CHAPTER FOUR: Lizardsitting And Kissing
"Money won't create success, the freedom to make it will."
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"You know, I had doctors orders to stay away from things that give me stress. This is giving me stress." Luna muttered. Stiles and her were sitting in the front seats of a police transport van, tasked with lizardsitting Jackson, who was locked in the back. Allison and Scott were in Allison's car, engaged in a rather passionate make-out session. It stung Luna like a bullet to witness their affection but she knew she needed to get over her crush. And she couldn't help but blame Stiles for bringing it back up again in the first place.
She spent all of middle school trying to get over Scott, and she doesn't want to spend her entire high school years doing the same.
Stiles briefly looked out the window, then turned to Luna with a tender expression that was unusual for him. He held her gaze for a moment as if considering whether or not to speak, before finally breaking the silence. "You know, I used to have a huge crush on you." He confessed after a moment, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. "Well, you and Lydia."
Luna nearly choked on her sip of coffee at the unexpected revelation. But before she could respond, Stiles continued, his words filled with fondness. "I think it was in grade one when you tried to prank Jackson by filling his backpack with whipped cream but somehow ended up covered in it yourself? That's when it started." He snorted, recalling the incident.
God, the memory flooded back, and Luna remembered the embarrassment she felt that day, sitting in a sad puddle of whipped cream waiting for her parents to come pick her up with tears streaming down her face. To make matters worse, they just found the situation amusing and took a photo to remember it by, hanging it on the mantle in her house.
"Or maybe it was when you tried to learn how to skateboard because the boys said you couldn't." He chucked a little to himself, turning to look at her. "I thought you were the coolest girl ever when you showed up the next week with cuts and bruises but had also somehow learnt how to do all these tricks. Really showed us up."
Ah yes, Luna had gone home after being excluded at playtime and begged for a skateboard. She learnt two tricks on the thing and it was enough for her to impress all the ruddy-faced boys in her class to let her play with them. It was also enough for her mom to pack the thing up and hide it away in fear of some more permanent injuries in the future.
A comfortable silence settled between them, and Luna's mind wandered to the possibility of her and Stiles being together. Maybe if she had looked past Scott and seen Stiles back then, things would be different. They actually had a lot in common when she thought about it. They shared interests in comic books and movies, both were the crowned King and Queen loser of the school.
But something else they had in common was that neither of them had a whole lot of confidence, so it was pretty admirable in Luna's eyes the way Stiles was confessing to her.
She quickly brushed off those thoughts away though, uncertain of where they would lead seeing as it was a known fact that Stiles was head over heels in love with Lydia.
Just as she did so though, she felt a gentle touch on her knee as light as a feather. Startled, she looked into Stiles' eyes, which held a mixture of curiosity and nervousness. "Can I try something?" he asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he leaned closer.
Her heart raced as she processed his request and her face flushed, feeling his breath against her lips. Overwhelmed a little, with equal parts anticipation and nervousness, Luna managed to respond, her voice trembling, "Yeah."
She felt like she was almost having whiplash. One moment they're chilling in the van talking about anything and everything, and the next Stiles is confessing and leaning in for a kiss? It was crazy! But maybe she needed a little spontaneity in her life.
Time seemed to slow down as Stiles closed the distance between them, their lips meeting in a tender kiss. Both of them were taken aback by the sudden turn of events, but even if they were inexperienced to it all, they couldn't deny the warmth and sweetness of the moment. Luna found herself instinctively gripping the collar of Stiles' jacket, while his hand rested gently on the back of her neck.
And just when they shifted closer, their brief intimacy was abruptly interrupted by a loud bang and Allison's piercing scream.
Luna's heart sank as they moved apart, knowing that the moment had been stolen from them.
Deep down, she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened if they hadn't been interrupted.
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After escaping and making a mess of things, Jackson had somehow been located by the police, and they were all taken into custody swiftly afterwards barring Allison.
Allison and Stiles decided that it was time to finally tell their dad's about the situation. So, Allison left to go home before the police got there while Stiles, Scott and Luna found themselves at the police station, preparing to speak with Stiles' dad together.
Once they were buzzed in, they made their way to the Sheriff's office, only to be greeted by the sight of Jackson and his asshole father. It was a rather unwelcome surprise.
Luna wiped her hands nervously on her sweatpants, feeling the weight of the situation. She tried to tell herself to play it cool, act like she didn't just kidnap Jackson and make out with Stiles all in the same time frame.
"Ah, perfect timing. Have you met Jackson's father, Mr. David Whittemore, esquire?"
Jackson seemed to notice her nervousness and gave her a small smile before speaking up. "Luna can go. She had nothing to do with kidnapping me. It was them," he said, pointing at Stiles and Scott.
Well, she certainly wasn't going to contradict that!
"Good luck," Luna whispered, brushing past Scott and Stiles as she made her way out of the Sheriff's office, grateful for the chance to escape.
Deciding to wait for them, and seeing as she had no other ride back home, Luna lingered outside the office.
It took about ten minutes before she heard the booming voice of none other than her mother. Ruby Carson.
"Lunara Carson!"
Luna thought for just a moment, maybe if she started crying her mother would let her off the hook.
"Oh, hey Mom," Luna greeted her nonchalantly. "Funny seeing you here, actually! I was just—"
"Luna, it's one thing to be a teenager and get in trouble for something like sneaking out or drinking. But I can't for the life of me believe your first offence is kidnapped another student!" The older woman looked around at the other officers as if to see if they agreed but they quickly averted their gaze. Probably used to seeing all types of theatrics by people at that point in their career. Ruby lowered her voice into a whisper yell, peering into the office. "And Jackson Whittemore, of all people! His father's for sure gonna fire me now, and you know I need this job."
Luna sheepishly smiled, though she couldn't help but notice the shocked expressions on the faces of Scott, his mother, and Stiles as they overheard her mother referring to Jackson's dad as her boss.
"But, Mom," Luna began, drawing out the 'o' in the word mom, "Jackson said that I didn't have anything to do with his kidnapping. His dad was literally in the same room when he said that." She whined, hoping to sway her mother's perspective as she was slowly pulled towards the door.
"We'll discuss this at home," her mother muttered, sending Luna a look that clearly warned of a forthcoming punishment that both of them would rather deal with in privacy.
And with a tight grip on her wrist, her mother pulled her along.
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The following morning had been frustrating for Luna. After receiving a lecture on various matters, her mother left for work, leaving Luna to walk to school as part of her many punishments.
Ever since her husband died, Ruby Carson struggled a lot with raising Luna on her own. She was afraid of making any missteps in the chance that Luna would grow to resent her forever. But she also knew there had to be repercussions for bad behaviour or else the girl would get out of control.
Thus, Luna's punishments often consisted of tedious chores—household laundry for weeks, cooking dinner by herself, handling the grocery shopping for an entire month, or anything else annoying and tedious. They were meant to be minor inconveniences, but they served as reminders of accountability.
Case in point, Luna found herself trudging through the forty-minute journey to school, foregoing the usual ten-minute drive. It was annoying but would it kill her? No.
"Hey," a small voice called out behind her as Luna finally reached the steps of the school. She turned around to find a nervous boy with dishevelled brown hair standing there, scratching the back of his neck anxiously. "Uh, I was thinking. Will you go out with-"
"Oh, hey, babe," Stiles interrupted, his voice booming as he threw his arm around Luna's shoulders. "You left your shirt at my house and I haven't been able to catch you recently. It's in my locker. Come with me?"
Stiles and the boy exchanged glares before the boy muttered something and walked away.
Stiles let his arm fall back to his side and urged Luna forward into the school. "You're welcome. That creep was about to ask you out. Apparently, he's been bothering Allison too," he mumbled, before addressing their earlier kiss. "And about the kiss, I know you like Scott, and I'm still in love with Lydia. It was a nice first kiss, but I don't think we would be that compatible. You know?"
Luna could do nothing but nod along, "Yeah," She mumbled. It was a little disappointing, she wasn't gonna lie but she locked away the moment to dissect at a later time. Her mind was too distracted by the presence of cameras seemingly placed everywhere to process his words. She felt as if she had just entered the "Big Brother" house.
"Come on. Scott and Allison are waiting for us in the library."
Together, they made their way to the library which seemed empty at first glance. Luna called out quietly, "Scott?" His head popped up from behind a bookshelf, his eyes meeting Luna's and beckoning for them to join him.
"That's everything Lydia could translate," Allison said as she passed Scott her tablet through the bookshelf. Apparently, she couldn't be seen with them considering the grandpa was the new principal or something. "Trust me she was very confused.
"What did you tell her?" Stiles asked curiously.
"That we were part of an online community that battles mythical creatures," Allison replied, her laughter soft.
"I am part of an online community that battles mythical creatures," Stiles whispered, causing Luna to shake her head with a smile.
Why does that not surprise her.
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First published August 22, 2015
Rewritten as of July 3, 2023