𝐂𝐋𝐀𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐄 → 𝐒. 𝐒𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐤𝐢

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐖𝐎
𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐥𝐝 . . .

.·:·.☽✧ ✦ ✧☾.·:·.

     𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 of sophomore year had come and gone for the McCall siblings, and they spent their Christmas break preparing for the last half of the year.  Lacrosse tryouts were coming up, and State cheer was only a few months away.  The McCall siblings had taken up running to improve their stamina (which was a challenging feat for the asthmatic sibling, Scott, but he was trying), and Kat wasn't willing to give it up.  So the night before the third term of school started, Kat was eager to hit the trails through the Beacon Hills Preserve.  She entered Scott's room with Kota by her side, tying her hair up into a ponytail and adjusting her jacket.

     "Ready to go, Scott?" Kat asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the doorframe as she watched Scott finish lacing up his lacrosse stick.

     Scott tossed his shaggy hair from his eyes as he looked at his sister, a sad smile on his face, "I don't think I'm going to tonight."

     Kat groaned, "C'mon, Scott!  So you're gonna make me and Kota run all by ourselves?  Uncool, man."

     "Sorry, Kat, I've got a lot of preparation before tryouts tomorrow." Scott shrugged, setting his lacrosse stick against his desk and standing up.  Kat watched him grab a second lacrosse stick from the duffel bag in front of his bed before sitting down at his desk again.

     Kat rolled her eyes and stood up straight, a playful grin on her face, "Fine, but you owe me two miles tomorrow after tryouts." Then, before Scott could protest, Kat spun around on her heel and started down the hallway, holding two fingers above her head and shouting, "Two miles!"

     Kat grabbed her keys and left the house, not bothering to lock the door behind her before starting towards the woods behind the McCall house in a light jog.  She knew there was a nature trail somewhere just within the treeline.  She and Kota quickly found it and took off down the track.

     The sun had set, and the moon started to rise when Kat figured it was time to start heading back to the house, but she barely got half a mile back down the trail before she was confronted by bright flashlights and barking dogs.  Kat shrieked and stopped dead in her tracks, tightly holding onto Kota's leash with one hand and shielding her eyes with the other as the flashlights were lowered, revealing members of the Beacon Hills police department staring at her with shocked and questioning faces.

     Kat felt her face pale, and her stomach drop as Sheriff Noah Stilinski stepped forward, a look of disappointment on his face. "Kat, what are you doing out here this late?"