c h a p t e r t w e n t y t w o
stiles approved
"What are you doing?" Rose asked, peering over Harper's shoulder at all of the paper in front of her. "Homework?"
The teenage girl nodded, letting out a sigh of annoyance. Currently she was on her maths homework, which was bad enough, but she had Chemistry homework next, and she was even worse at that.
"Oh, that reminds me. Your science tutor will be over in about thirty minutes." Rose moved away from her granddaughter to clean the kitchen side that she was working at.
Harper looked up from her work, frowning. "You got me a science tutor?" She questioned, almost offended. "I'm averaging a C in Chemistry, an A in Biology and a A in Physics. That's not that bad."
Rose shook her head. "A 'C' isn't good enough, sweet pea. Your dad was a man of science, you know what he would say." She patted Harper's shoulder. "I told you last week that I got you a tutor. You clearly wasn't listening."
"Sorry, I've just had a lot on my plate lately." Harper claimed, flipping over a page in her maths revision guide.
Her grandma just chuckled. "Don't worry."
Harper desperately wanted to ask her grandma what she knew about Empaths, and if she was one herself. But she didn't know how to word it- or what if she thought she was crazy and sent her to that same mental hospital her parents worked and died at?
About half an hour later, the doorbell rang throughout the Verum household, almost making them jump since they had both been so engrossed in what they were doing. Rose jumped up from her seat.
"I'll get it." Rose announced, rushing towards the front door.
Harper heard muffled talking and she sighed, sinking into her seat further. The last thing she wanted was a tutor. She'd rather fail, to be honest. She pulled out her phone and began to text Stiles and Scott in their group chat.
To Scott and Stiles:
Guys, my grandma got me a tutor for science wtf
From Stiles:
I could have tutored you
From Stiles:
Guys! We have bigger things to worry about! Like where the hell Derek went - Scott
Harper frowned at the screen.
To Scott and Stiles:
What happened to him? And why is Scott typing on Stiles' phone and not his own??
From Stiles:
basically
From Stiles:
Derek was on Peter's side and he was gonna kill Jackson and then Scott saved Jackson but the hunters turned up and shot Scott but Deaton saved Scott and Derek is missing and so is Scott's phone and then Peter turned up at the animal clinic and wanted to get Scott
To Scott and Stiles:
All that happened while I was sleeping???
From Stiles:
Basically - Scott
Harper heard muffled talking and footsteps approaching the kitchen where she was.
To Scott and Stiles:
got to go. my tutors here.
From Stiles:
see ya babe <3
Harper smiled, tucking her phone away happily. However, her smile dropped when she looked up and saw who was stood in the door way.
Her heart stopped. She froze.
Peter Hale was her 'tutor'.
...
"Okay, shall we start with mitosis?" Peter read straight from the revision guide, sitting way too close to Harper for her liking.
Rose was sat opposite them, jotting down her weekly shopping list, which was why Peter had to keep the act up. Harper was determined to catch him out in the lie, or make him look like the world's worst tutor so her grandma had no choice but to get rid of him.
"I learned about mitosis when I was twelve." Harper spoke boredly, flipping a page. "Besides, I have an A in Biology. We need to cover Chemistry."
"Right, Chemistry." Peter confirmed smoothly, turning some pages in her book.
Her grandma looked up, setting her pen down on the table. "Right. I'm off to do my food shopping. My contact info is on the fridge in case something is to happen. I'm sure it won't. You two have fun with your chemistry and sister toes."
Harper couldn't bring herself to laugh at her grandma's lame joke, knowing that she was going to be left alone with the Alpha himself was enough to make Harper want to anxiously throw up everywhere. She played with her hands, quietly bidding her grandma a goodbye.
Once the front door closed, Peter turned to face her. "You're mine now, Harper." He ran his hand down her cheek, causing her to tremble in fear. "Werewolf or not, you are my beta. You, Scott, Derek and I will make the most amazing pack, don't you think?"
Harper shook her head, doing her best to look confident. "No, I don't think so." She slammed her chemistry book shut. "You may have bit me, Peter, but that does not make me your beta. I am no one's beta."
Peter shook his head, smiling sarcastically. "You do not want to upset me, Harper. I happen to know more about Empaths than you. You think I wouldn't go to extremes to get you on my side? Because I would."
Harper stood up, the bar stool scraping on the tiled floor from beneath her. "Get out my house." Her bottom lip trembled slightly, but she tried to look confident.
But Peter could hear the pounding of her heart. He could smell her anxiety.
The petite brunette became so angry, her eyes began to glow a soft purple as she glared at him with so much hatred that he entire body shook.
"Get. Out. Of. My. House." She spat, taking a step closer with each word.
She could see her purple eyes glowing in Peter's eyes as he stared at her, a small smirk on his face. Suddenly, his large hand was wrapped around her throat, pulling her feet off of the ground.
"Unfortunately, an Empath cannot manipulate the thoughts of an Alpha." He growled, slamming her tiny frame up against the wall, causing her to cough loudly.
Her eyes watered as she scrambled to get out of his iron grip, her dainty hands wrapping around his arms as she tried to get him away from her. She chocked and wheezed, feeling herself grow light headed.
"At the winter formal, you will take Lydia Martin onto the lacrosse field where I will be waiting." He told her slowly, both their eyes glowing.
Harper was under his trance, her body drooping as she took in what he was saying. He released her, her body falling to the ground as she tried to keep her eyes open, staring at him in horror.
"I. Would. Never." She chocked out, taking in large gulps of air.
Peter crouched down beside her. "Oh, but you will. Do you know how easy it is to manipulate an Empath? Obviously not." He clicked his fingers together and Harper fell unconscious.
...
"Nothing's wrong, I just have a lot on my mind." Allison sighed as she took the first step up the escalator, Harper and Lydia following on the step behind her.
Lydia raised an eyebrow at her friend. "You could smile, at least." She chirped. "Ever heard the saying, 'Never frown. Someone could be falling in love with your smile'?"
Allison just scoffed, turning away.
"Allison," Harper pinched the taller girl's cheek teasingly. "Smile! I'm buying you a dress, remember."
Harper was broke. Harper was so, so broke- everything she had earned for the past three months had gone towards her dress for the winter formal- and she managed to get herself about a hundred and fifty dollars. But instead of using it on herself, she was going to use it on Allison, as an apology for Scott kissing her.
Even Harper didn't really see the logic behind it. Scott kissed Harper- shouldn't Scott be paying for Allison's dress? But it cheered Allison up so it was worth it, even if she no longer had a dress for the winter formal.
Allison simply rolled her eyes. "Harper, we all know that as soon as you buy me a dress you won't have enough money for your own."
Harper scoffed. "Thanks for reminding me."
Allison ignored her. "That's why I'm not going to take your money, Harps. Instead, I want another favour from you."
Harper cringed, "which is?"
They stepped off of the escalator. "You are going to go and ask your boyfriend to the winter formal, since he is too much of a scaredy cat to do it himself." She pointed over at Stiles.
Stiles was over by the expensive perfume section, testing them all out. He sniffed one before spraying it right in his face, his entire face scrunching up as he recoiled away from it, sneezing and making inhuman noises.
He looked around to make sure nobody noticed before turning back to the perfume, making Harper's heart swell.
"That's my punishment? Going to the winter formal with my own boyfriend?" She raised her arched eyebrows.
Allison sighed, shaking her head. "You didn't kiss him. You didn't even kiss him back. Lydia told me how upset you were afterwards, too. Plus, I know you would never do that to me or Stiles. You're a good person, Harper."
"Allison." Harper teared up a little, wrapping her friend in a hug. "You have no idea how relieved I am that you're not unhappy with me. I've been stressing so-"
Allison pulled away, staring at the shorter girl sternly. "Enough. Go ask your boyfriend out."
Harper grinned, giving Allison's hand one last squeeze before walking over towards Stiles. The teenage boy looked up as she came closer, a cheesy grin crossing his face as he waved awkwardly at her, leaning up against the glass counter.
"Stiles." She grabbed both of his hands, squeezing them in her own. "What are you doing here?"
Stiles rubbed the back of his neck. "Not spying on you to make sure you're safe from Peter, that's for sure." He replied awkwardly.
Harper's face dropped and she looked at Stiles with a completely done expression. "Stiles." Her eyebrows knitted together as she frowned. "I can look after myself."
His eyes suddenly widened. "Can you?" He pointed at the slight bruising around her neck, his entire face quickly becoming frantic. "What happened? Was it Peter? Are you okay?"
Frowning, Harper pulled her phone out of her bag and switched the camera around so she could see herself.
"I don't know how that got there..." She looked back up at him worriedly, her fingers ghosting over the bruises that looked exactly like hand prints.
Stiles ran a hand through his hair. "Okay, well now I'm definitely spying on you to protect you from Peter- or anyone for that matter."
Harper nodded before suddenly becoming nervous, playing with her hands as she looked up at her boyfriend.
"Will you protect me at the dance?" Harper questioned, giving him a nervous smile.
Stiles blushed. "Are you asking me to go to the dance with you?" He leaned against the counter, trying to play cool.
Harper bit her lip, nodding. Before she could even add in another word, Stiles' lips were on hers. She grinned into the kiss, loving how confident Stiles was getting around her when it came to their relationship. Normally she was the one always starting the kisses off, but now it was him, and she couldn't say that she didn't like it.
When they pulled away, they were both grinning. "Yes, I'll go to the dance with you." He grabbed her hand, kissing her knuckles.
Harper quickly grabbed his cheeks, pulling him down to her height and planting a kiss on his nose. "Great! Now you gotta help me with finding a dress for the dance, then."
Stiles smiled, lovestruck. "Anything for you."
...
"Harper, do you really need to try on this many dresses?" Stiles groaned from where he was holding about six dresses.
She had three in her own hands, unable to make up her mind what colour or even type of dress that she wanted. Harper sighed loudly.
"You don't have to help if you don't want to." She spoke innocently, trying to guilt him into staying. "You know, I could just do this by myself."
Stiles just shook his head, following as she walked inside the changing room areas. Stiles collapsed onto one of the couches outside an empty dressing room, the dresses all on top of him. Harper picked up one of the pink, longs ones from the top.
"Be right back." She chirped, walking into her changing room.
She didn't like it. Nor did she like the short, black one or the purple one or the princess one or the cream one. Harper could feel herself getting more and more stressed as she went down the pile until there were only two dresses left.
"Sti, pass me your favourite one out of the last two." She called, hugging her cold body as she stood in her bra and underwear, feeling completely down.
Stiles' hand suddenly came through the curtain, a burgandy dress in his hands. Harper took it and scanned it over. It was a short, sleeveless, fit-and-flare, burgandy dress with a lace embellished bodice and an illusion sweetheart neckline. Accompanying it was a jewel detailed belt.
Smiling lightly, Harper pulled the dress on, pushing her curled hair out of her face so that she could see it clearer. She tried to reach the zip at the back, but with no luck. She contemplated calling Stiles for about a minute before she finally did.
"Stiles? Can you zip my dress up for me?" Harper asked sweetly.
Stiles entered the dressing room, a light blush on his cheeks when he laid eyes on his girlfriend. His eyes were bluging out of their sockets and a grin slowly took place on his face, without him even realising it. His heart was beating quicker than usual, suddenly nervous in front of her.
Harper couldn't help but grin at his reaction. "You like it?" She asked quietly.
Stiles nodded quickly. "I love- I love it." He swallowed nervously, the two of them just staring at each other for a few seconds.
He took a deep breath before his warm, large hands gently grabbed her bare shoulders and turned her around. Harper watched in the mirror as Stiles' hands moved to the zipper. Her heart was pounding in her chest as he carefully touched her back, causing her to shiver.
Stiles smiled.
The boy with the buzz cut began to do the zip up slowly, careful not to break the dress. He had no idea how much it costed, but it looked out of his price range.
Wait, did he have to pay for her dress since he was her boyfriend now? Did he have to pay for one of those flower things that go around the girls wrist?
Stiles had no idea how relationships worked.
Once he had zipped it all the way up, he took a step back, admiring her. Harper turned slightly to her right, running her hands down the skirt of the dress, smoothing the material out. She turned on the other side, doing a little spin.
"What do you think?" Harper asked, her fingers twiddling with the jewelled belt as she watched herself in the mirror, secretly extremely into herself. She just hoped Stiles liked it.
"It's Stiles approved." He confirmed, wrapping his arms around her waist and bending down to lean his head on her shoulder, kissing her neck where it wasn't bruised.
"Yeah?" She smiled softly, her dainty hands brushing against his arms as she held them close to her, watching them both in the mirror.
"Oh definitely."
...
only two chapters left of season one!
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