"HARPER!"

The brunette whirled around at the sound of her own name, a warm feeling spreading in her chest for this first time in weeks when her brown eyes casted on two of her best friends. Allison Argent and Lydia Martin darted forwards and Harper Verum dropped her suitcase, the three teenage girls sharing one of the tightest group hugs ever.

Her heart was pounding out of her chest as her dainty hands scrambled for the back of Allison's oversized jumper, pulling her closer as if she was scared that she would take off. Harper's head rested on Lydia's shoulder, the strawberry blonde's coconut scented shampoo invading Harper's nostrils and filling her with a sense of nostalgia.

The Empath could literally feel the love radiating off of them, and it made her feel better than she had in so long. Harper had had the worst summer of her life, so seeing her friends made her feel better.

Take note: not good, but better.

"I missed you guys so much," Harper sighed as she pulled away, looking at her two best female friends.

While Lydia looked exactly the same from the last time Harper had seen her, Allison had changed slightly. The tallest girl looked slightly more mature and had cut her hair just below shoulder length. She had the fronts pinned back behind her, and a different glow to her face.

"We all missed you too," the hunter grinned, punching Harper's arm playfully as she began to drag her suitcase towards the exit of the airport.

Lydia rolled her eyes, "yeah, especially Stiles," she huffed, a slight teasing tone to her voice.

Harper's heart skipped a beat at the mention of the hazel eyed boy. While at the start of Harper's trip they had kept in contact every hour of every day, after Rose had passed away at the end of July, Harper hadn't really had much communication with him, or anyone for that matter.

Stiles always had a way of getting the truth out of his girlfriend, and Harper didn't even want to admit it yet. Everybody back in Beacon Hills had assumed that the day Harper had stopped calling in was the day that Rose had died. She only texted Stiles now and then, maybe once a week, and when he asked how Rose was, she left him on read.

"H-how is he by the way?" Harper wondered out loud, scratching the back of her neck awkwardly, "is he good?"

Harper really hoped that he wasn't angry with her for shutting him out for the past month or so. She just didn't want to have the conversation with him over the phone, she wanted him in person, but she couldn't have him, so she decided to mourn by herself.

"He's been stuck to Scott like glue all summer," Lydia replied as they stepped out of the airport, the cool night air biting at their cheeks, "literally every single time I saw him he just asked about you. 'Harper this', 'Harper that'. He really misses you."

Harper's heart swelled at the new information, and she felt extremely guilty for shutting him out. Now she was a mixture of nervous and excited to see him again.

"How's Scott?" Harper changed the subject quickly, looking over at Allison.

The two had broken up before the summer after Allison had tried to kill them all when Jackson turned into a mix of a Kanima and a werewolf. It was Allison's decision, but Scott had told Harper that he was sure that they would get back together. Harper was certain of it, too.

Allison shrugged, "wouldn't know. I haven't spoken to him all summer," she explained as they got into Lydia's car, Harper sitting in the back, "I went on a trip with my dad to France, you know, to escape everything and everyone. A little supernatural break if you will."

Harper smiled a little, "fair enough," she did her seatbelt up before leaning forwards, "meet any cute French guys?"

Allison chuckled as Lydia pulled out of the car park and began driving down the road, the headlights of her car lighting up the dark paths in front of them. Harper took that at as a no.

"I'm not ready to get back out there," the Argent girl explained.

Harper nodded, however Lydia shot Allison a disapproving look. "You were in France and didn't do any dating for four months?" She shot, her tone judgemental.

"Did you?" The taller brunette shot back, "I mean, after-"

Lydia held her hand up, "do not say his name." She cut Allison off.

Harper's eyebrows furrowed together, "how is Jackson? Did everything work out with him?"

"Well, the doctors looked like total idiots when he turned up alive, but everyone got over it. And yes, Derek taught him the werewolf 101, like how not to randomly kill people during a full moon," the strawberry blonde recalled her summer with a scoff.

Allison laughed, grinning at her friend, "so then you've talked to him?"

"Uh, not since he left for London."

"Grandma are you sure?" Harper looked up from her book at Rose Verum, one dark brow raised, "the doctor said you should be resting now, not travelling fifty miles."

Rose rolled her eyes, "oh, come on. There's no point in us just sitting around waiting for me to die. We might as well have fun. Besides, I want to go on the London Eye. I've never been on it before."

Harper placed her book down on the sofa next to her. "Yes you have, grandma. With me and dad when I was, like, seven."

"But I don't remember it very well," her grandma claimed, "don't be such a stick in the mud, sweet pea. Ask Auntie Margo if she'll take us, otherwise we'll just have to catch the train, won't we?"

Harper patted her grandma's hand, "okay, grandma, you-"

"Harper!" Lydia yelled, pulling her out of her flashback, "you okay? You totally just blanked out on us."

Harper blinked quickly, seeing that they had stopped at a red light. "Oh, um, yeah. I'm fine, sorry. I was just thinking about-"

Her heart stopped and suddenly it was in her throat. Every single nerve in her body began to take action, and she felt an overwhelming feeling of excitement and anxiousness flood through her body.

Why, you may be asking?

The only other car around them was parked right in the lane beside them, and it wasn't just any random car. It was a powder blue jeep- Stiles Stilinski's powder blue jeep. And, of course, sitting in the front seats, were Scott McCall and Stiles Stilinski himself.

Harper's ears drowned out the sound of Allison panicking that her ex boyfriend was right next to them, because all she could focus on was the fact that the love of her life was right there, and she hadn't seen him in four months.

The Empath's eyes made direct contact with Scott's brown ones, and he grinned at her, about to wave when hands pushed him out of the way, and suddenly Stiles was there. Their eyes held a starting contest, disbelief written across their features, as if they couldn't believe that they were finally seeing each other after so long apart.

Stiles reached forwards to roll the window down, but before he could talk Lydia had put her foot down on the pedals, and suddenly they were shooting through a red light. Harper gasped and Allison let out a sigh of relief. The shorter brunette whirled around, watching as the light went green and the jeep started going after them.

"Lydia," Harper whined, "are you bloody serious? I haven't seen Stiles in four months and you're literally pulling me away from him."

Allison bit her lip, suddenly feeling guilty for dragging Harper away from her boyfriend just because she was afraid of seeing her ex. The jeep's brakes suddenly squealed and the car came to a stop.

"Lydia, stop," Allison commanded softly, "we need to go back and talk to them. I can't avoid Scott forever, and Harper wants to see Stiles."

Lydia obeyed, the car coming to a swift stop. Harper grinned, turning around in her seat and waving at her boyfriend and best friend. They waved back, Stiles extremely eagerly, just as a crash came from behind her.

All three girls screamed at the top of their lungs as glass from the windshield flew everywhere. Harper ducked, tucking her head into her arms to protect herself. Once the glass had stopped flying everywhere, which was less than a second later, the brunette stumbled out of the car, almost landing on her hands and knees.

But hands caught her.

Harper looked up, her entire face brightening at the familiar sight of her boyfriend. Stiles had grown his hair out over the summer, and while Harper had seen the working progress at the start of the summer, she hadn't seen the finished product yet. His old buzz cut was gone, and instead replaced with longer, thicker hair that he had pushed up into a somewhat messy quiff. Harper thought he looked absolutely handsome with it.

He still smelled the same too; like old spice. Harper didn't know what she was expecting when she came back after four months of being away from everyone, probably for everybody to have changed completely. He was wearing dark colours, including a plaid shirt thrown over a dark blue tee.

"Oh my god. Are you okay?" Stiles rushed out frantically, his hazel eyes scanning Harper like a hawk.

Harper didn't reply but jumped up into his arms. He caught her and held her as tight as he could to himself, shakily breathing in the scent of her hair. She hadn't felt this right and this protected in such a long time- not since she was with him last. Tears burned her eyes, but she quickly blinked them away.

"Well, I'm not okay!" Lydia shrieked, exhaling loudly as the couple hesitantly broke apart, "I am totally freaking out! How the hell does it just run into us? I saw it's eyes before it hit us. It was like... it was like it was crazy."

The shortest brunette looked up, her eyes landing on a dead deer half way inside the car. Blood was all over the glass and it was motionless. Scott was stood right beside it, expecting it with a frown.

"No, it was scared," he corrected her softly.

"Actually," Harper cleared her throat, using her Empath abilities, "it was terrified."

...

Stiles had been forced to give everybody a ride home after Lydia's car was deemed unstable to drive. Once he had dropped Lydia and Allison off back at their homes, he had gone straight to the McCall residence, where Harper would be living now.

Melissa had wanted to take Harper in as soon as Rose announced that she was going to die of cancer and she had no one to look after the teenage girl. Scott's mum had always seen Harper as the daughter she had never had, and she had always cared for Harper as if she were her own.

Over the summer, Melissa had set up the spare room for Harper. She had taken all of Harper's things from her old room and set them up nicely, so that Harper would feel as at home as possible. The walls were painted a light shade of blue, her fairy lights were pinned on the walls, she had brand new bed sheets that matched her curtains.

Harper chucked her suitcase on the end of the bed and forced a smile at Scott who was standing in the doorway beside Stiles.

"Stiles and I helped with painting the wall," Scott told her enthusiastically, "just... don't move your bedside table. Stiles accidentally spilled coke down it while we were taking a break."

Stiles smacked Scott's arm while Harper chuckled, shaking her head. She sat down on the bed, her eyes glossing over with tears as she looked back up at her boyfriend and her best friend.

"Thank you," she whispered, "thank you so much."

Neither boys said anything but moved in to tackle her into a hug. Harper laughed as they pushed her down, jumping straight on top of her. Scott grunted from Stiles' heavy weight on his back, but they all settled down after a few seconds and hugged it out.

"We missed you," Scott whispered from where his face was practically smashed against her shoulder, Stiles' face inches away from his as he laid on top of the werewolf, "especially Stiles."

Harper giggled, sniffling a little bit as she replied, "I missed you two, too. Especially Stiles."

Stiles grinned, squeezing his two best friends even tighter causing them both to groan and call Stiles' name out in exasperation. A knock came from Harper's bedroom door, causing them all to pile off of each other.

"As cute as this all is," Mellissa chuckled, "I have someone here that has been missing Harper all summer."

She opened the door further, and suddenly the ginger head of a chubby cat poked through, causing Harper to jump up from the bed in excitement.

"Archie!" She kneeled down, patting her legs for him to come over, "thank you so much for looking after him while I was away."

The ginger fur ball rubbed his cheek up against Harper, purring loudly. His body fell onto her knees lazily as she began to stroke him, especially around the ears and the chin where he liked it the most.

"Actually," Melissa grinned slyly, "Stiles wanted to look after Archie instead."

Harper turned her head over her shoulder to glance at her boyfriend, her eyes going soft as her heart skipped a beat. Nobody missed the complete admiration in her eyes as she looked at Stiles, not even Stiles himself, causing his heart to swell with joy.

"Thank you," she whispered, tilting her head as she smiled at him, "I could actually cry right now because I love all of you guys so much."

Melissa cooed, reaching down and wrapping the teenage girl in a quick hug. "We love you too, Harper," she squeezed her shoulder, "and I'd really love to stay because I'm so excited to have another girl in the house now, but I have an early shift in the morning."

"Night, Melissa," the brunette sweetly waved.

"Goodnight, guys. No staying up too late," she pointed her fingers at them as she stood in the doorway, "remember, first day back at school tomorrow."

"Night mum," Scott called as Melissa shut the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, Harper fell backwards onto the carpeted floor beneath her and groaned loudly. Both boys shared a look before Stiles raised an eyebrow.

"That's a particularly large groan for somebody so small." The Stilinski boy commented with a light chuckle, moving down onto the floor beside her and tucking some of her hair out of her face.

"I have school tomorrow," was all she replied with glumly.

Scott rolled his eyes and scoffed, "so do we."

"I don't think you understand," Harper claimed as she sat up, resting her chin on her hands, "if I still lived in England, than I wouldn't even be in high school anymore. I'd have finished back in May."

"What?" Stiles face scrunched up, "why?"

"Because," Harper dragged her words, "the school system is different back there. All my old friends have finished school and I still have two more years. How is that fair?"

Scott patted her shoulder in a way that was kind of meant to be comforting, but was more awkward. "Oh well," he sighed, "at least you have another two more years to decide what you wanna do."

Harper pursed her lips and tilted her head, "I guess." She hummed, trying to think on the optimistic side like Scott, "school still sucks, though."

"Amen," Stiles chuckled.

Scott stood up and brushed his jeans off with his hands, "right." He stood up straight, "I'm gonna head to bed then. See you guys in the morning."

Stiles and Harper both wished him a goodnight before Scott left, closing the bedroom door quietly behind him. Harper shifted Archie in her lap, causing him to jump up. He walked around the room slowly before settling down on the beanbag in the corner of Harper's new room.

"How are you?" Stiles questioned quietly as they moved onto her new double bed, "I mean, after this summer."

"After this summer, I want you to move on, Harper," Rose coughed from where she was sprawled out on the couch, a hot water bottle curled in her arms and an old movie on the television.

"H-how can I, grandma?" Harper stuttered, tearing up a little, "you'll be dead. Gone."

The old lady didn't make any attempt to sit up; instead she reached for Harper's hand and gave it a weak squeeze.

"Somehow, you need to, sweet pea. You're going to go into your junior year, and you can't be distracted because you're upset. You're going to have to be happy and strong and positive," She stroked the teenager's hand, "remember, I'll be up in the stars watching down on you. You'll never be without me."

"I'm fine," Harper replied to Stiles quickly- too quickly.

Stiles sighed, clasping Harper's hand and pulling her down to lay on the bed with him. They both stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds before Harper got an idea.

"I want to paint stars on my ceiling," She announced out of the blue, much to Stiles' surprise.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah," Harper sighed happily at the thought, "and I'd use that glow in the dark paint so you can only see it when the lights are turned off. I'd try and make it look as realistic as possible, but I haven't really picked up a paintbrush since this whole supernatural thing happened. Apart from in art class, of course."

Stiles moved his arm underneath Harper's head and began to stroke her thick hair. She had cut it short over the summer, and Stiles decided that he really liked it. He liked her hair long too, but the shoulder length waves really suited her.

"We can get the paint after school tomorrow, if you want," Stiles suggested, "do you still have your old brushes?"

Harper nodded, "they should be in one of the boxes that I packed."

"Oh. We moved all of your packed boxes into one of the spare rooms, by the way. Melissa said it would be inappropriate for us to unpack your stuff," Stiles chuckled a little at the memory.

Harper hummed, mumbling a 'thank you'. The couple remained in a comfortable silence for a few more minutes, just enjoying each other's presence after such a long time apart.

"You act different around me," Harper noted.

Stiles frowned, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion, "I'm not sure what you mean by that."

"As in, you act less sarcastic and less like an arsehole," she teased as she moved onto her stomach, propping herself up onto her elbows as she hovered over his chest, bopping his button nose.

Stiles moved to bite her finger, but she moved it away just in time. "I guess I have a soft side for you, my love," He mimicked an English accent, causing Harper to crinkle her nose up and laugh loudly.

She pushed away from him, "go away, you suck," she giggled.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you do an American accent, little miss 'I judge everyone who can't do a British accent perfectly because I think I am superior'," Stiles mocked her, resting his head on his hand as he watched her.

Harper grinned so hard her cheeks hurt, "okay, are you ready?" She cleared her throat, "this is gonna be the best American accent you've ever heard in your entire life time. Even better than actual Americans' accents. They'll be left questioning why their accents aren't as American as mine."

"How can you be so sure?" Stiles teased, "what qualifies you to pull of the great American accent?"

Harper played along, "well, sir, I believe I have spent about seven out of my sixteen years of living in the land of freedom and opportunity, which is quite a long time if you asked me. Oh, and I have this boyfriend, he's American too."

"He is?" Stiles raised his eyebrows, "well, you better make him proud with your amazing accent, then."

"Okay, okay," Harper moved away from him, trying to get herself to stop smiling and laughing so that she could talk properly, "I-" she tried in an American accent, resulting in the two teenagers dissolving into giggles.

Harper leaned her head on his shoulder as she laughed, and he patted her back, snorting.

"Go again, go again," he pushed her.

"I don't know what to say!" The Empath exclaimed.

"Say something American!" Stiles grinned.

"Okay," Harper psyched herself up, "okay."

She cleared her throat for the third time before saying, in an almost perfect American accent, "my name is Harper Verum and I'm American! I love guns, burgers, and freedom."

Stiles' nose turned up as he snickered, "'guns, burgers, freedom'?" He repeated with a roll of the eyes, "really?"

"You said to say something American," Harper pushed his shoulder as she blushed, "I couldn't think of anything good to say on the spot."

"You're a dork," he pushed her back harder, causing Harper to fall back onto the bed.

He climbed on top of her, hovering over her body as he pressed kisses from her exposed collar bone up to her forehead. She wrapped her arms around his neck, her hands going into his hair and resting their gently.

"I love you so much," she whispered, "and I'm sorry for not calling you back."

Stiles eyes softened as he stopped what he was doing, looking right into her eyes, "it's okay," he pursed his lips together, "because I love you too."

Then, Stiles kissed Harper.

...

When Harper woke up next, it was still dark. She groaned when she realised that she hadn't turned her fairy lights off, rolling her brown eyes. The brunette leaned over the side of the bed to unplug them when she heard the faint sound of singing coming from downstairs.

Harper froze, her eyes wide as she listened out for the haunting voice. It didn't grow louder or any clearer even when she strained her ears to listen. The teenage girl let out a shaky breath before climbing out of her new bed.

She moved into the hallway, her heart pounding in her chest as the singing grew slightly louder, but still muffled. It was a woman's voice singing, and Harper knew that it wasn't Melissa's. Melissa's bedroom door was open and she could see Scott's mum lying in bed, fast asleep. Scott's bedroom door was closed.

Harper walked slowly down the stairs, the singing becoming less unclear. She knew exactly who it was as soon as her foot touched the last step on the staircase. It was her grandma singing her favourite song- one from the sixties that Harper couldn't remember the name of.

Rose Verum would always half hum and half sing the song, since even though she loved it so much she didn't know the lyrics. The old woman would always wake up in the middle of the night and not be able to sleep, so she would go downstairs and make herself some tea while she sang.

Harper had always thought the way she sang was quite haunting and creepy. Rose had a beautiful voice, although it was shaky from age.

Harper's heart felt like it was in her throat as she peeked into the kitchen, seeing her grandma sat at one of the chairs with a cup of tea in front of her as she stirred it. She stopped humming as soon as Harper walked into the room, but she didn't look up from what she was doing.

"Grandma?" Harper whispered, confused.

The old lady chuckled quite sinisterly, shaking her head, "no, sweet pea." She spoke mockingly, "I'm dead, remember?"

Tears stung Harper eyes as Rose looked up, revealing pitch black eyes. Harper took a step backwards, ready to call for Scott. Seeing her deceased grandma look so scary in her dream was so overwhelmingly sad and terrifying for her.

"You let me die," Rose blinked, her black eyes going back to their normal blue, "you left me rotting in that stupid coffin."

Harper shook her head, "no, " she choked, "grandma, you know that's not how it is-"

The woman slammed her hand on the table, the mug knocking over and tea spilling everywhere. Rose's knuckles were stained red with blood as she punched the table again, and then throwing the mug across the room so it smashed loudly against the wall.

"This is your fault!" She screamed, her voice piercing Harper's brain like a thousand needles.

"No!" Harper sobbed, falling onto her knees as her grandma started to cough up blood, her blue eyes empty as she collapsed onto the tiled floor, lifeless. "NO!"

"Harper!" A voice screamed.

Harper woke up blinking rapidly, tears already down her cheeks as she sobbed, and an aching pain in her hand. Suddenly, two pairs of hands were around her, causing Harper's head to snap up in their direction.

Melissa and Scott McCall stood their in their pyjamas, tired yet worried looks in their eyes as they looked down at the Empath. Harper looked around, a mixture of fear and confusion filling her when she realised she was on the floor in the doorway of the kitchen, exactly where she had been before she woke up.

"I-It was real!" She sobbed, "my g-grandma was here. She was angry, she-she punched the t-table and smashed the mug against the wall!"

Melissa looked at Harper sadly, "baby, your grandma wasn't here, okay?" She spoke softly as Scott kneeled down beside the other teenager, putting his hands on her shoulders as he stared into her eyes with intense concern.

"B-but-"

"Harper, look at your hand," Scott instructed quietly.

Harper frowned, her eyebrows knitting together as she lifted her arm up, only to wince as a sudden pain shot through it. She looked down, finding bloody and bruised knuckles. She looked over at the wall quickly and saw pieces of a smashed mug on the floor beside it.

There was a heavy silence as the McCall's waited for her to catch on with what had happened. Harper realised, her heart sinking. She was going crazy. Harper Verum was slowly going crazy.

"I-I'm so sorry," she whispered, sniffling, "I- oh my god, I smashed your mug."

"Never mind that!" Melissa shook her head, "look at your hand!"

Scott's hands went down her shoulders to her hand. He gently cupped them in his own and looked her in the eyes. She gave him a short nod before he started to take her pain. His veins turned black as the pain travelled through them. Harper could see them clearly from where Scott was wearing no shirt and only pyjama bottoms.

"Thank you," she mumbled tiredly, feeling the dull ache leave her hand.

Scott told her not to worry as he went to get the first aid kit that he knew was located in the bathroom upstairs. Melissa slid down the wall beside Harper, taking her good hand and squeezing it comfortingly.

"Nobody expected you to come out the other side all rainbows and sunshine," Melissa told her quietly, "nobody is expecting anything from you, Harper, so please don't feel the need to hide anything from any of us. You don't have to hide your suffering, okay?"

"Am I going crazy?" Harper whispered, looking up at Melissa with teary eyes.

Melissa shook her head, "no, no, of course not. You're just going through a traumatic time, that's all. I had an email from the school last week. They've signed you up for an extra counselling session every week at the school. Hopefully they can help you."

"Can they bring my grandma back?"

Melissa looked taken aback by the question, "no, sweetheart."

Harper chuckled dryly, leaning her head against the wall, "then they can't help me."

...

Harper checked herself out in the mirror and nodded once she was happy with the way she looked. Her shorter hair was curled at the ends, she had minimal make up on, and she was sporting a burgundy floral dress with black tights and some cute ankle boots. She had to at least pretend that she was okay- she couldn't be a sad, soppy mess all the time.

Just as she was putting her last earring in, a knock came from the door.

"Come in," she called.

The door opened revealing her boyfriend, causing her to smile, teeth and all. She pressed the back of her earring in and then turned around, opening her arms for him. Stiles welcomed her with open arms, hugging her back tightly, leaning down to rest his chin on her shoulder.

He looked at them hugging from the long mirror Harper had been getting ready in and smiled slightly. As he pulled away, his hands went to her hair and he cupped her cheeks, looking down at her with worried hazel eyes.

"Scott told me what happened last night," he lifted her arm up, inspecting her knuckles which had been wrapped up in white bandages, "has this happened before?"

Harper nodded her head, sighing, "twice before. I feel so... so unstable."

Stiles tutted her, pressing a kiss to her forehead. "You're going to get better, Harper. You know how it is, it gets better after a while."

"You're right," Harper swallowed thickly, "sorry for being so depressing since I got back. I want to be happy, I really do."

"I know, I know," Stiles stroked her back comfortingly as he pulled her into another hug, "and you will be. What's that thing Rose told you? That family isn't always blood? She's right, you know. Scott, Melissa, Allison, Lydia, my dad, and I- we're all your family. You can count on us, okay?"

Harper pursed her lips together and nodded, "thank you. I needed to hear that."

Stiles just chuckled and grabbed her good hand and her backpack, "that's what boyfriend's are for. In fact, I'm such a good boyfriend, I'm gonna carry your bag to the jeep for you."

"How romantic," Harper teased, leaning into him more as they walked down the stairs of the McCall household, "I could have gotten a ride on the back of Scott's motorcycle, you know."

The Stilinski boy scoffed, shaking his head, "that death trap? I don't think so."

"That jeep is kind of a death trap too, you know."

"Yeah, well at least my death trap has seatbelts."

...

chapter one of book two!

When I wrote the first book, I already had all of the chapters written out and I edited them as I published them so that the whole thing made sense (adding an oc's plot to an entire show can be VERY complicated so I was constantly going back and adding things)

But! Book two I will be publishing them as I go along. I don't know how this is going to work out, and I will probably need to go back and change things at times but I will let you know.

Anyways, I hope you liked it! My favourite bits to write are the non- canon scenes because I love writing about harper sooo much

I have a lot planned for this book and I cant wait to use my oc Harry Valack who is being played by the legend himself- Thomas Brodie-Sangster!

Thanks for reading !!