⋆·˚ ༘ * 🔭 ━━━━━ PROLOGUE
☆ ◛                   ❛ she's a little freak. ❜ 
©-LOSTGARDENS,                   2023
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❛ You really are obsessed with me, aren't you? ❜

☆ . . . The sun was bright, almost too bright for little Jezebel's liking. How was she supposed to sneak away from school when the sun's blazing rays were shining right on her, making everyone aware of her position in the courtyard?

Her back was pressed against the brick wall of Beacon Hills Middle School. Her eyes scanned across the courtyard, making sure no one was near so that she wouldn't be caught. "Little freak, Jezebel—sneaking away from school again, are we?" she could hear them say. Their annoying little voices were always ringing in her ears, always causing her to roll her eyes, always causing her to bite her tongue.

The coast was clear, so she took a deep breath, letting the little bit of nerves she had out. And that's when she went to make her move. She felt like she was in some kind of action film; she was the hero hiding from the villain, or maybe it made more sense that she was the villain hiding from the hero. She knew that she would never be the hero in anyone's story.

Her black Doc Martens skimmed across the sand-colored concrete that covered the ground. The baggy jeans she was wearing were making it hard for her to run, but that didn't really matter, now did it? Because that's when she heard the annoying voice that she had not quite learned to tolerate yet.

"Jezebel, wait up!" he yelled.

She stopped in her tracks and quickly turned around to face him. Her breath was a little rapid, due to him almost scaring the living crap out of her. Her hand gently placed itself on her chest, feeling the soft fabric of her sweater vest under the palm of her hand and her racing heartbeat pounding against her chest.

There he stood, Eli Hale, with his too-messy hair, his too-blue, mesmerizing eyes, and his too-enchanting smile. He wore jeans, a t-shirt, and a flannel as his Nike Dunk Highs sat stationary on the hot ground. She huffed and rolled her eyes, quickly moving towards him, annoyance lacing the dark hues of her soft eyes.

"Shut up," she gritted, placing her hand over his mouth. "I'm trying to be discreet, and you yelling my name across the courtyard really isn't going to help me with that," she continued in a hushed whisper. Grabbing his wrist, she began pulling him along with her, out of sight of all of the windows.

As they came to a stop in a little section of the outside of the school, they were blocked from anyone's line of sight. He looked down at her with the look that she desperately hated. She decided it was best to ignore his love-filled eyes and just tell him off.

"Eli, I'm going into the woods—do not, and I repeat, do not follow me," she began, pointing an accusing finger at him as her other hand rested on her hip. She saw him go to speak, his mouth opening to go against her demanding words, but she cut him off before he could even utter a sound. "No, you're not coming with me—go back to class, keep up with your education, learn something; I don't care, but you are not coming with me, and that's final."

She began to walk away, and when she felt his presence right behind her, she whipped around and saw him a little closer than she expected him to be. Her face was almost planted into his chest, but she took a step back, putting some distance between them, and she looked up at him with a glare.

"Eli, I said that I was going alone," she reminded him. "I don't want any company." That wasn't necessarily true; she wouldn't mind some company. Did she prefer to have it? No. But would she mind it? No. Did she want Eli's company? Definitely not, but she didn't want to be too mean, so saying "no company" was her best option.

"All right," he said, taking a few steps back.

"Okay." With that, she turned away from him, and her feet began carrying her along the path to Beacon Hills Preserve once again. She looked back a couple of times, just to be sure Eli was going to stick to his word and not trail behind her like he usually would.

He was still standing in the same spot, his hands in his pockets, and his face looking nothing but disappointed while his shoulders slumped. He stared at her as she got farther away, and eventually, she was completely out of his sight. He let out a sigh, taking his hands out of his pocket and running them along the length of his jeans.

The leaves under Jezebel's shoes crunched with a satisfying sound as she walked through the preserve. She clung to her arms, rubbing her hands up and down to create warmth as she mentally cursed herself for not grabbing a jacket this morning before she left for school. The autumn breeze sent a small chill down her spine, and she could feel the small chill-bumps coating her skin.

As she continued walking, the straps of her book bag rested on her shoulders, the weight of her books and binders putting an uncomfortable strain on her tense muscles. Crunching leaves sounded behind her. She stopped in her tracks and whipped her head around, looking around for someone or some kind of animal that could be following her. Nothing was there.

Nothing...

After taking in a few calming breaths, she slowly turned back around, continuing on her journey. She didn't exactly know where she was going, but that didn't matter to her; she would somehow find her way to the place fate decided she needed to be.

Minutes passed as she walked past naked trees, stepping on their fallen leaves and climbing over small ledges strewn throughout the woods. The cool air began to catch up to her, and she was slightly shivering. But those light shivers went away when she heard another noise come from behind her. Someone or something was definitely following her.

She didn't stop, however, because she was going to do whatever it took to make them think she didn't hear them. She continued walking without looking back. And once she got to a part of the woods that was full of trees, making it hard to see anything in front of her, she started weaving her way quickly through the maze-like forest.

She heard the noises starting to pick up as she moved faster. Whatever or whoever it was, they were moving fast, trying to keep up with her—just as she wanted them to do. Soon enough, she stopped, hiding behind a tree. And that's when she saw her little shadow.

Of fucking course—it was him. He was looking around, his thick eyebrows knitted in confusion as his blue eyes searched the forest. Turning, he began walking in a different direction—right toward Jezebel. He was falling right into her trap, and he didn't even know it.

The next thing he knew, he had claws aimed at his throat and glaring chocolate eyes staring at him. "Woah," he gasped, looking at her with wide eyes and occasionally glancing down at her sharp claws that were dangerously close to his carotid artery, waiting to draw blood.

She removed her hand from his throat and put her claws away. "I thought I told you not to follow me, Eli." She let out a deep, annoyed breath, looking at him with bored eyes.

"Uh, I didn't think you actually meant it," he muttered, letting a sheepish smile overtake his sweet face. His hands found their way back into his pockets. He shrugged as she continued glaring at him, now looking at him as if he were the dumbest person she had ever met.

"What are you doing out here, Eli?" she began. "Really, why are you skipping school just to follow me around in the woods?" She wanted the truth. Well, she knew the truth—he was obsessed with her, but she didn't know why he was obsessed with her; all she ever did was call him a dork, make fun of his messy hair, and tell him that he was annoying. What was there to like?

"Uhm, because I'm a delinquent, like you," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

The stupid, charming smile took over his face again, and Jezebel looked away. She hated his smile. Well, no, she didn't hate it; she hated how it made her feel. Something in her stupid stomach would twist and turn when he smiled at her. She hated that feeling with everything in her being.

"Delinquent, hmm?" She let out a small laugh, picking at the skin around her nails. "More like a delinquent dork," she muttered. And that's when she had the most revolutionary moment of her entire thirteen years of living. "Oh my God, that's what I'm going to call you now—Delinquent Dork," she told him, her eyes meeting his, a bright smile on her face.

He watched as she began to jump around, cheering because she had finally found a nickname for him. "I like it," he nodded, his smile glowing even brighter as Jezebel calmed down.

She walked away from him quickly, the embarrassment of her outburst of excitement catching up with her. He jogged forward to catch up with her. "Do you know why I like it?" he asked, leaning closer to her ear.

She rolled her eyes, then glanced at him. "No," she deadpanned.

"Because you made it up," he replied. He leaned closer to her, bumping his shoulder into hers, causing her to let out a small laugh.

"You really are obsessed with me, aren't you?" She laughed, running her hand through her dark hair.

"Yes," he responded. "I am obsessed with you, Little Freak," he teased.

She rolled her eyes at the nickname. She wasn't mad that he was using it. No, she knew that he was the only one in the whole town of Beacon Hills, California, who didn't use it in a negative way. He called her Little Freak because he knew that it had no ill effect on her, and well, he loved teasing her.

Jezebel didn't bat an eye when she heard it. To be completely and utterly honest, she was used to it. It was something she had heard her entire life. She was used to it, and many found that sad; the fact that she had been called something so many times, it didn't even faze her anymore. But what those people didn't know was that it never fazed her, ever.

"So where are we going?" he asked.

"No idea," she responded.

"That sounds about right," he said, nodding. "Well, let the adventure begin, I guess." They continued walking, and another shiver hit Jezebel's spine, and of course, Eli noticed this. "Are you cold?" he asked, shrugging off his flannel.

"A little bit."

"Well, here you go," he said, handing his flannel to her.

"Thanks."

☆★・・・✹・・・★☆

☆ . . . In the midst of a conversation with Eli, Jezebel let out a laugh. He was being a complete dork, as always. Neither of the two teens noticed the ten or so pairs of eyes on them as they continued walking across the school's parking lot.

It was only when she heard her mother that Jezebel stopped in her tracks.

"Jezebel Martina Lopez, where the hell have you been?" Her mother yelled so loudly that everyone around them jumped a little, startled by the power of the woman's voice despite her petite frame.

"Uh..." When Jezebel saw her mother's angry eyes, she drew out a long breath, her voice suddenly losing its strength. "It was his idea!" she blurted out, pointing an accusing finger at the boy who stood next to her. Eli sent her an offended look.

"I doubt that," Sheriff Stilinski said, walking to stand in front of the girl and the boy. He gave them an irritated look, then looked back at his officers, who stood with some teachers, their notepads out. "They don't seem to be in any danger, obviously, so you all can head back to the station, and I'll handle this from here."

With that, the deputies thanked everyone for their time, and they got in their cars and began driving away. Once it was just Sheriff Stilinski, Jezebel's parents, and the two teens, everything went silent. No one dared to speak, especially not Jezebel or Eli.

"Oh, Eli, thank God you're safe," was all they heard as Derek Hale came up from behind the group, wrapping his toned arms around his son. The hug was short, and as Derek pulled away from his son, he sent the Lopez girl a small glare.

"Oh, hey, Mr. Hale... "How ya doing?" She awkwardly smiled.

"How many times do we have to tell you not to skip school?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest. "And no dragging my son into it!" he added.

"Hey, now!" she began. "I told him not to come along with me, but no, he didn't listen, big shocker there, and he followed me into the woods like a lost little puppy—no pun intended," she explained, copying Derek's pose and crossing her own arms against her chest.

"It's alright, Mija; we were just worried about you," her mother said, stepping in front of Derek. "Right, Alejandro?" she asked, sending a glare at her husband, who was too busy playing games on his phone to pay attention to the conversation.

"Huh?" he questioned his wife as he looked up from his phone with confusion coating his face and tone. "Oh, uh, yeah, right," he added.

"Well, I guess you all best be going home now," the sheriff said, taking a deep breath. "Nothing bad happened; you both are safe, and all you did was miss a few classes, nothing too major," he continued, looking at the two teens with a tired look. "Just please don't do it again; I don't want to have to waste a whole bunch of manpower because you decided to hide out in the woods instead of going to school," he told the two teens.

"You got it," Jezebel and Eli said in unison, sending him small smiles.

"For some reason that I know all too well, I don't believe you, but whatever," he said. After that, he began walking away, going toward his car.

Once he was in it, he wasted no time in leaving the middle school's parking lot. He couldn't count the number of times he had a call about those two, but, according to the law, he had to investigate each one—missing minors and what not—you know, the usual for Beacon Hills.

"Come on, Mija," Catalina said, resting her hand on her daughter's back and guiding her away from the two Hale boys and over to their car.

"See you later, delinquent dork!" Jezebel called out as she turned to face Eli once more.

"See you later, little freak!" he replied. "Hey, and don't forget to give me back my flannel tomorrow!"

Jezebel laughed, looking down at the flannel she was still wearing—his flannel. "That's not gonna happen, Hale!" she replied. "I like it; I think I'll keep it!" she added.

And with that, Jezebel got into her parent's car, and they drove off. And soon after, Derek and Eli did the same.

Catalina, Alejandro, and Derek were already tired of having to come down to the school or sheriff's station every other day because of something having to do with their two rambunctious teens, but little did they know, that was only the beginning of the chaos Jezebel Lopez and Eli Hale were going to cause.

The Little Freak and the Delinquent Dork—a duo unlike any other...

☆ . . . Ella's Thoughts.    hi so i know this is absolute trash, but trust me the chapters will be better, i hope.

i hope you liked it nonetheless, and i hope you decide to continue reading this story !!

jezebel and eli's banter >>

kisses.

⋆·˚ ༘ * 🔭 LITTLE FREAK
©-LOSTGARDENS,    2023

Word Count, 2690.  Written, 1.29.23.  Published, 1.29.23.