ORPHANED
AN: I've messed around with the timeline of the show a bit due to a time jump.
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Dear our sweet daughter Aspen,
Our relationship has strained over the past couple months, all three of us noticed, yet none of us tried to do anything about it. We love you, we do, but we weren't happy.
Losing Ace truly just destroyed us. Coping with the loss of such a loving son hits parents hard. Ace was everything two parents could want in a child. He was talented, well-mannered, loving and kind.
We couldn't live without him. We tried, for six years. All of the false hope those letters brought us were destroying us on the inside.
So for what we've done we are sorry, sorry that we have left you with no family left. But let's face it, we hadn't been a family in quite some time.
But to spare you with one final parting gift, we leave you with this.
We haven't completely orphaned you.
- Maggie and James Carter.
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2 weeks later
It's been fourteen days since Maggie and James Carter took their lives, leaving their daughter with no family left.
It's been fourteen days since Aspen spoke.
Just as she was starting to make progress, finding her way back to herself, the light in her eyes slowly returning, it all fell apart the moment Noah Stilinski informed her she was now an orphan.
Stiles' father handed her the note that was recovered by their bodies. Deputies were sent to their household after James failed to show up to his shifts at the hospital for three days straight, and as a routine practice, they went to check his house to see if he was home, or if he had packed up and moved. It wasn't normal for a doctor to skip three days of work without saying a single word to anyone.
And that was when a deputy found James and Maggie's lifeless bodies on their living room floor, two shotguns beside them, along with the suicide note.
And that was the second Aspen's voice was ripped away from her.
She thought watching the boy she loved love someone else was the worst pain she could ever endure. She was wrong in epic proportions. Nothing in this world hurt more than finding out her parents chose to die, they chose to leave her in this world with no family beside her, they chose to die without saying goodbye.
Had they been murdered, she could've wallowed in self pity and seek vengeance. Had they been murdered, she could whine and cry over the fact she never got to say goodbye to her mother and father before they were ruthlessly taken away from her. Had they been murdered, at least she'd know they didn't have a choice in the matter.
But no, Maggie and James took their own lives. Apparently even their daughter wasn't enough of a reason for them to stay.
For the past two weeks, Aspen's been mute, wallowing in self pity in the McCall house's spare bedroom.
Because she was a minor, by the law, she couldn't stay in that house alone. Melissa and Scott had taken her in, and as much as she wanted to thank them with all the words in the english dictionary, she couldn't speak.
Almost like she was a selective mute.
Every time she opened her mouth to say something, no words came out.
Every day after school, Scott and Stiles would check on her, give her updates about what they now knew to be the kanima, but secretly they did it because they prayed that something would get her to speak again.
Stiles missed the sound of her voice more than anything. He'd give anything to hear it again.
None of them could even begin to understand how she was feeling.
In the past two weeks, not only have more of Aspen's natural chocolate roots began to show through in her hair, the purple colouring was also beginning to fade from all the washes.
Today was her first day back at school. She had to go, she knew she couldn't remain in this miserable state forever.
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"Just remember, the second you don't want to be here, you tell me, and we'll get the hell out of here, okay?" Stiles said to Aspen as they stood outside Harris' classroom.
Aspen nodded.
As the pair of them walked into chemistry, Stiles quickly noticed this wouldn't be any ordinary chemistry class. He caught a glimpse of Isaac and Erica with evil smirks on their lips, and he knew they suspected Lydia of being the human behind the kanima's identity.
He didn't want to leave Aspen's side, but seeing as the girl was blissfully unaware, she waltzed on into the classroom and simply took a seat next to Allison.
Allison had stopped by sometimes too to check on her, and boy did her heart break when Scott and Stiles told her everything. How her parents had committed suicide, how Aspen had no family left, how she wasn't physically speaking to anyone anymore.
Allison never really had real friends before she came to Beacon Hills. And though she made friends with Lydia and Aspen the second she joined, she always felt this sort of sisterly-bond with the Carter girl. Lydia and her had the light hearted friendship that two teenage girls were supposed to have. But her and Aspen clicked in a way that made them feel like they were always destined to meet. They always said they would die for each other, that's how close they were.
So the raven haired girl's heart shattered when she heard about all the pain her sister was in.
As Aspen dumped her books and folders on the desk beside the Argent girl, she put on half a smile and nodded her head almost awkwardly.
"Hey." Allison greeted her, she wasn't sure what to say or ask, knowing she wouldn't get a verbal response back.
Meanwhile, as Stiles noticed Erica and Isaac glaring into the back of Lydia's head with lazers, he and Scott immediately rushed to occupy both seats on either side of her. Stiles was at rest knowing Aspen was with Allison, and besides, as far as he knew, she wasn't on Derek's hitlist.
"Einstein once said, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity... And I'm not sure about the universe." I myself have encountered infinite stupidity." Harris begins to speak from the front of the classroom. "So, to combat the plague of ignorance in my class, you're going to combine efforts through a round of group experiments! Let's see if two heads are indeed better than one. Or, in Stilinski's case, less than one."
Aspen silently began fiddling with some beakers and test tubes on their desk, unaware of the pitiful glance she was receiving from the Argent girl beside her.
"Erica, you take the first station. You'll start with-" Harris spoke, interrupted by the sea of teenage boy's hands shooting upwards. "I didn't ask for volunteers. Put your hormonal hands little hands down."
"Start with McCall." he added, making Scott on edge having to leave Lydia, knowing they were out to get her.
Aspen continued playing around with some beakers and flasks, trying to complete the assignment set, but hell if she knew what she was doing.
Chemistry wasn't her strong suit.
"I'm glad you're back in school." Allison said quietly, smiling at Aspen as she turned her head to look at her as she spoke. "I've missed you."
Aspen desperately wanted to say 'I've missed you too', but she couldn't. She truly had become a selective mute as a side effect of all the grief and loss.
So instead of speaking, she smiled, nodding her head, and Allison knew what she meant.
A couple moments later, Harris yelled "switch!", and all the students began moving again.
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"If you harm one strawberry-blonde hair on her head, I'm gonna turn your little Werewolf ass into a fur coat and give it to her as a birthday present." Stiles threatened the Lahey boy he was now partnered with.
"Really?" Isaac raised his eyebrows. I've never actually been to one of her big, invite-only birthday parties."
"What a real shame." Stiles sarcastically retorted, he'd rather be anywhere else than here right now.
"You know..." Isaac started, dangling a test tube between his fingers as he was about to change the subject. "I once had a thing for Mutie over there."
This made Stiles narrow his eyes in disgust.
"What did you just call her?" he said defensively.
"What?" Isaac played naive. "I heard she's gone mute."
"That's none of your business to make fun of. She lost her whole family, you dick." Stiles spat.
"I know the feeling." Isaac replied, but if he was searching for any empathy from Stiles, he wasn't going to get any.
"I asked her out once." Isaac spoke up again, making Stiles narrow his eyes more. "Last year, it was in french class, I thought she was pretty cute, and I'd been crushing on her for a few weeks, so I asked her out."
"Let me guess, she said no?"
"Yep." Isaac confirmed, popping the 'p' sound. "Wanna know why?"
"Isaac, I don't care." Stiles sighed.
"It was 'cause of you." Isaac continued, ignoring Stiles' last sentence. "Yeah, she told me she was flattered, but that her heart belonged to someone else."
"Mmm. I'm sure that sucked for your ego. Maybe you should write about it in English class, you know? Channel all that negative energy..."
"Nah... I was thinking I'd channel it into killing her."
Stiles panicked at his words, snapping his head up from the desk to look at Isaac again, seeping with rage.
"Derek hasn't ordered you to do that." Stiles stated, trying to keep himself calm as he defended the girl he was pretty sure he was in love with.
"You're right, he hasn't." Isaac smirked. "But I think it'd be fun anyway."
"And switch."
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After chemistry, where Lydia failed the kanima test, Aspen wandered through the halls to the girl's bathroom for a moment alone. She frankly just wanted to look herself in the mirror and demand her mouth to speak words.
But as she walked into the bath room, she looked in the mirrors above the sink, sighing, until she saw she wasn't alone in there.
In the reflection of the mirror, she could see a familiar blonde behind her, staring at her with a devious gaze.
As she snapped her body around in fright, she was soon enough slammed up against a bathroom stall door with claws around her neck, ripping a gasp from her lungs.
"Hey there, sweetie." Erica cocked her head to the side as she watch Aspen gasp for air. "Rumor has it the death of mummy and daddy dearest as taken your beautiful voice away."
Aspen flew her hand to her throat, trying to pry Erica's claws away, but it was no use as she continued to breathe heavily, desperate for air that Erica was depriving her of.
"It's a little pathetic, if you ask me." Erica continued to scold her. "And here I was thinking you were the strong one."
She tightened her grip, ripping more and more gasps from Aspen's lungs.
"All you have to do is say stop." Erica chuckled evilly. "Come on, say it."
Aspen's eyes began to glaze over with salty tears, because telling Erica to let the hell go of her was all she wanted to do.
"Say something." Erica continued to dig, becoming intrigued yet irritated with the sudden muteness of Aspen Carter.
"Anything." she added, still earning no verbal response as Aspen breathed heavily.
"Or are you gonna stand there like a coward, just like your broth-"
Then, as if the rage of being so victimised by Erica, Aspen grew the strength to pry the blonde's hand from her neck, interrupting her sentence before she got to finish.
She let out a grunt of anger as she slowly lowered their hands, her's crushing Erica's.
Literally crushing it, they both heard the sound of bones cracking as Erica was now the one letting out gasps as she looked down at Aspen crushing her hand.
When the blonde looked up again, she saw the girl's eyes were no longer green, but blue.
The same blue Jackson had seen a couple weeks ago.
"How the hell do you have the strength to do that..." Erica whined as she held onto her broken hand with her healthy one, as if she was expecting aspen to answer with her words.
The Carter girl felt so much rage, rage at the blonde for cornering her, exploiting her weaknesses, underestimating her. So much rage that she wasn't used to feeling, the last time she was this angry was when Jackson was clawing into her verbally over how Stiles would never love her.
Instead of brushing it off and walking away like she did the last time, she channelled the rage and now took it as her turn to slam the blonde up against the wall in a threatening manner.
Now it was Erica's turn to be scared.
Aspen didn't have claws, she didn't have fangs, all she had were bright blue eyes and a massive temper.
"You're... n-not... human." Erica gasped as Aspen held her arm up to her throat, cutting off her oxygen supply.
Aspen didn't know what on earth she was, and now that her entire family was dead, she would probably never get those answers.
But she simply shook her head in Erica's face with a scowl, as she moved her forearm from the blonde's neck to her chest, applying pressure to her lungs.
She swore the rage that took over her could've been enough to murder Erica Reyes in that very bathroom.
The only thing that stopped her was the sound of the girl's bathroom opening, and Allison Argent's entrance.
When Allison saw what she had walked in on, she never thought she'd say it, but even she was scared of Aspen. The girl she saw as her sister, she feared.
Erica was now choking out for grasps of air, as Aspen simply smirked in victory, that was, until she saw Allison's face.
The look on her face was enough to snap Aspen out of whatever just came over her. She let Erica go, and the blonde's hands flew to her own neck, rubbing the red marks that Aspen left there.
Erica and Aspen shared one glance before Erica practically fled from the girl's bathroom.
Allison stood on one side of the room, Aspen on the other, as the two girls just stared at one another, neither one of them knowing what the hell just happened.
But Aspen still couldn't form words.