𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐍 𝐒𝐎𝐎𝐍, derek hale ✓

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐎𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑

┏━━━━⋆°.☾⋆.ೃ࿔*:⋆━━━━┓

THE BAD MAN

"OKAY, I KNOW IT'S BAD, BUT IN MY DEFENCE I REALLY DID TRY MY BEST THIS TIME AROUND."

"Emerson, you got a thirty seven percent on the test, and that's after we spent three hours studying last night..."

"Yeah, but we never went over slope at all, Jeremy!"

At almost fifteen years of age, Emerson Avery had been shuffled to six different guardians. Each one was as caring as the last, each owing her late mother some sort of favour from a past life. Helping her, this child bound to the very target on her back, was their way of repaying it.

Rochester was her most recent stop after a particularly nasty scare in Virginia, just when she was a little over the age of twelve and believed she could go to the corner store alone. It was there that a woman wearing no shoes approached her, her claws and crimson eyes already on display for all to see.

It would be safer with the Hughes', a little family of warlocks who lived in a rather quiet suburb. The house had been charmed and their magic kept secret, and they really only used their abilities when push came to shove. If she was lucky, this would be her home until the age of eighteen— because that was when the plans lurking in her diary would come to fruition.

They consisted of a mother, a son, and a golden retriever named Goose that they'd adopted a few years ago. He was always the first thing you'd see in the morning, rushing in and out of rooms to serve as their very own wake up call.

The boy she was sat with was the son, Jeremy, who was both a senior at the high school and a total STEM nerd. Hence why he'd been helping Emerson out with her math problems ever since her arrival, given her own lack of talent for the subject itself.

"What's a slope?" a new voice questioned as they entered the room, empty laundry basket in hand and resting on her hip bone.

Loretta Hughes was a vision, a kind woman with crinkles by her eyes and a belly full of gentle laughter. She had Jeremy when she was freshly out of high school, her ex-boyfriend out of the picture in order to pursue college ball in a different state. She was a mother, plain and simple, and Emerson absolutely adored her.

"It's the rise over run of a line, Mom," Jeremy explained, rubbing his temple. "Not to be confused with a ski slope."

"Oh— well I'm sure our Emmy tried her best," Loretta responded, having heard the entire conversation whilst she was folding laundry upstairs. She flicked the older boy's forehead as she walked by, taking the test sheet in her hands. "A-ha! A thirty seven is better than a zero!

Emerson cocked an eyebrow, gesturing to the page as she looked at Jeremy. "See? It's not bad!"

Jeremy rolled his eyes before rising from the kitchen table. "We'll be studying for four hours next time around."

He left, hands tucked in the pocket of his hoodie. Loretta took his spot at the table, nudging the girl's foot with her own. "He's a perfectionist, that boy of mine," she sighed, a teasing smile on her face. "Anything below an eighty five is grounds for total failure."

Emerson laughed, something that was easy to do with Loretta. "I bet my grade was nothing short of horrific, then."

"Oh, definitely," the woman said jokingly, and the pair descended into quiet laughter. Though, Loretta did spare her a more serious glance. "You tried your best, Emmy. That's all that matters at the end of the day."