"Once again, he's probably just at home." I said. "Have you even tried calling him?"
"We don't have his number." Stiles said.
I pulled out my phone, dialed his number, and handed the phone to Scott.
"You gave him your number?" Scott asked.
"No, he gave me his number." I explained, smirking.
Scott rolled his eyes.
"Seems like everybody's all over you, Emily." He said.
Before I could respond, Scott gave me back my phone.
"He's not answering." He said.
"Can you call Derek?" Stiles asked.
"Who's Derek?" I asked.
"He's the alpha of our pack." Scott replied.
"Oh, you have a pack." I said, giggling. "That's cute. I feel like I'm in a Twilight movie."
Scott just glared at me.
After a moment, he asked Stiles to talk to him. They whispered something to each other and glanced toward me.
When their conversation was over, they walked back towards me.
"Stiles is taking you home while I go look for Jackson." Scott announced.
"You can't go out looking for him alone!" I said.
"I have some friends. You and Stiles will stay at home, while I go out." Scott said. "Understood?"
"Fine, whatever. Try not to get killed." I said.
When we got to the house, I overheard Melissa talking to someone on the phone. We stood in the living room, while she spoke.
"Yes, Laura, she's doing fine." She said. "She's actually made quite a few friends. I think she's adjusting well... Is she home? I'm not sure... Yeah, hold on, I'll check."
"Do you know who she's talking to?" Stiles asked.
Before I could respond, Melissa walked out of her room.
"Oh what do you know, she's right here." She said into the phone. "It's your mom. She wants to talk to you."
"Um, alright." I said, taking the phone from her.
I took a deep breath.
"Hey, mom." I said.
"Hi, honey. Your Aunt Melissa has been telling me you've been adjusting well. How are you?"
My mom never talked to me like this. Since when does she ask how I am?
"I'm good. Things were are... interesting, but I guess I'll get used to it. It's a lot different."
"Oh, that's wonderful. Now, I hear you've made some friends."
"Yes, I did, actually. Why do you ask?"
"Well, I think it's only polite if you and your friends come over for dinner on Friday evening. Your father and I actually leave that night for his business trip. Meaning, you and your friends can have the house to yourselves for the weekend." She said.
"You- you want me to come home?" I asked, shocked.
"Well, it's only for the weekend." She said. "You don't have to come. It's your choice."
"Well, in that case, I'll check with my friends."
"Alright. Goodbye, dear, I hope to see you on Friday."
"Bye mom." I said, hanging up.
That was strange. I feel like she has some motive behind this or something. It was so out of character for her to do this.
"So what was that all about?" Stiles asked.
"Well, how do you feel about dinner at my parent's on Friday?"
"Are you asking me on a date?" He asked. "If so, I am flattered."
I laughed.
"A date? With my parents?"
"Oh, right." He said, embarassed.
"So do you wanna come or not?" I asked.
"Yeah, um, I mean of course." He said. "Who else is coming?"
"Well I was thinking of inviting Scott, Isaac, and Allison."
"You hang out with Allison?"
"Well yeah, she thought it would be cool to get to know me. You know, being Scott's cousin and all. So we hung out at the mall over the weekend." I said. "But her dad acted weird when I told him I was Scott's cousin. Do they have problems or something?"
He sat down on the couch.
"It's.. a long story."
"I've got time."
"Well, for starters, her dad is a werewolf hunter." He said.
I let out a laugh.
"A werewolf hunter, right." I said.
He gave me a serious look.
"No, for real. The dude actually hunts werewolves." He said.
"Wait... is that why Allison and Scott broke up?"
"Partially."
"Huh."
"So where's your parent's house?"
"Um, it's a few hours away."
I was uncomfortable about telling people about where my parents live. I felt like I was continuously judged for who my parents are, instead of who I am. I wasn't particularly proud of my parents' wealth. I was always looked at as some preppy rich girl who got everything she wanted. But that's the thing, I never asked for any of this.
"Where?" He asked.
"Uh, La Jolla, San Diego." I said.
He gave me this long, blank stare.
"Y- you live in La Jolla?" He asked.
"Used to."
"That's like that swanky neighborhood in San Diego, right?"
"Yeah, I suppose you could call it that."
"Then why the hell would you want to move?!" He asked.
I looked away, silent.
"Sensitive subject?" He asked.
"Kind of."
He put his hand on my shoulder.
"Hey, we don't have to talk about this, if you don't want to."
"No, no. I- I'll tell you." I said. "I have to let it out sooner or later. And things didn't go well with Scott when I told him... and-"
Oh gosh, I'm rambling again.
He noticed, and gave me a smile.
"You still wanna know?" I asked.
"Of course."
"Let's just say my parents were so consumed in their own lives, that they forgot I was in it too. And when I brought that up to them, they always told me it was my fault. That I didn't fit in with family. And that was their reason as to why I always felt so alone. I guess there comes a time when you realize that some people in your life don't need you. Or that you don't need them."
"I know how that feels." He said.
"To be alone?"
"Yeah." He said, nodding. "I guess since you told me something about you, I'll share something about me. A couple years ago, my mom died." He said. I could see tears forming in his eyes.
I put my hand on his face, and stroked his cheek.
"You miss her?"
"Every single day. I don't just miss her. I feel guilty about what happened to her. And I- I took her for granted. I never thought I would lose her. And when it actually happened, my entire life nearly fell apart." He said.
I leaned over and gave him a hug.
"You couldn't control what happened. You should never feel guilty or blame yourself for what happened."
When he pulled away from the hug, he opened his mouth to say something, but stayed quiet.
"You're right." He said, after a while.
Scott's POV
I was surprised to see Jackson tied up in a chair when I got to the Hale house. Seriously? Derek could have at least called me or something.
"What are you doing here?" Derek asked.
"More like what is he doing here?" I said, pointing at Jackson.
"To answer your question, Derek, our friend Scott here was worried about me." Jackson said.
"I thought something could have happened to you. You can't just dissapear like that, Jackson. Not on a full moon." I said.
"Look Scott, I think it's cute that you worry about me, but I'm doing just fine managing my wolf-life."
"Is that why you're all tied up in a chair?" I asked.
Before he could respond, Derek dragged me into the other room.
"So we got some news on the new pack." He said.
"And?"
"Turns out they're coming a lot sooner than expected."
"When?"
"Friday night." He said.