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The evening was boreal that night as the people of Beacon Hills were calling it a night and turning in for sleep that they've been craving all day. It was late in the evening, and one would think everyone would be asleep at this time, especially on a school night. But one light was still refusing to turn off in the Veata household. The only sound that could be heard in the silence of the night was the creaking of the wooden floorboard in the upstairs bedroom where Aspen Juniper Veata paced in front of her bed.

Her chemistry textbook, along with loose leaf notes, was littered on her bed. Aspen had asked her chemistry teacher for extra credit before the start of the term, and he gave her a choice to write an essay for an automatic A in the class. Being an over an achiever, she couldn't turn down the offer. Aspen had all summer, but she thought it would be convenient to leave it for the last night of the summer.

She only started it after she had her nap and woke up at 7 P.M. Aspen cursed herself for leaving it for so late, but the only thing she could do was get it done before class. That meant staying up till 3 A.M. and stressing about not having enough words in her paper.

Aspen's soft socks helped her spin around every time she made it to one side of the room so that she could pace to the other. She mumbled words she could use to make her paper sound more sophisticated, but she also needed it to be wordy to meet her word count. She had the idea of just copying one online, but she knew Mr. Harris wouldn't belive a sophomore, such as herself, would even use half the words on a plagiarized paper.

She nibbled on her bottom lip and continued to shove her brown hair out of her face. Due to how soft it was, it didn't seem to last very long in a ponytail, a braid, or even a bun for that matter. It was moments like these where she wished she had just shaved it off. Aspen let out an exasperated sigh as he rushed to her vanity and used two hair ties to keep her hair in a tight ponytail, not letting one rebellious strand of hair cover her face.

Aspen hadn't even realized the dark bag under her eyes. She flinches at the sight of her self and quickly looked away before she would sink into a state of insecurity. Aspen had never tried when it came to her looks.

She simply lived with what she had and rolled with it. Sometimes she regretted that decision once she entered high school. Seeing all the girls and their makeup and expensive clothing made her wonder if she had worked a little harder on herself, she would probably be more popular or at least known among her peers. But she wasn't. She simply went to Beacon Hills Highschool, and that's it. No title besides a sophomore.

Aspen collapsed on her bed, not appearing to mind her chemistry textbook stabbing her in the back. She grabbed the pillow nearest to her and settled it over her face to let out a stressed groan that soon changed into whimpers. Not just because of the pain now shooting up her spine due to her piercing textbook but that fact that she still wasn't even close to being done with her essay. More the latter at the moment. Peeking from under her pillow, she narrowed her eyes at her laptop, sitting upon her desk. It took all the control in her body to not chuck it out the window and tell Mr. Harris her bush ate her homework.

Sleep was beginning to take over her body as he hadn't moved from her current position on the bed. A loud thud sounded from outside her window, making her jolt upright. Strands of her hair decided to fall in her face again, escaping from the double hair ties from her hair. Aspen slowly lifted herself from her bed, and her hand instinctively dove into a glass jar on her nightstand where white marbles settled. She pulled one out and clenched it into her fist. She took a few staggered breaths as she looked out her window and tried looking back and forth.

A face popped up in front of her, causing Aspen to scream and fall back on her floor. She narrowed her eyes in the direction of her friend, who had decided to go to her house so late.

Stiles Stikiski shook his head from the other side of the window, disappointed in his friend's lack of coordination. He frantically pointed to the lock on the window, his eyes pleading for her to open it. Aspen wanted nothing more than to close her drapes and leave him out there for scaring her like that. He made puppy eyes toward her but was only received with Aspen's angry eyes. She lifted herself from the ground and opened her window.

"Stiles, what the hell!" Aspen growled in a whisper to prevent her from waking up her grandfather downstairs. She watched as Stiles struggled to get a leg through her window and collapsed to her floor. He staggered to his feet and let out a few breaths to collect himself.

Before Stiles could explain why he had decided to show up at her house, Aspen threw the marble, letting it hit him square in the forehead. Being the dramatic boy he was, he flinches several times as he rubbed the spot where she had hit him.

"Did you just hit me with a marble?!" he asked her, putting his hand on his hips like he was trying to condemn her. Aspen stared at him blankly, crossing her arms over her chest, waiting for an explanation.

"What are you doing here?"

The corner of Stiles's lips turned up into agrin, slightly scaring Aspen. "There was a body found in the woods," he told her excitingly, but Aspen didn't share his enthusiasm as she just stared at him, trying to find the reason for excitement.

"You came to my house... at 3 A.M. To tell me that the cops found a dead body in the woods?" Aspen repeated, still trying to find something exciting along the lines fo a dead body.

"No, they found a body of water. Yes, a dead body! Geez, you sound just like Scott, June."

There was the nickname. June. Aspen had always hated her middle name. She couldn't understand why her parents thought having a plant, Juniper, as a middle name would be pretty. It didn't even sound well with the rest of her name. The only ones that knew about it were her grandfather and her two best friends. Those two said best friends being Scott and Stiles. Her only friends really. They picked up on the habit of calling her June. She found it annoying at first but grew used to it and saw it as something they would only call her. Just a minor detail to show how close they were.

"Wait, Scott? He's here?" Aspen asked him. She looked out her window and saw his blue jeep parked in her driveway next to her grandfather's yellow Volkswagen.

"Yes, the only Scott, you know. Now let's go." Stiles stood behind her and pushed her by her shoulder toward the window.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Aspen yelped, skidding to a stop. "if they found the body, what are we doing?"

"Oh, sweet June, that's just the thing. They only found half of the body."

It didn't seem like Aspen had much of a choice when she found her self climbing into the back seat of Stiles' jeep.

"Hey, June," Scott McCall greeted her with a small wave over his shoulder.

Aspen passed him a tired glare, making him laugh at her grogginess.

"Scott, you're the best of us." Aspen said to him, moving forward in her seat and settled her elbows on the two from seats. "why would you purposely let him drag you into something so pointless?"

"Because I have nothing better to do besides preparing for lacrosse tryouts tomorrow. Which by the way, I am not going to do well."

"Scott, you're not that bad. Stiles well...."

Stiles peered over his shoulder, before pushing Aspen back in her seat by her face as he drove down the dark road toward their destination.

"First you call a dead body pointless, and then you say I'm not good at lacrosse? The nerve you have June astonishes me every time. Every time." Stiles told her, gripping the steering wheel.

Aspen let out a laugh.

"Well, for one, I never said the body was pointless. I said to us going is pointless. and second, I would be lying if I said you were good at lacrosse."

That was enough for an argument to spark between the two while Scott only laughed at his two best friends. Arguing over pointless subjects was typical for them at this point. If the two were ever civil for more than an hour, something was definitely wrong.

Arriving in the woods, the three teenagers held onto flashlights provided by Stiles to help them see where they were walking. Aspen hugged herself with one arm as the cool breeze graced her cheeks, making them tint red. She was rushed out of her window and was only able to grab a cardigan for warmth. As Stiles led the way, she stayed close to Scott, who seemed to be growing tired due to his asthma. Scott must have noticed Aspen shivering when he offered her his jacket. She kindly declined but linked their arms together instead to at least keep their arms warm with their body heat.

Aspen felt as if her ankles were about to break with every step she took every time she steps on a rock or a tree root. She clung onto Scott, trying to keep herself balanced. Unlike the boys, Aspen ran track and was probably one of the fastest on the team. She's always been light on her feet and didn't seem to get tired as quickly as her teammates. Track was never a big deal at Beacon Hills, so no one ever recognized her talent.

"So, what else did Stiles hear about this body?" Aspen asked Scott in a hushed whisper, worried police nearby would hear her. "was it a murder?"

"Stiles said no one knows yet," Scott told her, "they said it was a girl in her twenties. A couple of hikers found only half the body, and for some idiotic reason, Stiles wants us to play detective and find it."

"I heard that!" Stiles shouted over his shoulder as he rushed ahead of them, excited to find a dead body.

"I can't believe we're seriously doing this." Aspen told the boys with a laugh, "what are we supposed to do excatly if we find it?"

"You two are always the ones bitching that nothing ever happens in this town. Besides, I thought, why not go on a little field trip for the last night of summer."

"Field trips consist of roller coasters or historical sights. Not half of a woman's body, which was, may I remind you, possibly murdered."

"Yea, and I was trying to head to bed early for tryouts tomorrow." Scott protested, bringing Aspen to look at him and point her flashlight at his face. He flinched from the sudden brightness and covered his eyes with his free hand.

"Scott, it's almost four in the morning. It's a little too late to go to bed early. Early in the morning, maybe, but I doubt you'll be able to stand on that lacrosse filed tomorrow."

"She's right, dude," Stiles agreed, "but it's not like sitting on the bench takes much effort."

Stiles wasn't able to see Aspen roll her eyes, but she wished he had. She gave Scott's arm an encouraging shake. "You'll be great, Scott. You said you practiced all summer. Don't let it be for nothing." she told him.

"Yea, I hope not," Scott sighed. "but I think I might start this year."

"Its always good to have a dream, Especially a pathetically unrealistic one," Stiles commented, making himself laugh. Aspen didn't hesitate to kick the back of Stiles' leg, almost causing him to buckle to the ground. Aspen and Scott laughed as Stiles' rounded on her with annoyance event on his face.

"You know I hope whoever killed that girl comes out and takes you too," Stiles hissed, poking her shoulder.

"I think they much rather prefer killing you first to shut you up. This murderer might even be our saving grace." Aspen retorted, inching closer o his face.

"Or they might kill you to get you out of your misery."

"Yes, the misery of me having to withstand your voice for another three years of our high school lives."

"Guys!" Scott whispered toward the two, bringing them to look at him. He pointed to a clearing in the woods where yellow police tape marked off a perimeter with floodlights. The three crouched low and began circling the crime scene. While Stiles and Scott were fascinated and tried to find the best vantage point, Aspen stayed behind them, feeling uncomfortable with being somewhere they shouldn't. Seeing dead bodies never settled comfortably with her since her parents died when she was younger. She barely had any memory of them, but it still bothered her nonetheless.

"That must be the second half of the body," Scott whispered, disappointment lacing his voice that their night adventure had been for nothing.

"We don't know that. Come on." Stiles was quick to his feet as he scrambles back into the dark woods with Scott and Aspen stumbling behind him. Getting all too excited from the sight of flashlight beams scouring the shadows ahead, Stiles raced forward.

"Stiles, wait up!" Aspen laughed, sharing in Stiles' excitement for the first time tonight. She didn't like dead bodies, but the adrenaline was getting to her head. She hasn't even noticed Scott fall behind as she ran in tow with Stiles.

After rushing ahead, the two saw Scott hadn't been following them. Turning around, Aspen and Stiles were met with a search dog snapping ferociously at them. The sudden scare sent both teenagers to stagger back and fall onto the ground, but the dogs were yanked back before they could attack them.

"Stay where you are!" a state trooper shouted.

Aspen covered her face from the blinding lights burning her vision.

"Hey, hold on. Hold it. I got these two," Sheriff Stilinski rushed over to them, stepping into the light. He glared down at Aspen and Stiles, making them cower where they were.

The two got to their feet and faced Stiles' father. Aspen had never had a father figure in her life besides her grandfather, but Mr. Stilinski came close when it came to keeping his son and herself in check.

"So I see at least one of your little partners in crime," Stilicki said, pointing toward Aspen, who smiled cheekily toward him, her eyes attempting to hold innocence. "But, where's the other one, Stiles?"

"Who?" Stiles asked, playing dumb. From the look on Sheriff Stilicki's face, he was not in the mood for his son's antics.

"Scott."

"Scott who?" Aspen added onto Stiles' stupidity, just to create a distraction from the trouble they were in.

Sheriff Stilincki gave them a look and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Oh! That Scott!" Stiles exclaimed with a nervous laugh as he scratched the back of his head.

"Oh, yea yea. H-he's home. You know he wanted to get a good night's sleep for the lacrosse tryouts. He's hoping to make starting lineup this year." Aspen told him.

"Scott? McCall? Starting lineup?" Stilinski seemed confused by her statement.

"I know that's what I said." Stiles laughed before Aspen whacked his rm with the back of her hand. Stiles whispered a silent 'ow' as he rubbed his arm.

Sheriff Stiliksi let the beams of his flashlight shine across some nearby trees that Aspen and Stiles knew Scott was hiding behind. Luckily, the boy stayed hidden, and Stilinski faced the two teenagers once again.

"Alright, you two," Stilinskii told them in a steady voice, trying to stay calm. While he griped the color of his sons' jacket, he gently placed a hand on Aspen's back to push them along. "On our way to the jeep, let's talk about something called an invasion of privacy."

Pulling int the driveway of her house, Aspen sighed as her head was resting up against the window. Apart from getting caught in the woods so late, she enjoyed her night adventure with the boys. But the fact that school started in only a couple hours dampened her spirits.

"Sorry I got us in trouble back there," Stiles told her, leaning back in his seat.

Aspen tilted her head toward him and passed a warm smile.

"Don't be," she said, "that was probably the best... scariest night of the summer, so I should be saying thank you."

"I am an exciting person."

"You're crazy is what you are, Stilinski." Aspen laughed. Stiles couldn't help but laugh with her. "You think Scott got home, okay? My phone has been acting up, so I can't call him."

"Yea, I'm sure he's good," Stiles told her, but his tone didn't sound so assuring. "I'll give him a call once I'm home."

Aspen nodded before opening the passenger door and hopping to the floor.

"See you tomorrow, June," Stiles said, throwing up a peace sign in her direction.

"Goodnight, Stiles," Aspen laughed as she waved him off.

She slowly tiptoed around the side of her house and climbed up a metal trellis leading to the roof where her window presided. Aspen did her best not to stomp too loudly on the roof as she opened her window and slipped in with ease.

After taking a quick shower, Aspen tossed herself into the bed. Her ankles felt sore due to all the walking they had done back in the woods. She hoped Scott had gotten home safe and cursed herself for dropping her phone so much she couldn't even check on her friend. Tucking herself deeper into her covers, she let her eyes close and let sleep overcome her.

In only three hours, before she had to get ready for the first day back to school, she and her friend's lives would change forever.