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As Olive's alarm went off and she turned over to silence it, she audibly groaned at the date. August 25th, her birthday. Usually, she'd be excited for such a day. Her mother always made pumpkin pancakes and would take her to get her favorite coffee, and ever since she was 14 her father would let her drive around an empty parking lot or some backroads, as long as she vowed never to tell her mother. This time, however, she was not excited to be turning another year older. While she was going to be turning 18, which is conventionally exciting for any teen, this year would be the first birthday she'd be spending without both her parents present. So, as she explained in great length to all of her friends and family, she wanted today to be virtually nonexistent, treated like any other day.
She rolled out of bed, got ready, and ventured out into the living room, but to her surprise, the Argents and Isaac were sitting at the counter with balloons scattered across the kitchen. They were wearing cheap, dollar-store party hats and Isaac had a party horn in his mouth. Her face immediately fell as they all yelled "Happy Birthday!" in unison and adorned wide smiles.
"Oh, wow," Olive said, eyes wide as she approached the counter, which was littered with coffee from her favorite hole-in-the-wall coffee shop and a fresh breakfast spread, presumably made by Allison. "What happened to keeping it small?"
"This is small," Allison shrugged, grabbing a piece of bacon and taking a bite out of it. "Smaller than Isaac wanted."
"Hey, weren't you the one who said we should get a cake?" He looked over at her with furrowed eyebrows and Allison shook her head.
"No, that was also you," She deadpanned, taking a sip of her coffee and Olive laughed lightly.
"Okay, maybe I wanted to actually celebrate you today," Isaac turned to look at her as she rolled her eyes. "You're 18! That only happens once, you know."
"Yes, I do know that," She raised her eyebrows lightly and took the coffee from the counter. "Just please tell me you didn't get me anything."
The three of them exchanged wide-eyed glances as Olive closes her eyes, a grin appearing on her face.
"You all got me something, didn't you?" She looks back up at them and, as if rehearsed, they all pull out their gifts to her. "Isaac that box is huge."
"It's not as big as you think it is," He shook his head, lowering some of the box behind the counter so it would look smaller.
"That's- okay," She laughed lightly before shaking her head. "Let's get this over with."
One by one they presented her with their gifts, Isaac was up first and as she opened the absurdly large box she saw an equally absurdly large brown teddy bear in it with a big red bow tied around its neck.
"I didn't know what else to get you, but we can go get something else if you want, there's a receipt in there-"
"It's great, thank you," She smiles at him before putting the bear at her feet and opening Allison's gift, which is a photo book of the two of them over the years.
"Okay, yours is so much better than mine," Isaac scoffs, sort of pouting as he leans back in his chair.
"It's the thought that counts," Olive tries to appease him but Isaac just rolls his eyes.
"That's what you say when you hate the gift," Isaac deadpanned and Olive just laughed, shaking her head as she moved to Argent's gift, which was an envelope with a hundred dollars in it.
"I took the practical approach," He shrugged and Olive nodded, still laughing as she shoved it into her pocket.
"Well, this has been lovely but we do have to get to school," Olive offered, gathering the rest of her gifts to take them to her room before heading out the door. "I'll meet you in the car, Isaac."
Isaac nodded as he grabbed his backpack and followed Allison out the door. Olive struggled to get the bear into her room and she finally ended up just tossing it on her bed. As she began to exit the room, a voice stopped her.
"Hey, Olly, can you wait a second?" Argent met her in the hallway and she nodded, following him into the living room and sitting on the couch. "I've got one more thing for you."
"Trust me, the cash was enough-"
"It's not from me," He stopped her, pulling out a small gift-wrapped box from his coat pocket. She furrowed her eyebrows, taking it from him and unwrapping it to find an old jewelry store box, her heart sank as she opened it. In it, there was a golden necklace with an oval pendant. A locket. It was her mother's necklace. She took a deep breath as she opened it to reveal the pictures she'd picked with her father. "Your mother planned on giving this to you today. She even wrote down a speech and practiced it on me, it was so funny to me in the moment but I never thought she wouldn't-" He stops himself, sucking in a breath and shaking his head. He fumbled for something in his other pocket and handed it to her. A folded piece of her mother's stationery. "I have it, the speech. You should read it. You don't have to now, but I think you should."
Olive nodded, teary-eyed as she took it from him and took the necklace out of its packaging. She let a few tears fall as she held it in her hands. She didn't know how it was possible, but it still smelled like her mother.
"Can I?" Argent gestured to the necklace and Olive nodded, allowing him to clasp it behind her neck as she held her hair. Another tear falls down Olive's cheek as she turns around to look at him. He smiles at her, wiping it from her face. "You look beautiful."
"Thank you," She grins and Argent brushes her off like it's nothing as he pulls her into a hug.
"I miss her too, ya know," He says, chin resting on top of her head. "Every day, I miss her."
"Me too," Olive says, her voice muffled in his chest. "Me too."
"Okay, go to school before you get us both crying," He pulls away from the hug, sniffing slightly as he shakes his arms, brushing it off.
"Thanks again," She nods. "Not just for the compliment, but for all this. I appreciate it."
"You're welcome," He smiles at her, patting her on the shoulder. "Now go!"
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As Olive reached the car Isaac was already inside. She opened the driver's side door and reached for her seatbelt wordlessly, tears still evident in her eyes.
"He gave you the necklace, didn't he?" Isaac sighed, staring at her and she nodded. "I told him to wait, I knew you'd cry."
"Okay, asshole," She looked over at him with furrowed eyebrows, and Isaac shook his head and pulled her into a hug, placing a kiss on top of her head. "That's a little better."
"Just drive," Isaac shook his head, a smile on his face, as he pulled away and she started the car.
"You should know something," Isaac sighed from the passenger seat and Olive gave him a quick glance before looking back at the road.
"I don't like that tone," She raises an eyebrow over at him and he just sighs.
"Last night something happened," Isaac started, but hesitated mid-sentence as if he were deciding if he should really tell her.
"Isaac, I'm gonna find out either way. So it's your decision to tell me or let me be mad at you when I find out," She looks over at him and he chuckles lightly before shaking his head.
"Okay," He adjusts himself in his seat and looks over at her. "Last night someone tried to set Parrish on fire but he came back. He's supernatural, we just don't know what he is. We took him to Derek's and-"
"You took him to Derek's?" She looked over at him again and Isaac nodded slowly. "Okay continue."
"He didn't know either. But he had a gun in his apartment," Isaac shrugged, sitting back in his seat and Olive furrowed her brows, looking over at him.
"Why are you telling me this?" Olive tilted her head slightly and Isaac sighed, shifting his weight slightly, his long legs not able to find a comfortable fit in the passenger seat.
"You asked! Plus I thought you'd wanna know, since it's Derek," He shook his head, looking over at her and Olive sighed.
"Okay, cool," She nodded, turned the car off, and moved to take her seatbelt off.
"That's it?" Isaac rose an eyebrow, earning her attention. "Just 'cool,' Derek had a gun in his apartment despite hating guns for pretty much the entire time we've known him and all you have to say about it is 'cool'?"
"Were you expecting me to freak out?" She shook her head with raised eyebrows and Isaac sighed again.
"No, I was just expecting more questions," Isaac kept his gaze on her and Olive nodded, finally understanding what this was about.
"Isaac, sweet, sweet Isaac, if you are suggesting that I am worried about Derek's well-being then you are incorrect. I don't care. He wanted to shut me out, I'm out, I don't care. I do not care," Olive rambled for a bit before ending her tangent with a smack to the steering wheel. Isaac, who saw right through her, nodded his head as he grabbed his bag from his feet.
"I do not believe you," He looked over at her, mocking her tone and she narrowed her eyes at him. "You can't just be okay with Derek basically throwing you to the streets after everything you two have been through. I mean, he's your favorite person, which took a minute for me to come to grips with, but I have. Plus, I know you, possibly better than you know yourself, and I know for a fact that you miss him. And from the looks of him last night he misses you too. Just go over there. It's your birthday, whether you want to acknowledge it or not, and I bet he'd be willing to put all martyr-self righteous feelings aside just to talk to you."
Olive looked at him with an unreadable glance and Isaac thought he'd overstepped for a second. Maybe it was too soon for him to be too real with her. Was she still upset? Did he misread her letting him back in?
"I didn't know you had that in you," She sat back, a mildly impressed expression gracing her face and Isaac took a mental sigh of relief.
"I am nothing if not a voice of reason," Isaac shrugged, letting the comment go to his head. Olive rolled her eyes, reaching behind her to grab her own bag and the two entered the school.
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They made their way to their lockers and grabbed their things before heading to the locker rooms to get ready for a meeting Coach had called before school. With the bonfire tonight, it's no surprise that Coach called a meeting in an attempt to ask the members of the team to take it easy tonight, but everyone, Coach included, knew it was never going to work.
"Alright listen up!" Coach yelled, gaining the team's attention as he and Olive stood before them. "Now I know the start of the season bonfire is a big deal for you guys. I also know it gets out of hand sometimes. The alumni show up, there are other teams, and alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol."
At this, the team starts to whoop and shake the cages on the lockers, creating a fuss over the partying they were surely about to do tonight. Olive narrows her eyes at Liam, who is sulking in his seat and staring at the floor.
"Shut up!" Coach yells, earning the room's attention as he continues his tangent. "Now what I don't understand is why someone wants to get stumbling down drunk in front of a massive open fire."
Olive lightly chuckles at this, shaking her head as she recalled last year's bonfire, before anyone had been bitten, where there were at least 3 members of an opposing team trying to start a conga line to an old Bieber song. That is also the only memory she has of that night.
"I'm also resigned to not being able to stop you guys," Coach's voice brings her back into the conversation and she turns to face him, nodding her head. "I'll also remind you that not only will your team captain, McCall, be there, but so will Brown, and I can count on them to narc on any and every single one of these little bastards. Now get back to class."
"Actually, Coach," Olive turns to follow him into his office as the team disperses into the hallways behind her. "I don't think I'm gonna go to the bonfire."
"What?" He looks up from his desk and Olive nods, sitting in the seat in front of him.
"Today is not my day, I guess-"
"Isn't it your birthday?" He tilts his head at her and Olive looks slightly taken aback by the fact that he remembered it. "I only know that because it's in your file."
"Yeah, it is," She sighs, shifting in her seat. "It's also my first birthday without my parents."
"Oh," Coach rose his eyebrows and then remembered something, rummaging in his desk drawer and pulling out a small yellow envelope. "Maybe this will cheer you up?"
"What is it?" She hesitantly took it from him, fiddling with a piece of tape where the envelope should've been sealed.
"It's a card," He said as if it were obvious. "I had the team sign it last week, I had to tape it shut cause we forgot to include Greenburg, but everyone signed it. I told them I'd fail them all if they didn't."
Olive smiled as she opened the envelope to find a birthday card inside. It had a picture of a cat in a birthday hat on it. She chuckled to herself as she opened the card to find the entire team's signatures and even some little messages from some of them.
"I don't need to sign this but I'm still going to. -Stiles"
"HAPPY BIRTHDAY OLLY! -Liam" (With a heart dotting the i in his name)
"Happiest of birthdays Olly. -Isaac"
"Thanks for keeping me from strangling half of this team. That was a joke. -COACH"
Olive smiled as she put the card in her bag. She looked up to see Coach staring at her expectantly and she laughed lightly.
"This is awesome, I love it, thank you, Coach," She nodded as she grabbed her bag and stood to leave.
"You didn't ask me," Coach starts as she's about to exit the room. "But I don't think you should sulk today. Go to the bonfire, have some fun. But not too much."
"Okay," She nods before leaving the room and going to her next class. She was halfway down the hall when she heard it.
"What the hell is this?" Coach screamed angrily and she turned to make her way back to his office. She met Scott and Liam in the hallway and they peered into the room. Coach's printer was printing the same piece of paper continuously, no matter which button he pressed. Olive shared a look with Scott before ducking down, grabbing one of the papers, and gesturing for them to get out of view. She looked down at it with furrowed eyebrows.
"That's the same thing that happened to mine last night," Liam shook his head, staring down at the paper she was holding. "See the difference?"
"Derek's not on the list anymore," Olive muttered, shaking her head and Scott took it from her, examining it further.
"And I'm not worth 3 million anymore," Liam sighed nervously.
"It's 18 now," Scott said with wide eyes and Olive pinched the bridge of her nose.
"18 million dollars," Liam's voice shook slightly as he spoke and the group hung their heads.
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They dispersed eventually and before they knew it, it was time to head to the bonfire. Olive gave her outfit one last look in the mirror before entering the living room and gathering Allison and Isaac. The three of them got into the car and made their way to the bonfire. Since Allison was the only one among the three susceptible to alcohol, they thought it best just to carpool.
Once they arrive the music was already booming and there were drunk teens scattered around, dancing together and having a good time.
"I am going to find alcohol," Allison pointed to the coolers spread out around the area and Olive chuckled as she walked over to one of them. She looked around for their friends and spotted Malia dancing along to the music.
"Hey, I'm gonna go talk to Malia," Olive said loudly to Isaac, who nodded. Before she left, she stopped herself and turned back over to him. "Go talk to Liam, he had a rough night, he could use some guidance."
"From me?" Isaac questioned loudly and Olive nodded.
"He looks up to you! Just do it," Olive slapped him lightly on the arm before moving her way through the crowd to meet up with Malia, who was now joined by Scott.
"I hate to ruin your night, but we can't get drunk!" Scott shouted over the music and Malia rose her eyebrows, pointing back at Liam.
"Then tell him that! He's on his second one of those!" The three of them turned to Liam, who was pouring a wrapped bottle into a cola bottle and downing it like nothing. Olive rose an eyebrow, turning back to Scott who sighed.
"Look, Malia, we just wanna talk," Scott started, gesturing to Olive who looked over at him confused.
"I just wanna dance!" Malia shouted, moving back slightly to try to disappear into the crowd.
"We didn't tell you about Peter..."
"Because you were trying to protect me, that's what Peter said you would say," Malia finished Scott's sentence, earning surprised looks from both wolves. "And guess what he said next, that you were right! Does that surprise you?"
"A little," Olive finally contributes, and Scott shakes his head at her.
"No," Scott turns from Olive to Malia. "What she's trying to say is we are just wondering what he wants. Malia, we need to stay together. You, me, Stiles-"
"I don't wanna talk about Stiles!" She interrupts him, stumbling backward slightly as she dances to the music. "I just wanna dance and get drunk!"
She stumbles again, this time managing to almost fall on her face. Scott rushes to help her up and she starts laughing as she stands.
"She is drunk," Olive furrows her eyebrows, turning to Scott who looks back down at Malia with a similar expression.
"Yep!" Malia says enthusiastically, causing both wolves to share another look.
"But you can't be," Scott says, knitting his eyebrows together as he looks around the party.
Olive searches the crowd and finds Isaac as he catches Liam, who is stumbling away from a bench and about to fall on his face. She turns back to Scott, who is looking at her with a worried expression. Then it hits her. She suddenly feels like the room is spinning.
"Is this what drunk feels like? It doesn't feel as good as I hoped," Malia groaned, holding onto Scott for support.
"I don't think it's supposed to," Scott said to her as they begin to help Malia over to the bench where Liam was. They approached the three sitting over there just as Isaac managed to convince Liam to stay seated.
"What the hell is going on here?" He asked loudly as Scott sat Malia down next to Liam.
"I have no idea, we aren't supposed to be affected by this stuff," Scott shook his head, turning back to Isaac who shook his head.
"The kid is messed up, how much has he had to drink?" Isaac turned to Mason, who shrugged.
"Not enough to get him like this," Mason shook his head, looking worriedly back at his friend. Olive blinked slowly, looking down at the floor and taking a deep breath.
"I think something's going on, we need to get out of here-" She cut herself off just as her eyes began to go out of focus. She reached up, steadying herself on Isaac's shoulder. He didn't hesitate in wrapping an arm around her to keep her standing.
"How much has she had to drink?" Mason turned to Isaac, who narrowed his eyes.
"Nothing," He turned back to Mason and then to Scott. "We just got here."
Scott thought for a moment, leaning on the table as he began to feel it too. He looked over at Mason and Isaac as a lightbulb went off in his head.
"It's not the drinks, it's the music!" He shouted, turning to the crowd and beginning to take off. He stumbled back, catching himself before he fell over.
"What are you doing?" Mason asked, moving to steady him but Scott waved him off.
"I have to turn off the music, don't let them out of your sight," Scott said to Mason, who nodded.
"I'll go with you," Isaac shouted, helping Olive sit down on the other side of Liam. The two disappeared into the crowd as Mason handed Olive a bottle of water. She sipped it, not really able to pay attention to her surroundings. Everything sounded like she was underwater.
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Olive felt arms wrap around her and lift her, carrying her into the school. They tossed her down onto the ground next to Scott and Isaac, the thud of her landing half-waking her up from whatever trance she was in. She sat up, seeing one of the security guards talking to Scott.
"Haigh says we gotta burn you," He says smugly as he uncaps a can of gasoline, tossing it on all five of the teens.
She spits out the gas as they splashed it onto her and one of the men knelt in from of her, flicking a lighter on. She glared at him as she mustered up the strength to lean forward and blow out the flame of the lighter. The guard grunted angrily, landing a blow to the side of her face as he flicked the lighter on again. The music outside stopped as he lowered the flame to Olive, who was now laying on Liam's feet. Scott's eyes flashed red as he grabbed the guard's hand and pulled him toward him. Isaac grabbed the lighter from his hand and put out the flame, tossing it aside before socking the guy in the jaw. He stumbled backward into the lockers, too weak to fight anymore. Suddenly, two figures appear out of a classroom in front of them. They fight the guys, taking them to the ground and finishing them off before turning to the group to make sure they're okay.
"Derek?" Olive says weakly as she sits up from her spot on the floor. He runs over to her, kneeling down in front of her to make sure he was okay. "I thought you had a gun now."
"You're covered in gasoline," He raises an eyebrow and she laughs lightly.
"Oh, yeah," She nods, earning a chuckle from Derek, who stands and reaches a hand out to help her up. "Thank you."
"Happy birthday," He blurts out and Olive looks up at him, her face softens as she pulls him in for a hug. He immediately reciprocates, wrapping his arms around her and resting his chin on her head.
"I'm sorry," He whispers, low enough so that only she could hear it. She shakes her head, squeezing him before pulling away.
"I get it. It's okay," She nods, a small smile on her face. He gives her shoulder a squeeze before noticing the redness on her cheek.
"He punched you," Derek stated, causing Olive to laugh lightly.
"He did," She laughed harder, earning a smile from Derek. "Some birthday, huh?"
"Some birthday," Derek repeats, now laughing with her. "Come on, I got something for ya."
He puts his arm around her, leading her out of the school as the rest of the group followed.
"Hold on," Scot held up his hand, looking over at the rest of the group as he showed them his phone. "Stiles and Lydia found the Benefactor."
"What?" Liam looked over at him, looking down at his phone.
"It's Meredith," Scott says, looking over at them.
"The chick from Eichen House?" Olive furrowed her eyebrows, tilting her head and Scott nodded. She sighed, turning to Derek and then back to Scott.
"You know what," Scott tilts his head, turning to Derek. "We got this, why don't you guys go ahead."
"What? No, it's fine-"
"Olly, it's your birthday and you almost got set on fire," Scott interrupts Olive, who raises her eyebrows at him. "Go with Derek, we got this."
"Fine," She concedes, folding her arms. "But after this, I'm helping."
"Fine," Scott narrows his eyes at her but lets the grin on his face peak through. Derek gestures for Olive to get in the car and Scott nudges Isaac's arm, nodding for him to go with her. Isaac furrows his eyebrows, tilting his head slightly as Scott nods toward the car again. Isaac laughs lightly, understanding what Scott meant before following after them and getting in the back seat of the car.
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The three arrive at Derek's loft and make their way inside. Derek slides the door open, allowing the teens to enter inside before closing the door behind them.
"It's not much," Derek prefaces as he enters the kitchen and pulls something out of the fridge. "But I have had this for like a week."
He returns to the room with a cake in hand, topped with 18-lit birthday candles. He holds his hand over the flames so they wouldn't go out as he walked from the archway to the table. Olive smiled as he set the cake in front of her.
"Happy Birthday...Olivia?" She turned to him with furrowed eyebrows and Derek squinted his eyes.
"Yeah, I was hoping you wouldn't notice that," He looked down at her and scrunched his nose slightly. "I think the lady at the store misheard me."
Olive laughed as she shook her head, rolling her eyes slightly at the cake.
"I like it," She turns to him and he sighs in relief.
"You gonna sit there or are you gonna make a wish...Olivia," Isaac spoke up from the chair next to her and she glared at him playfully. She took a deep breath, adjusting herself in the chair, and closed her eyes before moving to blow out the candles.
"Don't get too close you still have gasoline on you," Derek put a hand on her shoulder, holding her back slightly and she laughed lightly as she blew on all the candles. Isaac cheered and Derek clapped his hands as she sat back in her chair with a smile on her face.
"You guys didn't even sing?" She joked, shaking her head as Derek started to cut the cake.
"I think that might've ruined your birthday," Derek rose an eyebrow, concentrating on the piece he was cutting out.
"It couldn't have been worse than the bonfire."
"You'd be surprised," Isaac piped up, raising an eyebrow and earning a laugh from Olive.
The group continued to banter back and forth and Olive looked at both of them before taking a bite of her cake. Isaac made a comment about it tasting stale and Derek shot back with a jab at his gift to Olive.
Maybe her birthday wasn't so terrible after all.
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