Chapter Text
‘Silent as the grave.’ Wasn’t that the phrase that people used? It certainly rattled in Scott’s brain as he watched her pick up her notebook and jot a couple of things down.
“You know, we could probably get this done faster if you tell me what exactly you’re doing.” Brown irises flicked over to him as he spoke, but Elena Gilbert made no reply; her nimble hands merely continued mixing chemicals. Scott glanced back at Stiles and his new partner, an exotic looking girl with almond eyes. Stiles gave him a thumbs up, but Scott could only roll his eyes at his best friend’s lack of help.
When he turned back to Elena, she was picking up a beaker. His hand shot out to clamp onto her wrist, seemingly sending an electric shock through her body. She jumped, and even as he released her, her eyes met his for the first time. There were ghosts there, lurking in her brown irises, fierce and sharp-toothed, visible even at a glance.
“Sorry, I just, uh…” he trailed off as she looked away, bright red blooming on her cheeks. “I think we’re supposed to be using the bigger beaker for this.” If she agreed with him, she didn’t say it, but she took the other beaker out of his hands nonetheless. Scott couldn’t help but to keep watching her, and perhaps that was the reason her blush got darker and darker until the shriek of the bell minutes later broke his concentration.
She was gone in a flash, disappeared out the door and into the increasing throng of students in the hallway. A hand clamping on his shoulder signaled Stiles’ arrival as the two joined the post-class chaos of the hallway. Scott shook his head in disbelief in the direction Elena had vanished. “Of all the people in that class, I had to get partnered up with the one who apparently hates me. What do you think I did?”
“Dude, don’t you know who that is? That’s Elena Gilbert.” Scott shrugged his confusion and Stiles sighed in exasperation, steering his friend in the direction of their lockers. “Her parents died in a car accident like a year ago, and her boyfriend died a couple of months ago. Then her brother went and moved to Colorado out of nowhere. Elena Gilbert, Scott. The girl attracts disaster like a magnet.”
“Her boyfriend?”
“Yes, dumbass, her boyfriend, Stefan Salvatore. You know, the one who died in that big fire at the boarding house? It was all over the news.”
The image of the building, flames leaping to the dark skies, kids huddled on the street just outside, flickered to life in Scott’s mind. The papers had covered it, and the news was still picking it apart two months later. Scott felt his frown soften as he rifled through the books in his locker.
“She must still be really upset.”
“Yeah, more like devastated. I heard from someone that when her brother moved away she almost killed herself.”
“Where do you even hear about this stuff?” Stiles shrugged off Scott’s question, leaving the other to frown at his friend. When he turned back to the inside of his locker, his thoughts were filled with the image of dark, haunted eyes. He did remember Stefan Salvatore, the boy who supposedly had it all. Perfect hair, member of the football team, a tight clique of friends, and, apparently, a girlfriend. Elena was beautiful, there was no doubt about it, why should it be surprising that she had an equally stunning boyfriend? Had, he reminded himself.
“Dude, incoming. Incoming!”
Scott lifted his head at Stiles’ whispered warning, and found himself face to face with another haunted brunette. Allison’s eyes refused to meet his. Instead, they were very focused on the box she was pushing into his arms. He grabbed it on reflex, searching her face.
“Hey, Allison. How are you ”
“I’m not ready to talk to you, Scott. Not yet.” He gaped at the interruption. She glanced up once into his face, but immediately looked away again, back towards where Lydia and Jackson stood waiting. “This is your stuff.” She gestured at the box. “I thought you should have it back.”
“Allison.” She stilled immediately at his firm, concerned tone. “Are you okay?”
Her eyes were shining with unshed tears as she looked back once again, away from him. “I just need to be alone, okay Scott? I just need time.” With that, she too vanished into the crowd.
Stiles clapped down on his shoulder once again. “That’s rough, buddy.” Scott stared into the box, noted the various papers, clothes, and DVD’s with a twinge in his chest. “Looks like the “waiting for her to come back to you” plan isn’t going so well.”
Scott shrugged Stiles’ hand off before shoving the box into his locker. “Her mom just died in a mugging. She just needs space.”
“Scott, this is not space.” Stiles waved a hand towards the box. “This is a breakup.” The bell screeched shrilly over their heads, and the hallway crowds began to thin. “Come on, we’ve got practice. That’ll take your mind off Allison. And Elena. And…” He paused, eyes fixed across the hall.
Scott followed his eyeline to where Lydia and Jackson were glued together at the mouth. “And Lydia?”
“What is it with the girls in this town?” Stiles’ words, though irritated, were mumbled. “Let me tell you what, as soon as we graduate, I’m out of here. We’re going to meet normal girls, and we’re going to finally come into our own.”
“We?” Scott raised an eyebrow, a smile twitching the ends of his mouth.
“Yeah, I’m dragging you out of here with me by your hair if I have to. No way we’re going to stay here pining after girls who don’t want us.”
* * *
No one truly noticed how many people attended Mystic Falls High until they were trying to find someone specific. Scott McCall figured he’d probably stalked about half a dozen of the wrong girls down hallways before realizing they weren’t the girl he was looking for. People were starting to give him odd looks as he crisscrossed up and down the same hallways repeatedly, turning his head this way and that, pausing at every flash of long brown hair.
When the lunch bell finally struck, he was on the verge of giving up. The cafeteria was full of the bubbly sounds of teenage conversation, and he distractedly fussed with his tray, looking for somewhere to sit. It was impossible to miss Stiles’ frantic gesturing a few tables to his left, but he paused at the sight of someone not enjoying the reprieve of the lunch hour.
Despite the people and conversations surrounding her, Elena Gilbert was still and silent, barely picking at the lunch laid out in front of her. Scott glanced back at Stiles, noting his confused expression, before weaving through flighty freshman towards his brunette chemistry partner. When he appeared at the table, all conversation immediately ceased, the eyes of everyone turning to scrutinize him. Scott glanced around at them before he focused on Elena, the only one who refused to look up at his arrival.
He barely had time to open his mouth before he was interrupted.
“She’s not interested in going out with you.” Mouth agape, and brain buzzing, Scott turned his attention to the blonde girl sitting beside Elena who was fixing him with a fiercely protective look. The boy on her other side elbowed her but she waved him off. “That’s what you want isn’t it?”
“What?” The word fell from his lips before he could stop it, though he immediately wished he could take it back.
“I said, she doesn’t want to go out with you. Have some respect.” His brain was buzzing at the sudden, unexpected hostility and accusations as he tried to find some words that didn’t sound completely stupid.
“Care.” A soft, reprimanding voice caught his attention. The girl smiling at him was quickly recognizable as Stiles’ new chemistry partner. She shook her head disapprovingly at Caroline before patting the seat next to her. He took it gratefully as she continued talking. “You’re Scott McCall, right? I’m Stiles’ chemistry partner, Bonnie. One class together, and I feel like I know you already. He never stops talking about you.”
Relieved to finally have some bearings of the situation, Scott latched onto this topic. “We’ve been friends since the third grade.”
“I can tell,” she laughed good naturedly, despite the ‘hrumph’ noise that Caroline made. “Oh, what, Caroline? We can’t even talk to him?” Her face grew more serious as she fully turned towards Scott. “I think this whole rivalry between the football team and the lacrosse team is stupid. I don’t see why we can’t just all be friends.”
“Maybe if their other captain wasn’t such a dick.” The dark haired boy on Bonnie’s other side fixed Scott with a dark look. “Besides, who has two captains of a team?”
“We saw your last match.” Bonnie interrupted him as Scott swallowed nervously. Tyler Lockwood’s temper was as legendary as his hatred for the winning lacrosse team. “You were really good.” There were general grumbles around the table, to which Bonnie rolled her eyes. “Don’t mind them. They’re just upset that the football team lost the semi-finals.”
“I know, I watched the game.” At his simple statement, Scott suddenly felt as though the entire table was glaring at him, so he hurried to correct himself. “I mean, I thought there were some really bad calls in that game. You guys should have won.”
This seemed to win back some of the general affection of the table. At least, Scott realized, they weren’t pinning murderous stares on him. “This is Caroline, by the way.” Bonnie gestured to the blonde girl. “That’s Matt.” The boy beside Caroline lifted a hand in greeting. “I’m sure you know Tyler.” She elbowed the dark haired boy, the only member of the little group still glaring at him. “And you know Elena, of course.”
“Of course? You guys know each other?” Suspicion bordering on hostility rose once again in Caroline’s voice.
“She’s my chemistry partner,” he hurriedly explained. “I actually came to ask when you wanted to work on our term project.” The girl made no indication that she heard him, continuing to pick silently at her salad. Glancing at Caroline, Scott noticed that her eyes softened as she watched Elena.
“Listen, she’s had a really rough time lately. Maybe you should "
“Caroline.” Elena’s hand moved to cover the other girl’s, even as everyone at the table started at the sound of her voice. “It’s fine.” When she looked up at the Scott, he could have sworn the entire table was holding its breath. “You can come to my house after school.”
A moment of silence stretched out, punctured only by the sounds of people laughing at nearby tables. Scott was the first to break the silence, rifling through his bag for a scrap of paper. “Yeah, okay. Here’s my number. You can text me the address.” He scribbled the digits down before passing it to her. She took it without looking at it, crumpling it in her hand. Everyone at the table remained silent, watching Elena, as though waiting for some sign of her coming back to life.
Scott coughed awkwardly, picking up his tray and standing. “Well, it was nice to meet you guys. I’ll see you around sometime.”
“Maybe.” Caroline waved him off, her attention solely focused on Elena. Bonnie flashed him an apologetic smile, but the others made no sign that they noticed him leaving. Stiles was gesturing frantically for him to come to their table, but Scott couldn’t resist one glance back at the table. Though the others were immersed in deep, quiet conversation, Elena remained silent. She was, however, studying the tiny scrap of paper in her hand. Scott felt a bloom of warmth in his chest at the sight.
* * *
Elena Gilbert had an amazing capacity for silence. They were sitting on her bed, pouring over their chemistry textbooks and the laptop Scott had borrowed from Stiles, but she hadn’t spoken a word the entire time he was there. Scott, however, was quickly learning that this didn’t mean she had nothing to say. The slightest tilt of her head forward meant she agreed with him. When a crease appeared between her eyebrows, she was confused by what he meant. Her fingers flexing meant that she disagreed.
When she shifted closer, her warm thigh brushing his, Scott couldn’t help but start at the contact. She seemed not to notice, intent on the pages in front of her. Probably an accident, he assured himself, an adjustment to get comfortable. He cleared his throat and continued his train of thought. “So, I say we start with a chart on paper about which reactions are endothermic and which are exothermic. We can always move it to a board later…”
His voice trailed when her fingers brushed his. Though she was only moving his hand aside so that she could scroll down the computer screen, sparks of electricity raced up his arm. Whatever he was saying was lost as he watched her fingers dancing over the keys, his own hand resting just beside hers. When he nudged her back, she stilled immediately, as though frozen.
Daring to look up, he found her eyes already locked on his. The ghosts were there again, screaming behind her silence. She didn’t look away as he frowned, studying her face. She did, however, flinch when he brought his hand up to gently cradle her jaw. A look of pain flickered over her features, and he pulled his hand away immediately.
“Sorry, that was stupid “
“It’s okay.” The first words she had spoken to him since lunch. She brought his hand back to her face, eyes locked on his. He could count every breath shuddering in her lungs. His heart was pulsing erratically. It felt like it was about to burst out of his ribcage.
He leaned forward in just the slightest, waiting for her to pull away. When she didn’t, he closed the gap between them. He was careful as he pressed his lips against hers, barely moving, hardly daring to breathe. Her lips were soft, but only just responsive, as slow and cautious as his own.
It lasted scarce seconds before she pulled back, biting her bottom lip. Scott found himself jumping off the bed entirely, sputtering out apologies as he threw his books and computer back in his bag.
“Scott.” Her quiet voice was enough to stop his frenzied packing. “I’m sorry.” She was refusing to look at him again, her gaze fixed on a wrinkle in her bedspread.
“Don’t be. It was my fault. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He paused in the doorway, tempted to look back at her, but the silence had descended again. He left Elena’s house with a frown and a furrowed brow. Later that night, Stiles would press him for details about his study session with the infamous Elena Gilbert, but Scott said little of what he learned of her that afternoon. He felt as though he had barely scratched the surface, and there were ghosts still waiting even further underneath.