Never Back Down

Thora tightened her grip on her shoulder bag as her brother's car pulled to a stop outside the rather large school building that held the sign; Welcome to Beacon High.

"I know it's difficult, but it does get easier," Ryan squeezed her knee.

"How do you know that?" She questioned, turning her chocolate brown eyes on him.

"Because, I was once in your position," He explained simply, "Mom and Dad used to move around a lot when I was your age."

Thora went to answer when the shrill sound of the school bell drifted through the open windows of the car. He smiled softly at her before ruffling her hair, gaining a noise of protest as she attempted to smooth down the now wild curls.

"I'll be here at the end of the day," He handed her some money for lunch before all but pushing her out of the car.

"Love you too," She grumbled sarcastically and waited patiently until he had driven off before turning and walking towards the school.

She gazed around in confusion, seeing as she had no clue where to go. A hopeful look crossed her face as she caught sight of a dark brown haired girl sitting on a bench a few feet away.

"Excuse me?" She asked as she reached the girl.

"Hold on a second," The girl stated politely, holding a hand up, "Yes, mom, i'll be fine. I gotta go, love you too."

The girl ended the call before locking her phone and sliding it into the pocket of her jacket. She turned towards Thora and smiled up at her.

"Do you know where you're supposed to go if you're new?" Thora questioned, sitting next to the brunette.

"Oh, sorry, I don't," She apologized, "I'm new here too."

"I'm glad i'm not the only one then. We can share the attention today," She grinned and held a hand out, "I'm Thora McCullough."

"Allison Argent," She shook Thora's hand.

The two of them continued to talk to each other, until a man from the administrator's office approached them and gestured for them to follow him to their first class; English.
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Thora gazed around the classroom at all the faces staring back at her and Allison with curious eyes. Her shiny brown eyes met a pair of warm brown ones that twinkled with mischief and she found herself smiling slightly.

"Class, these are your new students, Allison Argent and Thora McCullough. I trust that you'll make them feel welcome," The teacher introduced them dryly before gesturing towards the two empty seats at either side of the classroom.

"I'll wait for you after class," Thora promised, smiling at Allison before heading to her seat.

She sat there for about five minutes, reading the assigned book when the boy with the buzz cut behind her started poking her with his pen. She turned around and glowered at him, gaining a grin in return.

"Can I help you?" She whispered, trying not to get the teacher's attention on her.

"I'm Stiles, welcome to Beacon Hills," His grin grew in size as he bounced slightly in his seat.

"Thank you," She smiled in surprise and shook his offered hand, "I'm Thora, obviously."

"Do you want me to show you around after class?"

"That would be great actually," She nodded, glancing over at Allison, "Can you show Allison around as well?"

"Sure, you two are friends in need after all," He smiled.

She nodded and turned around to continue reading the book. She found herself looking forward to meeting Stiles after class; his hyper personality only made him more interesting.

Thora smiled happily as she bell rang, signalling the end of class. She quickly slid the book into her messenger bag and waited patiently for Stiles. Allison soon walked over clutching a large purple folder to her chest and she greeted her with a smile.

"Allison, this is Stiles," She introduced, "He's going to show us around."

"It's nice to meet you, Stiles," Allison nodded, "I have history next, what about you, Thora?"

"Algebra 2," She replied after a quick glance at her schedule.

"Why did you sign up for Algebra 2?" Stiles questioned in disbelief, taking the piece of paper from her, "And French 2?"

"What?" She demanded defensively, "I like French and Algebra?"

Stiles snorted at her lame answer before he gestured for them to follow him out of the classroom and into the now crowded hallway.
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"Allison!" Thora called as she headed down the corridor with her two new friends by her side.

"Hey," Allison greeted and drew her first friend at Beacon High into a one armed hug.

"This is Erica and Boyd," She grabbed their hands and pulled them closer, "They're in my Algebra 2 class."

"It's nice to meet you guys," The dark haired brunette smiled as she placed her folder in her locker.

At that moment, a strawberry blonde haired girl approached and rudely interrupted the groups conversation. Thora raised her eyebrows in disbelief as she glared at the girl.

"Excuse me," Thora cleared her throat, "We were in the middle of a conversation here."

"Hmm, oh well," She eyed Thora's outfit, which consisted of a pair of tattered black skinny jeans that she'd borrowed from Sara, a Rolling Stones shirt, a black waist coat with multiple band badges on it, a pair of star constellation converses and a hat with a panda face on her head, "Why don't you come back when you have an actual sense of fashion?"

Thora glanced between the strawberry blonde and Allison who kept her head down and made no attempt to defend her. She let out a scoff at the two of them before gesturing for Erica and Boyd to follow her. She rammed her shoulder into the strawberry blonde as she walked past and muttered 'Rude bitch' under her breath. Unbeknownst to her, she had burned the blonde's skin when she had touched her.

"Ignore Lydia," Erica stated as Thora looped an arm through hers, "She bullies anyone who isn't rich or wears fancy clothes."

"Can I hit her?" She questioned, her face lighting up at the possibility of punching Lydia.

"Unfortunately not," Boyd spoke up, "You'd end up having her personal army on your ass."

"Aw, I thought that could have been her welcome present to me," She pouted, causing them to laugh.

"Let's go, the Lacrosse tryouts will be starting soon."

With that, Erica grabbed Boyd's hand and began leading the only friends she had towards the playing fields at the back of the high school.
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"Who's that?" Thora asked Erica as they sat side-by-side at the Lacrosse tryouts; Boyd had left half way through, saying that he had to get to work.

"Number fourteen?" Erica glanced between her and the Lacrosse player, "That's Isaac Lahey."

"He's hot," She replied appreciatively just as Isaac turned around and glanced in their direction. She raised her hand and waved, causing him blush slightly before turning back to the game.

"I think he's blushing," The blonde next to her giggled.

"I'll be right back," She stated and readjusted her hat as she headed down the bleachers towards Isaac.

"Thora!" Erica hissed, "What are you doing?"

"I wanna talk to him," She replied before she slipped into the seat beside him, causing him to jump, "Hello."

"H-Hey," He stuttered.

"I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me," He disagreed, before holding his hand out, "I'm Isaac."

"I know," She grinned, her small hand fit perfectly in his large one as she shook it, "I'm Thora McCullough."

"It's nice to meet you, Thora."

"So, are you going to play or not?" She gestured towards the field.

"Oh no, I just sit here and keep the bench warm, unfortunately," He shrugged, "I'm nothing important."

"I disagree. I think the reserves are an important part of any game," She smiled, "The team relies on the reserves to fill in for players that are injured or can't make it. Therefore, you are an important part of the game."

"I never thought about it like that before," He replied, "Thank you."

"It's no problem, Isaac," She patted his arm.

They watched the game in silence for a couple of minutes and she glanced between him and Erica before winking at her friend and turning back to him.

"So, I hear there's a party on Friday," She started, "I was wondering if you wanted to go with me?"

"What's the catch?" Isaac asked finally.

"What are you talking about?" Thora's eyebrows furrowed, "I asked you out and you think I have some ulterior motive?"

"I'm sorry," His voice trembled as he apologized, "I didn't mean to offend you."

"You can make it up to me by coming to the party with me," She grinned slyly.

"O-Okay, you'll have to give me your address for Friday then," The tips of Isaac's ears turned red as she let out a cheer.

"Great!" She grinned.

Thora hesitated, glancing between the field and Isaac and Erica, who was watching them curiously. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his left cheek before standing and rushing back to Erica; leaving Isaac sitting there with a shocked expression as he raised a hand to his tingling cheek.
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Friday arrived sooner than she had expected and her first week at the new school had gone great. She had introduced Isaac to Erica and Boyd and the four of them sat together on the bleachers at lunch time or when ever they had a free period. She also spent some time getting to know Stiles and his best friend Scott. She had made up with Allison after the incident with Lydia, she understood that Allison hated getting caught in the middle of a fight and they passed notes during the classes they had together. Her brother and sister in law were surprised when she told them that she was talking more than she usually did and that she had made some actually decent friends this time.

"Come on, Erica," She literally got down on her knees in the middle of the hallway in front of the blonde, "You and Boyd have to come with us! It could be a double date!"

"I-I don't think that would be a good idea," Erica glanced around wildly as she tried in vain to pull Thora to her feet.

"How about me and Isaac go to the party for a couple of hours and then I pick you and Boyd up and we can have a slumber party at my house?" Thora compromised.

"Will you get up if I agree?"

"Most definitely!" She cheered.

"Then i'll talk Boyd into coming to the slumber party," Erica sighed, knowing she wouldn't win against the stubborn force of Thora.

Thora hugged her tightly before saying goodbye and skipping down the hallway in search of the caramel blonde male that she was currently crushing on. She finally caught up to him on the playing fields where he was throwing balls into the goal with his Lacrosse stick. She crept over to him quietly and pounced, the impact sent them both crashing to the ground and she let out a string of giggles as she rolled over onto her back.

"Fancy meeting you here," She winked.

"Of course, it's such a pleasant surprise," He retorted, already used to her strange personality.

"Oh, by the way, we're going to the party for a couple of hours and then I have to pick Erica and Boyd up because we're having a slumber party!"

"Isn't that a bit girly?" He questioned.

"Of course not," She scoffed, leaning on her elbow and gazing down at him, "I used to do this the whole time with my guy friends in Chicago."

Isaac nodded in defeat as the bell rang before telling her that he would be at her house when the party started to get a ride to the party. She grinned and patted his cheek softly before rushing off to her history class that she had with Stiles and Erica.
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"Are you sure this is okay?" She asked hesitantly, glancing at her outfit in the floor length mirror.

"You look beautiful, Amoureux," Sara's french accent was strong as she slipped back into her native language.

"Are you kidding?" Her brother asked teasingly from the doorway, "She looks like she lives in a box."

Thora growled at him before grabbing a pillow and lobbing it at his head; he ducked and the pillow soared into the hallway, landing with a dull thud.

"Don't be so mean," Sara scolded her husband as she stepped back to admire her work.

Thora's dark locks had been curled and two strands of it had been braided back and pinned up into a semi-messy bun. Her eyes were complete with red eyeshadow. Her lips were a bright red colour and her nails were a glittery black colour. Her sister in law and given her a long sleeved, lacy red top, a pair of dark shorts and high heeled black shoes.

"You do look beautiful," Ryan tossed an arm around her shoulders and smiled.

"I hope you have fun tonight," Sara pecked her husband on the lips as the trio headed downstairs to answer the door.

Thora opened the door to reveal a nervous looking Isaac, who was dressed in a pair of jeans, a loose white shirt and a leather jacket.

"Y-You look beautiful," His cheeks turned red as he gazed at her.

"Thanks," She smiled bashfully, "Sara helped me pick it out."

"You must be Isaac," Ryan quickly fell into the role of the protective older brother as he eyed up the teenage boy and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Yes sir," He nodded and held a hand out.

"You better take care of her or i'll hunt you down and kick your ass, understood?"

"Yes, I understand," Isaac looked more uncomfortable by the second and Thora stepped in to help him.

"That's enough, Ryan," She told him off, "He's not going to do anything wrong."

Thora reached up and hugged Sara before kissing her brother's cheek and pulling Isaac down the driveway towards her brothers shiny blue Mercedes convertible. She glanced back once to wave at her remaining family members before handing Isaac the keys and climbing into the passenger seat.
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Thora and Isaac had been at the party for over an hour and she was descending into the drunk phase, courtesy of Lydia's boyfriend; Jackson Whittemore and a bunch of other Lacrosse players. Her eyes drifted over the crowd and she soon caught sight of Allison dancing with Scott.

"Allison!" Thora cheered as she led Isaac over to the couple, "Scottie!"

"Thora?" The brunette wrinkled her nose at the smell of alcohol on her friend's breath as she was pulled into a hug, "Have you been drinking?"

"I had a cup of punch or ten, but Lydia's slave has been spiking it," She replied.

"Jackson?"

"Yeah, he spiked it while her back was turned. I was there when he put the vodka in it," Thora swayed on the spot and Isaac was quick to support her weight.

"I'm going to take her home," He stated, wrapping an arm around her waist, "Her brother's going to be kill me if he sees her like this."

"Okay, i'll see you guys at school on monday," Allison smiled at the two of them before turning back to Scott.

"We need to pick Erica and Boyd up," She ordered with a drunk smile as he deposited her in the passenger seat and climbed into the drivers seat.

"We'll go there next," He promised, "Just try to sleep it off for now."

Thora paid no attention to his words, instead, she turned the radio on and began humming along to a random song. The car pulled up in front of Erica's house ten minutes later and Isaac took it upon himself to go and collect the blonde girl.

"What's up with her?" Erica questioned as she climbed into the back seat.

"Spiked punch, Jackson's fault," He replied simply and she nodded in understanding.

The next stop was Boyd's house and the large, muscular male was already standing outside with a duffel bag at his feet. He climbed into the space beside Erica and shared a shy smile with her.

"We have to be quiet when we get to my house," Thora spoke up, slowly coming down from her drunken haze.

They arrived at the McCullough house twenty minutes later and they quickly grabbed their stuff and hurried into the house. She locked the door quietly behind them and led them up the staircase to her bedroom, where they each took turns at getting changed in her bathroom before they curled up on the mountain of pillows and blankets on the floor and talked until the early hours of the morning.
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Thora groaned as pain erupted in her head as Isaac, Erica and Boyd escorted her towards the picnic tables at the front of the high school. Boyd smirked at her pain as he sat down beside Erica on the table. School had ended only minutes previously and she still felt hungover from the party on Friday. She'd spoken to Allison, who apparently had gotten a ride home from the party with a guy named Derek, who claimed to be a friend of Scott's. He'd also apparently claimed that he was friends with her, but she couldn't recall ever knowing someone called Derek.

"Never let me drink that much again!" She groaned resting her cheek on the table top.

"I won't," Isaac promised and before he could stop himself, he reached out and began stroking her hair.

"That...That feel nice," She sighed before letting out a light purr.

Erica burst out laughing at sound and Thora shot up in her seat, blushing furiously as she looked around wildly for something to distract them. She grinned happily at the sight of Allison before she jumped up and ran over to the brunette.

"Ally!" She cheered as she stuck her head in the passenger window.

"Hey Gracie," Allison chuckled, using her middle name, "Dad, this is Thora Gracie McCullough."

"Nice to meet you, Mr Argent," Thora reached across her friend and shook his hand after he climbed into the truck.

"Please, call me Chris," The sandy haired male replied, releasing her hand.

"Your wish is my command...Christopher!" She giggled and ruffled Allison's hair before prancing back to her friends.

"She's uh...She seems nice," Chris stated with a raised eyebrow, causing his daughter to laugh before waiting patiently as he started the car and left the parking lot.