ILLUSION, ELI HALE

ten | teenage tour guides

The three adults staring before Nadia and Eli were quite well-known around Beacon Hills. Other than Malia, Nadia recognized the two familiar faces. During their teenage years, everyone had known who they were. She'd count them to be Beacon Hills celebrities, even.

You had Scott McCall: your not-so-typical jock. Former co-captain of the lacrosse team, dated the pretty girls in high school, moved to LA to open a dog shelter. Then there was Lydia Martin: the opposite of a cliché. She was the ditzy popular girl who hid her talents and smarts under a pretty face. Valedictorian, absolute genius. She was currently running a company all on her own. What an icon.

These people, they used to hang out around Eli's father, he'd told her. No matter that his father would hang around a handful of teenagers while a young adult. Some would say they were old friends.

Scott had been the one to pull Eli from his side of the tree, while Malia had just let go of her grip on Nadia's cardigan. Lydia stood there confused as to who these teenagers were and why they knew them.

"It is you." Scott turned to the boy, releasing his grip on Eli's hoodie.

Lydia turned to Malia for an explanation. The woman let out a sigh before answering. "Eli. Derek's son."

Scott looked at the boy who was just about the same height as he was. "Wow, you've gotten really big."

"Yeah, it's probably because I was only three the last time you saw me," Eli said with a chuckle.

Scott then turned to Nadia. "And I'm sorry, I don't think we've met."

"Nadia. Eli's girlfriend." Malia introduced. The awkward choke that came from Eli's mouth did not go unnoticed in response to Malia's words.

"Best friend who just so happens to be a girl." Nadia corrected Malia with a pout. For some odd reason, the older woman had been referring to Nadia as if she was already a married-in member of the Hale family. She was around so much, she just began to fit right in. "I already know who you guys are."

Scott nodded at the girl. "Nice to meet you, Nadia. So, what are you two doing out here?"

And Nadia and Eli were in sync with a lot of things in their lives, but they never seemed to click when it came to spontaneous actions. For some reason, Nadia claimed that the duo was soul-searching in the woods. Eli blatantly admitted that they snuck out, yet Nadia had to elbow him in the ribs before he told the entire story to these two strangers and Malia.

"Isn't the real question, what are you guys doing out here?" Nadia questioned the adults, placing her hands on her hips in an attempt to sound objective. She and Eli had already embarrassed themselves by admitting that they weren't supposed to be out here this late at night.

"Hiking," Malia said sarcastically. "Can't you tell? It's a really nice night for hiking."

The last she heard, Scott and Lydia didn't live remotely close to town anymore—and Nadia had no recollection of Malia bringing up the woods at all. None of them, especially the redhead, were dressed for a night in the woods. It sparked her interest as to why they suddenly came back home.

"I know what you're looking for. The tree, right? The huge stump that's like twenty feet wide." Eli turned to Nadia, explaining how he knew. It was the same stump they'd found Halloween night. "It's the only reason they'd be out in the woods this late."

"You know how to find it?" Lydia questioned the boy.

"Kind of." Eli shrugged. "I sleepwalk. I don't know why but I've just been doing it the last few months."

"I used to wake up in the woods too," Scott admitted to the boy.

"After you were bit by Peter, right?"