otherwise :: chapter one - friend or foe [sneak peek]
Hey, so considering it takes me ages to update, I decided I will do sneak peeks once in a while for upcoming chapters. So with that being said, I hope you enjoy this sneak peek, under the cut.
[ start from the beginning ]
“Just get up and go take a shower.” Lydia exasperates at Sarah, who was just doing … well, nothing besides moping around.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever mom.” Sarah mocks the strawberry blonde as she stands up from her bed and makes her way to the bathroom (which was connected to her room). However, before she fully closed the bathroom door, she sees half of her clothes being taken out of the closet and dropped on her bed. The former hunter could have gone through her closet to decide her outfit of the day herself but as of now, the strawberry blonde girl will take care of it.
After she shuts the bathroom doors closed, Sarah steps out of her black flannel pyjama pants and takes off her shirt, until she was left standing in front of the mirror only in her underwear. Unintentionally her eyes move to mirror and instantly they lock on her upper right abdomen. Slowly her forefinger, middle and ring finger are placed on her scar and she traces the mark.
The girl pulls her hand off from scar as the flashing flashbacks start to consume her memories and she shakes her head to get the images out of her mind. Her both hands clench both sides of the sink as her breathing became more shallow, she shuts her eyes and tries to block the noise coming from behind the doors and focuses on her breathing. Sarah slowly breathes in for ten and then breathes out for ten.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
Breathe in.
Breathe out.
She repeats the pace of her breathing for few times until she calms herself down.
Get it together, she thinks to herself as she raises her head higher and inhales sharply.
The girl steps into the shower cabin after taking off her underwear and turns the showerhead on. Instantly she was met with cold water and a small gasp escapes from her. Turning the shower head away from her she waits few seconds until the water turned warm. Her muscles slowly relax under the warmth. It felt like a weight was lifting off from her shoulders and make her feel in some way better. That’s what she likes about showers. It was honestly the only place she could be alone and have her head wrapped around her thoughts.
If someone asked her if she’s okay, her answer would be very simple: she is working on it. Technically she is okay and yet — at the same time — she isn’t, she’s walking the line between the two. Sarah just didn’t know what she needed to do for her to feel better. It was exhausting and she just wanted everything to stop for a second.
However, part of her felt like she doesn’t deserve this. She doesn’t deserve anything Lydia is doing for her. She made her feel more welcome in Beacon Hills. Even when she started going to Beacon Hills High School, Lydia made sure no one thought of her as a newbie and she was as same as Lydia. (Well, technically she still is but not that Lydia wants to hear those words to come out of anyone’s mouth).
Coldness spreads through her body as she turns the water off and shivers go down her body. She quickly wraps herself in towels, trying to find some warmth and steps out of shower cabin. With her palm, she cleans the foggy mirror to look at her reflection again. Not because for the sake of vanity, but because she’s curious.
And as she takes in her appearance, she doesn’t like what she’s seeing. She will definitely need to work on that too— Sarah has dark circles under eyes, from the lack of sleep she has been getting lately. From time to time since she arrived in Beacon Hills, she wakes up in middle of the night screaming or murmuring in her sleep. (Unfortunately, that meant waking her mother up. She has already made it hard for her, especially when she couldn’t just blurt out everything to her, not like she could to Kate and that’s exactly what makes her sick to her stomach).
Sarah’s mother was already concerned about her daughter’s well-being since she came back and now she needed to add more problems to worst-daughter-ever list. Talking about the real disaster here.
Her skin isn’t as tan as it used to be, she’s paler and her cheeks have lost their colour. Sarah knew there was no such thing as moving on, this isn’t some freaking Hollywood movie, and this is real life. You can’t move on just with the snap of your fingers. People leave and they leave a hole in your heart that no one can really fill in. Deep, deep down the void inside of her was smirking at her and waiting. Waiting, till she accepts it and it was killing her.
But that doesn’t mean there were no other ways to make herself feel a bit better; accepting the truth. That she could do or at least try to do. Then she will know how to carry that weight without it destroying her.
Raising her head higher, she inhales sharply, “You can do this, Sarah! Just hold on.” She heaves out and just like that she walks out of her bathroom.
When she walked out, she was expecting all her clothes to be everywhere, like a Hulk came to visit her room and make a mess, instead there was only one outfit laying on her bed.
Lydia didn’t glance at Sarah as she just grabs blue collar long sleeve blouse and black skinny jeans from Sarah’s bed, and walks towards the brunette, who was only wrapped in her towel. Sarah was starting to ask herself if Lydia even knew she’s standing there and waiting for her to acknowledge her presence, “ I never thought I would say this, but this will look good for today — only if you match together with your brown ankle boots. ” Sarah rolls her eyes at her friend and she was about to say thank you, but Lydia beat her to it as she continues, “And you need to cover up those dark circles with concealer, otherwise you look like a walking corpse.”
Sarah scoffs. She wasn’t sure if she should feel hurt by her choice of words or boost of confidence. Either way, she ignores Lydia’s remark but Sarah definitely needs use concealer and a corrector to cover her circles under eyes.
Sarah smiles, “Oh please, you love me with all my flaws.” Sarah waves her hand between her and Lydia. Almost forgetting she had towel loosely wrapped around her body. “That’s the main reason why we hang out together—seriously we need another girl in our club, so that way we can be three Musketeers … except in girl version.”
“I will just leave you to your nerdy obsessive lifestyle until you get dressed exactly how I matched your clothes together and then I will just pretend you didn’t try to talk nonsense with me.” Lydia smiles in a sickly sweet way, lightly patting Sarah’s cheek.
“Okay first of all,” Sarah holds her right hand out in front of her, while the other hand was clenching her towel,“ ‘obsessive’ it’s a pretty strong word, ” Sarah replied, sounding serious as ever but still hearing sarcasm, “ I prefer the word enthusiastic.”
Sarah giggles. The strawberry blonde closes her eyes and breathes in heavily and made her way to the former hunter’s bedroom door.
When her doors were shut completely, her giggles die down and she stares at her doors —she was left in silence and it was way too early for her to let her mind to jump to whatever horrific situation she has come to face with. Nope, not going to happen. She’s going to change and get ready for school.
She’s getting better at pushing her memories away from the person she used to be and that only means she was starting to get hang of herself. If that was the way she wanted to put it.
Forty minutes later and she was done with her looks, and she didn’t look like a walking corpse, as Lydia puts it. Sarah has her hair curled up with her usual chocolate brown added eyeshadow. Her dark circles weren’t seeable and her skin tone wasn’t as pale as it was before when she took a shower. She looks like a perfect person who hasn’t gone through hell and back. Sarah was totally okay with that.
Sarah holds her head high and inhales sharply— she can do this.
Taking one last glance at her reflection she walks downstairs and sees her strawberry blonde friend sitting comfortably on the couch and like expecting Nathan Scott’s voice on TV. Sarah’s ankle boots thud against porcelain floor tiles, making the strawberry blonde look behind her and a light sigh escapes her lips seeing the brunette finally all dressed up. “I was starting to think, I needed to check up on you.”
“It’s lovely to know your concern for me is spiking on high levels.” Sarcasm dripping through former hunter’s tone.
Lydia turns off the TV and gets up from the couch to make her way towards the brunette. Sarah only now notices, she had two mugs of coffee in both hands, one of them including Sarah’s blue thermos mug. “While you were in your room getting ready, I managed to watch one episode of One Tree Hill and even make coffee for both of us. That’s how long it took for you to get ready.” She handles Sarah her thermos mug and moves past her to the kitchen, Sarah trailing after her with an amused look on her face.
“You’re aware I’m still waiting for my season three back, right?” Sarah questions her friend. Completely obvious she has been missing her season three DVD of One Tree Hill for weeks now.
“What?” Lydia asks, spinning around to face Sarah, trying to act as she had no idea what the brunette was talking about. Sarah puts her mug down on the counter and arches her brow at Lydia. Silence lapsing around them and her best friend couldn’t take it anymore, so she finally confesses. Sort of. “Your mom let me borrow it.”
“Lydia, those are mine, not my mom’s. Besides she even prefers Gilmore Girls!”
Lydia purses her lips and hums, ignoring Sarah’s comment. She sits down on a stool and her elbows rest against counter’s surface, her mug of coffee in both hands. “It’s already 07:30 am, and we need to get going or otherwise we’ll be late.”
Sarah playfully rolls her eyes at her best friend and pushes herself to move slightly over the counter for an apple from the fruit bowl. Plops down on a bar stool, in front of Lydia, a lopsided smile made its way to her face. “I thought you wanted to be fashionably late?”
Sarah and Lydia shared strange friendship and both of them knew it— In a way, they both were so alike and yet so different. They could find anything to bicker about but at the end of the day, they both cared about each other. Both girls just didn’t know how to show it.
“As much as I would love to show up fashionably late, this is our first day back from winter break and everyone’s eyes need to be on us, ” Lydia brushes a strand of hair from her face, mischievous smile lacing her features. “But speaking of your mom, she left few minutes before you came downstairs, saying something about woods. Nothing interesting.”
“Oh.”
Sarah frowns at Lydia’s words. She hasn’t seen her mother for a day and it’s slowly killing her from the inside. It feels like she’s losing connection with her, even though that wasn’t a truth. They both have been busy with their own things.
All that she wants is having the same old relationship she had with her mother before Sarah knew about werewolves. But lately they haven’t had equally good mother-daughter time; she was hoping she could accomplish that this year.
Sighing, she stands up with Lydia and takes their school bags, “Are you okay?” The brunette asks.
The strawberry blonde abruptly stops walking and glances at Sarah with a raised eyebrow. “Yes, I feel fantastic. Why?”
“Nothing—” Sarah’s lips tilt downwards in a pouty way and she shrugs her shoulders casually, “— you’ve been acting nice to me all morning. Waking me up, getting me all dolled up, making me coffee, what’s up with all of that? “Sarah questions suspiciously before sliding in Lydia’s passenger seat.
Lydia closes her eyes and huffs at Sarah. "Oh, don’t get used to it,” Starting her car, Lydia glances at Sarah, “I’m just feeling great, today is going to be a good day for both of us. ”
“Okay, I’ll pretend like it’s the only thing you wanted to say.” Sarah chuckles and rests her head against the car’s window, her eyes glancing once in a while at passing trees.
Not even twenty minutes later and they were already driving into school’s parking lot. It looked similar to her old school in Coastege City and a nostalgic feeling rushes through her.
She was about to get out of Lydia’s car but her best friend locks the doors, making Sarah raise a brow at her for explication. “Remember you said I wanted something from you and I said no? Well, I lied.”
Sarah interjects, “I’ll pretend to be shocked.”
Lydia ignores her, “I want you to do me a favour.”
The former hunter’s brows crease together, “What kind of a favour?”
Last time she checked, doing Lydia a favour was not something pleasing and yet they were rare. The first time Lydia asked her to do a favour it ended up with them getting in trouble or double dates that always ends horribly.
The strawberry blonde takes her purse and goes through it, “Principal asked me to introduce some girl to our school but I’m not willing to risk my reputation,” She takes out a carrying mirror and a lip gloss to apply another layer of it and Sarah leans back in her chair. “Plus Jackson asked me to meet him before class.”
Sarah’s mouth dropped open and closed like a fish out of water, “So you want to put my reputation on the line?!”
“Meh,” Lydia waves one hand at her best friend while with the other retouching her hair so it would be in perfect condition,“You’ll be fine. I’ll come up with some story that won’t affect me or you.”
The brunette squints her eyes at the girl next to her and scoffs in disbelief, “Okay, wha–”
“Perfect,” Lydia cuts her off, “I knew I could count on you.”
And with that Lydia was out of the car, leaving Sarah behind in her own car. The former hunter rubs her forehead with the left hand and groans. “Lydia, that’s so not what I meant.” She whines as she steps out of the car and shuts the doors behind her.
“Sarah has been through such a journey and so many ups and downs since the pilot aired. She found love, she went through a heartbreak, she lost people, she healed, and most importantly, she’s still kicking. I would be lying if I said, I won’t miss playing her.” - Marie Avgeropoulos at Teen Wolf panel, SDCC 2017
two years ago today (03.09.2015) i had an idea for my first ever teen wolf fic. i wasn’t sure where i wanted it to go at the very first beginning. i named her cassidy cooper, she was wise, friendly, confident and a new girl in town with banshee powers. however, she didn’t have a backstory, so weeks passed by and i eventually came up with an idea for her backstory.
her story started to make her interact with others differently, her personality started to change and i couldn’t see her as cassidy cooper anymore. so than a year later came sarah hendrix with a different faceclaim. i added more ideas to her storyline and her backstory made more sense. i made her more sarcastic and with good humor cause season one is more with light humor so i figured that’s what i should do. but again it was a little occ from her so i changed faceclaim and personality once again.
this time i made her more flawed, with insecurities and regrets. instead of using a creature that already exists, i came up with my own, to make thing more interesting. i’m very proud of her storyline and a personality that i have given to her now and everything fits better to where i want the storyline to go and how she develops as a person.
i have rewritten her so many times but this time i’m determined to finish her story and never abandon her ever again. she’s by far my favorite character that i have ever created. without her, i don’t think i would have started posting edits of her or even talk with other people on here.
