third person

LUNA WRITES FURIOUSLY INTO the journal she's been keeping for the last few months. It's made of the same materials as her ancestor's journals. She had to search through every single store in Beacon Hills before she found a stack of them in the last store she had to check. Not wanting to run out of journals, she bought the rest of them. The cashier had told her she's lucky.

"This is the last of the stock. We're not ordering anymore."

At first, Luna didn't know what she would write in the journals. It felt weird to just write down her feelings on paper in hopes that the next generation after her would read it. There wasn't any guarantee that she would have someone to pass these journals onto. So, she thought of who she could write the journals to. Who was someone who had a major impact on her life? There was only one answer to this question because this person still impacts her life every single day. Theo Raeken.

Now, every journal entry is written to him. She speaks to him through the ink in her pen as if she was speaking to him face to face. At the top of each new entry is, "Now That You're Gone," and it's followed by whatever she is feeling and what's been going on in her life. She knows that it's pointless for her to write to him, but if she's learned anything while living in Beacon Hills is that sometimes people being gone doesn't mean they'll be gone forever.

After finishing her thought on the page, she drops the pen on top of the journal. Cleo, her cat she'd adopted not too long ago, jumps onto the desk and pats her way across the surface to nudge her face into Luna's hands. A few words smudge as Cleo steps on the fresh ink in the journal.

Usually Liam pays her a visit for a little while in the evening to make sure she's doing okay or just to hang out, but tonight, him and Hayden are going on a date. He had high hopes that this time the date would go smoother than the others he had taken Hayden on. Luna felt bad for always taking Liam away from Hayden just because she can't get her shit together. It wasn't fair for the couple. She knew her neediness was causing a strain between them. She hoped they had a great time on their date and it helps keep them together.

What Luna doesn't know is Liam and Hayden ended up stranded in the middle of the woods. Not only that, they met a younger boy who says his parents were taken. It's a little hard for them to not believe him when the windshield of the car he was in is shattered and the passenger side door is missing. They stay with them until the sheriff shows up and takes the boy back to the sheriff's station. There, the sheriff calls Stiles to bring Scott to come talk to the boy to find out what happened to his parents.

Now, Stiles, Scott, and Lydia are checking out the car to see if they can find any evidence that the supernatural played apart in the disappearance of the boy's, Alex's, parents.

Lydia sits in the driver seat and grips the steering wheel to try and get a feel of the parents. Her eyes catch her own in the rear view mirror and she hums.

Stiles sits up straight from the backseat, shaking the car, and asks, "What?"

She replies as her finger brushes against her eyelid, "This is the perfect shade for me. Forget the name."

Stiles' anxiety peaks and he asks, "Can we please stay on topic here?"

He watches Scott walk around to the front of the car.

"I'm not getting anything," Lydia tells Stiles. They hear a coyote howl and see Scott look up. The coyote barks as it runs through the parking lot with glowing blue eyes. Malia transforms into herself, leaving herself completely naked. Lydia and Stiles get out of the vehicle.

Lydia announces as she hands Malia her clothes, "I don't think they're dead."

Malia grabs her shirt and says, "They're dead. Probably torn apart. The only thing I don't get is why there's no blood."

"They're not dead," Lydia disagrees. "If they were dead, I'd sense it."

Malia shrugs and states, "If they were alive, I'd smell it."

"Yeah, I'm not getting anything either," Scott agrees, speaking for the first time.

Stiles turns to him. "Scott, what are you talkin' about? You were in his head for four minutes. I timed it."

"Well, it's not an exact science. And he's a kid. Maybe he's too freaked out to remember," Scott states.

Malia questions, "Why does it matter if they're dead? Dead is dead."

Stiles voice comes out exhausted, "Okay, if it's just a robbery, we can't help them. And if it's something supernatural, my dad can't help them."

"It sounds like you want it to be supernatural," Lydia observes.

Stiles shuffles on his feet. "It's been, like, three months since anything's happened."

"Yeah," Lydia says, "and every once a week you drag me out of bed like I'm some sort of supernatural metal detector."

Stiles defends himself, "Okay, it is way more often than that. You-You can't tell me that you think this is just some series of impossible coincidences?"

"What I'm saying is maybe that wouldn't be so bad," Lydia states before she walks away. Malia gives both boys a look and turns away while flicking her hair of her shoulder.

Stiles takes a couple of steps towards them, ready to retort, but nothing came out of his mouth. He turns to Scott who shrugs at him, causing him to sigh and walk away. He opens up the driver's side door and gets in before slamming it shut. His eyes ahead of him.

Scott walks over and leans against the door, stating, "You're starin' at a broken windshield."

Stiles sighs, "There's something wrong with it."

"It's broken," Scott points out again. "And it wasn't a magic bullet. It was a regular bullet. That blew out a regular windshield." Stiles leans back against the seat while Scott looks at the other cars that were shot at. "Just like that one," he points, "and that one." As he continues to point out shot windshields, he notices a pattern. "And that one," he whispers. He looks back to Stiles who has figured out the same pattern.

The two boys look back at the windshield, and Stiles picks out a piece of the broken glass.

Stiles whispers, "Magic bullet."

〰〰〰

Luna stands a few people away from Malia in the line for yearbook pictures. It had been moving pretty smoothly until Malia sat down on the stool to get her photo taken. Every time Sydney tries taking her picture, Stiles jumps in just as it's being taken. Stiles' inability to stay still and wait makes Luna smile, but everyone else in line was getting restless. Finally, Malia gives up and gets off the stool so everyone else can get their picture taken.

Subconsciously, Luna listens in on the pack's conversation.

"Why would I want to ruin your yearbook photo?" Stiles asks as he and Malia step over to the picnic table Lydia and Scott are sitting at.

"Maybe because you haven't signed up for your own photo yet," Malia points out.

"Yes, I did," Stiles says and pulls out a folded piece of paper from his back pocket. He shows her the paper.

"It's blank!" Stiles double checks the paper, slightly remembering himself filling the paper out.

"Or maybe you're sublimating the stress of graduating by avoiding key milestones," Scott states as he turns around from his textbook. He notices the looks from his friends. "Psych paper."

"Hey, the Deputy searched the car," Stiles changes the subject. "No slugs, no exit hole. And the address Alex gave my dad, it's an abandoned house." Malia, Lydia, and Scott give Stiles a weary look. "Come on! Missing parents, suspicious guy on horseback, magic bullet. Who's comin' with?"

Malia answers first, "I've got to retake my photos."

"Yeah, not interested," Lydia says.

Stiles looks at Scott expectantly as Luna walks past them to sit at another picnic table.

"I cannot miss any more classes."

"Scott."

"I missed thirty-eight last semester. And Lydia's mom is the only reason why I'm still in school. I can go after school," he offers.

"You know what? Forget it. I'll take Liam." Stiles sighs and looks out on the quad where Liam and Hayden were making out on a bench. The rest of the pack turns to look also. "Yeah, I'm not taking Liam. I'll take Luna-"

At the mention of her name, Luna stands up and heads for the quad.

Sydney walks up behind Stiles and asks, "Hey, can I get a candid?"

"Uh, no," Stiles starts to say, but Scott says, "Yeah, sure!" and pulls Stiles down next to him.

"Luna!" Lydia calls out as Luna almost makes it past their table unnoticed. "Come take a picture with us!" Luna can't deny her once she sends her an adorable smile. Luna climbs up the other side of the picnic table and sits criss cross in a window between Scott and Stiles, the only available space in between their textbooks. She can feel Tara standing behind her, breathing heavily.

"-why this is blue, I'll let it go." Stiles hands Scott a piece of blue glass, and Scott takes a second to study it.

"Everyone smile," Sydney commands. Scott hides the glass and each person smiles brightly at the camera. After the picture's taken, Stiles stands up and heads off somewhere else. He hadn't realized Luna was sitting behind him since he was talking to Scott when Lydia called her over. The other three friends turn in Luna's direction, each giving her a smile. Scott turns back to his homework as Lydia and Malia continue staring at Luna.

"So, how's it been going?" Lydia asks as Luna climbs off the picnic table and takes a seat across from her. Tara goes to stand behind Scott.

Luna can't help but yawn before she answers her, "I've been okay."

"You don't look okay," Malia states. "You look like you haven't slept in months."

Luna dryly laughs, "That's because I haven't." She sighs and looks at Scott. Her body slides over so she's sitting in front of him. "Which brings up another point." Scott looks up from his book. "Do you think your mom will see me at the hospital? I need her help."

Scott nods and says, "Yeah, of course. I'll text her and tell her you'll be coming over."

"I don't know when I'll make it over, but it should be tonight." Lydia and Malia share a glance and grab their stuff to leave. Once Luna and Scott are alone, Scott stares Luna with a small smile.

"You know, this doesn't have to be awkward," Scott states.

"Awkward? Who's making this awkward? I don't think this is awkward," Luna rambles until she sees the expression on Scott's face. "Okay, well, it's kind of hard because, you know, we dated. We actually dated. And it was good, but I ended it because I can't get over some jerk who's not even here anymore."

"Luna, I already told you. I-"

"You understand. Yeah, I know. I wish you didn't understand so well. I wish you would be angry with me or something. Tell me how you feel. About me still caring about Theo. About me. About the break up, something." Luna hadn't been looking at him the whole time, but once she said the last word she looked up. She glances at Tara before settling on Scott. "Scott, I just need some type of closure. I can't just take your word for it and listen to you say you understand."

He stares at her, scrutinizing her expression, before he sighs.

"Alright, Luna. I liked you. Okay, I really liked you. And, yeah, it hurt me to hear that you weren't over Theo, especially after all that he's done to you. But that's how I knew it just wasn't the right time or, maybe, we're just not right for each other. You just lost Theo, and I just lost Kira. I still miss Kira, too. I still love Kira. So, maybe we're in the same boat. Maybe we were just trying to fill the void they left. But I know you understand just like I understand." He reaches over and puts his hand on top of hers. "Everything's fine between us. I don't hold any hidden grudges over you. If anything of our time together, it made me care for you more."

Luna nods her head, then a thought crosses her mind and she tilts it.

"Is it now going to be kind of like the relationship you had with Allison? You know, after the breakup, you guys were still friends." Scott pulls his hand away and smiles.

"Yeah, I think so." The bell rings to signal the next class. Luna stands up, but waits for Scott to pick up his things before walking with him.

"Ya know," she drawls. "You managed to date cousins."

Scott laughs, "Distant."

Luna waves her hand at him in dismissal, and they both laugh as they walk inside.

〰〰〰

"Guys, I don't understand why you had me drive you. You both have cars," Luna says as she drives down a deserted driveway.

"Truck," Liam corrects. "And it's getting fixed so."

Mason agrees, "Yeah, and Corey drove me to school so."

Luna glances at them and sighs.

"What are we even doing? You figured out the geo-locate on our phones weren't working so you stole your teacher's compass and happened to decide to just follow it?" Luna scolds.

"Well, Schrodinger's cat, right?" Mason says.

Luna shakes her head, "You know what happens when you open the box, right? You find your wife's head inside." The two underclassman give her a look. "Morgan Freeman? Brad Pitt? 'What's in the box?!'? Se7en?" When all she got was blank looks, she whispers, "Unbelievable."

She stops the truck in front of an abandoned house. All three of them seize their eyes up and down the house before glancing back at one another. Luna gestures to the house.

"Well, this is where the compass leads. Why don't you head up there and figure out what it wants," she tells them as she leans back, showing them she wasn't getting out.

"Don't you want to be, like, back up?" Liam asks.

"Nah, I think you guys can handle it." Mason and Liam share a look before getting out of the truck and heading inside the house. None of them saw the blue jeep on the other side of the bushes she'd parked next to.

Luna had only been sitting there for a few minutes when she heard the sound of gunshots coming from the house. She didn't even hesitate as she jumped out of the truck and ran inside the house.

"Liam!" She screams. "Mason! Are you okay?" Just as she's about to run to the steps, finding no one downstairs, Liam, Mason, Scott, and Stiles come bounding down them. Luna pulls both Liam and Mason into a hug. "Jesus, kid. You scared me. I heard gunshots and-"

"Wait, you heard the gunshots, too?" Stiles asks. Luna's breathing is heavy as she lets the two go.

"Yeah, clear as day. Who was shooting?"

Scott jumps in before Stiles can explain, "Luna, no one but Stiles could hear the shots."

"And the only reason I could was because I was the one being shot at," Stiles states. Instantly, Luna's eyes scan Stiles' body for bullet holes. "They missed, it's okay. But what I want to know is why you heard them from outside when none of them did."

The five of them glance at each other, unsure of what this could mean.

That night as Luna walked into the hospital to talk to Melissa McCall, a clap of thunder echoed outside. However, when it did, Luna felt like something had been ripped away from her.

But she didn't know what.

Hi, guys! Here it is! The first chapter! I was going to post this Monday but I got sidetracked by working on Bellamy Blake fanfic (which is actually really good if you want to check it out). I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please vote or comment what you think!
- chelsie
word count: 2713