chapter 01

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On the last day of winter break, the desire to have some fun and forget about the impending return to school consumed Jean Marlowe. She craved a brief escape from the forthcoming educational torment.

For Jean, human interaction is her chosen method of letting loose. With the back-to-school party still a day away, she sought a different form of entertainment: finding a guy.

The man she had lured earlier that evening possessed an impressive physique, evident from the past half-hour of passionate kissing they had shared. Lost in the heat of the moment, she let the world fade into the background.

Jean had made a spur-of-the-moment decision to pick him up at the grocery store, and it seemed to be the best choice she'd made all day. The peaches they had shared had lifted her spirits, casting a cheerful glow over her evening. The allure of the night had transformed her, making her feel like she had adopted an entirely new persona. Has anyone else ever experienced this sensation? She wondered.

In reality, it was probably just a mixture of delusion and intense desire-she was undeniably horny.

"Mhmm...," she moaned as the man's strong grip encircled her waist, drawing her closer to him. When he attempted to remove her tank top, Jean playfully halted his advance, saying, "Easy there, Tiger. Let's not get ahead of ourselves."

While she craved distraction and fun, she had no intentions of taking things beyond a passionate makeout session with this guy, who shall be called Chad. His blond hair and robust physique perfectly fit the 'Chad' stereotype, and Jean had no desire to ask for his real name again.

Jean couldn't fathom how a guy like him could assume that their current activities would inevitably lead to something more intimate. After all, she had picked him up from a grocery store at 8 p.m. The furthest he would get was second base, and he should be grateful for that, as Jean was feeling rather generous.

Jean adeptly redirected his intentions for a more intimate encounter by kissing his neck, effectively putting any further advances on hold as she returned to his lips. Their tryst was temporarily interrupted by a series of loud bangs coming from outside Jean's bedroom door.

With an exasperated sigh and an eye roll, she disentangled herself from Chad and went to investigate. Jean was well aware that it couldn't be her mother, as she was away on a trip to New Orleans for a few days.

As expected, the disruptive sounds came from none other than Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski, their faces sporting their customary mischievous grins. She knew them well enough to anticipate some sort of outlandish scheme in the works.

"What is it?" Jean's voice dripped with annoyance, and her arms folded across her chest.

"We're heading out to the woods!" Scott beamed.

Typical. They were about to embark on some foolish adventure once again.

"Why on earth are we doing that?" Jean asked in a bored tone.

"Because there's a half-dead body, duh!" Stiles chimed in, his sarcastic comments grating on her nerves. Stiles's buzz-cut hair didn't help her patience either.

If Jean didn't know them, she might have thought they were psychopaths searching for a dead body in the woods at midnight. It was probably another one of Stiles's harebrained schemes.

"I thought you were supposed to get a good night's sleep since you have practice tomorrow," Jean reminded Scott.

"Right, because sitting on the bench is such a grueling effort," Stiles quipped, further fueling Jean's frustration.

Fed up with the unexpected intrusion, Jean decided to join Scott and Stiles on their wild expedition. She grabbed one of her hoodies hanging behind her bedroom door, preparing herself for whatever ridiculous adventure lay ahead.

Just as she was about to descend the stairs, she froze. Oh no, Chad was still in her bedroom.

Jean quickly reopened the door and yelled, "You can go home now!"

Chad appeared puzzled. Some men just couldn't read the room. "I thought we were vibing," he retorted.

Jean held back her biting remarks and simply replied, "We were, but not anymore. Goodbye!"

She swiftly ushered him downstairs and out of her house, ensuring she locked up before heading to the woods with Scott and Stiles.

With Chad gone, Jean felt Stiles's judgmental gaze on her as she descended the stairs, and he couldn't resist commenting, "You seriously had a guy over at, like, 10? Does your mom even know?"

"Shut your virgin mouth. Are we going or not?" Jean snapped.

Not wanting to miss out on the adventure, Stiles wisely kept his mouth shut and led the way, followed by Scott.

As Jean locked her house before leaving, she heard Stiles's panicked voice exclaiming, "You told her I'm still a virgin?!"

Jean laughed out loud and teased, "Scott didn't need to snitch on you. When you look like that, you're not getting any."

Stiles scoffed loudly and retorted, "Well, you're completely, very, very wrong!" His stammered defense only made Jean laugh even harder; nobody would believe his words.

When Stiles's old and rusty Jeep, which he adored, pulled up at the entrance of Beacon Hills Preserve, they disembarked and began walking inside, with Stiles leading the way.

"Why are we doing this again?" Scott pondered aloud, already disliking the idea of traipsing through the woods at midnight.

"You're the one who's always complaining that nothing ever happens in this town," Stiles responded without slowing down his pace.

Scott began to feel the weight of exhaustion and complained, "Seriously, I need a good night's sleep. I'm playing this year. In fact, I'm making the first line."

Stiles stared back at Scott in disbelief. Jean was equally shocked; it would be a miracle for Scott to make the lacrosse team. Despite his workouts during the winter break, he had asthma. How was he going to survive running around the field? It seemed impossible.

"Hey, that's the spirit! Everyone should have a dream, even if it's a pathetically unrealistic one," Stiles commented. While Jean wanted to say something about Scott's sudden optimism, she chose to withhold her usual remarks, considering Scott is her best friend.

"Which half of the body are we looking for?" Jean interjected, wanting more details about their mission to find the dead body and conclude this bizarre night.

Anyone familiar with Stiles could see the moment realization dawned on him, and he sheepishly replied, "Huh! I didn't even think about that."

Jean was no stranger to Stiles's peculiar behavior, but he still had the ability to surprise her.

"Of course you didn't," she muttered loud enough for both guys to hear.

"And, uh, what if the person who killed the body is still out here?" Scott voiced his concern, growing increasingly skeptical of Stiles's plan.

With a look of pride in his planning abilities, Stiles responded, "I didn't think about that either."

"It's comforting to know you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail," Scott grumbled as they hiked up a hill.

The night wasn't silent, with the sounds of insects that thrived at night and the rustling of leaves underfoot. Suddenly, a loud gasp startled Jean. She turned to see Scott struggling to keep up with Stiles's brisk pace as they ascended the hill.

"Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?" Scott suggested, out of breath, as he leaned against a nearby tree, reaching for his inhaler. However, before he could use it, the sight of flashing lights in the woods brought their expedition to a halt.

Stiles promptly turned off his flashlight as they hid behind a large fallen tree branch to avoid being caught. Predictably, Stiles's impatience got the better of him, and he abandoned all rational thinking, dashing towards the commotion.

"Wait!" Scott cried out in a hushed voice, trying to halt Stiles's reckless dash, but it was too late. Jean, fearing for Scott's well-being and aware of the danger, rushed after Stiles to keep up, abandoning her friend temporarily.

"Stiles! Jean!" Scott's voice echoed as he struggled to catch up.

Finally reaching Stiles, Jean grabbed his shoulder to make him aware of Scott's difficulty. She was about to scold him for leaving Scott behind when they were interrupted by the barking of a dog, which startled Stiles so much that he fell backward, pulling Jean down with him.

"Seriously?!" Jean exclaimed, her pent-up frustration with Stiles boiling over. He had pushed her into the muddy ground, staining her beloved jeans.

The deputy with the barking dog immediately shone his flashlight in their direction and barked, "Hold it right there!"

Stiles, finally coming to his senses, raised his hands in surrender, while Jean continued to glare at him, her frustration palpable.

"Get over here," the deputy ordered.

As they approached, they could see that the deputy was none other than Sheriff Stilinski, Stiles's father.

"Hold on, hold on. These little delinquents belong to me," the sheriff sighed in resignation, realizing that his son, Stiles, was involved once again, and Jean was caught in the middle.

Attempting to appear nonchalant, Stiles chuckled, "Dad, how are you doing?"

The sheriff's exhaustion and frustration were palpable. Dealing with his son was a never-ending challenge.

In a calm tone, the sheriff asked, "So, do you, uh, listen in on all my phone calls?"

Stiles's awkward silence spoke volumes. He had a reputation for eavesdropping on everyone's conversations. With a pointed look from the sheriff, Stiles attempted to explain himself, "Not the boring ones."

The sheriff knew better. Stiles was a notorious eavesdropper. With a single glance, he compelled Stiles to confess further, "Well, you see-"

The sheriff looked around and asked, "Now, where's your other usual partner in crime?"

Without missing a beat, Jean quickly blurted, "We are not partners at all." Earning a skeptical look from the sheriff, Jean bit her tongue.

She simply didn't want to be associated with Stiles as a partner. She was only here because Scott is her best friend, and she just knew that whatever Stiles had planned was never a good idea. Plus, she didn't want to be left behind, so she had to keep up with every hangout, even if it involved midnight trips into the woods with a potential murderer on the loose.

Immediately playing dumb, Stiles denied, "Who, Scott? Scott's home. He said he wanted to get a good night's sleep for the first day back at school tomorrow."

Feeling the raindrops on her hands and a sense of embarrassment washing over her, Jean looked away. She couldn't bear to witness Stiles's pitiful lying skills any longer. She really needed to give him a free lesson on lying to authorities if they were going to keep breaking the rules.

As expected, the sheriff didn't buy Stiles's lie. He looked at Stiles in disbelief, and when Stiles continued to ramble, trying to save himself with further explanations, Jean simply couldn't keep quiet.

"Scott, are you out there? Scott?" The sheriff's voice echoed through the woods.

When there was no response, he reluctantly concluded that Scott wasn't with Stiles and Jean after all. He sighed again, this time in exasperation, and took hold of Stiles by the back of his neck, steering him back towards the entrance of the preserve where Stiles had parked his car.

"Alright, young man, I'm going to walk you back to your car. And then you and I are going to have a long conversation about something called 'invasion of privacy' while we drop Jean off at her house, where she should be."

Jean cringed. She just knew she was going to get a lecture about how unsafe it was to be out at night, especially as a woman. She hoped the sheriff wouldn't inform her mother, as she really wanted more time alone in the house.

"Does your mom know you're out this late?" The sheriff inquired, and Jean knew this was going to be a long ride home.

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⌦ .｡.:*♡ Side note!

I actually finished writing this first chapter a while ago; I just feel like it's not good enough, you know? But, anyway, I'll just deal with my own judgement towards my writing and fix it later. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I enjoy writing and getting frustrated because I want this book to be perfect (classic me). I also decided to split the first episode of season one into (probably) two chapters because I feel like this is the right ending for the first chapter, you know?

Have a good day, guys! Stay tuned for my next update, xoxo.