the mermaid effect || a teen wolf (malia) fic.

two | new people

"You know what? I want to back out. Can I leave before it's too late?" Seline began to panic, though she managed to make her voice sound chill.

"Calm down." Scott chuckled. He played with his food while he sat opposite to her on one of the lunch tables outside. "They're really nice, okay?"

"Oh no, I don't doubt they're nice. I just don't wanna be that awkward new person who has to introduce herself. Scott, thanks for the opportunity, but I can survive being alone." She continued, on her way to grab her plate and stand up when he gently seized her wrist.

"Seline, sit down. You wanna be alone through high school? I'll find a way to get you into our group anyway. Either it's now or later." Scott stated with a kind smile. Sighing in defeat, she relaxed and put her elbows against the table.

"You're annoying." She pouted, receiving a laugh back. "Unfortunately, you're also very nice."

"Yeah, I know." He agreed to both things with a casual shrug. Just then, another boy approached them, placed his hands on Scott's shoulders and sat down beside him.

"Who's this?" He asked and eyed her in a curious way, thankfully not making her feel uncomfortable.

"I'm Seline, new in town." She offered him a cute smile, making him feel like jelly for a second, which showed. She mentally cursed at herself for not learning how to control whether it was a siren smile or a regular, human one. Or maybe he was just nervous around pretty girls in general.

"I'm–" He began, awkwardly scratching his neck. "I'm Stiles. Hi."

"Stiles. That's a pretty weird name." She noted, raising her eyebrows a little.

"It's a nickname. It's easier to pronounce than my real name." Stiles explained. Shortly after that, a strawberry blonde girl joined them, but she sat down beside Seline before she even noticed the new girl. Seline could tell just by her posture that she was used to being the queen over the place, and that made her feel like she was in the wrong group.

"Hi there, sweetheart. My name's Lydia Martin." The girl said, flicked her hair behind her shoulder smoothly and offered her a hand to shake. Seline timidly shook it for a second and smiled.

"I'm Seline Moon–"

"Scott!" Another girl called from afar, jogging toward them. "Sorry, we stayed to ask the teacher a question."

"Uh, no, you asked the teacher a question and I waited because I'm a good friend. I think." Someone else added from behind. The girl who had made the first comment looked asian, beautiful with black hair and a smile on her face as she sat down beside Scott. The other one joined Seline's side and she had dirty blonde hair, almost light brown, with plump features and a natural expression.

"Sorry, you were saying?" Lydia chuckled, concentrating on Seline again.

"Seline Moonves." She finished and glanced at the other girl beside her, whom she liked already for her bluntness.

"Cool name. Like I said, I'm Lydia, and this is Kira Yukimura..." Lydia said, pointing at Kira and then the other one. "And that's Malia Tate."

"Hi." Malia greeted her, placing her elbow against the table and resting her cheek against her fist.

"Don't worry, I was the new one too a while ago." Kira encouraged her, earning a frown back. "Oh yeah, Scott told me about you. Sorry."

"No, that's fine." Seline assured her with a friendly smile. It was then when they all — except Scott — took notice of her accent.

"Where did you use to live before you moved here?" Stiles asked curiously.

"Well... I was born in Australia and lived there until I was about eleven. Then we moved to New Orleans to try something new and get away from Sydney. After that we moved to Phoenix in Arizona, then for a very short while we tried Salem, but that wasn't for us. And now we're in Beacon Hills." She answered, hoping she hadn't bored them to death. Judging by their intrigued faces, she didn't.