.HUMBLE BEGINNINGS.
— season one - episode one —

GINNY MCCALL IS FASCINATED BY THE SUPERNATURAL WORLD. When she was younger, her Grandmother would come up with stories about werewolves, vampires, sirens, banshees, seers — every supernatural creature she could have thought of — to captivate Ginny's attention while Scott and Stiles spread mischief around the house.

Ginny was enchanted by these stories. Her Grandmother loved to tell her stories on sirens — encouraging the youngest McCall to sing a song for her after everyone. But, Ginny's favorites were ones of Valkyries — beautiful warrior women sent to the battlefield to retrieve slain soldiers to send to Valhalla. She loved hearing stories of women protecting themselves and others, becoming a beacon of hope and light to the fallen.

"Your voice," Her Grandmother would often say before she passed. "it's a gift."

"Shut up!" Scott groaned. He had been stuck trying to tie the net in his lacrosse stick for the past fifteen minutes but kept messing up once Ginny would start another song. He stuck his head out of his doorframe to glare at her. Her room was across from his — a bit further down the hall. "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Ginny dropped the brush she was using as a microphone on her bed before sticking her head out of her doorframe. "I need to practice, Scott!"

"I don't care!" He placed his hands on his hips. "Mom's not home, so I'm in charge—"

"So what?"

"So,"  He smiled — it was one Ginny grew tired of seeing every time, the one that yelled I'm the big brother, deal with it. "What I say goes. And I say, no singing past five."

"That's so not fair!"

He shrugged, walking back to his room. "Take it up with Mom!"

"But," She followed after him. "She's not here!"

"Not my problem!" The smile on his face left as they turned their heads to a creaking sound outside. "Did you hear that?"

"No, I just moved my head for no reason," Ginny answered, folding her arms in front of her chest as Scott rushed into his room. She watched as he hurriedly put on a sweater. "What are you doing?"

"Investigating the noise," He placed a hand on her shoulder and looked at her seriously. "Stay here."

Ginny rolled her eyes, pushing his arm away. "What do you think it was, a serial killer? It was probably a squirrel, Scott."

"I'm serious, Ginny." Scott grabbed the baseball bat close to his door and rushed down the stairs.

Ginny's eyes followed him as she muttered with a mocking tone. "I'm serious, Ginny."

When he was out of sight, she rushed over to her room, slipping on her sneakers and grabbing the nearest sweater she could find. It was a light purple one — she got it for Christmas from Stiles the year before, and it was her favorite one to wear.

Besides the fact that it was given to her by the guy she had been crushing on since the seventh grade, it was her favorite color — a detail that warmed, and pained, her heart knowing he had that in mind when he picked it out for her.

That was the thing about Stiles, he remembered small details like that. If he hadn't been so irrevocably in love with Lydia Martin since the seventh grade, Ginny would've allowed herself more pleasure in loving the sweater.

She rushed down the stairs, zipped her sweater up, and placed her hoodie on as she snuck out the backdoor — the same route Scott had taken. As she turned the corner, she heard Scott talking, then a different voice — one she knew all too well.

"Two joggers found a body in the woods."

It wasn't the most romantic thing she'd ever heard — but it wasn't the message that sent a flutter to her heart, it was the voice. She watched as Stiles managed to somehow land on his feet after hanging upside-down from the front port's roof.

"A dead body?" Scott asked.

"No, a body of water — yes, dumb-ass, a body of water." Ginny placed a hand over her lips, trying her best to stop a chuckle from escaping past them as Stiles hopped onto their front porch. Any insult to her brother instantly made her want to laugh — luckily, this time she didn't. Instead, she waited behind the corner — waiting for the perfect opportunity to announce her presence.

Scott continued. "You mean like, murdered?"

"Nobody knows yet. Just that it was a girl, probably in her 20s.

"Hold on, if they found the body, then what are they looking for?"

"That's the best part. They only found half." Stiles beamed with excitement. "We're going."

"Can I come?"

"AHH!" Scott and Stiles screamed as they jumped up in fear, turning to face — what they thought — was a serial killer until their eyes landed on Ginny, who was laughing so hard she held a hand on the house's wall to keep her standing.

Stiles placed a hand on his heart. "Jesus, Gins—"

"I thought I told you to stay inside."

Ginny shrugged as she approached the two. "You said to stay here, but here is a relative term and—"

Stiles lightly chuckled at Ginny's words — it made a smile grow on her lips as she looked at him — while Scott rolled his eyes, unamused by her argument, and began to walk toward Stiles' car. "You're not going."

Stiles sighed and gave Ginny a sympathetic look. "Sorry, Ginny."

She frowned at him with pleading eyes. "You're not gonna try to convince him?"

"I-It could be dangerous—"

She quirked a brow. "Then how come you guys get to go?"

"Fair enough," Stiles turned to Scott. "Can she come?"

He opened the passenger-side door. "No."

Ginny took a step forward, glaring at her brother. "I'll tell Mom."

He turned to her and scoffed. "You wouldn't."

"I would." She crossed her arms in front of her chest, subtly nudging Stiles with her elbow.

"She would." Stiles nodded. "You might as well just bring her along, Scott. You can't leave her all alone in the house."

"Nice," Ginny whispered.

"Thanks." 

"Ugh!" Scott groaned, moving the passenger seat forward for him to go in the backseat — knowing the passenger seat was practically claimed by Ginny since the second Stiles got his driver's license. "Fine, she can come!"

"Yes!" Ginny smiled, giving Stiles a hug. "Thanks, Stiles."

"Of course." He grinned, lightly ruffling her hair as he spoke. "Can't let my partner in crime down."

As he walked away, laughing a little mischievously, Ginny fixed her hair with lovestruck eyes following his figure. She sighed deeply to herself. "I'm never leaving the friend zone."

☃︎

Ginny stood in front of the car, staring at the sign in front of her as Scott and Stiles got out of the car.

"BEACON HILLS PRESERVE," it read. "NO ENTRY AFTER DARK."

She worriedly looked at the two. "A-Are we sure about this?" Scott scoffed. "What?"

"You were the one begging to come!"

She turned to Stiles. "What if your Dad finds us?"

Stiles shook his head. "That's not gonna happen." Ginny squinted her eyes at him. "If it does, just don't say anything. Okay? We can't have Ginny-the-Good exposing the plan."

She quirked her brow. "There's a plan?"

He smiled as he shook his head, clicking his flashlight on. "Let's go."

As Stiles and Ginny took a few steps into the woods, Scott spoke up — dropping the tough-guy act he had on before. "We're seriously doing this?"

Stiles rolled his eyes. "You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town."

"But nothing ever does happen in this town," Ginny mumbled.

"Exactly."

"I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow." Scott reasoned.

"Right, 'cause sitting on the bench is such grueling effort."

"No, because I'm playing this year." Ginny scoffed. Scott's head snapped towards hers. "I mean it, Ginny. It's not like how you don't go to the auditions you're practicing for."

Stiles gasped as Ginny continued walking forward before turning around to face the two. "It's not my fault I have stage fright."

It was the first-grade talent show — Ginny was set to perform after Stiles and Scott's magic show, but Scott and Stiles had "warned" Ginny to remember to not stare at the audience for too long, or else their eyes could come off their sockets. While it was a nightmarish thought that plagued six-year-old Ginny's mind, she couldn't help but worry about all the things that could go wrong whenever she'd stop on a stage.

"We apologized for that," Stiles and Scott said in unison before the latter admitted with a softer tone. "I didn't think you'd still be afraid."

"I-I'm not." Ginny lied, taking a few steps forward. Behind her, Stiles held out three fingers, then two, then one. "It's totally fine to have stage fright even if it's not for the exact scary reasons, okay?"

"Okay." They chorused.

They walked forward a few steps before Scott added. "I'm making the first line."

"Hey," Stiles grinned. "that's the spirit. Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one."

"So," Scott rolled his eyes. "Just out of curiosity, which half of the body are we looking for?"

Stiles paused in his steps for a moment, making the McCalls stop to start at him. "Huh!" Stiles laughed before continuing forward. "I didn't even think about that."

"What if the killer is still out here?" Ginny joked, continuing to walk forward — unaware that Stiles and Scott had stopped in their steps.

Scott turned to Stiles, who shrugged. "Also something I didn't think about."

Scott lightly pushed him. "Dude!"

"What?" He raised his hands in surrender. "I didn't know she'd tag along!"

"Partner in crime?" Ginny recalled as she turned her body toward the hill in front of her — Scott, not wanting to get involved, began to climb it.

Stiles stood beside her, and from her peripheral, she saw he was looking down at her. "That came out wrong, Gins." She hesitantly turned to meet his eyes, and instantly, she melted. The worry swirling in his eyes made her swoon — it was worry over her like he couldn't bear the thought of her being upset with him. "You know you're my favorite McCall."

From halfway up the hill, Scott wheezed. "Thanks."

"No problem, Buddy."

"L-Let's just climb the hill." Ginny nervously smiled at him, feeling a blush burning across her cheeks. Without looking in front of her, she took a step — and just as she was about to fall forward, Stiles grabbed a hold of her arm and pulled her close. Her face lightly bumped against his chest.

If her cheeks were burning before, they were in an inferno now. She was worried he'd be able to feel her heart drumming its way out of her chest. She stood still, in disbelief, unsure if she was actually living this moment or dreaming it.

"Careful, Clumsy." Stiles chuckled before he turned serious — he grabbed her shoulders and leaned down to match her height. Ginny felt her eyes slightly widen at how close they were as he peered into her eyes. "You okay?"

Before she could answer, Scott wheezed from the top. "Maybe the severe asthmatic should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?"

Stiles' hold on Ginny's shoulders dropped once her brother spoke, and he took a small step back — it snapped Ginny into reality. She ran a hand through her hair as she stared at Stiles — perhaps with a bit more longing than she'd care to admit — as he responded back to Scott. "We're going!" He turned to her again, and she instantly averted her eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," She nodded, quickly offering him a small smile before climbing up the hill. "A small trip won't kill me. Maybe a killer on the loose, but—"

"Don't say that." Stiles shook his head, failing to prevent a small chuckle from escaping his lips. "We won't let a killer get you."

As they reached the top, she stared at her brother, who was leaning against a tree trying to catch his breath. "Well..."

Stiles lightly grabbed her arm and leaned down. "Okay, I won't let the killer get you."

As he walked toward Scott, the blood rushed back to Ginny's cheeks. While she knew, without a doubt, Stiles and Scott were probably not the best people to call for protection, they'd always be there for her in a heartbeat.

"Ginny, get down," Scott whispered — knocking her out of her thoughts. As Stiles clicked his flashlight off, she joined them on the ground and groaned, looking at her sweater with a sad sigh. "We'll get it cleaned at home," Scott promised.

She smiled at him before the trio looked forward — in the distance, there were flashlights slowly approaching their destination. Stiles stood up. "Hey, come on!"

"Stiles!" Scott called out, watching him run with his sister close behind him. "Ginny!"

"Come on, Scott." Ginny urged, trying to stay out of the other flashlights' sight. She heard Scott shaking his inhaler, it made her turn back for a moment — instead of seeing her brother, she saw the empty woods.

Her heart dropped.

"Stiles!"

Stiles immediately stopped in his steps and turned to face her. "What—?"

She stopped in front of him, panting. "I think—"

The sudden presence of a dog barking, along with a flashlight being shone into their eyes, made them fall backward. Disoriented, the two scrambled backward as a voice spoke. "Hold it right there!"

"Don't kill us!" Ginny begged, placing her hands up in surrender.

"Hang on," The voice sighed in defeat — instantly, Ginny knew it was Stiles' Dad. She had heard that sigh many times, usually directed at something Scott and Stiles did. Only rarely was she on the opposite side of the sigh.  His words made the dog and its handler with the flashlight back away from the two. "One of these delinquents belongs to me."

"Dad," Stiles waved as Ginny blinked — trying to rid her sight of the black spots. "How are you doing?"

Ginny smiled and waved. "Hi, M-Mr. Stilinski."

"Hi, Ginny." He sighed and turned to his son. "So, do you, uh, listen in to all my phone calls?"

"No." Stiles shook his head, coming to a stand before helping Ginny stand up. "...not the boring ones."

Sheriff looked into the woods. "Now, where's your usual partner in crime?"

"Who, Scott?" Stiles chuckled as he shook his head. "Scott's home."

"Okay, then." He turned his attention to the girl he always saw as a daughter. "We'll do this the easy way. Ginny?"

"Hmm?" She hummed, keeping her eyes down.

"Where's Scott?"

"H-He..." Her eyes went to Stiles for help.

He faced his Dad. "Scott's home, Dad. He said he wanted—"

"Uh-uh." Sheriff Stilinski's eyes stayed on Ginny. "I'm asking Ginny. Where's your brother?"

She pursed her lips. "Can I get a lawyer?"

"You're not going to jail."

"Oh, okay." She nodded. "So, can I go home?"

"Where's Scott?" Sheriff reminded, bringing a hand to his hip.

"Oh!" She smiled, figuring out what Stiles was going to say. "He said he wanted to stay home to get a good night's sleep for the first day back at school tomorrow. He's hoping to make the first line, so he really needs that beauty sleep, huh?"

"It's just us," Stiles assured, wrapping an arm around Ginny's shoulder — she lightly froze under his arm. "In the woods. Alone."

Ginny slowly looked up at him and whispered. "I think that implies something completely different than what you think it might."

"What does it—? Oh..."

"Scott, you out there?!" Sheriff Stilinski called out to the woods, flashing his light around the trees as Ginny facepalmed at Stiles' realization. She felt an embarrassed blush begin to form on her cheeks as he slowly unwrapped his arm around her.

It was obvious he didn't see her like that — it was moments like these that would remind her of that. To him, she was just Scott's little sister and nothing more. But to Ginny, he was the guy she'd go running to if Scott wasn't available, the one she'd stay up studying on the phone or library with, the one who could sense when she was feeling off before she could, the one that was somehow always there for her.

"Scott?"

"Are you okay?" Stiles asked. "Or is Ginny-the-Good feeling bad?"

"I'm okay." Ginny nodded, forcing a smile on her lips. "I'm just glad I didn't ruin the plan."

"Ginny—"

"All right, you two." Sheriff Stilinski sighed as he walked up to them before grabbing Stiles by the back of the neck. The latter groaned as they walked forward. "I'm gonna walk you back to your car. And you and I are gonna have a conversation about something called invasion of privacy. Then, you're gonna drive Ginny back home."

"Sorry, Sheriff." Ginny rubbed her arms as she heard the sound of faint thunder — she looked behind her, hoping Scott would get home okay. With a sudden realization, she turned back to the Sheriff. "Y-You're not gonna call my Mom, are you?"

"Oh," Sheriff cringed. He released his hold on Stiles' neck to offer her a pat on the back. "You know I have to Ginny."

She hung her head low. "Yeah..."

"Well," He shrugged, seeing how guilty she looked. "How about we keep this between us, okay?" Stiles' scoff turned his attention back to his son. "Not a word from you til we get to your car."

"But—"

"Not a word. It's bad enough you dragged Ginny into this."

Stiles' mouth fell open as Ginny, from behind Sheriff Stilinski, pointed and acted like she was laughing. "But—!"

"Not a word!"

☃︎

"Technically," Stiles reminded as he pulled up in front of her house. "You didn't lie to my Dad, so Ginny-the-Good shouldn't feel guilty."

"But I do," Ginny admitted, covering her face with her hands. "He trusted me, I-I know he trusts me, and I didn't tell the truth."

"Well, you told him a statement that was true." Stiles reiterated. "It's not like you said Scott's at home — I did. And you didn't ruin any plan, Ginny — we didn't even have one!"

She slowly uncovered her face as Stiles got out of the car — her eyes following him as he went over to her car door and opened it for her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes," He nodded, standing to the side for her to get out. "So, you're sure you're okay?"

"Yeah." Ginny nodded, looking up with a smile. Her face was a little rosy as she stared at him, trying her best to remind herself that she was helpless in a one-sided crush and that he would never be interested. It was better to face the reality than spend another year in delusion. "Thanks for the drive home."

"No problem." As she began to walk to the front door, he called out. "Hey, uh..." She turned around, hopeful he would say something — anything — that gave her a clue that her crush wasn't one-sided.  "...let me know if Scott gets home okay?"

"Will do." Ginny gave him a thumbs up before walking up the steps, unlocking her door, and waving at Stiles before entering her house. When she closed the door behind her, she leaned against it and covered her face with her hands. "Starting tomorrow, you will find someone else. Pull yourself together, Ginny. Come on—"

"Ginny?" Scott asked, walking down the steps to greet her.

"H-Hey, what's—?" Her eyes widened at the pool of blood on Scott's shirt. She rushed over. "Oh, my God. What happened?"

"I'm okay—"

"Oh, God. Oh, God." She hesitantly leaned closer to it with widened eyes. "Why is there so much blood?!"

"I was—"

"Are you dying?!"

"Why would you think that? No," She gave him a worried look like she was about to cry. "I'm not dying," He pulled her into a hug. "Breathe, Gin-Gin. I promise I'm okay."

She took deep breaths. "Are you sure?"

He slowly released her and let out a large sigh. "Yes."

She folded her hands in front of her chest. "That didn't sound—"

"I am, Ginny," Scott assured, raising his hands in surrender as he walked toward his bedroom. "I cleaned and bandaged it, I'm okay."

"Okay." Ginny nodded, leaning against the doorframe as Scott sat down on his bed.

"Don't forget to put your sweater in the dirty laundry."

"Okay." She moved like a turtle, slowly backing away from the door — keeping her eyes on Scott. "So, I guess I'll just... go?"

"Do you want to know what happened?"

"Of course I do!" She beamed, running in and jumping onto his bed to take a seat. "Tell me everything!"

☃︎

"Okay, let's see this thing." Stiles bounced on his feet as Ginny tapped her foot on the ground, annoyed at what transpired when she and Scott arrived at school. As they parked their bikes, Jackson opened his door and hit Scott — then claimed Scott should be the one to look out because he could've damaged his paint job.

"I just don't understand stupid people." She sighed. "He clearly saw you."

"Popular people try to get away with everything, Gins — Ooh!" Stiles moved his eyes from Ginny to the sight of Scott's bandage and cringed. He reached a hand out to touch it and Scott flinched, putting his shirt down. Stiles turned to Ginny, who was wincing. "You saw this last night?"

"It was bleeding a lot more, but yeah." She shivered as they started walking. "It was creepy."

"It was too dark to see much," Scott began. "But I'm pretty sure it was a wolf."

Stiles furrowed his brows. "A wolf bit you?"

"Uh-huh."

"What?" Ginny asked once Stiles started to shake his head.

"No," Stiles chuckled. "Not a chance."

"I heard a wolf howling," Scott added, and Stiles continued to shake his head.

"No, you didn't."

"What do you mean 'No, I didn't'? How do you know what I heard?"

Stiles laughed. "Because California doesn't have wolves, okay? Not in like sixty years."

"Really?" The McCalls asked in unison.

"Yes, really. There's no wolves in California."

"Until now," Ginny argued.

"Yeah," Stiles nodded. "They wanted to come here for a nice vacation."

"All right, well," Scott chuckled as Ginny lightly nudged Stiles' arm. "If you don't believe me about the wolf, then you're definitely not gonna believe me when I tell you I found the body."

Stiles jumped with excitement and reached for his shoulder with a smile. "Are you kidding me?"

"Wait, what?" Ginny snapped her head to Scott. "You didn't tell me that yesterday."

"I'm gonna have nightmares for a month." Scott cringed. "How was I supposed to tell you that before we went to bed?"

She folded her arms in front of her chest and grumbled. "You have a point."

"Oh, God," Stiles grinned, looking down at Ginny. "Right? I mean, t-that is freaking awesome. I mean, this is seriously gonna be the best thing that's happened to this town since..." Ginny felt her heartbeat quicken as his eyes stayed on hers before his eyes flickered to something behind him, he cleared his throat. "T-The birth of Lydia Martin."

Of course, Ginny thought, adjusting the strap of her bag on her shoulder. She looked away and glanced at the trees on the school grounds as Stiles' eyes followed Lydia, and Scott lightly laughed at his friend's antics.

"Hey, Lydia," Ginny could hear the smile in his words. "You look... like you're gonna ignore me."

Ginny spoke softly as she started to walk away from them. "It's time for class. I'll see you guys later." Although the two boys said their goodbyes, Ginny didn't hear them as she walked inside, trying her best to not let it ruin her day.

Stiles' eyes stayed focused on the door she went through. Scott, sure he had been distracted by Lydia, nudged him. "You okay?"

"Did she look upset?" Stiles furrowed his brows.

"Who, Lydia?"

"Y-Yeah." Stiles cleared his throat, breaking his concentration on the door to look at Scott, who shrugged. "Um, you're the cause of this, you know."

Scott chuckled. "What?"

"Dragging me down to your nerd depths."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm a nerd by association."

"Okay."

"I've been scarlet-nerded by you."

☃︎

As Ginny walked out of her class, she released a large sigh and began to aimlessly walk down the hall — unsure of what she'd do for fifteen minutes until she heard boots clicking behind her. "Hey!" She turned to face the tall, dark-haired girl she saw in her class. "You're Ginny, right?"

Ginny furrowed her brows. "Yeah?"

"You're in my French class." The girl grinned and Ginny nodded — when she realized she didn't remember her name, she extended a hand. "I-I'm Allison."

"Right, sorry." Ginny nodded, her face turning red. "Nice to meet you."

"I, um," She brought the slightly crumbled-up paper in her hand to attention. "I can't find my locker — and I swear I tried to find it before class, but I ended up walking in a few minutes late—"

"With no luck of finding it?" Ginny guessed, and her assumptions were proved correct when Allison nodded. "Yeah, these halls can do that to newbies." Ginny joked, taking a look at the page. "Oh, I know where this is — I'll show you."

"Thank you so much." Allison sighed in relief as she followed behind Ginny. "I really like your sweater."

"Thanks." Ginny beamed — instantly, her eyes peered down to the shoes she was admiring in class. "I like your boots."

"Thanks!" Allison grinned. Once they approached the lockers, Ginny waved at the one that was hers. "This one's it?"

"Yup." The bell rang. As students filtered out of their classes, Ginny laughed. "And luckily, we found it on time. Or else, we would've had to fight our way through them."

"Yeah," Allison nodded. "I kind of had to on my way to French class."

"What a day you've had, huh?" They chuckled. As Allison opened her locker door, Ginny could tell something behind her caught Allison's eye. She, failing to be conspicuous, turned around and quirked her brow at her brother who was down the hall, then went back to face Allison, who closed the door to her locker to lightly lean against it as she smiled at Scott. "Do you know my brother?"

"What?" Allison's gaze broke. "T-That's your brother?"

"Yeah."

Allison grinned with piqued interest. "And who's the one looking at you?"

Ginny turned around with furrowed brows, trying to spot who Allison was talking about all to no avail, only noticing Stiles and August talking to her brother — while she hoped that he was the one looking at her, she knew it wouldn't be possible. Not in a million years. "What are you talking about?"

"The one next to your brother—"

"That jacket is absolutely killer!" Lydia said, joining the two with a smile as Ginny stared at Allison with confusion. "Where'd you get it?"

"My mom was a buyer for a boutique back in San Francisco."

"And you are my new best friend." Lydia turned her attention to the girl she had once considered her best friend. "Guinevere."

Ginny faked a bow. "Liddie."

As Lydia was about to talk again, Jackson appeared and wrapped his arm around his girlfriend's waist. She giggled. "Hey, Jackson."

While the two shared a kiss, Ginny looked at Allison. "He wasn't looking at me, by the way." Allison quirked a brow, which made her shake her head. "Trust me."

Before she could respond, Lydia spoke up and looked at the two. "So, this weekend, there's a party."

"A party?" Allison quirked a brow.

"Yeah. Friday night." He looked at the two. "You two should come."

"Uh, I can't." Allison cringed, and when Ginny gave her a look — one that screamed help me! — she cleared her throat. "W-We can't. Um, I have a family night this Friday, and I know Ginny's going to be busy with her brother. But, thanks for asking."

"Y-Yeah," Ginny nodded. "Thanks."

"You sure?" Jackson quirked a brow at the two. "I mean, everyone's going after the scrimmage.

"You mean like football?"

"Lacrosse." Ginny corrected.

"Football's a joke in Beacon," Jackson added as Ginny noticed Allison sneak a glance at her brother. "The sport here is lacrosse. We've won the state championship for the past three years."

Lydia grinned as she fixed Jackson's hair. "Because of a certain team captain."

"Well, we have practice in a few minutes. That is if you two don't have anywhere else..."

Allison stammered, pointing behind her. "Well, I was gonna—"

"Perfect." Lydia grinned as she grabbed Allison and Ginny's wrists. "You're coming."

The two gave each other a look — unsure why they were being taken away but knew there was no fighting the will of Lydia Martin. When she saw Allison turn her head to look at her brother, Ginny chuckled. The sound snapped Allison's head to her. "What?"

"Nothing," Ginny chuckled as she shook her head. "I just know I am definitely teasing my brother later."

☃︎

"I'll be right back." Lydia grinned, waving to Jackson as Allison and Ginny took their seats on the bleachers.

"Okay." Allison nodded, then turned her attention to her friend. "Liddie? Guinevere?"

"We used to be friends growing up until she got super popular freshman year," Ginny informed as she reached into her bag and pulled out a KitKat bar. "Couldn't keep being friends with me, so I got the boot. We're still... amicable." She pursed her lips for a moment as she thought it over. "Well... amicable is a strong word."

"Huh." Allison quirked a brow, spotting the rest of the lacrosse boys entering the field. "Okay, then — what about the guy that was definitely looking at you?"

"He wasn't." Ginny laughed. "He was... looking at someone else."

"Who?" Allison asked before her eyes followed Ginny's — Lydia. "Oh."

"Yeah." Ginny nodded. Although she knew better than to admit Stiles' lifelong crush to someone she hardly knew, it was obvious to anyone, except Lydia, that Stiles had a massive crush on her.

Allison tilted her head. "How sure are you?"

"What?"

"How sure are you that he likes her?"

"Um," Ginny furrowed her brows. "As sure as the sky is blue?"

"Maybe you're color blind?"

"Trust me," Ginny faced Allison as the boys, excluding Scott, began to line up. "He likes her. He mentions her, like, all the time and—"

"I'm back," Lydia announced as she took a seat next to Allison. "What'd I miss?"

"Nothing much." Allison shrugged, eyes turning to Scott in the goalie position as Ginny unwrapped her chocolate. "What's his name?"

"Him?" Lydia tilted her head, acting clueless. "I'm not sure who he is."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Scott McCall."

Lydia turned to Allison. "Why?"

"He's in my English class." Allison answered, turning her head to the game once the referee blew the whistle. The girls watched as Scott, disoriented, held his head seemingly in pain before he fell backward once one of the balls hit his helmet.

"Oh..." Ginny cringed. "That's gotta hurt."

"Is he okay?"

"Um..." She waited for him to stand before reaching into her bag for another KitKat. "Yeah, he's fine... I think." 

They watched as another player threw a ball his way — Scott, by some miracle, effortlessly caught it. From the bleachers, Ginny could tell Scott was surprised by his own actions. From then on, Scott perfectly blocked every player's attempt to make it in. She chuckled as Allison spoke. "He seems like he's pretty good."

"Yeah," Lydia nodded. "Very good."

"Oh, shit..." Ginny muttered, watching Jackson's number walk to the front of the line. He looked angry by the way he gripped the lacrosse stick in his hands and twisted it — treating it as if it was Scott's neck. Ginny's eyes — like everyone else's on the bleachers — flickered between Jackson and Scott. She was at the edge of her seat as Jackson ran up, jumped, and threw the ball to the net.

And somehow, Scott caught it.

"Oh, my God! You did it, Scott!" Ginny cheered, standing up in excitement at the same time Stiles did.

Stiles turned to her with a smile and gestured to Scott. "Who would've thought?!" He laughed before looking around to the rest of the cheering crowd. "That is my friend!"

Ginny lightly blushed and took her seat as Lydia stood up to cheer. "Whoo!"

"Huh," Allison whispered to Ginny as Lydia was distracted cheering. "So, am I the only one who saw him look directly at you?"

"No," Ginny responded back as her eyes trailed over to Stiles. She pursed her lips, trying to stop Allison's words from seeping into her heart and bringing her hopes up.

But as Stiles turned around to smile at her, they did.

☃︎

    As much as Ginny would have loved to join Stiles and Scott on their adventure to find Scott's inhaler in the woods, she had, earlier on in the week, accepted a shift at the diner where she worked.

    The diner was a beautiful and beloved place for the residents of Beacon Hills. What Ginny knew of the diner was limited — she knew it was opened in the early 1970s by a woman named Mila and was a particularly popular area amongst couples of the time. The diner was a family establishment that was later sold to Alan Deaton, Scott's boss, after the Hale fire. Although Deaton was technically the boss, he shared the responsibility with a woman named Maeve Sloan.

    That, along with the fact that the Sheriff loved to dine there — perhaps it was because the area reminded him of his wife, who loved to eat there and would often drag the family there for dinners — was all she knew.

Atop the establishment, in bright neon lights, read "CARPE NOCTEM," and it was hard to miss the spacious dining area. Because of it, the diner often had a lot of customers no matter what time of day it was.

"I'm working, Stiles—"

"I'm just asking for you to see if he acts weird." Stiles watched as Ginny balanced five plates on a large serving tray. "Are you sure I can't—?"

"Last time you did, we broke five plates." Ginny reminded, chuckling at the face he made — it was a slightly defeated look that one would get if they were told they were clumsy for the first time. But Stiles, if anything, was reminded of that ailment daily. "Who's clumsy now?"

"Still you."

"Humph." She shrugged and walked away — although she would've loved to prove him wrong, she was the reason the diner stopped requiring the servers to wear rollerskates. With a big smile on her face, she approached a table of five, trying her best to ignore Stiles' footsteps behind her. "Order up."

As she placed the last plate on the table and walked away, Stiles was instantly following her again. "All I'm saying is—"

"You want me to babysit my brother?"

"Yes. Look," He softly grabbed her arm and dragged her into a small booth, away from the other servers rushing around the diner. Once seated, he looked at her with thought-filled eyes. "I-I'm not fully convinced what's happening with him, but there is definitely something happening."

Ginny pursed her lips, eyes darting between his. "And we're definitely ruling out lycanthropy?"

"For the time being, yes."

"Okay." She sighed. "I'll... report you of anything that happens."

He smiled — that alone made Ginny softly melt into her seat. "Great."

"Great." She nodded, then, remembering she was working, cleared her throat and pointed behind him. "I-I need to—"

"Oh, right." He, in trying to smoothly exit the booth, managed to land on the floor before jumping to a stand. "I'm okay."

"And I'm clumsy?" Ginny quirked a brow at him as he scratched the back of his neck. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Go..." He awkwardly gave her a thumbs-up. "Kick some serving butt?"

Ginny chuckled. "Okay." She walked away, beginning to fill her tray with empty plates as she heard Stiles' footsteps rush behind her again. "What happened?"

"Are you working Friday?"

"Yes," She turned to face him and lightly blushed at how close he had been standing. "Why?"

"I thought—"

"Stiles!" Sheriff Stilinski called out with a grin. He wasn't expecting to see him at the diner, but as he entered the establishment more, his smile slowly dropped at realizing he was chatting with Ginny and he had interrupted. "I, uh, found us a table..."

Stiles took a step back. "Thanks, Dad."

Ginny waved at the Sheriff, who waved back, before facing Stiles again. "W-What were you going to say?"

"Oh," Stiles cleared his throat. "I just wanted to know if you needed a ride to the party on Friday — I didn't know if your Mom would give Scott the keys to her car or if you'd want to ride with him and Allison, so..."

"Oh," Ginny masked her disappointment with a smile as she shook her head. "Well, you know me, I don't really like parties either way, so I thought I might as well pick up another shift."

"Right." Stiles nodded, then pointed behind him towards his father. "I gotta..."

"Oh!" Ginny grinned, rushing over to the front desk before walking back to Stiles. She passed him two menus. "I know you two probably have the menu memorized by now, but..."

"You can never go wrong with giving us menus," Stiles said, grabbing the two menus. "We'll always find something new to eat."

Ginny lightly laughed, knowing there were a few changes done to the menu every now and then, but not enough to have many new choices for the Stilinskis. As she heard the bell ring, signaling another order was ready to be served, she pointed behind her. "I guess I'll go... kick some serving ass now?"

Stiles shook his head at her with a smile. "Good luck."

☃︎

    "What do you mean he wasn't in bed in the morning?"

    "I mean, he wasn't in bed in the morning!"

    "Ginny!" Coach Finstock called as he stared at Ginny, who held her hands firmly on her eyes. "What are you doing in the boys locker room?"

    "Chatting," She shrugged. Although she couldn't see him, her head moved between Coach Finstock and Stiles. "I—"

    "I... don't want to know." He replied with a sigh before walking away.

    "Okay," Stiles repeated again. "What do you mean—"

    "Why are you focusing on this when you said the fiber analysis was wolf hair? Hello?!"

    "I just think it's important, too, okay!" He raised a hand to his forehead. "Oh, God... oh, God."

    "What?"

"We have to find Scott."

"Then, let's go — and this time, can you lead me out of here?"

"Yeah," Stiles placed his hands on her shoulders before guiding her out of the locker room, remembering how much she struggled to walk inside in the first place. "So, is there a reason you didn't call me when you found out?"

"I woke up at five in the morning, Stiles."

"Why did you wait so long to tell me?"

She chuckled. "Am I supposed to call you no matter what?"

"Yes!"

"What if you're asleep?"

"Doesn't matter."

"If you're—?"

"Doesn't matter!"

"Okay!" As much as she tried to hold back a smile, she couldn't. The urgency in his voice as he spoke to her made it impossible to. In the moment, she felt like Stiles' partner, like they were trying to solve a case together. It reminded her of how Stiles, without hesitation, was always there for her — even as she walked down a hallway blindly, Stiles acted as her eyes. Once she felt the sun on her skin, and Stiles continuing to guide her, she tilted her head. "Stiles?"

"Yup?"

"Are we outside?"

"Yup."

"...Stiles."

"Oh!" He released his hold on her shoulders and surveyed the lacrosse field as she uncovered her eyes and squinted them — adjusting to the brightness of the sun.

"Do you see him?"

"No—oh!" He pointed him out to Ginny before running after him after she gave a nod, assuring him it was fine for him to go. "Scott! Scott, wait up!" After taking a moment to orient herself, she followed after Stiles. When they were in front of Scott, Ginny smacked his arm.

"Where the hell were you in the morning?"

Scott rubbed his arm. "Ow!"

"Ginny," Stiles said in a tone that implied there was something else, something more important, to discuss.

"Guys," Scott sighed. "I'm playing the first elimination. Can't it wait?"

"No," The two chorused before Stiles placed a hand on Scott's shoulder. "Just hold on, okay? I overheard my Dad on the phone. The fiber analysis came back from the lab in LA. They found animal hairs on the body from the woods!"

"Stiles, I gotta go."

"Wait!" Ginny pleaded as Scott grabbed his helmet, narrowly missing Stiles and Ginny's attempt to stop him. "You have to hear him out."

"You're not gonna believe what the animal was!" Stiles yelled out to him in hopes that it would make Scott turn around and hear them out — it didn't. As Stiles watched Scott join the other players on the field, he spoke in a lower voice. "It was a wolf."

"Well..." Ginny shrugged as Coach Finstock blew his whistle, informing all players to huddle up. "At least we tried to tell him."

"I'll tell him later once I do more research," Stiles added, staring at the huddle with a sense of dread.

Ginny, sensing his nerves, placed a hand on his back. He turned his eyes to her. "You got this, Stiles."

He nodded nervously. "Thanks." As he was about to walk forward, she grabbed his arm. "What?"

"Didn't your Dad have a serious talk with you about listening to his phone calls?"

He chuckled. "Yeah."

"Okay," She nodded, letting him go. "Carry on."

☃︎

    "Winnie," Melissa McCall whispered as Scott prepared himself for his date — she leaned against the doorframe of Ginny's room. The sound made Ginny look slightly higher in her mirror to make eye contact with her Mom— she had been brushing her hair, preparing for her shift at the diner, when her Mom made her presence known. She turned around, setting the brush aside, and walked over. "Is this a party or a date?"

    "A date... at a party," Ginny answered. "She's pretty. Her name is Allison, she's in my French class—"

    "What are you telling her?" Scott worriedly rushed over from his bedroom to Ginny's. He had recently gotten out of the shower — he had a towel wrapped around his waist and his hair was soaked. Melissa hugged Ginny to her side as Scott entered. "What was she saying?"

    "All good things." Ginny raised her hands in surrender.

    "And those good things," Melissa tossed the car keys to Scott, who caught them in the air. "Are what's getting you the car tonight."

    "Thank you." Scott smiled, extending his arms to Ginny, who slowly left her mother's hug and began to back away. "Come here, little sister."

    "Get away from me!" Ginny cried, rushing away from him as he made a move to grab her — that attempt, however, was blocked by their mother, who held out an arm to prevent Scott from walking forward.

    "Okay, okay." She chuckled, then gave Scott a look. "Now, we don't need to have a talk, do we?"

    "Mom," He groaned. "I'm not having the safe sex talk with you and—"

    Melissa let out a laugh of disbelief as Ginny pulled a face of disgust. "Oh, my God. No, I meant about keeping the tank full. Give me those back."

As she grabbed the keys out of his hands, he sighed. "Are you serious?"

"You bet your ass I am serious." She folded her arms in front of her chest.

"Nice, Scott." Ginny exhaled. The two siblings took a seat on Ginny's bed, knowing they had just launched their mother into a rant.

"I'm not gonna end up on some reality television show with a pregnant 16-year-old. Come on!"

☃︎

    Stiles, after checking on Allison to make sure she got home safe, felt a sense of dread rush over him as he thought over Ginny. The diner was close enough to the woods and the party that Derek Hale could have stopped by and done something.

    What that something was, he was unsure of. The only thing that occupied his mind as he quickly drove through the streets and messily parked at the diner's parking area was Ginny's safety.

    It was nearing closing time. The diner looked almost completely isolated if it hadn't been for Maeve at the front bar taking inventory, a few customers finishing up their meals, and a few noises in the kitchen. So, when Stiles — barging in quite loudly that the bell atop the door rang almost blaringly — entered, all eyes were on him.

    "H-Hey, Maeve," He greeted — his feet looked as if they were dragging or melting with each step he took until he collapsed in front of the bar. "Where's Ginny?"

    "Your friend came by to drop her home," Maeve spoke in-between chewing her gum. "Said his name was Derek?"

    Stiles' heart dropped. He straightened up, alerted, and began to pace. "W-What? When did he get here? Do you know if—"

    "I'm messin' with ya." She laughed, wiping a tear from her face. "She's in the back sorting inventory."

He didn't take another second. The second he heard she was in the back, he practically made a sprint for it — narrowly swerving through the paths of other servers. He ran through the kitchen and made a bee-line to the supply closet in the back where he threw the door open, and there she was.

Ginny, frightened by the sudden noise of the door slamming open, jumped and placed a hand to her heart. "Jesus, Stiles! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" She placed down her notepad and faced him with a smile. "How was the party? Did Scott do something?"

Stiles responded with silence for a moment — then, taking a moment to blink and rationalize his thoughts, he responded with a clear voice. "N-No, um, I didn't plan on giving you a heart attack today—"

"I'm good for tomorrow at noon, then."

"Sounds great." He nodded. "And no, Scott didn't do anything except run away and leave Allison alone at the party."

"What?" Her eyes widened. "Wait, rewind, tell me everything."

"Okay," He chuckled, leaning against the wall as Ginny marked up a number on her notepad. "Well, we're definitely not beyond ruling out lycanthropy now."

☃︎

    "What if we just let him find his own way home?" Ginny yawned, rubbing her eyes as Stiles continued driving down the road. They spent the entire night driving on the road around the woods, hoping to spot Scott to help him back home. "What if he's already there?"

    "He's not there," Stiles assured with certainty, which made Ginny furrow her brows.

    "How do you know?"

    "Because I keep a camera in his room."

    Ginny's eyes widened. "Seriously—?"

    "No, I told your Mom you guys were staying over at my place so if he got home without you, she definitely would've called already."

    "Ohhh, right," She nodded sleepily and rested her head to the side, watching the trees they passed by. She loved how alive those trees looked, as if it were out of a picturesque movie. They swayed with the wind despite being tall and strong, and she knew their beautiful green leaves would soon turn orange, red, or yellow before falling off in the winter. The thought brought a shiver out of her.

    A few moments later, she felt something land on her lap — Stiles' sweater.

    "Why don't you take a nap?" He suggested as she looked at the item — she tried her best to hold back a smile as she extended the sweater like a blanket and lightly placed it over her. "I'm sure we'll find him soon—"

    "There!" Ginny pointed with a grin — her loud enthusiasm had prompted Stiles to briefly swerve on the road, but he quickly gained composure. She rolled down her window and waved a hand out to her brother. "Scott!"

    Scott, slowing down in his steps, turned around to see Stiles and his sister driving up to him. With a small smile, he waited for them — and when the car stopped in front of him, Ginny jumped down and gave him a hug.

"We've been looking for you all night," As she slowly released the hug, she furrowed her brows. "Why are you shirtless?"

He shrugged. "I tried to cool down at home, and forgot to put on a shirt before I left."

She quirked a brow. "You forgot?"

"Yes."

"Okay..." She decided that was a sufficient answer for now — she was too tired to argue. "Get in."

"Hey, buddy," Stiles greeted as Scott climbed into the back of his car. "We missed you."

Scott chuckled as Ginny reentered the car and closed the door behind her. "I missed you guys, too." Stiles and Ginny chorused a 'sure' as Stiles began to drive again. After a few moments of contemplation — thinking over what had happened at night — he spoke. "You know what actually worries me the most?"

"If you say Allison," Stiles sighed. "I'm gonna punch you in the head."

"She probably hates me now."

Ginny grinned. "If you punch him, can I drive?"

"No." The two chorused, remembering the last time Ginny tried to drive a car she acted as if she was in a fast-and-the-furious movie.

"Fine," She sighed, sinking in her seat before she turned to face Scott. "And I seriously doubt Allison hates you."

Scott beamed. "Really?"

"Yeah. She likes you, weirdly enough."

"But," Stiles continued. "You might want to come up with a pretty amazing apology."

"Oh, yeah." Ginny nodded. "Or, of course, you could always tell her the truth."

"Ginny-the-Good strikes again," Scott said, laughing at the absurd proposition.

"Hey," Stiles added. "You could also revel in the awesomeness of the fact that you're a fricking werewolf." Scott gave him a look. "Okay, bad idea." Seeing Scott's defeated face, Stiles sighed and stopped the car for a moment to pat Scott's shoulder. "Hey, we'll get through this. Come on, if I have to, I'll chain you up myself on full moon nights and feed you live mice."

Ginny scrunched her face in disgust. "Ew."

"I had a boa once. I could do it."

"Doesn't mean you have to."

"But I'll do it for you, Scott."

Scott shook his head. "I don't want to eat live mice."

"I'm prepared to make the sacrifice and feed them to you if need be."

"Stiles—"

"I'm your guy."

"Just drive." Scott chuckled, rolling his eyes. Stiles grinned and turned back around, facing the road, as Ginny lightly laughed along with her brother. As Stiles was about to start the car, Ginny eagerly turned to the boys.

"Can we have bagels for breakfast?"

Stiles and Scott gave each other a look — the latter stated. "I could go for bagels."

Stiles nodded. "To Bagel-Barn we go." He quirked a brow at Scott through the rear-view mirror. "Do you want yours with mice or—?"

"Just drive!" And Stiles did as the three of them were laughing. Eventually, their laughter died down and Stiles and Scott softly chatted while Ginny fell asleep under the comfort and warmth of Stiles' sweater.

❀✿❀

ME WHEN GINNY AND STILES— 👹👹👹👹👹👹👹👹 i wanna say something so badly but idk if that's a spoiler? so i guess i'll keep my mouth shut 😒🤭 but like — QUESTION STILES LIKING LYDIA — and that's all ima say idk anyways

AHH AKJDHFAK I LOVE THEM SO MUCH YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND

THIS CHAPTER IS SO LONG!! and i'm sorry if there's awkward spacing at the start of some lines, i originally wrote this entire chapter on google docs (with an indent for each new line) so i guess some have it and some don't? 🥲

i'm going to be uploading a poll on my profile soon because i have an idea about expanding this book into a universe but i'm unsure 🫣 saurrrr let me know :} <3 

anyways—i hope y'all enjoyed reading :} i'm so obsessed with this book — and happy valentine's day !! <3