CHAPTER ONE
⭑༅enigma ༅⭑
↳ season one episode one ↲

𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗔𝗥𝗔𝗗𝗜𝗔 was an idiot, or at least that's what she told herself as she walked through the forest in the dead of night. The only sound was the crunch of the leaves beneath her shoes and her shuddering breath.

After overhearing a conversation between the Sheriff and her aunt, Alicia, about a dead body in the woods, her curiosity got the best of her — especially after hearing out only half was found.

She held the flashlight in front of her and kept her baseball bat close to her side, ensuring that if anyone (or anything) came at her she was ready to beat the living shit out of them.

"It's just a little walk in the forest," she thought to herself calmly. However, her calm demeanor quickly shifted when she began hearing voices, "I'm going to die, why did I think this was a good idea?" Thinking it was the cops, Marlene turned off the light and held her bat close to her chest as she hid behind a tree.

"It's comforting to know you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail." She heard a voice say breathlessly.

"I know." Another answered.

From what Marley could tell they weren't cops, they sounded more like teenage boys, though despite recognizing the voices she was unable to pinpoint who they were.

Slowly, Marley walked away from the voices trying not to make a noise.

Key word trying.

As the brunette took a step a twig snapped underneath her feet. She braced herself for what was coming next.

"Shh, did you hear that?"

"Here what?"

"Someone's here."

"Dude, I swear to god if you're lying I'll kill you."

The voices reached closer and closer to the girl.

Holding her breath the brunette jumped out of her hiding spot just about to hit the two boys with her bat. The two boys sucked before she could hit them, the buzzcut boy, in particular, tripping backward.

"Oh my God!" The boy to her right screamed out of fear before quickly being shushed by the brunette.

Marley turned on her flashlight and pointed it at the two figures in front of her. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the brightness of the light. When it did she could finally distinguish who the two were. "What the hell is wrong with you two?" She yelled in a hushed whisper.

"Us?" The buzzcut boy asked, "You're the one swinging a bat around like a crazy person!"

"At least I have some sort of protection! Unlike you two," she shined the light in between both boys, who she now recognized to be Stiles Stilinski and Scott McCall.

Scott was bent over shaking, what seemed to be, an inhaler before taking a hit. "Is he okay?" She asked.

"Who? Scott? Yeah, he's fine." Stiles waved off.

Before she could get another word out of him they heard the police radios and saw multiple bright lights in front of them. Marley ran towards them, careful not to make any more sudden movements and noises. She looked back to see the two boys doing their best to catch up with her.

Stiles had caught up with her but Scott was nowhere to be found, "Probably still behind," She thought. They turned around only to be scared shitless by a big dog barking at them. "Holy shit," both teenagers fell onto the leafy ground.

"Hold it right there." One of the officers said before he got interrupted by none other than Sheriff Stilinski. "Hang on, hang on. This little delinquent belongs to me. And the other one to Aradia."

The brunette looked up at the man before her as she and the buzz-cut boy stood up, "Hi Sheriff, how's it going?"

"So, do you listen in to all my phone calls?" He asked his son.

"No. Not the boring ones."

"Well this is new," he pointed to the girl. "That's not your usual partner in crime, where is he anyway?"

"Who, Scott? Scott's at home. Right, Marley?" Stiles asked the girl, giving her a help me out look.

"Yeah, yeah I didn't see him." She lied to the man, nervously wringing her hands, something she only did when nervous.

"Said he wanted to get a good night's sleep for the first day of school tomorrow." He lied.

"So you two came out here on your own? Together?" The sheriff asked, clearly not convinced. "I don't think I've seen you two talk in years."

It was true, despite being neighbors Marley Aradia and Stiles Stilinski hadn't talked to each other since the fourth grade. It was nothing personal, the two just didn't have much in common after that. They remained friendly but rolled in different crowds. Stiles was constantly with Scott and a few other kids with a lower popularity status, meanwhile, Marley hung out with her cousin, Lydia Martin, which included most of the Lacrosse team.

Marlene quickly jumped into the lie she had created in her mind, "Well, I saw Stiles leave the house around the same time I was and I realized we were both heading to the woods, so we kinda just met up here and went together."

Obviously still not believing them Sheriff called out for Scott but no one came. It made Marley start to think that boy actually wasn't there. "Hey, Sheriff do you mind not telling my aunt about this because if she found out she gonna-"

"Gonna what?" A voice said from behind. Marley grimaced as she turned around to face her Alicia Aradia walking towards the three.

It was dark but if Marlene knew anything about her aunt it would be that her face was just as red as the flowers on the floor. "Gonna ground you for a week because not only did you go into my room and steal my radio but you also took the car, left your sister, and went to look for a dead body, alone." 

"Well I wasn't totally alone, Stiles was there."

"Oh, what the hell is Stiles going to do? No offense."

"None taken." Sheriff Stilinski replied.

"Dad, she wasn't talking to you, and ouch."

"Sheriff, if you don't mind, I'll be going home to drop this one off," Alicia told the Sheriff pointing at her niece.

"That's alright." He replied. "Stiles and I need to talk about how to respect people's privacy and not go looking for dead bodies."  Both adults and kids went their separate ways but both got the same talk and punishment.

⭑༅⭑༅⭑

𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗠𝗨𝗦𝗜𝗖 𝗙𝗥𝗢𝗠 the radio softly played in the car. Alicia, who was focused on parking in the bustling Beacon Hills High parking lot without hitting anyone, turned her attention toward Marley, who sat in the front seat, impatiently fidgeting with her backpack.

"Come straight home after lacrosse tryouts," Alicia instructed, her voice firm yet tinged with a touch of concern.

"I know, Cia," Marley replied, her gaze fixed on the school building just a few yards away. She made a half-hearted attempt to open the car door before realizing that her aunt had remotely locked it, and now Alicia was giving her a stern look.

"Marley, I'm not joking," Alicia said, her gaze unwavering as she emphasized the seriousness of her words. "I'm working late tonight, Phoebe is going to be at Mina's house, and you're grounded, so no people over."

Marley sighed, frustration briefly flickering across her face. "Look, Cia, I get it, but I have to go before I'm late." She leaned over and planted a quick kiss on her aunt's cheek, a silent plea for understanding, before hastily exiting the car and marching towards the school.

The bustling high school parking lot was alive with the energy of students rushing to their classes. Marley spotted her cousin Lydia walking toward the school's entrance. Quickening her pace, she caught up with Lydia just in time to join the stream of students making their way inside.

"Where were you last night?" Lydia asked, her voice filled with curiosity as she flipped her vibrant red hair over her shoulders.

Marley blinked in surprise at the sudden question. "Sorry?" she responded, momentarily thrown off balance.

"I texted you like a billion times, and you didn't answer," Lydia continued, her green eyes narrowing with slight annoyance.

A sheepish smile crossed Marley's lips as she explained, "Oh, sorry, I don't have my phone. Alicia grounded me."

Lydia chuckled, her amusement evident in her melodious laughter. "Well, if you had answered, you would've heard about the party I'm having after the Lacrosse game on Friday, and I need help setting up."

As the cousins strolled through the school's bustling corridors, the promise of the upcoming party filled their thoughts, a welcome distraction from the constraints of Marley's grounding.

Marley and Lydia's relationship was filled with a mix of arguments and sweet banter. Lydia had a habit of snarky remarks, but Marley knew they stemmed from affection rather than rudeness. Marley considered Lydia to be her best friend and confidante, sharing every secret and giving her an unwavering amount of support, she knew Lydia didn't feel the same way. But that didn't matter to her.

The two girls continued walking up to the school, their conversation momentarily disrupted by the presence of the two boys Marley had encountered in the woods the previous night. Marley offered a slight wave to acknowledge them as they passed by, her curiosity piqued.

As they strolled past, she overheard Stiles muttering something under his breath, words that caught her attention. "Since the birth of Lydia Martin," he muttered, his voice tinged with a mixture of awe and humor, attempting to engage Lydia in conversation.

However, Lydia remained unfazed by Stiles' comment, her composure unbroken as she made her way into the school. Marley, trailing behind, couldn't help but comment, "Do you have to do that?"

Lydia faked innocence, "Do what?"

"Ignore him," Marley stated, her tone betraying a mix of exasperation and amusement. It was a familiar dance between the two cousins — Lydia's ability to effortlessly deflect attention, and Marley's role as the voice of reason, reminding her to acknowledge the world beyond her own orbit.

Marley continued, a knowing smile playing on her lips as she nudged Lydia gently. "You know, Stiles is not so bad. He's just trying to be friendly."

Lydia glanced at Marley with a hint of amusement. "Friendly or not, I've got more important things to focus on than his attempts at conversation. Now, come on, we have class."

⭑༅⭑༅⭑

𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗦𝗘𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗗 𝗜𝗡𝗧𝗢 her first class of the day, English, taking her spot in front of Stiles, and beside Scott. She was quite petite making it necessary to choose a seat closer to the front in order to avoid any potential obstructions to her view. She absentmindedly retrieved her pencil and notebook, doodling as the teacher began addressing the class.

"As you all know, there indeed was a body found in the woods last night," the teacher announced, prompting Scott and Stiles to exchange knowing glances over at each other and back at Marley. "I'm sure your eager little minds are coming up with various macabre scenarios as to what happened," the teacher continued.

"But I am here to tell you, the police have a suspect in custody," the teacher declared, causing Marley's eyebrows to shoot up in surprise. She cast a questioning glance at the two boys.

"Which means you can give your undivided attention to the syllabus, which is in your desk, outlining this semester," the teacher concluded, met with a chorus of groans from the students, including Marley.

Turning her attention to the syllabus on her desk, Marley continued to doodle in her notebook as the minutes ticked by. However, the arrival of the school's principal interrupted them.

"Class, this is our new student, Allison Argent. Please do your best at making her feel welcome," the principal introduced, and the brunette girl found her place behind Scott. Marley offered a warm smile as Allison passed by, silently extending a friendly welcome.

"We'll begin with Kafka's Metamorphosis, on page 133,"

⭑༅⭑༅⭑

𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗠𝗔𝗗𝗘 𝗛𝗘𝗥 way through the bustling crowd of teenagers, each one eager to escape the classroom and retrieve their belongings from their lockers. As she reached her own locker, she noticed the new girl standing beside her, struggling with the lock.

"You've gotta jiggle it," Marley offered casually, placing her books inside her locker.

The brunette glanced up from her lock, a hint of confusion in her eyes. "Sorry?"

Marley gestured slightly toward the lock. "The lock. Some of them can be tricky. You've gotta jiggle it a few times for it to open."

Taking Marley's advice, Allison followed her instructions, and to her pleasant surprise, the lock opened, allowing her access to her locker. "Thank you! I've been trying to open that all day." The girl beamed.

Marley chuckled, "No worries. I'm Marley, by the way."

Recognition flickered in Allison's eyes as she recalled where she had seen the girl. "Oh, we have English together, right?"

Marley nodded, but before she could say anything more, Lydia approached the two girls.

"That jacket is absolutely killer. Where'd you get it?" The redhead inquired, her eyes fixed on Allison.

Allison replied with a hint of pride, "My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco."

Lydia's smile widened, and she wasted no time in extending her warm welcome. "And you are my new best friend."

Marley couldn't help but let out a joking cough, reminding Lydia of her presence. She affectionately dismissed her cousin's claim. "You're my cousin, so it doesn't count." Marley rolled her eyes playfully at the girl.

Jackson Whittemore, Lydia's boyfriend and the captain of the lacrosse team, joined the group, wrapping his arm around Lydia's shoulders. Marley rolled her eyes at his presence. As Lydia and Jackson exchanged pleasantries, Allison stood awkwardly by.

Lydia quickly shifted her attention back to Allison, "So, this weekend, there's a party," Lydia informed.

"It's Friday night, you should come," Jackson said.

"Uh, I can't. It's family night this Friday. Thanks for asking." Allison told the couple.

"You sure? Everyone's going after the scrimmage." Jackson persisted.

"You mean like football?" Marley chuckled at Allison's response.

"No, football is a joke in Beacon Hills. The sport we play here is lacrosse." Jackson told her. "We've won the star championship for the past three years."

It was either Marley was extremely observant or Allison was making it very obvious, but Marley noticed Allison hadn't been paying much attention to the boy's words. Instead, her attention was on Scott, who stood with Stiles across the hallway.

"Cause of a certain team captain," Lydia teased Jackson, brushing a strand of hair from his face.

Marley cleared her throat, "We should get going," she said to her cousin's boyfriend. "Coach will have our heads if we're late."

"Why don't you come with us?" Lydia suggested. "It'll be fun, get into the Beacon Hills spirit."

"Yeah, sure why not," Allison said, returning her focus to the three. The group left the school's halls, heading toward the outdoor lacrosse field.

⭑༅⭑༅⭑

𝗠𝗔𝗥𝗟𝗘𝗬 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛𝗘𝗗 𝗖𝗢𝗔𝗖𝗛 and the rest of the lacrosse team, while Lydia and Allison made their way to the stands to watch. She was so focused on his words that she didn't notice someone approaching from behind. Startled, she let out a small yelp and turned to see who had snuck their arm around her waist. "Damn it, Tyler. You scared the crap out of me!"

Tyler Nelson, a star lacrosse and soccer player, and Marley's boyfriend of eight months, let out a chuckle. "What? Not happy to see me?" Tyler had been away all summer, and they had limited communication during that time.

Marley grinned, relief washing over her as she realized it was Tyler. "Oh, I am very happy to see you." She leaned in to give him a warm, welcoming kiss.

However, a whistle interrupted and caused them to look up. Coach Finstock had just made the decision to place Scott in goal, primarily as a confidence boost for the other players. He handed Marley a second clipboard and a pen, before making his way to another spot on the field.

Marley had been appointed assistant coach during her Freshman year after the principal refused to allow her to try out for the team. Marley was a decent player, and everyone knew this - she had her late father for that - and since she wasn't allowed to play Coach Finstock had given her the assistant coach.

In Marley's opinion, it was better than nothing.

"Alright, boys, let's go!" Marley's voice boomed, serving as the rallying cry for the lacrosse team. Her tone shifted abruptly as she shot a warning at Greenberg. "Greenberg, I swear to God, if you so much as look at my ass, I will beat you into next year."

She then headed toward the bench, sitting next to Stiles, clutching her trusty pen and clipboard. She was armed and ready to take notes on the players' performance. Blowing her whistle, she signaled for the boys to get started.

As she watched, she couldn't help but wince as Scott took a direct hit to the face from one of the players' shots. Stiles leaned in closer, his eyes glued to the field. "Ouch, that had to hurt."

Laughter erupted among the team, "Well, at least he caught it... even if it was with his face," she remarked.

Then Jackson lined up against him and Marley could sense Scott's nerves from her seat across the field.

Jackson threw the ball toward Scott.

Anticipation hung heavy as everyone waited for the expected goal. But it never came. Instead, Scott managed to make the save. Cheers erupted from all directions, including the stands where Allison, Lydia, Marley, and an ecstatic Stiles jumped up from his seat.

Coach, briefly stunned by the unexpected turn of events, momentarily forgot about his clipboard. Jackson, on the other hand, wore a scowl glaring at the boy as everyone cheered for Scott.

Marley's smile grew when she noticed Tyler running up to her, removing his helmet and gloves, and ruffling his hair. "So, how'd I do?" he asked his girlfriend.

Marley simply shrugged, keeping the clipboard close to her chest. "You'll have to wait and see."

Tyler playfully attempted to grab it from her hands. "Ah, ah, ah. I don't think so," she said with a laugh. "Now, go shower. I gotta get home; Alicia grounded me, so I won't be able to hang out today."

Tyler groaned, frustration creeping into his voice. "Seriously? I just got here. Just sneak out."

"I can't, Ty. I really gotta go." Marley felt torn. She wanted to spend time with Tyler but also didn't want to anger her aunt further.

"You know, we could have some fun together," Tyler said rubbing her arms gently, speaking in a low - almost whispered - tone. "Sneak out, and I'll have you back before anyone notices. We haven't seen each other in months."

Marley hesitated. He made a good point. The couple had gone three months will no communication, and she really wanted to spend time with him. But she couldn't back out on her promise. "I really don't want to risk getting into more trouble, Ty."

Tyler's facade of charm cracked for a moment, revealing a hint of frustration. "Yeah, I get it."

Marley frowned, she could tell he was frustrated, "I just don't want to get into trouble, that's all. Drive me home?"

Tyler sighed, a small smile appearing on his lips. He could never stay mad at Marley. "Sure." He planted another kiss on her cheek, handing her the keys to his car, and headed for the locker room. Marley on the other hand made her way over to Tyler's car as she waited for him to come out and drive her home.

INEZ SPEAKS
this book needed some serious rewriting. the chaps were a mess, the writing was terrible and was overall cringey af. also this was an impulse publish.