"Why do I care, why do I care?" Rowan muttered as she flicked down the mirror in her car, checking her makeup one last time before she got out.

She took a deep breath and got out of the car, shutting the door and clicking the lock button on her keys. Her phone vibrated, the words on her screen making her frown slightly.

From Stiles:
Can't make it to the bonfire. Have fun!

Rowan paused, looking up at herself in the window of her car. Why did she care? She was only here to take pictures. Stiles isn't coming, so what? It's not like he was her boyfriend or something.

"He's not my boyfriend." She breathed, staring at herself in the window. If her reflection could talk, she felt as if it would be challenging her, saying 'But do you want him to be'.

She adjusted her camera bag on her shoulder and slid her phone in her back pocket, shaking her head as she headed towards the sound of music and drunk teenagers.

Rowan sat on a bleacher, pulling out her camera and adjusting the settings so she could get clear pictures in the dark lighting. She lifted the camera up, snapping pictures of the bonfire and the students. She turned, stopping when she saw the DJ through the little screen on.

"What the hell?" Rowan muttered, hanging the camera around her neck and walking over to Tracy. "That's not the DJ we hired."

"They cancelled." Tracy sighed, crossing her arms. "You'd know that if you had shown up to the emergency student body meeting."

"Emergency meetin-" Rowan grabbed her phone out of her pocket, opening up her email and searching through them. She clicked on the email Tracy had sent her, frowning. "Emergency bonfire meeting."

"It's cool." Tracy smiled, but it seemed forced. "I get it. You have all your new friends. Your popular,  Scott McCall and Lydia Martin friends."

"Trace-"

"You can forget about me, that's completely fine." She continued, pushing herself off the wall. "But you have an obligation to the student council, and if you miss another meeting, Melinda is gonna take your place."

Rowan opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out as Tracy walked off, shaking her head.

"Have you seen Stiles?" Rowan practically jumped out of her skin, turning around to see Scott.

"He texted me saying he's not coming." She spoke over the music, which seemed to be getting louder. "You're jersey-less."

"I guess I didn't get the memo." Scott replied, looking around at his teammates, who were all sporting white and burgundy.

"At least I'm not the only one missing memos." She sighed, her eyes glancing over the crowd. "Is that Malia?"

"Yeah." Scott nodded, putting his hand . Her shoulder. "I'm gonna go try and talk to her."

Rowan gave him a quick smile as he maneuvered through the crowd, walking up to Malia. She shook her head and lifted her camera again, trying not to get shots of kids drinking, as it probably wouldn't go over well if there yearbook promoted underage drinking.

"Rowan!" She looked up from her camera to see Malia wobbling towards her, silver flask flashing in the light of the fire.

"Malia, smile." Rowan grinned, closing one eye as she held up her camera. Malia scrunched up her nose, a small smile playing on her lips. The flash went off, and Rowan pulled down her camera to examine the picture.

"Lemme see." Malia stumbled slightly, throwing her arm around her shoulder. When she looked at the photo she frowned, her eyes creating luminescent splotches. "I hate that."

"I think it's kinda cool." Rowan shrugged, cocking her head to the side. "I mean, it won't go in the yearbook, but it's still pretty cool."

"Yeah?" Malia asked, her friend looking up at her and smiling.

"Yeah."

Malia stared at Rowan for a moment, her eyes flickering across her face as she admired her features. The fire made Rowan's skin glow, and the little crinkles by her eyes when she smiled just seemed so cute.

And her smell. If there was one thing that Malia couldn't get enough of, was her smell. She always smelled like fresh cut grass, or pine trees, or the way the woods smell after it rains. It reminded her of when she was stuck in the body of a coyote, wandering the woods. It reminded her of home.

Without thinking, she leaned forward and kissed Rowan, the girl freezing up. After a second Rowan pulled back, an apologetic look on her face.

"Malia, I'm sorry." Rowan bit down on her bottom lip, shaking her head. "I like you, but not like that."

"Right." Malia pulled her arm back slowly, a lump forming in her throat. "It's okay."

"Mal-" Rowan sighed, guilt filling her body as she looked over at Scott, who had watched the entire altercation.

"I don't," Malia swallowed, swaying to the side. "I really don't feel good."

"Are you okay?" Rowan asked, her friend blinking as the flask fell from her hands. Malia fell forward, Rowan catching her just as Scott jogged over.

"What'd you drink?" Scott asked, helping Rowan sit her down.

"Just vodka." She breathed, shaking her head. Scott grabbed a water from the ice chest nearby, handing it to Malia. She reluctantly took it, twisting off the lid and taking a long drink.

"I'll be right back." Scott went over to Liam, leaving Rowan and Malia together.

"I really am sorry." Rowan mumbled, watching her carefully.

"It's fine." Malia tore at the label on her water. "Drop it."

"Okay." Rowan looked away, over at Scott. Her eyebrows furrowed as she watched him stumble towards the DJ, falling down in the crowd. "Scott!"

Rowan felt a sting grip on her arm as she was lifted from her seat, watching as another security guard grabbed Malia.

"Leave her alone." Rowan demanded, trying to yank her arm away. "Hey!"

"Underage drinking is a serious offense." The security guard growled, gripping her arm tightly.

"What?" She continued to strain against him, frowning. "I haven't even had a sip of anything."

"Really?" The other guard picked up the flask, waving it in front of her face.

"That's not even mine!"

"Sure it isn't." He chuckled, tossing it into the trash as they dragged them towards the school.

"Let us go." Rowan fought against him, but he just squeezed her bicep harder, practically dragging her to inside.

"She's not even affected, what are you doing?" The guard inside asked, who was holding Liam. The guard holding Rowan held up her camera bag, her name written on the side in silver sharpie.

Rowan felt something hard hit the back of her head, only hearing one thing as everything went black.

"She's on the list."

_________________________________________

Not edited

Boy Oh boy have I been busy

I just finished my hospital internship, I'm supposed to start therapy, and oh! I got diagnosed with Celiacs Disease. Fun fun fun.

Enjoy the update!

Vote and Comment ♡

Brea xx