The bright neon lights were catching my attention as Scott sat patiently in his chair.
"Boy, it's a good thing you drew me a picture," the tattoo artist looked at the drawing Scott made.
"Hey, Scott, sure you don't want something like this?" Stiles asked him turning the book around and showing us a drawing that looked eerily similar to the kanima.
I just stared at my boyfriend and sighed, "I don't think so."
"Too soon?" Stiles asked.
I nodded as I made my way over to him.
"I don't know, man, are you sure about this? I mean, these things are pretty permanent, you know?" Stiles questioned.
"I'm not changing my mind," Scott told him.
"Yeah. Do you have something against tattoos Stiles?" I tilted my head in question.
He shook his head, "What? No, I mean--"
"I have one," I informed him.
Stiles quickly turned to look at me with wide eyes,"Wait-what? Where?"
I smirked at him, "Somewhere. But I can't show you right now."
Stiles was gaping at me and I looked over at Scott and the tattoo artist, "Unless...everyone wants to see-"
Stiles stood in front of my quickly blocking my view of Scott and the artist, "Nope. No. I think they're good. Right, Scott?"
"Well, actually--" Scott started with a smirk.
"No! He's-he's good," Stiles yelled frantically.
I laughed and tried to move out from behind Stiles but he didn't let me. He cleared his throat, "Okay, but why two bands?"
"I just like it," Scott answered. When I got my first tattoo, my body was surging with excitement. I remember Derek actually had to tell me to calm down because my unusual energy was stressing him out.
"But don't you think your first tattoo should have some sort of meaning, you know, or something?" Stiles questioned.
"Him getting a tattoo means something," I explained.
"I don't think that's--" Stiles tried to deny.
"She's right, tattooing goes back thousands of years. The Tahitian word "tatua" means "to leave a mark", like a rite of passage," the tattoo artist agreed with me.
I had a smug look on my face as I saw Stiles' reaction. I loved proving him wrong.
"Yeah, you see? He gets it," Scott smiled.
"He's covered in tattoos, Scott, literally," Stiles said while looking at Kevin.
"Well, Nova agrees with us and she's not covered in tattoos," Scott looked at me.
Stiles sighed in defeat. I wrapped my arm around his and smiled. I honestly thought that Stiles shouldn't have come. Or at least he should've stayed in the car. He didn't do too good with needles.
"Okay, you ready?" The Tattoo artist asked.
Scott cleared his throat and nodded.
"You ain't got any problems with needles, do you?" He asked Scott.
"Nope," Scott shook his head.
The guy turned on the machine and brought his hand to Scott's arm.
"I tend to get a little squeamish though, so..." Stiles said as he looked at Scott's arm.
His grip on my arm loosened. I looked over to him as he mumbled something and fell to the ground.
"Oh god..." I sighed before leaning down to check on him. He was knocked out cold.
"Do you have any ice?" I asked, as I had placed my hand on Stiles.
~
The jeep moved around as Stiles got in and slammed the door.
"You okay?" Stiles asked Scott while holding the icepack to his head.
"Are you?" I turned to my boyfriend.
"Kinda burns," Scott replied while looking at the bandage wrapped around his arm.
"Yes, you just had your skin stabbed about 100,000 times with a needle," Stiles reminded him.
"Yeah, but I don't think it's supposed to feel like this," Scott responded.
Stiles sighed and I glanced at him, "How's your head?"
Before Stiles could answer Scott jumped in his seat, "Oh, god. No, it's definitely not supposed to feel like this. Oh, I gotta take this thing off."
Stiles shook his head rapidly, "No, no, no, no, Scott. Oh, Scott, please stop."
I looked at Scott's unwrapped arm to see the tattoo disappearing, "What the hell."
"Oh, no, what? No, no, come on. It healed," Scott said disappointedly.
"Ah, thank god. I hated it," Stiles sighed.
Scott and I both stopped moving around and glared at him.
"Sorry," Stiles apologized before turning the key and driving out of the parking lot.
~
The sky was dark as we drove down the road. We were on our way to drop Scott off at his house. I was staying with Stiles tonight so Scott and Stiles thought it would be best if he went home. I tried to talk them into having a sleepover but they both said no.
"Nah, we agreed to give each other the summer. No texts, no calls," Scott told us about his plan he made with Allison.
"So then how do you know she won't be back in school then?" Stiles asked.
I saw his eyes go wide and I leaned forward to see that he was staring at a blue car that was holding none other than Allison and Lydia.
Stiles and I looked at each other as Scott talked.
"After everything that happened, I'm not sure she's coming back at all," Scott sighed.
I was still staring at the car next to us, "I wouldn't be too sure about that." I couldn't help but stare at Lydia as she laughed with Allison. Woah-
Scott looked at me in confusion.
"I think she is," Stiles added.
Scott turned his attention to Stiles.
"I'd say pretty definite, you know. Like one hundred percent," Stiles continued and nodded his head in the direction of Lydia's car.
Scott turned his head and looked at Allison in shock. She looked over at us and her smile dropped.
Both of them slid down in their seats.
"Oh, my god. Oh--" Scott tried to hide.
Lydia looked over and I smiled at her as Stiles waved.
"Can we just drive please, Stiles?" Scott asked.
"Scott, it's a red light," Stiles pointed forward.
"Stiles, just go," I told him.
"I think we should talk to talk to her, I think we should say something," Stiles insisted.
"No. no," Scott and I told him.
Stiles reached across Scott to the window.
I tried to move his arm away but he wouldn't budge, "Stiles! Stop."
"No, no, no, Stiles, come on. Oh, my god, dude, no," Scott pleaded.
Stiles rolled the window down, "Hey!"
The car quickly took off in front of us.
"You know, they probably didn't see us," Stiles said.
"They sped away from us for a reason, Stiles," I scolded him.
The light turned green and Stiles pressed on the gas.
"What are you doing?" Scott asked with wide eyes. I could hear how rapidly his heart was pounding.
"I'm driving," Stiles answered bluntly.
"We're right behind them," Scott explained.
"Okay, well, do you see any turns?" Stiles questioned sarcastically.
"Guys just calm down," I sighed.
"I don't want it to look like we're following them," Scott replied.
"Well, what do you want me to do?" Stiles questioned.
"I don't know, anything," Scott exclaimed.
Stiles slammed on his breaks and I hit my head on his seat.
"Ow.." I groaned while rubbing my forehead.
Stiles looked back at me, "Sorry."
The three of us looked forward to see that they had stopped too.
We all glanced at each other in confusion before we heard screams.
The three of us jumped out of the jeep and ran up to the girls.
I grabbed Lydia's face with my hands inspecting her, "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
"It ran right into us," Lydia explained. I let out a breath of relief once I realized she was wasn't hurt and pulled her into a hug. "I'm not okay. I am totally freaking out," Lydia exclaimed and tilted her head to look at me, "How the hell does it just run into us?"
Scott walked to the front of the car and we all moved closer. As I watched him move closer I got this feeling that surged all throughout my body. This wasn't just a normal occurrence, it had to be supernatural.
"I saw its eyes right before it hit us. It was like it--it was like it was crazy," Lydia said, her breathing still heavy.
"No, it was scared. Actually...terrified," Scott corrected her. We both looked up to see that the moon was full.
~
The bright light that was shining on me in the school hallway made me want to go back to bed.
"You wanna ask Derek for help? Why, why?" Stiles questioned Scott with a groan.
"He's got the triskele tattooed on his back. So there has to be a way to do it without healing, right?" Scott replied.
I stopped in my tracks.
I looked to my right to see a crow fly towards me and hit the glass. There was another and another then I whole group of crows were slamming their bodies against the glass. The blood and feathers were the only remains visible on the window. I took a step back and inhaled sharply, "Guys..." I started to get flashes of dead bodies with their necks slit. I bumped into something and turned around quickly with tears in my eyes.
"Mae..." Lydia looked at me in concern.
I wiped the tears off my face, "I-um...I was just-"
She grabbed onto my arm and I met her eyes.
"Are you okay?" she whispered.
I cleared my throat, "Yeah, I'm--" I looked to my left to see that I was standing outside my first class. How did I get here?
"Come on," Lydia grabbed my arm and sat me in a seat in front of Stiles.
"What's wrong with Mae?" I heard Lydia ask Stiles. My head was still spinning trying to understand how I made my way across the school without realizing it.
"What do you mean?" Stiles questioned her.
"I found her standing outside the classroom crying, she seemed really off," Lydia informed him.
I felt a hand on my shoulder and spun around in my seat.
"Mae..." I heard Stiles say quietly.
I opened my eyes to look at him and he reached out to tap Scott repetitivly.
I furrowed my brows at them, "What?"
Scott leaned forward, "Nova...your eyes are glowing."
My eyes widened before I slumped down in my chair and covered my face with my hands.
I heard everyone's phone go off and looked around.
"The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds and the tranquil waterway, leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky, seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness. This is the last line to the first book we are going to read. It is also the last text you receive in this class. Phones off, everyone," a woman walked into the room and stood at the front of the class.
I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and turned it off before placing it on my desk.
After a couple of minutes, Scott got called to the front by the teacher and left.
We were doing our work as I heard Stiles whisper, "Hey, Lydia."
I looked back at him to see his eyes on Lydia's ankle.
She looked up at us.
"What is that? Did you get that from the accident?" I questioned her.
"No. Prada bit me," Lydia told us.
"What?"
"Your dog?"
Stiles and I asked at the same time.
"No, my designer handbag. Yes, my dog," Lydia replied.
"Has it ever bitten you before?" Stiles asked her.
Lydia shook her head.
"Okay. What if it's, like, the same thing as the deer? You know, like, how animals start acting weird right before an earthquake or something?" Stiles suggested.
"Meaning what?" I asked my boyfriend.
"There' gonna be an earthquake?" Lydia questioned.
"Or something. I just--maybe it means something's coming. Something bad," Stiles explained.
"It was a deer and a dog," Lydia reminded him.
"Wait, what's that thing you say about threes? Once, twice--" I got cut off by a bang on the window.
I looked over at the window to see a splotch of red blood and black feathers. It was just like what I saw earlier.
The teacher put down her chalk and walked up to the windows.
There was a whole flock of birds flying towards us.
The first one hit the glass right where the teacher was standing and she gasped.
The birds broke through the glass and flew into the classroom.
"Get down! Everyone!" The teacher yelled.
I saw Lydia fall out of her seat and made my way over to her. I covered her head with my arms trying to protect her from the crazed birds.
I felt arms wrap around me and looked up to see Stiles. I tried to shield him too but he wouldn't move.
After the noises stopped everyone slowly stood up. There were scratches and blood on people's faces.
We all looked around the classroom to see black feathers everywhere. What the hell was going on? And why did I see it happen before it actually did?
~
The classroom was still littered with feathers as Stiles and I stood next to each other while leaning against a desk.
I had already explained to Stiles how I saw the birds before in the hallway. He was slightly confused and asked me how but when I shrugged my shoulders he dropped the subject and wrapped me in his arms as he tried to comfort me.
Stiles stood up completely from his position of leaning on the desk, "Ms. Blake? You okay?"
The teacher slowly nodded her head as Stiles and I walked closer to her.
Stiles reached a hand towards her and I looked at him questioningly as she flinched.
"Uh, sorry, just-," Stiles picked the black feather out of Ms. Blake's hair and smiled.
Mr. Stilinski walked over to Allison and her father. I didn't bother to pay attention to what they were saying. I still couldn't understand how I saw the birds smash against the window before class even started.
~
The sun was shining through the cracks in the wood of my childhood home.
Stiles had called Scott earlier to tell him about the accident in the classroom with the birds to be quickly told to meet him at my old house.
I was standing with my arms crossed next to Stiles while peering down at my brother and Scott.
Derek flashed his eyes bright red as he looked at Scott's arm, "Yeah, I see it. It's two bands, right?"
Scott nodded and looked up at him.
"What does it mean?" My brother asked.
Scott took a deep breath, "I don't know. It's just something I traced with my fingers."
He drew the bands in the dust on a piece of wood.
"Why is this so important to you?" Derek questioned.
I was also wondering the same thing. I mean I love tattoos, don't get me wrong. But I had a feeling that it was deeper than he was letting on.
I glanced at Stiles and then at Scott, waiting for him to answer.
"Do you know what the word 'tattoo' means?" Scott asked my brother.
"To mark something," Stiles answered smugly.
I glanced at Stiles while shaking my head in amusement.
"Well, that's in Tahitian. In Samoan, it means 'open wound'. I knew I wanted to get a tattoo when I turned 18. I always wanted one. I just decided to get it now, to make it kind of a reward," Scott explained.
"For what?" Derek and I asked.
"For not calling or texting Allison all summer. Even when I really wanted to, even when it was so hard not to sometimes. I was trying to give her the space she wants," Scott sighed, "Goin' four months later, it still hurts. It still feels like a, uh--"
"Like an open wound," Stiles completed.
"Yeah," Scott looked down at the floor.
I frowned. Scott didn't deserve to be feeling this way. I know how much he loves Allison.
Derek pulled something up from next to him, "The pain's gonna be worse than anything you've ever felt."
"Ah, that's great," Stiles mumbled.
I looked between both Scott and Stiles. This wasn't gonna be easy for either of them.
"Do it," Scott insisted.
Derek turned on the blow torch and Scott's eyes widened.
"Oh, wow. That's a--that's a lot for me. So I'm gonna take that as my cue. I'm just gonna wait outside," Stiles tried to walk away.
Derek grabbed his shirt to stop him, "Nope. You can help Mae hold him down."
Stiles and I moved towards Scott and stood next to the chair he was in.
Stiles had his hands on Scott's shoulders as I held down on Scott's arm that wasn't being torched.
Stiles took a deep breath, "Oh, my god."
Derek brought the blow torch up to Scott's arm and he began to scream and move around.
"Hold him," Derek instructed.
"We're trying!" I yelled over Scott's screams.
After a while, he blacked out. Derek finished the tattoo and two bands were clearly visible on Scott's arm.
Scott jolted awake in his chair and looked down at his arm. Once he saw the two bands he looked towards us and smiled, "It worked."
Stiles was still slightly pale from the whole ordeal but went back to normal once Scott put his shirt on.
"Well, it looks pretty damn permanent now," Stiles said to Scott as we walked away from Derek.
"Congrats Scotty," I smiled at him. I could tell by the way he was beaming that he really needed this.
"Yeah. I kind of needed something permanent. Everything that's happened to us--everything just changes so fast. Everything's so, uh...ephemeral," Scott grinned.
Stiles nodded, "Studying for the PSATs?"
"Yep," Scott nodded.
"Nice," The three of us moved to the door.
Scott opened it and stopped to look, "You painted the door. Why'd you paint the door?"
"Go home, Scott," my brother replied.
I looked at him, "Derek, what's going on?"
He didn't answer me, he just looked at me guiltily.
Scott moved his hand over the newly painted door, "And why only one side?"
Scott retracted his claws and began to scratch off the paint.
"Scott," Derek warned, walking over to us.
When Scott finished clawing at the door it revealed a symbol.
"The birds at school. The deer last night--just like the night I got trampled by the deer when I got bit by the Alpha. How many are there?" Scott realized.
Derek sighed, "A pack of 'em. An alpha pack."
"All of them? How does that even work?" Stiles questioned.
"I hear there's some kind of a leader. He's called Deucalion. We know they have Boyd and Erica-" Derek tried to explain.
"Wait. Hold on. Do you know where Erica is? Why haven't we gone and rescued them yet?" I interrupted him.
"Peter, Isaac, and I have been looking for him for the last four months," Derek informed me.
I looked at him sadly. How could he look for them and not let me help? Boyd and Erica are my friends.
"Let's say you find them. How do you deal with an Alpha pack?" Scott asked and stepped closer to my brother.
"With all the help I can get," Derek answered.
"Where is she?"
We all turned to find Isaac sitting up, "Where's the girl?"
Derek looked back at us then at Isaac again.
"What girl?" Derek and I asked.
I stepped back when the scenery around me suddenly changed.
I looked around to see that I was in the middle of the woods. I went to take a step forward but stopped once my foot hit something. I looked down to see a huge tree stump with large roots going into the ground.
"What the hell..."