Chapter Text
“You should have seen her face when I called her out” UNO gave a sly smile.
“Seriously? I knew it, that group is always so secretive and skip school a lot” Courtney rolled her eyes and stuffed a handful of chips in her mouth.
“Yeah, but they’re Scott’s friends and Danny seems nice” I argued.
“Nah, they’re Scott’s friends not yours we are your friends just because your douchebag step-brother is friends with them doesn’t mean you have to be friends with them to” Bryson lectured me.
“Plus, and no offense, they didn’t seem to want to be your friends Alison just doesn’t want to be seen as shallow because she’s Lydia and Jackson’s friend” UNO added.
“And she evidently is a shallow person” Courtney spoke up.
“Okay, so they have a tight knit group, but that doesn’t mean we should attack them for it” I tried to defend them.
“AND THAT!”, Bryson stood up and pointed at me, “you defend them even when they leave you out and treat you like a chore Scott put on them!” he called out.
My face flushed. I didn’t realize I was doing that—in the industry we are taught to not slander other people and to stay neutral in conflicts with them—so I guess I did it subconsciously. They looked at me as if they knew exactly what realization I was having,
Bryson smirked, “So?”.
I rolled my eyes, “okay yeah, I don’t like them, they leave people out, they obviously think they’re better then everyone else, they talk about others as if everyone owes them something, and don’t even get me started on Scott! He constantly acts as if I’m a criminal, like he needs to know what I’m doing, but he acts like he knows exactly what I’m thinking and if he doesn’t, he interrogates me!” I complained openly to them.
It felt nice to do something, since my only current lifeline is the cast, but they already think it was a bad idea to go back to my dad and I don’t want to give them any leverage.
Bryson smirked, “Yup, Scott is a total control freak, he was my chem partner and he totally took over the entire project and I got a low participation grade because of it!” he finished by throwing his hands up dramatically.
Courtney started flailing her hand and when we looked at her she quickly gulped down the food in her mouth, “OH! OH! And when I was partnered with him in gym he left me in the dust and refused to help me!” she complained.
We nodded along to her complaint, and those both sound like something he would do, maybe absent mindedly, but I have a feeling he does it a lot. I turned to UNO to see if he had an “anti-Scott” story. He made eye contact with me and seemed to understand why I turned to him.
“I don’t really have any complaints about Scott other than how he used to be like us, bottom of the chain until he miraculously cured his asthma, started hanging out with Jackson and Lydia, became Co Captain of the lacrosse team, and inevitably became one with the people who use to bully him”, he sighed, ”I guess you could say I just hate how Scott gave into social pressure and the Highschool Hierarchy”
I nodded understandingly. I had no idea who Scott was before I got here, but that does fit with what I’ve seen.
“Man, if you take that conversation out of context, you’d think we started an “I Hate Scott Stilinski” Fanclub” Bryson laughed.
UNO rolled his eyes and continued to eat his sandwich while Courtney continued to shovel chips in her mouth.
The rest of lunch was filled with bickering and laughter. I think I made the right decision when it came to what group to befriend, or at least the right decision to leave Scott’s friends to themselves. I knew I wanted to make a group of friends, but not a group that seemed too tightknit for me to join. UNO and the Twins seemed tightknit, but in a way that I could easily join in.
Once school had ended the four of us finished up on some vocal practice and Bryson was practically pulling me to my own car.
“Hold on, hold on” I laughed as he pulled me along.
He finally stopped when UNO smacked him upside the head. Courtney gave him a scoring of 6/10 for the smack. I pulled the keys out of my bag and abruptly got a text notification on my phone. I pulled it up to check it only to see a text from the infamous Scott.
“Why did you fight with everyone today?” it read.
“I didn’t?” I frowned as I typed out the message.
I watched the three dots from Scott’s side and heard a group of scoffs behind me. I remembered the three were waiting for me to unlock the door and took interest in what was the hold up.
“Is he serious? Did he even get a proper explanation?” Bryson sneered.
“Jackson said someone you know was insulting Alison and you just let him?” his message sent.
“Conrad didn’t insult her, did you get the full story from your friends?” I attempted to communicate like Melissa wanted.
“Yeah, they said that your little buddy was insulting my girlfriend and you ditched them for him, that’s all I needed to know” he quickly followed up.
I rolled my eyes and sent him “lets talk about this tonight in person” before putting him on do not disturb.
“What a dick” Courtney laughed.
“Don’t worry even if he doesn’t want to face the truth, I’ll make him” I shrugged and unlocked Roscoe.
Bryson immediately took over shotgun and took the aux cord. At least Scott asked for it; I laughed to myself. He put on Mozart and we all gave him strange looks.
“What it calms me” he batted his eyes.
Courtney snatched his phone out of his hand and turned on the Adam’s Family Musical Playlist.
“What, I’m not naming names, but some of us need the practice” she cackled.
UNO rolled his eyes and glanced out the window as I drove use to my place. I could tell from just a glance he could barely contain the happiness that he was going to meet my cat. Despite it being a short ride the twins knew how to make it feel longer with their singing and bickering. When we finally pulled into the driveway the first words out of Bryson’s mouth were.
“So, this is Scott’s house?” his jaw fell slightly.
“Why do you care?” Courtney scoffed.
“I-I don’t” he stammered defensively.
“Sure, well it doesn’t matter because we are not at Scott’s house, we are at Stiles’ house” UNO commented.
“How about we go in the house?” I suggested.
The three of them nodded and quietly followed me into the building. Melissa and my father were still at work and Scott would be at lacrosse practice for another hour and a half, so we decided to make the most of the time nobody else was here before heading to the diner.
“So, where is your room?” Bryson scanned his surroundings.
“Upstairs” I motioned for them to follow me.
I picked up my pace once I remembered the cat had been alone all day, and I never checked if she was house trained. I pulled a paper clip from my bag and used it through the crack of the door to lift the latch.
“Inventive” Courtney commented.
I slowly opened the door to find a cat staring into my soul from my bed pillow. Luckily, I was blessed by some god, and this cat is extremely friendly. She hopped down after however long she deemed the Stiles scolding should’ve lasted and twirled at our feet. I could tell it was taking ever fiber in UNO’s body not to pick her up.
“So, what’s her name?” UNO looked up at me with starry eyes.
“Don’t know yet” I laughed.
“Well, it should have meaning, right?” Courtney added.
“Yeah, like she’s new in this house just like you, so she can help you during your panic attacks, maybe giving her a significant name can help to ground you?” Bryson kept half of his attention on the cat.
“You have panic attacks?” Courtney met my eyes.
“Not usually, but in new environments I guess they are more frequent” I shrugged.
“Then I agree with Bryson, she can help you, and be a safe place for you in this house—god knows you need a safe place when you live with Scott Stilinski” UNO chuckled.
A safe place? Name my cat to help ground me and create a safe place. I brought my eyes down to the previously homeless cat. I guess I do need an in person safe place, a connection to a familiar environment. I felt like I had the perfect name and didn’t even need to fully formulate the thought.
“Claudia” I said without hesitation.
“That’s a beautiful name” Courtney’s eyes gleamed.
Bryson crouched down to Claudia’s space, “why hello Claw-dia” he snickered to himself.
“So, if I may ask, why that name?” UNO held eye contact with me.
“It was my mother’s name” I smiled down at Claudia.
I noticed the shift in the atmosphere and knew they took note of the use of past tense, but didn’t bring it up. I took a deep, shaky, breath and then picked up Claudia. I held her for a few seconds and looked into her eyes with new found confidence in my surroundings. I gave her over to UNO who melted with joy as soon as he felt the weight of the cat in his arms.
“So, I don’t know about you guys, but I have homework” I sat down on the floor and got my laptop out.
Bryson groaned and Courtney laughed, I don’t think UNO even heard me. Court was the only other one who had actual homework—sorry Bryson had “actual” homework which was half an hour of reading. UNO didn’t receive anything and just kept Claudia entertained. When we finished up with our homework we moved on to simple discussions.
“What did you do before you moved here?” Courtney turned to me.
“I was homeschooled and grew up in a pretty tightknit sheltered community” I twisted the truth a little.
“Really? So like a cult?” Bryson pointed out.
UNO smacked him.
“No, no it wasn’t a cult” I laughed.
“How do you know?” Bryson continued.
“Well, cause. . .” if I’m being honest show-biz is a cult “okay fine, but it was more like a SoulCycle cult more than a Heaven’s Gate cult” I brushed it off.
“What?” Bryson laughed.
“Nothing, just it wasn’t a dangerous or weird upbringing” I laughed with him.
“Oh hey I just noticed your posters” Court sat up from her place on the floor.
“Yeah, cinema nerd much?” Bryson laughed.
“Bryson, have you even watched any of these, they’re masterpieces” UNO spoke up.
“Uh” Bryson looked around, “yeah, I know Chaos House” he triumphed.
“That doesn’t count pea brain, everyone knows Chaos House” Court scoffed.
“Oh, and what do you know!” he shot.
“As Above so Below, Mysterious Skins—which, wow dark Stiles—Strongest Man Alive, The Village, Interstellar-“ Court began listing and I was impressed.
“Okay, okay we get it you watch movies too” Bryson rolled him eyes.
“So which is your favorite Stiles?” UNO sparked conversatation.
“Oh, no we are not going down this road, we’re gonna talk about the one where I can contribute to the conversation” Bryson whined.
How do I always manage to end up in a conversation about Chaos house? It’s almost as if the universe wants something to happen. . . nah this is all just coincidence.
“Okay, what do you have to say Bryson” UNO laughed.
“Uh, I like it, it’s a good show?” he gave a meek smile.
“And?” UNO pressed.
“I don’t, you can’t just put me on the spot there!”, he thought a bit, “diversity?” he grinned.
“You- you can’t just say diversity!” Court laughed.
“Speaking of which did you guys hear about that bitch on the radio this morning?” Bryson found a real topic point.
“Oh yeah, what’s his name, Harrold- something?” UNO furrowed his eyes in thought.
“Man, fuck that guy” Court joined in.
I raised my eyebrows at the immediate hostility. The three of them looked over to me after not hearing a comment from me.
“Okay, so you either didn’t hear about it, or you’re about to do your whole ‘defending bad people because I’m a people pleaser’ thing” Bryson smirked.
I scoffed at his comment, “no, I was just taken aback at how quickly and the level at which you jumped at the guy”.
“Of course, this guy not only outed someone, which I know some people might say that Atlas was going to anyways but I doubt Atlas gave a prerelease to someone on that radio team, so this guy got the prerelease in a shady way probably” UNO pointed out.
“He also insinuated that just because he’s queer he’s suddenly a child predator, let me preface this by saying if Mischief or Zackary spoke out and said there was something sketchy, I would believe the victims, but only the homophobic bigots are spewing shit” UNO uncharacteristically got worked up.
I nodded along, “Yeah, I heard it and thought the same, but guess who had the nerve to ask me if I thought it was true?” I smirked.
I heard all three of them scoff, “Captain Stilinski”.
I let out a chuckle and nodded along.
“Yeah, of course, some people don’t understand fake news exists” Court rolled her eyes.
“Anyways, enough about that douche, can we get food now” Bryson let out an exaggerated groan.
I shook my head with a laugh and got up from my place on the floor. UNO reluctantly put Claudia on the ground, she obviously wanted more attention, but wasn’t about to stoop to asking for it. Courtney haphazardly packed up her work and hit her brother upside the head.
“Is Claudia good in the car?” Courtney gave her chin scratches, which Claudia happily accepted.
“Yeah, she really likes it”.
Bryson slumped off my bed and army crawled to Claudia—she backed up cautiously. I snatched my keys and wallet from my nightstand and motioned for us to go. Claudia seemed to understand immediately and left Bryson in the dust. Courtney laughed at his pained expression and UNO was already at the front door with Claudia.
After what felt like an eternity, everyone was settled with the twins in the back and Claudia and UNO in the passenger seat. I turned the radio onto the first station and began backing out of the driveway. During the short drive I almost hit a mailbox because of the “Willis Twins” and their bickering. UNO gave them a harsh scolding and lecture about the safety of having Claudia in the jeep.
I pulled into the parking lot of a diner that Bryson begged we stop at. I didn’t get to a complete stop before Bryson was already unbuckling.
“Finally! I am so hungry” Bryson stumbled from the back seat.
“I’ll stay here and watch Claudia while you guys get the food” UNO volunteered.
I gave her a pet before getting out myself to join the twins. Bryson was at the counter ordering and Court was reading the menu. Apparently, Bryson drags them here a lot since he knew his and UNO’s orders, Courtney makes a comment about not wanting to miss out on the variety in the menu. I decided just to get a plain cheeseburger and curly fries. The food was made quickly and we took it to go.
“Could Claudia eat some?” Bryson suggested.
“Only a little bread” I told him.
UNO and Claudia seemed to be bonding wonderfully while we were gone. He thanked Bryson for grabbing his food and promised to pay him back, which Bryson shook off and told him it was on the house.
“I wonder what she was doing before you found her” Courtney said.
“I just hope it wasn’t too bad” UNO commented.
“I agree” I smiled at the cat.
She noticed the spot of sun on the dashboard and hopped up. Bryson cooed at her; she paid no attention. After some minor teasing from Courtney and UNO we all continued with out food while Claudia took a nap in the sun. My phone began exploding after awhile and I had to excuse myself when I realized it was the cast.
“Yeah, no problem” Courtney had told me.
“We don’t mind” a reassurance from Bryson.
“Your business is yours” UNO announced nonchalantly.
I gave a curt nod before walking to the side of the diner. I clicked on the chat to see what they were saying.
“Soooooo how wuz hell????” Zack’s sloppy typing was the first thing in the chat.
“Oh yeah your school day has to be over by now right?” Kate added.
“I want to hear if he was able to stay incognito” Blake sent followed by a winky face.
“I just want to know if he survived” Jordan’s concern shown through.
“Maybe he has homework?” Abigail pointed out.
“Nahhhh” Zack protested.
I laughed at the chat that continued a little more after that. So much drama happened throughout the day I didn’t even know where to start so I tried my best.
“My step-brother’s friends were ignoring me and a classmate of mine in another class called them out on it and now my step-brother and his friends are butt hurt and a little mad at me, but at least I have some friends I know have my back” I wrote.
“Wow” from Jordan.
“What a dick” Blake added.
“Only took Mischief two days lol” Zack sent.
“Leave him be” Kate defended.
“Want me to come slap those people for you?” Yasmin joined in.
I laughed to myself over the texts but a sudden thought turned my mood sour.
“Enough about me, is Atlas doing okay?” I sent.
There was a pause in the chat before Atlas himself sent through a message.
“I’m doing wel, the radio station this morning will be handled accordingly by my manager and as long as the people close to me don’t believe the shit they’re spitting I’m good”
I smiled; glad he wasn’t spiraling from the public outing. I felt bad that he wasn’t in control of it. He didn’t seem to mind, but that was just one text I couldn’t be too sure.
“You don’t mind if I make a statement on my social medias?” I messaged.
“Oh, yeah Atlas can we please!” Abigail added.
There were a few more texts from the rest of the cast affirming that wanted to hop on the plan.
“Yeah, thanks guys” Atlas finally responded after a while.
The timing and tone of his last text confirmed for me I made the right decision not to let it sit. I didn’t waste anytime and drafted up a tweet.
“Fuck anyone-“
Maybe not that strong.
“I am deeply upset by the. . .”
No, that’s too much like a disappointed parent.
“Atlas is a very important person in my life-“
I liked that beginning but I wanted to send out a message that also addressed the deep-rooted homophobic prejudice not just the personal attack on Atlas. After some use of my brain, I posted it.
@MaskdMischief
Atlas Jessup is not only a very important person to me, but a human being in his own right. Not only was the story aired this morning a deep invasion of privacy it was a continuing example of an old stigma that gay men are all pedophiles, and it needs to be addressed. Educate yourselves and don’t be a bigot.
I realized that I was gone for longer than I had intended and rushed back to the jeep. Everyone was still there, UNO was petting Claudia, Bryson was chewing on the straw of his milkshake, and Courtney was skipping through songs. When I opened my door they all snapped their gazes to me. Even Claudia joined them.
“You’re food is definitely cold by now man” UNO noted
“Yeah, sorry”
“About what, you had something to do, you’re going to do it” Bryson shrugged.
“Yeah, but I was in the middle of something with you guys” I pointed out.
“But the look on your face and the amount of notifications you were getting made it seem important” Courtney added.
I nodded in understanding with a soft smile. I knew I was lucky, even with the loss I have experienced as of late, I still had my family I grew up around, and now I think I’m discovering true connections outside of shows and contracts.