CHAPTER 26

The night of the game arrived and the students of both schools were ecstatic for different numbers of reasons.

This was the first game of the year and whoever won this first leg would gain a good starting momentum and high morale.

"Where is he?" Allison asked as she came down from her dad's car and saw only Malia by the hallway with her dad tagging behind. 

Malia shrugged while tugging a few strands of hair behind her ear. "No clue. I haven't seen him since a few hours ago." 

Her response and coordination were natural as if nothing was out of place as she approached Allison and her father. 

"What's good, Mr. Argent?" She nodded at Chris Argent who was slightly stunned at the casual way of greeting from a young girl but remembering Allison's words he just smiled back in a good-natured way and replied back. 

"How are you doing, Malia right?"

"Yeah, and I guess I'm doing okay. Come on, let's get moving." Malia beckoned then turned and started her walk to the stadium. 

"Are you sure he's not gonna just decide to back out and stay at home?" Allison was skeptic but rightfully so based on what she knew of Tristan. 

Malia shook her head, "He's definitely going to show up. Probably held up due to one or two complications." She said with confidence because she knew that there was just no way he would leave her in the company of two Hunters. 

Chris just tagged along the both of them with a soft look on his face as he watched his daughter's banter with her friend. This was the first time he was meeting the girl named Malia and he could say her personality wasn't that bad. He would have to see this Tristan to make his final observation. 

The cheering of the hyper crowd entered their ears as the wide field came into their view. 

Chris whistled. "That's quite the crowd."

"Well, it's lacrosse. It's the local sport. Everyone loves it for some reason." 

They were able to get a seat at the same time that Tristan arrived. The young man looked over the field for a few seconds before spotting Malia waving at him. 

He made his way towards them while keeping the man at Allison's side at the edge of his senses. 

"You're almost late." Allison said as he came to them and sat at Malia's right side with Allison and her father on his right. 

"…Something came up."

He directed his gaze at the man who was giving him an appraising look and nodded his head in greeting. 

"Mr. Argent."

"Tristan."

It was as if they came to a tacit understanding about how to address each other. The two girls with them only cringed as they suddenly realized that the two of them were more alike than they assumed, especially Allison. 

The game started with a high note and a couple of good passes from the opposite team while the crowd went wild with cheers. 

"Do you ever think of trying out for lacrosse?" Allison asked the boy who hadn't said a word since he arrived. 

"… Stress."

Chris looked at the boy in interest, taking in how lacking in amusement and was unaffected by the contagious crowd. "You don't like sports?"

Tristan looked at him for a moment before shaking his head. "Stress." He repeated. 

Picking up on his very articulate and lacking word and asked him. "So you can play?" 

Not caring for Chris' questioning, Tristan scratched the back of his head for a few seconds before shrugging. "Probably. it's not that hard if you're fast and dexterous."

Chris nodded in understanding while inwardly finished the psyche profile he drew up for the two. 

For Malia, he confirmed that Allison's words weren't just the usual compliment a child does in front of their parents to increase the favorability towards their friends. She was way too casual than any other teen he had seen. 

Tristan on the other hand was very interesting. The boy was genuinely uninterested in everything happening around him. High school boys like him, from what Chris knew, liked to show off with their impressive physique and were usually outgoing, even more so for someone good looking like him. He hasn't even taken up to 3 glances at either Allison or him since he sat down. 

Chris as a veteran Hunter was very drawn to people like these. Experience had shown him how resolute they could be in decision making. 

Deciding to learn more about the two interesting friends his daughter had made, he glanced at Malia. "What about you, Malia? Any hobbies or general likes?"

Allison looked between her father and Malia, wondering if she had something she liked that did not involve Tristan, but knowing her… 

"Nah, I don't think so. Honestly girls can be very difficult to understand so I don't bother trying to know what normal girls like. I don't have any specific likes but I hate boring things." 

Malia's reply made Allison feel conflicted while Chris became a little awkward since he had like zero experience when it came to what girls like and their behavior. 

Turns out werewolf hunting was less complicated than understanding girls, teenage girls specifically. 

"Allison is not that boring if you remove the fact that she looks like a Disney princess, so that's something good I think." She added. 

Allison appeared really flattered while Chris just smiled like the nice dad he was. He didn't bother asking Tristan because he knew what the likely answer would be and just settled for watching the game. 

The game seemed evenly tied for the most part with the other team pulling ahead every time Beacon Cyclones got a tally point. 

"Why are they not passing to McCall?" Malia asked as she observed the open player that had never gotten the ball since the game started. 

"Huh, now that you mention it…" To anyone who focused a bit on Scott, it was pretty clear that he wasn't doing anything on the field despite being open all the time. 

"… Infighting."

"But that's stupid right? He's a pretty good player, probably one of the best on the team." Allison was confused as she saw how lost Scott looked on the field. 

The three people besides her just shrugged. Chris because he couldn't care less about boys being boys, like inviting someone to the party and not giving them drink. Tristan and Malia because they just couldn't care less. 

"Oh look, if it isn't queen bitch bee." Malia's contempt-laced voice drew their attention to Lydia and some random girl holding up a sign that was cheering for the lacrosse captain. 

No one asked why Malia hated the girl because they didn't know the girl and couldn't be bothered to. 

"I bet it's her boyfriend's handiwork that Scott is running around like a lost dog." She commented and let out a knowing chuckle as she saw Scott stumble as he ran. 

Unlike her who gained sadistic pleasure from seeing Scott becoming increasingly frustrated, Tristan watched and listened to Scott's ragged breaths. If the boy made the foolish mistake of shifting and Chris caught notice of it, there was a very high possibility that he would end up dying. 

The game continued with the current status quo for a progressive while before a pass to a fellow teammate was stolen by Scott which caused an uproar only for said uproar to increase when he delivered a successful strike of the ball to the net. 

The boy was learning the hard way, under pressure, and while it was good it was also bad as he would hit his limit of tolerance and would likely mutilate anyone nearby at that ill-fated time. 

"See! I told you he was good." Allison clapped as Scott scored his third goal of the night. She stuck out her tongue towards her father as if admonishing him for talking bad about Scott, making the inwardly exasperated while his face remained as passive as it had always been. 

"You've been paying an awful lot of attention to McCall. You like him or something?" Malia leaned on Tristan's knees and asked the pale girl teasingly, causing her to gain a light embarrassed blush since her dad and Tristan looked at her. 

She waved her hands hurriedly to stop whatever thoughts were going through their heads and hers. 

"No no no! It's not that. I don't like him like that. It's just that we talked a little and he's the only person I know apart from you guys." She explained, not knowing that the subject who was playing his first ever game on the open field had heard all what she said and felt his budding romance bubble burst before he could make another shot. 

Oblivious to the damage she had caused, she groaned as she saw Scott suffer a brutal tackle in front of the opponent's goalie. 

Unlike the ignorant Allison, Malia's smile crept upward as she finally saw something that amused her this night. She couldn't blame Allison for what she said and definitely won't blame McCall since he was already knee deep in a quagmire of trouble. 

Trying to date a girl when he was barely a two week's old beta and couldn't control his emotions was just him signing up for a death sentence since the one he'd kill would then be an ancient Hunting Family's sole granddaughter. Not to mention his Alpha is still on the loose. 

It was better he got himself in order first and takes a break from stressful situations, lacrosse included. 

On the field, the refs blew the whistle in call for a foul and a first aid to be administered to the likely injured players. 

On seeing how things were playing out and knowing fully well that a Hunter was on the field after learning about them from Derek, Stiles ran into the field straight for Scott who was hunched up and groaning as his head felt like it was being hit with a sledgehammer. 

"Hey, get up! Get up buddy!" Ignoring Scott's feeble resistance, Stiles propped him up and hung Scott's arm over his shoulder before dragging him off the field ignoring the yell from his coach yelling at him to bring McCall's ass back to the field. 

"Maybe there is something to like about lacrosse after all." Malia commented. 

Tristan looked at Stiles dragging Scott away for a moment and turned his head away. Being this close to Hunters, he couldn't compound his problems and risk Malia's safety by trying to help a stubborn werewolf who refused to listen. 

"… The game's almost over." The whistle was blown to resume the game but they were already in the final minutes and Beacon Hills was two points behind. 

"It'd be luck if they equalize and score ahead at this point with how brutal and wild the opposition is getting. Pettiness will be the reason they lose, and luck if they win." Chris said as he watched the game enter its last minutes. 

Unfortunately for Beacon Cyclones, they lost to one point after they managed to equalize. The supporting crowd of Beacon Hills cursed and lamented at their loss while those for the other team cheered and sang their victory song as they made their way out of the stadium. 

"… Let's go."

They walked out of the stadium through the halls and made their way to where they parked their cars. 

"Tristan, Malia, don't forget we're hanging out soon." Allison shouted as she got into her dad's car while Chris just smiled at the duo. "Get home safe, kids."

Seeing the Argents drive off, Tristan released a deep breath of air that deflated all his lungs. Staying so close to a veteran Hunter like Christopher Argent was quite nerve-wracking. Cold sweat flowed down his back as he realized that they survived the night while staying out of Chris' radar. 

He wasn't that stupid to think that just because he was a supernatural he could subdue or kill the Hunter if a scuffle had broken out. Werewolves ran from Hunters for a reason. 

"You good there, Trist?" Malia asked with concern and rubbed his back. 

"Better."

"They don't know, do they?"

"No. Since he met us, he never once directed any negative emotion towards us. We're in the clear for now." A rare relieved smile crept on his face. 

"Allison?" 

"Probably ignorant."

"Then it's all good. Come on, let's go home. You're not sleeping early tonight so get ready." She said suggestively and got inside the car with Tristan. 

"… I totally agree."

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