throat out but instead she doubted he even saw her.
Something had taken his interest... something more than the bloodlust.
... interesting. Very interesting indeed.
She didn't have time to ponder that thought as Stiles suddenly came skidding out the front door and down the path, his lanky limbs swirling around like helicopter blades as he stopped in front of her, huffing and puffing.
"Uh, do you need an inhaler?"
He ignored her, pointing in the general direction Scott went, "he... he... he took off"
"I know, I saw"
Again, he ignored her, wiping the sweat from his brow, "he thinks Derek has Allison"
"Derek doesn't have Allison" she mumbled, almost offended by that suggestion, "why would he have Allison?"
Stiles was panting, gasping back breath as he placed his hands on his knees.
"He thinks... that Derek... is the Alpha"
Kayla raised her hand, flicking Stiles on the forehead, "and you didn't think to correct him?"
"I was too busy getting the door slammed in my face" he retorted, "and how do you know Derek isn't involved in this?"
She rolled her eyes, "because I know. He's my cousin"
"Exactly" Stiles stated, "which means you could be in on it too"
She couldn't help but scoff at the boy in front her, coming up with endless possibilities, his imagination clearly running wild.
"Me?" she laughed, "yeah right. That's too much effort"
He narrowed his eyes at her, "well I'm going to check, regardless. I'll swing by Allison's house and make sure Derek did just drop her off and didn't rip her head off"
"You're wasting your time" she shrugged, "he doesn't have her. He probably has something of hers to lure Scott with" it all finally making sense, that's why Scott ran off so determined, he was wanting to protect Allison.
"Yeah, like her head" Stiles exclaimed, "and I'm still going to check. Nothing you say can convince me otherwise"
She rolled her eyes but didn't argue, her morphine well past worn off and the alcohol burning through her system which meant the pain was coming back in waves, bordering on unbearable but, like always, she grit her teeth and pushed past it - like nothing was happening.
She climbed into the jeep before he decided he didn't trust her and took off without her, slamming the door shut a little harder than necessary so he turned to quirk a brow at her.
"What?" She asked.
"Don't hurt Roscoe"
"I can't hurt inanimate objects Stiles"
"Shhhh" he hissed, covering the sides of the steering wheel with his hands, "she'll hear you"
"She?" she chuckled, "you definitely haven't been laid yet, have you?"
He clenched his jaw, his lips forming a tight line and he bit back whatever insult was dying to escape his mouth as he flushed an adorable pink.
"Wha- that is none of your business"
Another bubble of laughter escaped her lips as she flailed a hand out towards the road, kind of enjoying winding him up.
"I thought you were driving to Allison's?"
"I am" he declared, starting up the engine, "and she better be there"
"Of course she's going to be there. I told you already"
He grumbled out a sound of indignation, starting up the engine and letting it splutter to life, taking off down the road like a bat out of hell.
She went to place her feet on the dash so she could sit back and relax but Stiles shot her a dirty look at she did so and she just held her hands up.
"Okay, sorry. Jeez-" she muttered, putting her two feet firmly back on the floor of the jeep, "-someone's touchy"
"My best friend just turned into a furry four legged creature who may or may not want me dead, of course I'm touchy"
She smirked, "it's kind of cool though, right?"
He looked like he wanted to argue but as soon as his mouth opened in his haste to bicker with her, he soon snapped it shut and shrugged.
"Admit it" she encouraged with a laugh, "you find all of this awesome"
"Well, obviously. Who wouldn't?"
"Sane people" she declared, unable to keep the laugh to herself.
Stiles, by all intents and purposes, was trying to act frosty towards her, unsure if he was trusting of her or not, but their playful banter was wearing him down and he soon cracked a small smile.
"See?" she cheekily poked his side, "I'm not that bad. You can laugh with me y'know"
He pulled up outside Allison's, "hold that thought"
He sprinted to the front door, banging on it impatiently, dancing about like his ass was on fire until a stern looking woman with short red hair opened the door and, without thinking, she ducked a little bit, pressing her back further into the seat.
Probably Allison's mom.
An Argent.
The last thing she wanted was for her to recognise her and set her sights on burning her alive.
They exchanged a few words and then both looked into the house, watching as Allison came down the stairs to speak with Stiles, her mom leaving them to it.
They spoke for a brief moment before Allison glanced past Stiles and noticed her in the jeep, frowning between the two of them.
Kayla rolled down the window, giving Allison a small wave.
"Yeah, I'm just... taking her home" Stiles lied, scratching the back of his neck awkwardly, "she's drunk"
"I'm drunk" she clarified, making a pretend drinking motion with her hands.
"Yeah, that's maybe for the best. Thanks Stiles" Allison said, "and thanks for checking in but I'm fine. Like I said, Scott's friend gave me a lift. Total life saver, I didn't want to have to phone my dad. That would have been mortifying"
"Yeah, totally, uh..." Stiles forced a laugh, "anyway, glad you're fine and uh... sorry about Scott" he started walking backwards, quickly trying to exit this situation, "he's just weird like that. I'm sure he'll talk to you on Monday" before quickly side stepping to the drivers side of the jeep and clambering in, trying not to be suspicious but being suspicious anyway as Allison watched them leave from the doorstop, a wondering frown etched between her brows.
"See?" Kayla smirked, "I told you she'd be fine"
Stiles breathed a sigh of relief, reversing out from Allison's driveway, one arm on the back of her seat as he shot her an apologetic look.
"Just had to make sure"
"I wouldn't let anything happen to her. She's my... friend. I suppose" she added, "huh. Friends"
Stiles snorted, "is that concept a little hard for you to grasp?"
She rolled her eyes, "I left all my friends in Louisiana. Didn't expect to replace them so soon, that's all"
He shot her a pitying look, "sad thing is, you've been here all of five minutes and you still have more friends than me"
"I can be your friend"
He swallowed thickly, beginning to get a little nervous as he cast her quick looks from the side, biting down on his bottom lip.
"You-You want to be friends? With me?"
"Well, someone has to keep you two idiots out of trouble" she laughed, "I can be your werewolf confidant"
Stiles pursed his lips in thought, "that would be handy"
"Exactly. See? I'm useful"
He snorted, "we just have to find Scott first. He could be anywhere"
"I wouldn't worry too much" she reassured, "Derek used Allison's scent to lure Scott out. He won't let him hurt anyone"
Stiles quirked a brow, "and you can be a thousand percent sure on that?"
"Yes" she answered confidently, "I know my cousin Stiles... you can trust him"
"Hmmm" he replied back, focusing on the road, "dude is still creepy though"
They drove around for another hour, driving up and down every single road Beacon Hills had, keeping an eye out for a half naked Scott but no joy.
Stiles' jeep was soon nearly hitting the red for gas so he decided to pull in to a small rest stop on the side of old oaks road, trees on either side of them blocking out the light of the moon, and when he shut off the engine theh were thrown into darkness.
"I'm sure he'll be fine" Kaula reassured, reaching out to touch his shoulder, "the sun will come up soon anyway"
"I hope so" Stiles muttered, "because this night has been... exhausting"
She snorted, "wow, thanks a lot Stiles" she muttered sarcastically, her tone dripping in playfulness, "and here I thought you liked hanging out with me"
Despite the darkness, she could practically sense his eye roll, "that's not what I mean"
"Oh. I know. I just like teasing you"
He chuckled, "you're hard work you know"
"Thank you"
"That wasn't strictly a compliment"
She shrugged, "was to me"
"So uh..." he started off saying, the outline of his figure beginning to get jittery again, finding confidence in the darkness when they didn't have to look at each other, "now I know about werewolves and stuff... maybe you can tell me why you moved here?"
She swallowed nervously, her hands beginning to wring together as she toyed with her cuticles.
"What uh... what do you want to know?"
"Why you came here" he replied, "was there a supernatural reason?"
"Um... not really. My mom didn't give me much of a choice"
Despite the dim light, she could see Stiles turning in his seat to look at her, concentrating solely on her words.
"Why not?"
"I was... causing trouble" she said delicately, "acting out"
"So she moved you across the country? Harsh" he commented, "what was wrong with grounding you?"
Kayla snorted, "I wasn't just setting off smoke bombs and staying out all night. I was uh... doing a lot of bad things. My uh... my dad and older brother were killed and I guess I didn't take it too well..."
"Oh... oh god, I'm so sorry" Stiles rushed to apologise, immediately feeling bad he ever brought it up, "you don't have to tell me anything-"
"It's okay" she reassured, kind of happy to get it off her chest, no one else in Beacon Hills knowing her secrets, "um... yeah, I lost them just over a year ago. November 17th to be precise"
She could Stiles' foot tapping nervously on the jeep floor, his entire aura seeping nerves as he fidgeted in his seat, unsure what to do or say.
"I'm... I'm sorry. Uh... what happened?"
"Hunters" she said simply, "werewolf hunters"
"What?" Stiles screeched loudly, "there's werewolf hunters?"
"Yeah, that's the not so cool part about being a werewolf" she chuckled though it was without humour, void of any real emotion, "and still to this day I don't know why it happened. My family we... we lived by our code. My dad never hurt a fly and Dylan uh... there was one person he hurt, but that was accidental. They stayed clean. They didn't out themselves. Yet it still happened" she mused, "they were taken away from me and I... I lost it"
"Understandable" Stiles said, "it's a massive trauma"
"Yeah..." she settled on saying, "I guess. I don't know... I just... became this completely different person. Fell in with the wrong crowd, endless parties, lots of alcohol, drugs, you name it... I just lost myself. Just like I lost them"
"And... and that's why your mom moved you here?"
Kayla snorted, "I guess. My dad has investments here so she took them over instead of selling them on. As soon as I got back on the straight and narrow she sold our house and moved us here. I didn't really have much of a choice. I don't exactly have much family left"
Even through the dim darkness she could just make out his eyes widening in realisation, his jaw slack.
"The fire... was that... I mean, was that because they were werewolves?"
"Just because they were werewolves it didn't mean they deserved burning to death" she snapped, not meaning to but the grief was creeping back up again, swallowing her whole, "and it wasn't all werewolves in there. There were humans too. It was cold blooded murder"
"O-Of course, I-I didn't mean... I wasn't insinuating, um... sorry" he apologised, dipping his head in shame.
A heavy sigh escaped her lips, immediately cooling down from her burst of anger.
"No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that. It's just... touchy subject" she settled on saying, "my family were very well respected, and feared" she added, "so whoever did it had a lot of balls"
"Do you have any idea who?"
"...We have theories" she settled on saying after a long pause, "but that's all they are. Theories"
"And... and why are you human?" He exclaimed, "I mean, if your family are werewolves, surely you should be one too?"
"I wonder that too" she mused, "but sometimes, occasionally, the werewolf gene just doesn't take. No one knows why"
"Bizarre" Stiles muttered, his brain clearly going into overdrive.
"Glad you think so" she snorted.
She couldn't see him, but she could imagine his face turning a very light shade of pink in embarrassment.
"Sorry. I'm just... taking this all in"
"Understandable. I did just turn your world upside down in the space of a few hours"
"I know, how rude" he joked back, his demeanour, although still nervous was more relaxed than before, eager to learn more.
"Terrible" she agreed, her lips quirking in amusement.
"Um... so uh, you're here to stay then?"
"I guess so..."
"Good" he murmured shyly, tapping his fingers along the steering wheel, "that's... good"
"Oh?" she quipped, "and why is that?"
She heard him gulp, stiffening in his seat, "oh, uh... because um... y'know... uh... w-werewolf help... and uh, and stuff"
She bit her lip, holding back a laugh at his terrible excuses, "well, the two of you will need all the help you can get, trust me"
They fell into comfortable silence, enjoying the peacefulness and after a short while, although the pain was still there, it was ebbing away slowly which meant it wasn't too long until the sun came up. Half hour, maybe an hour at most.
She pressed her head against the window, closing her eyes momentarily and shifting her weight to get more comfortable, tucking her legs under her.
"You should get some rest" Stiles advised, "you've been drinking and drinking always makes people sleepy"
"Yeah... yeah I might just grab a few minutes" she muttered just as she yawned, letting her head loll against the cool window. In fact, she was so tired and already slipping into sleep that she didn't feel Stiles jostle about to remove his grey suit jacket and place it over her gently, keeping her exposed body warm from the chill night air.
She awoke to something shuddering and immediately sat up straight, un-kinking her body from the awkward, half sitting-half laying position she was curled into and looked around in a frenzy, her wild curled hair sticking to her face.
"Whoa, it's okay" Stiles rushed to say, "it's just my stupid jeep"
She spat out a mouthful of her hair, the grey suit jacket that had been tucked around her shoulders falling to the floor as she blinked away the sleep, watching trees pass her by quickly.
Oh... Stiles was driving.
"Shit" she cursed, "how long was I out?"
"Just a couple hours" he replied, one hand on the wheel and the other resting by his side, "I didn't want to wake you. Had a feeling you might try and strangle me"
He actually wasn't wrong. She did hate getting woken up.
She snorted, raising a hand to wipe the side of her mouth.
"Oh yeah, and you were totally drooling"
She shot him a glare, "I was not"
"Was too"
"Stop looking at me in my sleep you werido" she joked, stretching out her body a little as she repressed a yawn, "still no Scott?"
"Not yet, but I'm hoping if I keep just driving up and down this road then-oh" he cut himself off in surprise, "nevermind. He's there"
Kayla glanced out the windscreen, seeing a topless Scott limping along the road, his arm held against his torso as if he were in pain.
"Oh goody, he's alive"
Stiles looked at her in alarm, "you didn't expect him to be...?"
She shrugged, "shit happens" undoing her seatbelt and clambering over the front seats so she was on the back as Stiles slowed down, ready to pick Scott up.
"Oh, and uh..." she popped her head forward, so close to Stiles' he nearly head butted her as he turned his head to the side, "what we talked about earlier... y'know... all that stuff... I would really appreciate it if you could keep it to yourself. Just for now"
"Um... yeah, yeah of course" Stiles gulped, the jeep stopping completely as Scott opened the door to climb in, "pinky promise"
Scott looked exhausted, resting back against the seat to glance at Stiles before realising she was in the backseat too and shot her a surprised look.
"Uh..."
"We were looking for you. All night" Stiles exclaimed, "you owe me a tank of gas by the way"
Scott turned around to look at her fully, his brows knitting together, "Derek says that I should trust you. That you can help me"
She shrugged, "I can certainly try"
"But you're not a werewolf...?"
She rolled her eyes, "nope, not a werewolf. But I know a lot about them"
He was still suspicious, that much was obvious, but Stiles reached over and cupped his shoulder reassuringly.
"It's okay man, I vetted her, she's cool"
Scott simply sighed, resting against the jeep door as he huddled to stay warm, looking like a god damn kicked puppy.
"You know what the worst thing about all of this is?"
"If you say Allison, I'm going to kick your ass"
Kayla snorted, "of course he's going to say Allison"
"She's going to hate me" Scott moaned, "I just left her at that party-"
"She won't hate you" Kayla said, "I'll put in a good word for you"
"Oh, uh... thanks" Scott mumbled, "I really don't want her to hate me-"
"Just come up with a really great apology and you'll be golden" Stiles advised with a smirk, "or, y'know, you could just tell her the truth and revel in the awesomeness of the fact that you're a frigging werewolf"
"Uh-" she butted in, her head between the two of them, "don't do that. That's terrible advice"
"I agree" Scott mumbled, "I want a second chance, not to scare her off"
Stiles just rolled his eyes, "kill joys, the pair of you"
She back in her seat, pulling her legs up again and letting herself relax as the two best friends bickered back and forth and she was almost asleep again until her phone pinged and she manoeuvred it from her pocket, wondering who would be texting this early, to see her mom's name flashing up at her.
Oh great... busted.
She groaned, "Stiles... you need to take me home"
"Why?" His eyes flitted to meet hers in the rear view mirror, "I thought we could all have a sit down and you could talk to Scott about-"
"Mom found out I sneaked out to go to the party. She's pissed. Maybe another time though?"
Stiles simply nodded, focusing back on the road as she repocketed her phone without even opening the message.
She hated Beacon Hills, she really did.
It was a place of pain and suffering and not much else.
But maybe, just maybe, she thought to herself as she looked between the two boys... maybe she could find a purpose here. A reason for trying.
Maybe this was where she was meant to be.
A/N) eeeek see, character development already lol I hoped you all liked, I'm loving exploring and developing their relationships in more depth before the proper drama starts haha and pleas please review it would mean the absolute world, thank you :)