Sophie's POV
Compared to the previous seasons, summer had been calm. No Alphas, no Benefactors, no Creators. Ever since the night of the full moon, I hadn't shifted, despite still needing help with it on the full moons. There were no more random attacks, no more being on their guard around me. My nightmares had stopped completely, no mentions of the Creators since the full moon.
Scott had resumed his job at the animal hospital, saving up enough money to buy an older dirt bike that had definitely seen better days. He had worked on studying more over the vacation, working out more often to prepare to get back into lacrosse. I had moved in with Scott and his mom, telling Melissa everything about my situation. She had welcomed me in with open arms, despite knowing I'd been spending nights in Scott's room for much longer than she truly wanted to know. We were getting along as well as we always had, getting even closer now that we shared the same home.
My parents were still on the fence about everything but they had at least wished me a happy birthday in July. The day had been spent at the arcade, all of us acting like teenagers for once and forgetting about the horrors we'd gone through the past year. We had called Isaac, Lydia and Laila so they could be included, all of them singing happy birthday to me in the loft, Derek being forced to wear a party hat and fighting off a smile when Bryn had kissed his cheek. It had been one of the best birthdays I'd ever had, the rest of the night spent in Scott's arms.
My presents had been a mixture, including a lot of clothes, something I didn't mind since I had left at least half of my clothes with my parents. Melissa had gotten me a few dresses, Isaac, Laila and Lydia shipping clothes over from Rome as my present. My father had given my gift to Derek to give to me, a new bow. Derek and Bryn had given me a few cardigans and jackets, Stiles and Erica adding in a pair of boots and a necklace. Scott had given me a bracelet, a simple gold chain with a heart made of diamonds. I could only imagine how expensive it had been but he'd refused to let me return it.
Laila, Isaac, and Lydia had all returned from Rome last night, slight tans on their bodies. They'd all had so much fun, Lydia finally being able to put her Italian to good use. Isaac still lived in the loft with Erica and Derek but had just about moved in with Laila. Erica was over at Stiles's house constantly, his father either unaware or ignoring the fact that his son had his girlfriend over nearly every night.
"Remind me again why I agreed to come to this." Stiles questioned, watching Scott sit in the tattoo artist's chair as I looked through the booklet of example tattoos. "I hate blood, I hate needles, I hate everything about this."
"Aren't I supposed to be the nervous one?" he pointed out, an amused look in his eyes.
"Yeah, well, I'm the normal one here, obviously."
"Relax. It's a tattoo."
"Yeah, those are permanent." He put emphasis on the word permanent, his eyes widening at the nonchalant attitude Scott had. "You don't just wash them off, dude."
"I don't wanna wash it off."
"Why are you getting it anyways? Why the bands?"
"I don't know, I just drew it one day."
"You ready?" the tattoo artist asked, wheeling his chair closer to Scott and fixing the sleeve of his shirt.
"Yeah." I noticed Scott's body tense a bit at the sound of the machine being turned on, Stiles already cringing back.
I kissed the top of his head, giving him a warm smile when he looked up at me as the needle pressed to his arm. He made a face of discomfort, his nose scrunching. Stiles took one look at his arm being tattooed, making a few unintelligible noises before falling back onto the floor.
Stiles's POV
"Okay but did both of you have to get one?! It's bad enough he got one but you too?" I snapped, pressing the bag of ice to my head as we walked out. "What was so important that you had to get it today, Sophie?"
"Fight and control." she simply stated, her fingers wrapped in the gauze. "I got the words fight and control on my middle fingers."
"Oh." I let my tone soften, realizing there was more meaning to it that I had thought. "Why now?"
"When will I ever have another chance to get one? I need it now more than ever."
Scott groaned as he got into the car, his eyes locked on the gauze on his arm. "I don't think it's supposed to burn this much. Is yours burning?"
Sophie nodded, looking down at it in confusion. "Even worse than getting it."
He took the gauze off, watching his skin heal over the tattoo. I held back a smile, starting the Jeep.
"I hated it."
Author's Note:
Oh my g o d I haven't updated this story in so long but I'm here now, about to do a tri pl e update! What do you think will happen in the next chapter?
I'll see you in my next chapter. BYEEE!!!!