Disclaimer: Teen wolf does not belong to me in any way, shape or form. I'm back yayyyy, so sorry for the delay but if you could all keep reviewing it would mean the world :) love you and hope you all like x
Apparently, this lacrosse game was a big deal.
She didn't really know why, team sports weren't really her thing, but for the entirety of Saturday that was all that was all over her facebook page, including multiple texts from people requesting her presence.
Honestly, it was the last thing on her mind right now, especially considering Derek was still in jail but she threw on the outfit Lydia picked out for her, the camel coloured checked pinafore dress with the white rounded long sleeve top and matched it with a pair of brown ankle boots, throwing on a black leather jacket to protect from the chilly night air and left her house.
Luckily her mom wasn't about as she was pulling extra hours at work so she didn't get the third degree when she left earlier than planned to head down to the station, hoping that maybe she would get a chance to speak with Derek before the game.
She pulled up and parked outside the small station, following a couple of deputies in through the front door and stepped up to the front desk where a female officer was typing on a computer, glancing up when Kayla tapped her fingers impatiently along the worktop.
"Can I help you?"
"Yeah, I'm here to see Derek Hale" she said, ignoring the woman's surprised expression, "can I do that?"
"Oh, uh... I don't think so" the woman replied, "he's being questioned"
"Well, can I post his bail. Do you take amex?"
The woman was clearly baffled, the crease deepening between her brows as she watched Kayla pull the silver card from her purse and try to hand it to her.
"He doesn't have a bail set. Like I said, he's just being questioned" she reiterated, pushing the card away with her finger, "are you family?"
"Yeah" she sighed in annoyance, carelessly shoving the card back in her purse, "I'm his cousin"
"Oh"
Kayla had heard that enough times since returning to Beacon Hills. The surprise and shock of learning of yet another Hale, one that hadn't been brutally encased in fire, was enough to make people not only untrusting but a little unsure too.
Humans, despite not knowing about the supernatural world, were inclined to feel a little wary around a Hale. No human could pinpoint why, but that feeling never really did go away. Not properly.
"The sheriff might want to talk to you" the woman said, "stay here. I'll be right back"
Kayla rolled her eyes to herself, leaning back against the front desk as she watched some deputies come and go.
She wanted to try and be better, to make a difference and help others and she thought she was doing that. She thought that by actually starting to make an effort here and help out with the supernatural stuff she could make up for some of the shit she had done. She began to make friends only for two of those people to turn around and get her cousin arrested for murder.
To say she was pissed would be a severe understatement.
"Miss Hale?"
She turned at the weathered voice, seeing a man standing there in the sheriffs uniform, his face pinched with lines and creases no doubt from years of working in law enforcement, hair peppered with strands of grey. Despite this he seemed kind, his eyes soft but inquisitive.
"Yeah, uh, sheriff..."
"Sheriff Stilinski" he confirmed, reaching out a hand for her to shake which she did so a little hesitantly, latching onto his last name, "can we have a word?"
"Sure" she nodded, following him through the door and into the bullpen, "Stilinski. Your son is Stiles"
The older man groaned, "yes, he's my son" as if admitting that was making him age even more, "you know him?"
"Unfortunately" she mumbled under her breath, stepping into his office as he shut the door behind them, "he uh... makes a lasting impression"
The sheriff scrubbed a hand down his tired face, no doubt used to getting told that and a lot worse when it came to his hyperactive, troublemaker son and waved a hand out towards the seat next to his desk.
She sat down opposite him, trying to keep the annoyed expression off her face as he shuffled about a couple of folders.
"Derek didn't do this" she declared, "I know it looks like it but he didn't"
"No one's accusing him of anything, we're just asking a couple questions" the sheriff reassured, "but it doesn't look good, you understand that don't you? Having half a dead body buried on your property is... condemning... to say the least"
"If Derek did kill someone, he'd know better than to bury her in his backyard" she replied very matter of factly, "there's much better ways to dispose of a body"
The sheriff quirked a brow at her, taken a back by her lack of tact and questionable social skills, seeing many similarities between this young girl and the man he had in lock up.
"And how would you dispose of a dead body?"
She smirked, "acid. Or a pig farm. But obviously I'd pull out the teeth first. Can't have those pesky dental records ruining the fun"
"... Right"
"You asked"
"Wish I didnt" he mumbled under his breath, opening another folder and pulling out a photo and sliding it across the desk to her.
"Do you recognise this girl?" he asked, tapping the photo a couple of times to draw her attention down to it, "we're running photo recognition and dental records but it's taking longer than anticipated"
She glanced down nervously, trying to not let any emotion waver her expression as she saw a picture of Laura's face, dead but peaceful, clean and dignified to what she was expecting.
She had two options here.
Either she lie to the sheriff's face about Laura, pretend she didn't know her which she knew would come back to bite her in the ass because - eventually - he would find out about their familial ties and she would probably end up being a suspect next.
Or... she tell the truth. She explain who she is and why Derek couldn't have done what they suspected him of.
She knew it had to be the latter.
She sighed, tearing her eyes away from Laura's still face and met the sheriff's curious soft stare, using the pad of her finger to push the picture back.
"Her name is Laura" she said, "Laura Hale. My cousin and... and Derek's sister"
Sheriff Stilinski allowed a moment to let his alarm at that simple sentence morph his features into surprise, his forehead creasing with confusion and something close to astonishment.
"This girl is Laura Hale?"
"Yeah" she mumbled, "so why on earth would Derek murder his own sister? You've got no proof, no witnesses, just half a body buried on Hale property"
The sheriff frowned, "you don't look too taken aback by this discovery?"
"I'm a Hale" she said matter of factly, trying not to act too cold and distant, "in case you weren't aware, we tend to get murdered an awful lot. At this point, it's to be expected"
"You didn't know about her murder?"
"Do I need a lawyer?" she retaliated coolly, "because this is beginning to border on suspicious questioning and I'm a minor"
The sheriff sighed heavily, "of course not. I uh... I'm sorry for your loss"
"Yeah... me too"
The sheriff looked away awkwardly, taking back the photograph of her dead cousin and placing it back inside a file which he stored away in one of his drawers.
"I'll speak to Derek again but uh... I think we can let him go for the moment. Give me some time to process his paperwork and then you can take him home. No bail money needed" he added with a small smile, standing up and stretching an arm out, indicating for her to do the same.
She accepted his offer, softening a little at his calm and sympathetic nature. He was different, this sheriff. Most other police officers she had come across in her days could be brutal, overpowered and a little dickish but not this one.
Not Sheriff Stilinski.
She stood up, meeting his tired stare and felt a little sympathy for this man. This man who, she knew, was way out of his depth. Anything supernatural that happened here he was automatically at a disadvantage to.
She wondered if, and when, Stiles would open his dad's eyes to all the things that go bump in the night.
"I'll wait in the car" she said, "can you tell Derek I'm there?"
"Sure thing"
He walked her out to the front door, guiding her with one arm as he opened the door for her but before she could walk out, he gently tapped her shoulder, drawing her attention back to him.
"Yeah sheriff?"
"My son... Stiles..."
She inhaled a sharp breath at the sound of that name, resisting the urge to clench up from the frustration she felt at the human boy that, somehow, got under her skin and on her god damn nerves.
"... He's a pain in the ass, but he means well" the sheriff continued, "maybe you can find it in your heart to forgive him for this?"
That was a big ask, one she hadn't even considered yet, not until Derek was out of there and off their radar, her protective instinct for defending her family coming out full force.
"If he plays his cards right" she smirked, "then I'll consider it"
The sheriff smiled kindly, "you remind me of your aunt. Talia" he said, "I didn't know her well, but you have the same... energy. I hope you don't mind me saying"
"... Thank you" she whispered, "but uh... I'm not that special. I'll be by my car"
She left the sheriff standing by the door, watching her as she walked away and sat waiting in her car.
She wondered to what extent the sheriff knew her deceased aunt. Talia had been big into helping build the community, maybe that was how. Maybe they had attended the same town meetings. Maybe she worked with the police on unsolved cases, using her supernatural expertise to close cases as best she knew how. Kayla wasn't sure, but it was moments like this that Kayla fully appreciated just how much of a loss her aunt was.
Not just to their family, but the supernatural and human community alike.
The Monarch of fairness and balance.
She sighed to herself, relaxing back into her seat as she watched the entrance for Derek and sometime shy of thirty minutes later did he appear looking incredibly and utterly pissed off.
He spotted her sitting there, making a beeline towards her across the parking lot as she leaned over and opened the door for him as he jumped in, slamming the door shut forcefully.
"I'm going to kill them" Derek fumed, nearly vibrating with the intense rage he was feeling, "I'm going to rip their heads off"
"Maybe not the best idea" she smirked, "because then you might actually end up back in there-" nodding to the police station, "-and for a lot longer than a day"
Derek huffed out an annoyed breath, sulking in the seat as he glared out the windscreen.
"What the hell were they thinking?"
"That you're a tad creepy" Kayla shrugged, "maybe ease off that huh?"
"You're defending them?"
"Hey" she snapped, "I got you out of there, alright? And I'm pissed at them too"
Derek took a calming breath, noticing the sun already beginning to set.
"Scott's playing in the game tonight, isn't he?"
"Yup" she rolled her eyes, "teenage idiocy. I tried to persuade him otherwise but he's stubborn"
"It's too late now" Derek murmured, "keep an eye on him. I'll be there too"
"Alright" she agreed, starting up the engine, "I'm heading there now, you may as well catch a ride with-"
She turned to look at Derek but instead just came face to face with an empty seat, the passenger side door left wide open.
"-me" she finished her sentence, rolling her eyes at her cousins disappearing act and leaned across to peer out the open door, seeing no sight of him.
Gritting her teeth, she grabbed the door handle and shouted "you could've at least shut the door. Rude"
- - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
By the time she turned up to the game the night had closed in, the sky was black and the pitch was lit up with fluorescent lights. All the players were lining the field, the bleachers were full and the shouts of screams of excited fans were already getting on her frigging nerves.
Yeah, team sports were really not her thing at all.
Damn Scott and his little human friend for making her turn up here.
She blended into the last of the crowd trying to find a seat, looking around for the two culprits that she really wanted to scream at but before she could she heard an excited shriek of her name and looked to the left to see Lydia waving her hands at her, beckoning her forward.
She ignored her, only giving her new found friend a small incline of her head to show she heard her before glancing around again, trying to pinpoint Scott and Stiles from the crowd.
"Kayla" Lydia's yell was more prominent this time, demanding her attention, "we saved you a seat"
Right. Blend in.
She resisted an eye roll, pushing her way past the mass of strangers to climb the bleachers and perch next to Lydia who gave her a complimentary look, eyeing up her outfit.
"You listened to me"
"Didn't really have a choice, did I?"
Lydia grinned in response, "I'm so glad you're realising that now"
She bit back a smile, leaning around to say hi to Allison before catching sight of the man next to her in khaki slacks and a black pea coat with the collar sticking up.
She knew straight away, without any form of introduction, that this was an Argent.
Call it a gut feeling, intuition, whatever... but just one look at the man made her feel sick.
Was he apart of the brutal murder of her family?
She knew they all denied it but she wasn't so sure.
It was one of them... it had to be.
He caught her staring and looked up, smiling widely as he looked between her and Allison.
"Are you one of Allison's friends?"
He sounded kind, nice, charming even... but she knew it was all a facade. Once he learnt her name, he wouldn't be all that nice anymore.
"Yeah, this is Kayla" Allison raised her voice above the cheering, "Kayla this is my dad"
"Chris" he extended his hand towards her, reaching across Allison and Lydia, still smiling, "pleasure to finally meet you"
Could she keep it together sitting just a few feet away from one of the most notorious hunting families of the last few centuries? Could she smile and play nice despite knowing just how many werewolves he had slaughtered in cold blood?
She supposed it was a price she had to pay for hanging out with Allison.
Allison may be innocent to all this, but her family weren't. She knew that before she ever instigated a friendship with her and this, right now, was her price for that.
Without so much as breaking facade from the innocent teenage girl she had got used to playing around authority figures, she lifted her hand and placed it in his, not meaning to grip it so firmly and shake but, despite how good of an actress she was, she couldn't shake the bitterness that seized her body at the feel of his bare hand around hers.
Hands that, underneath the weathered wrinkles and rough skin, were stained red with the blood of many innocents.
"Firm grip" Chris observed, glancing down and seeing his skin turn slightly white, a flare of suspicion swelling in his pale blue irises.
"I weightlift"
"Oh"
He slowly let go of her hand, his eyes settling on her longer than she liked as he tried for a pleasant smile.
"What did you say your last name was?"
She shrugged nonchalantly, "I didn't", before turning towards the game just as the coach blew the whistle and the players all rushed onto the field.
His eyes were still fixated on her for several seconds after, but Allison soon grabbed his attention and he focused on his daughter who began explaining the rules of lacrosse to him.
"He's kinda hot right?" Lydia giggled, leaning across to whisper in her ear, "I mean, for a dad and all"
"Are you referring to Allison's dad as a DILF?"
Lydia pursed her lips knowingly, "bet he has experience"
"Yeah" Kayla mumbled under her breath, "in tying people up and cutting them in half"
"What was that?"
"Nothing" Kayla dismissed with a sickly sweet smile, "and no, I don't think he's hot. Well... that hot anyway"
"Poor taste. Poor, poor taste" Lydia tutted, "I'm disappointed"
"You're speaking about taste when you're dating Jackson? Really?" Kayla scoffed, biting back a laugh, "ironic"
Lydia allowed herself a moment of shock at Kayla's clap back before steeling her expression, her lips upturning into an amused smirk.
"I knew there was a reason I liked you" Lydia declared, obviously pleaded with her shiny spine, "but, just FYI-" her smirk pulled wider in a grin, her beautiful green eyes dazzling with mischief, "-he's a beast in the bedroom"
"If you say so" Kayla rolled her eyes playfully as Lydia focused on the game about to start and she resolved herself to sitting here, freezing her ass off for the next hour when she could be doing something way more exciting with her free time.
She felt the hairs on the back of her neck begin to stand on end, as if someone was watching her intensely. She frowned to herself, glancing along the pitch until finally she met Stiles' gaze from a hundred feet away.
At first she thought he was staring at Lydia because, duh, wasn't he head over heels in love with her? But as soon as their stares clashed he tried for an apologetic smile, holding out an imaginary olive branch.
She supposed he found out about Derek getting out of jail and wanted to make amends.
Hm. Little late for that, she thought. A betrayal of trust like that wasn't easy to get over. Especially when it came to Hales.
She narrowed her eyes a little, watching from a distance as he gulped from fear, wisely choosing to pick his battle and drop the matter for now, lowering his gaze.
She knew she shouldn't be mad but she had really tried with them. She tried to give them advice, to be nice and helpful but they didn't listen. They turned on her cousin and in doing so, their stubbornness and eagerness for approval could result in death for any poor sucker on this field tonight.
She understood they were new to this but, by god, were they just a little infuriating.
She pushed those thoughts from her head, focusing on the game as it began and kept a close eye on Scott. He needed her complete and undivided attention in case anything happened.
Initially, it started off fine.
However as more minutes ticked by, Kayla realised the entire team weren't passing Scott the ball and it was beginning to piss him off - big time. She could tell just from his body language how agitated he was getting, even more so when Lydia made Allison help her with a sign in support of Jackson and didn't like the outcome if things kept going this way.
She excused herself from her friends, feeling Chris' suspicious gaze on her as she jumped down the bleachers and made her way towards the bench, slotting herself down next to Stiles who jumped at her sudden intrusion.
"Whoa. Uh... hey" he gasped, the glove he was biting dropped from his mouth as he stared at her in surprise, "so, um... about that thing this morning-"
"Which one?" she quirked a brow, "getting my cousin arrested for murder or staring at my nipples?"
His jaw dropped, completely taken aback by her blunt nature and stuttered over words that never came.
"Well? Which one is it?"
"Um... uh... well, now you mention it..." he grimaced, "both?"
She rolled her eyes, pointing to Scott out on the field.
"I really thought I got it through to the two of you how dangerous a new, untrained werewolf could be but maybe I wasn't being blunt enough. So here"
She lifted the bottom of her dress up over her hip, showing him the bare skin of her very upper thigh and hip covered by the thin lace band of her underwear, pointing to four delicate white scars that stood out against her bronzed skin.
"See these?" she said firmly, ignoring his gobsmacked expression as he eyed her bare skin in the most vulnerable of places, gulping loudly at the sight of her curves, "this was from my brother. A born werewolf" she emphasised, "even though he had genetics on his side, he still struggled on the full moon. I got lucky and scars heal. But not everyone is that lucky. It could've been my throat"
Stiles gulped, unable to tear his eyes away from her skin and the thin white lines torn along and across the curve of her hip, branching upwards before fading into her waist line and he almost reached out to touch them, wanting to trace his fingers along the raised skin but she made an indignant sound and pulled her dress back down, snapping him from his staring.
"Oh, uh... sorry, I just-"
"Scott could do that and a whole lot worse" she continued, pretending he didn't speak, "a stupid lacrosse game is not worth someone's life. Being a werewolf isn't always this amazing thing... it's dangerous and comes with a whole new level of responsibility. I thought I got that into your heads but clearly not"
"I'm... I'm really sorry" Stiles apologised quietly, completely disconnecting from the game of lacrosse going on in the background, "I... I just-"
"And now you've both made an enemy of Derek" she shrugged, "that wasn't smart. I know you don't trust him but he is on your side. And... at the very least..." she added, "I thought you both might've trusted me"
Stiles frowned, his eyes darting from side to side as he analysed her expression, remorse and guilt flooding his features.
"We didnt know that girl was Derek's sister" Stiles said, "why didn't you tell us?"
She shrugged, "trust goes both ways"
Stiles sighed, allowing his gaze to move back towards the field as Scott, yet again, didn't get passed the ball.
"If he keeps getting angry-"
"-then he could turn at any time" Kayla finished his sentence, "and guess what?" she asked, pointing to the bleachers where Lydia, Allison and Chris Argent were sitting, "Allison's dad is here. Y'know... the werewolf hunter"
"Oh shit"
"Yeah" she agreed blatantly, "oh shit indeed"
She chose to continue sitting next to Stiles in silence as they watched the game continue until Scott finally got the ball and dodged every player rushing towards him and managed to Score an impeccable goal.
Everyone screamed and leapt up, even Stiles, as the scoreboard changed to 'home: 4 away: 5', the entire school realising all was not lost.
"Oh great" she muttered to herself, standing up and shaking her head to herself. Was it good he controlled it thus far? Yes. But would this give him an even bigger ego trip and confidence?
Most likely.
She left Stiles to his cheering, moving away from the bench and blending in to the sidelines as she continued to watch closely, but not knowing what she was going to do it if it went tits up.
It was down to the final 39 seconds... the whistle was blown as the final stretch of the game begun but she noticed something different about Scott. Something more animalistic in his behaviour as he stopped on the field, the prescious seconds beginning to tick down.
She panicked, glancing around desperately to see if Derek was close by in case the worst happened but he must've been hiding well as she caught no sight of him and felt truly alone.
If that Argent saw... Scott was dead. No doubt about it.
Luckily, Scott seemed to pull through at the final second as he pitched his stick forward and the ball went soaring through the air and straight into the net at such a speed no one had time to process it.
The buzzer sounded just after and everyone on the field erupted into screams and shouts of glee except her.
She didn't care who won, only that no one died.
She didn't even realise she was holding her breath until she went a little dizzy, finally exhaling all that pent up energy and anxiety as she glanced around trying to find Scott but no such luck.
Oh well.
He made it through the game, she didn't care what or where he went afterwards to cool down.
"See?" Stiles appeared next to her, almost careening into the side of her body in his typical clumsy nature, "he did it"
"This time" she sighed, "congratulating him right now is like saying well done to a drunk driver for not crashing"
"Just trying to look on the positive side"
"Well don't" she said, "or actually, forget I said that. You never take my advice"
"Hey, wait wait wait" Stiles rushed out, hurrying to step in front of her before she could take off, "I'm sorry about before, I really am. We both are. We made a massive mistake and... and I'm sorry"
She folded her arms across her chest, trying to resist a smile.
"Is Stiles Stilinski actually apologising?"
He rolled his eyes but didn't hold back a smile, "yeah yeah, doesn't happen too often so lap it up"
"Damn, should've recorded it then"
He grinned at her, his eyes dancing with amusement as he assumed he was out of the clear now from her anger but soon became somber, the smile dropping from his face.
"I'm sorry about your cousin... Laura, was it?" he asked hesitantly, "do you know what happened?"
"We have some ideas" she said briefly, not wanting to dive into the details of losing yet another loved one, "and when we do... we'll deal with it our own way"
"And that way is..."
She smirked, "let's just say it doesn't involve law enforcement"
Stiles gulped, clearly a little on edge from her tone but still intrigued, for some reason not wanting to end the conversation there.
"You're kinda terrifying, has anyone ever told you that?"
"All the time"
"Yikes" Stiles laughed a little uncomfortably, "definitely not getting on your bad side again"
"Probably for the best"
He chuckled to himself, turning a little sheepish.
"So uh... friends?" he asked hesitantly, half shrugging as he quirked a brow at her.
"... Yeah... sure" she replied, "but uh... what I showed you. Y'know... the scars-"
He gulped, flushing slightly as he remembered her bare skin and tried to not fixate on that.
"-keep that between us. Please" she added, "it's not something I like to explain"
"Uh... s-sure. Sure thing" he promised, "t-totally forgotten about"
She snickered to herself, "I'm sure it's not. But hey-" she winked as she walked away, "-just another part of my body you've seen"
Yet again, for the millionth time, he was left speechless by her as she turned and walked away through the crowd, his eyes lingering on her until the crowd ate her up and she disappeared from sight.
She was prepared to head home, to settle in for the night and escape the celebrations of lacrosse but, before she could, she accidentally bumped into someone as she squeezed through the crowd.
"I'm sorry" Chris Argent apologised, reaching out to help stabilise her, "that was my fault. I forget how boisterous high school sports can get"
She immediately stiffened in his company, a surge of hatred flooding her veins at the sight of him and pulled away from his grasp.
"I'm sorry, I don't know where Allison is if that's who you're looking for" she said, her voice stern.
He frowned a little, inspecting her closely as she looked away from his blue stare, knowing if she continued staring she would want to break his nose.
"You never did tell me what your last name was" Chris mumbled, "I wonder if there's a reason for that"
She bit the inside of her cheek, resisting the urge to wipe that smug smirk off his face as she finally tilted her head up to meet his stare.
"I think you know already"
Chris' eyes gleamed, putting all the pieces together.
"Hale"
"That's the one" she sing songed, her hands coming together in a slow clap, "you're getting rusty"
"And you're getting sloppy" he retaliated, "a Hale in Beacon Hills never ends well"
"Is that a threat?"
"Depends"
"Oh right" she scoffed, "your little code. Well... you can save your bullets. I'm not a werewolf"
"Maybe not" he looked at her, "but you're still a Hale"
"And you're an Argent" she replied, "you killed my family"
He shook his head, "that wasn't us"
"Maybe not" she repeated his own words against him with a sarcastic tone, "but it doesn't change anything. Just like how you can't go against your code so, if you don't mind-" she nodded past him to the parking lot, "-I'll be leaving now. Both halves attached"
He chuckled to himself as she brushed past him, clearly having to use all his self restraint to not retaliate.
"I'd still watch your back" he warned as she walked away, "Hales don't have a very long lifespan"
A/N) ahhh so sorry it took so long, just busy and unmotivated and bleh haha but I'm back yayyyy hope you all liked and please please review it means the world thank you :)
ALSO - tumblr is fanficanatic-tw come join me for fun stuff about the series, as well as edits videos etc, it's always fun to interact with you guys :) x