CHAPTER FOUR / The Intervention

✶

     Nova could kill Derek right about now.

Derek might be a werewolf—he might have the speed and the strength—but Nova is an angsty teenage girl, and goddamnit, in her opinion that alone is enough to best him.

Ever since the little incident at the gas station, Derek has banned Nova from using his car. He still doesn't know it was her who caused the explosion, but Nova suspects that if he did know, he'd never let her in his car again in fear she would blow it up accidentally. It isn't too far-fetched—she has blown up a car before. And despite Derek's car being completely unharmed, he is wary about her taking it out again, so now she has no way of getting anywhere. It is a shit situation, to say the least.

Nova can feel her frustration growing as she stands in the school parking lot, waiting for Derek to show. He is supposed to be picking her up and taking her to work, but he isn't answering her texts. Given his history of being kidnapped, Nova knows she should feel worried that something has happened, but she doubts he is in trouble. It is more than likely he is just blowing her off because of what happened to his car—or, really, what didn't happen. Nova thinks he is being dramatic. His car is fine.

As she stands there, checking the time practically every minute, she suddenly hears someone say, "Uh... Nova?"

Nova looks up to see a girl she does not recognise approaching her. She is around Nova's age and is very pretty, with long brown hair and kind eyes, and as she walks over to Nova there is a spring in her step.

"Hi," Nova says.

The girl smiles at her and says, "I'm Ivy!"

"Cool," Nova says. And then she thinks about how she should probably say something else, so she adds, "I'm Nova... but you already knew that..." Fucking hell. This is what she gets for trying to be polite.

But Ivy smiles even wider, if that is possible, and says, "Yeah, we've got English together with Mr. Vargas. And we work together." But before Nova can say, "We do?" Ivy adds, "I'm new—to Beacon Hills High, that is. Started this semester. I'd been going to Devenford Prep, but, well... money's been a little tight recently. Ricardo was kind enough to let me have a position at the store... and he told me about you, too! Which is why I knew you worked there..." Ivy trails off as though she has begun to realise she is rambling. Nova finds it cute. "Anyway. He said you've had some time off. When's your next shift?"

"In, like, fifteen minutes," Nova says.

Ivy's face visibly brightens. "Me too!"

"I might be a bit late, though," Nova says, checking her phone again. She huffs. No response. "My cousin's supposed to pick me up, but he isn't answering my texts."

"Oh. That's no good." Ivy frowns.

Nova shrugs. "Yeah—I think he's just pissed because I took his car out the other day and it almost got blown up."

Ivy's eyes widen.

"If you want, I can drive you there?" Ivy suggests after a few moments. "Like I said, I've got work too, so it wouldn't be a problem...?"

Slightly taken aback, Nova doesn't reply for a few moments. There is a small part of her that wonders why Ivy is being so kind to her, and if she has an ulterior motive—her attempted murder at the gas station is still fresh on her mind—but she ignores it because she really needs to get to work on time. Hopefully this scenario doesn't end in death. That would be unfortunate.

"That'd be great," Nova finally responds.

✶

Last night, Nova had woken up to the sound of her Uncle Peter screaming. Someone had tried to kill him with a wolfsbane-laced tomahawk, earlier in the day, and so Derek had to burn the wolfsbane out of him so he would stay alive.

Hence the screaming.

It had not been a pleasant sound, but that isn't what bothered Nova. She wishes he had just been quieter, because now she is exhausted. She stands behind the counter at Beacon Hills Music and all she wants to do is go to sleep. And she knows that is bad of her, that it's selfish, because someone literally tried to kill Peter, but in her tired state she simply cannot bring herself to care.

Besides, in her family, attempted murder isn't exactly a rare occurrence. (It's a sad truth.)

Her and Ivy are the only ones working that afternoon—minus Ricardo, but he is busy in his office—and about halfway through Nova's shift, the bell at the front door rings as someone enters the store. Nova looks up, stops humming along to the music playing on the speakers—Have You Ever Seen The Rain by Creedence Clearwater Revival—and smooths out her red polo shirt in an attempt to look presentable and not like she was just about to take a nap on top of the shop counter.

A girl, not too much older than herself, walks through the aisle and up to the counter where Nova is. She's wearing a checker-pattern minidress with a black long sleeve underneath. Her blonde hair is tucked neatly behind a brown headband that matches her eyes, her lips curling up into a knowing smirk—and that's when Nova realises she has been caught checking the girl in front of her out.

Nova at least has the dignity to feel flustered, but she tries not to let it show. "Hi, um, can I help you with anything?" she manages to get out.

The girl smiles at her sweetly. "Hi, I'm here to pick up a guitar—it should be under Chloe Van Doren?"

"I'll check for it out back," Nova tells her.

She can feel Ivy's eyes on her as she walks past where she is stocking the shelves. Walking through Ricardo's office and into the adjoining storeroom, it doesn't take Nova long to spot Chloe Van Doren's guitar among the stacked boxes.

As she reenters Ricardo's office to get back into the store, he frowns at her. Twirling a pen in his hand as he leans back in his chair, Ricardo asks, "Red or blue?"

"Red," Nova says. "Definitely."

Ricardo hums. He is planning on redecorating the store—nothing too extravagant, but maybe changing up the colour scheme and actually adding some colour in the place. Nova has been begging him to switch it up for what seems like forever. The classy black and white he has had since he opened the store years ago is starting to lose its charm, in Nova's opinion.

"If you go with red, you don't have to get us new shirts," Nova persuades. He begins to nod, starting to be swayed by the idea. "C'mon, it'd look so good!"

"Maybe..." Ricardo says, dragging the word out slowly. There is a twinkle in his eye. "Wanna come look at colour swatches next week?"

"Um, yes? Do I ever!" Nova grins.

She is still grinning as she walks back into the store, guitar in hand. Her mind still on the conversation with Ricardo, she grins at Chloe Van Doren and holds up the guitar. As Chloe pays for it and goes to leave—flashing Nova a sweet smile before she goes—Nova can still feel Ivy's eyes watching the interaction, and when Chloe leaves, Ivy immediately walks over to the counter to Nova.

Ivy hovers for a few moments, not saying a word. Nova doesn't look up, but she asks, "You good?"

"Um, I might go on my break in a minute," Ivy says. Nova nods, but Ivy doesn't show any signs of leaving just yet. Nova finally looks up, her eyes flickering over to the girl in front of her, who looks a little nervous. Holding up her phone, Ivy says, "I just got wind of a party happening this evening... It's at Lydia Martin's lake house, if you want to come."

Nova hesitates. On one hand, she is in no way shape or form friends with Lydia, and going to this party goes against everything she stands for—ever since the incident at Lydia's 16th, Nova has steered clear of Lydia's parties... she doesn't want history to repeat itself!—but on the other hand a pretty girl is standing in front of her, inviting her to go to a party... and Nova can't say no to that.

"Yeah, why not?" Nova says.

Ivy smiles at her and nods.

The bell at the door indicates another person is entering, and Ivy walks back to where she has been stocking the shelves as Nova stands behind the counter again. Teenage Kicks by The Undertones starts playing on the speakers throughout the store.

A boy with dark skin and short hair enters the store. He wears a white collared shirt under a woollen sweater, and as he walks up to the counter Nova notices he is holding a couple of pieces of paper in his hands.

He says, "Is the manager here? Ricardo, I believe...?"

Nova is immediately on the defensive, forgetting that she is at work and rather wondering why someone is asking about her father figure. Her mind jumps to the worst-case scenario—is something wrong? What are the papers in his hands? Is Ricardo in trouble? "He is. What's it to you?" When the boy in front of her appears stunned by her attitude, Nova remembers where she is and corrects herself with a wince. "I mean, is there anything you need? I might be able to help."

"I'm hoping to hand in my résumé." He lets out a shaky breath, wiping the palms of his hands on his pants, and Nova suddenly registers that he is nervous. Her attitude probably isn't helping, she realises.

"Right." She nods. "What's your name? I'll go fetch him."

"Ronan," Ronan says.

She abandons the register and pokes her head into Ricardo's office. "There's a boy here. His name is Ronan."

He stares at her. "So...?"

"He's asking for you."

Ricardo sighs, letting out a loud groan as if standing up would be such an inconvenience for him. Nova gets it.

They walk back into the store, where Ivy has struck up a conversation with Ronan.

Ricardo slips past her and walks over to Ronan, who is attempting to smile confidently—Nova sees past it—as he holds out his hand for the man to shake. Ricardo shakes it, already impressed. Ivy walks over to stand next to Nova to let the two men talk.

"Ronan goes to Devenford," Ivy says quietly to her. "He's nice."

Nova says, "He seems... jumpy."

Ivy shoots her a look. "He's probably just nervous."

Nova shrugs.

The conversation between Ricardo and Ronan doesn't last long, and before long Ronan is leaving—not before almost walking into the front door—and Ricardo is walking back into his office with Ronan's résumé still in hand.

Ivy is still hovering, and so Nova asks her, "Weren't you going on your break?"

As Ivy leaves, Nova sighs and walks back to where she had been standing before at the register. Her fingers drum on the counter as she stifles a yawn. She briefly considers taking a small nap before Ivy gets back, but knows it would be just her luck that someone enters the store at that time.

Her thoughts are disrupted as her phone buzzes abruptly. It is a text from Scott: Can you come to Lydia's lake house at 8pm? Followed by an address—Lydia's lake house, she supposes.

Nova shrugs to herself, assuming it has something to do with the party, and replies back: OK.

She sets her phone down and goes back to drumming her fingers against the counter. It's just one party—what's the worst that could happen?

✶

When Nova arrives at Lydia Martin's lake house, she expects the music to be blaring and the party to be in full throttle. Instead, there is a suspicious quietness surrounding the house. Sitting in the car for a few moments, she wonders if she is at the correct address. And then she wonders if it is a set-up, but quickly shakes the thought from her mind. Scott wouldn't do that, she thinks.

And so she gets out of the car.

That is her first mistake.

Scott, Stiles, Malia, and Lydia are waiting in the living room when she enters. Immediately, Nova feels the uneasy tension. Scott stands up.

"Nova?" Scott says. "What are you doing here?"

She frowns. "You texted me to come."

Then Scott frowns, too. "No, I didn't." He goes to pull out his phone from his pocket, but it isn't in his pocket.

Stiles steps forward, and he says, "Yeah... That was me."

To say that Nova is furious is an understatement.

"Are you serious, Stiles?" She turns her head to look at the rest of the group. "What is this? Why am I here, then?"

"It's an intervention. You're... something." Stiles waves his hands around as he speaks. "There have been instances, Nova." Stiles narrows his eyes. Nova tries to make eye contact with Scott, but he avoids her gaze and looks down at the floor—was this something they had discussed previously?

Nova would've laughed if she wasn't so pissed off. "Instances?"

Stiles nods a little too enthusiastically. "Lydia's sixteenth birthday, for example—!"

"Oh, come on, Stiles—that had nothing to do with me!" Nova exclaims, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She hopes that Scott trusts her enough not to mention her rising heartbeat. He keeps quiet, much to Nova's relief.

Then Malia says, "She's lying."

Nova scowls, but inside of her there is this growing panic. She feels like she has been cornered. Everything is going downhill so quickly.

Stiles stares at her pointedly. He says, "What about Hugo Dameron's car?" Nova scoffs, about to reply, but Stiles interupts her before she can say anything. "And not to mention the other day, at the gas station—!"

"Fuck off, Stiles," Nova says, and there is steam practically coming out of her ears. This isn't an intervention, it is an interrogation.

He raises an eyebrow at her, which only makes her more furious. "So, you deny it?"

Lydia interrupts, "Stiles, maybe you should back down. We're here for Liam."

"Liam?" Nova questions impatiently, not even pausing to comprehend that Lydia had just stood up for her.

"Scott's new beta."

"Scott's new..." Nova's eyes widen. "Scott's new what?"

Stiles waves his hand in dismissal. "We've got it under control," he says, and Malia snorts. "But something is going on with you, Nova! And I think you know exactly what I mean."

There is a long silence.

Stiles and the others briefly wonder if Nova is going to fess up, right there and then, and tell them everything that has been happening that she has kept a secret—but then she scoffs, and they know she won't.

"I'm not doing this," Nova says. "You can all go fuck yourselves." She looks at Scott right as she says this—he looks hurt, but Nova can't bring herself to care.

She leaves and sits angrily in her car. Who does Stiles think he is, interrogating her like that? It makes her livid. And Scott—Scott just stood there, not saying a word in her defence. Aren't they supposed to be friends? Friends don't do things like that, Nova thinks. She curses them all out, aloud, knowing full well they'll be able to hear her from inside with their superhuman hearing. At this point, she doesn't care—let them hear her.

But the thing that she is most angry about—the thing that has haunted her every moment—is that Stiles is right. Something is very, very wrong with her. And it is terrifying her.

As time goes on and her anger begins to bubble down, simmering enough that she feels comfortable to drive away without causing a car accident, a car pulls up behind her and traps her inbetween it and the lakehouse. It's Kira, accompanied by a younger boy—Liam?—and they walk inside before Nova is able to get out and tell them to move the car. Nova would follow them, but she isn't about to go back inside there.

"Are you kidding me?" Nova fumes. "Could this night get any worse?"

And that is her second mistake of the night. She should have just left when she had had the chance.

Nova sits in her car angrily all night.

She doesn't go back inside, not when people start arriving for the supposed party—boy, are those inside in for a rude shock!—and not even when she sees Ivy go inside, nor when Ruby and Emilia show up a little later. All she does is sit there, angrily—cursing herself for being so gullible...

✶

Authors Note!

     nova, ivy, and ronan are gonna be the best trio. i can't wait.

word count: 2863
04.07.2023