Brutal

by blackwatxr

Josie didn't mean to become the final girl. she just wanted to finish out her sophomore year. Instead, she becomes the sole survivor of the Summerville Massacre. To escape the press, Josie gets sent to live with her grandma in Beacon Hills, California. She finds some peace there and two boys who think her final girl status qualifies her to help with their monster problem.

7. vii

As someone who didn't care much about lacrosse, or the people playing, Josie wasn't happy at Lydia's insistence that the game was an all-day event.

Josie stomped down the steps, rubbing her eyes with one hand while the other trailed along the banister. She had planned on ignoring Lydia's texts until noon, but the strawberry blonde had other ideas.

Baba barely opened the door before Lydia bounced into the house. Cradling her mug protectively, Baba blinked owlishly at the energetic teenager.

Lydia's curls were pulled up into a high ponytail with a pair of earmuffs resting on her ears. Her black yoga pants didn't have a speck of hair on them and her sneakers were impeccably clean. Josie was sure that under Lydia's winter coat was a comfy yet stylish shirt. She had a feeling this was Lydia's version of 'dressing down.'

"It's literally eight in the morning." Josie stated, scowling down at Lydia from the landing.

Lydia peered up at her with an innocent smile. "I did tell you that I would need your help for game prep, right?"

"And I told you that I wasn't planning on leaving my bed until noon." Josie retorted.

"It's not like you were actually sleeping."

"That doesn't mean I want to get out of my bed! Or be woken up by a million calls from you!"

"Well, I'm here now." Lydia turned her bright smile on Baba. "You must be Mrs. Strinakova."

Baba, clearly bewildered but making a valiant effort, returned the smile. She removed her hands from the pockets of her robe and grabbed the drink holder cradled in Lydia's arms. "Let me get this, sweetie. Oh, and Baba or Elena works just fine. I respond to just about anything if you say it loud enough."

"Thank you, Elena." Lydia began to peel out of her winter layers, hanging each piece neatly on the hall tree. "The one with the black lid should be an herbal tea. I'm more of a coffee girl, but my mom swears by it."

Baba gasped and placed her free hand on her chest. "For me? Such a sweet girl."

Lydia didn't try to hold back her satisfied grin. "Josie mentioned how much you like tea, so I made sure to grab some when I got coffee this morning."

"Coffee?" Josie perked up from where she was slumped over on the steps. She bounded down the steps to land next to Lydia. "You should've led with that."

As Baba began to usher Lydia into the kitchen, Josie attempted to make herself presentable. It would be impossible to tame her frizzy braid in the short walk down the hall, so Josie settled on flattening the escaped wispy strands around her face. Once she stopped looking like she had been electrocuted, Josie focused on wiping the sleep from her eyes.

Nothing could be done about her pumpkin pajama set and bunny slippers, but Josie didn't think Lydia would be too surprised about them. She was just happy that the collar of her pajama top covered her scar.

Baba's voice floated down the hallway. "JJ! Come drink your coffee before it gets cold!"

Josie sighed, wrinkled her nose at her reflection, and shuffled into the kitchen.

The blinds had all been opened for Baba's plants to soak up the morning sun. The light reflecting off the pink tile gave everyone's ankles a rosy glow. Through the window over the kitchen sink, Josie could see Peaches and Mango prancing around in the morning dew.

Lydia was perched delicately on one of the mismatched chairs around the kitchen table. Her hands were curled carefully around a ceramic mug decorated with sunflowers. At the counter, Baba carefully finished transferring her tea from the to-go cup to a proper mug.

At the sound of Josie's footsteps, Baba gestured towards the seat on Lydia's left. Josie's favorite mug, handmade and painted with delicate bumblebees by Baba, was filled with steaming coffee among the houseplants.

Suddenly self-conscious, Josie slid into her seat and sipped carefully at her sweet coffee.

Having Lydia at Baba's house was something Josie wasn't sure she was comfortable with. As much as she adored Baba, Josie could admit that her grandmother's kitschy and eclectic style wasn't for everyone. After seeing Allison and Lydia's magazine-worthy homes, Josie wasn't sure how the other girl would react. Baba's house didn't share the same subtle wealth.

Thankfully, if Lydia didn't approve of the house, she didn't show it. Instead, she asked all the right questions and took at least one bite of everything Baba put in front of her. When the older woman finally sat down, satisfied with the spread of newly warmed baked goods in front of them, Josie couldn't help but share in her infectious smile.

While Josie was happy to pick at her warm rosemary bread and sip her coffee, Lydia and Baba barely paused to breathe in their conversation. The topics spanned from school gossip and the local library policy to Lydia's limited knowledge of Eastern European languages.

"Now, JJ did mention you were very smart," Baba paused to pick at her muffin and Josie took the opportunity to enjoy the uncharacteristic blush on Lydia's face. "But why are you looking into Slavic languages? Do you have any family there?"

"No, my mom's family is from France." Lydia explained. "I've been studying the Cyrillic alphabet and I think it helps to combine auditory learning with visual."

Josie blinked. "That's insanely impressive."

Lydia shrugged, hiding a pleased smile behind her mug. "I'm good with languages. Plus, Slavic languages share loanwords with Latin, so it's semi-familiar."

Baba clapped her hands happily. "Lydia, that's so wonderful!"

"I tried learning the Cyrillic alphabet when I was, like, seven. It was not a fun experience for me. At least, with languages like French and Spanish, the letters look the same." Josie pulled an annoyed face at the memory. "I don't mix well with the Cyrillic alphabet."

"It's true." Baba leaned in closer to Lydia with a conspiratorial smile. "I have never seen such horrible penmanship. It looked as though she dropped ink on the paper."

As Lydia laughed, Josie made an offended noise. "I was seven! Of course, I had trouble learning thirty new letters!"

"It could've been worse," Baba reminded. "I could've taught you the Russian alphabet instead of the Bulgarian."

"If she was as bad as you say, I don't think two extra letters would've made a difference." Lydia said.

Josie let her head flop into her hands. "Maybe written language isn't for me. It's like with Mandarin-I can kinda understand and speak it but I can't read any of it."

Lydia tilted her head. "Why not?"

"My mom spoke Mandarin with me growing up, but she never actually taught it to me. So, I can understand it better than I can speak or read it. Or write it." Josie explained. "Don't even get me started on how bad I am with characters."

"Like when a toddler starts learning how to talk," Lydia nodded. "You're the toddler equivalent of Mandarin."

"And with Bulgarian." Baba added. "She's toddler-level with that, too."

"Thanks, guys." Josie couldn't be too annoyed with either of them; Lydia was blunt by nature and Baba's voice was unmistakably fond. "I feel really confident in my language skills."

"It's more than most people know." Lydia pointed out. "Most Americans never learn a second language."

"If you combine everything, I'd say I know about one-and-a-half languages." Josie downed the dregs of her coffee. "Okay, enough chit-chat, you never actually told me what you wanted to get done today."

Lydia delicately put down her mug, a smug smile curling around the corners of her mouth. "After you get dressed, we're going to Allison's. She has more art supplies than I do to work on signs. That should take, at least, a couple hours."

Baba grabbed the dirty mugs on the table, balancing them precariously in her arms on her quick journey to the sink. "JJ can help with that! She's a very good artist."

"Baba!" Heat rushed to Josie's cheeks at the praise. She hoped the warm sunlight streaming through the windows hid her burning cheeks. "None of this explains why I had to be awake at eight in the morning."

"After we make signs," Lydia continued. "The three of us have to get ready. The game starts at six, so we need to be there by five to get good seats. I'm going to wait for Jackson after the game, so I'm assuming you'll want to drive yourself."

"You assumed correctly." Josie confirmed.

"Allison said the same thing, so you might be able to ride with her." Lydia stood up, gracefully stretched her arms above her head, and gave Josie a bright smile. "Come on, time to get to work."

Josie copied the other girl's motions, stretching her arms above her head until her left shoulder gave a satisfying pop . Lydia wrinkled her nose at the noise but Josie just grinned. "Did you bring your skirt for me? The one that needs to be hemmed."

"I did. Let me grab it out of my car." Lydia flounced away before Josie could offer to grab it for her.

As soon as the heavy front door clicked shut, Baba turned away from the soapy dishes in the sink. Her wide smile added to the wrinkles around her dark eyes. "I like her."

Josie's grin softened and she skirted around the table to rest her forehead on the curve of Baba's shoulder. "Good. I like her, too."

Baba reached back blindly to pat Josie's face with a damp hand. "I've been missing that smile of yours."

"I smile all the time." Josie protested. She pushed her head further into Baba's shoulder, hoping to avoid the questioning her grandmother was leading up to. "You were just making fun of my smile last night during Jeopardy ."

"You have different smiles, just like everyone else. Your laughing smile is different from the smile when you win at something." Baba's hand began to stroke softly at the wavy hair framing Josie's face. "Your best smile is your crooked one."

Josie made an offended noise. "Thanks?"

"You know what I mean," Baba scolded. "Your smile gets crooked when you're truly happy-happy enough to not think about making it even. I would like anyone who makes you smile like that."

At the sound of the front door, Josie peeled herself away from Baba. She wasn't sure if she was smiling in the way Baba was talking about, but she hoped she was. No one made Josie as truly happy as her grandmother. "I'll let you know before we leave."

Baba bumped Josie's shoulder affectionately before going back to the dishes.

"About time." Lydia was bouncing on her toes at the foot of the curving steps. Her cheeks and the tip of her nose were bright red from the wind. "I am dying to get a look at your room."

"Prepare to be disappointed." Josie gestured for Lydia to follow after her.

As she opened her door, Josie could imagine what her room looked like from an outside perspective.

The creaky wooden floors were softened by two large threadbare Persian rugs, layered and angled to cover most of the space, while the walls were covered in an antique blue wallpaper. The furniture was all heavy, dark wood that made the room seem smaller than it was. Her bed was an absolute mess. The blankets and pink sheets were twisted and shoved against the wall with various pillows scattered on the mattress. The gold mirror balancing on her dresser still had scuffs and age marks visible around the edges. The velvet fabric on the window seat next to her bed was almost completely worn through in some places.

Josie cringed as she saw the ashtray perched on the edge of the fireplace mantle. While her smoking wasn't a secret, Josie didn't like to advertise her one of her worst habits.

She watched Lydia's eyes flick over the smaller details-the shoes littering the floor, the overstuffed closet, the sewing machine in the corner, the postcards taped to the walls-before settling on a photo tucked into the edge of Josie's mirror.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Josie resisted the urge to snatch the picture from Lydia's sight. She watched silently as Lydia's finger traced softly over Keeley's face.

At the furrow of Lydia's eyebrows, Josie felt a satisfied feeling curl around her ribs. A small part of her wanted to scream, This is what I lost! This is who you treated like nothing when you brought up Summerville!

Instead, Josie let Lydia look at the photo.

It was from a few months before Summerville. Keeley's little sister decided she wanted a pool party for her birthday and no one was in the habit of denying her. Josie was perched on a deck chair, face mid-laugh, while Keeley stood behind her with her arms twined around Josie's shoulders. Keeley's grin and the way her body was angled towards hers always made Josie's heart stutter.

Lydia glanced towards Josie but neither knew what to say.

A loud meow broke through the silence.

Kitty, who had decided to reveal herself from the pile of blankets on Josie's bed, launched herself onto the dresser. She sat herself in front of Lydia and elegantly presented her head for petting.

At the insistent nature, and increasingly annoyed meows, Josie burst into giggles. It only took a few seconds before Lydia followed suit.

Their fit of laughter only ended when Lydia schooled her face into seriousness. However, a few stray giggles would escape, negating all her attempted authority. "Okay, time to get to work."

---

"I don't even like Jackson, so I'm not sure why I had to come." Josie shifted uncomfortably, trying to ignore the cold air sneaking under the edge of her jacket. Part of her wished she stayed to sit in awkward silence with Allison's dad instead of following her to the concession stand. "Didn't I fulfill my friendship duties by helping make a poster?"

Allison sent her a disbelieving smile. "Don't act like you didn't have fun today. You were in full-on artist mode while making those posters."

"Okay, I did have fun earlier." Josie conceded. She shuffled closer to Allison as the line moved forward. "But now it's cold."

Shaking her head, Allison quickly gave her order to the concession stand worker before glancing back at Josie. "How are you cold? You're wearing, like, five layers."

Josie frowned, realizing she couldn't argue with that. When Allison had shown up to the game with her dad in tow, Josie had only been wearing her thick wool coat. After five minutes of making small talk with Mr. Argent, Josie had pulled her hat carefully over her braided hair, making sure not to jostle the ribbons neatly tied at the tails. After ten minutes, she had wound her plaid scarf firmly around her neck. By the time Lydia appeared to claim her seat, Josie had shoved her hands into her white gloves.

Josie resisted the urge to shove her head into the loops of her scarf like a turtle retreating into her shell. After adding popcorn and hot chocolate to Allison's order, Josie pulled a face at the other girl.

Allison pulled a matching face and gave a tug at the exposed end of one of Josie's braids. Before Josie could do more than feign a hurt gasp, the worker returned with two buckets of popcorn and a steaming styrofoam cup of hot chocolate.

"Thank you!" Both girls said in unison before moving back towards the bleachers.

"I'm just saying," Allison said, as she and Josie carefully moved through the crowd toward the bleachers. "It should be physically impossible for you to still be cold."

Josie kept her eyes on the ground as she carefully stepped up to the second row of the metal bleachers. She cringed at the sharp, creaking noises that followed her lifting herself. Josie muttered apologies, watching her feet carefully, trying to make sure her boots didn't step on anyone's toes.

"I was beginning to think you two ran off with my money." Mr. Argent said as Allison carefully slid past him.

"Us?" Allison feigned offense. "We would never."

"Your daughter was harassing me about my body temperature." Josie said.

"Josie-somehow-is still cold." Allison said dramatically, settling into her seat.

"I have a cold heart," Josie settled in her seat, cringing at the cold seeping through her jeans. She turned to face Allison with a bright smile. "Y'know, cold hands means cold heart."

Allison tilted her head in confusion before sharing a look with her dad. "I think that's backwards."

"Cold heart, cold hands?"

Mr. Argent chuckled before bending down slightly to get closer to Josie. When they first arrived, he tried to insist on taking Josie's spot, one row of bleachers below his daughter and Lydia. Josie's stubbornness won, and Mr. Argent had to lean down to make his quiet voice heard. "I think the saying is 'Cold hands, warm heart.'"

"Really?" Josie balanced her bucket of popcorn precariously on her lap and took a long sip of her chalky hot chocolate. Making a hurt noise in the back of her throat, Josie resisted the urge to spit out the scalding liquid.

Allison giggled. "Geez, Jo. You're going to burn your taste buds off."

Josie shrugged and leaned back onto Allison's legs. It was the true reason she refused to move from her spot in the second row when Mr. Argent offered to switch seats; Josie fully planned to use his daughter's legs as a backrest.

Allison patted the top of Josie's head. "Where's Lydia? Wasn't she here already?"

Barely able to feel the pressure of Allison's hand through the thick wool of her hat, Josie turned her head slightly once she realized the question was directed toward her. "Yeah, she's here somewhere. I got a ride from her earlier."

Laughing under her breath, Allison rested her hand on top of Josie's head. "You've really been here forever, then. Why didn't you just drive yourself? I'm sure you don't want to wait around for Jackson."

Josie turned her head enough to flash Allison a smile. "I would rather die, but Baba made some last minute plans and needed the car. Plus, it's her car, so I can't really argue."

Allison's eyebrows furrowed slightly. "On the first day of school, didn't you tell me that you don't have a license?"

Mr. Argent, who had been doing a good job at pretending he wasn't eavesdropping, jerked his head to look down at Josie with wide eyes.

Elbowing Allison in the shin as discreetly as possible, Josie sent Mr. Argent her best smile. "I try to only drive when I really need to." At Mr. Argent's disapproving look, Josie tried again. "I was about to take my test before I moved here, but my driver's permit doesn't apply here. I have to start all over and I just haven't found the time. I've never driven with Allison in the car!"

Allison leaned down to whisper in Josie's ear. "I don't know if you're helping or not."

Josie whipped her head around to send a scathing look to her.

Allison gave an apologetic smile and shrunk back.

"How about you stay off the road, okay?" Mr. Argent gave a tight smile that let Josie know how much he was not okay with it. "No harm, no foul…as long as you don't keep doing it."

The unsaid part was clear: If Josie kept driving without a license, then her friendship with Allison would be over quickly.

"Absolutely. You're 100% right." Josie nodded eagerly. "No more driving."

Thankfully, she was cut off by the sudden appearance of Lydia.

"Lydia!" Josie exclaimed. The other girl looked startled at the excitement in Josie's tone. "Is the game going to start soon?"

"It's starting now, so calm down." Lydia settled into the seat on the other side of Allison.

True to Lydia's words, a shrill whistle cut through the air, and the players on the field burst into movement.

Predictably, despite Jackson's best efforts at explaining components of the game to her, Josie still couldn't understand what was happening on the field. Jackson's condescending lessons only served to make the game more confusing. Everyone was a blur of movement and Josie couldn't keep track of the ball.

Taking another sip of her hot chocolate, Josie resigned herself to clapping when everyone else did. Her eyes looked at the bench without her permission. It wasn't hard to figure out which player was Stiles-the fidgeting gave him away.

After a few minutes of half-hearted clapping, Josie was suddenly pulled to attention as everyone around her jumped to their feet. A glance at the scoreboard told her that Beacon Hills had scored. Josie placed her popcorn by her feet so she could clap slightly louder but refused to get up. It was bad enough that she couldn't lean back on Allison with the other girl up on her feet and wildly cheering.

Lydia let out a loud shriek of approval as she and Allison heaved Jackson's sign over their heads. The poster board had 'We Luv U Jackson' scrawled across it in Lydia's neat block letters. However, the majority of space was taken up by a large drawing of a lacrosse player.

Using an action shot Lydia had found in one of her old yearbooks as a reference, Josie had done her best to make the lacrosse player realistic. She spent most of her day spread out on Allison's floor drawing, and re-drawing the figure. It had taken almost two hours by the time she was happy with the outline. Adding color and shading was easier by comparison. After hours of work put into the sign, Josie was still only moderately happy with it. In her opinion, it looked too much like a cartoon. However, Lydia had been delighted-clapping excitedly and spinning in Allison's desk chair.

The enthusiasm continued throughout the game and brief halftime. While the crowd stood up and down for the next two goals scored for Beacon Hills, each getting a wave of the sign from Lydia and Allison, tension still filled the bleachers as the other team scored.

Josie glanced up at the scoreboard while everyone stood up to cheer for Jackon's third goal of the game. Beacon Hills was losing by two and there was only a minute-and-a-half left in the game.

Sighing happily, Josie tossed back the last drags of her, now lukewarm, hot chocolate. She got to go home soon.

As everyone sat back down, Lydia carefully rested the poster between rows, Mr. Argent leaned over to Allison. "Which one is Scott again?"

Lydia answered, her tone harsh. "Number eleven. Otherwise known as the only who hasn't caught a single ball the entire game."

Josie leaned back against Allison's legs to give Lydia an unimpressed look. "Be nice." She scolded. "The game isn't done yet."

"I hope he's okay." Allison murmured.

"I hope we're okay." Lydia said.

Josie just rolled her eyes. "It's a lacrosse game. No one is going to die if we lose."

"Debatable." Lydia snapped. "Jackson might not be long for this world if we don't."

"Dear God," Josie muttered to herself. "Please let us lose."

Determined to pay attention to the final minute of the game, Josie forced herself to focus on the field. The referee blew his whistle and the two players crouched against each other started pushing for the ball.

After a few seconds of tense silence, the ball was sent flying into the air. Josie desperately tried to keep track of it. As it fell, from the corner of her eye, Josie could see a Beacon Hills player making a run for it. In her opinion, it seemed doomed to fail. The player, who Josie could now identify as Scott, was half the field away and blocked by members of the opposing team.

Josie watched in shock as Scott leaped over a member of the opposing team, using the player's shoulder as a springboard, before landing gracefully on the other side of him. Within seconds, Scott had thrown the ball past the opposing team's goalie and into the net.

This time, Josie shot up with those around her. Her empty cup and popcorn basket rattled against the bleachers as she jumped in place. The scoreboard flicked to show the new score with Beacon Hills trailing by one. As she clapped and screamed for Scott, she felt Allison's hands on her shoulders, shaking her excitedly.

Josie turned to look excitedly at Lydia and found the other girl still seated. She clearly wasn't happy that it was Scott scoring, but she clapped her hands together politely with a tight look on her face. When she caught Josie's pointed look, Lydia just rolled her eyes.

Ignoring her friend's unhappiness, Josie leaned down to whisper to her. "Is that allowed? Like jumping over another player?" It was a useless question to try and improve Lydia's mood.

Lydia's eyebrows scrunched together in thought. "I don't think it's not allowed."

Josie nodded and turned back to the field. The Beacon Hills players were surrounding Scott, hitting his helmet and bumping his shoulder in celebration, while his teammates on the bench were going wild. Stiles was following the lacrosse coach, Coach Finstock, as he paced up and down the sidelines. Everything the coach yelled was immediately echoed by Stiles.

The corner of Josie's mouth twitched up as Stiles turned and she caught the brilliant grin on his face. It was a far cry from the usual anxious expression he had around her.

Stiles seemed to sense her staring. His head whipped around to the bleachers. Even when his eyes flicked over Lydia's bored expression, realizing the staring wasn't coming from the person he wanted, he still kept his bright smile.

Josie paused in her clapping to send him a cautious thumbs-up. Her tiny smile grew when Stiles returned the gesture, excitedly throwing both his hands into clumsy thumbs-up gestures, one of his lacrosse gloves dangling from the corner of his mouth.

She couldn't help her giggle, happy that the noise of the crowd covered her laugh, and forced herself to turn away from him to stop herself from acting like an idiot. The warmth of the crowd was seeping under her skin and Josie couldn't remember the previous cold.

Everyone lined back up. The ball was quickly in possession of the other team. As Scott stared him down, it seemed the other player decided it wasn't worth it, and simply passed the ball to Scott.

Josie choked on air. She couldn't help but wheeze out a soft, "What in the hell?" as everyone cheered despite their mutual confusion. From behind her, Lydia scoffed loudly while Allison let out a surprised laugh.

Scott easily dodged all the incoming players. After a few steps of careful footwork, he was sending the ball into the goal.

Even Lydia was up on her feet and cheering as Scott tied the score.

Josie peered over the shoulder of the man in front of her. The goalie of the opposing team was staring at his lacrosse stick in confusion. As he held it up to show an approaching referee, Josie could see the hole in the center of the netting.

A ripple of noise went through the crowd as the information spread. Scott had thrown the ball hard enough to rip through the netting of the goalie's lacrosse stick.

Before Josie could fully turn, Lydia was already leaning down. Her voice was a mix of apprehension and reluctant admiration. "Do not ask me if that's allowed."

No one on the field seemed to know if it was allowed either. Coach Finstock was celebrating the feat and barely paused as the coach from the other team stormed over. Josie could hear them arguing. A referee quickly jogged over to keep it from becoming physical.

"The ball is in the net!" Coach Finstock argued. "That's the goal of the game. He got the ball in the net!"

Josie barely held down a laugh as she saw Stiles behind Coach Finstock, echoing his arguing points.

"Alright, we got this." Coach Finstock blew his whistle and lifted his arms in the air. The crowd cheered as the coach declared the goal was legal. Josie wasn't sure if the referee actually agreed with the call or if he didn't want to attempt to argue with Coach Finstock anymore.

The scoreboard switched the score to five-five and the players lined up.

Like the previous plays, Scott easily got the ball off the opposing team. The clock ticked down as he paused in front of the goal. The two players defending the goal couldn't seem to decide if going after him was worth it.

As the time dropped to under twenty seconds left in the game, Josie nervously rubbed the end of her scarf. She couldn't decide how she wanted the game to go-part of her wanted their team to lose, simply so she could witness Jackson's reaction. She could hear Allison mumbling encouragingly under her breath.

Just as the clock ran out, Scott threw the ball past the goalie. It landed in the net and the scoreboard changed. Everyone flew off the bleachers to congratulate the team as it became official; Beacon Hills had won the game.

Laughing as Allison pulled her from the bleachers, Josie smiled at the crowd's reaction. While she didn't like lacrosse, she couldn't deny how infectious the energy of the crowd was.

"See! You had fun, didn't you?" Allison beamed and swung their hands between them. The momentum shifted Josie's mittens against her hands, fabric scratching softly against her skin.

"I did," Josie admitted quietly. "I will never tell Lydia that, but I did."

As Allison peered over her head, Josie raised her eyebrows. She dropped Allison's hand to give a solid shove to her shoulder. "Go find Scott. I know you want to."

Allison leaned and hugged Josie quickly, pressure there and gone. "I'm really happy you came, Jo. Text me when you're home."

As Allison ran off, Josie felt the crowd push around her. People were congratulating each other while the opposing team, now the losing team, huddled around their bench. She could see the figures of Lydia and Jackson slightly set apart from everyone. The two seemed to be locked in a conversation that was half flirting and half arguing.

With Allison gone and Lydia occupied, Josie was left alone in the crowd. Deciding she had nothing to lose, Josie cautiously made her way towards where Stiles was still sitting on the bench, messing with his equipment.

"Um, hi?" Josie barely got the words out of her mouth before Stiles was almost throwing himself off the bench. His dramatic flinch at her words caused Josie to flinch back in response.

"Jesus! God, Josie, someone needs to put a bell on you. You're like a freaking ghost or something!" Stiles had one hand resting on his chest as he attempted to recover. The other held his glove, shaking slightly as he gestured at Josie.

"I just don't think you're very observant." Josie countered. She carefully picked her way through the muddy, half-frozen grass to sit on the bench next to Stiles. The cold that the warmth of the crowd was holding off began to slowly seep back in. "How are you not cold right now?"

"What?" Stiles looked vaguely dazed. His eyes were wide, staring at her warily as though she was about to attack him.

Josie repeated her question. Stiles was only in his thin lacrosse uniform. She could understand how people like Scott and Jackson, who were on the field almost constantly, didn't feel the cold. However, Stiles never made it off the bench. All the action he got was trailing Coach Finstock up and down the sidelines.

"Oh, yeah, no, I'm fine." Stiles nodded his head enthusiastically. "Sitting on the bench really keeps you warm-it's almost as good as actually moving and playing."

"Don't forget following your coach around," Josie reminded. She made sure to keep her smile soft. The last thing she wanted was for Stiles to think she was making fun of him when she wasn't trying to. "You got plenty of movement there."

A tentative smile pulled at his lips. "Best exercise there is."

Josie's smile turned more genuine as she could see realization dawning on Stiles's face; She wasn't making fun of him. "Seriously, though. You looked like…super supportive over here."

"I can accept that." Stiles seemed to have an epiphany. He straightened and gestured towards the field. "What about you? Not the 'looking supportive stuff' or the cold stuff-how'd you like the game? Pretty good, right?"

"Honestly?" At Stiles's insistent look, Josie shrugged. "I wasn't paying attention for most of it. I don't think I like it very much."

"What?!" Stiles's stare was incredulous. He attempted to begin a sentence but seemed to need a moment to compose himself. After wiping a hand down his face, he shook his at Josie in disbelief. "How can you not like lacrosse?"

Josie couldn't help but laugh at the disgust in his voice. She raised her hands in a mock defense. "I don't know! Jackson keeps trying to explain it to me, but he's so condescending, and such a jerk about it, that I can't listen. Honestly, I may not like lacrosse out of spite, at this point."

"What? No," Stiles turned to face Josie better. "Screw Jackson. He shouldn't ruin the game for you."

"Even without him," Josie said. "I'm not a big sports person."

"You looked pretty interested in lacrosse during the game," Stiles pointed out. "I think you almost took an old lady out with your elbow when you were cheering."

"Did not!" Josie pulled a face at Stiles. "And I was only interested because Scott was doing something."

"So just ignore everything Jackson does and watch the game for the people you do like." Stiles suggested.

Josie raised her eyebrows. "Like you or Scott?"

Stiles's face went bright red in a way that Josie didn't think was from the cold. He coughed loudly before trying to cover it with a shrug. "Uh, y-yeah, sure, that works. Someone like Scott or Danny…or even Greenberg!"

"No one likes Greenberg." Josie said.

Nodding in agreement, Stiles cleared his throat and looked away from Josie. "Anyways, ignoring Jackson's existence, did you like watching the game?"

Josie shook her head. "Too cold. Plus, Allison got me in trouble with her dad."

Suddenly more interested, Stiles gestured eagerly for her to continue.

"She spilled the fact that I don't have my license." Josie said.

"But I've literally seen you drive before. Like, pretty often." At Josie's guilty smile, Stiles's mouth dropped. "Which you've been doing without a license."

"I was about to take my test before I moved!" Josie defended. "And my learner's permit doesn't carry over, so I would've had to get a new one and start all over. As long as I don't get pulled over, it'll be fine."

"Stop telling me this!" Stiles made a motion with his hands as if he was shooing her away. "My dad is the sheriff and you're making me an accessory to your crimes!"

Josie smiled conspiratorially at him before leaning in closer. "What? Are you gonna tell on me?"

Though her cleavage was covered by a sweater, a fully buttoned wool coat, and a scarf, Stiles's gaze flickered down before fixing on her forehead. "Says the criminal."

"It's fine," Josie leaned back and Stiles let out a breath that hung in a cloud of white between them. "Mr. Argent made it pretty clear that if I'm friends with Allison then I won't be doing that anymore."

"You have a ride back home?"

"Yeah, with the couple of the year." Josie gestured to where Jackson and Lydia had finally finished their usual hostile flirting.

Seeming to realize she was being talked about, Lydia's head raised in their direction. She waved her hand impatiently for Josie to hurry up.

"I've been summoned." Josie stood and shoved her hands deep in her coat pockets. "See you at school?"
"Yeah, totally, see you there…" Stiles waved eagerly at Lydia, who turned away without acknowledging it, before giving Josie a small smile

Excited to get out of the cold, and away from Stiles's pining, Josie happily walked over to Lydia. The pair quickly made their way to Lydia's car to wait for Jackson to finish changing.

Josie was just becoming used to the comfortable warmth when Lydia huffed loudly. She'd been checking the time more and more impatiently as the parking lot emptied around them.

"Would you go see what is taking Jackson so long?" Lydia asked.

Josie wrinkled her nose. "Why do I have to do it? He's your boyfriend."

"Because," Lydia spread her hands over the wheel and drew the word out. "You're going to have to get out anyway-to get in the back when he gets here."

"It's going to be quicker to go find him than to sit here and argue with you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, probably."

Heaving a dramatic sigh, Josie sent Lydia a withering look. She pulled her hat back over her braids, far less delicately than she'd done before the game, and braced herself for the cold.

Lydia cooed, "You're an angel!"

Josie just slammed the car door shut, waved her middle finger at Lydia, and stomped in the direction of the lacrosse field.

As she moved closer, she could see a figure standing in the middle of an empty field. As the person came into focus, Josie picked up her pace with an annoyed groan. The cold air, and the absence of Lydia, sucked away all the usual effort she usually put into being polite with Jackson. "Hey! Can you hurry up? Or are you just going to stare into the woods all night?"

Jackson dropped the glove he was holding back on the field and sent a sharp glare in Josie's direction. "I don't know. Can you not be such a bitch all the time?"

"Says the one who is somehow mad that his own team won their first game of the season." Josie snapped. She prepared to turn on her heel and go back to the parking lot, Jackson be damned, but noticed he was still staring into the distance. Her tone softened slightly. "Jackson?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming. Calm the fuck down." Jackson finally tore his gaze away from the treeline and made his way to where Josie lingered at the edge of the field.

The walk back to Lydia's care was quiet and tense. Josie would rather die than admit to Jackson she felt like someone was watching them. Even though she didn't voice it, it seemed he agreed. Their hurried walk to the parking lot was filled with Josie's shivers and Jackson glancing constantly over his shoulder.

When they reached the car, Josie was so relieved to be out of the open that she didn't complain about being stuck in the back with Jackson's smelly lacrosse bag.

"Everything okay?" Lydia asked, looking between the two.

Josie leaned her head against the side of the seat and let Jackson make an excuse to appease his girlfriend. With the feeling of being watched still clinging to the back of her neck, Josie knew she was going to have more trouble than usual falling asleep.