Mystique ↠ Liam Dunbar (UNDER REVISION)

17

My mother kept me on full lockdown the night after the attack. These things were becoming quite frequent, and it was starting to scare me. Everywhere I went I looked over my shoulder, worried that somebody would run up on me and attack me. Every corner was rounded with caution and I was on full alert. Mace and a sock with a lock in it were tucked away in my book bag. There was no way I would allow myself to be a victim again.

"I just don't understand why you haven't shown any evidence of being supernatural," Malia said with a mouthful of a food. I sat with Scott's pack outside of the cafeteria. Liam held me close, his arm wrapped around my waist. We were discussing the events from the previous night, with Scott filling me in on his near-death experience and me weaving my tale of not-so-epic fight against another assassin. "How many people have tried to kill you since your arrival?"

"A few." I responded, a little surprised at my nonchalant attitude. You could call it a façade, a feeble attempt to convince everybody my well-being was still well.

"Well, they sucked at their jobs. I mean, you're lucky to be alive, but if they were as bad as they tried to make themselves seem, they would've done the job. Twisted, I know. Now, if we could just hurry up and find out what you are, then maybe we could get somewhere. Have you found anything in the Bestiary?" Malia looked Scott's way, shoving another spoonful of food in her mouth.

"We need more to go from. Unless she sprouts claws or fangs, we'll be flipping through that book for ages." Scott sighed heavily and began tapping his foot on the ground.

"Stella, what about your father?" Lydia chirped up. That was a sensitive topic. My mother basically told me that my father ran away and never came back, leaving my mother to raise me alone. I never met my father, but I always like to pretend I can hear him and talk to him in my dreams. In there, he's the most perfect man and he loves me with all his heart. Of course, that'll be nothing more than a dream.

"What about him?"

"Maybe he's supernatural, you know? Maybe he's the reason you're whatever you are. Nobody has transformed you into any creature, as far as you can tell anyway, so maybe your supernatural abilities are hereditary. That could also be the reason your mother is so secretive when it comes to him. She could be protecting you for your own good." Another good point brought up by the smartest in the pack.

"Is that possible?" Liam asked.

"Certainly. Isn't that how Lydia got her banshee abilities?" Kira spoke up. "Same goes for me, too. And what about Malia? She wasn't bitten either, right?"

"Right," she responded.

I sighed before saying, "Well, if only my father was alive and my mother didn't hate him so much. I can't just ask her about him, it's a tough topic for her. Any attempt to talk about him is shot down so it'll probably be no use." In a way, it was unfair that my mother never talked about him. She did everything in her power to provide me a great future and keep our lives stable. Even then, it's still unfair to me that she won't ever talk about him. It's like he's some huge secret that she's keeping from me.

"There's always another way," Scott chimed in just as the bell rang. "We'll talk more later." I gave him a nod up as we all got up to leave to our next classes. Liam helped me out of my seat and took my hand in his. I smiled softly as we walked to our next class.

"How are you? Like, mentally?" Liam looked at me, his eyes full of worry. I was afraid he was going to ask the dreaded question. It was a question that random kids, and teachers alike, had asked me all morning. I was forced to set up a meeting with the school councilor by order of the principal. That question that had been running through my head all day. How was I feeling?