【Ｃｈａｐｔｅｒ  Ｔｗｅｎｔｙ－Ｓｅｖｅｎ】

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"Tell me again why we are being dragged to a different high school's party," Ariel muttered as she walked hand in hand with Stiles, focusing her eyes on her strappy stilettoes. The brunette had no problem going to a party, but she had hoped that it wouldn't be during their first weekend together since school ended last year.

Before Stiles had found out about the party, they had even planned to spend the night in. They were going to have a Star Wars marathon since the Stilinski insisted that Ariel was missing a "crucial milestone in one's life." The pale-eyed girl was shocked when she became disappointed to hear those plans changed.

"Because there is no way that I am not spending Saturday night with my girlfriend," Stiles reminded her, tightening his grip on her hand as he playfully tugged her towards him, causing the brunette to giggle in his arms.

Scott nodded his head in agreement with the smaller girl turning over to look at his best friend, "So why do I have to come?" the werewolf frowned. The true reason the McCall wasn't interested was more to do with Allison, who he was still waiting for.

Stiles sighed loudly, "because you, my friend, need to get out more. No more moping around the house and wishing you were with Allison."

"Kind of like you all summer when -"

Scott was cut off with a rough jab to the stomach, as Stiles gave him a threatening look to be quiet. Ariel chuckled, knowing Stiles had nothing to be embarrassed about as the Argent girl dealt with the same thing in France.

"Oh my God," Stiles groaned, dramatically moving his head to fall on Ariel's shoulder, "Just one drink, alright, you'll be fine, Scott. Ariel and I went to nursery school with this girl, okay? She promised to — "

Ariel furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to remember going to nursery school with Stiles or a girl from this neighborhood. The Martin girl barely remembered her boyfriend in nursery school, so it was a low chance she would remember whoever this girl was, but it didn't seem to stop her from turning to face the boys, "What is her name again?"

Stiles turned over to see the Martin girl struggle to remember her old schoolmate. The pale boy furrowed his eyebrows before he realized that she had probably never even paid attention to him, "Heather, she had blond hair," he recalled, "And green eyes?"

Ariel immediatly stopped in her tracks, pulling Stiles back, causing the boy to practically fall into her die to her tight grip on his hand, "Okay," he gasped, "I didn't see that one coming."

"Heather Parks?!?"

"Yeah," Stiles smiled, not noticing the tense look on his girlfriend's face, "I can't believe you remember her."

Ariel did more than just remember Heather. She hated her. The blond princess was the brunette angel's worst enemy in preschool, always trying to bully her. Heather would cut her hair, steal her toys, put glue in her shoes, and ants in her lunch bag. If it weren't for Lydia, the blue-eyed girl would have probably suffered throughout all of daycare.

"No, no, no, no, no," Ariel began shaking her head as her feet began to back away, "Stiles, there is no way in hell I am going to this party."

"What-Why," Stiles asked, not understanding the sudden shift in moods. She had tolerated the idea before, so what would make her resent it now.

"I can't go in there, Stiles," Ariel insisted, pulling back on his arms as if to try and force him to leave.

"Please, Ariel. We can just pop in and out."

"No."

"Just for me."

Ariel watched as Stiles practically begged her, trying to use her iconic puppy dog eyes. And as much as she hated to say it, his puppy dog eyes were terrible. But he was still too adorable for her to say no. Plus, it wouldn't be fair to put her childhood vendetta on their friendship.

"Fine," the petit girl grumbled.

"Yes," Stiles fist pumped in the air before pulling Ariel into a huge hug as they began walking again, "And look Scott, tonight, no Allison, no supernatural. Tonight we are moving on!"

"You're right," Scott weakly smiled, not wanting to ruin his best friend's good mood.

"We're moving on. Onward and upward!" Stiles shouted, pointing his hand to the sky in a weird motion that caused Ariel to laugh.

"Let's do this!" Scott nodded determined, suddenly in the mood to party. The boy began to quicken his pace as he clapped his hands against his friend's chest.

"Here it is," they stopped as they all stared at the house with a sense of dread, excluding Stiles, of course.

Stiles lightly moved to open the door, knocking his fist as he did. The door swung open to reveal a small blond girl, only a few inches over Ariel, who was happily smiling at the group. Although Ariel felt that she was looking more closely at the tallest boy.

"Stiles!"

"Hey, there's the birthday girl-"

The Stilinski boy was quickly cut off as a pair of lips attached themselves to his own. Everyone froze as they watched Heather move her lips against Stiles's, who stood wide-eyed in shock. Pulling away, he stared at Heather in incredulity before his eyes moved over to Ariel and Scott.

Scott's eyes remained fixated on Ariel, who was struggling to sort out feelings in a mature manner, as she had the uncontrollable urge to attack the blond brat. Remaining in that impulse, the brunette stood still with a small frown etched on her lips, trying to ignore the heavy lump building in her chest, making it unbearable to look between her boyfriend and his friend. The werewolf felt the girl's jealousy slowly transform to sadness as he lightly rubbed her back.

Ariel knew that she couldn't hate Heather for not knowing that she and Stiles were dating, as she plastered on a fake smile, "Hey, Heather. I don't know if you remem-"

"So glad you made it," Heather whispered over to Stiles, lightly biting her lip.

"Me too," Stiles said, not knowing how else one should react. Ariel had numerous ideas running through her mind as she slowly backed to stand near Scott again after being ignored. This time the werewolf pulled her in his arms, not knowing why his best friend was acting dumber than usual.

"Come downstairs with me and help me pick out a bottle of wine."

And with that, Heather had pulled Stiles down the stairs into her basement before either of his guests could object. Ariel especially was frozen in her spot as she followed the two with her eyes.

The pale-eyed girl's eyes began to water as she walked over to the main part of the party, choosing to drown her sorrows with a bottle of liquor. The werewolf followed behind her, "Look, Ariel, I don't know what Stiles is thinking..."

"It's fine," she lied, "I mean, they are just getting wine together. I am sure she just wants to catch up with him."

The doll-like teen had no idea that her boyfriend was being seduced by her childhood bully at that very moment. She had truly believed when Heather implied they were going to go down to the wine cellar.

Scott shook his head with a sigh, "I thought you were smart."

Furrowing her eyebrows, the petit girl looked at the tanned boy in confusion, still not understanding what he meant.

"She is trying to have sex with Stiles."

"What," Ariel spoke in shock as the words began to sink in. She didn't hesitate to run towards the basement. Leaving her other friend in the kitchen area to be swarmed by a group of girls.

Any calamity that the brunette had maintained was gone as anger seeped through her veins. It was one thing to bully her when they were kids but trying to steal her boyfriend from her was crossing the line. She practically reeled the door open before her eyes fell on the two teens walking between the racks of wine.

Ariel had originally planned on walking up to the two of them and confronting Heather for trying to sleep with her boyfriend, but she stopped once she noticed they were talking about something. Ducking down to hide from their view, she listened.

"Do you want to know what I want for my birthday?" Heather asked, kicking her heels off as she looked up at Stiles.

Stiles gulped, "A bike?"

"To not be a seventeen-year-old virgin," Heather answered as Ariel's heart plummeted, realizing that Scott was right. She was about to move and stop them but noticed that Stiles hadn't tried to push the girl away.

Instead, the Stilinski boy allowed her to push him into the wall, angling her head to deepen the kiss. The brunette waited, however, for Stiles to finally shove her off, tell the blond girl that he had a girlfriend that he loved. That he wasn't going to let her do exactly what she was doing as her hands traveled under her shirt. Stiles didn't stop her.

It was as if he had never even known Ariel as his hands fell on her waist, pulling her into him.

Ariel couldn't bear to watch anymore as tears began to line her eyes, causing her to crawl back to the door before she snuck out. Leaning her head against the wooden frame, the brunette fought against the tears that were already spilling from her cheeks as she tried to breathe against the lump forming in her throat.

She could still hear their voices as Heather pulled away, "My brother has condoms in his bathroom upstairs," she insisted, causing Stiles to mutter in agreement before the sound of footsteps was heard.

The brunette could barely understand what was going on, too concerned with the pain in her chest to realize that Stiles was approaching the door she was resting against. So it was a huge shock when the door suddenly gave way, causing Ariel to fall back into the one person she wanted to avoid more than anything.

"Ariel," Stiles said, his eyes wide as he looked down at the crying girl. His confused expression melted away as he began to look from the door to his girlfriend in understanding.

Ariel also noticed the change in his expression as he mustered all the strength in her to stand to her feet, bringing her arm back to slap the pale boy in front of her before moving out of his way, "Leave me alone."

Stiles stood for a second in utter shock, not expecting that reaction from the girl, as his mouth opened and closed, trying to come up with the right thing to say. He stopped once he realized that the girl he loved was walking away from him as he continued to stand like an idiot.

"Ariel, wait," he rushed, easily catching up with her, "Let me explain."

"Explain what," her blue eyes grew cold as she looked at the boy causing him to stumble back a few steps, "Explain to me why my boyfriend was about to have sex with another girl."

Stiles moved in front of the door to the house, stopping her from leaving as he shook his head, tears filling his eyes as he realized that he could lose her, "No, Ariel, I was pushing her away," He rushed, "I was just about to get you so we could leave, I swear."

Ariel wasn't listening, however, as she tried to move around the boy, a plan that constantly backfired as he pulled her in his arms instead of bringing her into the closest room, which just happened to be an office.

"Stiles," the brunette huffed, fighting to get out of his arms, "Let go of me."

"Not until you let me explain," Stiles sighed, causing the small girl to groan before lurching herself out of his grip, causing him to finally let go as she turned to him with red eyes.

"Please, Ariel," Stiles rushed, knowing she would try to leave for the door in any second, "I love you. I was trying to push her away, but she kept pulling me back. I swear I would never hurt you."

"You kissed her, Stiles," Ariel cried, falling back on one of the plush armchairs as her hands fell in her hands, "I watched you."

Stiles had never been more scared in his life as he scrambled to explain everything that had happened. The boy was, in fact, telling the truth. He had never once kissed the blond demon back, even when she forced him against her. His mind kept going back to Ariel, who was the only girl who managed to turn him on.

"Why didn't you fight harder?"

Stiles would be lying, however, if he said he didn't consider having sex with Heather. Only because he was scared that once Ariel learned of his inexperience, she would no longer want him, which was stupid of him to even consider.

The tale boy sighed as he moved to kneel in front of her, "Be-because I thought maybe," he sighed, knowing how embarrassing it was, "you wouldn't want to be with me because I was a virgin."

Ariel's eyes widened as she listened to Stiles continue, her tears beginning to lessen, "And I know it is stupid because I still shouldn't have considered it. But I swear to you that the thought barely lasted a second, and then that was when I pulled away."

"Stiles, I-"

"I wish I could prove it to you, but I can't," the boy breathed, tears filling his own eyes as he watched the small girl look at him in pain. That is when he broke down, tears flooding his eyes as his body began to shake. Ariel didn't know what to say as she pulled him closer, resting her head on his.

"How will I know you won't hurt me," she whispered, "I don't know if I can trust you."

Stiles's teary eyes looked up at her as he nodded his head, "Believe when I say that I would rather kill myself than see you hurt Ariel."

At that moment, there was a flash in Ariel's eyes as a sudden urge to hug Stiles came over her. The brunette was taken aback as she looked down at the boy who was still looking at her heartbroken before thinking about the sensation that overtook her. It was like a wave of trust and assurance swept over her after he said those words. Almost like her body was telling her to trust him. And the craziest part was, Ariel, did.

Ariel let out a soft chuckle as she nodded her head, trying to shake off the strange feeling that overcame her, "The thing is, I do."

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Ariel forgave Stiles against Lydia's suggestions, but the brunette couldn't explain it. It was like she felt that he was genuine, and she trusted that feeling. Even now, as she stood between his legs while he sat on the desk behind her, she couldn't help but know that he wouldn't hurt her.

That didn't stop Lydia from still shooting Stiles a glare from where she stood, basically trying to kiss him with her glower. The tall boy seemed to notice the look as well as he began to move his arms away from Ariel in fear before the small girl rolled her eyes and pulled them back to where they rested, surrounding her waist.

"I don't see anything," Derek muttered, crossing his arms as he looked over to Lydia and Allison.

Both girls were showing him the pattern that Ariel had noticed on their arms. The bruises still remained, although Lydia and Allison had traced over their arms with a marker just to be sure they didn't lose it.

Initially, they had gone to Scott after Allison insisted that there was something going on that was connected to the bruise, but once he didn't know, the werewolf called in Derek.

Stiles leaned forward over Ariel to take a look at the bruises as well before moving back in his seat to press a kiss on her head. After the emotional scene that went on, the tall boy had been touchier than usual with her as if he was scared, she would leave him. Not that she minded.

"Look again," Scott tried, noticing Allison's saddened expression.

"How is a bruise gonna tell me where Boyd and Erica are?" Derek snapped, glaring over at the girls.

"It's the same on both sides," Scott attempted to convince him, "exactly the same."

"It's nothing," Derek growled.

Ariel pursed her lips together before huffing, "Pareidolia."

Everyone in the room looked over at the girl in confusion before the brunette sighed, "Seeing patterns that aren't there. It's a subset of apophenia," she continued as if her explanation was better.

Scott just stared at Ariel for a second, noticing Stiles proudly smirking around the room as he puffed his chest, before giving up and turning back to face Derek, "they're trying to help."

"These three?" Derek shot Scott a look before pointing at Lydia, Ariel, and Allison, "these two," he pointed at the strawberry blonde and her chocolate haired sister, "who used me to resurrect my psychotic uncle. Thank you."

Ariel winced while Lydia seemed to avoid eye contact with the members of the room. "And this one," the alpha turned to Allison, "who shot about thirty arrows into my pack and me."

Stiles spoke up, noticing Ariel's upset reaction, "Okay, all right, now, come on. No one died, all right? Look, there may have been a little maiming, okay, a little mangling, but no death," he deadpanned, raising his eyebrows over to the big wolf, "That's what I call an important distinction."

"My mother died," Allison whispered, causing Stiles to quickly bring his line of sight up to the ceiling as Ariel just rolled her eyes in amusement.

Derek stared at her, "your family's little honor code killed your mother. Not me."

Allison didn't seem to care as she shook her head, "that girl was looking for Scott. I'm here to help him, not you."

"Wanna help? Find something real," Derek dismissed before turning around and walking to the door. Scott ran after him, but it didn't seem to do much as the man had already decided.

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Ariel twirled her hair around her finger as she waited for Coach Finstock to begin class. Every single day they would have to wait three or four minutes after the bell ran so that he could make some dramatic cliche entrance like teachers do in movies. Which led to them having to stare boredly at the board or, in Ariel's case, talk to Danny, who always sat to her right.

"So, have you met the twins yet," the Hawaiin boy asked his friend, leaning over his desk, "You know the hot ones."

"No, why," Ariel furrowed her eyebrows, wondering why he was so interested in the new students that had arrived. Just because they were twins?

"Yeah," Stiles huffed, barely balancing from his desk as he leaned over his desk behind Ariel to insert himself into their conversation, "Why would you mention the two new hot students that just arrived at school that happen to be twins like my girlfriend and her sister," he hissed.

Both Danny and Ariel rolled their eyes as the brunette turned to push her back in his seat, "One is gay, and Lydia already called the other," she huffed before leaning over to peck his lips, "Plus I have you."

"Um, as adorable as you two are or whatever," Danny groaned from his seat, watching as the couple just stared into the eyes of each other, "Could we go back to me."

"Right," Ariel grinned, moving away from Stiles before looking back at Danny, "I haven't spoken to them yet. Sorry."

"Great," Danny huffed, "now I have to flirt."

Ariel laughed just as Finstock came into the room, slamming the teacher edition to economy textbook down on the desk. The brunette tried to contain her look of amusement as she watched how serious Coach appeared as he slammed his fist down on the book.

"The stock market is based on two principles," Finstock yelled out, holding up two fingers. "What are they?"

Scott's hand shot up in the air before Ariel could even hear the question causing her to look over at him in shock. She was usually the only student who answered the questions in this class. Not that she would stop him from participating. Scott truly worked hard all summer so he could get his grades in a good spot.

"Yes, McCall, you can go to the bathroom," Finstock waved his hand over at the tanned boy before he looked over at Ariel, "Martin, I told you that you only get to answer one question per class."

Ariel slowly brought her hand down, blushing as she noticed the class, giving her odd looks. She turned over to see Stiles was just laughing at her, causing her to playfully stick her tongue out at him.

"No, uh, Coach, I know the answer," Scott interjected, his voice filled with glee.

Coach's face slowly contorted into a grin before he let out a loud and obnoxious laugh, practically hunched over as he tried to control his breathing. He stopped, however, once he realized that Scott wasn't laughing, "Oh, you're serious?"

"Yeah, uh, it's risk and reward."

"Wow!" Finstock cried out, walking down the aisle to come beside Scott. Shaking the werewolf in his arms, Finstock was practically glowing, "Who are you, and what have you done to McCall? No, don't answer. I like you better. I like you better. Does anybody have a quarter?"

Ariel chuckled as she watched the man continue with his lesson. Turning back to Stiles, she noticed that he was digging through his pockets. A victorious grin falling on his face once he managed to grab onto something before he pulled it out, causing it to sail into the sky before falling to the ground with a thud.

It felt as if everything was in slow motion at that moment as the entire class turned to look at the couple. Ariel's gaze, however, was on the XL condom packet on the floor. Her expression was nothing compared to Stiles's, however, who seemed to literally be trying to be the first human being to die just out of embarrassment.

Ariel swore her heart could actually be seen beating out of her chest as she sat motionless in her seat. It wasn't until Finstock began to walk towards them that his eyes moved up to face the man.

"Stilinski, uh, I think you dropped this," Coach muttered, plucking the blue packet off the floor before placing it into Stiles's stiffened hand.

The older teacher began to walk back to the front of the class but not before placing his hand on Ariel's shoulder, "And congratulations."

Ariel could practically feel the heat burning up her neck to her cheeks as her eyes began to cloud, not with tears but fear. She had never been so embarrassed in her life, especially for something she didn't do. She began to calm down once she realized that the throbbing in her head was due to her not breathing.

Finstock was back to normal, however, as he began to teach the class, "OKay! Risk and reward. Put the quarter in the mug and win the reward," he instructed before raising his mug from off his desk onto the floor before he backed away.

Coach paid careful attention as Ariel began to analyze his form. Slowly kneeling to the ground at about a fifty-degree angle from the mug, Finstock blew on the coin for good luck before bouncing it onto the floor. The coin bounced only once before it arched into the air before landing perfectly in the mug.

A grin fell on her lips as she clapped along with the class. There was seldom a time when Finstock actually revealed his few talents to his students.

"That's how you di it," Coach cheered for himself before pointing to the students, "Okay, Danny. Risk or reward."

"What is the reward," Danny asked, eyeing the coin suspiciously.

"Um, okay," Coach nodded his head, realizing that he didn't plan out the risk or reward yet, "You don't have to take the pop quiz tomorrow."

Danny looked over at Ariel in confusion before she realized what the older man had said. Leaning over to the older man, she lowly muttered, "Um, Coach, it isn't a pop quiz if you tell the class ahead of time."

"Ariel, ya know, I really expect more from you at this point," Finstock sighed, leaning over her desk, causing the brunette to purse her lips before nodding. Honestly, she didn't know why she still tried herself.

Moving on to the next student, Finstock dropped the coin on their desk, "McCall, risk or reward. The risk: if you don't win, then you have to take the po-the quiz tomorrow and-and you have to write an essay."

"Risk, more work," the man repeated, bringing his fists in the air before blowing it away as it blowing away the imaginary work, "Reward: no work. Or choose not to play."

Scott shook his head, "But isn't this just a chance."

"No," Finstock said, wrinkling his nose, "You know your abilities, your coordination, your focus, past experience. All factors affecting the outcome. So what is it gonna be, McCall? More work, no work, or choose not to play."

Scott picked up the coin from his desk, carefully turning it over as he tried to decide. Ariel wondered why he was hesitating, as he could surely make it gauged on his abilities. Yet after a few seconds, the tanned boy placed the coin back down on his desk.

"No play," Finstock nodded before looking over to Ariel, "You."

"I don't wanna play," Ariel shook her head, not feeling like getting out of her seat. She knew she was lazy, but she had just made herself comfortable, and that wasn't worth leaving her chair, especially for a quiz that she was already going to pass. The brunette didn't even care if she had to do the essay.

"Next lesson," Finstock shared with the class as he placed the quarter on her desk, "Sometimes you don't get the option not to play because you reveal secrets about future pop quizzes to the class."

"Coach," Ariel furrowed her eyebrows as she remembered the moment that happened five minutes ago, "That was you."

"Play or fail, Ariel," the man huffed, not looking to argue with her.

"I hate him," Ariel heard Stiles mutter from behind her, causing her to grin before nodding her head.

"I'll play," she sighed, moving the grab the quarter from her desk before tilting her head to the side to look at the mug that sat right in front of her by two desks. Calculating her aim, Ariel brought the coin to her lips before tossing it in the air from her seat, watching as it arched too high in the air and hit the ceiling, causing it to fall back down with a thump.

Finstock shook his head as he looked over to the girl, "That was ter-"

"It's in," Danny announced, sitting up from his desk to watch the coin spin a bit before remaining still in the mug.

Ariel just smirked as she watched Finstock's reaction change from shame to admiration in a second as he raised his hands in the air as if he were the one to make the coin land in the mug. Smiling towards Ariel, the coach pointed over to her in pride, "You are the reason I work, Martin."

Ariel chuckled as she shook her head.

"Okay! Who's next? Who wants to play," Coach shouted, turning away from the girl as if he was in a wrestling rink, causing Stiles to shook up as he beat against his desk. A goofy smile on his face as he awkwardly hopped over to the spot in front of the mug like a leprechaun. Ariel just watched him with a grin on her face as she sat back down.

"There we go, there is a gambling man," Coach clapped as he passed Stiles the silver coin.

"All right, Stilisnki," Coach encouraged the tall boy as if he were on the lacrosse field.

The class's focus wasn't on Stiles, however, but his father, who had just walked into the room. The deputy that stood next to him quickly indicated that this was not a family call.

Ariel turned to look over at Scott, who didn't seem to know what was going on either as he shrugged his shoulders. Looking back to the front of the class, they watched as Stiles made a fool of himself, still prepping to throw the coin despite the door opening.

"Stiles," Noah spoke.

"Yeah, I got it, Coach," Stiles grinned, focusing his eye on the coin as he got ready to toss it in the air.

"Stiles," he said again, this time causing Stiles to look up as he realized that his father was waiting for him. Ariel watched as they pulled him out of the room before instantly turning to Scott, their in-person listening glass.

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"Are you okay," the small Martin asked, noticing that Stiles's expression had fallen considerably from whatever his father told him. Apparently, Heather had gone missing right after Stiles had run after Ariel. From what Scott told the brunette, the police didn't sound hopeful that they would find her, "We heard about what happened to Heather, Stiles, I am so sorry."

The boy didn't say anything as he pulled her into his arms, resting his head on her shoulder. Ariel brought her arms around his shoulders as she began to rub his back, "Hey, they will find her."

Ariel knew that she wasn't telling the truth. There was no guarantee that she would be found, and based on her knowledge of teenage kidnappings in their own home, her chances of being found were slim. Yet there was an itching feeling in the back of her mind said that Heather was dead for other reasons lesser-known than informational statistics.

Stiles nodded his head anyway, choosing to believe her as he pulled away from her, "You are right," he sighed, trying to stop himself from crying.

Lightly rubbing his cheek, Ariel pressed a kiss on his forehead, "You know you don't need to act like you don't care for me, Stiles. I-I am not jealous."

The lanky teen nodded, although it didn't seem to make a difference as he tried to focus his attention on the wall behind her.

"So, uh," Ariel began struggling to think of something to change the subject with, "Why did you have a condom in your pocket..."

The doll-like teen winced as soon as the question slipped out her mouth. She was genuinely curious about why, but she knew that now was not the best time to ask, if not ever. She watched as Stiles's entire face reddened.

"I-uh-well-I figured that if we were to, you know," Stiles stuttered, "need a condom. I should start keeping them," he winced, scratching the back of his neck.

"Oh."

"Not that we will," Stiles rushed before his eyes widened, "Of course, if you want to, then we-"

"Stiles," Ariel cut him off, resting her hand on his arm, "Breath."

Listening to her words, the pale boy took in a deep breath before he let it out slowly, "I just wanted to be prepared."

"Do you want to," Ariel hesitantly asked, never having had to have such a talk with someone before.

"I mean, yeah," Stiles breathed out, before adding, "But you aren't ready."

Ariel tilted her head as she let out an airy laugh, "How are you so sure?"

"Well, I am sot certain," Stiles slowly said, trying to read her expression, "Are you ready?"

Ariel smiled as she moved to respond before pausing, her expression melting a bit before she looked over to him, "It isn't fair to you that I-"

"Are you ready," Stiles repeated, raising his eyebrows.

Lightly swallowing, Ariel shook her head 'no.' She wanted to be ready. She trusted Stiles. She loved Stiles. So why did she not feel ready to have sex? Surely, she wasn't one of those people who believed you had to wait until marriage, but she just couldn't bring herself to say it.

Stiles quickly pulled her waist towards him, resting a hand on her cheek, "Then we wait," he smiled, not a hint of hesitation in his voice.

"But-"

"I am ready when you are Ariel."

🀢 🀣 🀥

Ariel sighed as she read over her history notes. She never liked the Cold War, always feeling like it was much to do with nothing, but alas, that didn't stop her teacher from assigning a chapter reading of the textbook on the subject. Taking a sip of her coffee, she continued to read the monotonous lines.

Allison seemed to be too distracted to study with her as she kept sketching the pattern on her and Lydia's arm in different ways as if she would be able to figure it out if she saw it on paper. Another sigh came from the huntress as she crumped up yet another sheet of paper and threw it on the table after seeing it didn't match any of the symbols on the website she pulled up.

Lydia was the least productive of them all as she simply rested her chin on her hand, staring over at the twins once again. They were all that seemed to grab her attention nowadays, "I want one," Lydia announced, her green eyes not leaving the boys as if they would hear her declaration and run to her.

Allison turned to look at them before smiling in amusement, "Which one?"

Ariel wrinkled her nose as she looked over at the boys, "The straight one, I hope," she muttered as she watched one of the boys grab a book before going off to flirt with Danny. A small smile fell on her lips as she hoped that he would be better than her friend's ex.

"What if it's not a symbol?" Allison randomly said, causing the female twins to look over at her in confusion before their eyes landed on the coffees they all had.

"You think it's a logo?" Ariel asked, raising her cup to stare at the logo.

"Yeah, maybe. What do you think Ly-" Allison spoke as her eyes moved over to look at the strawberry blond who had managed to leave her seat and walk over to the twins.

Leaning on the bookshelf, Lydia lightly twirled her red locks before letting out a fake giggle as she reached out to place a hand on his chest. Ariel raised her eyebrow at her sister, always the master of flirtation. In just a few seconds of walking over to them, the blond boy had already pulled out his cell phone.

Turning to look back at her brown-haired best friend, Ariel pulled the computer in front of her as she began to research a reverse image search, "Maybe we can find it online?"

🀢 🀣 🀥

"So, mystery girl leaves a bruise on our arms that turns out to be the logo of a bank?" Lydia repeated the information that Ariel and Allison had just told her this morning in the car on their way to school.

The strawberry blond hummed before scoffing, "what's she trying to do? Give us some investment advice?"

Ariel shook her head as she reached into the car to grab her purse before slamming the door shut, "not at this bank," she sighed, "it's been closed for years."

"Why aren't you telling Scott or Stiles?" The older Martin asked.

Ariel nodded her head, "We are telling them today."

"No, we aren't," Allison corrected, causing the younger Martin to look over at the huntress, "Because according to someone, I need to find something real...um, which reminds me. I can't drive you home today, Lydia. I have an errand to run after school."

Lydia simply shrugged, already having a plan to get a ride from someone else, while Ariel nodded her head, planning to leave with Stiles. Both girls headed to the school entrance pretending not to see the pair of boltcutters Allison tried to hide in her trunk as they went.

🀢 🀣 🀥

Ariel groaned as she walked into Stiles's bedroom. The entire room was filled with papers all around the floor and some on the walls, with more on the way as the printer continued to have a steady output. Both boys were fast asleep with Scott lying on the desk chair, mouth wide open as he drooled on a paper operating as a poor pillow under his head and Stiles with his butt in the air as he was splayed out the half on his bed and a half on the floor, mumbling something about pretty brunettes in his sleep.

Rolling her eyes, the brunette stood near the doorframe, waiting for one of them to react before deciding to take matters into her own hands, "Boys. It's time to wake up."

Neither of them seemed to react as they continued to snooze despite the loud whirring of the printer. Ariel couldn't believe they could sleep so well with everything going on in town. She and Lydia constantly suffered from nightmares that caused them to become light sleepers, waiting up at the slightest noise.

"Wake up! Stiles! Scott?"

Still nothing.

Huffing, Ariel walked over to Stiles's desk, grabbing the megaphone she saw near his lamp before raising it in the air, "I am giving you until the count of three," she sighed, looking to their sleepy faces before groaning, "One, Two, Thre-"

The siren went off immediately, filling the room with an ear-piercing noise as both of them fell to the floor. Scrambling to cover their ears and balling themselves up into a fetal position.

Ariel just smirked at the boys before dropping the megaphone on the floor, "Time for school, ya know," she huffed, "That thing you guys were supposed to be at three hours ago."

Both Stiles and Scott looked around the room in confusion, obviously not remembering falling asleep during their research. Looking up at a fully dressed Ariel Martin, their eyes began to widen as they realized they would be late for school.

Stiles seemed more disappointed than his other friend as he kicked at one of the papers stuck to his foot, "ten hours and nothing."

The Stilinski was more attached to the case than he usually was as he subconsciously blamed himself for Heather's disappearance. Although he didn't regret leaving her to look for Ariel, it still didn't stop him from wondering what may have happened if he went back and told her that he wasn't interested like he should have in the beginning.

"You are going to find something," Ariel assured him, bringing her hand to cup his cheek, "But you won't be able to do that if you are exhausted from sleep deprivation."

"It still doesn't make Erica any less dead or Boyd any less about to be dead," Stiles sighed, pulling the girl into his arms.

"We still have time," Scott promised, calmly picking the desk chair back up after it fell to the floor during the bullhorn incident.

"Is this whole like 'remain optimistic in the face of complete and utter disaster' thing a part of the 'be a better Scott McCall' program," Stiles snapped, obviously more upset than he was letting on.

Ariel lightly hit Stiles's arm, trying to stop him from saying anything mean. She knew that he was taking it hard, but Scott was trying to be a good friend.

"Uh, not if it doesn't work," Scott laughed.

"No, it does," Ariel smiled before looking down at a piece of paper near his head, "Scott, hand me that paper."

The werewolf looking over at his hand before he saw that there was a printed newspaper article from about seven years ago. The headlines featured the bank logo they were looking for. It was printed on the building with Stiles's dad standing in front of it holding a robber in handcuffs. "Stiles that's-"

"My dad."

🀢 🀣 🀥

Scott, Derek, and Ariel all stood around the wooden table in the middle of Derek's loft, watching as Stiles unraveled a blueprint of the Beacon Hill's bank. The werewolf had apparently decided to move from his old place, which was also known to be the burned down home where his family died, a much-needed upgrade.

"Okay, you see this? This is how they got in," Stiles said, pointing over to a ventilation entrance on the side of the building, "it's a rooftop air conditioning vent, leads down inside into the wall of the vault, which is here. Okay?"

The lanky teen circled the opening with a red marker, "One of the robbers was lowered into this shaft. Now, that space is so small, it took him about twelve hours to drill into that wall, which is stone, by the way. Then, throughout the rest of the night, they siphoned the cash up to the guys back on the roof through that one little shaft in the wall. Boom!"

"Can we fit in there?" Scott asked, causing Ariel to nod her head as she compared their sizes to the entrance, "Yes, we can, but very, very barely. And, they also patched the wall, obviously, so we're gonna need a drill of some kind. I'm thinking maybe a diamond-bit-"

"Look, forget the drill," Derek said, knowing there was no way in hell they would be able to retrieve an industrial-sized diamond bit drill in the next week, let alone the next twenty-four hours.

Stiles raised his brows as he looked over at the alpha in disbelief, "Sorry?"

"If I go in first, how much space do I have?" Derek looked over to Ariel ignoring her boyfriend, who still watched him with doubt.

"What do you," Stiles started, trying to control himself from laughing at the bigger wolf, "What do you think you're gonna do, Derek? You gonna punch the solid wall?" Stiles rhetorically asked, not believing that the tanned man could punch through the stone wall. Ariel wasn't sure herself if Derek could do it, but she trusted him enough to know that he wouldn't make such a large statement if it weren't true.

"Yes, Stiles. I'm gonna punch through the wall." Derek said patronizingly.

Stiles laughed, holding his hand up in the air, causing the blue-eyed girl to try and pull it down, knowing he was about to hurt himself, "Okay. Okay, big guy, let's see it! Let's see that fist. Big old fist. Make it, come on! Get it out there! Don't be scared, big bad wolf!"

Derek rolled his eyes, turning away from the teenager, knowing that he would hurt him. Peter's eyes sparkled with interest as he sat on the spiral staircase, waiting to see someone get hurt. Stiles insisted, however, lightly slapping Derek's arm. "Yeah, look at that! Okay, see this?"

"Stiles, you are going to hurt yourself," Ariel muttered, trying to convince him to stand down.

"That's maybe three inches of room to gather enough force to punch through solid co-" Stiles didn't finish his speech as he was immediatly cut off with the sound of breaking bone when his hand flew back from the punch that Derek's fist made with his hand. Stiles winced in pain as he tried to swallow his whimpers. Ariel quickly straddled the pale boy's hand as she looked to see if there was any noticeable injury.

"I told you to shut up," she pursed her lips as she looked up at her boyfriend with a smile, lightly kissing his hand.

"Do I have to remind you what we're up against here? A pack of Alphas, all of them killers. And, if that's not enough to scare your testicles back into your stomach, try to remember that two of them combine bodies to form one giant Alpha. I'm sure Erica and Boyd were sweet kids. They're gonna be missed." Peter spoke up, making his way down the stairs.

"Can someone kill him again, please," Stiles said, causing Ariel to glower at the resurrected man. She might just have to take him up on that offer.

Derek looked over at Scott and Stiles before nodding his head, "What about you?"

"Yeah, if you want me to come..." Stiles trailed off as he moved towards the door.

"Not you." Derek scoffed before pointing towards Scott, who was busy looking down at the blueprint, "I don't know about Erica... But, if Boyd's alive, we have to do something. We have to try."

"But?"

"Who's the other girl? The one locked in there with Boyd?"

"I can't take waiting around like this, you know? It's nerve-wracking. My nerves are wracked," Stiles paced the floor, constantly walking back and forth, causing Peter to flash his blue eyes at the Stilisnki, although it went unnoticed by both teens in the room, "They're severely wracked. Wracked!" Stiles stressed, his eyes flickering over to Ariel, who had been kicking her legs back and forth from the table she was sitting on, watching her boyfriend.

"I could beat you unconscious and wake you when it's over," Peter gladly offered.

Stiles stopped for a moment considering the offer before shaking his head and continuing his pace. A glare setting itself on his face as he realized what was going on before he shook his head and continued, "I don't understand the bank, though, okay? Wha... Like, why wouldn't they chain them up in some underground lair or something? They're an Alpha Pack, right? So, shouldn't they have a lair?"

"Stiles, they're werewolves," Ariel laughed, "Not super villains."

"Wait a sec, wait a sec- maybe they're living there, you know? Like, maybe the bank vault reminds them of their little wolf dens!" Stiles exclaimed, walking over to stand next to his girlfriend.

Peter raised an eyebrow, "Wolf dens?"

'Yeah, wolf dens! Where do you live?" Stiles asked as if Peter would tell him he lived in a cave near grandma's house.

Peter shrugged nonchalantly, "In an underground network of caves hidden deep in the woods."

This was Ariel's turn to widen her eyes as she exclaimed, "Whoa, really???"

Peter scoffed, looking at the two gullible teenagers, "No, you idiot. I have an apartment downtown."

"Yeah? Then why are you here," Ariel tilted her head to the side in mock curiosity. She was obviously not fond of the insufferable being, especially since she and Lydia were still suffering the consequences of his actions.

"Okay, fine," Stiles huffed, "but still, that just proves that there's something up with the bank. And why wait around for the full moon, huh? Why not just kill them whenever they want to?"

"Maybe they think it's poetic."

"They've already had three full moons to be poetic," Ariel shook her head, hopping off the table to look back at the blueprints.

"She is right," Stiles clicked his tongue as he stood behind her, looking over at the blueprints as well.

"And here, you've only had one full hour to be so anno-" Peter said but then cut himself off as he realized they were on to something. Sitting up, he slammed his book shut as he began to put the pieces together.

Stiles looked over with him with an annoyed expression as he waved his hand for the former alpha to continue, "No, go ahead. Finish what you were saying. I'm an-I'm annoying? What were you gonna say there?"

"What are the walls made of?" Peter asked as he stood to approach the couple,

Stiles looked up as he began to analyze the loft, pointing towards the infrastructure, "What? Uh... I don't know... Like, wood and brick, or..."

"No, the vault! The vault," Peter's voice rose as his patience began to wear thin, "The walls, what are they made out of? Where would it say that?"

Ariel read over the blueprints once again as she muttered, "doesn't say anything...Where... Where would it say the materials? The type of stone," she trailed off as she noticed a small description of materials near the bottom, "Hecatolite."

"Is that awful? That sounds awful." Stiles winced as he watched Peters's expression grow dark.

"Get 'em on the phone! Call them now!" Peter shouted, causing both teens to jump before they both rushed to grab their phone.

"Okay, why...?"

"Cause Boyd and that girl aren't gonna kill each other. They're gonna kill Derek and Scott. That mineral scatters moonlight, and it also keeps it out. They haven't been affected by the full moon in months."