unfamiliar faces

The school year had come to an end and it had certainly been an eventful one as far as Scott was concerned. First Keeley had been taken by Klaus and turned into one of his hybrids and then Hayden had almost died after her name had ended up on the same supernatural hit list that Dec’s name had turned up on as well. Scott had promised himself that he was going to keep his friends safe, after all it was his job as Alpha, but right now they were facing foes that they had yet to identify and that was never easy. They had no idea who was behind the hit list or who was taking people from around Mystic Falls and experimenting on them but he knew that he just had to believe that they would figure it out sooner or later. Until then he and the others were all banding together to try and make sure that they all stayed safe but they were also investigating what was going on around town and he had reached out to Stefan and Ben to see what they had been able to find out as well. They were all working together on this and he knew that he just had to believe that sooner or later they would figure it out.

Until then Scott knew that he wanted to enjoy the summer before his second year at Whitmore started and he had been making sure to spend as much time with Bonnie, his mom and his friends as he could. Scott knew how lucky he was to have all of them and after almost dying a year ago he had realised that he needed to cherish the time that he had with the people that he loved. No matter what happened he refused to give up on any of them and that included Keeley. He was determined to find a way to free her from Klaus’ influence but that was proving to be easier said than done so far. He knew that they would figure it out sooner or later, though, and that day he had arranged to meet Stiles and Danny at the Grill so that they could try and brainstorm some ideas. He knew that Keeley didn’t want to be involved in that world so Scott knew that he wasn’t going to stop until they found a way to free her from whatever it was that was binding her to Klaus. Scott was a little early and he was heading in the direction of an empty table when someone bumped into him. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Scott assured the boy before realising who it was that had bumped into him. “You’re Hayden’s brother, aren’t you? Jasper?” he asked, pretty sure that it was him from the description that Hayden had given him.

JASPER ROMERO

Scott had known that the way things had seemed to be settling down for him and his friends was too good to be true. For a few months life had been pretty uneventful but then Hayden’s name had ended up on the same supernatural hit list that Dec’s had and now Keeley was wrapped up in Klaus Mikaelson’s hybrid army. Needless to say he and his friends had a lot that they needed to figure out. Thankfully Hayden was fine now as the bite had saved her but they still didn’t know who was behind the hit list or what they wanted other than to draw attention to the supernatural in Mystic Falls and for as many of them as possible to end up dead. That was something that they were all working on along with trying to figure out where the Dread Doctors were hiding but right now the more pressing issue was what was going on with Keeley. Klaus had made her become one of his hybrids and now it seemed like she was sired to him. That sirebond was something that Scott had no idea how to break but he hoped that with help from Danny and Stiles they would figure it out.

That was why he had headed to the Grill that day but neither of his friends were there just yet it seemed. It wasn’t like Scott to be early but he wasn’t even able to make it to a table before someone bumped into him. He was fine, though, so he knew that he didn’t want the boy to worry about that. “Yeah, I do. She’s a friend,” he nodded as Jasper confirmed who he was and asked if he knew his sister. Scott hadn’t known her while she was living in Beacon Hills since he was in the year above her but he had managed to get to know her through Liam after she ended up in Mystic Falls and she had become someone that Scott trusted. As Jasper spoke again, Scott couldn’t help but laugh. “No, she didn’t. You’re safe for now but she can hold a grudge so you might want to watch it,” he chuckled, remembering how long Hayden had stayed angry at Liam for before holding out his hand for Jasper to shake. “I’m Scott.”

JASPER ROMERO

One thing Scott had learned a while ago was that there was never a dull moment in Mystic Falls. There always seemed to be something going on and some new crisis to figure out how to deal with and right now it was how to help one of their friends who had been roped into becoming one of Klaus’ hybrids. Scott had been targeted by some werewolves who wanted to impress Klaus himself so he knew how single minded they could be but he had done his best to help his friends stay as far away from that as possible. Shifting hurt, that couldn’t be denied, and he could definitely understand why some might want to find a way to stop themselves having to go through that but the truth was that Scott had come to enjoy the full moons once the shift was over. There wasn’t anything more liberating than being able to run through the woods as a wolf and the fact that he had so many of his friends around him made it that much better. It wasn’t for everyone and he knew that he wouldn’t have chosen it for himself either but it was the hand that he had been dealt in life and he was doing his best to make the most of it.

Someone who also had the chance to do that now was Hayden. Scott had bitten her to give her a fighting chance at living and thankfully it had worked. She had told him about her twin and Scott had been curious about the guy ever since and judging by the way Jasper started smiling when he gave his name Scott could only assume that Hayden had mentioned him as well. Shaking Jasper’s hand now he could definitely see the resemblance and the werewolf laughed as Jasper mentioned Hayden’s boyfriend. “No, that would be Liam. You might remember him, you were at school together,” he explained. He wasn’t sure if their paths would ever have crossed but the name might be one that Jasper remembered at least. As Jasper thanked him, Scott shook his head. “You really don’t have anything to thank me for, Hayden didn’t deserve what was done to her so it was the last we could do,” he assured the boy before letting his gaze meet Jasper’s as the boy told him to order something on him. “I am but you really don’t need to do that,” Scott assured him. “I’m meeting some friends here but I’m a bit early so you could always join me for a bit if you’re due a break.”

JASPER ROMERO

Scott had never understood why Mystic Falls seemed to draw so many people who were supernatural to it, after all there didn’t seem to be a nemeton in town like there was in Beacon Hills but there seemed to be something going on regardless. Scott knew that he and his friends probably wouldn’t have ended up there had it not been for the fact that the demon that was possessing Allison had drawn them there but the truth was that Mystic Falls felt like home now. He and the others had soon found a place where they were able to fit in and they had made a lot more friends during their time there. There were so many others who knew the truth about the supernatural world and Scott would be lying if he said that it wasn’t a relief to have others around who knew what was really going on in town and could help. So many people had been thrown into the supernatural world like Scott had been when he was bitten and Jasper, Hayden and Liam were all among those. None of them had asked for it but at the end of the day it was the way that their lives had turned out and as long as they supported each other he knew that everything would work out fine.

“No it isn’t, it has been a long time since you left,” Scott chuckled. Jasper had been through so much and none of it was his fault. The Dread Doctors had taken him away from his home and his family when he was still just a kid so it wasn’t a surprise at all that he didn’t remember all of the people that he had left behind. As Jasper spoke again, Scott felt a half smile tug at the corner of his mouth. “I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?” he asked, pretty sure that he already knew the answer to that question. Scott knew that Hayden could be stubborn when she wanted to be and he was starting to think that perhaps the same might be true of Jasper. As the boy spoke again, Scott nodded. “That’s settled then,” he said as he looked over at the younger boy.

JASPER ROMERO

Scott’s own family life had never been particularly easy given the way things were between his parents when he was younger but the truth was that he didn’t remember much of that now, he only remembered the way that his parents had fought and how much his mom had struggled to look after them both. His dad wasn’t in the picture much back then and when Scott had gone to stay with him for the summer when he was younger it had been much the same. Even while he was staying with his dad he hadn’t seen much of the man because he was too busy with work and that was something that he had grown used to. When he got older he had started working as soon as he could so that he could earn some money to help his mom out and while it was better than nothing he knew that it still wasn’t ideal. Thankfully Deaton had helped him out by giving him more shifts and now he was picking up extra work where he could but even with all of that in mind he still knew how incredibly lucky he was. He’d at least had his mom there to look out for him when he needed her, there were others out there like Jasper who didn’t have that luxury and he couldn’t help but feel bad for the boy.

“That must have been difficult,” Scott said gently. “What was it like?” He knew that it must have been tough for Jasper having to leave his family behind and move around with the Dread Doctors but now he was free of them at last and Scott honestly hoped that it would stay that way. He wasn’t sure why they had decided to let Jasper go now but he had been reunited with Hayden and Scott was glad that the boy had people looking out for him now. Jasper’s next words were enough to draw a laugh from the alpha. “I’ll remember that, Hayden can definitely be stubborn when she wants to be,” he chuckled, remembering the way she had held a grudge against Liam for such a long time over what had happened. If Jasper really was like that then things were going to get pretty interesting, that was for sure. It wasn’t long before Jasper was taking his break and returning to the table. “Great, I’m starving,” he admitted before nodding as Jasper asked if he could ask a question. “Sure.”

JASPER ROMERO

Scott knew that things hadn’t been easy for Jasper but he had a feeling that what he knew about what the boy had been through didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what it had actually been like. They all had their own stories about how they got to where they were now but deep down Scott knew that he was actually pretty lucky. There was a time when he had tried to push his friends away because he had thought that that was what was best for them and that it would keep them safe but they hadn’t let him, they had insisted on staying by his side through everything and he knew that he wouldn’t have made it this far without them. Things were different for Jasper but he had people around who cared about him now and he hoped that the boy knew that there were people that he could turn to when he needed to.

“That must have been awful. You had no idea that they had experimented on her as well?” Scott asked even though he was pretty sure that he already knew the answer to that question. He didn’t know how the Dread Doctors decided who they wanted to experiment on or how they had made Jasper pick new targets for them but he knew that it couldn’t have been easy for the boy at all and his heart did go out to him. There were some who might not trust Jasper because of his connection to the Dread Doctors but Scott could see how much Jasper hated them and what they’d made him do so there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that he could trust the boy. The two of them talked until someone came over to take their order and when that happened Scott ordered his meal before looking over at Jasper once more as they were left alone. “So how are you finding it being back with your family?” he asked, knowing that it had to be a change of pace to say the least.

JASPER ROMERO

Scott couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must have been like for Jasper to be taken by the Dread Doctors. They hadn’t experimented on him and turned him loose like they had done with so many others, they had kept him around and used him to do their bidding. It had all been under the guise of keeping his sister safe and out of harm’s way but in the end they had gone back on their word and gone after Hayden anyway. Scott was an only child so he didn’t know what it was like to want to protect someone who was related to him by blood like that other than his mom but he did have his pack and they were family as far as he was concerned. Scott knew that he would lay down his life for them in an instant so he could definitely understand why Jasper had decided to help the Dread Doctors the way he had done and he really couldn’t blame the boy one bit.

As Jasper said he should have tried to find Hayden and should have defied the Dread Doctors a little earlier, Scott shook his head. “You were trying to protect her, you did the right thing,” he said gently. If Jasper had defied them earlier then there was no telling how they might have retaliated and that could have easily made it that much worse for Hayden. If they’d wanted to they could have killed her rather than experimenting on her so she had escaped that fate at least.

Placing their order, Scott nodded as Jasper said it was a little awkward but at the same time he’d missed them. “It’ll get easier, I’m sure,” he nodded. “I know Hayden missed you, she used to talk about you even before you came back,” he added. It had been clear that Hayden had still been hurting over the loss of her twin and he wasn’t sure whether that pain would have ever gone away for her. “What was your question?” he asked, realising that Jasper had asked if he could ask a question moments ago but then hadn’t done so.

JASPER ROMERO