Hollis stepped out of the bathroom wearing a borrowed top and pajama bottoms from Allison. She plopped down on the bed beside her and sighed. The strange events of that night had exhausted her yet she felt wide-awake. With a tired smile, she took the cup of hot tea off the nightstand and brought it to her lips, taking a tentative sip. She leaned back against the pillows and turned to look at Allison, who had on a troubled expression. They hadn't spoken of the party since she had stepped into the Argent's house. But she could see the worry, confusion and hurt on her face.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Hollis asked gently.
Allison sighed and shrugged. "Kind of? I don't know. I still have no idea what actually happened."
"Ali, I've known Scott since like kindergarten. He's a good guy. And all he talked about was going to the party with you."
"So, why did he leave me stranded there?" She questioned, shooting a pained look towards Hollis.
"I don't know." She shrugged. "Stiles and I went to check on him before coming here. Scott told him that he wasn't feeling well. Caught a bug or something," she said, echoing Stiles' words. Even as she said them, she doubted them. If Scott had really been sick, why hadn't he asked for help? Or why didn't he ask someone to drive him home? Hollis didn't want to seem uncertain in front of Allison so she pushed those doubts out of her head. "Trust me, he wouldn't just leave if he didn't have a good reason."
Allison's face was hard to read. "I guess." She didn't sound convinced and, Hollis couldn't blame her. "But at least he had Derek take me home," she added, directing a small smile in her direction. "What do you know about him? Derek, I mean. He seemed...mysterious."
"Not much," she answered truthfully. "Just that he's a few years older than us, and he's had a hard life. His entire family died in a fire ten years ago. Someone set fire to his house. He was in class when it happened, I think, or at least that's what everyone's saying. He left Beacon Hills a while back but I guess he's back in town."
"Wow, that's terrible," Allison whispered. "Do they know who did it?"
"I don't think so," Hollis told her with a shake of her head.
They stayed quiet then, mulling things over. Hollis could see that Allison was still stressing over Scott; she wished that she could reassure her that everything would be okay, that Scott's leaving the party was just a misunderstanding. But she couldn't. Not only did she not understand most of it herself but she knew that it had to be Scott to do the reassuring.
"What happened with you and Carter?" Allison asked, breaking through her thoughts. "You came to the party with him but then you showed up with Stiles...wearing his jacket."
"There's not much to tell," she told her with a shrug. She took a strand of hair between her fingers and absentmindedly played with it. "But remember how I said that I would be okay at the party? Well, I wasn't," Hollis admitted with a sigh. "Carter and I had a fight...again. I don't want to talk about that right now." She shook her head as his words swam through her mind. Shaking them, she continued. "Anyway, Stiles found me outside and we just talked. I got cold so he lent me his jacket," she said casually. "And then when we saw Scott and you leave, we decided to check on you guys to make sure you were okay. And that's all there is to it."
Allison nodded, a smile playing on her lips. "Sounds like both our nights didn't turn out as planned."
Hollis laughed and nodded in agreement. "I think Lydia and Jackson are the only ones who had a normal night."
The screen of Hollis' phone lit up just then and both girls looked down. Hollis went to reach for it but Allison was faster. "And speaking of the guy who's jacket you wore," she teased.
Rolling her eyes, she took her phone from her hand. "I asked him to text me. It's been a crazy night," she explained as her eyes scanned the message. "I wanted to make sure he got home ok."
"Whatever you say, Hollis" she said.
Hollis shook her head at her friends' remark while she typed up a reply and hit send.
The conversation took a turn away from the party, Scott and Stiles. Internally, both girls were grateful for the change in topic. Sprawled out on the bed, they stayed up for the better part of the hour talking. Eventually, exhaustion started to take effect, and it wasn't long before they had fallen asleep.
The weekend had passed quickly. Lydia joined them at Allison's early Saturday morning, and they spent the next two days binge watching old movies while eating takeout and junk food.
Hollis had left Allison's late Sunday night, arriving just after her dad had fallen asleep. She woke up bright and early the next morning, eager to get a head start on her day and avoid her dad in the process.
Phone and keys in hand, Hollis made her way towards the front door. The house was still, the only sound being her footsteps on the hardwood floor. But as she pulled the door open and was greeted by a blast of cool morning air, she heard the distinct sound of floorboards creaking upstairs. If she was fast enough, she could still get out. Rather than take action, Hollis stood still, contemplating her next move and was soon greeted by her dad's voice.
"Hollis?" Grant descended the stairs and stopped a few feet behind her.
Without turning around, she greeted him dryly. "Hey, dad."
"I'm driving you to school. Are you ready?"
Hollis turned her body so that she was facing him. "What? No." She shook her head. "I mean, I'm ready but you don't have to do that."
"I know I don't but I'm still taking you." He ignored the peeved look on her face and moved towards the door. "We need to talk."
"Now?" She questioned. "Can't it wait? Besides, don't you have to get to work?"
Grant nodded. "I don't have to be there until eleven. And I wanted to talk this weekend but you spent it with your friends." He stopped at the door and turned to look at her. "So, yeah, we need to talk now."
Hollis stared after him as he walked to his car. She let out a frustrated sigh, knowing that she couldn't get out of this. Closing the door behind her, she grudgingly followed him and settled into the passenger seat.
Minutes passed by in silence. Her dad had yet to utter a word, and she prayed that he wouldn't. But, when they neared a red light and slowed to a stop, he turned to look at her.
"You need to stop hating me, Hollis." Grant looked defeated, like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. In a way, he did. Clearing his throat, he kept his gaze fixed on her. "I know I made a huge mistake –"
"A mistake?" Hollis asked, cutting him off. "Misspelling a word is a mistake, dad. You left. That wasn't a mistake. You chose to leave. You packed up and left your family behind for who knows what." Her words cut the air like a knife but she wasn't done yet. "You left your ten year old daughter wondering what she did wrong for six years. No matter how many times you say that you're sorry, it's not going to make it ok. You can't just come back and hope to pick up where you left off."
"I get it, Hollis!" Grant yelled, surprising them both. After a silent staring contest, Grant looked away. The light turned green, and the car started to move but they remained quiet. After a long moment, he spoke. "I get that you're mad and upset. But you're right, I screwed up," he admitted with a slow nod. "I'm trying to make it up to you. To make things right again. We need to get past this."
With a roll of her eyes, she shook her head. The prickling of tears in her eyes frustrated her. All those years of pretending to be ok, of accepting that her dad had left came flooding back in just a few minutes. It had been building up since her dad returned but now that they were talking, it was like someone uncapped the bottle that held all those emotions inside. More than anything, Hollis wanted to fix this. She wanted a normal father/daughter relationship but too much damage had already been done. "Some things you just can't fix," she whispered. A tear rolled down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away.
"But you can try," he said just as quietly. "That's all I want, Hollis. To try."
To try. They were such simple words yet they packed a full punch. Hollis closed her eyes. A few more tears escaped but she didn't bother wiping them. She thought over what he had said. She could feel her dad looking at her, willing her to speak but she didn't know what she could say. Instead, she shook her head and kept her attention on the road, letting the remainder of tears spill down her cheeks.
The rest of the drive to school was quiet. Neither of them spoke nor pressured the other to talk. It was when the car came to a stop that Hollis looked up. She unbuckled her seatbelt but remained sitting, her eyes fixed on the school building.
Slowly, Hollis nodded. "Ok."
Grant turned to her, raising an eyebrow. "Ok what?"
"I'll try." She looked over at her dad before she continued. "Mom always said that everyone deserves a second chance. And I guess I haven't really given you one, so..." she trailed off with a simple shrug.
He beamed at her words. "That's – that's great, Hollis! It means a lot."
"I want to get past this, too," she admitted. "But it won't be easy." Hollis sighed, looking down at her hands.
"But it'll be worth it," Grant told confidently.
"I hope so." She smiled weakly, her confidence in her decision waning.
"Hollis, I know I hurt you in the past but I promise that I won't hurt you. Not again," he said gravely. "I just need you to believe that."
Hollis nodded, willing herself to believe his words. "I do. I mean I'm trying to." She sighed and glanced towards the school. "But I need to know the whole story if we're going to move past this. If you want me to trust you, I have to know everything."
He took a moment to think and nodded. "That's fair," he agreed. "But you might not like what I have to say."
"I don't care," Hollis said, shaking her head. "I need the truth."
"Alright. I'll tell you everything tonight," Grant paused. "Right now, we both need to go or we'll be late. I'll pick you up after three," Grant said as she stepped out.
"OK, thanks." Hollis stepped out of the car but, before she closed the door, she leaned her head back in. "Good luck on your first day."
When her dad pulled away, Hollis scanned the parking lot for any signs of her friends but neither Lydia nor Allison were around. She spotted Stiles' Jeep a few spaces down and made her way over. Stiles clumsily got out of the drivers side, wrestling with his backpack in the process. A few students looked his way with bemused looks.
He's so awkward, Hollis thought and stopped behind him.
"Smooth," she said with amusement.
Stiles jumped into the air, his arms flailing before her turned to face her. "You're going to give me a heart attack one of these days, Hollis," he stated but wore a smile nonetheless. "So, uh, how long were you standing there?"
"Sorry." Hollis stifled her laughter. "But long enough to see whatever that was."
"Oh, uh, the backpack and the seatbelt. They got..." he started to explain.
Amused, Hollis nodded along. "Sound fascinating, Stiles," she joked.
He hung his head and sighed. "You know what? Never mind."
"No, go on. I'm interested about this whole backpack/seatbelt situation."
"OK, well, somehow they got twisted together. I don't know how, but they did. Weird, right? Anyway, I couldn't," he started but stopped, throwing a look her way. "You're not really interested, are you, Hollis?"
Shaking her head, she laughed. "Not really. I kind of saw the whole thing, remember?"
Stiles nodded. "And my life is just one embarrassing moment after another," he sighed but a smile stretched itself across his face.
Hollis nudged him playfully. "How was the rest of your weekend?" She asked when they started to walk towards the building.
"Good. Not as crazy as Friday night was. Which is, you know, good. How was yours?" He asked but stopped walking. "Wait, were you crying?" Stiles pulled her aside to avoid the crowd of students walking. "You were, weren't you? I knew something was wrong! What happened? Are you okay? Was it Carter?" He searched her face for answers.
"I'm okay," she reassured him but when Stiles didn't speak, she continued. "It was my dad. We finally had the talk. You know, the one about his leaving. Actually, we talked about having the talk but that's beside the point."
"Wait, so you guys didn't talk about that at all?" Stiles raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow..."
"I know. There wasn't any time to talk about it when he first came back and then we kind of got a different father/daughter relationship so we didn't bring it up," Hollis explained.
Stiles stood still, listening intently to her words.
"And of course he would choose to talk about it now of all times." She sighed as she gazed up at him. "I was hoping to avoid it but..." She shrugged. "Anyway, that's why I look like such a hot mess."
"You don't look like a hot mess, Hollis," he said, shaking his head. "You never do. You always look... great." A blush crept up his face, and he cleared his throat. "But, uh, are you okay?" He questioned again after a few seconds.
Hollis smiled at his previous words. "I'm fine, Stiles." She paused. "It just brought back all those memories, you know?"
He nodded slowly, understandingly. "It'll be ok, Hollis," he told her confidently. "And, if you need to talk after the talk, I'm just a text message away."
"Thanks." She took in the parking lot and nodded in the direction of Scott. "He looks better."
Stiles followed her gaze. "Yeah, definitely," he agreed. "Hey, buddy," he said when Scott walked over.
"Are you feeling any better?" Hollis asked.
Caught off guard, Scott turned to Stiles before he nodded. "Uh, yeah. Kind of. It's just that..." He frowned.
"Let me guess: Allison," Stiles finished his thought, shaking his head. He placed a hand on both of Scott's shoulders and gave them a shake. "This is what my weekend was like, Hollis," he joked.
"It's serious, Stiles." Scott looked at Hollis, his expression grave. "Allison hates me, doesn't she? Of course she hates me! Why wouldn't she hate me? I left her at the party." He groaned, running a hand through his hair.
"She doesn't hate you, Scott. She's just...confused," Hollis said. "I already talked to her for you but there's only so much that I can say. You need to talk to her. Soon. Just apologize."
Scott sighed. "I need to do that," he agreed. "Think she'll forgive me?" He asked.
Hollis smiled despite Stiles, who continued to roll his eyes. "Of course she will."
"I'll talk to her. Today," he said determinedly.
The three of them walked into the school, immersed in a conversation about nothing in particular. As they turned the corner, Hollis caught sight of Lydia and Allison near her locker. Waiting. She raised an eyebrow at Scott, wondering if he would gather the confidence to go over and talk to Allison right now but he averted her gaze.
"You seriously need to talk to her, you know," she told him.
"I know. I will but...later. I need to figure out what to say."
"How about 'Hey, Allison. Sorry for abandoning you at the party. I know I'm an idiot, and you'll probably regret giving me a second chance but I'm sorry'?" Stiles suggested, which earned him a look of disapproval from them both. "Or not." He raised his hands defensively before dropping them by his side.
"Not helping, Stiles," she said and turned to Scott. "A simple 'I'm sorry' will work." Hollis glanced over at her friends for a brief second. Lydia looked impatient while Allison looked anywhere but at them. "I'll catch up with you guys later," she said, stepping away from them. "But talk to her, Scott," she called over her shoulder.
"Will you stop being so stubborn?" Lydia shook her head, exasperated. Spotting Hollis, she directed her attention towards her. "Oh, good, you're here. Maybe you can help me talk some sense into her."
"Maybe," Hollis said, opening her locker. She gathered the books for her morning classes then turned to them. "What's going on?" Hollis eyed both girls with confusion.
"She's trying to introduce me to other guys from the lacrosse team," Allison told her. "And by introduce, she means set up."
Wide-eyed, Hollis turned to the redhead and shook her head. "OK, yeah, don't do that."
"Thank you," Allison said, relieved.
"Allison, we all know that you can do so much better than Scott McCall." Lydia paused. "Who, by the way, still hasn't apologized for leaving you at the party."
"I don't think that," Hollis insisted. "Scott's a great guy. Who will apologize." She looked at both girls as she said the last words. Allison seemed to believe her but Lydia looked doubtful.
"Right. Well, I say that he needs to hurry up." Lydia looked past them just then. "And speaking of guys who need to apologize, here comes Carter."
At the mention of his name, Hollis froze. She willed for him to walk past them she knew that he wouldn't, that he would want to talk to her. It was a conversation she didn't want to have. After the talk she had with her dad, she didn't need or want another heartfelt conversation.
"Hey," Carter said casually to Allison and Lydia. He turned towards her, his eyes searching her face. "Hollis..."
"I don't want to talk," she interrupted, shaking her head.
"Really? Hollis, we haven't talked since the party. We need to," he said.
Shrugging, she sighed. "Maybe we do but I can't talk to you right now, Carter."
"So when?" He questioned. "Just tell me when, Hollis."
"I don't know," Hollis answered truthfully. She avoided his gaze and fidgeted with the books she held. "But not now."
With a sigh, Carter nodded. "Alright. Just let me know." He gave her a hopeful look before walking away.
"So, what exactly happened between you two? All you said was that you two had a fight but that looked kinda intense," Allison said.
"It was a bad fight," Hollis admitted.
"Does this have anything to do with what he said to Giles at the scrimmage?" Lydia asked.
"Stiles," Hollis corrected then shook her head. "But, no. We fought at the party," she explained. "And I haven't talked to him since. I'm not sure if I want to talk to him after everything he said."
"Are you two going to be okay?" Allison asked.
"I don't know," she answered with a shrug. "I mean, we've fought in the past but none of them were as bad as this."
"You're not breaking up with him, are you?" Lydia asked.
"Honestly, I don't know." Hollis noticed the surprised looks on their faces and sighed. "I don't want us to considering how long we've been together by I'm not sure how we'll get past that fight."
"I'm sure everything will work out," Allison said confidently.
"Of course it will!" Lydia nodded. "You two are perfect together. Just give it some time."
"Yeah, perfect," Hollis muttered under her breath.
AN: To everyone who's taken the time to read, vote and commented the last few chapters: I'm not that great at replying quickly but I've read each and every word...so, thank you <3 I really hoped you liked the last two chapters. Please keep being amazing and vote on these chapters and leave a comment about what you think so far. Also, a weird but quick question: do you want me to include a GIF for every chapter I post or every now and then?
** The GIFS don't belong to me. All credit goes to dailypll.tumblr.com