RENEGADE | "You wouldn't be the first renegade to need somebody." - Big Red Machine
In which Ainsley Dunbar transfers to a new school and learns secrets about her new friends, her town, and herself.
Teen Wolf
Seasons One to Six
Stiles Stilinski x O...
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"You've got a second chance; you could go home. Escape it all, it's just irrelevant." ---
I tip the reusable water bottle back as far as it can go to get the last few drops of water out of it. Finishing the bottle, which is the second refill I've had since setting foot in the school this morning, I screw the cap back on and place the empty bottle on the floor by my feet. I glance back up Ms. Morrell, the school guidance counselor, and lean back in my seat across from her.
She tilts her head as our eyes meet, nodding as she flicks her eyes down to the papers on the desk and looking up at me. My head pounds from a headache that's been forming since around midnight, but I don't want her to ask why I might have a headache, so I'm trying to pretend that my brain isn't trying to force its way out of my skull.
"I've been through your file," Ms. Morrell states after a moment of silence, and I let my gaze drift to the window pane in the door of her office for a moment before bringing my gaze back to her, keeping my lips straight and tight. "You're an exceptional student, Ainsley. You've been a part of the campus activities board at Devenford since freshman year, a member of the kick line team, and you dance outside of school while managing to maintain your high average. But it seems like your world turned upside down less than two months ago."
I inhale, shifting my eyes down to my lap. I set straight the turquoise colored tank blouse I'm wearing underneath a blue sweater, clasping my hands together. "My friend died," I admit, ignoring the burning feeling in my eyes as I say the words that I haven't said to anyone since mid-December. "We had a car accident."
"You were the driver and newly licensed? Only about four months?" Ms. Morrell continues and I keep my eyes trained on my hands, pulling my bottom lip into my mouth. "That would weigh heavily on anyone."
"There was an investigation," I say, the words thick on my tongue. "Bronwyn's parents wanted it, but I was found innocent."
"No, because it was...an accident," I tell her slowly. "But I can't drive. I'm not ready." I shake my head, releasing a sigh. "I don't want to." Ms. Morrell nods, wordlessly looking through my file again. After a few minutes of silence, I raise my hand, gesturing vaguely as I ask, "I'm sorry, what...what exactly is the point to this?"
Ms. Morrell glances up at me easily and clasps her hands together on her desk. "I'm trying to help you process the magnitude of changes in your life in the last two months."
"Forty-five days," I correct.
Nodding, Ms. Morrell states, "That's my point." I raise an eyebrow, folding my arms over my chest. "To absorb so much change in so little time." Gaze shifting to the floor, I bring my bottom lip into my mouth again, blinking away the burning sensation in my eyes. "You don't have to hide your emotions, Ainsley. I'm on your side."
