"Which one is better? This one or this one?" I asked, showing the two outfits to Allison, who was sitting on my bed. The brunette was already dressed for the party, wearing a classy white t-shirt with a jacket over top, and some navy jeans. Bracelets lined her right wrist, jigging annoyingly as she fidgeting with them. Her eyes were distant, and she hadn't been focusing to my light rambling. "Are you even paying attention?"

My cousin blinked a couple of times before turning back to me, "I-I'm sorry, I just ner--"

"Nervous," I finished, "I get it. This is your first party in a new town, and your going with a guy you like."

"Wow, it's like you read my mind," Allison said flatly, rolling her eyes slightly at me.

A laugh escaped my lips as I held up the outfits again, "So which one?"

Allison narrowed her eyes, and I watched as they drifted between the two outfits, questioning which one was better. My arms were becoming tired when my cousin's brown eyes met mine and she asked, "Who are you trying to impress?"

"I'm not trying to impress anyone," I said, my hands falling to my side. Allison leaned back on her hands, and gave me a look, which sent a slight red to my checks when Stiles came to mine. I shock the image away, and repeated, "I am seriously not trying to impress anyone."

"Yeah right," Allison said, slightly giving me the side eye, "I mean, look at those outfits, they are both super scandalous. That is a cry for attention."

I glanced down at the outfits, trying to find what was so scandalous about them. The first was a black crop-top that wrapped around my upper half of my abdomen, but exposed my shoulders and stomach. The crop-top was pair with some low-waist-ed navy jean shorts. The second outfit was a skinny black dress that cut off half-way up my thiegh, and the top showed a little too much chest. As my eyes fluttered over the outfits, I released now what Allison was seeing, and it did totally look like I was crying for attention. A sigh escaped my lips, and a glared back at my cousin, who smirked.

"So, who is the lucky guy?" Allison asked.

"No one," I responded quickly, "There's no lucky guy. There's no one."

"Oh, I would have thought that it was the kid with the buzzed hair," Allison stated, "I mean, you hang out with him all the time, and I've only known you for about a week."

"His name is Stiles," I told her, and I hated that red was coming to my checks, "and there is no romance there, he is just my best friend. Just like Scott is also my best friend, so if you hurt him, I know where you live."

Allison let out a light laugh, and said, "I promise that I won't hurt him."

"Good, but I still have my eye on you," I said smirking.

At that moment, there was a light knock on my door. I turned sharply on my heel to see my mother standing in the doorway. Memories flashed before my eyes as I looked at her, remembering the conversation that I had overheard between my mother and my uncle. I was still trying to process what the conversation was about, and whenever I thought I should tell someone about it, I decided against it, feeling very secretive about the information. My mother crossed her arms over her chest, and flashed her perfect white teeth at us.

"Allison, your ride is here," My mom tell her, "Scott McCall, good choice."

"Thanks, Aunt Sabrina," Allison mumbled, as she got to her feet. Before starting to the door, she walked over to my mirror and looked at her reflection. She straightened her outfit, played with her brown curls, checking her makeup, and I watched as the small critiquing didn't stop. A sigh escaped my lips, disliking the lack of confidence in the beautiful Argent girl. She should release that she was pretty since she was able to get the guy she liked in less than a week when I spend years waiting around for some stupid guy to notice me.

I placed my outfits down on my bed, and walked over to the fidgeting brunette. I threw my arm over her shoulder, and the nervous girl slightly tensed at my touch, but it immediately disappeared. I looked at our reflections in the mirror, and even though we are related, I couldn't see any resemblance between us. Allison's brown eyes fell to the floor, and I could hear the sound of annoying sound of rattling bracelets.

"Don't be nervous," I said to my cousin, trying to calm her down, "You look fantastic, and I bet, no, I know that Scott is going to faint once he sees you."

Allison took a deep breath and nodded her head, "Thank you."

"No problem," I said, grinning kindly at my cousin.

Allison looked at herself on last time in the mirror before turning on her heel and started over to the door. But she suddenly came to a stop, and turned back to face me, a smile written on her face. "You should go with the black dress, it's sexier and since you're not trying to impress anyone, you can just go and look stunning."

A smile danced across my face as I said, "Ok I will."

"See you later, B.Peters," Allison said to me before she started down the hallway.

"See you A. Argent," I called after her, liking our nicknames that were inspired by the famous soap opera One Tree Hill. Even though the two of us had only known each other for about a week, we were already started to have a bond that would eventually become untouchable. I liked Allison a lot more than I thought I was, and I liked having my cousin around. Even though we didn't share the same life experiences, we still seemed to have a lot in common. I liked our growing friendship, and it was honestly nice to hang out with a girl instead of the two knuckleheads that I call my best friends.

Silence fell quickly in my bedroom, and the silence instantly started to bother me. With a light skip in my step, I walked over to my desk and turned on my stereo, music suddenly exploding from the speakers. Quietly, I flipped through the station until I found the one I wanted. As Rolling in the Deep blared through my speakers, I turned on my heel and started getting ready for the party.

After picking out some cute shoes, and a jacket, I changed out of my outfit the slipped on the scandalous black dress. I instantly looked at myself in the mirror, and a smirk came onto my face as I show my expression. The dress fit perfectly around my body, complementing my curves, and for the first time in ages, I somewhat liked the reflection looking back at me. I touched up my makeup, adding a little more mascara to my lashes and some clear lip gloss to my lips. Once I was satisfied with both my dress and my makeup, I slipped on my leather jacket and clicked my feet into my high heels.

Stiles came to pick me up a couple minutes after I finished getting ready. A smile came across my face when I saw his Blue Jeep sitting in front of my house, and I imagined for a moment that we would be walking into this party hand-in-hand as Beacon Hill High newest couple. But the daydream immediately vanished when I heard my mother yell from the living room, "Brynn! Stiles is here!"

"Okay!" I yelled as I checked my reflection one last time in the mirror. I looked great, confidence still didn't flow through my veins. I was good at showing confidence, it was a great tool for intimation, but I've never really felt the emotion before. I've never thought that I was good enough, and as I eyed myself in the mirror, I released that this was just another moment when I felt like that. No matter what I did or what I tried, I was never good enough, and I was never enough to catch the eye of the Stilinski boy.

I stumbled out into the hallway, and walked quickly towards the front door, trying desperately to dodge my overprotective parents. Lucky for me, the two didn't leave the living room, but instead yelled a reminder that my cue with at twelve. I opened the front door, and quickly stepped out into the fall air. The air was slight chilled, and I regretted again wearing my leather jacket. Once the door closed behind me, I turned and started over to the blue jeep. Stiles's eyes lingered over my outfit as I jumped into the passengers seat.

"What are you staring at Stilinski?" I asked, titling my head sideways at the boy.

"Uh, n-nothing," Stiles rambled, "Y-You look great, Brynn."

A blushed lightly, "Why thank you."

"You ready?" Stiles asked as he started up his car.

"Yup, let's head to his party."

~~~

Even though I disliked Lydia to a great extent, she still threw awesome parties.

Once Stiles and I got to the party, we chit-chatted for a hot second before splitting up. Stiles, I knew, was going to spend most of the party talking to random people, and staring at the famous strawberry-blonde in a deep daze. After spending most of my freshman year watching the buzzed-head boy do this, it had become rather boring and it feel me with jealousy. So, eventually, I found my own grove and it always started in the kitchen where the alcohol was. My tongue always had a taste for beer, and I couldn't survive any party now without a drink in hand.

The kitchen was filled with life, and the air was hot with hormones. Students, mostly boys, were surrounding the island which was covered from head to toe in beer, wine, and liquor bottles. Most of them were already drunk, but they continued to chug down the illegal liquids. A couple was leaning against the wall, making out roughly, and I cringed as I moved my way around them. My eyes moved towards the window, which was filled with teenagers dancing to the beat of the loud music. I gulped down my growing uncomfort as I pushed my way to the island table.

The boys around me howled with delight when they caught sight of me. They moved graciously out of the way, giving me a nice spot to stand at the island table. They muttered slurred commands to me as my eyes traveled across the choices, even though their titles went through one ear and out the other in a second. Eventually, I decided to take the beer with the coolest logo, and even though the boys asked if they could open it for me, I clicked it open with ease. The hot liquid moved down my throat, and my lips tightened at the bitter taste. It took me a second to gulp down the rest, and I ignored the turning in my empty stomach as I walked out of the kitchen.

Even though I really didn't want to held out into the crowded dance floor, I headed in that direction anyway. Eventually, I got used to the taste of the bitter beer and I could already feel my nerves buzzing with a forced high. The feeling made me take a needed sigh of relief, finally it was time for me to relax and release the tension from my shoulders. It was time for the weights to disappear off of my back for a couple of hours, it was time to feel some sense of freedom.

"Damn, Peters, you look good," A familiar voice said, and I could hear the smirk that was dancing across his lips. I turned sharply on my heel and I was suddenly face-to-face with the famous Jackson Whittemore. I rolled my eyes sharply at him, and crossed my arms over my chest. Annoyance started flowing heavily through my veins, and I wanted nothing more than to walk away from him, but I kept my feet planted even though I knew being around him again wasn't the best idea.

"What do you want, Whittemore?" I asked, titling my head slightly.

Jackson's smirk grew, and he took a step closer to me, "What's with the attitude? Last time we talked, we were friends."

I snorted, "We were never friends, and we didn't do a lot of sober talking when we last saw each other."

"Brynn, come on, be serious," Jackson said, dropping his grin, "We weren't that drunk because if we were, you would be acting like this right now."

I gulped lightly, my stomach turning over twice with guilt. Even though Jackson is a huge asshat, he didn't lie unless he was helping himself. The Whittemore boy didn't tell anyone about our hook-up because it would bring him down, but he could still use the secret fact to threaten me. Ever since that night, I wanted to turn the event into a drunken mistake, but in reality, we had both only had two drink, and I had kissed him.

"What do you want me to say?"

"Nothing," Jackson said, taking over step closer. Now we were standing inches apart, and the closeness made me tense. "I really enjoyed talking to you that night Peters, and I told you some things in light drunkenness that I never told anyone. I just wanted to continue our conversation."

I squeezed my lips together, and flipped some blonde hair over my shoulder, "I don't think we have the same type of conversation in mind."

Jackson grinned, "Oh, I think we do. We can go somewhere quiet, and talk for hours. I bet I can keep you talking till the sun comes back up. But, it's up to you, do you want this friendship to keep going."

I bite my lips, and leaning forward until my lips could touch his earlobe. A smile danced across my face as I whispered, "It's never gonna happen."

When I looked at Jackson's face again, it was written with disappointment and annoyance. A cocky smile continued to dance across my lips as I glared at him. "Jackson, let's get this straight, what happened this summer was a one time thing, and it always will be. You have a girlfriend, and even though that girlfriend is a bit of a bitch, I'm not gonna be taking her sloppy leftovers. So have a nice night, and I hope that you don't find someone to side-bone."

At that moment, I did turn on my heel and bolted in the opposite direction, not wanting to be close to Jackson's asshat ego anymore. I brought my beer bottle to my lips, and took a long drink, wanting to drink away the emotions that were flowing through my veins. I couldn't believe that Jackson was trying to get in my pants again, and I can't believe that I let me screw me a first time. Disgust was starting to swim inside me, and most of it was towards myself.

Eventually, I could Stiles standing in the main hallway of the house. The buzzed-haired boy was standing in a large group of people, and a wide smile came onto his face when his hazel eyes caught mine. A blush immediately filled my chest, and butterflies started swarming in my stomach. The thought of Jackson and our hook-up instantly disappeared from my mind.

At that same moment, Stiles's hazel eyes moved away from me and concern started to come across his face. I followed his glance slowly, and my glance immediately fell on Scott McCall. The shaggy-haired boy wasn't looking too good, his skin was pale and a nervous sweat was starting to break out all over his body. His eyes were closed, his hands were unclenching and clenching, and his breathing was heavy. Seeing the McCall boy made me think about what happened his afternoon. A shiver went down my spine at the thought of the claw marks in the back of Stiles's chair.

"Yo, Scott," Stiles said, "You good?

"Are you okay?"

The shaggy-haired boy continued forward, totally ignoring both of us. Before the two of us could go after him, my eye immediately fell on a familiar brunette who was pushing her way through the crowd, trying to get to her date. Even though the crowd I could see my cousin widened eyes, that we filled with panic and worry. My heart instantly went out to the girl, and sympathy wanted to focus me to run after her, but I kept my feet planted as I turned to face Stiles.

"You're gonna drive me and Allison home, I'm gonna try and come with some excuse to calm her down," I tell my best friend, who nodded his head along with my plan, "You've got to go check on Scott and make sure he's okay. Call me once you get home, and tell me what happened."

Before I could hear Stiles response, I started after my cousin. My feet moved at lightning speed as I pushed and shoved my way through the students crowding the hallway. I felt slightly suffocated, and once I got out into the night air, the cold air felt great on my burning lungs. I glanced around the driveway and the first thing I noticed was that Scott's mom's car was not parked out front. Then my eyes finally found my cosuin, who was standing at the end of the drive. I instantly started over to her, but when I got closer, I saw that someone was standing next to her. My eyes widened once I released that it was the famous Derek Hale.

"Hey Allison," I said, coming to a stop beside her. Allison immedeiately relaxed once she saw me, and even though no one could tell, but I slightly relaxed around the brunette. Derek scares the crap out of me, and having someone familiar around calmed my nerves, stopping my hands from shaking. I placed my hands on my hips and turned to face the Hale boy. "Do you need a ride home?"

"Actually, she's riding home with me," Derek said, glaring sharply at me.

"Actually, I think I'm gonna rid home with Brynn," Allison said, "But thanks for the of--"

Derek smiled fakely, and let out a light laugh, "Honestly it's no trouble, I don't want Brynn to go out of her way."

"Well, Allison actually lives at my house so," Brynn said, "It wouldn't be a problem."

Derek continued to smile even thought I could tell that I had outplayed him. "Well, I guess I will see you both around."

That's when the Hale boy turned on his heel and started away. Suspicous filled me as I watched him leave, and the more I thought about it, the more the thoughts confused me. Why would Derek Hale move back into town and why would he want to take Allison Argent home after Scott bailed? Even though questions started to create mountains in my head, one thing was still for sure. Derek Hale couldn't be trusted.

~~~

My eyes widened with relief when I saw Scott McCall walking alongside the road. After last night, I was able to sleep and I had spent most of the night talking to Stiles on the phone. Stiles told me all about Scott's suspicion about Derek and him killing the girl in the woods, which I totally agreed with. We also came to terms with Scott being a freaking werewolf, which was now more cool than scary. And I also had to spend most of the night trying to explain to Allison why Scott bailed, but she had told me several times over that she only wanted an explanation from him.

Stiles stopped the Jeep beside Scott, and the boy glanced at the car for a moment before opening the door. He threw himself in the passengers seat, his eyes barely opened from the lack of sleep, but I could see some relief in his brown eyes because he was now back in the care of his two best friends.

Once the McCall boy was safe in the vehicle, the car took off down the road. Silence filled the room, and lack of speaking instantly made me uncomfortable. I wanted nothing more than to cut the tension with a sharp knife, but I didn't even know what to say.

After a couple beats of silence, Scott said, "You know what actually worries me the most?"

"If you say Allison, I'm gonna punch you in the head."

"She probably hates me," Scott pouts, "Brynn does she hate me?"

"No, she doesn't," I tell my friend, "She just wants an explanation. But you might also want to come up with a pretty amazing analogy."

"Or, you know, you could just tell her the truth," Stiles said, "and reveal in the awesomeness of the fact that you're a freaking werewolf." At that comment, Scott glared at him. "Okay, bad idea."

Scott leaned his head against the wall, looking very stress so I tapped his shoulder twice and said, "Hey, we'll get through this."

"Brynn's right," Stiles agrees, "Come on, if we have to, we'll chain you up ourselves on full moon nights and feed you live mine. I had a boa once. I could do it."

Scott let out a loud snort, and the sound was music to my ears.