Another day, another time in which Rachel Hale was weighing out the pros & cons of killing her brother.
After a gruelling day of having her face slammed into a stone wall various times for bitching out the police department, along with only being released due to lack of evidence; Derek had done the absolute worst possible thing.
He made her go to school.
Needless to say, on a one to ten scale, Rachel's day had already hit a minus twenty-eight by 10am. The day had gone by semi-smoothly, with the exception of Satan [also known as Mr. Adrian Harris] decided to give her a pile of extra work she'd supposedly missed on her one day of absence.
To add to that, somehow the degenerate high schoolers had managed to hear of not only Derek's arrest, but Rachel's as well. That made for an array of snide comments, to which she would often ignore or reply with a threat of "Yeah, I was arrested. I'll happily be arrested again, too, if it means getting the satisfaction of killing you." Knowing full well that she'd indeed been initially charged with accessory to murder [her brother being charged as the actual murderer], they stopped talking relatively quick.
Now, with the bell finally allowing her a half hour of freedom; Rachel was walking along with Lydia, Allison, Jackson, Danny & a few other lacrosse players she hadn't yet learned the names of.
"Where are we sitting?" Rachel questioned, glancing around the cafeteria at the various empty tables. Everyone had their cliques, whether it be the crowd of girls attempting to become the next Lydia Martin, or the reeking freshmen boys who didn't know deodorant existed. Then of course, there were two lonely sophomores that quickly caught Rachel's eye.
A small smile began to form on her face, only widening more as Lydia pointed to the exact table she'd been staring down. The one occupied by the newly bitten beta & his outrageously spastic best friend. Rachel followed along with her group, snagging a chair from a table along the way & purposely pushing it between Scott & Stiles. She climbed over the back, jumping onto the floor & falling back in the chair.
"Figure what out?" She raised a brow, looking over Stiles' shoulder as the rest of the group sat down around the table.
"Just, uh- homework." Scott stuttered, attempting to cover up their previous conversation though Rachel had heard it all.
Before leaving the passenger seat of her brother's Camaro, she'd not-so-accidentally stared directly into his eyes, mirroring the icy blue as she'd done days ago. In the process, she'd also acquired a few of the useful abilities that accompany it.
They'd been discussing the fact that she & her brother had "all the answers". Scott was indeed right, Derek had been in full control under the full moon- just as he always was.
But control wasn't the only thing that Scott wanted. He wanted to know if he'd been the one to brutally maim the bus driver, Garrison Meyers - another question that Rachel had the answer to.
Scott hadn't been the only one out for a midnight stroll last night.
Rachel couldn't even begin to bring the bloody massacre back to the front of her mind, especially not when she was attempting to eat lunch. The mere thought made her nauseous.
Whilst Rachel had been thinking, Stiles had also been doing the same. Starting with the burning question of why the hell was Rachel Hale sitting with them? To add to his confusion, Lydia had taken a seat on the other side of him, along with Brian - a lacrosse player, Danny & Allison. Where there was Lydia, there was also the cold-hearted bastard known as Jackson Whittemore close by. Not a minute later, the lacrosse team captain was by his girlfriend's side, insisting that Brian move.
"Get up."
"How come you never ask Danny to get up?" The lacrosse player questioned, sounding relatively annoyed. Everyone already knew the answer.
"Because I don't stare at his girlfriend's coin slot." Danny deadpanned.
Brian sighed, standing up & taking his lunch tray to the other side of the table. Jackson quickly sat down next to Lydia, smiling in satisfaction. Most would question as to why he was so blindly obeyed, but anyone who knew Jackson Whittemore didn't need to. He was filthy rich, a spoiled rotten brat.
Rachel could easily top any expensive toy he had, she was a Hale, after all. But she didn't want to. Because as much as Jackson loved to act as though his money could buy anything; Rachel's couldn't.
The only thing she wanted, couldn't be bought.
"So.." Danny finally interrupted the awkward silence. "I hear they're saying it's some type of animal attack. Probably a cougar."
"I heard mountain lion." Jackson shrugged. It was evident that the teen was less than interested in the conversation, thought he still remained at the table due to Lydia.
"A cougar is a mountain lion." The aforementioned strawberry blonde stated obviously. A moment later, as everyone turned to look at her oddly, she'd realized that she accidentally acted smart; something popular girls apparently didn't do - Rachel had realized that within one day. "Isn't it?"
"Mountain lions don't attack unless provoked. I doubt anyone with any brain cells whatsoever would purposely piss off a wild animal." Rachel scoffed, rolling her eyes. As much as she enjoyed showing off her smarts whilst Lydia hid hers; Rachel couldn't draw anymore suspicion to her & her brother. Of course the clueless teens were harmless, but Scott & Stiles had proved that they weren't playing around. Cue the clueless human act. "It was probably a rabid bear or something."
"Who cares?" Jackson remarked, rudely. "The guy's probably some homeless tweaker who's gonna die anyway."
"Actually, I just found out who it is." Stiles interrupted, holding out his phone so everyone could watch the video. "Check it out."
On the screen, a reported stood in front of the bloody, destroyed school bus. With a microphone in hand, she stared at the camera & began to speak. "The Sheriff's department won't speculate on the details of the incident but confirmed the victim, Garrison Meyers, did survive the attack. Meyers was taken to a local hospital where he remains in critical condition."
The video cut off after that, leaving everyone in silence - aside from the meaningless lunchroom chatter around them - until Scott spoke quietly.
"I know this guy."
"You do?" Allison questioned, seemingly surprised.
"Yeah, when I used to take the bus back when I lived with my dad." The teen wolf nodded. "He was the driver."
"Can we talk about something slightly more fun?" Rachel raised a brow, leaning forward. "Like.."
"Oh!" Lydia chirped, smiling slightly. She'd almost forgot. "Where are we going tomorrow night? You said you & Scott were hanging out?" The strawberry blonde turned to Allison, who current resembled a deer caught in the lights of an oncoming bus.
"Um, we were thinking of what we were gonna do." She shrugged, looking sympathetically towards Scott.
It was blatantly obvious that the two had wanted it to be a date, not a hang out- however it apparently had not been too obvious to Lydia. Rachel only hoped that she wouldn't get dragged along as a fifth wheel. Or worse- with Stiles.
He was cute & all, but getting her & Derek thrown in jail was a deal breaker. Sadly for the youngest Hale, her worst fears were about to come true.
"Well, I am not sitting home & watching lacrosse videos. And I'm certainly not leaving Rachel on her own to get herself arrested again, so if the five of us are hanging out - we're doing something fun." The strawberry blonde smiled. It still hadn't registered in her genius brain that she was the only one who actually wanted a group date.
Rachel was fully content on spending her evening annoying Derek & hiding from the police - along with the Argents, seeing as how they'd perked their interest as well. Scott & Allison were obviously wanted to be alone, and Stiles could attend some form of online nerd convention.
Everyone had better options, yet nobody could manage to decline the queen bee's suggestion.
"You know what else sounds fun?" Jackson chuckled, picking up a fork from his lunch tray. "Stabbing myself in the face with this fork."
"I'll help." Rachel grinned sarcastically, quickly narrowing her eyes into a glare as her smile faded. "I can't go out with you guys anyways. I'd just be a total fifth wheel."
"Oh no- you're coming. I am not bailing you out if you get arrested again."
"I won't get arrested again.." Rachel trailed off, looking around the room for a valid excuse. A demented grin soon formed on her face as her eyes locked on the perfect target - or well, victim, in his perspective. "Because I'll be with Stiles."
"What?" Stiles nearly jumped out of his seat, staring at the brunette in shock.
"Yeah, remember? I was going to help you study.." She trailed off, hoping he'd go along with it. As the boy still remained staring at her in confusion, Rachel kicked his leg under the table. "Just go with it." She coughed fakely.
"Ah! Yeah- now I remember." Stiles groaned, nodding weakly.
"Stiles can come too." Lydia grinned. "How about bowling?" She turned to her boyfriend, who still appeared to be contemplating on stabbing himself with a fork. "You love to bowl."
"Yeah, with actual competition." He scoffed, looking towards Scott & Allison.
"Well, Stiles & I are terrible at bowling. Y'know what else he's terrible at?" Rachel questioned, her eyes momentarily flicking to Stiles. "History. And as much as I'd love to watch these losers-" she gestured to the two teens on either side of her. "-try & bowl, I promised I'd help him study."
"How do you know we're not actual competition?" Allison asked, gazing back at Scott. "You can bowl, right?"
"Sort of." The werewolf shrugged. Truthfully, he was a terrible bowler - but he wasn't about to admit that with Allison sitting next to him.
"Is it sort of," Jackson questioned, still sporting a smug smile. "Or yes?"
Taking a deep breath & looking back at Allison once more, Scott stupidly said the first thought in his mind. "Yes." He spoke before thinking, only digging himself a deeper grave. "In fact, I'm a great bowler."
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"You should've let him come in. I could've scarred that bastard for life." Rachel snorted, taking a seat on the top step of the stairs.
Minutes before, a police deputy had been dispatched to check & ensure nobody was hiding within the charred Hale house - especially not Derek & Rachel. It was no secret around town that the house looked fresh out of a horror film.
Young kids would often dare each other to enter, the only result being a few nightmares. That was no longer the case now that the werewolf & his sister had returned to town. Now, nobody would even try to invade their home. The consequences were suspected to be deadly, due to the fact that both surviving Hales were now thought to have slaughtered their older sister.
Only they knew the truth.
No matter how badly Rachel wanted to scream it at both Scott & Stiles until they finally listened, she remained quiet. Derek had said it from day one that neither boy would believe them without time, and time was something they seemed to be lacking. The attack last night was only one of many more to come.
Rachel wanted to tell them everything. That she & Derek had nothing to do with Scott being bitten, nor the death of their sister. The boy was completely & utterly stupid when it came to the newfound supernatural aspects of his life, and Rachel was practically a genius.
She knew that all her words had to remain unspoken; for the safety of Scott, for the safety of everyone; even Derek. She had her suspicions about the alpha, along with suspicions of why her sister really came back to Beacon Hills.
As much as Derek was positive Laura had been killed by hunter, Rachel wasn't so sure.
"Then he would've pulled out his gun & shot you." Derek deadpanned, interrupting Rachel's nearly never ending train of thoughts. "You seem to forget that you're only human, Rach."
"And you seem to forget that I'm not always human." Rachel countered, a smirk forming on her lips. "I'm sixteen, not six."
That was enough to make Derek stop talking. He'd always been the over-protective older brother type, especially for Rachel. She was truly identical to Cora in all ways except two; appearance & supernatural.
Her rebellious nature often got her into trouble, but her inability to sprout claws & fangs whenever she needed was the reason she'd need help getting out of trouble. She could only mimic the power of a werewolf for so long, before she either lost it by accident or let it fade away.
Rachel knew she could hold on for longer if she practiced. She'd kept the last reflection for nearly two days before her eyes changed from blue back to a silver-ish grey. Nobody ever seemed to notice how they'd often change; from blue to green, or from brown to grey, or any other combination. It all depended on who she'd accidentally lock eyes with.
"Get up." Derek whispered, nearly causing Rachel to tumble down the steps in surprise.
The brunette didn't even need to ask once she saw the look of annoyance plastered onto her brother's face. She let out a groan, reluctantly pushing herself up from the ash-stained wood. "I'm seriously debating on a restraining order."
"I know you can hear me." Scott's voice could be heard clearly by both Hale siblings. "I need your help."
Rachel turned to Derek, a pleading look on her face as if to say "please ignore him." She knew full well that they'd eventually end up helping Scott, but the lingering anger at him was enough to make her want to hold off for a few more days. After all, he'd gotten them arrested. Rachel had walked past him countless times at school today, and not once did he even attempt to apologize.
Without so much as knocking, Rachel could tell by the distinctive teenaged werewolf stench that Scott had decided he could enter the house.
The youngest Hale didn't need to be as smart as Lydia to know Derek's intentions. He was going to help Scott whether she wanted him to or not. Scott was the only one they had with a connection to the alpha, and they needed him to find the homicidal bastard.
With no alternative options, Rachel reluctantly followed Derek down the creaky old staircase, joining Scott at the bottom of the stairs. The teen wolf looked almost fearful of the two Hales, which was a good thing in Rachel's mind.
He should be fearful.
"Okay..." Scott began, taking a deep breath before continuing. "I know I was a part of getting you both arrested and that we basically announced you being here to the hunters, I also... don't know what happened to your sister. But I think I did something last night. I had a dream about... someone. But someone else got hurt. And it seems like a part of the dream actually happened."
"You think you attacked the driver." Derek stated, finally ending the teen's rambling.
"Did you see what I did last night?" Scott asked, sounding both hopeful & fearful at the same time. On one hand, it would be helpful to know that he didn't potentially kill a man. But at the same time, if Derek had been there; that would mean he had something to do with the attack on Garrison Meyers.
"No."
Yes. Rachel thought. The brunette pursed her lips, glancing off to the side. She'd seen the majority of the attack happening through the bus windows, whilst she'd been following the alpha. She couldn't very well tell Scott that though, because in turn, she'd end up revealing to Derek that she'd been tracking the alpha all on her own.
He would most definitely kill her.
"Can you at least tell me the truth?" Scott exhaled loudly, looking pleadingly between the two Hales. "Am I gonna hurt someone?"
"Yes." Rachel answered before her brother had the chance.
"Could I kill someone?" The werewolf hesitantly asked. With the increasing violence suggested within his questions, the answer only became harder to cope with. Scott didn't want to hurt anyone, let alone take their life. He was only sixteen, he never asked for any of this.
"Yes." She repeated, crossing her arms tightly over her chest. Rachel herself had experienced what a full moon was like, and she knew full well of the burning desire to tear someone apart. Her urge wasn't as strong as that of a newly bitten wolf, but it was certainly still there when she'd accidentally reflect her brother's abilities too close to the full moon. It happened on more than one occasion, which led him to resort to teaching her control rather than continue to restrain or knock her out each time.
She still preferred to keep herself human on those particular nights, however.
"Am I gonna kill someone?" Scott finally managed to ask the question he really wanted to know. Deep down, he already knew the answer, he only wanted Rachel to confirm it. She & Derek both knew of how strong the urge of killing could become, and with a mystery alpha not seeming to want to teach him control any time soon; Scott's odds weren't looking too good.
"Probably." Rachel muttered, opting to give the boy a little bit of hope. She hated that sickening four letter word, though she knew it often meant a stronger force of will for others. Scott needed all the will power he could get if he wanted to refrain from tearing anything with a pulse to shreds on the next full moon. "Look, my brother can show you how to remember. He can show you how to control the shift, even on a full moon. But-"
"It's not gonna come for free." The older werewolf finished. Rachel nodded, rather than making a comment about how Derek had promised to stop interrupting her every five seconds.
"What do you want?" Scott snapped, now growing rather angry. Nobody seemed to do anything out of the goodness in their hearts anymore- everyone wanted something, especially those with the last name of Hale.
"You'll find out." Derek stated, sticking true to his decision of easing into the full truth. They couldn't reveal what they really wanted, not yet. Scott would never help them, let alone believe them. "But for now, I'm gonna give you what you want. Go back to the bus. Go inside. See it, feel it. Let your senses- your sight, smell, touch - let them remember for you."
"That's it?" Scott questioned in disbelief. "Just- just go back?"
"Do you want to know what happened?" Rachel remarked, raising a brow. She knew that sarcasm probably wasn't the best response, but being friends with Stiles - Scott had grown accustomed to the occasional remark or snide comment.
"I just want to know if I hurt him."
Derek rolled his eyes, looking at the teenager in front of him. Both he & Rachel had heart the boy's heart beat skip, so the older Hale's next words came as no surprise to anyone. "No you don't. You want to know if you'll hurt her."
⠀⠀⠀⠀↻
Rachel & Stiles. Hmm.
I can't decide if I want this to be a Stiles fic or an Isaac fic [ik he's not on the show until s2, but I don't really care lmao. she can stay single until then]
I love Stiles, but Isaac is bae. And plus, he liked Cora in 3a.. Rachel is her twin sister. I'll keep it as Teen Wolf until I choose.
Comment who you think she'd be best with?