Unspoken ▹ Teen Wolf [01]

020.

Rachel was getting worried.

It'd been approximately twenty-two hours, thirty seven minutes & twelve seconds since she'd blocked Derek's number (she totally wasn't counting.) All in all, she was pretty sure the only one actually suffering was her. The worry of his whereabouts had become consuming after the first twelve hours, but now, in the second - it was getting a bit obsessive.

Maybe it was a little odd to most, but not seeing or speaking to Derek for nearly twenty-four hours was unheard of for Rachel. Usually it would consist of a simple "I'm still alive" text, but seeing as how she'd blocked him - that was out of the question. She refused to go back on her declaration by giving in & calling him.

Still, Rachel couldn't help but be on high alert. After all, it wasn't just Derek that was ignoring her. Scott wouldn't pick up his phone & neither would Allison. Normally, her assumption would be the obvious one, but not even Stiles answered his phone.

Something was wrong.

And that's when things got a little desperate. Of course, things had to be pretty damn desperate for her to even consider the possibility of such stupidity. She'd have better luck dealing with the Grim Reaper than her final option, but nonetheless - she was desperate. Rachel was at a point of such complete & utter desperation, that she was just the push of a button away from calling her despicable uncle, when none other than the Queen Bee herself, Lydia Martin had intercepted with another shopping proposition.

Of course, it was an offer she couldn't refuse. The perfect distraction, and to better the offer, Allison would be accompanying them - meaning, Rachel would only have to carry half of Lydia's bags. And maybe, Rachel still wanted to know for sure where Allison had been & why she'd ignored her calls.

With that, Rachel soon found herself walking throughout the outrageously large Macy's building, accompanied by Lydia & a very on-edge Allison. The aforementioned strawberry blonde had insisted they shop from the better (and more expensive) stock of dresses, which ultimately led Rachel to bring along her credit card instead of cash.

She didn't know whether she'd be stuck with whatever Lydia didn't want, or if she'd be suckered into buying a four-hundred-dollar Terani Couture dress for a meaningless high school dance, so it was better to be safe than sorry. After all, she did have a family name to live up to, even if they were no longer thought highly of (especially by the law, due to Derek's habit of getting himself arrested.)

She was most definitely no longer high up in the popularity ranks, particularly in Lydia's eyes. Rachel could already see it, the way she'd ignored her for days hadn't gone unnoticed. Allison seemed distant too, but for a reason far different than Lydia's. It was almost as if the girl was afraid of her, but for what reason?

Rachel didn't know.

But she sure as hell wanted to find out.

"Allison?" The Hale girl questioned, only receiving a quick glance in response. "What's up? You look like you're about to crack a cyanide pill with your teeth. Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong, I just- I have a lot on my mind." Allison smiled weakly, before turning away. It was more than obvious that she couldn't even stand to look at Rachel.

The tension was growing thicker by the second, and frankly, it was becoming clear that the first to snap would definitely be Rachel. Sure, she'd ignored them for a few days, but Allison was acting normal when they were in the woods yesterday.

What changed?

"You could smile." Lydia mused, Rachel nodding in agreement. "Ever heard of the saying, "never frown. Someone could be falling in love with your smile?" Smile, Allison. I'm buying you a dress."