Chapter 1 - "Wolf Moon" (pt.1)
✧"We're running in the moonlight. We're dancing in the open waves." ✧
As soon as I finish my book, I hear a noise outside that is very out of the ordinary. I quickly get up from my desk chair and run across the hall to Scott's room, and when I get there, he is already putting on a red sweater.
"I'm guessing you heard that too?" I ask. Scott instantly turns around, startled.
"Yeah, I'm gonna go check it out." He answers before grabbing the bat that rests against his bed. I don't know why he has that bat, he has never played baseball.
"Wait for me, I'm coming too." I say before rushing back into my room. I jump over the stack of books that stand in the middle of the room before stumbling towards my desk chair. I grab my red Beacon Hills sweatshirt, slipping it on over my head, before turning off my desk lamp. I rush out of the darkroom and silently close the door before peering into Scott's room to see that he's not in there anymore. I quietly make my way down the stairs towards the house door where Scott's waiting for me, his bat in his right hand and his left hand in his sweater pocket. He's looking away from me as if in a daze.
"Okay, let's go." I say, snapping him out of his daydream. He looks me over with a raised brow.
"Hey sis, I think you're forgetting something." He tells me while looking down at my feet. I follow his gaze only to notice that I'm not wearing shoes. I look over at the shoe mat next to the door, hoping to find a pair of my shoes. I put on my mom's sneakers instead, slipping my feet into them while using the wall in front of me to keep myself from falling over. Thank God we both have small feet.
"Okay, now I'm ready." Scott laughs before carefully opening the door, his bat at the ready. I follow him outside onto the deck, closing the door behind me. We look around the porch, making sure that nothing's out here. Scott slowly makes his way to the front of the porch and I follow. We both look out over the railing, but all we see is vague figures of bushes and dark green grass. We're about to turn around and head back inside the house when Stiles pops up out of nowhere, dangling from the roof. Scott and I both scream. Scott brings up his bat about to swing before Stiles starts screaming too. Scott cuts his scream short.
"Stiles what the hell are you doing here!?" Scott yells. I put my right hand over my heart as if it will help control my breathing. Stiles, still dangling from the roof, answers.
"You weren't answering your phone," He says through his voice crack. "Why do you have a bat?" Ha asks. Scott takes a deep breath before answering.
"I thought you were a predator." He says. Stiles laughs. I can see his face turning red from the position he's in. A vein on his forehead is bulging out.
"Look, I know it's late but listen, I saw my dad leave twenty minutes ago, dispatch called, they're bringing in every officer from the Beacon Hills department and even the state police." Stiles starts.
"For what?" I ask, concerned.
"Two joggers found a body in the woods." He answers before rolling off the roof. He lands at the bottom of the porch in front of us, standing on the bushes. He rests his arms on the white chipped railing.
"A dead body?" Scott asks. I look at him while raising my eyebrows. Stiles looks at Scott and responds.
"No, a body of water, yes a dead body."
"Dumb ass." I reply. Stiles chuckles while Scott nudges me with his pointy elbow and I laugh. Stiles climbs over the railing and lands next to me on the porch, the old wood creaking the whole time. I can feel my face start to warm up and I begin to get butterflies in my stomach. All I can think about is how I can't get over my crush on Stiles. I've liked him ever since first grade, but he likes Lydia "too cool for anyone" Martin.
"Murdered?" Scott asks, keeping the conversation going.
"Nobody knows yet, just that there was a girl, probably in her twenties." Stiles answers while putting his hands in the pockets of his grey sweater.
"Hold on, if they found the body then what are they looking for?" I ask, Stiles turns to me.
"That's the best part," He says. I furrow my brows in confusion and take a glance at Scott while folding my arms across my chest.
"They only found half," Stiles starts, pausing for dramatic effect.
"We're going." I look from Stiles to Scott, then back to Stiles in shock.
"Stiles we can't go, tomorrow's our first day of school." I state.
"Yeah, which means we have to make the most of our last day of summer." He answers with a smile on his face. I roll my eyes and before I can say anything else he tugs on my arm, making me uncross them, and leads me off the porch and to his jeep that sits perfectly on the road beside the sidewalk. Scott's already there, standing by the passenger side of the vehicle. Stiles unlocks the jeep before he jumps into the driver's seat. Scott opens the passenger door before I slightly push him aside to put the seat forward. It squeaks while I push it towards the dash. I wince as if the sound hurts my ears.
"You need to put oil on that." I remark before hopping into the car.
"Nah, it's fine." Stiles replies while I sit in the middle seat of the back row. Scott puts the squeaky chair back to its regular position before sitting on it. The three of us put our seat belts on before Stiles starts the car. The engine isn't loud, that's one of the things I love about this jeep. It used to be his mothers before she passed, Stiles has taken care of this car like it's his child. He begins to drive down the dark road. I look out the window to my left where I can barely see the moon following us. When I was younger I used to believe that the moon either made sure we drove safely or that the moon just needed a friend. That reminds me that I need more friends. I've been with these two bozos since the day before preschool. I smile at the thought.
∞
Stiles pulls up in front of the woods. The headlights shine over a sign that reads 'Beacon Hills Preserve' there's a smaller sign hanging off of it that reads 'No entry after dark'. I chuckle while Stiles turns off the jeep, the headlights fading out. He pulls the key out of the ignition before shoving it into his sweater pocket and stepping out of the car. Scott does the same, but before he goes anywhere, he pushes the seat forward for me to get out. Stiles walks towards us while the leaves crunch under his feet. He has a flashlight out and the light is illuminating the woods around us. I duck while I hop out of the car, making sure I don't bash my head against the roof since that has happened to me numerous of times. I stand next to Stiles while Scott puts the seat back. I look around, not being able to see much since it is pretty dark outside. The sound of the car door closing catches my attention, and I turn back towards the boys. The three of us walk up in front of the jeep, admiring the woods through one flashlight.
"Are we seriously doing this?" Scott asks, breaking the silence.
"You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town." Stiles answers before starting to walk ahead of us. Scott doesn't move as if he's debating on whether he should or not. I laugh and pat Scott on the shoulder before catching up with Stiles.
"I was trying to get a good nights sleep before practice tomorrow." Scott tells us before jogging to catch up.
"Yeah, cause sitting on the bench is such an effort." I say.
"No, it's because I'm actually playing this year," Scott says back. I smirk. I love making him mad, that's just what siblings do.
"In fact, I'm making first line." He finishes confidently.
I giggle. "Yeah, sure." I say. I can hear Stiles chuckle. Scott slaps my arm from behind me so I turn around and push him, he didn't expect it so he falls back onto his butt. I laugh and so does Stiles. I hold my stomach with my right arm as if it hurts from laughing too much.
Scott and I are twins, although we're not identical. Like any siblings, we are always hitting and shoving each other, it's just become normal to us. We were worse when we were kids, I remember how mom always threatened to lock us in the basement. Our basement used to be the scariest thing. I let my arm fall to my side while I watch Scott get up and wipe off his pants with his hands; swatting off the leaves. I mockingly smile at him while he walks past me to stand next to Stiles.
"That's the spirit." Stiles says to Scott. We then continue to look around the forest, not finding anything but bugs and leaves. After a while, I break the silence.
"So um, which half of the body are we looking for?"
"Huh, I didn't think about that." Stiles answers. I sigh while we continue following Stiles along this never-ending journey.
"What if whoever killed her is still out here?" Scott asks. I didn't think about that. The thought starts to worry me. I feel my hands start to sweat but shake them off, letting the slight breeze calm me down.
We climb up a steep hill and pass a slanted tree, due to the hill. Scott stops halfway, resting himself against the tree to use his inhaler. We should have stayed home, Scott really does need to rest. When the three of us finally get to the top of the hill, Stiles throws himself onto his stomach on top of the wet leaves, he pulls me down with him. I can start to feel the water from the leaves seep through my thin sweatshirt. Scott notices and follows our lead, landing on the empty spot beside me. I'm always in the middle of these two. In front of us, there is a handful of police with their dogs, all being lead by none other than the sheriff: Stiles' dad. Stiles still has his flashlight pointed forward so I reach over to turn it off before we observe the police.
"Come on!" Stiles whisper yells. He tugs on my arm and I scramble to my feet. I start to stumble after Stiles, hoping that Scott is following. We run down the hill and I try my best not to roll down it. I can hear Scott yelling our names behind us. He's a slowpoke but if he runs any faster it can affect his asthma.
"Stiles! Katherine!" Scott whisper yells while struggling to keep up with us.
"Stiles!" Scott yells once more. We keep running, trying not to get caught. After a while, we decide to slow down. When we turn to see where Scott went a dog is there barking at us. Stiles falls to the ground from the sudden scare while I jump back with a gasp. We've been caught. I look straight ahead to see Scott hide behind a tree. The flashlight that Mr. Stilinski has is slightly blinding me.
"Hang on, hang on. This little delinquent belongs to me." Sheriff Stilinski says while looking at Stiles after quieting the dog. The sheriff then points the light at me.
"Katherine?" He asks, surprised to see me. I slightly wave, feeling guilty, while squinting my eyes.
"Hey, Mr. Stilinski." I say. Stiles stands back up beside me, getting the evil look from his dad and the dog.
"Hey Dad, how are you doing?" Stiles asks as if he's innocent.
"Do you listen to all of my phone calls?" Mr. Stilinski asks.
"No, not the boring ones." Stiles responds. I shake my head and think about what I could be doing right now...sleeping.
"Where's your brother?" Mr. Stilinski asks me. I'm about to respond but Stiles cuts me off.
"Scott? He's home." Stiles gives me a look telling me to play along. So I do.
"Katherine is that true?" Mr. Stilinski asks.
"Um, yeah, he said he wanted a good nights sleep for the first day of school tomorrow." I answer, feeling more guilty. Stiles nods.
"Yep, it's just me and Kat." Stiles says while patting my back. I can tell that Mr. Stilinski doesn't believe us. He shines his flashlight and moves it to look around the forest.
"Scott, you out there!?" Mr. Stilinski yells, no answer from Scott. He calls out Scott's name two more times but still no answer. He gives up looking defeated and sighs.
"Well young man, and lady, I'm gonna walk you to your car." He says pointing his flashlight at Stiles. Mr. Stilinski grabs Stiles' arm and pulls him forward before motioning for me to follow.
"You and I are gonna have a talk when we get home." He says gripping onto Stiles' arm tighter. I continue to follow. All I can think about is Scott and how he's not gonna have a ride home. I'm sure he'll be fine...hopefully.
∞
We soon make it back to the jeep. I walk over to the passenger side while Stiles goes to the driver's side. While I sit down on the padded seat, Stiles fumbles with the flashlight, trying to turn it off. Mr. Stilinski walks over to his son, they exchange a few words before Stiles hops onto the driver's seat. He turns the key in the ignition, making the engine and radio turn on. I reach over to turn the dial on the radio down. Stiles and I buckle our seats before he backs out of the forest and onto the road. Mr. Stilinski watches intently. While Stiles drives to my house I start to worry about Scott again, I mean he's my brother, I'll always worry about him.
"Stiles, do you think Scott's okay?" I ask, breaking the silence.
"Scott? Yeah, I'm sure he's fine, he'll make it home don't worry." I nod and look down at my lap, I can feel Stiles staring at me, but when I look up he looks away.
The ride back is quicker and my daze is interrupted with the slight stop of the Jeep. I fall back gently in the seat due to the stop and shake my head wearily while looking over at Stiles.
"We're here." He announces. I blink repeatedly, trying to fight away the sleepiness. I sigh before pressing down the red button to unbuckle, the satisfying click tells me that I'm free of the strap. I gently pull the door handle, opening the door, before the lights in the jeep flash on.
"Thanks, Stiles." I say while hopping out of the car. I smile and start to close the door, but I don't get very far because he stops me.
"Wait, Kat!" Stiles calls. I hold the door in place.
"Yes, Stiles?" I ask. He's about to answer but I can tell he hesitates.
"See you tomorrow." He answers.
"Um, yeah, see ya." I reply, confused. I gently close the door before watching the lights inside fade out. I make my way up the path towards the house, the sneakers swiping against the asphalt with my every lazy step. I walk up the old stairs that lead onto the porch and walk across the squeaky boards towards the house door. I bend down to pick up the house key from underneath the welcome mat, I can sense Stiles watching at me, and in a way it makes me feel safe. I always tell my mom that putting the house key underneath the welcome mat is too obvious and people will figure it out and break-in, but she clearly hasn't listened. I stand back up and place the key in the keyhole, turning the key before the door handle. When I walk inside and close the door Stiles leaves. He never leaves until he knows I'm in the house, it's cute. I put the key on the key hook next to the door before slipping off my mom's shoes onto the mat. My feet feel so much better. I walk towards the stairs that are a few feet from the door before walking up the carpet boards. I walk through the dimly lit hallway towards my bedroom door before silently opening it. I smack the wall to my right, turning on the light while doing so, before walking into my room and closing the door.