STORY NOTES:
Please note that this is a rewrite of my own work under the same title, which was originally posted on a different site. The original has now been taken down, leaving this as the new rewrite and only copy. If the characters and story seems familiar to you, this is why. Please DM me for further information if you are still skeptical!
Canon Changes:
- The events of the Nogitsune haven't happened yet. However, Allison has still died in a different way (that will be revealed later on).
- This story picks up in Season 3. Kira has been introduced, however the events of Jennifer/the Alpha Pack/Nogitzune have yet to happen.
STORY WARNINGS:
This story will contain mentions/discussion of: attempted suicide, self-inflicted harm, mental health struggles, medication, and possession. The main character is not actively struggling with her mental health as we understand it, however due to her supernatural abilities, she has self-destructive thoughts and actions that happen prior to the beginning of the story. The warnings above are not talked about in depth, and if this were to change, there would be a warning at the beginning of the chapter.
It's important to note that none of these themes will be romanticised in this story.
Twelve Years Ago…
The room was bright and uncomfortable. There was a steady beeping noise in the background, but the little girl couldn't bring herself to concentrate on it. Instead, she was more worried about the doctor in front of her, who was sticking something that looked like wires to the sides of her head.
"Are you comfortable, Lily?" the Doctor asked, "We can get you another pillow if you'd like."
Lily shook her head, sat up in the hospital bed, "I'm okay."
She watched her parents, who were sat by her bed. Their hands were clasped together, watching her with worried expressions. She didn't understand what was going on. The Doctor was being super nice - he said he was going to help her find out what was wrong with her. She didn't think there was anything wrong with her, though.
"Okay Lily," the Doctor continued, "I'm going to ask you some simple questions now, okay?"
Lily nodded, leaning back against the pillows, "Okay."
The Doctor sat on the opposite side of her, looking at a screen with lots of colours and numbers she didn't understand.
"Lily, can you tell me what my name is?"
"You're Doctor Deaton," Lily answered easily.
"Very good; and who's sat to the other side of you?"
"Mum and dad," Lily answered.
"Very good," Doctor Deaton nodded, "Now-"
"But I don't know her name."
Her parents froze, wide eyed. They looked at the doctor with pleading eyes, barely meeting her own gaze.
"Who's name?" Doctor Deaton asked slowly.
Lily frowned, pointing to the corner of the room, where a little girl was sat watching them, "Her name."
"There's no one there, darling," her mother tried reassuring her, but that just confused Lily.
"I'm not lying, she's right there!" Lily insisted, pointing with more force, "Look over there!"
"There is no one there," her dad replied firmly, turning back to the doctor, "This is what we mean. This madness-"
"She's there!" Lily screeched, the little girl waving at her, "Why can't you see her?!"
"That's enough!" Her dad insisted, "Doctor, this clearly isn't working-"
"Darling, just give her time-"
Lily tuned out her parents arguing, frowning as she felt tears well up in her eyes. Why could no one else see what she could see?
The little girl smiled at her, waving at her. Now that Lily was looking at her properly, she could see she was missing a few fingers, and there was some blood trickling from her ear. Nevertheless, Lily waved back, happy that at least someone in the room was listening to her.
Even if it was a ghost.
Present Day...
"Okay Lily. We're here."
First days of school were infamously the worst.
Lily took a deep breath, looking out of the car window towards the entrance steps of Beacon Hills High School. This was it. Months at Eichen House in rehabilitation had landed her not back home, but in a new town with new places and a new school. She was the new girl, here for a fresh start and another shot at high school. Another shot at a normal life.
"You're going to be okay, you know?"
Lily turned to her newly-appointed guardian; Tara Graeme. She was a deputy officer in Beacon Hills, and once talks of her release had come up, she had willingly offered her spare room for Lily. After all, her family didn't necessarily want her back. Or well, what was left of them.
"You know this place well, right?" Lily asked, "Anything I should know?"
Tara had a knowing smile on her face, looking up to the entrance of the school, "I think you'll fit right in."
Lily sighed, rubbing her temples. She was used to Graeme's coy language. She'd known all the information in her files before she'd even arrived at Eichen House. It was the natural decision to have Tara as her guardian, and for her to keep seeing her psychiatrist in Beacon Hills. She was the school guidance counsellor, after all.
Which is how she ended up where she was now; in Tara's car, definitely making her late for her job while she was having an internal freakout about her first day of school.
"I'm keeping you here," Lily sighed as she started unbuckling her seatbelt, "You're right, I'll be fine."
"Don't go in there for anyone else but yourself," Tara reminded her, "Remember; fresh start, yeah?"
"Yeah," Lily nodded, opening the car door, "I'll see you later."
"I'll be parked here at the end of the day."
Lily stepped out of the car, taking in the cold fresh air. Around her, students were mingling and strolling in, not a care in the world for what awaited them inside. Sure, some might have a test they were stressed about, but she wished she'd had even that to focus on right now.
Because right now was the start of her new life, and she was a bundle of nerves.
She took a few steps towards the building, trying to hide in the huddles of students and keeping her head down. She'd opted for wide legged dark jeans and a oversized grey sweater, keeping herself out of sight and blended in with the crowd. Her hair was down, dark and longer than she would've liked to keep it, but thankful for the cover it gave her when she tilted her head down. She didn't need people to see her face; see her scar. She just wanted to get through her first day in peace.
Which is how she ended up anxiously tapping her foot in the school reception, waiting to be given her schedule.
She could hear the hustle and bustle of students slamming lockers and laughing with friends through the thin walls of the room. To her left, there was a plaque on the wall - a memorial plaque. It had numerous names etched into it, with dates attached to each name. At the bottom, a simple inscription;
'Remembering the lives of the students of Beacon Hills.'
Lily felt a chill run up her spine, but shook it off as the receptionist re-entered the room, handing over her schedule with a forced smile on her face.
Lily knew what she looked like to onlookers. Thin, pale and ghostly. Hair limp and clearly not maintained well. Empty blue eyes, one slightly lighter than the other. And going through her eye was a thick, angry scar - starting from her eyebrow and ending halfway through her cheek. It wasn't pretty to look at, and it definitely hadn't healed subtly during her stay at Eichen House. In fact, she tried not looking at herself if she could help it. But regardless, it would always be the first thing people would see when they looked at her.
And that was something she had to learn to get used to. Because although she'd been to high school before, she'd never been to high school after attempting to allegedly slice her own eye open.
The receptionist pointed her to the direction of her homeroom and the vague location of her locker. She didn't have much with her, just a plain backpack with notebooks, pens and a change of clothes, so she went straight for her homeroom.
The halls seemed endless, the same rows of lockers lining the walls over and over again. To her, it was a never ending sea of hormonal teenagers with raging levels of testosterone. The mere thought of having to be around so many people made her skin itch, having been so use to loneliness for so long.
There were already a few students in the room, but most of the desks were empty. She went straight for the back in the furthest corner, slumping herself into the uncomfortable seat.
High schools were full of life, and the prospect of living. You studied for years to get into college, or go straight into a job. In a town like Beacon Hills, you either strived for a job in the community, or to get the hell out of the community. Lily could feel it all around her; the buzzing of life and excitement. She'd had that once, she was sure.
But in Beacon Hills, there was also a taste of death in the air. Anyone could feel it if you concentrated hard enough. For Lily, it was like a static at the back of her head, niggling at a part of her brain like an itch she could never scratch. In Eichen House, she could scratch that itch, but that was through a haze of pills and injections and days wasted staring at empty walls. Here, she was on her own.
The bell rang, Lily jumping slightly in her seat at the sound. The room slowly started filling in with more students, each taking their seat next to a friend. Lily kept her eyes glued to her notebook in front of her; she knew there wouldn't be much to write in home room, but Tara had recommended writing as much down as possible on her first day, mainly to get her used to building a routine again.
She started doodling flowers in the corner of her notebook. At least she could pretend to be doing late homework this way, and blend in with the crowd.
"Settle down everyone," the teacher gruffly called into the classroom as the second bell rang. He seemed frustrated with life as he slammed the door closed on the last ring, barely missing the two latecomers as they slid through the door. He strode over to the desk, picking up a clipboard full of papers.
"Alright, announcements," he began, flipping through the pages, "….We have a new student joining us from today. Her name is Lily Walton. Miss Walton?"
Lily's eyes widened as she felt everyone slowly turn to her. She stared at the desk for as long as she could, hands shaking as she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. She exhaled, opening her eyes and looking up at the teacher.
"Oh," the teacher was immediately shocked at her appearance, most likely the scar. She was used to the reaction, but he quickly and politely shook it off, "Welcome to Beacon Hills, Miss Walton."
Lily nodded, looking back down at her page and ignoring the stares and mumbles coming from her classmates. This was going to be a long, painful day.
Lily's eyes searched the hallways for a bathroom, needing a break from the sheer amount of people in the school. It felt like too much too soon, after months of basic isolation. Once spotted, Lily quickly hurried into the deserted girls bathroom. Thankful for the lack of people, she gripped the sink tightly, taking in deep breaths.
She could do this. She had to do this. She didn't survive hell and back just to give up on her first day. She was better than this, surely. And yet, even as she began calming herself down, she couldn't bring herself to look in the mirror. And she felt pathetic for it.
"You really couldn't have picked a worse school if you tried."
Lily suddenly turned around at the sound of someone speaking, coming face to face with a young girl with blonde hair, smudged red lipstick and a tattered leather jacket. At first glance, she seemed surprised to see her, or for her to see her. She raised her eyebrow at Lily, folding her arms together.
"And how's that then?" Lily challenged, having somewhat recovered from her near panic attack, narrowing her eyes as the girl smirked.
"Ah, so you see me," she replied, "Then I guess you'll fit right in with the rest of them."
"Mind being more specific?"
She smirked as she stepped closer, her icy eyes digging into Lily's, "You see, this school is riddled with people just like you and me; freaks of nature. There's one at every corner, and you're just like them."
"I'm not," Lily replied quickly, cursing at the hitch in her breath. She wasn't prepared for an interaction like this today.
"Oh but you are, and you know it," she continued as she stepped closer, "Maybe you're even a murderer, I wouldn't be surprised. Your eyes just scream crazy, and I bet I'm not the only one who will notice."
"Shut up," She muttered, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. She had to stay calm. Theres no way this was really happening. Maybe it was a hallucination, because there's no way that she just came face to face with a-
"Ghosts can't lie," She hissed, her voice now right next to her ear, "So why don't you just admit it to yourself, huh? You're a freak and you know it, and you know what happens to freaks like you? They get locked up or, if they're lucky, killed. Maybe you've already been locked up, maybe-"
"SHUT UP!" Lily finally yelled as she covered her ears. And before she could stop herself, she blurted out, "Expello te ab hoc mundo!"
Silence fell onto the bathroom. When Lily opened her eyes again, the girl was gone.
That was the reason she had been locked up in Eichen House. Or well, part of the reason. The spirits and her visions of them had been with her for her whole life, from what she remembered. She eventually learnt how to expel them, but it was not something she took lightly.
Expelling a ghost meant that their spirit would pass on. They wouldn't be able to walk the world again, and they would remain unhappy, potentially turning into a vengeful spirit. It wasn't something she often did, the guilt overwhelming. But right now, in this scary place she now had to learn to call home, fear was the overwhelming factor.
A familiar cold chill ran up her arms. It happened every time she expelled a spirit, because she was basically banishing someone from existence. She'd learnt to do it at some point in her life, but those memories were still blocked by amnesia. Despite the doctors best efforts in Eichen House, no one had been able to help her restore those memories. Her psychiatrist at the time had theorised that it was her own way of blocking out the traumatic experience she'd endured, but it just frustrated her to no end.
She washed her hands with scolding hot water, trying to bring some warmth back to her arms. After a few minutes spent regulating her breathing, she felt ready to step back into the corridor.
It was only lunchtime and she'd already encountered a ghost. Surely, the rest of the day would be fine, right?
"Expello te ab hoc mundo."
Lydia furrowed her eyebrows, turning to Kira, "What did you say?"
Kira frowned, swallowing her lunch, "I didn't say anything."
"So you didn't just speak Latin to me?"
"Why would I speak Latin to you?"
"Did anyone here just hear a girl speaking Latin?" Lydia opened the question to the table, everyone looking at her in confusion.
"Should we be concerned that you heard someone speaking Latin?" Isaac asked, halfway through swallowing his sandwich.
"I think we should be concerned when we hear anyone speak Latin," Stiles pointed out.
"I swear I just…" Lydia trailed off, looking around beyond the picnic table they were sat at, "Seriously, no one else heard that?"
"I think we have bigger problems than a dying language," Isaac pointed out, "Like, how someone went missing from the animal clinic last night?"
"He left his dog and his car," Scott confirmed, "Deaton tried to contact him but he's not picking up his phone."
"Okay, was he, like... could he have been a virgin, maybe?" Stiles asked anxiously, "Did he look like a virgin? Was he, you know, virginal?"
Lydia tuned out of the conversation, looking around. She didn't see anything out of the ordinary, and definitely no one who spoke Latin. She'd know, because she was one of the only people who'd signed up for that elective, which was quickly shut down due to lack of interest. Anyone else who had signed up for that class was nowhere to be seen around them. She frowned, and yet couldn't tune into anything more.
"Must've been the wind," she mumbled, eyes downcast.
Cross-country had been the class she was most worried about out of her first day schedule.
She knew physical exercise was important, but she'd just spent numerous months locked inside a mental health facility. Her fitness wasn't exactly top notch. Thankfully, she'd brought some workout gear with her from Marins recommendation. It was just a pair of Marins old black leggings and an oversized long-sleeve dark top. Not the most glamorous, but it would have to do.
She tied her trainers tighter as the coach - who just so happened to be her homeroom teacher - started encouraging the people in front of her to stretch. He was lamenting about something to do with pacing yourselves when Lily heard it.
It was an exhale, disguised in the breeze of the trees around her, but a chilling sound nonetheless. You'd never be able to hear it unless you knew what you were keeping an ear out for. Lily shook her head, pushing the sound away from her memories. She was making it up, surely. It was her first day, there was no way she'd just heard what she thought she did.
"GO!"
At Coach's whistle, the students in front of her took off in a jog. She followed suit, trying to stay at the back of the group as she started her gentle jog. And yet, she couldn't get that sound out of her head. It could've just been the sound of a breeze, but she knew better.
She kept her jog light, breathing deeply as she ran with the students. There were a couple of taller boys who'd run way ahead, but the general consensus of the class had been to waste as much time as possible, so they wouldn't have to do another lap. Lily had barely noticed when someone started slowing down to match her pace, now jogging next to her.
"You're new, right?" The boy asked, "You were in my homeroom."
Lily's eyes met his darker brown ones. She recognised him as one of the boys who'd sat closer to the front, if she remembered correctly, "Uh, yeah. That's me."
"I'm Danny," he offered, "Thought you might want a running buddy."
Lily huffed, "I'll just slow you down."
"Even better," Danny commented, "It's Lily, right?"
Lily nodded as Danny continued, "You know, it's kind of rare to get a transfer at this point in the year."
"I can imagine," Lily muttered as the two turned a corner on the trail, following the others, "Beacon Hills is quite small, right?"
"You wouldn't imagine how small," Danny groaned, "Like, theres barely anything to do around here. Sure, there's a good amount of parties thrown by us all, but that can get pretty repetitive too, you know?"
Lily nodded, despite not remembering if she'd ever even been to a high school party. It was getting annoying, not having her memories.
"So, where did you transfer from?" Danny asked.
"Jackson, Minnesota," Lily replied as they took another corner.
"That's quite far," Danny observed, no judgement in his tone, "So what brought you all the way to Beacon Hills?"
Lily wanted to tell him she didn't know. She wanted to tell him about how she doesn't remember anything from her life from the beginning of high school to about three months ago. She wanted to tell him that she really, really didn't know how to hold a conversation on a good day, let alone a day where her nerves were through the roof. However, before she could reply, she heard something.
Another breeze, or an exhale. She could hear it clear as day through the noise of feet crunching over dried leaves and chatter from her classmates. It span through the trees to her, beckoning her. And she felt the pit of her stomach clench, because she knew what it meant.
"I think I saw something between the trees there," Lily lied, eyes trailing to where the sound had come from, "I'll catch up."
"I'll come with you," Danny replied, "I don't think it's wise to leave someone alone, especially if you're new around here."
Lily let him follow her, mentally apologising to him for what he was about to witness. She slowed down her jog, the rest of the students a few paces in front of her as she turned to the right, eyes looking towards the slope of the trees.
They'd barely walked a few meters through the trees before they saw it.
A body, bloodied and definitely dead. Tied to the tree, the sound of his last exhale warping around the wind near them, beckoning her. And Lily did the only thing a sane person would do in this situation.
She screamed.
Lily could barely register what was going on around her as students rushed to the sound of her screaming, Danny close behind her. Coach was shouting something, and she thought she could hear someone talking on the phone to what she assumed was the police.
Of course this would happen. Of course she'd arrived in a perfectly normal town to not only have to banish a ghost out of existence within the first few hours at a new school, but she'd also find the strangled body of another student by listening to his last breath. If she hadn't been used to the dead, she was sure she'd be traumatised by now.
"Jesus Christ," Danny had mumbled next to her, "How did you see him?"
Lily shrugged, gesturing to the eye with the scar through it, "I have an eye for details."
Danny seemed horrified at her morbid joke, but she didn't know how else to cope with this. She tried blending into the crowd, but everyone had known that she'd been the one to find it. And she was sure that there would be more questions, but right now, all she wanted to do was to be back at Eichen House where the days blended into months and time didn't concern her.
"I don't think I'm ever going to sleep again," Danny mumbled as more students started arriving, the horrified gasps echoing. Lily dared to look around, seeing if she could make a quick escape so she could hide in the locker room until the end of the day.
A sharp sting shot through her scar as her eyes landed on someone.
Or well, two someones. Two identical someones. Twins, obviously. But instead of staring at the body, she'd caught them staring right at her. She didn't recognise them, but that didn't stop the searing headache splitting through her skull at the sight of them. One looked shocked to see her, the other concerned.
The pain grew stronger in her head. She reached her hands up to press into her eyes, barely noticing how one of the twins took a step towards her before she stumbled back, Danny catching her as she groaned in pain.
"Woah, you okay?" Danny asked in concern.
"Migraine," Lily muttered, the pain becoming unbearable, "I need- just need to sit down-"
She stumbled again, Danny helping her sit on the floor as students continued to bustle around her. She could hear the sound of sirens in the distance, but nothing could drown out the red hot pain shooting through her eyes and through her skull.
With shaking hands, she felt herself pass out.
"You know how I said you were going to be okay?" Tara asked as Lily climbed into the car at the end of the day, "That wasn't a challenge."
Lily sighed as she closed the car door behind her. After fainting at the sight of a literal dead body, she'd woken up in the nurses office alone. It was the end of the school day, meaning she'd missed her last two classes.
"Not my fault I found a body," Lily grumbled, "I thought this was meant to be a fresh start?"
Tara hummed, turning out of the parking lot and towards her house, "How did you find the body?"
"Is this an official police investigation?"
"Danny gave a statement for you both," Tara explained, "But he said that you were the one to spot something in the trees."
Lily shrugged, "I think they call it instinct, I don't know. Something felt… Off."
Tara hummed, driving through the streets. There was something that was always so unsettling about Lily's new guardian, but she couldn't put a finger on it. She could, however, watch the world drive by from the car window.
So much for a good first day at school.
"Sorry, who found the body?" Kira asked as the group sat around Scott's living room, Stiles spreading maps over the coffee table.
"The new girl," Isaac supplied, "She's in my homeroom."
"New girl?"
"I think her name was Lily," Isaac continued, "Her and Danny found it, but she's the one who screamed."
"And you guys think it was Aiden and Ethan?" Kira asked.
"They think it was the twins," Stiles corrected as he drew a line between the school and the animal clinic, "I think someone is sacrificing virgins."
"Right," Kira nodded slowly, "So what's your plan?"
"Well, we kick their asses," Isaac explained, earning an eyeroll from Stiles.
"If it was them," Stiles corrected.
"Are we ignoring the elephant in the room here?" Kira asked, looking at Scott.
Everyone turned to Scott, who slowly shook his head, "Isaac and I would've smelt her if she was a werewolf. I don't think the new girl is involved."
"She found the body," Isaac pointed out, "And she arrived at the same time as the twins. Didn't you see the way they looked at her? One of them looked like he was about to run at her."
"Which one?"
"I don't know?!"
"That doesn't mean she's involved," Scott pointed out, "She literally passed out at the sight of the body, remember?"
"It is suspicious that she arrived at the same time," Kira pointed out, "Maybe it's worth keeping an eye on her?"
"Or we could keep an eye on me," Stiles pointed out, sitting back, "They're killing virgins, remember?! And you know what that means? It means that my lack of sexual experience is now literally a threat to my life!"
Isaac snorted, "Must be tough."
"Shut up."
Kira looked to Scott awkwardly, trying to change the topic, "So, what's the plan?"
Scott bit his lip, thinking, "You might be right about Lily. It's probably best if we can keep an eye on her. I'm not talking about following her or anything, but just seeing who she's hanging out with and where."
"I could try to befriend her," Kira offered, "And Lydia too. Although that might be a bit intense."
"Worth a shot," Scott nodded, "Isaac and I will keep an eye on the twins."
"And what am I meant to do?" Stiles asked, highlighter in his hand as he started adding the other murders locations on the map.
"Maybe work on not being a virgin? That might be a tough one, actually," Isaac joked.
He barely felt Stiles hitting his shoulder.