𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐃𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 | stiles stilinski ✔️

fourteen

HARPER FINISHED HER last coat of mascara before popping the lid back on and placing it back in it's respected drawer. Humming a small tune to herself, the girl with the beach waved hair took three long strides over to her bedside table, pulling her phone out of the charger.

She clicked the home screen button about three times, a frown plastering across her face when she realised it wasn't turning on. A battery sketch appeared at the bottom of the blackened screen, indicating it hadn't charged last night. Harper plugged it back in, her eyebrows furrowing even further when it didn't start charging the device.

"Scott?" She called the teenage boy who she knew was in the other room, "can I use your charger? I think mine's broken."

Harper wandered into his room with her phone in her hand, surprised to find the werewolf sat at the end of his bed, a solemn look on his face. Placing her phone down on his set of drawers, she moved over and sat down next to him.

"What's wrong?" She asked softly, feeling the guilt radiate from his body.

"Mom's out of money," Scott muttered, "I can hear her downstairs talking on the phone with the power company. She couldn't afford the bills this month."

An overwhelming sense of guilt settled in the pit of the Empath's stomach, and this time it wasn't coming from the teenage boy sat beside her. It was her own. Harper often felt bad about Melissa spending money on her, even if Harper has been being legally fostered by the woman since last summer. She always felt like a burden when Melissa couldn't afford something, which had been happening a lot lately.

Detecting Harper's guilt, Scott placed his hand down on her knee, making her look up at him.

"It's not your fault," he promised, "mom loves having you around. Both you and Isaac."

"She can't afford us, Scott," Harper ran a hand through her beach waves, knowing she had messed them up a little but not particularly caring, "the money Melissa gets to help foster us isn't enough anymore."

"It's not your fault," Scott repeated for a second time, this time putting emphasis on his words, his eyes stern as he stared into Harper's, "my mom offered to look after you when your parents died, but you said you wanted to stay with Rose. Remember that?"

Harper nodded, a sad smile on her face as she looked down at the carpet, "I love your mom."

Scott offered a small chuckle, "yeah. She's the best."

...

Using Scott's phone, Harper called Stiles and asked when he was picking her up from school, only to be told that they weren't going to school. Apparently, she and Stiles would be going to the police station, and it wasn't to visit Sheriff Stilinski. It turns out that Deputy Parrish was on the supernatural hit list, and so this was their chance to warn him like they couldn't with Harry.

The jeep pulled up into the McCall's driveway. Waving a quick goodbye to Isaac and Scott who were in the kitchen, Harper left through the front door and went around to the passenger's side. Stiles leaned forwards, opening the door for her.

"What a gentleman," she smiled at him, emphasising her articulate accent.

"Only the best for milady," he spoke back, putting on what Harper would describe as a pretty good English accent.

Harper nodded, clearly impressed, "a little stereotypical, but not too shabby, Stilinski."

"Aye," the hazel-eyed boy grinned, holding his hand up for her to high five as he pulled out of the drive, "I'm getting good at it."