Jessica's outfit(s)

Sinema

School/library

(Question: Who's your favorite character so far?)

Flashback 

Acindina was dancing with a random boy in the middle of the dance floor inside Sinema. She didn't particularly like him but he was good company for the time being. She couldn't remember how many drinks she had had but she knew all too well that she was completely wasted.  

The familiar pounding in her head and the vicious nausea were an added clue as well. 

The boy's hands gripped Acindina's waist tightly, the girl paying no mind to the slight pain it brought her. Instead, she kept her arms wrapped around his neck, pretending to be actually interested. 

She didn't quite remember his name so when she went to lecture him as he slowly moved one of his hands down to her ass, she picked a name at the top of her head.

"Nick, or whatever the hell your name was, would you be so kind and keep your hands off my ass?" she questioned, his cheeks turning dark red as he returned his hand to her waist. "My name is Nash..."  Acindina waved him off, continuing to sway carelessly to the music.  

"Meh, Nick is close enough." 

They continued to dance for a couple of minutes before something, or rather someone caught Acindina's attention. Scott and Kira hurried across the dance floor, both of them trying to get to the fight behind the beaded curtain. She had a feeling it had something to do with Scott's unexplainable interest of the supernatural. 

Her eyebrows furrowed when she thought she saw Scott's eyes turn red, curiosity filling her. "Well, it was nice dancing with you Nick, even if you kept feeling me up," she said before pulling out of his grip and sprinting after Scott and Kira. 

"My name is Nash!" he called after her but she ignored it and instead hid behind a wall, having a full vision of the fight happening in the back of the club. Her eyes went wide when she noticed a dead body lying in the middle of the group, three leather-clad figures standing on some railings in the ceiling. 

Chills ran down her spine when she heard their clicking voice and when they disappeared she decided to make her presence known. Scott's jaw hit the floor along with Jessica's, the two siblings staring at her in shock. 

"Holy mother of God." 

🎭

Jessica watched as Acindina crossed her arms over her chest, her body shaking in fear but a fierce expression remaining un faltering on her face. "What the hell just happened, and who the fuck were those people wearing masks?" 

Nobody moved or made a noise, none of them knowing what to say. Finally, Scott stepped forwards, knowing it was better to tell her the truth than try and convince her she was just incredibly drunk and hallucinated the entire thing. 

"Well, uh, how much did you see?" Scott asked, wanting to know how much he had to explain on the spot. Acindina scoffed loudly, giving him a look. "Well, I saw you turning into a hairy monster thingy, Kira getting like set on fire by God knows what and that girl over there conjuring fire in her bare hands! Have another stupid question in mind?" 

Scott sucked in a breath, realizing that it wasn't the best question to ask. "None of us are human, except for Jessica and we have no idea what those people are," he told her, avoiding full answers to her questions. 

"Oh, well I'm so glad you took the time to explain what happened instead of giving me vague answers that tell me absolutely nothing at all." Acindina snapped, her arms still crossed over her chest. Scott opened his mouth to speak again but stopped when he realized he didn't know what to say. 

Acindina scoffed yet again before shaking her head. "You know what? Fine! Don't answer my questions. This is all bullshit either way." she said before storming off, Drew sighing slightly as she leaned her head against Liam's chest. 

"Well, that was a total failure." she smiled sheepishly when she noticed everyone staring at her. "Sorry." 

🎭

Hands gripping tightly around the steering wheel, Acindina clenched her jaw as she drove home. She still wasn't sober enough to drive but she had no other way to get home. Angry tears welled up in her eyes and she groaned as she wiped them away. 

"Stop crying," she muttered to herself, knowing it was no use. To try and distract herself from what she had seen, she put on the radio, hoping that if she played it loud enough, she would forget everything. 

It was a 20-minute drive to her house since she lived on the other side of town, and she didn't necessarily like driving alone. She didn't like the quiet. It made her imagine things, like the sound of someone breathing heavily in her ear.

About halfway home, her radio stopped working, a crackling sound coming from within it. The teenage girl groaned, not having the patience for it not to work. She kept on driving as she hit it, hoping that it would start working after receiving a rather harsh hit. 

However, it didn't.

Acindina continued to try and get it to work, shifting between channels and turning it on and off again, hoping that it would start working. After turning it off for the seventh time, the radio seemed to be working again and Acindina smiled in satisfaction.

But the smile was wiped off her face when Spice Girls 'Wannabe' was replaced with a clicking sound. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as chills went through her entire body, a whizzing voice coming through on the radio.

"Your condition improves."

🎭

Waking up the next morning, Jessica let out a startled yelp when she saw Malia, hovering over her, one leg on each side of the younger girl. The McCall girl groaned loudly, swatting a hand at her girlfriend as she tried to fall back asleep.

"What are you doing?" Malia asked, a frown on her face. Jessica sighed deeply before turning around so she was lying on her back, a pointed look on her face. "I'm going back to sleep, something you should do as well," she said before closing her eyes and pulling the covers further up her body.

Malia smirked before leaning down and trailing kisses up Jessica's jaw, the younger girl peeling her eyes open again. "Stop that. I'm asleep," she stated, closing her eyes again. But when Malia only continued to kiss down her jaw, the younger girl grabbed onto her girlfriend's arm and pulled her down next to her.

Jessica smirked as she threw one leg over Malia's waist, leaning down to kiss her girlfriend as she straddled her. Their lips moved in sync for a moment before the coyote pulled away. "I found something," she said and Jessica frowned as she connected their lips again.

"What?" she asked between kisses and Malia pulled some of her short hair behind her ear. "Well, I went to Tracy's room when you were at Sinema with Drew and I found a book that her dad had gotten her," she stated, Jessica's frown only deepening.

"Okay, and?" she asked, not really getting how that was relevant at all. "On the cover of the book was a picture of the men in masks." Jessica's eyes widened and she sat up straight, Malia reaching over to the nightstand and grabbing a slim book from it before handing it to the McCall girl.

Jessica looked over it, frowning as she saw the title. "The Dread Doctors?" she questioned and Malia shrugged as the younger girl climbed off her girlfriend, falling down on the bed next to her. "Have you read it yet?" Malia nodded in answer, a frown forming on her face.

"Yeah, but I didn't get any off it. Maybe you should read it? I'm sure you would get more off it than I did." she suggested and Jessica nodded in agreement. "Yeah, maybe we all should read it. Get different perspectives you know?" 

The two shared another kiss before Jessica climbed out of the bed and started getting ready for school. "Come back to bed, I can't survive without you," Malia whined, putting a hand on her heart dramatically.

Jessica shook her head in amusement before throwing a shirt onto the coyote's face. "You'll survive."

🎭

Jessica and Drew followed behind Malia and Lydia as they walked through the school corridors. Lydia held the book Malia had gotten from Tracy's room in her hand, a frown on her face as she read the title. 

"The Dread Doctors by T.R. McCammon." the strawberry blonde read from the cover of the book, a frown on her face. Noticing the look on Lydia's face, Drew leaned forward. "What?" she asked as Jessica pulled her back, knowing that the older girl didn't like hovering. "I don't know. There's something about it. Has anyone actually read it?" Lydia asked and Malia nodded.

"Just me. And I didn't understand any of it. Jessica started reading it tho." she answered as she wrapped an arm around her girlfriend's shoulders. Drew smiled fondly at the two as Jessica spoke up. "We should all probably read it."

"Kira's working on that." the Parrish girl spoke up and Lydia nodded as they walked over to her locker. "Stiles says he can't find anything on the author. He thinks it's a pen name." Malia told them and Lydia nodded.

Drew snatched the book out of the strawberry blonde's hands and turned it around, reading aloud from the back. "In a small New England town, teenagers are taken in the night a buried alive." That sounds mortifying." she stated and Lydia nodded in agreement as she took the book back and continued reading.

"Days later, they emerge transformed, wreaking havoc and spreading terror, commanded by an ancient order of parascientists known only as the Dread Doctors." Sound vaguely familiar. How does it end?" the strawberry blonde asked, her question directed towards Malia.

"It doesn't. This is supposed to be volume one." the coyote explained and Drew sighed. "Let me guess... there is no volume two?" Lydia sarcastically asked and Malia nodded. "I think we're living volume two." Jessica raised her eyebrows, a low whistle escaping her lips. "Well, that sounds about horrible enough for it to be true."

Lydia looked down at the book again, a curious expression forming on her face. "Then maybe the real question is, is this a novel or someone's prediction?"

🎭

Jessica sat leaning against Malia in the library, her eyes almost about to close. It was in the middle of the night but the McCall girl had refused to go home alone, knowing she probably wouldn't be able to sleep without the older girl next to her.

Theo suddenly sat down at the table, putting his homework in front of him as he offered them a friendly smile. "Page turner?" he asked once he noticed the book lying open in front of them. Malia frowned before shaking her head, Jessica rolling her eyes at the boy.

"Not exactly." the coyote answered and Theo chuckled. "Neither is this," he stated as he held up his precalculus book. Jessica narrowed her eyes at the boy, tilting her head slightly in suspicion. "Why'd you sit down with us? There are about twenty open seats elsewhere," she told him and he turned to her with a small smile on his face.

"You don't really like me, do you?" he questioned and she shook her head, smirking slightly. "No, I don't." 

Malia and Theo continued doing their homework as Jessica remained leaning against her girlfriend, the McCall girl halfway asleep at this point. After another hour, Malia glanced over at the younger girl, an amused smile on her face.

"Okay, you are fully asleep right now," she stated and Jessica scoffed. "No, I am not. Now stop moving so I can rest my eyes." Theo looked up from his precalculus book to look at them, a curious expression on his face as Malia started gathering her things. "Alright, we're leaving." the coyote said as she offered Jessica a hand, which she gladly accepted.

"Need a ride?" Theo asked, knowing neither of them had a car. "We can take the bus," Malia stated as she wrapped her arm around the younger girl's waist to keep her standing up. "Actually, the last one left an hour ago, but we can walk." Jessica pointed out, still suspicious of the boy in front of them.

The two girls were about to walk away when Theo spoke up again. "Haven't I seen you coming out of Driver's Ed?" he asked and Malia straightened her posture slightly. "I hope not," she commented making him smile in amusement.

"I'm pretty sure I saw you destroy a couple traffic cones the other day. And nearly take out a sophomore," he told them and Jessica chuckled slightly. "Oh yeah, that was Drew. She was pretty shaken up after that." 

Malia rolled her eyes slightly, feeling defensive. "Drew shouldn't have been standing there." she defended herself and Theo chuckled. "Sounds like you could still use some practice," he commented as he held up his car keys.

The coyote glanced at the keys for a moment and before Jessica could protest, Theo had thrown them to her. Malia smiled at Theo as she held the keys in her hand, Jessica not liking the way they were looking at each other at all. After feeling the slight sexual tension between the two, Jessica moved out of her girlfriend's hold.

The older teens started walking toward the exit and Malia turned around when she noticed that Jessica had moved out of her hold. "You coming, Jess?" she asked and the McCall girl bit the inside of her cheek as she stared at the floor, refusing to meet her girlfriend's eyes.

"Actually, I think I'll walk," she said and Malia frowned in worry. Grabbing her phone off the table, Jessica looked at her girlfriend one last time before walking out of the library.

A/N

I feel so bad for Jess in that last scene. She was just standing there whilst Malia and Theo shared that long look in the end. Even I felt that sexual tension when I watched that scene. But I did warn you that some angst was on the way.

We've almost reached 18k! Thank you all so much for reading!

-Jazz