—
Saturday night came quicker than expected.
Ryder had unknowingly spent majority of the day searching for the perfect outfit to wear on her not so date with Austin. Then the girl had just decided to wear something simple since they were only going to a lacrosse game and then getting ice cream afterwards.
Arriving at the school, saying a swift goodbye to her father, who only glance at her in acknowledgment.
Rolling her eyes, the brunette exited the vehicle with a scrunched face. She walked towards the sound of cheers and muffled voices.
"Ryder!" She hears a girly voice call out for her.
She looks up at nods towards Allison, the pale girl smiling brightly at her and gesturing for her to sit with them.
"Come sit with us!"
"Oh!" She acts shocked as she speaks, "No, I'm okay! Really, it's all good."
"Are you sure?" Allison asks, "We don't mind."
"Oh, i'm sure Lydia minds." Ryder says back, earning a glare from the strawberry blonde, "Hey, actually, have you seen Austin anywhere?"
Lydia jumps in before Allison can respond, "You mean the cute new boy with the blue eyes?"
"Yeah, that's the one." Ryder could tell Lydia was trying to get under her skin, she didn't fall for it though, she didn't have the time.
She watches as Lydia scoffs with an eye roll, Allison taking over, "Haven't seen him yet. You can stay with us until he shows up."
"I don't think—"
"Ryder!"
Turning around in confusion, Ryder frowns at the sight of Stiles Stilinski running up to her.
"What the hell do you want?"
The boy scoffs jokingly, "Is that any way to talk to your best friend?"
"Stiles, I don't like you."
Turning to the girls that watch the pair in confusion, Stiles point to Ryder with a chuckle, "Can you believe her?"
"I need to talk to you." Stiles says, keeping his tone light but his eyes showed the girl that it was urgent.
"Wha—?"
"Like now."
Ryder couldn't help but frown at his demanding tone. She could think about what was so important that Stiles of so suddenly wanted to converse with her again.
"Stiles, we haven't spoken in nearly five years, what the hell do you want?"
"How do you know about Scott?"
His question wasn't very specific. It threw her off a bit, but she still answered.
"We've been going to the same school for the past sixteen years, we have classes together—"
"No." He scoffs, "Ryder, you know what I mean."
"Do I?"
"Yes, you do. How do you know he's..." His voice drops to a whisper as he glances around to ensure no one's listening, "How do you know he's a werewolf?"
Ryder bats her eyes lashes at him. Clearing her throat as she struggles to hold in a laugh.
"So I was right." The words were spoken mainly to herself but Stiles still answered.
"Yeah, you were right." The Stilinski reluctantly admits, "How did you know?"
The brunette shrugs, "Well, you aren't very discrete about it."
"Do you know how to help him?" He continues to ask questions, not giving her the time to respond, "You read books about that stuff, don't you? How do I—?"
"Ryder!"
"I should probably go." He splutters to himself as he watches her leave.
"Ryder, can you just—? Son of a bitch."
•••
"Hey." Austin smiles glancing behind her and over to the Stilinski, who watches them with a worried expression, "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, kind of." She starts, "He wanted to know how I knew about Scott."
"Haven't you been going to the same school—"
"Yeah, I said the same thing. He knows that I know that he knows."
Austin nods, his face dropping in confusion.
"What?"
"He knows that I know that McCall's a werewolf. And even if i didn't know, he practically just confirmed it."
"Right." Austin nods understandably, "Are you going to do anything about it?"
Ryder scoffs, "No. I don't plan on getting involved in that shit."
"Why not?"
"I don't care how much I know or read about the supernatural world -myth and real-, the last thing I plan on doing is helping the people who didn't even have the decency to help me." She explained.
Austin took a moment to watch her as she rambled on about how people only cared about her whenever they needed something and how it's been happening for the last sixteen years of her life.
He noted how her fists clenched on anger as she ranted on. Not wanting to startle her, he gently rubs his pinky finger across her hand, making contact with the tattoo that was permanently inked into her skin.
Gasping softly, Ryder glances down at their hands, "What are you doing?"
"Sorry. I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean scare you." He started, inhaling nervously as her eyes squinted at him, an unknowing message behind them, "I just thought it would calm you down. And it worked! You're no longer clenching your fists in anger."
His tone was playful, yet serious. The raven haired girl could tell that he was nervous. That she made him nervous. Ryder didn't really know why, but she didn't have the time to question him when the sound of a whistle blowing caught her attention.
"Down!" The ref shouts.
Ryder glances around and catches sight of Scott, the McCall boy seemingly whispering to himself.
"Set!"
"That's it, Jackson! Get fired up! Fired up!"
The cheers of her fellow classmates and their families can be heard behind her. Ryder clears her throat uncontrollably when she makes eyes contact with Stiles. She can see the pleasing look in the Stilinski's eyes before he turns his attention to the field in front of him.
"They aren't passing to him." Austin tells the girl, catching her attention.
The pair watch as Scott grows angrier at the fact that his teammates are ignoring him. Ryder's head turns to spot a certain Argent whispering words on encouragement to the boy, despite being too far for anyone to hear.
Ryder only sighs in response, smacking her teeth before standing up quickly.
"I'll be back."
"You okay?"
Ryder glances at him, "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. I'm gonna go get something from my locker."
"Okay?" Austin frowns, "Be careful."
•••
"Stilinski!"
"Wha—?" He turns, "You're not supposed to be down here."
"Do you want my help or not, asshole?"
"Yeah, I do. What's that?"
Ryder scoffs, "A book."
"I can see that." The boy squints, "What's it about?"
"Come on." She whispers harshly directing the boy to the side of the bleachers, a few spaces below Austin.
Stiles glances around the area anxiously, eyes snapping towards the girl when she smacks his calf.
"Read this."
"A werewolf's anchor is that which they can concentrate on to keep themselves human." Stiles read off of the page, "What does that mean?"
The Miller girl rolls her eyes.
"As in, Scott needs to find something that need him grounded?" Austin speaks up, startling the lacrosse player.
"Exactly." Ryder confirms.
"So, Scott needs someone to keep him grounded."
"I just said that."
Ignoring the two, Ryder stand up from her spot and turns to Stiles, "Allison was whispering under her breath earlier, if Scott was paying enough attention to her then she's probably the reason why he hasn't killed anyone yet."
"But—"
"No buts, just tell him not avoid her. No matter what."