a risk worth taking.

Kat rolled her eyes playfully, smacking him lightly in the chest. "Well, we can't all grow another half a foot now, can we?" Her tone was sarcastic. "And I prefer the term height-challenged, thank you ver much." She knew that he was only teasing her. She'd honestly missed this a lot. She'd missed him a lot. She only wished that she was back in Beacon Hills under better terms. She hadn't forgotten her reason for being here, and she could see what he was doing. He was focusing his attention on her, and trying to avoid talking about his sister or his family.

"Alright, I guess. No complaints here." She punctuated her words with a slight shrug of her shoulders. That was the truth. She had no reason to complain, things in her life were going pretty well. She had a job, an apartment, and she was on good terms with her family. She also had some decent friends, though none of them would replace Derek. He would always be her best friend, no matter what.

---

Despite being placed off of Harris' radar for the day, Stiles couldn't wait for the class to be over. He dreaded chemistry the most out of all of his classes. He found himself zoning out quite frequently in the class, and he supposed that was why his grades weren't so hot, though he blamed Harris' hatred for that most of the time. He knew that he could pay attention more though, but it was just something that was way too hard for him to do. He just didn't find it interesting in the slightest.

Needless to say, he was pretty thankful when the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. He was one of the first to get to his feet, and also one of the first out of the classroom. He waited out in the hall for Scott. Unfortunately, Rebeckah was in his next three classes. Fortunately, he wouldn't have to deal with Harris until tomorrow.

@ pietro maximoff.
(only going to be one paragraph each cause I'm on my phone)

Rebeckah smiled when the bell rang and she gathered up her things and walked out of class with Danny. She rolled her eyes as she walked passed Stiles. She didn't say anything though because she was still embarrassed by her out burst in class. She sighed and made conversation with Danny about the weekend ahead of them. The truth was Rebeckah could hardly think about the weekend when the week just started. She sat down next to Danny again in their next class. She let him talk and instead listened.

---

Derek laughed at her words, "Alright whatever you want to believe but I'm still calling it short." He teased. He smiled when she talked about how she was, "Tell me about your life now." He said. He wanted to catch up with her and find out about what she's been doing since she left. She knew what has happened with him since then so he felt there was no need to talk about it as well as he didn't want to talk about it.

@ pietro maximoff.
(only going to be one paragraph each cause I'm on my phone)

Rebeckah smiled when the bell rang and she gathered up her things and walked out of class with Danny. She rolled her eyes as she walked passed Stiles. She didn't say anything though because she was still embarrassed by her out burst in class. She sighed and made conversation with Danny about the weekend ahead of them. The truth was Rebeckah could hardly think about the weekend when the week just started. She sat down next to Danny again in their next class. She let him talk and instead listened.

---

Derek laughed at her words, "Alright whatever you want to believe but I'm still calling it short." He teased. He smiled when she talked about how she was, "Tell me about your life now." He said. He wanted to catch up with her and find out about what she's been doing since she left. She knew what has happened with him since then so he felt there was no need to talk about it as well as he didn't want to talk about it.

Kat laughed quietly, shaking her head. "I wouldn't expect anything less from you." She said, a small smile gracing her lips. She had a feeling that, if she wanted him to talk about himself and how he was doing, she was going to have to come right out and say something about it. He was still somewhat guarded, though she was glad that he wasn't being cold towards her anymore.

"What do you want to know?" She asked curiously. There was plenty for them to talk about, they had several years to catch up on, and she knew that they could be at this for a while. She was half tempted to suggest going inside, though she wasn't sure she'd like seeing the house the way that it was now, not when she remembered how things used to be. She wondered if he'd been staying there, that wasn't exactly healthy, but she'd been gone long enough that she wasn't sure that it was her place anymore to say something about it.

---

Stiles was half tempted to make a comment about Rebeckah's outburst in class as she walked past him, but decided against it. She wasn't worth his time anyway, plus, he wanted to know what was up with Scott and the new girl in class. "What was that about?" He asked as he walked with his friend to class. "What was what about?" Scott asked, glancing over to him. "That thing with the new girl...you gave her your pen...how the hell did you know she needed one?" Scott shrugged his shoulders. "Lucky guess?" Stiles gave his friend a look, obviously not buying it, though he figured he'd grill Scott some more later on seeing as they'd both be late to class if they didn't get there soon.

@ pietro maximoff.
Rebeckah took out her notebook and started doodling again, not really listening to Danny's ramblings. They were in her favorite subject, English. So once the teacher walked in after everyone was settled, Rebeckah started paying attention. Their teacher told them about how they were going to have a beginning of the year project. She also stated how she would be picking the partners and their was a groan that washed over the students in the classroom, "You and your partner will be picking a play and you will provide a summary on it before each of you gives your own thoughts about the play." The teacher explained. Rebeckah thought it sounded simple enough.

"So here are the pairings. Danny and Jackson." Once Rebeckah heard that she groaned inwardly, mad she wouldn't have Danny as a partner. She zoned out and didn't pay attention until she heard her name, "Rebeckah and Stiles." The teacher said and Rebeckah's eyes went wide and she groaned aloud this time. She looked over to see Danny almost falling out of his seat laughing, "Kill me now." She muttered to herself before looking over at Stiles and glaring, "This is going to suck." She stated. By the time this project was over there might be a good chance that she kills Stiles.

---

Derek shrugged, "Everything. What have you been doing? Where are you living? Who have you been hanging out with? How do you like your life? Literally everything." He said and smiled at her. He wanted to catch up and he would listen to anything she had to say. Anything. It had always been like that. Whenever Kat wanted to rant when they were younger he was there to listen. Whenever she just wanted to talk about random things he was there to listen.

Derek would do anything for Kat. They were best friends and though they had lost contact over the years he would always consider her his best friend. He knew deep down there had always been more to his feelings but he never wanted to let them out. He couldn't let them out. They would ruin everything that he and Kat had built. He just knew it. And at the same time he wanted to risk it.

"Literally everything?" Kat punctuated her words with a raised eyebrow. "Are you sure about that? Because we could be here for a while if that's the case." She let out a quiet laugh. She knew that he would listen to just about anything she told him. He'd always been a good listener, whether she was venting to him or just talking about whatever came to mind, he was always there to listen. She didn't know how he did it sometimes, she assumed that she got pretty annoying sometimes, especially when she was just saying whatever came to mind. She could go on for hours if that was the case.

"Well, I finished school a few years ago, and decided to take a two year break, did some traveling, then went back to get my masters. I completely changed my major at least five times my first couple of years of college, by the way. My parents were about ready to kill me for that." She was just glad that the whole changing your major thing was a lot more common than seemed to be let on at times. "Um, I'm living in Boston now, have my own apartment and everything. I have a few friends from college that I still hang around with, and my sisters. Yes, I joined a sorority, don't laugh at me for that...I see that smirk!"

---

English wasn't Stiles' least favorite class, but it also wasn't his favorite class. If anything, he could tolerate it, though that was probably because, unlike Harris, this teacher wasn't out to get him on a daily basis. Yes, he was convinced that the chemistry teacher was constantly looking for something to call him out on. He didn't really know what he'd done to the guy, Harris was just an asshole. That was the conclusion that Stiles had finally settled on after much debate.

He focused, for the most part, zoning out a bit as the teacher went on about some beginning of the year project. He hoped that he got paired up with Scott, though that didn't seem to be the case. He groaned audibly when he was paired up with Rebeckah. "Fantastic..." He mumbled sarcastically.

@ pietro maximoff.
(Sry didn't know you replied)

Rebeckah ran a hand through her hair as she thought about how she was going to get through this project without killing herself or Stiles. She looked over at Danny, "You might want to make sure I stay away from sharp objects for a while. There's a good chance I might end up hurting him by the end of this project." She said to him, causing him to laugh and shake his head. Once the teacher finished saying the partner names she told everyone to get with their partner to discuss what play they were going to do.

Rebeckah groaned and stood up before walking over to Stiles and sat down in the desk next to him, "Alright so we are doing Romeo and Juliet. It's easy and it's something that even you can understand." She said, getting straight to the point. She sighed and looked at him, "Look. I know we hate each other and all but I need to get a good grade on this project. This class is my favorite and it is basically the only class that counts for me for college. So if we could try and get through it without physically hurting each other or fighting every five seconds I would appreciate it very much."

----

Derek listened with a smile as she talked. He raised his eyebrows when she said that she had joined a sorority, "I didn't say anything. Not judging. Just imagining the late night pillow fights with your sorority sisters." He teased and elbowed her side. He knew that wasn't how college sororities were but he liked to poke fun at her.

"So what is your major now? Seeing as you changed it five times." He asked curiously. He could imagine her in college constantly switching her major and then he could also imagine her parents threatening to basically kill her for it. He laughed to himself at the image. Derek kind of wished he got to experience that with her. But he wasn't meant for college. It just wasn't his thing.

[No worries, I just saw that you replied to the ATL one yesterday...I'm gonna post on that after I watch Scream]

Kat rolled her eyes playfully, elbowing him back. "You're such an ass." She said, letting out a quiet laugh. She knew that he was only teasing her and had said probably one of the most stereotypical things about a sorority girl on purpose. She was teasing him right back. She was really glad that he wasn't being cold towards her anymore. He wasn't exactly like he'd been before everything had gone down, but he was close, and that was all she could really hope for right now. She knew that he'd been through a lot, and that tragedy changed a person most of the time.

"Clinical psychology." She told him. "It took me a while, but I final found something that felt right. I'm working on getting a doctorate, though that's going to take a little while." She liked what she was doing now though, and she felt as though, after changing her major five different times, that this was for her.

---

"I'm going to kill myself before the end of this." Stiles mumbled to Scott, running a hand over his face. Of all the people in the class he could have been paired up with, it just had to be her. Clearly the odds just weren't in is favor. There were twenty five kids in the class, so the odds of him being paired up with her weren't nearly that slim. It was just his luck, or so it seemed. "I'm sure you'll be fine. She really isn't that bad." Scott told him, receiving a look in response. Scott held his hands up in defense and didn't say anything else. If Stiles heard one more thing about Rebeckah not being that bad, he was going to scream. He might still scream anyway. Hell, he might have a mental breakdown or something before this project was finished. He wouldn't be that surprised if it happened.

"I'm a lot smarter than you give me credit for, I just choose not to pay attention." Stiles retorted, crossing his arms and leaning back in his seat. Her later words kind of surprised him. She wanted to try to be civil? He couldn't believe what he was hearing. "I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."

@ pietro maximoff.
(Not gonna lie. I didn't think it was that good. I watched it last night. I was so bored throughout the whole thing)

Rebeckah almost laughed at his response to her comment. Like actually laughed, not sarcastically, but a real laugh. What the hell? She thought to herself. She shook off the thought before she sighed at his following words, "Same goes for me." She replied before she pulled out her notebook and started to write out what they were both to do, "I'm still sticking with Romeo and Juliet though. I won't lie. I am a girl and it's one of my favorite plays." She admitted before she wrote in the notebook.

Stiles-Summary on Romeo's family. Rebeckah-Summary on Juliet's family. Both-Summary on the play itself, our thoughts on the play, and anything else to add in. She wrote down in her notebook before she slid it over to Stiles, "Is that okay with you?" She asked him and nodded at the notebook, "You realize we are going to have to work on this together...outside of school right? She isn't going to give us class time." Rebeckah stated.

----

Derek laughed at her words, knowing she was teasing, "I'm not an ass. I'm a guy. It's what our brains instantly go to when we think of sorority girls and what they do at night. So tell me. Any naked hazing?" He joked and laughed at his own words, not able to handle keeping a straight face.

Derek nodded when she told him her major and how she was going for her doctorate, "Does this mean I'm going to have to call you Dr. Kat? That's going to be weird. I don't know if I could handle that. All those times as a kid when you would like give me life lessons and I would call you Dr. Kat. They were different. Now it's going to be real." He teased. Derek was excited for her and the fact that she had finally figured out what she wanted to do and that she was loving it.

@ pietro maximoff.
(Not gonna lie. I didn't think it was that good. I watched it last night. I was so bored throughout the whole thing)

Rebeckah almost laughed at his response to her comment. Like actually laughed, not sarcastically, but a real laugh. What the hell? She thought to herself. She shook off the thought before she sighed at his following words, "Same goes for me." She replied before she pulled out her notebook and started to write out what they were both to do, "I'm still sticking with Romeo and Juliet though. I won't lie. I am a girl and it's one of my favorite plays." She admitted before she wrote in the notebook.

Stiles-Summary on Romeo's family. Rebeckah-Summary on Juliet's family. Both-Summary on the play itself, our thoughts on the play, and anything else to add in. She wrote down in her notebook before she slid it over to Stiles, "Is that okay with you?" She asked him and nodded at the notebook, "You realize we are going to have to work on this together...outside of school right? She isn't going to give us class time." Rebeckah stated.

----

Derek laughed at her words, knowing she was teasing, "I'm not an ass. I'm a guy. It's what our brains instantly go to when we think of sorority girls and what they do at night. So tell me. Any naked hazing?" He joked and laughed at his own words, not able to handle keeping a straight face.

Derek nodded when she told him her major and how she was going for her doctorate, "Does this mean I'm going to have to call you Dr. Kat? That's going to be weird. I don't know if I could handle that. All those times as a kid when you would like give me life lessons and I would call you Dr. Kat. They were different. Now it's going to be real." He teased. Derek was excited for her and the fact that she had finally figured out what she wanted to do and that she was loving it.

[I thought it was pretty good, I don't like slasher movies or shows so I didn't have very high expectations for it to be honest, haha.]

Kat let out another laugh, elbowing him again in response to his words. "Even if there was, I wouldn't tell you." She told him. This almost felt...normal. Like things used to be between them, and she hadn't realized until now just how much she'd missed it. How much she'd missed him. He was her best friend, and she didn't think that that was likely to ever change. "Why do you want to know about naked hazing that your best friend might have been involved in anyway? Emphasis on the best friend part."

She laughed at his later words. "Yes, that's exactly what it means. Though, it'll be Dr. Bartlett, not Dr. Kat. Now I'm going to charge you if I give you life lessons. No more freebies." Her tone was light and teasing, a small smile gracing her lips.

---

Stiles shrugged his shoulders in response to her words. "I don't mind either way." He said. He didn't care which play they went with. He wasn't a big Shakespeare fan, so it wasn't like he had a favorite or anything like that. English just wasn't his favorite class to be honest, though it was ranked higher up than chemistry. This teacher was a lot nicer, and wasn't an asshole, like Harris was. No one was as big of an asshole as Harris was though, so that wasn't saying very much.

He looked over what she had written down, nodding his head in approval. "Yeah, that's fine." He told her. "I didn't think that she would either." A part of him had hoped that he'd think wrong or something too. The idea of working with Rebeckah on this outside of school kind of weirded him out. He'd never been with her just the two of them, Scott was always with them too. "We can work on it at my place if you want. My dad won't care."

@ pietro maximoff.
Rebeckah nodded, "I have to work after school until five but I'm free after that. I work at a diner so I mean I can bring food so I feel somewhat useful to the fact that you're providing a workspace." She rambled. She felt awkward talking about this with Stiles. Neither of them had been alone with the other. Scott had always been with them.

This was a new experience for her, being almost civil with Stiles. It felt foreign to her. She didn't realize she was almost staring as Stiles because of the confusion that was washing through her body. It wasn't until the bell rang that she snapped out of it, "I guess I'll text you when I'm leaving work." She said quickly before she snatched up her binder and almost ran out of the room, suddenly feeling embarrassed again for staring at him. She didn't know why did it really. She just did.

---

Derek shrugged, "I wasn't focusing it on you. I was more or less trying to see if you'd have a sorority sister to hook me up with." He said and grinned at her, nudging her with his elbow. On the inside, Derek knew there would never be anyone other than Kat for him but there was no reason to tell her that. That would be weird. She just got back.

"Awe come on! No more freebies. But I don't want to pay for it. You're my best friend. I'm supposed to get life lessons from you for free all the time. That's a rip off." He pouted and stuck his tongue out at her. He felt a little weird being like this with her. It had been so long since he just let himself be happy around someone. He was always so cold to people because there was no one like Kat he was able to be goofy around.

@ pietro maximoff.
Rebeckah nodded, "I have to work after school until five but I'm free after that. I work at a diner so I mean I can bring food so I feel somewhat useful to the fact that you're providing a workspace." She rambled. She felt awkward talking about this with Stiles. Neither of them had been alone with the other. Scott had always been with them.

This was a new experience for her, being almost civil with Stiles. It felt foreign to her. She didn't realize she was almost staring as Stiles because of the confusion that was washing through her body. It wasn't until the bell rang that she snapped out of it, "I guess I'll text you when I'm leaving work." She said quickly before she snatched up her binder and almost ran out of the room, suddenly feeling embarrassed again for staring at him. She didn't know why did it really. She just did.

---

Derek shrugged, "I wasn't focusing it on you. I was more or less trying to see if you'd have a sorority sister to hook me up with." He said and grinned at her, nudging her with his elbow. On the inside, Derek knew there would never be anyone other than Kat for him but there was no reason to tell her that. That would be weird. She just got back.

"Awe come on! No more freebies. But I don't want to pay for it. You're my best friend. I'm supposed to get life lessons from you for free all the time. That's a rip off." He pouted and stuck his tongue out at her. He felt a little weird being like this with her. It had been so long since he just let himself be happy around someone. He was always so cold to people because there was no one like Kat he was able to be goofy around.

Kat rolled her eyes playfully. "Well, the answer is no. I'm not setting you up with any of my sisters." She told him, unable to help letting out a quiet laugh a few moments later. She had no idea how he felt about her. She'd always assumed that he saw her as his best friend, nothing more, nothing less. They'd always been close and meant a lot to each other, but she always thought that it was just in the best friend sort of way.

It was quite comical, seeing him pout like that. His demeanor had almost done a complete 360 from what it had been when he first stepped out of the house earlier. "I think you've gotten enough advice from me to last you a lifetime, Derek Hale." She said, letting out a quiet laugh.

---

Stiles nodded. "Alright, you can bring food if you want to...only if you want to though. If not, we could always order a pizza or something. It doesn't matter to me." he shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't going to mind if she didn't bring him back anything after her shift, it wasn't that big of a deal, and he knew that his dad wouldn't mind if they ordered in anyway. This was all pretty strange, she'd never been this civil towards her before now.

He was surprised when, the moment the bell rang, she sprung up out of her seat and was out the door before he could say a single word to her. That was even stranger than her being civil towards him. He supposed that that afternoon, working on the project with her, was going to be interesting to say the least.

@ pietro maximoff.
Rebeckah didn't even stop to wait for Danny, instead just walking to her next class. The class also featured lunch in the middle of class. She was thankful for lunch because she could sit with Danny and she wouldn't have to deal with the embarrassment of what happened in English. Sadly, Stiles was in that class, which was History, so she was reminded of her slip up and her staring session she had at Stiles.

In History Rebeckah made sure to sit in the back of the class in the corner so only Danny could sit next to her and she wouldn't have to worry about Stiles or Scott sitting anywhere close. She didn't know why she was freaking out so bad about this but being with Stiles felt really weird to her and she wasn't handling it well, obviously.

---

Derek groaned at her words, though he didn't really care inside. He couldn't imagine himself with another girl that he would rather be with than Kat. But he then remembered what happened to Paige and he shook the thought from his head, knowing that Kat wouldn't be safe with him.

Derek crossed his arms at her before pouting, "I could never have enough life lessons from you, Kat." He said honestly with a smile. He had been through so much with Kat and he never stopped learning from her. It was one of the many great things about being friends with her.

[Probably my last post until I get back ]

Kat smiled at his words. "Well, I'm glad you seem to think I give good advice." She said. She'd always tried being there for him whenever she could. It didn't matter what he was going through, she was always there, and that was why she'd been so angry with her parents when she found out they kept the fire a secret until she finished school for the semester. She felt like she'd gone back on her promise as a best friend, and she'd felt horrible about it. That was why she'd tried contacting him. She'd wanted to explain herself, but, when he never returned any of her calls, she kind of just assumed the worst and gave up. Until now. She was really glad that she was here now.

---

The rest of the school day seemed to go by rather quickly. Stiles thought it was weird how Rebeckah hadn't made a single snarky comment or remark for the remainder of it. Maybe she really was serious about being more civil towards each other. In return, he respected her for that, and didn't make any snide remarks either. It was weird to say the least, especially when it had been going on for so long now, and it made him wonder if it was something that would actually end up lasting. After school, he had lacrosse try outs, something he wasn't exactly looking forward to, though he supposed diner food afterwards when he and Rebeckah worked on their project would make up for it. So long as Coach didn't totally kick their asses tonight and so long as this whole being civil thing remained in tact.

@ pietro maximoff.
Rebeckah finished her school day without any snide comments to Stiles, not that she really wanted to anyway. She wanted to work on being civil with him at least until the project was over. After school she went home and quickly changed into her diner uniform and went to work. The entire time she constantly was thinking about the fact that after she left she was going to Stiles' house for the project and dinner. It felt weird and she wasn't sure yet how she literally was feeling about it.

---

Derek smiled and nodded at her. He felt bad for not returning her calls over the years but at that point when she never came home he figured there was nothing to talk about. But now she was home and he was thankful for it. He don't realize until now how much he had actually missed her company. Derek hated it when she was gone because he felt like a part of himself was missing and now he knew that part was Kat.

@ pietro maximoff.
Rebeckah finished her school day without any snide comments to Stiles, not that she really wanted to anyway. She wanted to work on being civil with him at least until the project was over. After school she went home and quickly changed into her diner uniform and went to work. The entire time she constantly was thinking about the fact that after she left she was going to Stiles' house for the project and dinner. It felt weird and she wasn't sure yet how she literally was feeling about it.

---

Derek smiled and nodded at her. He felt bad for not returning her calls over the years but at that point when she never came home he figured there was nothing to talk about. But now she was home and he was thankful for it. He don't realize until now how much he had actually missed her company. Derek hated it when she was gone because he felt like a part of himself was missing and now he knew that part was Kat.

Kat sent a small smile his way. She was glad that, in a way, a lot of what had happened between them was all just a misunderstanding. She'd missed Derek a lot over the years, and, despite the circumstances, she was glad to be back in Beacon Hills and spending time with him again, hopefully for a while. "You'll answer my calls now, won't you?" She asked, punctuating her words with a raised eyebrow. "Because, if you don't, I do know where you live." Her tone was light and teasing.

---

Stiles wasn't sure what to expect that afternoon once school and lacrosse try outs were finished. He and Rebeckah hadn't spoken a single word to each other since English class, which was strange as they were usually sending snide remarks and insults each others way. He wondered if this being civil thing would actually end up lasting. Either way, he supposed that he would find out soon enough.

@ pietro maximoff.
Once Rebeckah's shift ended she packed up some food before getting in her car and driving to Stiles' house. She sent him a quick text, I'm on my way. Wasn't sure what kind of food you liked so I grabbed a little of everything. She set down her phone and continued to drive to his house. She had only ever been there once before with Scott but refused to go inside. Once there she parked her car and got out, with the food, and went and knocked on his door. She took a nervous breath as she waited, unsure as to why she was nervous. Maybe it was the thought of spending time alone with him. She didn't want to admit it aloud but the thought scared her because if they actually ended up keeping this whole civil thing, Rebeckah felt like it was a fight she had lost.

---

Derek laughed at what she said and nodded, "I will answer your calls now. If I'm not busy." He said and smiled at her. He was actually glad that things were starting to work out. He liked that she was back and that she had come to see him. Derek knew that she was going to be a big help getting through this whole Laura thing.