As usual, I am currently sitting cross-legged on Liam's comfy bed. My eyebrows are furrowed the whole time I watch Liam and Mason play, but I'm actually quite distracted. Being back here in Liam's room with him (and Mason) made me think about how I gave him that simple kiss on the cheek last night. It wasn't that big of a deal, but why do I keep replaying it even though I made the first move? Why does it bother me so much?

When it becomes dark and the boys didn't stop playing, that's when I realize something. Despite having only known him at the start of the semester and the fact he's not open enough with both Mason and I, there's no doubt that I have more than friendly feelings for Liam Dunbar.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

My phone ringing brings me out of my thoughts and it doesn't cause Mason or Liam to look back. They're too engrossed in the video game. I hurriedly swipe my phone from the other side of the bed. Seeing that it's Scott calling, I answer it.

"Scott?"

"Hey, Riley. Um, are you busy right now?"

I pause. Technically, I'm supposed to be hanging out with Mason and Liam, but they're the ones busy at the moment. "No, not really."

"Great. Are you with anyone right now?"

I frown in confusion, staring at the back of the boys on the floor while they play a game, unsure of what to answer. "Just hanging out with Liam and Mason," I say casually. Still, they don't take their eyes of the screen.

"Oh. Could you step out for a moment? It's kind of private," Scott tells me. I obediently get up from the bed and make my way to the door.

"I'll just take this," I say to the two boys, motioning to my phone. They briefly glance at me and nod.

"Sure."

I step out of Liam's bedroom and swing the door so that it's slightly closed. I put the phone back at my ear and resume my call wit Scott.

"Okay, I'm out of his room. What's up?" I question in a hushed voice, wondering what's so important.

"Remember that night of the bonfire when I was talking to Derek?"

"You mean when you were both talking about me as if I wasn't there?" I say teasingly.

"Sorry," Scott chuckles, not even denying it. "I mentioned to Derek before how you could use a bow and arrow. Considering you're close to me, he thought it'd be good if you, well, trained more."

Truth be told, I haven't used that weapon in a while since there wasn't much use of it. I also haven't took any classes for it since I moved here, so it has been quite some time since I got the feel of using a bow and arrow.

"Why does he want that?"

"Actually, it's not just him. Braeden, that U.S. Marshall, thinks it'll be good for you to learn how to use that in a fight. She's not like us- a supernatural being. But she's really trained, so..."

"So you want me to train with a bow and arrow so that in the hypothetical case that I'm being attacked, I could use it?"

"Yes."

I pause momentarily to think about it. In reality, since I took archery as a class, the most I could do is shoot perfectly at a still target. If it's moving, then it's either a bad shot or I miss completely. With being somehow involved in Scott's life, maybe he, Derek, and Braden are right. Maybe I should learn more.

"Who exactly is going to be teaching me if I say yes?" I ask with a sigh, still keeping my voice hushed.

"No better person than Argent."

→ → →

"Scott, what is this place?"

I look warily at the building in front of me. "It's sort of Argent's place," he answers, turning the engine off.

I sigh as I remove my helmet. I hand it back to Scott and get off his motorbike and walk a few paces forward to stare at the building in front of me.

"Did he actually agree to this?" I ask my cousin with slight nervousness, referring to Argent.

Scott gets off his bike and walks over to stand beside me. "Well, I actually just called him earlier before you. He agreed anyways even if it was on such short notice."

"So, um, what'll you be doing while he's gonna teach me some stuff?" I continue to pester him with questions.

"Don't worry, I'll just be there. We won't be long, probably an hour or two. Hopefully, we can do this again. Now come on, let's go inside."

Scott starts making his way to the side where I assume there must be another door. I hesitantly follow him, still unsure about this.

"Hey," I start, a new thought coming into mind as I carelessly kick some rocks on the ground. "Argent told me he had a daughter... Allison. He said you guys knew her. I... I don't want to be nosy, but were you close to her?"

If I had looked up at my cousin earlier, I would've noticed how stiff and tense he became. I do that just now that and stop in my tracks. After a second, he starts walking again, still not answering. I am about to apologize for my insensitivity, but he opens his mouth to answer me.

"I guess you could say that," Scott now says softly. "This might sound weird, but she was my girlfriend. We broke up before she... passed. But, I did love her. We all did."

My jaw drops open and I want to smack myself for being so straightforward. "I'm so sorry, I didn't-"

"You didn't know, and you didn't mean to be curious, I know," he finishes with a reassuring voice. "It's okay."

I nod wordlessly and continue walking behind Scott as he leads me into the building. It's eerily quiet in here that it makes me think for a second that Argent has bailed and decided not to teach me some things, but he suddenly walks out from behind a pillar and mildly startles me.

"You ready?" he says right away.

"Well, yes," I begin. "But what exactly will I be doing today?"

"Target practice. I still have some equipment from my old house. As for moving targets, I guess we'll have to stick with throwing objects into the air. We unfortunately don't have any machine that ejects things for that purpose."

I nod without a word again, taking it all in. Slowly, I shrug off my bag that hangs on my shoulders and zip it open, taking my bow and set of arrows out. I leave the bag on the floor by a wall and look at Argent expectantly.

"Follow me."

I do as he says, but not before Scott puts a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"This'll be... fun," he says, a small smile on his face. "You'll really learn something."

I send him a faint smile back then head over to Argent who doesn't stop walking. Finally, he halts in front of a wider space with a wall many feet away from us, targets used for practice positioned on various places. I hurry to stand next to Argent and wait for his instruction.

"Here's the thing," he begins after a moment. "All I want you to do for now is aim for the center of the targets- those three." He points to the ones stuck on the wall and I nod in understanding. "I need to see first how well you aim with a motionless target."

"Got it." As I place the arrow in my bow, I see Scott from the corner of my eye watching me intently. It's slightly uncomfortable, but I let it go and raise the bow, directing it to the target to the left. I release after a few seconds and even from here, I can tell that although it's close to the center, my arrow didn't particularly hit bullseye.

I glance at Argent but he doesn't say anything. Quietly, I reload and shoot another bow at the center. It's much better now that it actually hit perfectly. I quickly get one last arrow and release it to the last target- it hits perfectly just like the one right before this.

"Your aim is good," Argent comments, making me look at him in anticipation, "for motionless targets. It takes you some time to release the arrow, but in a fight, you've got to be quick. It's best to start with your speed before we move on to moving objects."

And so, for the next hour, more or less, Scott waits patiently and quietly to the side while Argent instructs me and gives me tips on shooting much more swiftly than I usually do. It's quite refreshing and interesting for a man like him to teach me new things; he's experienced with the bow as a weapon and not as an object to be played with for a hobby or something. When I took classes some time ago, I only thought of it as something for fun. While others use it for sports as well, the whole time I used it as a hobby, and now here I am, learning how to use it for defense.

Finally, it becomes late and we're all tired. Scott is merely restless but tries not to show it, and I think both Argent and I are done for the night.

"Good job, Riley," Argent comments, packing his things up. "Getting the hang of it won't be easy, but I'm sure you'll be a pro soon. As long as we keep this up."

I grin and nod. "Thank you."

"So, when do you want us to come back?" Scott asks.

Argent looks up at him. "Hopefully this weekend. I know you're all busy, but-"

"It's alright," I tell him quickly. "I'll be here."

Argent smiles politely. "That's good. You two should get home, now. I don't want to keep your parents waiting."

"Right." Scott nods, backtracking. "We'll see you soon."

"Yeah. Thanks again," I add one last time. He sends one more nod to both Scott and I before I shove my weapon messily back into my bag, and then we exit the building and make our way to the motorbike still parked outside.

"You're already improving," Scott says when he sits down on his bike.

I laugh and shake my head. "Scott, I just had my first session. I don't think I'll see huge progress until after a few more."

He shrugs. "Still. I'm just glad you agreed to this for your safety." He smiles softly and finally puts his helmet on.

I sit behind him and do the same. "I know."

"This doesn't mean that you'll be able to go with us all the time, though. I want you to be safe. It's dangerous if you always come-"

"I know," I reassure Scott one last time with a small laugh. He merely nods before kicking the engine back into life, then we drive off back to our homes.

A/N: Okay, so this is yet another short chapter and I know nothing much happened here- except for that mini training session with Papa Argent ❤️😆 I hope you enjoyed that bit! Also, this story is already coming to an end... aw. Anyways, we've got only 8 more days until Season 5! 8 MORE DAYS GUYS ‼️🐺