Haunted

Chapter 2: Drama, Rumors and Catfights

Surprisingly for Clark his first four lessons of the day went by fairly quickly, perhaps helped by the fact that he had missed half of his first English class. He'd survived until lunch, managing to keep his head down and avoid too much attention. He wasn't normally one to keep a low profile but he had wanted to get a gauge of the school and its students before throwing himself into the social scene.

Tray of food in hand, Clark scanned the noisy cafeteria. He was looking for one person in particular; the guy Derek had pointed out to him - or Scott, as Clark had learned his name to be during their English class together. It was only once Clark learned his name that he realised why the guy had seemed sort of familiar; they'd attended elementary school together and had taken part in a few brief interactions during that time.

Scott was sitting at a table to the side of the cafeteria with Stiles who Clark had seen him with quite a lot in the corridors between classes. They seemed deep in conversation but that wasn't going to stop Clark from interrupting.

"Hey guys," he greeted after strolling confidently over to their table. They stopped their conversation immediately and looked up at him. The abrupt end to their conversation made Clark realise he should have zoned in on what they were talking about before he interrupted. Both seemed slightly surprised to find that it was him who had approached them. "Hope you don't mind me joining you," he commented as he placed his food down and took a seat, deciding not to pose it as a question and give them the chance to turn him away.

"No, not at all," Scott responded with an encouraging shake of his head. "So how's your first day going?"

Clark shrugged and bit into his apple before answering, "It's a bit dull."

"It's school," Stiles countered slowly, emphasising each word.

"Yeah exactly. It's high school. There's supposed to be drama and rumors and catfights," Clark retorted.

"You've come on a quiet day," Stiles explained.

"Right. Well please tell me this town has gotten a bit more interesting over the last few years," Clark decided to try to subtly - he hoped - push them towards hinting at Derek's suspicions.

"It's Beacon Hills. Nothing happens in this town," Scott responded dismissively.

Clark scoffed knowing full well he was wasting his time. Scott hardly knew him and was unlikely to trust him enough to risk looking like a lunatic by telling him he got bitten by a wolf... in California. Deciding not to waste any more time on doing what Derek told him to do, Clark stood up and walked away from the table, leaving his tray full of food and a half eaten apple behind.

Clark made sure to keep an ear on their conversation as he walked away and stopped at one of the vending machines, making it look like he was pondering over his actions. With him supposedly no longer in hearing distance there was a chance that one of them could actually mention something useful.

"Dude!" Stiles had exclaimed, hitting Scott in the arm as Clark had walked away, "You can't tell Clark Hale that nothing happens in this town."

"What?" Scott sounded utterly confused.

"Did you bang your head last night as well?" Stiles questioned sarcastically and that comment picked Clark's interest, suggesting that Scott had been up to something last night which must have left him with some kind of injury. "It was the reason he left Beacon Hills six years ago. Most of his family burned to death in a fire at their house."

"And you could have saved us."

Cora's sudden and unexpected voice drew Clark's undivided attention back to the vending machine he was stood at. In the reflection of the glass he was staring at was hers, standing behind him and smiling innocently. Clark gasped and spun around to face her only to be met by the sight of a girl who wasn't Cora. She looked about his age - and so looked around the age that Cora would have been - but instead of Cora's brown hair and brown eyes, this teenage girl had strawberry blonde hair, green eyes and an impatient look on her face.