.

WARNING : there is a panic attack in this chapter (last segment)

Part 1 ; Chapter 6
Birthdays and PTAs

01x05 The Tell

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Anthony couldn't tell if he just had terrible luck or if the Universe actively hated him. He was inclined to believe the second option a little more. One person going through so much shit was not possible without some sort of force working against them.

Anthony rubbed at his eyes with his thumb and index, his slim fingers coming to pinch the bridge of his nose with one hand. The other one was being placed into a splint to support the wrist he had managed to sprain.

His head already hurt and Jackson's yelling was not helping in any way. Because not only had Anthony been attacked by what could only have been an Alpha werewolf, he had been with Jackson Whittmore of all people. Lydia was there too, but sat outside in the car. The two boys had been in the video store with a dead body and then a werewolf. Luckily, Jackson hadn't seen much. And unluckily, he was being an unbearable ass, yelling at anyone who would listen that he wanted to go home.

Honestly, of all the evenings this could have happened, why did it have to be the one evening the twins really wanted to watch a movie they did not own ? Why had Anthony and Allison, who always argued over which movie to watch, agree that they both wanted to watch Matilda ?

Anthony was maybe a minute away from punching Jackson in the face and giving him a real reason to complain when a car pulled up. When the boy glanced up at it after thanking the EMT who had taken care of his wrist, he caught sight of someone he hadn't necessarily met but knew about.

"Sheriff," he greeted, standing up. Noah Stilinkski looked at him, his eyebrows creased. He was a weathered looking man. Not exactly handsome but he had a presence to him, an authority and a kind intelligence. "You don't know me," the boy hastily told him, letting the man know that his memory was fine. "I'm a friend of Sophie's."

Recognition lit up his face as he pointed to him. "Anthony, right ?" He questioned. The teenager blinked, not expecting him to know, nodding. The Sheriff smiled. "She talks about you."

That made Anthony smile for some reason. He looked away, a giddy and happy feeling lining his stomach and replacing his annoyance. Noah looked at him before shaking his head and mumbling something under his breath. Anthony wasn't sure what he said but it sounded like something along the lines of, "Oh, what the hell ?"

He watched the man step towards his squad car and opened the backseat door. Anthony could hear Stiles complaining from the passenger seat. The other boy's father shut him down though and ordered him to stay in the car. Anthony watched the entire interaction in confusion before blinking in surprise when Sophia Calliope Ward stepped out with an equally confused look.

It cleared up as soon as she saw him though. "Anthony," she breathed, rushing over. Her hands caught his forearms on top of his black peacoat, tightening on his sleeves as she questioned, "Are you okay ? What are you doing here ? What happened ?"

"I'm okay," Anthony assured. He lifted his arms to remove Sophie's hands from his frame. He then took his own hands and placed them onto her shoulders, his head leaning down closer to her eye level. "Just a small sprain."

Sophie slumped in visible relief. She didn't seem entirely satisfied but also okay with his answer. Though that might just be that she had gotten used to his secretive and mysterious nature. The girl removed his hands from her shoulders and held them between the pair of them. Her gaze shifted over Anthony's shoulder. "Is she okay ?"

He glanced back, following her eyes. Sophie was looking at Lydia. The strawberry blonde seemed out of it, as though she wasn't really there. Anthony knew the feeling well. He'd been there. "She's in shock," he explained, looking back to Sophie. He then winced as Jackson started yelling at Noah, his face morphing to a mask of annoyance. "He's just an ass."

Sophie managed a small smile. "What were you doing here ?" She wondered, though keeping an eye on Jackson. Anthony knew she was checking if she needed to intervene.

"Allison and I wanted to watch Matilda but we don't have it at home," he explained. "Movie night is a birthday tradition."

That made Sophie focus completely at him with a soft smile. "That's right," she recalled. "That's tomorrow."

"Mhmm," he hummed in agreement.

"You're old," Sophie teased, her soft voice filling with a chuckle. It sounded like music to Anthony's ear.

"You—"

"No, you don't understand," Jackson's voice cut in as he loudly yelled at Noah. "Which kind of blows my mind, since it should be a pretty basic concept to grasp for a minimum wage rent-a-cop like you !"

All of Sophie's amusement melted away into anger as she exclaimed, "Jackson !" with a glare. That made the boy turn to her as she stepped around Anthony. Anthony turned too, keeping close. "He's trying to help."

"He isn't helping," the boy yelled. "Why is this so hard for everyone to understand ? I wanna go home !"

"Well if he's yelling so much, he's probably fine," Anthony offered. Noah sent him a look to which he sheepishly raised his hands in surrender.

The man went to speak but a familiar voice jumped in, sounding a strange mix of excited and worried. "Whoa, is that a dead body ?"

Anthony and Sophie both glanced back at Stiles who smiled awkwardly. They heard Noah's exasperated sigh before they all looked at the gurney with a body bag on it.

"Everybody back up," the Sheriff ordered when people tried to get past the police tape to get a look. "Back up."

Sophie and Anthony shifted to the side and ending up near Stiles who stood with the passenger side door slightly open. "Just couldn't keep it in, could you ?" Sophie raised an eyebrow.

Stiles shrugged, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Sophie let out a soft chuckle as she nudged him in the ribs. The boy nudged right back and raised a hand to gently tug at her fringe making Sophie gasp. Anthony watched fondly not even attempting to hide the soft smile tugging at his lips.

Their mood sobered up when the body passed in front of the three of them. They leaned back against the car as to give space. "Do you know who it was ?" Stiles asked quietly.

"The video store employee," Anthony replied quietly.

Stiles and Sophie blinked at him before sharing a look.

Anthony didn't know what that look meant. He wasn't sure he wanted to. Or maybe he did. But at this point, this felt like nothing compared to some of the things he'd seen. Actually the most worrisome thing for him was that there was a huge, red eyed Alpha walking around.

"Do you need a ride home ?" Stiles asked. "I'm sure my dad won't mind."

"No, it's okay, I called mine," Anthony shook his head. "Thanks though."

"We'll wait with you," Sophie offered. "It's not like we can go anywhere before Noah can leave anyways."

Anthony smiled at her. He then realized something. "What are you doing here ?" He questioned. "I get Stiles being here but—"

"Mom had to work overtime," Sophie cut in, understanding where he was going with his question. "Asked Noah if he could make sure I had dinner."

Anthony nodded along as she spoke. He remembered her texting him the other night, after that dinner at his house with Scott. Sophie had mentioned that she thought her mother and the Sheriff were dating. This seemed to track with that theory.

"So what happened ? —OW ! Sophie !" Stiles whined, rubbing at his arm where Sophie had just hit him.

"You can't just ask him that," she scolded, shaking her head.

"Why not ?" The boy demanded. He gestured to Anthony. "He's fine. You're fine, right ?" Anthony nodded, making absolutely no effort to hide his amusement as he turned so that he was facing them, leaning his good arm onto the roof of the cop cruiser. He propped his head into his hand, watching as Stiles turned back to Sophie with a winning look. "See, he's fine."

Sophie just scowled, shaking her head. "Your people skills suck."

"My people skills ?" He repeated in offense, his hands on his chest as he leaned towards her. "You're the one going around hitting people on the back of the head."

"Not people," Sophie denied, shooting him a sardonic smile. "Just you."

"Oh, so I get special treatment."

"Mhmm," Sophie nodded, the smile still plastered to her face.

"Hmm," Stiles nodded along with a similar smile. He then let it drop. "Please stop."

"No."

"You—"

He was cut off by Anthony laughing, unable to hold it in anymore. And yes, the place and situation were unfortunate but he couldn't help it. It wasn't a loud laugh but it was real. One of the realest he had had in awhile. His head ducked down, his shoulders shaking and his arms coming to his sides to hold himself upright. Stiles and Sophie shared a look, both smiling before looking at him again.

Sophie's smile was a wide and beautiful sight. It was everything the poets and painters tried to lay out on paper with their quills and paintbrushes. "You have a lovely laugh," she told him, her arms leaning up onto the police cruiser.

Stiles nodded. "Yeah. I don't think I've ever seen you laugh before." He stayed quiet for minute. "You should do it more."

A warmth fluttered in Anthony's chest upon hearing those words. He blinked, not sure why his vision seemed to be blurry. He didn't say much afterwards. It had been a while since someone told him that.

[•]

"Where did you get that ?" Anthony furrowed his eyebrows as he walked next to his sister. After the morning he had had of going on his run, getting ready for school and managed to shovel some breakfast into his face between his father's questions about the previous evening (again), it was his turn to drive. That meant it was only by the time they reached school and were walking down the hall that Anthony noticed the necklace around his twin's neck. "I've never seen it before."

Allison looked down at it, smiling widely as she brought it up to eye level. She then practically thrust it into her brother's face as much as she could manage without taking it off. "It's a birthday gift," she beamed. "Kate gave it to me."

"Kate ?" Anthony repeated, squinting at the pendant.

"Yeah," the girl repeated, letting it dangle around her neck again. "Apparently it's an heirloom."

Anthony said nothing. He leaned against the locker next to hers, trying to figure out what their aunt was playing at. His parents were really serious and strict about keeping Allison out of the know for the longest time possible. So why the hell would Kate give her something that might actively undermine that ?

"What the—" Allison was cut off as she opened her locker and out came balloons ?

Anthony scoffed out a laugh.

The irony ? Allison used to love their birthday. She would look forward to the day with so much fervour, announcing every single day how many days there were left until the next one. It drove Anthony mad for many reasons but the biggest was that he cared very little for their birthday. He hadn't cared about it for years, the celebration and party and photo of the twins they took as a tradition feeling more like a chore for him than something he enjoyed.

He used to. But that changed years ago.

It had changed for Allison too. When they had been 12, Allison got held back a year in school. After that, she refused to tell people her birthday at school because kids and teenagers were fucking assholes who could be mean and cruel little shits.

Anthony watched his sister struggle with the balloons for a couple seconds before huffing. "There's a card," Anthony informed her. He was enjoying the scene probably more than he should have.

Allison's brown eyes followed where her twin had pointed, all but ripping the card out of the envelope that had been stuck to her locker.

She let out a small sigh of annoyance but it didn't seem surprised. "Lydia."

Anthony wasn't surprised by that revelation either. He raised his eyebrows for a second before looking away, casually people watching.

"Is today your birthday ?"

Anthony's head snapped back towards his sister's side, finding Scott McCall there. He was staring at the balloons, an obvious sign that answered his question. The presence of balloons at a birthday was like that of flowers at a wedding : usually inevitable.

Allison still tried denying it though. She tried to shove the colourful balloons into her locker as to hide them. "No, no," she denied. "Uh, no." But Allison wasn't doing a good job of hiding the spheres. And while he didn't necessarily like Scott, he knew the guy wasn't a complete idiot either.

"She means, yes," he told the other boy, ignoring the locker and the pissed off sister in front of him.

But Allison also knew there was no escaping this. She turned to her boyfriend, quietly begging, "Please don't tell anybody. I don't even know how Lydia found out."

"I told her," a voice informed. The trio turned to find Sophie approaching.

Anthony smiled when he saw her. She was wearing a knee length denim dress. The dress was buttoned down the front and hugged her waist before perfectly falling around her legs. She had paired it with a white cardigan and (he assumed) skin coloured tights. Her sneaker clad feet stopped right next to him and she smiled at them happily.

"Happy birthday."

Anthony smiled at her. Allison however frowned. "You told Lydia ?" Sophie furrowed her eyebrows but nodded. "But how did you know ?"

"Anthony told me."

To that, the brunette turned to her brother with a small glare. "Ant !"

"What ?"

"You know I don't like it when people know about my birthday," she reminded.

Anthony shook his head, letting out a small chuckle. "I'm sorry, okay ?" He said, turning so that he was leaning one arm against the lockers, completely facing his sister. "We were talking in the car the other day and it just came out. I'll be more careful next time."

Allison twisted her mouth to the side but nodded. She accepted his apology.

Sophie cleared her throat slightly, calling their attention. There was a look on her face that Anthony couldn't quite place. It disappeared quickly though, replaced with her smile as she held out two different packages towards the twins.

"What ?" Allison blinked. "Sophie..."

"Just take it," their friend rolled her eyes affectionately. "It really is no use arguing. I wanted to do this."

The twins shared a glance before taking their respective packages and opening them. Allison's was smaller, holding a small square box that opened to reveal a pretty bracelet made of small irregular and iridescent stones. The girl smiled, easily sweeping her friend into a hug. "Thank you !"

Sophie chuckled, hugging her back. They then turned to Anthony who sighed, opening his package. It was bigger but not too big either. He tore the blue paper, chuckling when he saw what it was. It was a book. A book with the title 'Lockwood and Co.' written on top in silver and in a small font, 'The Screaming Staircase'. It was the first book of Sophie's favorite series.

"I thought it was time you met book Anthony," she shrugged shyly, her hands gripping at the lanyards of her backpack.

Anthony shook his head fondly, flipping through it. He quickly realised it was annotated. Sophie has taken the time to buy this copy and nicely annotate it for him with things she liked, things she didn't, things she might want to discuss. This was probably one of the best and most thoughtful gifts anyone had ever given him.

"I love it," he admitted. "Thank you."

He swooped down and hugged her tightly around her waist. She was practically flushed against him, but she didn't seem to mind the contact. Sophie happily hugged back, her arms going over his shoulders and resting on his back. Her face was in the crook of his neck, much like his own that was breathing in her perfume. She smelt like lavender and honey, sweet and calming.

They pulled away, Sophie sinking down onto her heels again. She chuckled, pushing hair behind her ear. Anthony noticed that she parted her fringe again and that her hair was slightly longer than when they had met those couple of months prior.

"Chemistry ?" He raised an eyebrow.

Sophie nodded, smiling over at Allison again. "Happy birthday again," she wished in a hushed voice.

And with that the pair took off. Anthony noticed that Sophie glanced back to Scott and Allison with a thoughtful look. "What's wrong ?"

She turned her face back to Anthony, her eyes widened. She resembled an innocent doe caught in the sights of a car with golden headlights. "Nothing," she shook off. Sophie then smiled at him again. "So...how are you celebrating ?"

"I'm not," Anthony shrugged. He looked down at Sophie, doing a double take and actually taking a step back. "What ? What's with the look ?"

"What do you mean you're not celebrating ? You have to do something. To mark this moment."

"I will," he assured. "I'm going to start reading this." He lifted the copy of The Screaming Staircase that was still in his hand.

Sophie sent him a look. "Anthony..."

"Sophie, seriously," he told her with a small smile. "I'm fine with this."

Sophie pursed her lips. She begrudgingly nodded, but Anthony the glint in her eyes.

[•]

"Just a friendly reminder," Mr. Harris' voice boomed through the class, drawing everyone's attention. "Parent/teacher conferences are tonight. Students below a "C" average are required to attend. I won't name you, because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment."

Anthony scoffed out a laugh next to Sophie. She wanted to laugh too but she couldn't. She was too bothered by the situation. By his situation. It was all she had been able to think about since they were in the corridors.

How was he so nonchalant and unbothered ? His sister snapped at him for sharing her birthday with someone. Instead of mentioning that it's his birthday too, he apologized. Then, his reaction to a book that she gave hime for very selfish purposes was the same as if he had been given gold. And finally, how celebrating his birthday seemed more like a burden to him than a pleasure had Sophie feeling frustrated and annoyed.

Not at him. Of course not at him. But at whoever or whatever it was that made him like this.

She blinked back to reality when Mr. Harris spoke again, asking, "Has anyone seen Scott McCall ?"

Sophie creased her eyebrows, glancing at the spot next to Stiles and finding it vacant. She then looked at Anthony who had the same look on his face. They had just seen Scott before class. Where the hell had he disappeared ?

The door opened roughly. Everyone's eyes snapped over, finding a pale and sickly Jackson Whittmore there. Harris gently stopped him, lowering his voice. Thanks to her heightened hearing however, Sophie heard everything perfectly. "Hey, Jackson. If you need to leave early for any reason, you let me know."

"What the fuck ?" Sophie breathed, her face a picture of offense.

"What is it ?" Anthony whispered, lowering his head next to hers.

"He just told him that if he had to leave early, he could," Sophie reported. "Why didn't you get that ?"

Anthony didn't seem the least bit bothered, shrugging. "Maybe because I don't look like a ticking time bomb."

"So what ? You were there too. The teachers were informed of it. You should get— what ?" She cut herself off when Sophie noticed that Anthony was looking at her in a manner he never had before. "Why are you looking at me like that ?"

He shook his head, smiling slightly. "No reason."

"Liar," Sophie immediately accused. "Tell me."

"Pay attention to the class, Sophie," Anthony side stepped answering, turning back to the face the front. The girl glared slightly, but faced Harris' stupid face again with a huff.

"Everyone, start reading Chapter Nine," the teacher instructed. The statement was followed by a whirlwind of books opening, pages flapping, pencil cases unzipping and students grumbling. "Mr. Stilinski," Mr. Harris called his favorite victim, mocking. "Try putting the highlighter down between paragraphs. It's chemistry, not a coloring book."

Stiles scoffed, tossing the neon yellow highlighter cap that was in his mouth into the air and catching it with his hand. His composure then changed slightly. Sophie watched with careful eyes as he leaned forward in his seat. She opened her inner ear again, focusing on his conversation with Danny who sat right in front.

It started out fine. It was Stiles so no one was really surprised by his questions. At least, not the ones about Jackson and Lydia. What did surprise Danny and Sophie who barely caught the laugh bubbling up her throat was when Stiles, serious as hell, wondered, "Do you find me attractive ?"

Danny turned back to him with furrowed eyebrows and confusion. But Stiles was waiting. Waiting for an answer he wouldn't get because he leaned forward a little too much, almost falling off his chair.

This time, Sophie did laugh when he caught himself but drew everyone's eyes. Leave it to Stiles to unknowingly cheer her up. Sure, this had nothing to do with her and she was only a witness, but it was nice to know that Stiles and his stupidity was consistent.

Class was rather uneventful after that though. Everyone did the work, reading the chapter and highlighting. They would raise their hands if they had a question and Mr. Harris would explain. He might be a dick, but there was no denying that he was a good teacher when he wanted to be. Finally, the bell showed them mercy and let the students out.

Sophie and Anthony left together, spilling out of the classroom with the rest of their peers. Sophie was clicking at her phone, her head leaned over it as she squinted at the blue light of her screen. "Hey, can I borrow your phone ?" She asked Anthony. "Mine's acting up."

Anthony didn't even think twice before reaching into his pocket and pulling the device out. Sophie smiled. A smile that morphed into a smirk as she shook her head slightly.

Oh, Anthony, you gullible fool.

She unlocked it, knowing the passcode since the last time she had had this phone in her hands. That was when Sophie started walking slightly faster. "Where are you—" Anthony cut himself off when he saw that the young woman had placed the phone to her ear, as though she were calling someone. "Sophie..." he warned, going after her.

Sophie giggled and took off running, weaving through students and ignoring shouts from teachers. She was generally a model student but this would not do. She had to do something about Anthony and his lack of enjoyment of his birthday.

"Anthony ?" A voice called through, worried.

Sophie figured the boy didn't usually call his father if it wasn't important. "No," she replied. "It's Sophie."

"Sophie ?" This time, Christopher was confused.

"I stole your son's phone," she admitted, reaching for the school door and rushing out into the rest area for students that sat outside.

At that Christopher laughed, an unexpected laugh of surprise and approval. "Sophia !" Anthony called. "Give it back !"

"Let me guess, he isn't too happy about it ?"

"Nope," Sophie reported. "And he's almost caught up to me so I shall get to the point of this call."

"Go ahead. What can I help you with, my dear ?"

Sophie smiled at the endearment. For some reason, she liked that Anthony's dad liked her. "Well, I was wondering— woah," she swerved around a table to avoid Anthony grabbing her arm. "Too slow !" She taunted.

"Sophie..."

"I was wondering if maybe while you and Mrs. Argent are at the parent-teacher meeting this evening, I could take your son out to dinner," Sophie spoke quickly into the phone. Anthony froze blinking. He had that strange look on his face again, the one he wore in Chemistry. Sophie also stopped, stood on the other side of the round wooden table. "For his birthday," she added into the phone.

Christopher was quiet for a minute, as if lost in thought. Sophie and Anthony only stared at each other, their chest rising and falling deeply from the little chase they had just finished.

"Sure."

Sophie blinked, tearing her gaze away from Anthony's hypnotising dark eyes and looking to the ground. "Really ?" It was hard to hide the excitement in her voice.

"Really.  And after, why don't you both meet us at the school ?"

"Um y-yeah, yeah, sure," Sophie smiled. "Thanks, Mr. Argent."

She hung up the phone, staring at it for a second. Sophie blinked, having just realized that his wallpaper was a picture of Anthony and a guy. She didn't know the guy and she didn't look much further, clicking the phone off and handing it back to him. She didn't want to pry. If Anthony wanted to tell her who the guy was, she would gladly listen. But it wasn't her place to go snooping into his private life.

"Looks like you're celebrating your birthday after all," she told him, smiling proudly. "With me."

"You don't know when to give up, do you ?" But there was nothing mean in his voice. In fact, there was fondness and almost, admiration.

Sophie shrugged. He only chuckled. "Come on, Trouble. Let's get to class."

[•]

"What do you mean, 'Lydia got a picture of the Alpha' ?" Sophie all but yelled into the speaker of her car.

"I mean exactly that," Stiles answered. "I went by her house to check on her,  found her completely drunk on pills—" Sophie raised her eyebrows, feeling bad for her friend. Though she had expected that kind of response. Lydia would be back on Monday, though, fine and with her head held high, as though nothing had happened. "—and when she got a message, I asked if she wanted to get it. Clicked a couple wrong buttons and there it was, the picture."

"What did you do ?"

"I— I mean, I still have it."

"You have her phone ?" Sophie asked in disbelief. "Stiles !"

"I panicked, okay !"

"Well, unpanic ! Unpanic, right now ! Delete the picture and get her phone back to her !"

"I will," he sighed deeply. Sophie could hear him noisily slump on his bed. "I just...I'm scared, Sophie."

Sophie softened too. She was pulling up in the Argent family's driveway, setting her car into 'park' mode before throwing herself back into her seat. "I know. I'm sorry you have to deal with all this."

"Thanks," he let out a gentle chuckle. "I'm really glad you're here."

Sophie smiled. "I'm always here, dummy."

He laughed. "Yeah. Unlike Scott," he mumbled bitterly. "You know he's been MIA all day ? No response to texts, not picking up his phone."

"For fuck's sake," Sophie rubbed her hand over her face. "I really want to kill him at times."

"Who do you want to kill ?"

"Holy shit !" Sophie startled, jumping in her seat. She turned her face to the open window on the passenger side of the car. She had rolled it down as to hear when the front door opened but had forgotten that Anthony Argent seemed to move like a freaking cat, graceful and silent. "Anthony !" She glared at his amused face, his arms casually laying on the window sill as he leaned his head and frame down to properly look at the girl.

"Anthony ?" Stiles' voice said. "What's Anthony doing there ? Where are you ?"

"Hey Stiles," Anthony greeted as he got into the passenger side seat. "And she's in her car, in my driveway."

"Why ?"

"We're having dinner together," Sophie answered, starting the car again. "Though, I'm not sure he deserves it after the way he scared me."

"You're normally more aware of your surroundings," he defended, buckling himself in as Sophie easily drove in direction of the diner they were going to. "How was I supposed to know you were completely out of it today ?"

Sophie humphed. "Fine. Look, Stiles, I'll call you back later, okay ?"

"Sure. Enjoy your date !" And he hung up.

Anthony stared at the speaker system for a minute, blinking, before looking at Sophie. "Is this a date ?"

Sophie blinked, glancing at him. "I mean, I was taking this as a friend date," she answered, looking back to the road. They were quiet for a minute, driving in silence. The only sound was the road rolling underneath them. "Do you want it to be a date ?"

Anthony was quiet. When Sophie glanced over, she noticed the thoughtful look on his face. It was a look the made his eyes haze over as though he were somewhere else, his chin tilted downwards and his eyebrows ever so slightly furrowed. She couldn't help but appreciate the fact that he was actually thinking over his answer.

An instant refusal would have been rather offensive and quite hypocritical given the number of times he had complimented her or said she would make some guy really happy one day. An instant approval would raise some questions like did he like ? If so, how long ?

But Anthony Argent was thinking it over. He was considering it.

"Not yet."

Sophie glanced over again, averting her eyes from the street ahead to look his way. Anthony was leaned back in his seat, his head turned to face her with a soft smile. "Maybe one day. Where I'm in a place I can be in a relationship."

Sophie smiled at him. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she looked away, facing the road again for the rest of the journey. She didn't say anything. Neither did he. But at some point, their hands had met and they both sat intertwined on Anthony's thigh.

[•]

Lilith looked at Noah with narrowed eyes. "Why do you look like that ?"

"Like what ?"

"Like you're about to get very bad news."

"Because I am," Noah stated firmly.

Lilith raised an eyebrow. "How do you figure ?"

The sheriff looked her way with a deadpan expression. "Have you met my son ?"

"Stiles is a great kid," Lilith defended.

Noah snorted. "Yeah, but he's also not known for his exemplary behaviour, now is he ? Sophie, now that's a great kid."

"You're too kind," Lilith chuckled fondly.

"I'm not and you know it."

Lilith did know it. But she still said it. She felt Noah didn't give himself enough credit at times.

Noah had come to pick her up for the Parent-Teacher Conference (and dinner) earlier. Since Sophie had plans and would be meeting Lilith at the school later, they figured it was better if they just take one car (Sophie's) and that Lilith could hitch a ride with the good sheriff. Noah had happily agreed. And it had been lovely.

Lilith hadn't dated since she was a teenager. Her and her late husband had been together since they were seventeen and tied the knot when they were both in their early twenties. So, this was all new to her.

Not that she thought she would be dating three years after Henry died. Lilith always thought her mourning period would be longer. But Noah Stilinkski happened to ask her out one night and before she even realized it, Lilith Ward found herself saying yes. And she enjoyed herself. She enjoyed with him.

It wasn't the same as with Henry. Nothing would ever be like with him. The same way, that for Noah, nothing would be like it had been with Claudia. It was different. But it was good.

Noah pulling up into a parking spot in the school's car park and sighed deeply. Lilith put a hand on his arm, making him glance over. She smiled. "It'll be okay."

"I hope you're right," he patted her hand before just taking it and laying a kiss on the knuckles. Lilith found herself smiling and blushing. Noah somehow always seemed gentler with her than with the rest of the world. With her and her daughter. Even before they attempted this relationship.

The couple got out of the car, talking and laughing in quiet voices as they walked towards the school entrance from the car park. Lilith held her black handbag in front of her with both hands, bundled up in her black coat over a pair of dark wash blue jeans and a white blouse. She wore black heeled boots to complete her look. She was laughing at Noah's grumbling when she heard, "Lilith ?"

The woman bristled immediately. She could have lived her whole life without hearing that voice again. In fact, all Lilith wanted to do was turn around and curse the woman out. She didn't though. Her mother had spent far too many years shoving etiquette and manners into her daughter's head for Lilith to act on her impulses like that. Instead Lilith took a deep breath and turned around, wearing her best smile. "Victoria."

She would have added "what a pleasure", but was worried she wouldn't be able to pull that off without her eye twitching. Victoria Argent seemed to have no problem in speaking lies though as she hurried over and put a hand on Lilith forearm. "It's so good to see you."

Lilith almost widened her eyes at Christopher who was approaching from behind his wife, begging for help, when Victoria hugged her. Almost. Lilith caught herself in time, remembering they no longer had a relationship where she could do that and settled for patting the woman on the back as she waited for her to remove herself from Lilith's personal space.

Lilith cleared her throat when the woman did, stepping back next to Noah. She then turned to him. "Noah, this is Victoria and Christopher Argent. Anthony's parents"

Noah turned to them and offered a smile. "Nice to meet you," he greeted. "Your son's a good kid."

Christopher smiled at him. "Thank you."

"And who might you be ?" Victoria tilted her head.

"The sheriff," Lilith replied. She looked back at the man with a soft smile. "He's the sheriff." Noah smiled back at her.

"Oh !" That pulled everyone's attention back to Victoria. "I just want to say, we're so sorry about Henry." Lilith blinked, not at all expecting that. "We wanted to come to the funeral, especially Chris, but Allison was ill and we weren't sure how bad it was. You understand, right ?"

Lilith stared a minute before pulling her lips into a small, forced smile. She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear, her heeled foot taking a step forward. "My husband died three years ago, Victoria," she reminded.

"Clearly," the other woman noted, glancing at Noah.

If Lilith didn't have good impulse control, she probably would have socked Victoria in the mouth for that. She also started understanding some things, some things that had eaten at her, something that had hurt her.

Noah blinked, not expecting to be brought up in such a manner. Sensing the rising tension and awkwardness, he gestured to the school doors."I'm gonna...."

And he left with a single, reassuring touch to Lilith's shoulder. The woman was glad he could escape. Lilith smiled sadly at Noah's retreating frame, watching him walk into the school. Victoria offered a very false smile, following after the sheriff. Lilith held back the urge to roll her eyes and flip the woman the bird behind her back. She never had liked Victoria Argent.

She let out a deep exhale, walking towards the school. Someone fell into step next to her, their footsteps silent. Lilith didn't need to listen to the footsteps or even look next to her, she knew the presence. She'd known it most of her life.

"She's great, you know."

Lilith glanced to the man next to her. She was unable to hide her unimpressed look as she raised an eyebrow and deadpanned, "Your wife ?"

Christopher snorted, looking away while shaking his head. Lilith felt a small smile trying to fight its way to her lips.

"No," he mentioned. Christopher calmly looked at her with clear blue eyes. "Sophie. She's great."

That actually did make Lilith smile. It was a small and precious smile. One filled with love and affection. If anything could make Lilith Ward smile, it was her daughter.

"Thank you," she whispered. "Anthony's great too. Little shy, but...he's a good kid."

It was Christopher's turn to smile. But his smile was more sad than anything. And....guilty ? Lilith didn't read much into it. Because if she did, she could no longer pretend. Pretend everything was okay. Pretend that seeing Christopher Argent didn't hurt. Pretend that they hadn't been important to each other before everything fell apart.

"This is me," she cleared her throat. "It was...um... it was nice to see you, Christopher."

He smiled at her. She smiled back. And then walked on.

[•]

"What do you mean, you just left ?" Anthony laughed.

Sophie shrugged, popping spoon of the slice of pie they were sharing into her mouth. She had a satisfied little smile playing on her lips after telling Anthony about some of the disastrous dates she had been on at Lydia's behest after her and Issac Lahey had broken up.

"He tried to feel me up before we even entered the restaurant," she said once she'd finished chewing. "What else would I have done ?"

"So, what did you do after ?" Anthony questioned, taking a bite of his own.

"I called Stiles, told him what happened and he picked me up. Then we got burgers from.....this place," Sophie retold, ending her statement by spreading her arms out to gesture at her surroundings.

Dinner had been easy. It had been fun and light and filled with laughter. Real laughter. Sophie didn't think she'd seen Anthony smile or laugh as much as he had that evening.

It became apparent to Sophie very early on into their friendship that Anthony Argent was not only reserved, but very shy. She figured it was because he was homeschooled most of his life and didn't have to meet many new people on his own. So the fact that he was opening up (slightly) and smiling his sunshine like smile with her, meant the world to her.

Anthony smiled at her, going for another bite of pecan pie before sighing. His elbow was leaned on the table, his chin resting in his palm as he looked at Sophie.

Sophie tilted her head. "Why are you looking at me like that ?"

"Like what ?"

"The same way you've been looking at me practically all day," Sophie replied. "I can't really describe it but it's not your normal look." Anthony smiled secretly which made Sophie laugh, demanding, "What ? What is it ?"

"I just...I'm not used to having someone in my corner," he shrugged.

Sophie's smile faded slightly, into a more serious, more loaded look. Of course she was in his corner. She had been since they met. But a small voice in the back of her mind was needling at her. Someone in his corner with secrets.

Sophie thought back to her conversation with Anthony's father.

We have nothing against Guardians, Sophia. I won't tell him. But you should.

I'm scared.

That's okay. But know this : my son cares about you. A lot.

Anthony deserved the truth. He deserved to know what she was. Because she was in his corner. On his side. She had his back.

"Anthony ?" Her voice rang quiet and shy.

"Yeah ?" Anthony hummed, going for another bite before glancing up. He furrowed his eyebrows. "Everything okay ?"

"I have to tell you something."

"Okay," he nodded, putting his spoon down and leaned back. "What's going on ?"

Sophie licked her lips, trying to go about this the best way. She wasn't really sure what that was. So she settled for saying, "So...I have a secret. And I'm worried you'll not want to be friends with me after I tell you."

"Okay, Sophie," Anthony sat up straighter, his arms gesturing as though he were a lawyer presenting Sophie with paperwork. "Let us make one thing very clear. Whatever secrets you might have, I can guarantee that mine are ten times worse."

Sophie wasn't sure what to make of that. But she nodded, deciding to just rip the bandage off and blurted out, "I know."

"Know what ?" He questioned, his brow creased. Then his lips pulled into a playful smirk. "Are you talking about the prank I was planning on pulling on—"

"Anthony, I know."

Sophie didn't know if it was the intensity of her statement that made him realize what she meant or something else. Whatever it was, it made him pause and stare at her, all his previous amusement and playfulness melting away. "You know ?" He repeated, the look in his eyes telling her he had understood what she was talking about. Sophie nodded. Anthony leaned back in his seat, his eyes glazing over thoughtfully. "How ? I—" the look on his face when he turned to her broke Sophie's heart when he started, "God, Sophie please tell me you aren't— you aren't the second beta."

Sophie's eyes widened, her head quickly shaking. "No," she refuted, immediately holding her hands out. "No, I'm not. If I was I never would have befriended you. It would have been stupid on my end and just plain cruel to you."

Anthony let out a breath of relief. His chest rose and fell deeply, as if he had been holding his breath for God knows how long and he could finally breath freely again. His hand moved to his pocket, his inhales and exhales calming down, his dark eyes closing.

When he looked at Sophie again, he only said one word. "How ?"

[•]

Christopher sat in the uncomfortable chair facing a woman. Victoria sat next to him. He knew why they were there. He was there for his children. He was there to see how they were doing.

He knew that.

But somehow, Christopher kept thinking about how a few doors down, Lilith Noble was sitting in a chair, much like his own, waiting for the same news. Well, almost. She was there for her child. Hers and Henry Ward's.

Lilith would never truly be Lilith Ward to Christopher. He could never call her that in his mind. To him, even after all these years of taking her late husband's name, even after years of not talking to each other pretending he didn't think about her and hate himself every day, she was and would always be Lily Noble. And it wasn't anything he had against Henry. Henry was a lovely man. Kind, thoughtful, good. He was everything Lilith had deserved and more.

It was just Lily. Who she was to him. Who she had been. What he had messed up.

"Allison and Anthony Argent," the woman in front of him smiled, having seemingly found the files. That brought Christopher back to the present, smiling pleasantly as though he hadn't been wandering in the past. "Who would you like to start with ?"

"Anthony," Christopher said at the same time as his wife pronounced, "Allison."

The couple looked at one another. A breath passed between them, as though startled by not being on the same wavelength. But Christopher was starting to feel like he and his wife hadn't been on the same wavelength for a while. Especially when it came to their son.

The teacher cleared her throat. "Let's see who's file is on top." The couple faced her, nodding with tight smiles. "Anthony," the woman smiled. She then put her hands on top of the desk, leaning forward slightly. "Let me just say, academically speaking, your son is a gem. Very smart and well behaved, not to mention his grades are impeccable. I have to tell you, I have read a lot of essays and none have been as interesting or well written as Anthony's."

Victoria smiled. "We're glad he's doing well."

Christopher felt a small pinching in his chest when he looked at his wife's face. If he didn't know her, nothing would have seemed wrong. But he did know her...

"He is," the teacher assured before pursuing her lips. "But I'm worried about him, on a social level. He's closed off and doesn't seem to have any friends of his own."

"He's always been shy," Christopher told. "And, well......the last good friend he had.....let's just say it didn't end well."

The teacher nodded. "I understand. But I think he would definitely benefit from trying to make some new friends."

"We'll talk to him," Victoria said, quickly before impatiently adding, "And Allison ?"

Christopher glanced at his wife but said nothing. The other woman smiled sweetly. "An incredibly sweet girl. And, unlike her brother, quick to adjust, despite all the moving around."

Christopher wanted to defend his son. Say that Anthony adjusted just fine. He'd been adjusting his whole life. He was just a shy boy who had been through something traumatic. The man didn't though. His son's personal life was none of this teacher's concern. She didn't need to know more than what he had already told her. So he said, "We know it's hard on them, but, uh, it's a necessary evil."

The woman smiled understandingly. "Necessary or not, I'd be prepared for some -How do I put this ?"

"Rebelliousness ?" Christopher offered. She nodded, a grateful smile on her lips.

Victoria smiled. "We appreciate the concern, but we have a great relationship with our daughter. Very open and honest."

"And your son ? From what I've seen, he has a lot of things on his mind that he's keeping in. I wouldn't be surprised if one day, he explodes," the teacher told them.

"We'll talk with him," Christopher said before his wife could intervene. Her relationship with Anthony wasn't.......good, to say the least.

"I'm happy to hear that," the teacher smiled. "And let Allison know that I hope she's feeling better."

Christopher bristled at that, sharing a look with his wife. This time they were both thinking the same thing. "Oh, she wasn't in class ?" He inquired, his heart beating fast and filling with dread.

Allison and Anthony's teacher glanced up from where she was checking her notes to see if she missed something. "Oh, she wasn't in school," the woman shook her head. "I checked with the office."

[•]

Sophie was walking next to Anthony, small and sheepish. Anthony could feel her watching him as he walked with one hand in his pocket, running his fingers over the silver bullet he kept there. The other was playing a game of twirling Sophie's car keys on his index finger.

The only words he'd said to her after she revealed that she knew everything were "Do you mind if I drive ?" Sophie didn't mind. She wordlessly handed over her keys. In their months of friendship, she must have realised that driving was therapeutic for Anthony.

"Do you hate me ?" Sophie suddenly asked, stopping.

Anthony blinked, turning to face her. "What ?" He questioned, the keys he was twirling coming to a stop in his palm as he stared wide eyed.

"Do you hate me ?" She repeated.

Anthony was speechless. Did he hate her ?

You're such a wanker sometimes.

In this case, Anthony had to agree with that all too familiar voice. He realised it was a valid question since he hadn't exactly talked to her since she told him the truth. Her truth. He probably could have dealt with that better.

Anthony approached her, their sneaker clad feet practically kissing as he towered over her. "Sophia Ward, let's make one thing perfectly clear : I could never hate you."

"Really ?"

"Really," he echoed, putting her keys into the pocket of her father's old denim jacket that she loved and taking her hand.

She visibly untensed as though she had been holding a great weight and it was now lifted. Anthony understood the feeling. The only thing was that his weight had yet to go away.

That was what he had actually been thinking about the whole time. How Sophie had told him her secret and trusted him with it. Maybe, just maybe, that meant that he should do the same. That he should tell her his truth, the dark and twisted past that had been eating at him for a year. Tell her about Damien...

But not today. He would tell her. Just not yet.

"I'm glad you told me," he pulled back. Her hand stayed in his as they kept walking towards the school. "You know, I always thought you guys were a myth."

Sophie chuckled, swinging their hands slightly. "Well, we're not. Though, we are rather rare. By the way, it turns out that guardians and hunters actually work together pretty closely. I think that's how our parents must know each other."

"Huh," Anthony tilted his head. "Well, that's definitely something to investigate."

He then raised their joined hands and twirled her around, gaining a sweet laugh. Sophie had changed out of the dress she had been wearing in the day, sporting black bootcut jeans and a simple white V-neck t-shirt under her jacket. But the jacket was big enough that it flared around her like a blooming flower.

When she was done spinning, Anthony pulled her into his chest, his arms wrapping around her. Sophie's hugged around his waist, her chin tilted up against his chest. Anthony played with her fringe slightly with a soft smile on his lips. "Thank you. For today."

"Of course."

They swayed slightly, smiling at each other in front of the school. It didn't matter that parents were starting to filter out. They didn't care. They were happy, in their own little world.

"There they are !"

The teenagers turned their heads towards the door, noticing a smiling Lilith approaching them. "Mum !" Sophie beamed, breaking away from Anthony and racing over to her mother. Anthony smiled, slipping his hands back into the pockets of his peacoat, as the girl threw her arms around the woman. Lilith chuckled lovingly. "So, am I a good daughter ?"

"You," Lilith pulled away, taking her daughter's face in one hand by her chin and turned Sophie's head before depositing a loud kiss on her cheek, "are the best daughter ever."

Sophie laughed, her arms snaked around Lilith's shoulders as they walked towards Anthony, side by side. "Hi Miss Ward," the boy greeted shyly.

"Anthony," Lilith looked at him with a sort of motherly affection he wasn't sure he had ever seen or felt before. "Call me Lily. Please."

Anthony blinked slightly. "I— I'm not sure I'd feel comfortable doing that unless Sophie could call my parents by their given names."

"I'm sure your dad will let me," Sophie shrugged. She then turned to her mother, speaking in a conspiratorial way. "He likes me."

Lilith chuckled, lovingly. She then turned back to the boy. "Whatever you are comfortable with. But the option is there."

"Thank you," he smiled timidly.

"Oh ! And happy birthday," the woman wished. She was looking at him over Sophie's head while the three of them had formed a line ; Lilith was on one end, Sophie in the middle with her arm threaded through her mother's and finally Anthony next to Sophie. They had slowly started ambling towards the parking.

"Thank you," Anthony smiled again.

"Anthony !" The trio turned their heads to see Victoria Argent approaching with furious confusion splashed over her severe face. Christopher was behind her, clicking onto his phone. Before the boy could even greet his mother, she demanded, "Have you seen your sister ?"

"My sister ?" Anthony repeated with furrowed eyebrows. He then shook his head. "Not since we reached school this morning."

The trio watched as Victoria pulled out her phone, turning away. Christopher approached, greeting the trio with a nod as his phone was pressed to his ear. They all wait in anticipation. The man's face contorted with frustration as he pronounced the words, "Allison, answering your cell phone will make discussing the terms of your grounding much easier. Well, call me back before your punishment reaches biblical proportions," into the device before hanging up with a deep sigh.

"Kate hasn't heard from her either," Victoria turned back, still gripping her device. She then turned a glare onto her son. "How did you not know your sister was missing ?"

Anthony stopped himself from glancing at Sophie and Lilith. Anthony stopped himself from flinching and shrinking back. He squared his shoulders and stood tall, gulping. "It's Friday," he started, his fingers pressing harder onto the metal bullet in his pocket. "I don't have any classes with Allison. And Sophie drives me home because we both finish early."

"It's not your fault, son," Christopher told him, his eyes hazed over as he shook his head. "She doesn't do this."

"I'm sure she's fine, Christopher," Lilith reassured, her voice sounding like a comforting song. "She's your daughter, after all."

Anthony's head turned to Sophie. She was already looking at him. They shared a look. That was a loaded statement. One filled with knowledge, one filled with fondness, one filled with intimacy. How did their parents know each other and what had happened ?

"Excuse me." Everyone's head turned towards the set of stairs that lead down into the parking. There stood a woman, hispanic, pretty with long curly black hair and dark brown eyes.

"Melissa," Lilith blinked.

"Hi Lily," the woman —Melissa— smiled before facing the Argents. "You're not Allison's parents, are you ? I'm Scott's mom, and I hate to say it, but he's not answering his phone either."

"You're his mother ?"

"Dad," Anthony couldn't stop himself from saying upon hearing his father's tone.

Melissa raised her eyebrows in a haughty manner, her arms crossing over her chest as she retorted, "Funny how you say that like it's an accusation."

"Well, I wouldn't claim it as a source of pride, since he basically kidnapped my daughter today."

"Chris," Lilith warned too. "They're kids. It happens."

"And how do we know skipping school wasn't your daughter's idea ?" Melissa countered, immediately defending her son.

"For fuck's sake," Lilith breathed just loud enough for Anthony and Sophie to hear, the pair glancing at her before looking back at the tennis match of accusations before them.

"My daughter..." Christopher trailed off, his eyes focusing on something a little further off, "is right there."

Everyone followed his eyes, seeing two figures emerging sheepishly from a car. Allison and Scott. Melissa instantly went to them, Christopher hot on her heels. The rest of the group wasn't far behind, far too curious and invested to see how this would all unfold. Call it morbid curiosity.

"Where exactly have you been ?" Melissa demanded, her arms crossed angrily.

Scott tried deflecting as he quietly said, "Nowhere, mom."

"Nowhere, meaning not at school."

"Kinda," the boy conceded.

"It's not his fault," Allison tried to protect him, explaining, "It's my birthday, and we were—"

Christopher wasn't having that though. "Allison. In the car," he ordered. He then turned around and tossed his son the keys. "Can you drive please ?"

Anthony easily caught them in one hand. He wordlessly nodded. His father was too angry and frustrated to drive. And unlike Anthony, driving didn't sooth him. It didn't help Christopher forget the frustration and annoyance that might be festering inside his being. It wasn't the first time Anthony had been tasked with this since he'd been able to drive. And he knew it wasn't the last.

"What about mine and Anthony's car ?" Allison asked.

"I'll come get it this weekend," Anthony shrugged. He turned to Sophie. "You can drive me over, right ?"

"Yeah, of course," the girl nodded, her voice the soft and lovely melody Anthony loved.

"Wait," Allison tilted her head, eyes suspiciously narrowed. She lifted a hand, gesturing between her brother and her friend. "What are you two doing here ?"

Anthony blinked at her suspicious tone. He wasn't sure why his sister was suspicious of anything. He suddenly wondered if it bothered her that he was such good friends with Sophie. Allison had mentioned more than once that she really liked Sophie, that she found her sweet and kind and funny. But Sophie was still closer to Anthony.

Anthony felt a small surge of pain in his heart at the thought that he might have stolen an opportunity from his sister. He clenched his teeth as the voice started telling him not to go there, to stop thinking whatever it was that he was thinking.

He listened though, pushing those thoughts back before looking at Allison. Anthony went to tell her but got cut off by a shriek somewhere in the parking lot.

Anthony was immediately alert, looking around for the source of the sound. The thing was that that one shriek had a large domino effect on its surroundings. That one shriek instilled panic and fear in people, everyone rushing to their cars and slamming doors, driving with almost no consequence or thought other than getting away from there.

Before Anthony knew it, the entire group that had formed in front of his and Allison's car had dispersed. Everyone had gone to complete their own investigation into the shout, each edging further and further away. He found himself near the school pillars, his eyes vigilantly taking in his surroundings.

They paused on a familiar head of brown hair, curls just a shade darker than his, slowly backing up between cars. Backing up faster and faster, right into the path of an incoming car.

"ALLISON !" He yelled, rushing to his sister and pulling her out of the way, just in time. He crowded her to the side, his arms holding her forearms as he inspected her for any injury.

She seemed okay, despite the wet eyes and small mascara tracks down her face. "Ant..." she breathed.

"Allison !" Scott was to them in a second. Allison let her brother's arms which she had been holding like a life line. She turned to her boyfriend who held her tightly, his hands cupping her face. "Are you okay ?"

Victoria jogged up to them too, a pointed look shot at Anthony. It was one that seemed to indicate that he had done his job in an acceptable manner. The boy gulped, turning away slightly, his head bent and his face downturned.

"Move ! Move !" He heard, turning his head to see Noah Stilinkski trying to head towards the source of the mayhem. Anthony's feet seemed to be approaching slowly on their own. He flinched visibly when he saw Noah get hit by a car backing up.

"Noah !" Lilith cried, rushing over. He saw her disappear behind cars, probably getting on her knees. Sophie was right behind her.

Upon seeing her, Anthony made a more decisive move to approach them. Allison was fine after all. Not to mention, Scott and Victoria were there. He was almost away from the pillars and their fluorescent lights wh—

BANG !

Anthony froze.

BANG ! BANG !

He flinched with each shot. A hand went to his chest, heart speeding under his black t-shirt and peacoat. His breath came out unevenly as his hand searched for something to hold onto, something to support him as his breath came out shallow and heavy.

Suddenly, Anthony was back. Back to that night.

His hands were covered in blood. Gold was fading to black. A gun was smoking next to his ear, the shot deafening and hot and deadly.

Anthony. Anthony, breathe.

"Get out of my head," he hoarsely whispered, closing his eyes. Anthony was leaned back against a pillar, hidden from his sister's and Scott's view. One hand clutched his chest, the other pulling the silver bullet from his pocket.

Anthony would have laughed at the irony if he was in any state to do so. He was seeking comfort in a bullet, of all things. A fucking bullet. The sound of which had triggered his panic attack in the first place.

Anthony...

"You're not real," he whimpered to himself desperately. "You can't be real."

"Anthony !" The boy gasped, looking up to find his mother there. He was still breathing heavily, unable to calm his heart, unable to escape his visit to the past. He felt her approach as his eyes were closed, trying to regain himself. To no avail. "Snap out of it," she ordered lowly.

"I'm trying," he panted. "Mom, I swear, I— I'm trying."

A hand forcefully cupped his cheeks by the chin, turning his head harshly to stare into icy blue eyes. "You are weak," Victoria hissed. "Control yourself, you absolute disgrace."

A feeling of hurt and anger pinched at his chest, stabbing him over and over again. He held onto it like a man holding the blade of a knife away from his body. He concentrated on the anger. The anger would bring him back. Anger towards his mother and her cruel words. Anger towards himself for letting himself go back there. Anger against everything that happened, leading up to that moment.

The one that broke him beyond any real repair.

Anthony greedily gulped again, slowing his breathing pattern. He was back. He was okay. He wasn't in that basement anymore. He was at the school.

"You are an Argent hunter," his mother jeered lowly, his face still caught between her painful nails as she jerked his head. "Act like one."

And with that she strode away with purpose. Anthony was left to lean against the wall a moment longer, composing himself. He tilted his head upwards, finally feeling his heart calming down as he let out a few deep breaths.

The boy rubbed his jaw and cheeks, the hurt from where his mother's claws dug into his skin subsiding. He slowly let his sneakers edge closer to his family, the Ward women, Scott and Noah who stared at the ground. Once he reached his sister's side, Anthony blinked at the sight.

At their feet, laid a dead mountain lion.

I finally finished this chapter ! And.......... I don't love it. I'm sorry, I just don't. Maybe it's because of how many changes it went through. Maybe it's because of how long it took me to write it. Maybe because of all things going on in my life while I was writing it. I don't know. But I also don't hate it so, there's that. All in all, it could be better but it could be worse.

I can make no promises about the next one seeing as I am not home and won't be for at least another week. And after that, I start college soon (eee, I'm so excited) and don't know how much time I'll have. That added to my other stories.....we'll see.

Anyways, I hope you guys liked the chapter !

Bye !

.