obsessive curiosity!
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LENNON WALKED CAUTIOUSLY TOWARDS THE GIRL IN THE HOSPITAL BED. The girl smiled politely in confusion at the teenager standing near the door. "Do I know you?"
"Uh. . . no." The witch stood beside the bed awkwardly, still deciding how to interrogate the girl without being too insensitive. "You're Caitlin, right?"
"Yeah. . ." Caitlin stared at her expectantly.
"I'm Lennon, here on. . . behalf of Sheriff Stilinski." Lennon sent her a smile, hoping it would convince the girl. Caitlin, being too tired to argue, nodded at Lennon. "So. . . you were camping with your girlfriend, Emily?"
Caitlin's face fell and she nodded. "We weren't doing anything that bad. I mean, I've camped out there plenty of times. We wanted to be alone for one night. Emily lives with her mom. . . and I have three roommates. Not exactly romantic settings, you know? Emily hadn't, uhm. . . I wanted to make it special for her." The brunette worked out from the look Caitlin was giving her what she was trying to say. . . not romantic or intimate settings for somebody's first time. "They're gonna find her, right? Aren't they?"
Lennon looked up at the girl, being taken away from her train of thought. She knew she'd opened the wound even more for this girl, and she still hadn't gotten closer to finding any clues. Lennon wasn't like Sheriff Stilinski, she didn't have it in her to ask these questions to an obviously distressed and soon to be grieving young lady. She couldn't help but think that even Stiles was better at this than her. Yes, Lennon was a curious and ambitious girl when it came to detective work and gaining information but no - she did not have the stomach to do the job the way it was meant to be done from an unemotional standpoint.
Failing to find the words to say, the sixteen year old girl only sent Caitlin a reassuring smile and a nod of the head before walking out of the hospital room.
･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆
Lennon put the key in the lock and opened the front door slowly, in an attempt to be as quiet as possible after glancing at her phone to see the time was nearing morning. Just as she had closed the door and let out a sigh of relief, she noticed the light turn on; Lennon immediately turned around to see her father standing there.
Her father stood with his arms crossed in front of the witch. "Where have you been and why didn't you called me?"
"I was. . . with Stiles." Lennon answered, not wanting to lie but not wanting to tell her father the whole truth.
"Stiles?" Reece asked his daughter, who immediately nodded in reply. "Stiles, the boy you said you didn't want to see not all that long ago. That Stiles?"
Lennon sighed in defeat. "Okay, Dad. . . don't be mad–"
"Not only did you miss dinner – which was my one condition that you be home for – but you're also lying to me about why you missed it. So let me ask you again," The older man took a step toward his daughter before lowering his voice that was being raised just moments prior. "Where have you been?"
"I was helping my friends." Lennon answered monotone, not tearing her eyes away from her father's.
Reece knew what she was trying to say without saying it; he knew she was talking about the supernatural. He looked down and put his hands on his hips, trying to calm down before the anger boiled inside of him even more. "I thought I. . . I thought I told you no magic!"
The Phoenix girl winced when her father failed to lower his voice, his words getting louder instead. "I know Dad, I'm sorry. I don't want to disappoint you but. . . I can't just stay out of this. They need my help! Do you know Stiles could've died tonight if I hadn't been there? Maybe even Scott and Derek too."
"That doesn't mean anything if you die in the process, Lennon! Have you not learnt anything from what happened in Italy. . . nothing at all?!" Her father was now screaming. The fear of losing his daughter to the supernatural was the biggest fear he had, it was a fear that Lennon was aware of but couldn't quite fathom the extent of.
A tear rolled down Lennon's cheek as she was being reminded of a memory she would rather forget. In contrast to her father, she kept her voice quiet and controlled. "I have learnt from it Dad, I've learnt a lot from it. That's why I can't just sit back and watch more people die. . . I'm sorry."
Lennon's father turned around and walked further away from her in disappointment, before turning back around to face his daughter again. "I'm sorry too. I'm sorry that I raised such a selfish daughter." He had tears in his own eyes as he walked up the stairs to his room, ignoring his daughter who was calling after him. He didn't know what he could do to get her to understand, he didn't know what else to say; anger and harsh words were all that were left. Reece fell asleep with his worst fear filling his head, a demon haunting his nightmares that night worse than it had any other night; he was standing in a graveyard, burying somebody else that he loved - the person he loved the most in the world, the only person he had left.
･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆
"Stiles told me everything." The McCall boy said to the brunette as they both sat down at an empty lunch table in the cafeteria.
"Of course he did. In a wrath, in between a bunch of curse words, right?" Lennon retorted, biting into her sandwich.
"No. . ." The werewolf answered unconvincingly, looking down at his food. "You should've just told us."
"You should've told me." The girl responded, still upset that her best friend had kept her in the dark for so long.
"I wanted to. I was going to, but Stiles–" The boy cut off mid sentence, chastising himself for giving the girl more reason to be angry at his other best friend.
"Why am I not surprised?" Lennon let out a dry chuckle, not imagining she could be made to think any less of the boy than she already did.
"How did you hear about all of this anyway? I thought Derek would've told you but. . . then I remembered he didn't know you even knew us."
"Derek kept me in the loop about what was going on in Beacon Hills: his psychotic uncle coming back to life, a kanima, him building his own pack, etcetera etcetera. But I heard about the famous Scott McCall whilst I was in Italy." Lennon answered her best friend.
Scott looked at the brunette with raised eyebrows. ". . . How?"
"Word of mouth circulates around the supernatural, Scott." Lennon said, giving the werewolf a look that said it was obvious.
"But I don't know what's going on in Europe."
"My supernatural circle is slightly bigger than yours." The witch replied, winking at her best friend and carrying on eating her lunch.
"So. . . I'm famous in the supernatural realm?" Scott said with a childlike smile plastered on his face.
"Easy McCall, I hear a lot of names. Yours was obviously just one that stuck in my head."
Scott rolled his eyes before taking a bite of his apple. "Derek did say something about the witchcraft school you attended. That's very cool. Are there schools like that around?"
Lennon nodded. "A few but the one in Italy is by far the most prestigious. Witches from all around the world travel to attend."
"So it's a boarding school?" Scott asked, a million questions being triggered in his mind when Lennon nodded in response. "Interesting. You told me you were going to an English speaking school in Italy. So was it like an English speaking. . . witchcraft school?"
The Phoenix girl smiled at the boy who was deep in thought looking at her with furrowed brows; she was happy that she'd come home to her best friend being keen on knowing all about her other life. "Yeah, that's the main language they teach in. Mainly because it's the mutual language spoken amongst all the students and teachers. Also, you'd be surprised to know that basically half the students are from the US anyway."
"Do you know Italian?"
"Yeah, my mom. . . she taught me. She was always a bit of a polyglot even when I was younger." Lennon paused. "But a lot of the students that didn't speak Italian would just use a translating spell whenever they needed to communicate with anybody outside the walls of the school."
Scott nodded, hanging on to every last word the witch was telling him. "Do you miss it?"
"Yeah. I mean, I'm happy to be back but. . . I made some good friends."
"You still keep in touch with them?" Scott asked.
"I do. They also kept me in the big group chat so I'm always up to date with the latest gossip. Besides, a couple of them are from California, so hopefully if they come back I'll get to see them during the holidays." Lennon replied with a shrug.
The McCall boy opened his mouth to say something else to his best friend but he was distracted by the sight of his other best friend. Stiles locked eyes with Scott from across the cafeteria, holding a tray of food in his hands as he exited the lunch line. The werewolf smiled at him and ushered him over. When Lennon noticed her friend gesturing to someone, she looked over her shoulder to see Stiles' eyes shifting to her own. With a blank expression on her face, Lennon Phoenix turned her head away from Stiles and back towards Scott McCall before taking a sip of her drink.
Stiles pursed his lips in annoyance, slightly offended that his best friend had chosen to sit with the girl that he knew Stiles wouldn't want to sit next to. He sighed, ignoring the apologetic look on Scott's face and instead opting to sit at Danny's lunch table.
Scott let out a sad sigh. "How long are you two gonna keep making me choose between you?"
Lennon winced in annoyance. "Choose? I never asked you to choose. You can still be friends with both of us, McCall."
"Things would still be a lot easier if both of you would just–"
"How far are you with Heart of Darkness?" Lennon interrupted.
"Uh, I. . . I've almost finished. I've been a little distracted but I'll get around to it. Why?"
"I'm gonna finish writing my notes on the ending because I've got a free period now. Wanna exchange notes once you finish?"
"Sure." The boy gave a short, high pitched answer in agreement. Scott McCall stared in awe at the way Lennon absentmindedly started packing her bag away. He couldn't get his mind around how expertly the girl would so nonchalantly change the subject every time he would bring up the situation with her and Stiles. Alternatively, every time he would bring the situation up with Stiles, he would receive a monologue about the minor thing Lennon had done that day to irritate the Stilinski boy; Scott had a feeling this little scene in the cafeteria was already being added to Stiles' list of things to rant to him about.
The werewolf couldn't help but become increasingly annoyed with every day that passed. It was easy not to dwell on the good times that the three friends had shared that they wouldn't share again when Lennon wasn't in Beacon Hills and there was nothing to compare it to. But now that she was back, it was telling just how far the three had fallen from being the power trio that they once were. It made him sad. Neither of them have asked me how I feel about this, he thought. Scott McCall wanted more than anything for his two best friends to make up. With every day that went by however, his hope in such a reconciliation was diminishing.
Lennon smiled before putting her bag over her shoulder. "Catch ya later, Scotty." The girl leaned over the lunch table and, as she had done ever since they were kids, planted a chaste kiss on her friend's cheek before joining the crowd to exit out of the cafeteria.
As she was walking, the girl caught the eye of Isaac Lahey. He was gathering things into his bag on one of the tables opposite her. When the beta noticed that she'd seen him looking at her, he teasingly looked the girl up and down before sending a wink the witch's way. Lennon jokingly stuck her middle finger up at him in response which he acknowledged with a light laugh and a nod of the head before the girl was out of sight.
Stiles, now having walked up to Scott, had caught the interaction between the pair. His best friend, having sensed a change in the smell his emotions were giving off, followed his eye line to Isaac. "You okay, man?" Scott asked him whilst he picked up his bag.
"I'm fine. Let's get to class." Stiles replied, tearing his eyes away from the beta.
･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆
Lennon made her way to the table in the far left of the library when she noticed Allison beckoning her over. She sat opposite the redhead and taller brunette who was sitting beside Lydia.
After forty five minutes of the three girls having their heads in their textbooks, Lydia exasperated and picked up her phone. The other two teenagers, now also being distracted, followed suit in closing their textbooks.
"Did Aiden just give you. . . the look?" Allison questioned her best friend after catching them looking at each other across the library.
"What? Of course not." Lydia replied in a way that said she was offended by the insinuation.
The Argent rolled her eyes at the redhead's actions. "What about you, Lennon? Met any guys yet that you think are cute?"
If Lennon was completely honest, the image of a certain somebody did almost subconsciously pop into her head. That was a topic, however, that the witch wouldn't even debate with herself yet let alone anybody else. "Oh, I uh– I don't know–"
Lydia was intrigued by the girl's reaction, reading that there was something to bring to the surface from the girl's reaction. "A guy back in Italy?"
This stirred up more memories that the girl would rather forget. "I mean, yeah, there was one–"
The other brunette stared wide-eyed at the girl. "Really? Were you together long?"
"Do you have any pictures of the guys back at your. . . witch school thingy?" The redhead intervened.
Lennon sarcastically smiled; she'd misjudged just how fast the pack would pass information around. "It's nice to know word about me being a witch has spread so fast."
"Are witches good in bed. . . wait, or is it wizards?" Lydia pressed.
The Phoenix girl coughed awkwardly, not expecting such a personal question. "Oh I never really, I mean I don't–"
"Virgin?" Lydia put down her coffee, surprise lacing her words and facial expression. Lennon opened her mouth to answer before the redhead cut her off again. "Have you met our friend Stiles?"
"Lydia!" Allison said, nudging her best friend's shoulder.
The Martin girl rolled her eyes. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'm just making a joke. I know she knows Stiles."
Lennon, however, had already spaced out of the conversation. Her mind flashed to the purity ring the lifeguard was wearing that she initially perceived to be interesting but insignificant. She then thought back to her conversation with Caitlin regarding how the girl was going to make her girlfriend's first time special. "Virgins. . ." The witch whispered to herself, an epiphany hitting her. "I have to go. I'll catch you guys later."
The teenager made her way out of the library and walked towards the locker belonging to Stiles Stilinski. Lennon took a deep breath and swallowed her pride before confidently striding towards the boy, scared that if she debated it for a second longer she'd lose the nerve. "Hey."
"Hey," Stiles put his textbook in his locker before doing a double take. He was sure that he'd imagined the girl who approached him as Lennon and thought that if he looked again his eyes would focus on somebody it was more likely to be - Lydia, Allison, maybe even Kendall Jenner. "Hey! Lennon, are you– is everything oka–"
"Look, I know this is going to sound. . . really insensitive and I'm sorry in advance but. . . you were close friends with Heather." Lennon paused to take a deep breath when she saw Stiles' face drop from a hopeful and curious expression to something a lot sadder. "I know you two were going to. . . before she uhm. . . but before that, uh–"
"Lennon, can you maybe speak English?" Stiles raised his eyebrows and remarked impatiently.
The brunette spit the question out quickly and almost absentmindedly. "Do you know if she was a virgin?"
The teenage boy's facial expression had now turned from sad to irritated. "What? Why the hell are you asking me that?"
Lennon winced, irritated herself by her own actions. "I know, I'm really sorry but. . . I promise you I'm asking for a reason."
The Stilinski boy exasperated. "Lennon, if this is about what I think it's about then maybe we should have a proper conversation, you know?"
"Stiles–" The girl interrupted him but he was already talking in full swing.
"For the sake of Scott, I guess we should at least and try and be civil–"
"Stiles–"
"But me and Heather, growing up we were always just friends–"
"Stiles!" At the raising of the girl's voice, Stiles was immediately brought away from his thoughts and stopped talking. Lennon lowered her voice before speaking again. "I really don't care whether you were just friends or not, that's not why I came over here."
"Okay so. . . why are you asking me?"
Lennon closed her eyes and sighed impatiently. "For the love of God, I wouldn't have come over to speak to you if it wasn't urgent. Can you please just answer the question?"
Stiles felt deflated and slightly embarrassed. However, he was still curious to know why the girl had come over to ask him that question. "Yeah, she was a virgin. Why?"
The teenage witch sighed, relieved that they were now one step closer to finding answers but apprehensive about what her suspicions being confirmed would lead them to. "We need to talk to the others. I think I know what's going on."
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authors note; thoughts so far?
so i'm looking to explore and write more on lennon's backstory and her place in the supernatural - i've just not wanted to give away too much too quickly. i hope you guys are enjoying the story so far, thank you so much for all the votes, reads and lovely comments xx