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CHAPTER NINE
THE TELL
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MIA HATED THAT SHE had given the end of her cash to Derek Hale the other night. Of course, she had made a deal with the older wolf, and he did scare her brother, but he didn't make the boy scream. She had given the werewolf a five-dollar bill before he and Scott had left for the night, but thankfully her father was nice enough to give her some cash so she would have some in her pocket in case of an emergency.

Her fingers tapped against her thigh in a simple rhythm as she looked toward her brother, who sat in the passenger seat of their father's police cruiser. Stiles had just grabbed their dinner from a take out place in town and was in the middle of handing out the food.

"Open your window." Stiles said as he rolled down his window and held a bag of food toward the back door of the car.

"You could've just given it to me when you walked back to the car, but no, you had to get in first." Mia let out a sigh as she glared at her twin before meeting her father's gaze and gave him a sweet smile. "Thanks for dinner dad."

"No problem sweetheart."

The Sheriff bit into his burger before turning to his eldest, who was going through the bag of food.

"Did they forget my curly fries?"

"Dad you're not supposed to eat fries," Mia spoke up from the backseat.

"Especially the curly ones," Stiles finished for his sister, who smiled at him through the rear-view mirror.

"Well, I'm carrying a lethal weapon. If I want the curly fries, I will have the curly fries."

Stiles and Mia picked up their drinks in unison before looking toward their father. The younger of the two took a sip of her drink as her brother began to speak.

"If you think getting rid of contractions in all your sentences makes your argument any more legitimate, you are wrong." Stiles emphasized the final three words of his sentence before turning to his sister for support. "I know Mia agrees with me."

Mia simply nodded before taking another sip from her soda. She knew her twin was right, and although it took some convincing, she had given up her curly fries to make it easier for their dad.

"Unit One, do you copy?" A deputy's voice called out from the radio, which caused both twins to stop what they were doing and turn to face the radio.

Stiles reached out to grab it, only to have his father hit his hand away before grabbing the radio himself. Mia heard her father clear his throat, which led to her brother's apology. She watched him move back into his seat with a small smile on her face.

"Unit one, copy." Noah picked up the radio with his right hand as Stiles began to shove some curly fries in his mouth.

Mia was quick to poke his head, which led to the older twin turning around to face her.

"You got curly fries?" The look of betrayal on her face said it all. "I thought we agreed to not get them so we could help dad."

Stiles shrugged before eating another curly fry.

"You suck."

"That job belongs to you." Mia's jaw dropped at her brother's innuendo and was grateful that their father wasn't paying attention. Without moving her gaze from her brother, she stomped on her foot, which led to Stiles letting out a cry of pain.

"Got a report of a possible one eight seven."

"A murder?" Mia and Stiles asked at the same time with matching looks of excitement on their faces.

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Mia looked out her window as their father pulled into the video store's parking lot. She looked around the parking lot with wide eyes before noticing the girl sitting in the back of the ambulance.

The twins both moved to open their car doors before their father spoke up.

"Stay here."

Mia let out a sigh as she looked at Jackson, who was talking to a deputy while holding Lydia's hand.

Her brother muttered something to himself as their father approached the lacrosse team captain, who seemed angry. The brunette's shoulders tensed as she watched her classmate talk to her father. She placed her hand on her knee, which was bouncing up and down as she grew more anxious.

Stiles opened his door before turning to his sister, giving her a smile and stepping out of the car. Mia was quick to follow his actions, and was glad that her brother was kind enough to open her door for her. She rested her elbow on the top of the cruiser while watching Jackson yell at her father.

Her anger toward the jock grew as he continued his rant about how he was fine. She could feel her nails digging into the palm of her hands as she attempted to stay calm.

"I'm going to kill him," Mia whispered to her brother.

He knew she wasn't kidding, especially because she had never gotten along with the captain of the lacrosse team. Stiles remembered when she nearly gave Jackson a black eye in the eighth grade because he had been mocking Scott and Stiles.

"Whoa, is that a dead body?" Stiles pointed toward the front door of the store, which snapped Mia out of her seething and caused their father to give him a look of disappointment.

The Sheriff moved the civilians out of the way with a calm voice as his children got back into the car. Once they were back in their seats, the twins shared a look of confusion at what had just happened.

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Mia groaned as the bell rang. She had no desire to go to chemistry that morning, and the only thing getting her through that morning was the idea of talking with Scott during their free period that day. The duo would almost always spend the free period in study hall doing anything but studying while Stiles would come in ten minutes late.

With a sigh, she closed her locker door before walking down the hall toward Isaac's locker.

"Hey." Isaac gave her a small smile as she leaned against the locker beside his.

"Why aren't you hanging out with your brother or Scott?"

"Am I not allowed to hang out with you?" Mia smiled at the curly haired boy before noticing the bruises on his knuckles. "What happened?"

Isaac was quick to pull the sleeves of his jacket over his hand to hide his hand from Mia's sight. He didn't want her to know what had happened, so he came up with a quick lie.

"I dropped something on my hand at work the other day." He explained while looking inside his locker. "I'm okay."

Isaac closed his locker with a sigh before finally looking toward the brunette. He was glad she cared, but he couldn't tell her about what happened at his house. He was scared she would judge him for not saying anything about it, and would rather keep it to himself.

"Are you listening?" Mia let out a small laugh at the look of confusion on the boy's face. "I asked if you did the chem homework."

Isaac nodded at her before starting to walk down the hallway toward their chemistry class.

"Why do we have to go? I won't be needing this class after high school."

Mia's words made Isaac chuckle as he steered her toward the classroom door, knowing that she would try to escape if she had the chance.

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"Parent teacher conferences are tonight. Students below a 'C' average are required to attend." Harris spoke from the back of the classroom. "I won't name you, because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment."

Mia groaned as he walked forward, only to see Harris stop next to her brother.

"Has anyone seen Scott McCall?"

Harris looked toward Mia, who shrugged at the man, before looking at Stiles, who was highlighting different passages in his textbook. Stiles looked up with the highlighter's cap in his mouth, only to meet Harris' gaze when the door to the classroom opened.

Mia watched Jackson enter the room and take his seat at the desk in front of hers. Mr. Harris moved so he could talk to Jackson, and chose to show a sliver of compassion for the first time in his life.

"Everyone, start reading chapter nine."

Mia groaned as she flipped to the start of the chapter in her textbook. Isaac poked her hand with his pen, knowing that his action would distract her from her hatred of the subject and their teacher.

"Can I just leave?" Mia whispered as she uncapped her blue highlighter. She started to highlight the words that were typed in bold as they were always important to know.

"Mr. Stilinski." Mr. Harris spoke as he faced the board. "Try putting the highlighter down between paragraphs. It's chemistry, not a coloring book."

Both twins glared at their teacher before he spoke again.

"Miss Stilinski, try to actually highlight something important. It might work better than drawing hearts and flowers in the margins."

Mia curled her hands into fists at her teacher's commentary. It infuriated her that he would constantly go after her friends out of everyone in the class. She could feel her nails digging into the skin of her palm as she bit her tongue.

Isaac placed his hand on hers in hopes of relaxing the girl, who was seething in her seat. He noticed that her brother was trying to talk to Danny, but decided that calming down the hot headed brunette was more important.

"Don't do anything that will get you in detention with Harris," Isaac whispered as he watched Mia start to relax. She let out a shaky breath as her twin fell out of his chair, causing the entire class to look at him with strange expressions.

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Mia smiled at her brother as he pulled out of the parking lot in Roscoe. She had listened to his plan after he called Scott at the end of the school day, and had wanted to help, but had to go and study with Isaac that afternoon.

"Hey stranger." Isaac smiled as he walked up behind Mia. He had his backpack pulled over his right shoulder and his bike was being rolled next to him.

"Hey." Mia adjusted her ponytail as she turned to face the boy. "So where are we going to study? Your place or mine?"

Isaac's heart beat quickened at the thought of bringing her to his house, especially if his father would be home. He didn't want her to ever meet his father.

"Would I be allowed to come over?"

"I think Stiles would freak out if I went to a boy's house, so I'm good with either." Mia's gaze flickered between the curly haired boy and his bike. "So do you want me to ride on the handlebars or do you have pegs I could stand on?"

Isaac's eyes widened as he realized that he hadn't thought about how Mia would travel with him.

"I don't have pegs," he mumbled while looking at the ground.

"I've ridden on handlebars before, don't worry." Mia smiled at her friend, who finally looked away from the floor. "Let's go."

Isaac mounted his bike before helping Mia up onto his handlebars. She took a second to adjust herself before nodding to her friend. They took their sweet time getting to the Stilinski house, which meant that they would have less time to study for the upcoming geometry test, but that was okay.

By the time the duo reached Mia's house, they were both hungry and ready to do anything but study.

Mia smiled at her friend, who seemed nervous to be alone in a house with her. He had been a lot more nervous around her in the past few weeks, and she didn't understand why. They had been friends for years, but why was it awkward now?

"Let's go up to my room." Mia grabbed his hand and pulled the boy into the house and up the stairs. She stopped in front of her twin's room for a split second to make sure he wasn't home before continuing down the hall.

Isaac didn't know what to say, he was standing in his best friend's room while her brother or father could come into the room at any minute. His heart was pounding against his chest as he watched Mia toss her bag onto the floor next to her bed.

She sat down on the duvet and gestured for him to sit beside her, only to be met with a shocked expression.

"You good?"

Isaac nodded before sitting next to her and was careful to leave space between them. He placed his bag on the floor beside him and reached down to grab his geometry book, only to be stopped when Mia poked his side.

"You seem really tense today." Mia gave her friend a small smile. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Once again, the curly haired boy nodded, but his answer didn't seem to satisfy the brunette. She didn't understand why he started to act so nervous around her, but she was determined to figure out the origin of this strange behavior.

"Want a cookie?"

Isaac's eyes widened as Mia pulled a box of cookies from beneath her bed with a wide grin on her face. He took one from the box and smiled as Mia bit into one.

"So let's start with these theorems." Isaac suggested as Mia grabbed a pen from her nightstand.

The two teens opened their books and started to discuss the topics that would be featured on the upcoming exam. They sat with their notebooks on their laps for an hour as they reviewed their notes together. Mia would grab a cookie from her stash after each topic they completed and always passed one to Isaac in thanks for his help.

"So now that we're done discussing the practicality of the vertical angle theorem, what do you want to do?"

Isaac thought about what he would want to do with Mia, but quickly pushed the thought from his mind. He knew that she didn't mean what he thought, but he knew she wanted to pass the time before parent teacher conferences that night.

"Want to watch a movie?" Mia smiled at her friend, who nodded while putting his books back in his bag. "You up for Spider-man or Star Wars?"

"I'm good with either."

As Mia was about to answer, the door to her room was thrown open, only to reveal her brother standing in the doorway. The older Stilinski was fuming as he glared at the two teens who were seated on the bed.

Stiles hadn't expected to see a random bike on their porch when he got home, and he sure as hell didn't expect to find a boy in his sister's room. The two had been alone in the house together, and the thought of that infuriated the older Stilinski.

"What are you doing?" Stiles demanded as he crossed his arms.

"Why the hell are you in my room Sti?" Mia shot back. She stood up and moved to stand in front of her friend in hopes of keeping him out of it.

Stiles ignored his sister's words as he continued to glare at Isaac, who wished he could disappear at that moment.

"Why is he in your room?" He pointed toward the curly haired boy. "Get out of my sister's room Lahey."

"We were studying," Mia snapped.

"What, human anatomy?" Isaac and Mia's faces immediately flushed at Stiles' insinuation.

"We were studying for our geometry test," Isaac spoke up. His eyes finally met Stiles' and he felt small under the shorter boy's gaze. He looked toward Mia, who was glaring at her twin as if she hoped he would burst into flames.

"I should actually get going." Isaac rubbed the back of his neck. "Tonight is parent teacher conferences after all."

The boy didn't want to leave, but he knew that as long as he was there, Mia would continue to fight with her brother.

The twins turned to face him with different looks on their faces. Mia looked sad that her friend had to go, and Stiles looked smug as he would get to watch the boy leave their house.

"Let me walk you out then." Mia grabbed Isaac's hand and pushed her brother out of the way so the path to leave her room would be clear. "Come on."

Isaac kept his hand on the strap of his backpack as Mia stormed down the stairs. He hated when she got mad, although he was glad that her anger wasn't directed at him. Of course he didn't want Mia to be mad at her brother, but Stiles was making accusations about the two that were entirely false.

"I'm sorry about him, he's an ass." Mia apologized as she opened the front door. "Next time, let's study at your place."

Isaac's eyes widened at the thought of bringing Mia to his house. He gave her a small nod in response before adjusting his backpack.

"Okay." Isaac smiled at the brunette standing in front of him. She was the only person who would stand up for him, and that meant the world to him.

He moved to grab his bike, but stopped when Mia wrapped her arms around his torso. His breathing hitched for a second before he hugged her back.

Mia pulled away after a few moments before doing something unexpected. She placed a quick kiss on his cheek before whispering into his ear.

"Maybe that annoyed him."

Isaac's mouth was agape as he looked down at his best friend. She kissed him. Sure it was a peck on the cheek, but she still kissed him.

"I would get out of here before Stiles comes out and tries to kill you," Mia whispered. She only did it to agitate her twin, but she had no idea how her small action would mess with her friend's head.

The brunette watched Isaac get on his bike and start to ride away from her house before turning around and walking back inside. She knew what awaited her when the sound of her brother's foot tapping against the wood floors made its way to her ears.

"What the hell was that?" Stiles demanded as he gave his sister a disappointed look.

"What was what?" Mia feigned innocence as she started to ascend the stairs.

"You just kissed him."

"So?" The brunette was halfway up the stairs when she turned to face her twin. "He's a friend."

With that, she turned around and continued up the stairs until she reached her room, where she slammed the door shut. She could hear her brother's phone ringing, but didn't care as she laid down on her bed and started to plot ways to get revenge against her twin.

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"Hey sweetheart." Mia's father poked his head into her room. He had just gone to check in on his son, who had been trying to reach Scott on the phone, although their father didn't know that.

"Hey dad," Mia greeted with a small smile.

"I'm gonna hear good news at this parent teacher thing tonight, right?"

"I'm doing good academically," Mia shrugged. She was a good student, but she did tend to find trouble. "Stiles is the one you'll have to worry about. He's the real troublemaker."

Noah shook his head as he let out a small chuckle. He knew his daughter was clever and enjoyed getting into trouble with her twin, even if it drove him mad some days.

"So you haven't tried to ditch class again?"

Mia's eyes widened at her father's question, knowing that the school had probably informed him about her last time ditching class.

"Sorry?"

"Let's try to not do that anymore." Noah suggested with a smile before leaving her room. Mia let out a sigh when he was finally gone, knowing that he trusted her and her brother, even though that may not be the smartest choice.

She moved to the end of her bed before standing up and walking into her brother's room.

"Still mad at me?" Mia had her hands in the front pockets of her jeans as she looked at her twin, who was glaring at his phone. "Or are you mad at Scooter for ditching without us?"

Stiles looked up at his sister as he thought about her questions. He wasn't okay with the fact that she had a boy in the house while no one else was home, and he definitely didn't approve of her kissing said boy on the cheek before he left.

"Both."

He picked up his phone and showed Mia the picture Lydia had taken of the Alpha. Her jaw dropped at the image of the werewolf. It didn't look human, it looked like a monster.

"So you're telling me that Scooter was bitten by that monstrosity?" Mia looked at her twin, who simply nodded. "Great, just great. He was bitten by a freaking monster."

Her brother deleted the picture before Mia could do anything. She let out a whine of protest as he dropped his phone onto his chest. The one picture they had of the Alpha was gone because her twin decided to get rid of it.

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Mia laid next to her brother on his bed while texting her friend, Heather. She was Mia's only real female friend outside of Lydia, who was more of an acquaintance than a close friend.

TO: Heather

Any updates in your relationship status beauty queen?

Mia smiled as she pressed the send button. Heather was a great friend to have, even if they didn't hang out all the time like they did when they were kids. They'd known each other forever, and Mia couldn't imagine not having the blonde girl in her life.

"Look at this." Stiles poked his sister's shoulder, snapping her attention from her phone to the papers laid across the bed. He pointed to the section of the paper that described the cause of the fire.

Suspected Arson.

That could mean that the Hale fire wasn't an accident as so many people believed. The Hale fire could have been someone targeting Beacon Hills resident family of werewolves.

"Do you think it could be true?"

Stiles gave his sister a grim nod before looking toward her phone, which lit up as she received a notification.

FROM: Heather

Nothing over here

What about you?

Ever make a move on that cute friend of yours?

Mia rolled her eyes at her friend's text, knowing who Heather was referring to. It was common for the blonde to assume that Mia wanted to make a move on Scott, but he was her best friend. She would never jeopardize their friendship by starting a romantic relationship with him. He was too important to her.

TO: Heather

He's just a friend

and he's got a girlfriend

Mia let out a sigh as Heather responded to her text, demanding details about Scott's girlfriend. She answered what she could before telling her friend to get some rest and to study, especially since Heather had a history test that week.

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Author's Note

Hey everyone! Here's chapter nine! I hope you all enjoyed it, especially the moment between Mia and Isaac. I'm so amazed that this story is already at nearly 1.7K reads! Thank you for all the reads, votes and comments because that makes writing this so much more worthwhile. I love you all loads, and don't forget to vote/comment!!

- Daniella

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PUBLISHED: June 12, 2020

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