☆ CHAPTER NINE: FORMALITY!

RAIN HAMMERED down onto the wind shield, the screen wipers flicking up and down as the two girls stared emotionlessly out the window.

A door to a whole new world had been opened to the two Argent teenagers, along with a strange family secret.

Kate flicked a switch causing electric currents to be sent through Derek's body, his screams echoing around the room as the girls watched in panic.

"What are you doing to him? Is that gonna kill him?" Allison asked in a hurry, her eyes widening as Derek struggled to escape.

"Oh, come on, kiddo. Don't get all ethical on me now." Kate teased.

"What is he?" Scarlett didn't take her eyes off of Derek as he yelled in pain.

"Shape-shifter. Lycan. Werewolf!" Kate chuckled, "But to me he's just another dumb animal."

The volt meter only went up as Kate spoke, causing more groans of pain to leave Derek.

"Come here," Kate used her fingers to pry open his mouth, reaching canine teeth that could rip anyone apart within seconds, "See these right here? These are canines, also known as fangs."

Allison and Scarlett took a step closer, closely examining him. They made sure to keep their distance, though. Better to be safe than sorry.

"Made for the shredding and tearing of flesh," Kate told them, "Not something you'd find on those little leaf-eating herbivores, is it?"

Allison shook her head in, still clearly in shock, "This is a joke to you?"

"Sweetheart, their are werewolves running around in the world," Kate informed them, "Everything's a joke to me. How else do you think I stay sane."

"So," Allison started, "It was him at the high school and all the other animal attacks?"

Kate turned of the shining light, grabbing both of the girls by their arms and pulling them away from the werewolf, "There's actually three of them. Another younger one like him called the Beta, and then there's the Alpha. The Alpha's the pack leader. Bigger, stronger, nastier."

"Those are the real ugly mother. . ."

Sirens blared as the flashing lights snapped the girls out of their trance. Allison tore her glassy eyes away from the road, "Oh, god, not now."

"When were they gonna tell us?" Allison demanded as Kate slid the door shut.

Kate sighed, "They still haven't decided if there gonna tell either of you."

"So you told us?" Scarlett tried to make sense of the situation, but the more information her mother told them the more confused she got.

"Well, you're my daughter so I called the shots with you. However, Allison needed to know as well."

"Why?" Allison wondered.

"Let's just say if you react badly when you find out. . . not good." She tutted, wandering off down the series of tunnels.

"What do you mean 'not good'?"

"They don't think that you can handle it. They look at you and they see this frightened little girl who's gonna run crying in the corner of the room when she finds out the truth," Kate said before pointing at her own daughter, "And they look at you and imagine a sad little girl who has trust issues because she grew up without a father."

"But we're not." Scarlett snapped.

"Exactly. You ask me and I see. . . natural talent." Kate smirked. She came to a stop, turning to face the girls, "You said you wanted to feel more powerful, right?"

The two nodded, "Now's your chance."

The police sirens continued wailing as Allison pulled over to the side of the world, both of them still stuck in their own mind of imagination.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Allison questioned.

"Go to school, do your homework. Go to the formal on Friday night. Be two normal teenage girls who don't know anything." Kate instructed, continuing to lead them back out the tunnels.

"You're telling us that all the things you read about in bedtime stories when we were nine are real and you expect us to act normal?" Scarlett shook her head in confusion, running her fingers through her long hair, "God, this is so messed up."

"Just trust me to get everything ready for the next part."

"What's the next part?" Allison quizzed, stopping to look at her aunt.

"You two are gonna help me catch the second beta." She grinned, waltzing off and leaving the girls alone with their fear in the dark underground.

A policeman knocked gently on the window by the driver's seat, Allison rolling down the window as she tried to hide her fear.

"Allison?" Sheriff Stilinski peered into the car, spotting the two familiar looking girls, "Scarlett? You alright?"

"Yeah," Allison whimpered, looking into his eyes, "Sorry I was going to fast, I didn't realise I . . I . . ."

Scarlett ignored their conversation, staring out the window in a daze as she sorted through her mind. It was like a giant puzzle that was impossible to piece together.

"Oh, no. Uh. . . Okay, alright. Listen you weren't going that fast. Just 75 in a 25, in a construction zone." He said.

Allison raised her hand, wiping away her tears, "I'm not crying to get out of a ticket. I just, um. . . I don't want you to think I'm like this."

"No, it's okay. Perfectly okay." He excused.

"No, please, write me a ticket," She begged, "I need you to write me a ticket, okay?"

"Okay," Stilinski told her warily, "I don't see how that's gonna really make you feel a lot better."

"It's so humiliating. I swear I'm not like this." She sobbed through her tears, leaning her head against the chair.

"I understand."

"This is. . . This is. . . This is not me!" She croaked, slamming her fists violently against the steering wheel, "This is not me."

The slapping of skin against leather woke Scarlett from her haunting thoughts with a gasp.

"You okay back there?" Stilinski asked, shining the torch onto the girl's face.

Scarlett gulped down the large lump in her throat, nodding her head at him while wiping away her smudged mascara and tears, "Y—Yeah."

"We're okay." Allison told him, tucking hair long hair behind her ears and clearing her throat.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. She's okay." She reassured him, though Scarlett was sure that the confused girl was trying to convince herself that instead of the sheriff.

"Do I still have to write you a ticket?" He asked.

▃▃▃▃

THE COLD METAL against Scarlett's palm sent shivers down her spine, her mind flicking between the moment the light was shone onto the monstrous features of Derek Hale and present time. She gripped onto the gun tightly, closing one eye as she aimed at the poser of the werewolf that was pinned against the wooden post.

Allison stood beside her, sending arrows shooting towards the man's face in spite. As she clenched her jaw, Scarlett pressed her right index finger forcefully against the trigger and sent the bullet flying towards the sketch of the man's face. Continuing to fire the shots, a large groan left her red painted lips as a wave of frustration hit her when the bullets stopped coming.

The gun flew to the ground, the echoing of the clash making her grow more annoyed. Allison dropped the bow, rushing to her side.

"You okay?" She asked, her brown eyes like rich chocolate full of concern for the girl.

"I'm fine!" The girl snapped, her fists balling in her long locks of hair, "I'm fine." She spoke more calmly.

"Do you think we should help your mom?" Allison wondered, staring over at the poster.

Scarlett's usual caramel coloured eyes suddenly turned a deeper shade of brown, almost like a light black, glaring towards the sketch of the werewolf, "Yes," She whispered, turning to Allison with a serious look splattered over face, "He has to go."

▃▃▃▃

CLATTERING AGAINST the large window awoke the Argent from her deep slumber, her eyes slowly peeling open as the blurriness slowly faded away. Pulling the covers of her body, she crawled out from the warmth of her bed and over to the window.

Stood down below, Jackson held small rocks from the road in his hands, smiling up at the girl.

She pushed open her window, "Jackson? It's. . . 5:15 in the morning!"

"I got lonely," he smirked, tilting his head to the side and shrugging, "And bored."

"So you decided to wake me from my beauty sleep!" She whisper-yelled down to him.

"You don't need any, you look beautiful already," he grinned cheekily, "Come down, I want to show you something."

"At 5:15am?"

"Just. . . come on! Get changed and come down!" He urged the girl, smiling to himself as she rolled her eyes and wondered back into her room to grab some clothes.

▃▃▃▃

WRAPPING THE soft jumper tighter around her tiny frame, Scarlett let Jackson grab her hand as she climbed out of his Porsche. She looked up at the daunting trees that towered over the pair, glaring down at them like guards to the forest.

"Jackson?" She asked, scanning her surroundings wearily for any movement, "I'm all up for an adventure but isn't it a little late to be out here. . . alone."

"Relax, Scar," He sighed, "Nobody comes out here."

"That's exactly why I'm afraid. It's the perfect place to get murdered!" She panicked.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you if anyone comes at you with a weapon." He teased, looking back at her over his shoulder.

"Fine," She smiled, pulling him to a stop, "But if we die, I'm blaming you."

Jackson nodded, pecking her lips gently before continuing with their little adventure.

Soon enough, they came to a small handmade treehouse. It was at a fair height above the twig covered ground, an unsteady looking ladder waiting for them to climb up.

Jackson began climbing, stopping when he realised that she wasn't following behind her, he scoffed at the unsure look on her face, "It's safe, I promise. I come here when I need to think without being interrupted."

Following behind him, Scarlett grasped onto the wood as the ladder wobbled beneath her body. Holding out a helping hand, Jackson pulled the girl up onto the wooden platform and pulled a key from his pocket to unlock the door. He pushed it open, revealing a small space full of furniture.

As she stepped inside, Scarlett looked around the room. A decent sized, black couch was placed in the center facing a wall, a coffee table perched in front of it. Over in the corner was a tray of snacks, biscuits and chocolate to be exact, followed by a coat stand.

Jackson pulled a baby blue blanket off the back of the sofa, falling dramatically onto the sofa cushions.

"Nice place you got here." Scarlett complimented.

"Thanks," He smiled, "I begged my father to make it for me when I turned 7 and since then, this place has been my. . . quiet spot."

Scarlett took a seat beside the boy as he held up the blanket for her to crawl beside him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, the two snuggling close together on the couch.

"Don't you ever get curious?" He asked rather abruptly, interrupting the silence.

"About what?" She replied, looking up at him longingly.

Jackson shrugged, "Your dad."

The Argent exhaled heavily, moving to be more comfortable and facing him, "I mean, sometimes I wonder what it would have been like if he never left, if he and my mom got married and we were all one happy family like Allison's. But now I've gotten used to him not being there, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I like it just being my mom and I, that's why we're so close. The two of us against the world."

"I guess it's better to be over it than spending your whole life wondering about the guy." Jackson suggested.

Nodding in agreement, the girl continued, "Mhm, but if he had never left I also wouldn't have been as close with my uncle Chris, meaning I also wouldn't be as close with Allison. He's been a father figure to me since I was born, Allison and I was raised practically like sisters."

"You two do seem like you care about each other a lot."

"We do," She said, "We'd doing anything to make each other happy."

"I always wished I had a sibling," Jackson started, "It's just the though of always having someone there, you know? Somebody to back you up whenever you need it."

"I get that," She agreed, "Sometimes I wish I did too. Don't get me wrong, I love Allison to death but. . .she just doesn't get it. Her parents have always played happy families so she doesn't really know what it's like to be abandoned or to feel like something or someone is always missing."

"I'm sorry, about your dad." He frowned, grabbing her hand in his own.

A sad smile formed on her face, "It's okay, I'm used to it," she shrugged, "Now, can we just have a night without drama or sappy sob stories." She giggled, leaning forward and pressing her lips against the lacrosse players.

Jackson smirked into the kiss, "Sounds like a plan."

▃▃▃▃

"HEY!"

SCARLETT'S head snapped around at the sudden sound of Jackson's voice as Allison slammed her locker door shut.

"What time am I picking you up for the dance tonight?" He asked the girl, beads of sweat dripping down his forehead as his body shook violently.

"Are you okay?" Scarlett raised an eyebrow as she smiled at him in confusion.

"Yeah, I'm great. I'm just excited to go to the formal," he spoke quickly, "With you. Speaking of which, who are you going with Allison?"

Allison shrugged, "Myself."

Scarlett shook her head disapprovingly, standing in front of the girl, "No, no, no, you can tag along with us. I don't really like to share but one night won't harm me for my favourite cousin."

Allison laughed, "I'm your only cousin. Besides, I don't want to interlude—"

"Nonsense!" Jackson said, "It's fine, really. You and I are friends, Scarlett and I are more than friends and You and Scarlett are cousins. It'll be fun!"

Jackson's eyes flicked over to the corner of the corridor before turning back to the two Argent's, "Why don't we get something to eat?"

▃▃▃▃

"NOTHING'S WRONG, I just have a lot on my mind." Allison insisted as the three girls stepped onto the mall escalator.

"You could smile, at least," Lydia said, "Ever heard the saying, 'Never frown. Someone could be falling in love with your smile'?"

Scarlett scoffed looking over at the strawberry blonde, "That's the cheesiest thing I've ever heard."

"Really?" Allison raised an eyebrow, "What about what Jake Beckhall said to you in the 3rd grade?"

"Oh, yeah," She agreed, remembering the boy from her childhood, "Nevermind, it's the second."

"What did Jake Beckhall say?" Lydia wondered, looking over at her friend.

"'You are the shooting star in my stary sky!'" Allison joked, nudging her cousin with her elbow.

"That's not cheesy, it's romantic," Lydia pointed out, "Besides, you should smile, Allison. I'm buying you a dress. And you." She looked over at the other Argent girl.

"Have to admit as far as apologies go, that's more than I expected." Allison shrugged.

"Excellent."

The archer sighed, turning to her best friend, "But not as much as I'm going to ask."

"What? What's that supposed to mean?" Lydia frowned.

"It means," Allison began, "You are going to cancel on whatever dumb, roided-up jock you said yes to and you're going to go with somebody else."

Lydia froze, her mind flicking to all the possible people Allison could have chose, "Who?"

A smirk grew on the brunette's face, looking over in the direction of Stiles Stilinski, who was stood by the perfume stand spraying it and sneezing as it went up his nostrils.

"Awh," Allison pouted, noticing the displeased look on the girl's face, "Don't frown, Lydia, someone could be falling in love with your smile."

Scarlett chuckled as Lydia glared at the two, Allison simply shrugging with a grin.

▃▃▃▃

"OKAY, SO are you just gonna try these on right now?" Stiles asked as Lydia placed multiple dresses into his arms while she chose between another two, "All of them? Is this a 24 hour Macy's?"

Allison and Scarlett scanned through the racks of clothing as Stiles trailed behind their friend.

"See anything you like?" Scarlett asked her cousin, holding up two dresses in her hand, one a light lavender color like the walls of her bedroom and the other a nude colour.

Allison hummed, turning the mirror over to get a better look at the dress being held up behind her. Scarlett's head snapped around when she noticed Allison staring uncomfortably at someone's reflection.

"That's not your color," A man with styled brown hair in his early 40's commented, "Sorry if that was intrusive, but considering your skin tone, I'd go lighter."

"Who are you? The fashion police?" Scarlett raised her brow at the unfamiliar man, who raised his hands in defence.

"I was just trying to help," He said, "But really, go lighter."

Allison shrugged, "Because I'm pale?"

"Fair," He corrected, "I mean, you can't call skin like yours pale. Not skin that perfect."

Allison smiled shyly from his compliment, "Okay?"

"Trust me, I have a unique perspective on the subject. Do you mind?" From instinct, Scarlett jolted forward beside her cousin as the strange man grabbed her hand picked up a dress for her.

He held it up in front of her, "See? Much better," he turned his attention over to Scarlett, wondering over and taking the dresses from her hands and hanging them up on a random rack, "As for you, you have a warmer tone to your skin. The better colours for you would be. . ." He roamed through aisles of dresses, returning with another to, "Try these."

She held the first dress up in front of her and looked into the mirror, a royal blue with silver jewels on the top, before comparing it to the second one, a tight, metallic silver dress with sequins covering it.

"Thanks." She smiled weakly.

"You're not here alone, are you?" He suddenly asked, "Shopping for dresses with friends."

Allison nodded.

"High school dance?"

"Formal."

"Oh."

"Attention, shoppers. The owner of a blue Mazda, license plate 5UN I768."

The Argent's head looked up as the voice from the speakers spoke, "Did she just say Blue Mazda?"

"Your car is being towed."

"Oh shit, that's my car!" Allison rushed, throwing the dresses on a random rack and pulling Scarlett behind her.

▃▃▃▃

"THIS IS pretty," Kate commented as she fiddled with the dress on her daughter's bed as she waited for her to return from the bathroom, "Where'd you get it?"

"The mall," Scarlett told her, rushing out the bathroom and staring into her full length mirror, "Ugh!" She groaned.

"You alright?" Kate chuckled, wondering over to the girl her kept howling with frustration.

"No!" She snapped, "I can't get my hair right!"

"Sit," The older Argent sighed, pulling out her dressing table chair, "I'll help."

"Really?" Scarlett furrowed her brows in confusion, her mom was never that good at doing people's hair—she didn't have the patience.

Kate nodded, grabbing her curling iron and starting on the girl's hair.

"I miss doing stuff like this." Scarlett sighed, remembering the times when she was a young girl and would do her mom's hair for fun.

  "Yeah?"

"Mhm," She whispered, "We haven't spent much time together since moving."

"Well," Kate started, "When you get back from the formal, we'll have a mommy-daughter night watching American Horror Story."

"Really?" She felt her eyes bulging out of her head at her words.

"Yes," Kate smiled, a real smile, "Just the two of us."

▃▃▃▃

AS HE pulled the keys from the ignition, Jackson pulled up outside the school as crowds of students walked hand in hand into the building.

The music in the car stopped, Jackson pulling out a bottle of alcohol. He took a sip before handing it to Allison in the back seat, "I'm good, thanks."

"You want to do tonight sober?" He asked.

"I wouldn't mind remembering some of it." She defended.

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't mind forgetting all of it." He scoffed.

He offered the bottle to Scarlett, who gladly took in from his hands and gulped down some of the liquid, the familiar feeling of the drink burning her throat.

"Do you know if Scott's coming?" Allison asked as the two went to get out of the Porsche.

"I know he's not allowed too," He told her, "Academic probation."

The girl frowned as Jackson got out of the vehicle.

"You alright?" Scarlett wondered, looking back at her in the back seat.

"Yeah, I guess I just feel like I'm intruding on your and Jackson's night and honestly I just—"

"Wish that Scott was here?" She finished her her.

"No," she sighed, fidgeting under her cousin's judging look, "Yes."

"Relax, Alli," Scarlett spoke softly, "I'll stay with you."

Allisom frowned, "What about Jackson?"

  "He'll live."

She pulled out a compact mirror from her bag, looking into the mirror and fixing her lipstick and mascara, "Normal teenage girl," She spoke to herself, "You can do this. Smile, Allison. Somebody could be falling in love with your—"

Allison stopped mid sentence as she stared up at a figure on the roof. Scarlett followed her gaze over to Scott McCall, leaning back and whispering into her ear, "I knew he couldn't resist."

Jackson moved around the side of the car to help the two girls out, linking his arm with Scarlett's as Allison walked alongside them.

"Jackson," Lydia said as the three passed her and Stiles by his Jeep, "You look handsome."

"Obviously," He chuckled, pulling the Argent closer to his body at the sight of the strawberry blonde, "It's Hugo Boss."

▃▃▃▃

UPBEAT MUSIC blared out from the speakers as teenagers danced around with their dates. Scarlett, Allison and Jackson were all stood around a table to the side of the dance floor, Allison sipping punch from a plastic cup as Scarlett and Jackson shared the bottle of alcohol.

"Come on," Scarlett spoke up, growing bored with the lack of conversation so tugged on Jackson's sleeve, "Let's dance."

"Oh, I can't—" he protested, trying to pull his arm from her grip.

"It's fine, I'll teach you. I did lessons before I moved." She smirked.

Allison smiled, "She's really good."

"Fine," Jackson sighed, a small smile peeking through, "But you have to dance bad to make me look better."

Giggles erupted from the two girls, "Deal."

"McCall!" Coach Finstock's voice boomed throughout the gym, "Get out of my way!" He pushed through crowds of students.

"McCall! It's a small gym, buddy. I'm gonna find you!" He yelled, racing after the lacrosse player, "I got you, McCall!"

Scott ran over to Danny, forcing him up from his seat and getting him to dance, "McCall! You're not supposed to— what the hell are you. . ."

The music stopped, everyone at the dance turning to look at the scene in both shock and disgust, "Yes, Coach?"

Finstock laughed, looking around at everyone's judging glares, "Hold on, you. . . I was just saying he's not supposed to. . . I mean, I wasn't saying that he shouldn't. . . You guys don't think. . . You don't. . . I. . . I was. . .just dance, everybody. Just dance, it's a dance! It's a party!"

Allison wondered off from the pair, engaged in a dance with Scott as he wondered over.

"Hey!" Jackson yelled over the music, "I'm gonna get some fresh air for 5 minutes! It's too hot in here and this music's giving me a headache!"

"Okay!" She shouted back, pulling away from him and letting him go off outside.

After 15 minutes of Jackson's absence, Scarlett got up from her seat beside Danny, wondering over to the door.

"Jackson?" She called out, using her phone torch to guide her through the dull night, "Jackson?"

She kept calling his name, stalking around the car park for the boy.

"You promise? You won't hurt him?" Jackson's familiar voice said, causing the girl to come to a stop.

  "Jackson?"

"Of course not. He's just a kid." Another male voice spoke, catching the attention of the Argent.

She creeped behind the nearest car, which so happened to be Stiles' Jeep, listening in on the conversation as curiosity overtook her.

"What are you gonna do?" Jackson asked.

The lacrosse co-captain and the other man came to a stop, the light taking over the shadows to reveal the face of her Uncle Chris, "I'm going to take care of it. Go back to the dance, Jackson. Be with your friends, dance with Scarlett. Be a normal teenager."

Jackson hesitantly moved away from the older man, heading back towards the school. Scarlett carefully tiptoed out from behind the Jeep, making her way over to the boy, "Jackson!"

He flinched, his features relaxing when he saw who the voice belonged to, "Oh, hey, look I'm so sorry that I—"

"It's okay," She reassured him, "I was just getting worried."

"Don't be." He grinned, linking his arm with hers and kissing her forehead gently as he lead her back into the gym.

▃▃▃▃

AS THE two neared the gym, the muffled music coming through the open doors, Jackson turned to look at his date, "Hey, could you get me a drink, please? I think I had too much alcohol."

Scarlett nodded, releasing her arm from his and passing Stiles as she went through the doors, "Hey, Stiles."

"Hey," He returned the gesture with a smile, watching as she left before talking to the boy, "Where the hell have you been?"

Scarlett found Scott and Allison dancing away to the music, sharing a sweet kiss hear and there. A smile grew on her face at the sight of happiness on her cousins face.

Shortly after grabbing a drink for herself and Jackson, the boy returned to her side. She noticed his uneven breathing along with his shaking body.

"Are you okay?" Her concerned eyes stared into his own blue ones, watching as he looked around anxiously.

"How about we get out of here?" He suggested, looking back at her with fearful eyes.

"Sure." She shrugged, allowing him to drag her behind him out the building, placing their drinks back onto the table.

▃▃▃▃

JACKSON LEAD the girl behind of the school buses, snickers erupting from her as her back was pressed against the cold door, "You're not going to kill me out here, are you?"

"Maybe." He chuckled, pushing his lips onto hers passionately and his hands roaming freely over her body.

The two stayed like that until the tapping of a window caught their attention, Allison stood staring down at the two with a smirk as she made kissy faces.

The two made their way over to the other side of the bus, spotting Scott stood still as headlights of two cars arrived and corner the boy.

Inside the cars, Chris and Kate Argent charged towards the boy in full speed, making him jump up to avoid being ran over. He landed ontop of the two vehicles, stopping them from a collision.

As he looked up from the ground, Scarlett and Allison gasped at the sight.

Stood before her was Scott McCall, the boyfriend of her cousin, her classmate and rival of her own boyfriend,

a teenage werewolf.

▃▃▃▃

hey guys!

i hope you enjoyed this chapter! the photo at the top is how i imagined what scarlett was wearing to the formal but you can imagine it however you want!

please look out for the a/n at the end of the next chapter if you are interested in a book 2 ( based of season 2 ) as i will be explaining things such as when it should be out as well as asking what you would like to see for book 2. thanks :)

—gigi ♡