บท 3: Chapter 3
Friday had arrived, and Scarlett couldn't wait to see how the upcoming fool moon was already affecting the puppy's life. New werewolves became absolutely nuts during nights like that, and their blood ran so fast in their veins. She almost felt hungry just at the thought.
But she had to focus.
Peter wanted her to get closer to him and reveal to Scott who she really was that night. That even meant that she couldn't have her own fun at the party.
"Scarlett, are you listening?" Lydia's high voice made the vampire turn.
"What?" she exclaimed before realizing that she must have seemed rude. So, she forced herself to smile apologetically: "I'm sorry, Lydia. I'm just a bit stressed."
Lydia smiled, putting a hand on Scarlett's forearm, and the vampire had to fight the urge to move her arm away.
"I understand. Moving must be stressful." Scarlett eyed her up and down. They were both sitting on a bench before the school, waiting for the little Argent to arrive. Lydia was talkative and boring, with a piercing voice, but she was able to make Scarlett close to Allison. They had hung out shopping just a few days back, and she came to know that apparently, the puppy had invited the Argent girl to the party, which would have made that party even more interesting for her and hard for him. Scarlett really couldn't wait.
"Anyway, as I was saying," Lydia said, "Who is going to be your date tonight?" Scarlett had received invitations from a few boys, but she had someone else in mind—someone she was waiting to arrive.
"I don't know, Lydia," Scarlett said. "I really prefer to go alone."
Lydia seemed shocked by her words. "What?" she exclaimed. "Scarlett, there are a lot of boys who don't stop talking about you. All the team wants to meet you."
And they will soon. That afternoon, she had to go to lacrosse practice. Coach Finstock told her that that day, it was about to decide who would have made the first line. And that was even her first day as an assistant.
Lydia rolled her eyes. "Please don't tell me you don't want to date anyone."
Scarlett laughed at that. Oh, sweet girl.
"I've never said that," Scarlett said, thinking about all those boys. "It's just that going alone, I can meet more people. And who told you I don't have my eyes fixed on someone already?" At those words, Lydia jumped on her seat excitedly, leaving Scarlett shocked for a moment.
"Who?" she asked. "You have to tell me everything." That girl really loved gossip. But Scarlett was sure that Lydia would have been disappointed to know who he was. What could she say? Scarlett was there for a job. And her job had just arrived, jumping down from his strange car.
Scarlett looked at him. God, he was clumsy! He had almost fallen getting out. How was it even possible?
He then turned and smiled goofily when the puppy arrived on his bike and then went to him to talk. Two dorks, that was what they were. Peter couldn't actually believe that Scott could be useful for their purpose, and nobody would believe that Scarlett had a real interest in his friend.
"Scarlett, please," Lydia exclaimed. "You can't leave me here hanging!"
"There is nothing to say," she said with a wide smile when she saw the two dorks waving her way. "It's early to say, but I have a good feeling about this." Scarlett waved to the two friends, but Lydia didn't pay attention to it. When the puppy passed by, Scarlett could feel her fangs ready to pop out. She could feel it. His blood. It was running like crazy, and she almost could smell its delicious scent. God, she really wanted to taste it.
But she had to focus again when Allison arrived. Quickly, Scarlett looked at the parking lot, and she felt disappointed when the girl arrived with her own car. She still hadn't been able to see her father, Chris Argent, and his name was, and she really wanted to see the face of the bastard. Hunter.
The day had gone like always, but she hadn't had many lessons with the puppy or his friend, so she hadn't spoken with them yet, but there still was lacrosse. On the contrary, she had spent most of her class with Lydia… and she really needed to run away.
Finally, alone, she went to the locker room, where boys get changed for practice. She stopped at the door, hearing all those heartbeats —it was the most delicious sound to hear. Listening closer, she heard one go faster, which meant that the puppy was already inside. She smirked, ready to open, when she heard Jakson's voice.
"Are you lost?" he asked with a flirty grin. Typical teenage douche.
"No," she said, turning to him.
"It's the boy's locker room," Jackson said with a frown.
Scarlett smirked. "I know." She then opened the door and walked in. All the boys turned towards her when she walked past them. Some of them had their mouths ajar and wide eyes. Others were trying to cover themselves, and she almost smirked. Her eyes fell on the puppy; his eyes were wide open. There was no sign of his strange friend. Where the hell was he? Scarlett smiled at them before walking to the Coach's office. She knocked at the open door, and the man turned.
"Ah! Here you are, Black," he exclaimed. "In perfect time, even. I'm impressed."
"Thanks, sir," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
"But this is the boys' locker room."
At his words, Scarlett nodded simply. "Yeah, I can see that." Finstock studied her for a moment in silence before grinning widely.
"Good!" he exclaimed, walking to the boys and clapping his hands to have their attention.
"Hey!" he yelled, making Scarlett frown. So damn loud!
"This one here," he said, pointing to Scarlett, "is Scarlett Black. She is my new assistant. Respect her and make her feel welcome." Scarlett looked at the boys in front of her, and none of them seemed to argue with her presence. The very contrary.
"Hi, guys," she said, smiling confidently. All that attention… it was a shame she couldn't eat someone… yet.
Scarlett and the team went to the practice field to get ready to start. Something caught her attention, though. When the puppy looked at Jackson, his blood ran faster, like he wasn't at ease. Suddenly, she heard quick steps, and looking back, she saw Stiles talking with the puppy. His face was red, and a worried look was painted all over it. He was almost begging his friend to listen to him. What got him so worried?
"No, Scott! You're not going to believe what the animal was!" she heard him exclaim since now he wasn't too far from her. "It was a wolf…" Scarlett turned her head slightly towards the boy. Why was he talking about wolves? What got him so worried? There was no way he could know about Peter's or Scott's condition.
She decided to get herself back together and started with her plan. She took a pen and the papers that the Coach had given her and she walked closer to the boy.
"I didn't catch your surname." At her voice, Stiles almost jumped back with a quiet yell. Yup, definitely a strange one.
"Wha... Scarlett? What?" he really seemed confused and… embarrassed.
Good.
She just laughed lightly. "Always strange meetings, you and I. Eh?"
"What are you doing here?" he asked, blinking his eyes in confusion.
"I'm the coach's new assistant," Scarlett said, showing her white teeth at him. "You lost the announcement."
The boy looked over to the coach and back to her. "What... Really?" she nodded her head, and he smiled goofily. His blood ran faster, and soon, his cheeks became red. It almost made her hungry.
"So, what's your surname?" she asked again without stopping smiling.
"My surname...?" he repeated, then looked at the papers in her hands before nodding his head. "Oh yeah! For the presence, of course! Emm... Stilinski!" She looked back at the paper, scanning every name, and finally, she saw him—Stilinski.
"Stiles..Stilinski," she said, finding it funny.
"Mmm.. yeah," the boy said, nodding his head.
"It's an interesting name," Scarlett said, closing her pen. "It suits you." He looked at her with wide eyes, and his skin became even redder. She smiled again before walking back to the coach, who was now gathering all the boys at the center of the field. Turning her head, Scarlett saw the stands full of people. They really liked lacrosse. Hadn't anyone anything better to do? She surely had.
"Do you have a question, McCall?" at the sudden question from the coach, Scarlett looked over at the puppy, who was looking at the crowd with a raised hand. She really hoped he wasn't waving like an idiot to the little Argent. She didn't even turn around; she didn't want to know.
"What?" he asked confused. Scarlett had to fight the urge to roll her eyes.
"You raised a hand. Do you have a question?" Finstock asked again.
"No, I'm..." Scott said embarrassedly, putting down his hand. "It was nothing, sorry." The man looked at the boy for a moment before turning his attention to the team again.
"Alright, guys," he said, looking at every member of the team. "If you don't make the cut, you most likely sit on the bench for the rest of the season. You make the cut, you play. Your parents are proud, your girlfriends love ya!" Scarlett frowned, looking at him. "Now go out there and show me what you got!" Everyone seemed to be inspired by that kind of speech, and they started to run in the field. The coach turned to Scarlett, very proud of himself, and she found herself smiling and nodding her head in approval.
This is a torture!
The practice went on for what seemed an eternity to Scarlett, who was now in front of her mirror getting ready for Lydia's party. In her mind, the puppy kept repeating his actions on the field. It was so funny how he speeded and jumped in the air without even realizing how inhuman all that was.
Gosh, werewolves are stupid, she thought, carefully applying red lipstick to put it on perfectly.
Werewolves were so blinded by fool moons that they went completely nuts; for someone like her, that was the perfect time to catch newbies, too focused on running around and howling at the sky. And Scott made no difference. That night, he would probably go completely wild, and then she would reveal herself to him. If her plan of getting closer to the puppy's friend would succeed, she would spend a lot of time with him, making Scott understand how much of a waste hunters were. She would probably even convince him to kill Allison himself.
Now that she thought about the human, though… he seemed so worried on the field, and Scarlett had noticed that his eyes were glued on Scott, almost studying him. And when practice was over, he just ran away as fast as he could.
That boy is strange.
His worries made her wonder what was on his mind. But in the end, he was just a human. What was the worst he could do?
Her phone rang, making her turn to pick it up. Scarlett rolled her eyes when Allison's name appeared on her screen. What the hell did she want now?
For a moment, she even thought of letting it ring, but that probably wasn't the right way to treat a "friend," so she decided to answer. "Hey, Allison. What's up?" she asked, using her sweetest voice.
"Hi, Scarlett," she said from the other side. "I'm so sorry to bother you, but I need some advice."
Scarlett's hand went up to massage her temple. Teenager girls and their bloody teenager problems.
"Yeah, sure," Scarlett said with her eyes closed. "Tell me."
She heard Allison taking a relaxed breath; she was sure she was smiling right now. "I know it sounds stupid, but I'm not sure what to wear." Scarlett had to fight the urge to hang up at that moment. "I mean, Scott is about to pick me up and… I don't know…I just want to be sure to look pretty," the vampire frowned. That girl was an Argent. Her family was probably the most ancient and dangerous family of hunters, and she got all stressed out about a dress. Allison had the power to confuse her. Could someone be that good at faking?
On second thought… that was exactly what Scarlett was doing. But something was off with Allison, so she decided to have a bit of fun.
"Well, it depends," she said, laying her back on the chair with a smirk.
"On what?" Allison asked with confusion in her voice.
"It depends on how deeply you want to get to know Scott," Scarlett said, waiting for an answer. That girl was a huntress, and she had casually a crush on the puppy? No, things didn't happen casually. There was always a reason. Scarlett wanted to see what Allison's reason was.
"To get to..? You mean…" Allison stopped before giving out a nervous laugh. "Oh no, Scarlett!" she exclaimed. "I mean. I barely know him. This will be just a date, nothing more. I.. I don't think I'm ready." Scarlett couldn't help but feel defeated at that point. Having sex meant to be alone, it was the perfect time to kill someone. Scarlett knew she had done it.
What was Allison's game?
"Look," Scarlett started, trying to get past her confusion. "If you are sure about that, then keep it simple."
"I'm scared I'll look boring," Allison said.
"Simple is not boring," Scarlett said, getting tired of that conversation. "Now you know what I think. Is there something more?"
"Oh no, no. Thank you," she said, understanding that Scarlett wanted to go. "You were very kind. I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see ya," Scarlett said, hanging up and throwing her phone on her bed. God, that was exhausting. She wasn't sure how much she could resist: being nice, pretending to be human and sweet.
I really need to party.
When Scarlett arrived at Lydia's, she couldn't deny that the girl's house was beautiful. Her tiny flat was nothing compared to that. Maybe being Lydia's friend wasn't that bad after all.
The moment she entered the room, Lydia ran to welcome her and started presenting her to every single guy who passed by. Scarlett had already seen most of them because they were on the lacrosse team.
Like always, most of the boys were looking at her and staring. Her black dress was perfect for occasions like that; she could always find someone to have some fun with. But that night, it wasn't for fun, or Peter would become a pain; she had chosen that dress to catch the puppy's friend's attention.
"Hi, girls." Lydia's voice made her turn, and Scarlett saw her wave to three girls. "You need to meet these girls. They are a year older than me, and lots of boys like them." Scarlett really didn't see the point in that, but then she noticed Evelyn among them, and she really wanted to know more about her friendship with the puppy.
"Hi, Lydia," a girl said with a smile.
"Scarlett meets Jenette, Clara, and Evelyn," Lydia said, turning to make her strawberry blond hair wave against her back. "Girls, this is Scarlett; she is new."
"How are you finding Beacon Hills so far?" Clara asked.
"It's small, but it's alright, I guess," Scarlett answered with a fake smile.
"Do you come from a big city?" Evelyn asked. She was smiling at her, but Scarlett felt like she was studying her. That girl didn't seem a treat; she was wearing a white dress that arrived at her knees. A romantic style. Her brown hair was tied in a bun. All in order. She was pretty, the only thing Scarlett could be scared of. It would have been a shame if the puppy's friend would have a crush on her. The two of them were even friends.
"I travel a lot," Scarlett answered without stopping smiling. "Due to my parents' work."
"Really?" Evelyn exchanged the smile. "What do they do?"
"Consultants for companies," Scarlett answered without hesitation. Jenette seemed impressed. "Yup. They search for a place close to where they had to go, and they leave me there. At least I know what job I don't want to do, I guess," Scarlett faked a light laugh, and she was followed by the girls.
"It must be exhausting," Jenette said.
"Yeah," Scarlett said before turning to Evelyn, "Stiles and Scott told me you work together."
"You work with who?" Lydia said before gasping, "Sorry, Jackson, arrive. I have to go. Have fun," she said before running and disappearing into the crowd.
"Yes," Evelyn said. "Not exactly together. Our boss is a family friend, I work as secretary. Scott is his assistant." So, the puppy wanted to become a vet. That almost made her smile a puppy who cured puppies.
"You met those two, too?" Jenette asked, rolling her eyes. "I never get why Eve loses her time with them. They are such nerds."
"I'm a nerd too, Jenette," Evelyn said, rolling her eyes like she had had that conversation millions of times before. "They are very funny and kind, and you would know it if you just talked with them sometimes."
"Alright, Eve," she said, taking a from her cup, "I'm sorry. I was just worried about your social status."
"Pointless manner," Evelyn said, trying not to sound rude, but it was clear she didn't like that topic.
"I've talked with Stilinski once," Clara said, standing next to Evelyn. "And he seems very nice."
"Thanks," Evelyn said with a smile.
"As you want," Jenette said, rolling her eyes. "Sometimes I think you have a crush on Stilinski or something." At those words, Scarlett's attention was back in a moment, and her eyes fell on the girl, focusing her hearing on her heartbeat. It was faster, but just a bit. It wasn't like she had been caught, but there was something.
"I don't," Evelyn said, and her heartbeat confirmed this: "He is my friend. You attack him, Jen; I defend him."
"That's a very sweet thing to do," Scarlett said again, her gaze moving from Evelyn to Jenette. "I spoke with him and his friend twice; I can see why she is defending them so much." Then her eyes fell on a pink shirt and a buzz cut, and she had to hide a smirk. "I'm sorry, I have to go. But it was nice to meet you." The three girls said something back, but she really didn't pay much attention.
Scarlett looked at Stiles, trying to understand if he went alone. He didn't seem the type of getting a date soon, so she was probably safe. When she approached him, he was pouring something into his red cup. She waited patiently behind him, and when Stiles turned around, he almost poured his drink over her.
"Oh shi… Scarlett," he said with wide eyes.
"Stiles Stilinski," she spoke with a laugh. "This seems the only way we can meet."
He gave an embarrassed laugh, "Apparently yes." His eyes looked down at her, and he fixed his gaze on the way her dress hugged her curves perfectly. She knew. His blood was running like crazy, but she pretended not to notice.
"So, what do you drink at parties here in Beacon Hills?" she asked, walking towards the table and looking at the drinks.
"Well, you know," he said, trying to seem confident. "The usual staff. Strong staff," Scarlett smiled.
"Is that coke?" she asked, putting a hand on her hip and smirking at him.
"What..I.. what?" he said, looking down at his drink. "No. This is… this is…" he paused, and she studied his face, so high to what to make a good impression. "Yeah, alright, it's coke," he finally admitted. "But I'm driving." Scarlett let out a laugh. He is so strange.
"Well, I feel fearless tonight. So I'll have the same," she said, and she saw him smiling in surprise. "Would you..?" she pointed at the cups. His gaze landed on the table, and when he realized what she meant, he almost jumped with a goofy grin.
"Yeah, of course," Scarlett observed him while he was pouring some coke into a cup. On his cheeks, a faint red, and his lips were curved in an incredulous smile. It seemed that he liked to have her around. That was good.
"Here," he said, handing her the cup.
"Thanks," she said, taking it with her hands and bringing it to her lips. The taste was so sweet that she almost frowned. It had been years since she had tasted something other than blood, and she didn't find it pleasant at all. But on her face, she just put a smile. The two of them stayed silent for a moment and judging by his heartbeat; Stiles really wanted to find something to say.
"Are you alone tonight?" Scarlett asked at one point, "No, Scott? No girlfriend?"
He let out a strange laugh. "No, Scott is…" he stopped for a moment. "He is busy, and no. No, girlfriend." She nodded her head, wondering what had happened between the human and the puppy.
"And you?" he asked suddenly. "No dates? Almost everyone wanted to ask you."
Scarlett shook her head. "No. No dates tonight. It's easier to make friends like this. I'm meeting people."
He nodded his head, sipping a bit of coke. "I've seen you talk with Eve and her friends," he said. "I didn't think you would talk to me after that?"
"And why is that?" she asked, frowning.
"Don't get me wrong," he said, waving one hand. "Eve is sweet and amazing, but she is pretty." Scarlett studied his face without interrupting him. "That means she hangs out with pretty people who usually don't look my way twice. Social status."
Scarlett moved her hair over her shoulder. "I really don't care about that stuff."
"What... really?" he asked, surprised, and she just shrugged her shoulders.
"I think people always hide something inside of them, and I prefer to find it out on my own," Scarlett said, looking at the boy in the eyes. The boy's lips turned in a small smile, and he nodded his head. Could those really be teenage problems? Social status?
She felt that maybe it wouldn't have been that difficult to get closer to that boy; he was shy, but he also liked to talk. Scarlett was about to ask something else when someone bumped into her back, almost making her fall.
"What the…" she said, but she stopped when she saw that the one who had bumped her was Scott.
"Scott?" Stiles asked with panic in his voice "Are you alright?" Scott didn't say anything he just growl before running out of the house. The moon was starting to affect him. He was changing and his smell was so tasty that her fang almost pop out.
"Oh, God," she heard Stiles say panicking. "Oh, God. I have to.." he turned to her. "Sorry, I have to go. I… I'm sorry," he almost growled when he ran away. Maybe he didn't want to go away. But why was he running after Scott in that way? Was it possible that he knew about werewolves? How? How could he know? How could he believe in it?
Scarlett decided not to worry about the human anymore; she had to find Scott. Suddenly, Allison ran past her, calling for Scott, and after a moment, something caught Scarlett's eyes. It seemed like a shadow; it was dark, but a guy moved from the corner of the room. He was wearing a leather jacket, his hair was black, and his smell wasn't new to Scarlett. The vampire stopped in her tracks. She knew him. Eight years had passed since the last she had seen of him, but she knew him.
Derek Hale.
He was there for Scott too. She couldn't go, she had to talk to Peter first. Derek wasn't like them. He wouldn't understand.
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