𝟑𝟏 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝒄𝒊𝒕𝒚

✯☾✯

𝑻𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔. Or, they could be known as the days of reckoning. Pictionary could end in bloodshed, charades in war.

The Brown family took board games very seriously. It was a savage scramble for a weeks bragging rights.

On this particular day, Andy, Lizzie and Bobby all flopped backwards and defeated against their cushioned couch as the reigning Game of Life champion remained victorious.

Davis pummelled the air as if he'd just won hundreds of dollars, a proud smile on his face. At the new age of thirteen, the boy had seemed to have gone through puberty faster than most of his class.

He was already a few inches taller than Lizzie, his face shape had matured and his hair had darkened.

His history of tuberculosis had not held him back when it came to growth but it had definitely had an affect on him physically.

For example, stamina and strength were not his strong points. He was a very fragile boy prone to asthma attacks and nose bleeds.

A loud blaring horn echoing from outside interrupted Davis' extensive celebrations. It was a raspy, faulty noise that graced a smile onto Lizzie's face.

"I think that's Stiles," She said as she hauled herself up from the depths of her couch.

Andy snapped his head up, his eyes twinkling worriedly, "You'll be okay, won't you? You've been going to lots of parties lately and...well, you know how you get."

She did know. Her reaction to the stereotypical ambience of a party had been a reoccurring thing since she was very little, and as she began to get older and people started to have more and more parties, she'd constantly use the excuse of getting too drunk during a make believe party that happened god knows when.

That was until she met three people.

"I'll be okay," She hoped, "Scott and Stiles will be there."

If you ignored Stiles' desperate, ditch everything, plan to drag her back through the rave they attended last year, the boys had a history of making sure she was okay and looking after her at big gatherings, even if they didn't know how much they affected her.

Andy seemed happy with his daughter's reassurance and nodded approvingly, "Well, as long as you have your phone on you at all times in case I need to come fetch you. And, you know, I never understand why you don't invite those boys round sometimes. They're seemingly your best friends and I haven't even met them properly."

Lizzie hid her wince. Her dad was right, she had never once invited Scott nor Stiles round even though they were, in fact, her best friends in the whole world.

There was lots of questioned to be asked about her life. 'Lizzie, where's your mom?' 'Lizzie, why is there a meal tracker on your kitchen wall?' 'Lizzie, why do you have a cupboard full of medicine?"

In Lizzie's opinion, Stiles and Scott needn't know these things for she feared they would see her in a different light. Maybe they'd think she was even more pathetic and smaller than she already seemed. Besides, those two always had something to worry about and she was not about to add herself onto their extensive list.

She guessed the only person she'd really trusted was Isaac. He'd come round multiple times and glanced at the strange items in her home but said nothing.

A second, impatient beep slinked in through the open windows from outside, saving Lizzie from Andy's query.

"Gotta go, see you later alligators," The girl waved to her dad and her brothers before skipping happily through the hallways and out the house, not before picking up a small, wrapped package.

The familiar looking jeep was parked in front of her driveway, with Stiles in the driver's seat looking very irritated. Scott was the first spot her, pointing and shouting. Stiles followed suite as the girl trotted down the driveway.

It was fall once again and the atmosphere was to be frozen in a crisp delicacy. Lizzie stopped walking at the foot of the jeep and folded her arms on the bed of Stiles' open window, resting her chin on them.

"Hello!" She grinned, eyes sparkling in the graceful moonlight, decked out in a pair of flared jeans and a blue, dainty shirt.

"Jesus, you took your time," Stiles commented light-heartedly.

"Or, Stiles, you're just very impatient," Scott defended the girl, nudging Stiles' arm teasingly.

Stiles rolled his dark eyes before they landed on the contents of Lizzie's left hand.

"What's that?"

Lizzie glanced down at the palm sized box covered in pink paper, "A present."

When she lifted her gaze up to meet Stiles', she saw his expression was overruled by confusion, "For Heather? You don't even know Heather."

Lizzie too added to the confusion, "But, it's her birthday."

Besides, she thought it rude to turn up to a birthday party without an appropriate gift.

"But, you don't-" Stiles halted and took in the hopeful look on the pixie's face, "Alright, just get in."

Swivelling on one foot, Lizzie yanked open the back door and was greeted with a third person occupying the jeep.

"Isaac!" She tumbled into the vehicle towards her boyfriend, "I forgot you were coming."

"Nice to know I'm memorable," Isaac winked, wrapping the girl underneath his arm. Lizzie wrinkled her nose at the comment.

"Gross."

"So, what did you buy Heather then?" Stiles picked back up their conversation as he clambered into the front seat.

"Oh," Lizzie pulled away from Isaac to yank at her seatbelt as the jeep began to move, "I ran out of pocket money so, I made her a bracelet out of beads I found in my closet. I hope she likes it."

"L, I don't think she was expecting presents from plus one's, but, I'm sure she'll take it regardless." Scott reassured her, also adding in a parental observation.

Lizzie hummed to herself as the shadows of buildings and trees past by. The house lights reflecting from windows lit up patches of the sky, allowing her to take in the dark clouds above and point out the funny shapes.

Stiles slowed his car to stop in a rich neighbourhood full of white picket fences and fancy porches. The type of houses that holds extravagant parties for their scholar kids. Lizzie could only imagine what they looked like all dressed up for Christmas or Halloween.

The group, Stiles, Scott, Lizzie and Isaac, burst out of the car all at once in a messy array of limbs, beginning the short walk to their destined fancy house. They stuck out immensely, each teen far from the class that surrounded them.

Lizzie recognised one particularly luxurious house as Jackson Whittemore's. Only now, it was empty as the Whittemore family had vacated to god knows where.

Scott as well was eyeing their surroundings warily

"What?" Stiles snapped Scott out of his trance. Scott jumped visibly, shooting Stiles a tired look.

"What do you mean, 'What'?"

"I mean "What?", and you know what."

"What what?"

"Oh, kill me now." Isaac groaned at the bickering.

"That look you were giving!" Stiles insisted.

The thumping beats of the party pulsated vigorously as they drew nearer to Heather's abode. Lizzie chose to drown out the squabbles and focus on the autumn hues that made her oh so happy.

Vibrant oranges created a bushy coat over the branches of the curling trees, each leaf wrinkled, making the most of the time they had left, you know, writing the will and all that. Their stalks were tired, ready to let go after months of clinging on tightly through a plethora of unpredictable storms.

Many the leaf had fallen already, laying limp and lonely in a paralysed state awaiting the thick plate of heel to crush it's flaky skin.

"Lizzie," A pair of fingers snapped in front of her face, "Stop looking at the trees. Come on, we gotta do hands-"

"We get to do hands in go team?" Lizzie squealed, the excitement wracking all through her body, lifting her up on to her toes.

"One time only." Stiles clarified sternly, "Now, how do we do this thing?"

"Ok, so," The elation infiltrated her soft voice, quiet mummers of explanations came as Lizzie moved each boy into position, grabbing their arms until all their hands met in the middle of the makeshift circle. "And, then we go....3...2...1....go team!"

Even though Lizzie was the only one who truly cheered, she smiled hard, jumping up and down. Isaac caught her mid jump so the four would be able to trail down the upkept driveway.

Heather's party seemed to have an open door policy as drunk teenagers staggered in and out the porcelain doorway.

Inside, it was everything you'd expect an adolescent party to be. Loud, sweaty, smelling almost sickeningly of alcohol. That pretty much summed it up.

The birthday girl, a tall blonde with lot's of sparkly jewellery, recognised Stiles immediately, rushing over to him and planting her lips on his before the boy could get five words out.

Scott, Isaac and Lizzie stood behind the Stilinski, their expressions each carbon copies of the other.

Stiles couldn't have looked more confused at the unconventional greeting and had seemed to loose his grasp for words.

"Happy birthday!" Lizzie stuck her present out for Heather.

Heather pulled away from Stiles long enough to peer beside him at the short girl that she'd never seen in her life.

"Uhm," She snaked her arm around Stiles' frame to take the cube shaped box in her hands, "Thanks?"

And, with that, she turned her attention back to Stiles, "Come downstairs with me and help me pick out a bottle of wine?"

Stiles immediately took her up on her offer, allowing himself to be dragged away.

"Wow," Isaac remarked. He was all but finding the situation hilarious. Carefully, he intertwined his fingers with Lizzie's, "Let's go find the food, I'm starving."

The couple took a few steps forward before Lizzie swivelled back, conscious of Scott, "Do you want to come with?"

Scott shook his head, "No, no, you guys go. I'm just gonna hang out here."

Lizzie wasn't convinced and was prepared to pull him along with them but, her hungry boyfriend had other plans and she was soon pushing through the dancing bodies towards a room that looked like a kitchen.

Luckily for them, the kitchen counters, surrounded by party goers milling about, had bowls of chips and candy set out to appetize Heather's guests.

"Score," Isaac's eyes lit up as he rushed over to the spread, never once dropping Lizzie's hands. "I couldf eatf a damf horfe."

The pixie giggled, grinning up at Isaac as he tucked into the Doritos, "You didn't eat before we came?"

Isaac shook his head, making sure he swallowed before he answered, "I was out with Derek looking for Boyd and Erica again."

Lizzie hummed, the twinkle in her blue eyes fading at the thought of her missing friends. But, before she could voice her concerns, a girl, slender and gorgeous pushed in between her and Isaac.

Her dark hair was slicked back into a neat pony and her hour-glass frame was clad in a tight black dress that complimented her curves.

She had her eyes set on Isaac.

"Hey. I'm Destiny." She chirruped loudly, words slightly slurred and voice beautifully husky. She looked up at Isaac through her long eye-lashes, expecting a reply.

Isaac abruptly stopped chewing, his brow furrowed, "Hello?"

Destiny reached behind her to grab her sleek pony tail and lay it on her right shoulder, "You're not from here, huh?"

"We're from Beacon Hills," Lizzie informed her, oblivious to what was transparently going on. Destiny snapped her head towards her, unsmiling.

Lizzie shrunk back slightly as she felt herself being judged.

"Why don't you go get us some sodas?" Destiny sneered coldly.

Lizzie blinked absently, processing...and then...

"Sure! I'll be back."

She smiled, side-stepping around Destiny, completely missing Isaac's horrified face.

Wandering through a busy party was something that worried Lizzie, but, as she guided herself through, she distracted herself by quietly singing along and dancing to the music and as it stood, Heather happened to have great taste.

She wondered where she and Stiles were, Lizzie was sure they were somewhere doing something that Lizzie would never recover from walking in on.

Best to stay out of the bedrooms.

The soda station was where she ended up finding a rather lonely looking Scott, kicking around at the floor. He perked up tremendously at the sight of her.

"Well, hello there, Scott," Lizzie greeted him, inspecting the different varieties of cans stacked up on the dining table.

"Hey, where's Isaac?" Scott asked, looking around for the boy. It was weird, usually, where Lizzie went, Isaac went and vice versa.

"With Destiny." Lizzie stated simply, deciding on her types of soda.

"Who the hell is Destiny?" Scott scoffed, watching heedfully as Lizzie balanced a cluster of soda cans in her arms.

"Not sure actually." Lizzie's brow furrowed and she found herself wondering what had actually just happened.

As the girl began to retrace her steps (unsteadily, might I add), Scott kept her pace, arms outstretched in case she dropped one of her many beverages.

The pair came to a halt, Isaac Lahey appearing through the crowd out of no where, "There you are, Shit."

Scott's features hardened. He took his time scrutinizing his friend, "Who's Destiny?"

Isaac stumbled back, eyes widening alarmingly, "I have no idea but, she wouldn't leave me alone. I swear, that's it. She's gone now."

"But, the sodas," Lizzie spoke, crestfallen. Although, Isaac could only hear her voice as her face wasn't visible from behind her tower of cans, "She didn't specify what she wanted. Do you think she'd still like them?"

The heavy load in her arms was taking it's toll but swiftly removed, Isaac separated it from the small human.

"Let's put them down, hey?"

Isaac pulled the girl closer to him, wrapping his arms tight around her, and that was all it took for a confused Lizzie to cheer up again.

The boy gazed at the pixie girl, captivated by her presence. She stood there in his arms, a short and vibrant figure, her face adorned with a sprinkling of adorable freckles. Her infectious, bubbly personality radiated like a warm, inviting glow, and as he stared at her, his heart swelled with affection and admiration. He couldn't help but smile as he watched her, feeling fortunate to be in her presence.

Scott pulled out his phone, reading over the time, "Allison should be here any minute."

"Allison?" Isaac questioned, "I thought Stiles said no Allison."

Scott shook his head and clenched his fists. He was having Allison withdrawals.

"She said it was urgent," He check the time again, "Maybe she's outside."

No matter how hard he tried, no matter how far he stayed away, Scott McCall could not seem to get over Allison Argent. Everything about her pulled him to her, her soul being had a hard grip on him like they were attached by some invisible rope.

✯☾✯

School hallways were dangerous places. Every second you walked them, your senses were to be on high alert, aware of possible, six foot, football boys close to bumping into you or stick thin mean girls watching your every move.

Luckily for Lizzie, she was blissfully unaware of absolutely everything and took on the hallways without a care in the world.

She practically skipped from her art class towards her locker, which, this year, was not next Isaac but, instead, beside Lydia and Allison's.

She joined said girls, unloading her books and art supplies into her locker as she listened to the redhead and the brunette grumble about their failed attempt of convincing Derek that the bruising's a mysterious girl had made on their arms had something to do with Boyd and Erica's disappearance.

Allison and Lydia turned simultaneously to Lizzie but offered her nothing more than a smile before they continued their conversation. It then occurred to her that she was often unincluded from the girl's conversations.

It didn't happen often but in those few times when she was just, sort of forgotten, a sneering sense of deja vu took control of her thoughts and she was thrown back to freshman year.

Lizzie ran her tongue of her teeth as she watched Allison and Lydia talk, doubting herself. Was it her? Was she annoying? Did everyone else think she was? Did Isaac?

The sound of the locker next to her opening sucked her out of her spiral of insecurity.

"Hey Lizzie."

A blank expression stilled on Lizzie's face as she swivelled her head. She was met with scorching crimson hair, dark eyes and bright pink lipstick.

The girl in front of Lizzie took her confused silence as encouragement to carry on, "I just started yesterday,"

Lizzie blinked, disoriented, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to figure out where the hell she knew this girl from.

"Oh...that's nice," Lizzie sounded her words out slowly. Something felt familiar about the girl but, still, she couldn't quite but her finger on why that was.

"God, it was awful, I've been home-schooled all my life and i didn't know receptionists could be such bitches-"

"Annie!"

Realisation dawned on Lizzie's face and her finger flew out to point at 'Annie'.

Annie laughed, "Took you long enough,"

Annie, the cool DJ girl who saved her from a panic attack last year at the rave, stood grinning at her now.

"You go here?" Lizzie questioned, allowing Annie to see she was as slow as she was lovely.

"Yeah, got sick of my mom being my teacher." Annie shrugged cheerfully.

"Well, great." Lizzie tilted her head, admiring the girl.

"So, i just came to say hi but i have to run to math now," Annie shoved the last of her textbooks into her cramped locker and slammed it shut, flouncing off without another word to Lizzie or anyone.

And then she was alone again, her only company being the sound of Allison and Lydia's laughter.

╭── ⋅ ⋅ ── ✩ ── ⋅ ⋅ ──╮
heloooo!!
short one today! i hope you enjoyed
thanks for reading <333