𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐕𝐄
𝘴𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘷𝘦, 𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘥𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦
" Obligations. "
The eldest teenage girl sits flat on the ground, her legs dangle off the edge of the cliff. Her head stays tilted up, eyes stuck on the beautiful night sky that stands above her. She watches the way the clouds rapidly move away from the full moon, allowing the brightness of it to shine through. Often, her eyes will reluctantly advance away from the moon, and move towards the twinkling stars; trying to keep a straight face up and not let her thoughts take the best of her. Finally allowing herself to get comfortable, she leans back, planting her plans face down onto the ground. Despite paying attention to the sky above her, her fingers gently play with the grass that's beneath them, finding comfort in the feeling of it, knowing no one is paying attention to her. The thick, strong wind, somehow, delicately brushes through her hair and feet, making her feel relief; as the strong gust of wind came and for a moment, took away anything and everything that was on her mind.
"Polly?" A squeaky, raspy voice comes from her right, behind her
Knowing who's speaking to her, she listens to Scott's words and ignores the poor teenager.
"Polly?" He tries again.
Unlike last time, Polly completely ignores him. She turns her head away from him, allowing her eyes to look to their left, now watching the trees. She admires the way the wind is much more graceful while moving her hair, when it's quite obvious it was harsh and rude to the trees that have been there for as long as she's been alive.
"P.Y." The youngest werewolf whines, calling Polly again, this time using her initials, something she allows only him to say. "Come on, P, we're friends! Friends help each other, and in this case I need help, so you're supposed to help me. I know you're strong, I've seen you take down Scott before, just so you know it was very impressive, which I love by the way; girl power rocks. So why don't you come over here and rip these chains off me? What I did was a mistake, and it will never ever happen again, I promise... What do you say, P?"
A small chuckle comes from Polly left, still behind her. "Liam, leave her alone!" Scott says to his beta. "She's not here for you, you know that." He adds.
"I'm fine, just let me go." Liam says to both Scott and Stiles.
The two best friends share a look before nodding to an agreement. Stiles pushes himself up and begins to put away all his belongings, while Scott hops off the front of Stiles' jeep and goes to get the keys. The two boys take their time in doing so, knowing a few extra minutes won't hurt Liam. Once everything is in their respectful places, the two turn away from the jeep and begin to walk towards Liam; in the process, Scott sends Polly a small smile as he walks past her, already knowing he won't get one back, instead he receives a small nod, her way of acknowledging her gesture.
"It's not that we don't trust you." Scott starts by speaking to Liam, while reaching into his pocket to grab the key.
"It's that I don't trust you." Stiles raises his hand, letting the kid know he's being honest.
"But after that last full moon..."
"It was one slip up." Liam states with an exaggerated sigh, not allowing Scott to finish his words.
"Slip up? A dozen calls to the Sheriff's Department about a "monstrous dog-boy running around the streets of Beacon Hills naked." That's a slip up?"
For a quick moment, Scott looks away from the chains he's in locking and looks back up at Liam. "Why were you naked?" He furrows his eyebrows in confusion.
In an instant, Liam turns away from the two boys in front of him and looks down towards the ground, right where Polly's sitting. He doesn't speak for a moment, not wanting to have this conversation while Polly is sitting only a few feet away from them. "It was really hot out that night, okay." When he notices that Polly doesn't care about what they're saying and she's still focusing on the wind he turns back to the two. "Let me go." He almost pleads.
"Are you sure you're okay?" Scott softly speaks.
He nods, "It won't happen again."
"You're in complete and total control?"
Liam hesitantly nods, "Yeah. Complete and total." He lies.
With that, Scott gives Liam a proud nod and smile. He leans back down and finishes unlocking the three locks, while Stiles begins to unwrap the beta from the tree. The two older boys circle the tree multiple times, giving Liam room to move and help with the chains. Once Liams free from the tree, Stiles drops all the chains in his duffle bag. He leads the young boy away from Scott and Polly, forcing him to walk with him back to his jeep, knowing the two will only take a few minutes to speak, being Polly doesn't enjoy speaking often.
With his eyes looking down at his feet, Scott walks towards Polly who's still seated on the ground, looking off into the distance. For a moment he stands behind her, thinking, without a second thought Scott walks closer to her, and takes a seat next to her. Following in her steps, he lets his feet dangle off the edge of the cliff, eyes staring at the stars. Neither Scott nor Polly say a word, they just sit in silence; both knowing Polly knows he's right next to her.
Without turning to look at the blonde girl, "Are you okay?" He gingerly asks her.
She deeply inhales but doesn't give him an answer.
"You've been quieter than usual, what are you thinking about?"
She quietly sighs, keeping her eyes ahead of her, looking at all the bright lights from their town. "I'd rather not talk about my feelings while Liam's eavesdropping."
"He doesn't eavesdrop on us." Scott says, his statement coming off more of a question.
"He does, and he's doing it right now. Knowing him, he's telling Stiles everything we're saying."
With furrowed eyebrows, Scott hesitantly turns around to face the two boys. As soon as his eyes make it to the jeep both Stiles and Liam turn away from where they were looking, and act as if they weren't eavesdropping on the two but instead having a conversation about God knows what.
"I didn't know he eavesdropped on people." Scott says, turning back towards Polly, this time actually facing her.
"He doesn't...only to me." Polly pauses for a moment. Reluctantly, she turns to face Scott, making direct eye contact with him. "I don't think he trusts me completely... I think he's scared of me sometimes. It's understandable, though, I get it."
"I think you're wrong about that. He trusts you more than he trusts me. Actually, for a while I thought he had a crush on you, but I came to a realization that he just looks up to you. I think, in a way, he's jealous of you, 'cause you're so cool."
Instead of getting a smile or a nod of acknowledgment, Polly asks, "Don't you have that senior thing tonight?"
Scott nods, "Yeah." He firmly places his hands on the ground and pushes himself up, wiping any grass off his legs in the process. "Come on." He holds his hand out for her to take.
Instead, she stays seated on the ground. "I think I'll stay here for a little while."
"Are you sure? It's going to rain soon."
She nods, "It's a 35 minute walk to home. If it's necessary you phone me, though, I can't guarantee I'll answer, but I'll get the idea of what you need."
"Home?" Scott quietly murmurs. That being the first time she's referred to the house as hers too.
She clears her throat. "Your house." In an instant she tries to cover her words, regretting what she said. "It's a 35 minute walk to your house."
"Poll, it's your house too." He calmly says. "You know that, right?"
Before either Scott or Polly can say anymore, "Yo, Scotty boy!" They hear Stiles yell from behind them, his head stuck outside his rolled down window. "We gotta go, we still have to pick up Malia, and Lydia wants us to get there early!"
Scott glances towards Stiles for a quick moment, then he turns back to Polly. When he receives a nod from the blonde girl he hesitantly walks away, leaving her to stay sitting, looking off into the distance, alone. When Scott makes it back to the jeep he and Stiles exchange only a few words, and without much convincing, Stiles slams his car door shut, and turns on his car engine. His tires squeal as the jeep pulls into a u-turn, exiting the forest, leaving Polly to sit at the top of the cliff alone.
Since the headlights of Stiles' jeep are no longer there to light up the woods, Polly now sits in the dark, the moonlight and stars being the only thing to shine down on her. She sits completely still, in complete silence for as long as she feels like doing so - fifteen minutes to be exact - only listening to the wind that howls through the air. In those minutes she allows her mind to wander. Wander to the things that've been on her mind for the 30 days she's been awake for. The people she hasn't seen in years. She stares blankly at the horizon, watching the lights get turned on and off in the distance, wondering what everyone was planning on doing for the night. What students are getting ready for bed 'cause it's the first day of school tomorrow. Which parents are struggling to put their youngest child to sleep. Which teenagers plan on sneaking out to hang out with their friends. Which elder people will go to sleep and not wake up again.
Once the smell of wind begins to slowly fade closer to the scent of rain Polly pushes herself off the ground, she quickly wipes her hands on her pants, removing any excess dirt or grass off of them. Knowing it's getting late and she'll have to be home soon, as well as Melissa will be getting off work at any minute, she forces herself to begin walking through the woods back towards their house.
She often for herself in these quiet situations, and she thoroughly enjoyed them. It was well known that she'd much rather be stuck in silence than be stuck in a noisy gathering. Unlike most people, Polly was able to find comfort in silence, it never made her feel anxious or uneasy; at times it made her think of her past, but nothing more than that. Maybe the reasoning behind it is because she was silenced for most of her life, it was something she grew up with; oftentimes she'd only hear noises for no more than an hour a day. At first she hated everything about it, her family was noisy and obnoxious at times, but she adored hearing what people had to say. After a while, silence was something she had to force herself to be comfortable with, if she hadn't then she would've never made it out mentally sane.
Polly spends most of the walk home observing her surroundings, taking in every beautiful thing about earth. After allowing herself to get stuck in her thoughts for many long minutes she forces herself out; focusing on the now instead of the past. By the time she fully clears her mind, she finally realizes how long she's actually been walking for. There's no more leaves and twigs snapping under her shoes as she takes every step, her heeled boots splat as she walks through large puddles, formed by the drizzle that's currently falling and the rain that's been falling all day. The streets are lit up from the large street lamps, allowing the drivers and walkers to see where they're heading to.
The walk was faster than Polly had originally expected it to be. She keeps her arms folded in front of her chest as she walks up their driveway, the rain now pouring down, wetting her whole body. Without a rush, staying at her same pace, she walks up onto their porch, and makes her way to one of the entrances of the house. Noticing Melissa's car isn't parked outside, she reaches into her pocket and pulls out her keys, knowing the door will be locked if she hasn't gotten there before Polly did. As she fumbles with her keys, she reaches her hand forward and rests it on the door knob, unintentionally, she twists the handle, checking to see if she and Scott locked it before they left. To her surprise it was open.
Unlocked.
With a small nudge, the door fully opens, revealing the empty dining room and kitchen. Before stepping foot into the house, she places her keys back into her pocket, and checks behind her again. No one's car sits on the driveway or on the street, not even Scotts bike can be seen.
Hesitantly, she steps into the house, staying close to the door, wanting to back away from inside the house, she looks around for a moment; trying to find anything out of place. Out of the ordinary. The cool wind continues to flow through her hair, now entering the house. Papers that were once being held by magnets, connected to the fridge, now slide across the wooden floor, spreading throughout the kitchen. Slowly, she walks further into their house, this time the wind forces the door to slam shut behind her, causing her to whip her head around. Forcing her paranoia to the side, Polly walks deeper into the kitchen, around the kitchen island; planning to pick up everything that's fallen. She crouches down to her knees, and begins to gather everything into one large pile. Before she can pick all the papers off the ground and place it on the kitchen island she pauses.
When she hears something drop and shatter all along the floor from her left, she comes to a complete halt, no longer moving a muscle. For a moment, her eyes stay stuck on the pile of papers below her, once again spread out across the ground from her dropping them. Instantly, her eyes land on a note that Scott wrote for his mom, informing her where he'll be. Without moving, her eyes scan over the paper, right away her eyes notice the three punctures in the paper, spread out the same length fingers would be when holding the paper.
Polly's body stills when she feels talon like claws gently rest on her shoulder, and a repulsive stench of warm breath touching her neck; telling her someone is hovering behind her. "Scott McCall, the true alpha...is he at the school?" A man's voice whispers into her ear.
When she doesn't answer the man's question he repeats himself, only this time he says his words slower than he did the first time. But when Polly, once again, refuses to answer his question the man begins to seep his talons into her shoulder, making her let out a quiet groan. In a quick flash, his hand releases from her shoulder and snakes around her neck, he forces her to turn towards him, making her stumble on her own feet. Without giving the girl a moment to look at who's touching her, using all his strength, he tightly grips her neck and forces her off the ground, making it so she has to look up at him. He repeats his question, already knowing the answer, just needing reassurance, so he doesn't go out of his way just to find out Scotts not there.
For a third time, Polly doesn't give in. She stays quiet. Instead of telling him what he wants to know, she stands completely still, not moving a muscle, knowing if she does he'll tighten his grip. She takes this short moment to take a look at the man who's in front of her; his black hair is drenched in water, as hers is too, he has black blood steaming down his face, black eyes with not even a soul behind them, and very noticeable fangs, smaller than Scotts, that he's purposely showing off, trying to frighten her. But because she didn't give him an answer or show fear, his fingers tighten around her throat. Within a second, he forces Polly off her feet, her back now against the fridge, feet nowhere near the ground. She tries her best to inhale but it's no use, everytime she tries, she gets stuck, leaving her with no air.
As an instinct, Polly reaches her hands up, and instead of trying to get him to let go of her, she reaches her hands up towards his face. Without so much of a second thought, she forces her fingers into his eyes causing him to let out a scream of pain. As a reaction to her act of violence, he pulls her away from the fridge and throws her across the room, into the living room, making distance between the two. While the werewolf of some sort tries to recover from the girl attempting to gouge out his eyeballs, Polly lets out a loud humph as her back gets slammed into the couch, causing the seating area to get flipped over, she tumbling with it.
As she tumbles, she tries her best to stop herself from landing face doing so by holding her hands out, but instead of her hands stopping herself they just cause her to tumble once more. As soon as her back harshly slams into the hardwood floor, Polly forces herself to roll over onto her stomach. In a flash, she crawls towards the flipped couch and reaches her hand under it, trying to find something she had hidden a long time ago. As soon as she gets her hand on the small dagger she hid she forces herself up; only to find she's now alone in the house. The man who once attacked her is nowhere to be seen. She didn't hear the door open let alone shut but the feeling of being alone is very present.
"Scott." She whispers to herself, knowing the man is heading to the school to find him.
Without reluctance and without much of a struggle, the blonde girl pushes herself off the hardwood floor, and rushes out of the house, leaving the same way she came in, not locking the door behind her, knife still in hand. Despite the rain powerfully pouring down, she continues, her heeled shoes splatter on the concrete sidewalk, the water splashing up onto her legs, making them even more wet than they already are. Not caring that she's already drenched in water, she keeps her eyes moving, making sure she's going in the correct direction, needing f to get to the school as fast as she can. Before the man can.
The coldness of the wind mixes with the coldness of the rain, causing chills to run through her body, but it doesn't stop her. Nothing can get in her way or stop her from making it to Scott. Nothing can stop her from warning him. Nothing can stop her from saving him from the man who's planning on hurting Scott. No matter what cars drive past her or what few people walk past her with umbrellas, she continues.
Thankfully the way from Scott's house to the high school isn't far, no more than a five minute drive. And thankfully Polly has trained relentlessly for over 10 years, meaning she can easily sprint roughly 3 miles in under twenty five minutes. And that's what she did. Even if she knew how to properly work a phone she knew she likely wouldn't be able to call Scott because of the storm, so instead she put all her focus onto making it to him
before the man can.
When she finally does make it to the school she stops for a minute, a minute that she doesn't have time to waste, she thinks for a moment, having no clue where Scott could be. The man hid in the house, waiting for someone to come home meaning he wouldn't hurt Scott inside the school, not where there's a bunch of people around; he needs to keep being supernatural a secret, meaning the man's likely near the back half of the school; the same place where Lydia told them all to meet up before knowing about the storm. Knowing she doesn't have much time to stop and think she continues, she quickly finds her way towards the back of the school. She dodges around students, and jumps down flights of stairs, doing everything in her power to quickly figure out where Scott is when she's only stepped foot in the school once.
Unfortunately, by the time Polly does manage to find her way to Scott she sees that she's too late. The man who had hurt her was already there, standing in the pouring rain. The first thing that catches her eye is Scott, he's hurt. The teenage boy lays flat on his stomach, the rain hitting his back causing him to get more wet than he already is. To the left of Scott lies Kira, her sword only feet away from her, Polly just watched her get slapped to the ground. The man covered in blood stands in the middle of the couple for a moment before turning his way towards Scott.
Knowing what she has to do, Polly rushes into the fight, coming up from behind the man, neither of the three noticing her. She raises her foot into the air and kicks the man in his back, making him stumble in his step. He lets out an exaggerated huff as he recognizes the scent of who kicked him, the same scent kd the girl who tried to take his eyes. Barely giving the man enough time to turn around to look at her, Polly, who still has the knife in her hand, lunges towards him, slamming the knife into hip, the closest body part of his. She rips the knife out and throws a punch, the knife still in her hands, ready to stab him again. But instead of her fist hitting him in the face, he grips onto her wrist, nearly breaking it, forcing the knife out of her hands, clinking onto the ground, now grabbing both Scotts and Kira's attention again.
"Polly?" Scott asks, not expecting to see her at the school when she specifically told him she was planning on going home and sleeping.
"Scott, go!" She yells at him while keeping the unknown man occupied.
While his eyes are on her, without needing to move much, the man rips the girl's arm away from her body, forcing her shoulder out or her socket; her back now facing towards him. He releases her arm for a moment, just enough time to allow Polly to turn around and kick her foot up into the air, aiming for his chest, forcing him to stumble back again. Despite one of her arms not of use to her, she continues. While Scott begins to push himself up, Polly throws another kick at the man, this time instead of landing the kick he catches her foot. With a tight grip around her ankle, he whips her away from him, throwing her across the concrete floor, causing her face to slam against the wall; the taste of blood fills her mouth as blood also begins to trickle down her forehead.
While all three are down on the ground, out of his way, the man turns back to Scott. "True Alpha? Where's your power, Scott?" As soon as the words leave his mouth Scott pushes himself up so she's in a fighting position, looking up at him.
"Who are you?" He asks.
With a smirk on his face, "A devoted fan." He pauses. "Show me the man who took down Deucalion and broke the Argents. I came for that Alpha. Come on!"
Scott lets out a loud growl. He slides across the floor and slashes the man's legs with his claws, making him nearly fall. He pushes himself off the ground and slaves his claws into his chest and almost immediately kicks him in the face making the man fall back. It only gets him angry. Once again, Scott punches him and kicks him, but like the man did with Polly, he catches Scotts leg. With his leg caught between the man's arm and waist, he reaches his free hand forward and grips onto Scott's throat. He takes only a few steps, Scott hoping to keep up, and slams Scott against a wall, forcing his feet off the ground.
Kira, who just barely manages to push herself up, rushes towards the two creatures. She lets out a loud scream as she swings her sword forward, only to have the man block it. She tries twice more but each time he blocks. As she goes for a third time he grabs onto her wrist, throws her arm away from him, and smacks her in her face, making her tumble to the ground.
Just as Kira gets sent to the ground the man turns around and faces Polly, knowing the blonde girl is the next one to come at him. Still, with her dislocated shoulder, she stands closer to Scott than to the actual man. Swiftly, the girl turns away from the man, and with a running start she runs towards the concrete wall. Using it as a boost, she kicks herself into the air, now being taller than he is. In an instant, she grips onto the man's hair and places her knees around his neck. He reaches his hands up to get her off of him but instead she manages to grab onto his hand and flip them both to the ground, landing on top of him. She lets out a loud moan when her shoulder slams into his chest then the floor, making her curly up into a ball for a moment. Knowing the man's not done, she forces herself up onto her knees, but he's faster, already on his feet. Once she gets to her knees she looks up at him, but as soon as she doesn't she sees a knee coming straight for her face, without enough time to shop it, the man slams his knee into her face, causing her to fall flat on her stomach as blood oozes out of her nose.
Once again the unknown man turns away from the two girls, snarling at Scott. "And I didn't come just to claim your status." He raises his clawed hand, showing a bright shade of glowing blue.
Just before the man can take a step closer to Scott, a boy jumps down from nowhere, grabbing their attention. The second unknown werewolf lets out a loud growl as he begins to run towards the two other werewolves. With a sinister smirk on his face, ready to fight another person, he watches the other boy come running at him; barely getting enough time to move, the second boy uses the wall as a boost and slams his claws into his face.
The bloody man tries to scratch the boy, but he grabs onto his wrist and slices his chest. While he's hunched over the boy takes advantage of that, he scratches his leg and elbows him in the face. Giving Scott time to stand up, the man with blue claws grabs onto the unknown boy's arm and continuously knees and punches him, tossing him to the ground; directly next to Polly and Kira.
Finally, with everyone down the man once again turns towards Scott. Getting impatient, he throws his fist forward, missing Scott, allowing the alpha to slide across the wet floor, escaping his claws. Each throw the man sends to Scott, he somehow manages to dodge. Catching him off guard, the man grabs onto Scott's neck, forces his feet off the ground, and slams his glowing claws into his chest.
Small gasps and groans escape from Scott's lips as the other man gently places him onto the ground, watching his bright red eyes fade away back into his natural brown eyes.
While Kira, the unknown werewolf, and Polly struggle to push themselves off the ground, wanting to help Scott but knowing they can't, multiple footsteps come from their right, causing them to turn that way. Liam, who's accompanied by Malia and Stiles, lets out a loud snarl, letting Scott know more help has arrived. The rest, minus one person, of his pack is there.
With the help of Kira, the unknown boy and Polly manage to push themselves off the ground, ready in a fighting position, some obviously stronger than others. The hope in the two girls' eyes slowly fade away as Scott's eyes roll into the back of his head and his gasps slowly stop, his body nearly limp.
But with a change of events, Scott reaches his hand up and grips onto the man's wrist, his eyes once again glowing their bright red shade, causing the man to tilt his head in disbelief. With the man's claws still lodged into his chest, he pushes himself off the ground. Using his other hand, he tightly grips onto the man's wrist, and with a single twist he snaps the man's arm, causing him to let out a loud growl. He rips the claws out from his chest and tosses them to the side, keeping his eyes at the hurt man ahead of him.
"I don't know who you are or what you thought you were going to do, but I'll give you a choice. You can stay and I'll break something else. Or you can run." Scott calmly states, his jaw clenched.
"I'd run." Stiles calls out.
With a groan of pain, the man looks around at each and every one of the teenagers, staying on the four who he's fought longer than the other three. Without using his hands, he gets off his knees, arm held against his chest, and runs away from them all, leaving the same way Polly came. Once the man is completely out of their sight, the group of friends carefully walk towards one another, checking up on the two girls who had to fight a werewolf.
"Are you okay?" Malia rushes towards Polly, instantly noticing the limp in her leg, and her oddly placed arm. She loops her arm around Polly's waist, helping her stand properly, and walk properly.
"I think there's something wrong with your shoulder." Stiles states, pointing out the obvious.
"Oh," She calmly sighs. "I didn't notice." She states while rolling her eyes.
He points at her, "And your face." He glances away, scratching his cheek.
For a short moment, Polly turns away from all her friends, not wanting to watch them all stare at her. With her back turned towards them all, and zero hesitation whatsoever, she roughly grips onto her arm and with one second, she shoves her shoulder back into his socket, making a loud crack echo through her ears, telling her she did it correctly, just how she was taught.
After a single second of realization, they all turn their attention towards the mystery boy. The werewolf who willingly came to help a group of people whom he didn't properly know. The boy stands no more than five meters away from the pack, all of them keeping distance, not properly knowing who he is. He stares at them all for a moment before looking down at the ground. His dirty blonde hair, that was once wet, is now beginning to dry, revealing a more brown tint in his hair. After staring at the ground for a moment, he looks back up, his blue eyes staying directly on Scott
With a smile on his face he walks closer to them. "You don't remember me, do you? I guess I look a little different since the fourth grade."
Realization rushes through Scott's eyes. "Theo?" He asks despite already knowing the answer, just wanting more confirmation.
His nod is followed by a smile.
"You know him?" Malia turns to Scott.
"They used to." Theo answers the question for him. "Trust me, I never thought I'd see you guys again. A couple months ago, so heafc it an Alpha in Beacon Hills. When I found out his name was Scott McCall, just couldn't believe it. Not just an Alpha, but a True Alpha."
Hesitantly, "What do you want?" Scott asks.
"I came back to Beacon Hills. Back home with my family. Because I want to be a part of your pack."
No one says anything to Theo or each other, instead they all just stare blankly at him for a moment, each person wondering different things about the 'new' teenage boy. After a minute Scott clears his throat, grabbing everyone's attention. He turns his gaze away from Theo and towards his five friends, then he turns his gaze just to Polly. "Poll, do me a favor and take Liam back to the hospital, his stepdad should be either finishing his surgery or done with it..." He pauses. "And while you're there you should go find my mom, she can get your arm checked out, make sure it's okay."
Despite wanting to say no to Scott, and wanting to stay until they make sure Theo is good and trustworthy, she nods. She nods her head, telling him a simple "Okay", not specifying which part she's agreeing on.
—
Darkness swallows the whole inside of the house, as well as outside. The inside is lit up by a single lamp, standing proudly next to Polly. It is dark enough so you can't see the room next to you nor can you see what creatures are lurking in the corners of the house, but just bright enough so you can see things in front of you as well as things only feet away from you. Polly sits comfortably on their living room couch - the piece of furniture that she had to pick up and put back in its place when she came home - her feet tightly tucked underneath her legs, letting her sit with her body under the soft blanket. Her eyes stay focused on her lap, sliding back and forth across a page of a book that Scott lended to her after finding out she enjoys reading. Pride and Prejudice. Despite the fact that Polly's read the book at least 94 times, she continues to get shocked when Bingley abruptly leaves Netherfield, as well as happy when both the Bennett sisters finally get their "Happily Ever Afters". She sits in complete comfortable silence, not caring that there is neither music nor a television making noise. She sits by herself knowing her friends are with each other, off doing their senior tradition, something she gives no care for. She is okay with sitting all by herself, reading a book; if her friends need her, they all know where to find her.
By the time 1:30AM rolls around Polly's soothing silence gets gently disturbed. Across the room, from the back door, she hears keys jiggle in the door, causing her head to perk up. She turns her attention room away from her book and places it onto the door, not knowing if it's Scott, Melissa, or one of their friends who has a key to the house. The doorknob slowly twists open, and Scott quietly walks into the house, trying to not make any noise just in case Polly's sleeping. But once he turns around, heading towards the stairs, he stops in his place as he sees Polly on the couch.
Tilting his head, "What are you doing up?" Scott quietly asks, unaware that his mom is still not home from work.
"I wanted to make sure you got home okay." Polly softly speaks, almost regretting her choice of doing so.
Scott gives Polly a slow nod, acknowledging her worry for him. After a moment, he walks further into the house, heading towards the living room. He places his keys and his helmet down onto the kitchen island, freeing his hands so he can take off his jacket that's still wet from the pouring rain. Instead of walking further into the living room he stays in the kitchen, leaning against the counter he placed his items on.
When Scott doesn't say anything Polly hesitantly speaks up, "Well, I guess I'll go upstairs... now that you're here."
Reluctantly, Polly turns away from Scott and moves her gaze down towards the book she's reading. She picks her bookmark off her lap, and sets it down the page she didn't finish, then she shuts the book, revealing the cover to both she and Scott. Before Polly can remove the blanket off her body and get up,
"Polly," Scott clears his throat, making her stop in her place. "Do you feel obligated to protect me?" He bluntly asks.
"Obligated?"
"Because I helped you in July, do you feel like you need to repay me in some way? Like you're in debt to me?"
Not giving Scott an answer, Polly just stares at the boy blankly. Unable to form words. Unable to give him a response.
Just based on Polly's expression to his question, Scott is able to form her answer for himself. With a small sigh of disappointment, he pushes himself off of his kitchen counter and walks into the living room where Polly's still seated. Instead of sitting directly next to her, on the same couch, he takes a seat across from her in a large cushioned chair, wanting to look her in the eye.
He leans back in the chair. "After today... Tonight, I've realized how far you're willing to go just for the sake of helping me. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for your help, I truly am, but if I'm being completely honest I feel like you're willing to go much further, and that's something I don't want you to do. I don't want you to risk your life for mine. I don't want you to feel like you have to risk your life for mine. Because you don't."
For a whole entire minute Polly stares into Scotts eyes, knowing she had to give him an answer just not knowing how to. Scott doesn't say anything, instead he waits. He waits as long as Polly needs him to, willing to wait hours just to hear what she has to say. Finally she says, "I haven't had a real friend since I was 15, Scott. After who knows how many years, I feel like I've finally found friends. I don't want to go into detail, but there was this boy I was best friends with, and that boy, I... I couldn't save him. So sure you can say I feel obligated but in reality I just..." She stops herself, unable to speak the words she wants to.
Hearing her words, Scott leans forward in his chair, leaning against his knees, so he's closer to Polly. "In a way you see him in me?" He finishes her sentence, questioning his own words.
Ashamed, she looks down to her lap. "Yes, I do." She whispers.
Once again, the house becomes silent. Neither Scott nor Polly say a word, for multiple minutes - five to be exact. The blonde girl sits, ashamed, looking down towards her lap, avoiding eye contact with Scott, not having the courage to see his reaction. The brunette boy sits, sympathy filling his face, looking straight at Polly, he chooses to keep his pity to himself, knowing she'll hit him if she sees it. Neither of the two wanted to be the one to break the silence, mainly because neither knew how to break the silence.
"Because I said that, does it change the way you see me?" Polly speaks up, finally looking up at Scott.
"I see you as my sister, Polly, not someone who has to be perfect. No matter what you do or what you say, I'll always forgive you." Scott says, gently placing his hand onto her knee.
Polly appreciatively nods at him, Scott echos her gesture.
Scott places his hands down onto the arm rests of his seat, and pushes himself up. He turns to Polly and holds his hand out to her, signaling for her to take it so they both can stand. She hesitantly pulls the blanket off her legs and grabs onto his hand, allowing Scott to help her off the couch. Polly is the first to start walking towards the stairs, leaving Scott to stand alone and watch her for a moment.
"Polly." Scott calls out, making her stop and turn to him. While walking towards her, he reaches into his pocket and pulls out one of her daggers. "You dropped this during the fight. You probably shouldn't bring a knife tomorrow." He places the object into her hand. "It's your first day of school tomorrow, I don't want you to get expelled because someone sees it."
Polly gives Scott a tiny nod as he opens her hand and places the handle of her dagger into her grip, letting her hold it now. Neither of the two day another word, instead they exchange smiles, and head up the stairs together. Despite it being the first day of school tomorrow, both deep down know only one out of them both will be getting a good night's rest while the other will not, instead the other will read a book or plainly stare up at their ceiling, noticing all the cracks and bumps. When they make it to the top of the steps they make a right. Scott stops in front of his door, while Polly continues down the hall where her room is located. They don't open the doors right away, instead they stand looking at their doors for a moment, then, reluctantly, Polly opens her door
"Goodnight, Poll." Scott calls out from down the hall as watches her enter her bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind herself.