Chapter 4: A Mystery

She didn't even care about her sore muscles anymore, Catori ran outside the building and stopped there for a moment, trying to think of something to do.

Catori always walked to school, so she didn't have any way of reaching her mom before she had a nervous breakdown out of sheer concern and fear.

Even if she had a car –which she shouldn't drive being so agitated­ –she didn't know where she had to go. Was her mom at the hospital? She didn't know if she got hurt! Did she go to the police station? If she was okay they probably had to take her testimony. Was Minerva with her? Were they both okay?

Catori's hands flew to her hair as she tried to slow her breathing and her fast heartbeat before she had some short of panic attack.

"Catori!" A voice called her worriedly, but she didn't turn to it.

Soon, before her was the kind yet preoccupied face of Scott McCall. The boy softly held her by the shoulders and fixed his warm brown eyes on her.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't know where to go, or how to go or... or anything!" The girl gulped, frightened and distracted. "I-I don't even know if my mom got hurt"

"Was she at the museum?" Scott asked her urgently, to which she nodded slowly. "Stiles heard about it, he says all the witnesses are at the police station"

"Then my mom has to be there" Catori replied, slightly relieved that her mother hadn't been harmed, apparently. "I have to go with her"

"Do you need me to take you there?"

Catori felt shaky and restless, her eyes were also watery. She felt extremely tired and weary.

To answer the boy, she nodded again, trying to show through her expression how grateful she was for his help.

"Come on" Scott held her by the wrist and took Catori to his motorbike.

The both of them got on and he drove off in a rush.

*

Although Scott's arm around her felt secure and comforting, Catori couldn't help but to shake in pure fear.

Her mom was supposed to be okay, but Catori wouldn't calm down until she saw with her own eyes that she was safe and sound.

Scott pushed the door open and they walked into the police station. Immediately, the boy guided her to one of the desks, where a young man sat at, typing something on the computer.

"Parrish" Scott interrupted him, making him look up from his work.

"Hi, Scott" The young man's eyes landed on the girl for a moment, noticing how distraught she looked. "Is... your friend okay?"

"We're here to see if Catori's mother is here"

"What's her name?"

The two males glanced at her, so she tried to get a hang of herself and answer.

"Lu-Lucy Hudson"

Noticing that she was still really scared, Scott gently rubbed her upper arm in an attempt to calm her down.

"She's in the interrogatory room" Parrish replied softly, frowning as he felt bad for her.

"Is she okay?" Catori rushed to ask him.

"I don't know, I wasn't here when she arrived. You'll have to wait until she comes out" The deputy pursed his lips together apologetically. "Sorry, Catori"

The girl just nodded in a daze.

"Hey" Scott gently shook her until she glanced up at him. "I need to talk to Stiles, alright?"

"Okay" The girl nodded again, even if part of her didn't want him to go.

"Will you be okay?" He worried, fixing his eyes on her in concern.

It made her feel better looking into his kind brown eyes and knowing he was there for her during that anguishing moment, but she obliged.

"Yeah, don't worry"

"Wait here, I'll be right back" Scott placed a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her one last time before he walked into the other room.

As the door opened and Scott came in, she could have a glimpse of Stiles and a man that stood next to him.

Catori noticed the stare the boy sent her and she looked away. She didn't know that for once that glance was only filled with curiosity.

For Stiles, she was a mystery. He didn't understand what was that which made her so different.

The girl kept averting her eyes as the door closed and quickly forgot about him.

Sighing, Catori plopped down on a seat that rested against the wall of the room Scott was in. The girl started to fiddle with her own fingers in an attempt to keep her mind off the restlessness.

Her thoughts kept wandering to the possible scenes that could have taken place in the museum during the moment it was robbed. And those scenes involved frightening images of her mother being harmed in many ways that made her cringe in fear.

Trying to get those pessimistic thoughts away, she looked around and tried to focus her attention on something else.

Behind her, she noticed a plaque on the wall. It read 'Sheriff Stilinski'

Catori squinted her eyes in curiosity, the surname being more than familiar to her. Was the Beacon Hills' sheriff related to Stiles?

"Are you kidding me?!" Someone exclaimed in the closed room, loud enough for her to hear through the walls.

Actually, it sounded a lot like Stiles' voice.

Straining her ears, she concentrated on listening to the conversation that took place in there.

"It definitely wasn't someone ordinary" A deeper voice said, probably belonging to the sheriff himself, the man she noticed before. "The way they smashed everything and barged in so violently... it wasn't normal"

"Werewolves?" Scott's soft voice suggested.

"Wer-" Stiles stuttered. "Werewolves. Why would a werewolf want to rob a museum?"

"I don't know"

"Do you need anything?" A voice startled her a little as she was still preoccupied. Catori looked up to Parrish, who observed her with gentle eyes.

"Uh... no"

"Let me know if you do" He dedicated her a friendly smile that she couldn't really reciprocate even if she wanted to.

"Okay"

"But hey, if your mom were hurt she would be in the hospital" Parrish carried on talking, trying his best to comfort her. "They wouldn't have brought her here"

"Thank you" Attempting to show him a smile, she lifted the corner of her lips a tiny bit.

The young man stared at her for a moment, still showing her that grin, and slowly got back to work.

Desperate to keep her mind busy and off her mom's current situation, she thought back to Stiles and Scott's conversation with the sheriff.

What they said didn't make any sense to her. Was 'werewolf' some short of code word that meant something else? They couldn't be talking about actual supernatural creatures, about actual werewolves!

But she quickly forgot about that conversation she overheard. She had bigger things to worry about even if she didn't want to.

Parrish's words slightly relieved the tension within her, but she would still have to wait until her mother was back from the interrogatory.

*

Half an hour later, Catori was pacing up and down the police station, scared out of her mind. She was done with sitting down.

Scott had returned and asked her to sit down again and take it easy around ten times, but she wouldn't listen.

Luckily, Catori spotted her mother walking out of a hallway and a sigh of relief overcame her as she observed her. Lucy didn't show any signs of being hurt.

"Mom" Catori let out a strangled whisper at the sight of her.

The girl ran to her mother and hugged her tightly, glad that she was okay.

"I'm alright, honey" Lucy sweetly caressed her daughter's head to comfort her.

"See? I told you" Parrish smiled and placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Your mom's okay"

Catori pulled away and smiled back at him as she nodded in appreciation.

"Do you need a lift?" Scott asked behind her, with that sweet smile of his as his kind brown eyes observed the scene.

He was really glad that Catori's mother hadn't ended up wounded. Or at least badly wounded. Lucy had a few wounds on her face, but they were minor cuts and bruises that would heal in no time.

Catori turned to her mother before she went to talk to Scott. Lucy nodded, figuring he was a friend, and went to talk to Parrish.

The young man was extremely nice to her as he explained the situation to the woman, and what little they knew about the robbery that took place. He said that she would have to talk to Sheriff Stilinski if she wanted further information.

"We will walk home" Catori told Scott as she walked towards him. "But thanks. For everything, really"

"No problem" He grinned warmly.

To his surprise, Catori went to hug him in true gratitude.

She really needed someone to be with her during that moment. And Scott had been there for her to comfort her. Even if he didn't have to, even if he skipped class just to be with her, to accompany her. Because he wanted to. And she appreciated that and felt thankful to have someone like Scott McCall around.

Then she pulled away and went to hold her mother's arm, saying goodbye to Parrish as the two women slowly walked to the door to finally leave the building.

But before they left, Catori looked over her shoulder and smiled a last time at Scott. The boy reciprocated the gesture.

*

The Stilinski men walked out of the office and they called for Scott and Parrish.

"Was Lucy Hudson interrogated?" The Sheriff asked, just as Stiles and Scott listened intently.

"Yes" Parrish replied, briefly turning around to pick up the report he had just received a few minutes ago, which lay on his desk. "Apparently she saw nothing, she was knocked unconscious before she could see the attacker"

Scott and Stiles exchanged a complicity glance. They still believed a werewolf did that.

"Any other witnesses?" The Sheriff insisted, glaring at the boys too since he knew about the supernatural.

"A girl called Minerva who works with her. But all she saw was a boy coming in and, according to her, he didn't take anything despite the attack"

Stiles chuckled in disbelief, gathering the attention on him.

"Wait, are you telling me that they robbed the museum but didn't take anything?"

"Apparently yes" The Sheriff sighed, clueless like the rest of them.

"What did they barge in there for then?" Scott spoke up, his brow creasing in confusion.

"It's a mystery" Parrish shrugged, because he had no idea.

"And you said before that it was something supernatural?" Stiles intervened, remembering that detail.

"Along with the obvious superhuman strength, Minerva swears that the boy's eyes had a strange golden color" Parrish nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. "But she blames it on the shock, she doesn't believe it was actually real"

"Sounds like a werewolf to me" Scott mumbled, looking at his best friend.

"And she happened to miss the gigantic claws and fangs?" Stiles observed, frowning and tilting his head to the side.

"Poor girl was scared, she said she just hid when the boy started breaking all the glass cabinets"

"This doesn't make sense" The Sheriff sighed, rubbing a hand over his face in exasperation.

"It doesn't" Stiles agreed with his father. "What would a werewolf want in a museum?"

"And more if they didn't take anything" Scott nodded his head.

"What did they do there again?" Stiles squinted his eyes as his glance landed on Parrish.

"He just barged in and destroyed the whole place" The young man said, shrugging his broad shoulders.

"Terrifying them while they were at it" Scott added, frowning as he pictured how scared they should have been. And remembering Catori's anguish too.

"And it was only just that guy..." Stiles rubbed his chin slowly in deep thought.

"Any suspects?" Asked the Sheriff, trying to approach the situation as he would always do. Like a regular crime that didn't involve a werewolf.

"Not for the moment" Parrish answered, just as lost.

The four men looked at each other, wondering what the purpose of the attack at the museum was. Who was that boy? Was he actually a werewolf? Did he actually take anything? And if he didn't, why did he burst in there for?

Again, it was all a mystery.

*

After lunch, once Catori made sure her mother was okay and that she didn't need anything, the girl went to her room.

Everything had ended up being only just a big scare.

Luckily, she didn't have jujitsu that day. She wouldn't have gone even if she did, she was too tired with her sore muscles and her still restless nerves.

So lying down on her bed while listening to music made her feel better, almost forgetting about everything that happened that day.

Catori stared at the ceiling blankly while her mind replayed the events that took place during the day. And how horribly wrong it could have gone instead. She shook her head sternly at the thought. Her mother was okay, that was all that mattered.

As if trying to distract her, Catori's muscles still complained even when she was resting. How grateful she felt that she didn't have to go to jujitsu, otherwise she would die of exhaustion.

Her phone then rang all of a sudden, making her jump in surprise.

When she looked at the screen, it said Lydia. Catori had completely forgot that she was supposed to call her to go for a manicure.

Feeling exhausted, she picked up the phone and answered the call.

"Lydia, I'm honestly not up to a manicure right now" She told her tiredly.

"Oh, no, honey" Her friend began sweetly. "Forget about that, I heard about your mom and I wanted to know if she's okay"

Catori couldn't help to smile for her concern. It warmed her heart to know Lydia cared about her new friend and her family as well.

"She's fine, thank you"

"And you?"

"Still a bit shaken up, but I'll be fine"

"Good" Lydia replied lively. "Look forward to that manicure soon"

Catori chuckled in a friendly way.

"Sure, for now see you tomorrow in class"

"See you"

Catori hung up and lay back down, closing her eyes as she tried to relax completely. Remnants of stress and anguish still remained on her, making her feel restless.

For the rest of the day up until it got dark, the girl just did her best to calm down and settle her mind in more ordinary events.

She chatted with her jujitsu mate Amanda, she took a long relaxing shower and prepared to go back to class the following day.

Hopefully it would be more normal and tranquil.

*

Meanwhile, in the crime scene, the Sheriff was investigating the robbery along with his son Stiles.

Scott and Parrish had decided to accompany them, knowing of how great importance it was the case if a werewolf was actual involved in it.

Stiles distanced himself from the three males and walked to the other end of the establishment, where one of the glass cabinets had been especially shattered. Not a single piece of the glass remained unbroken.

The police men and the young werewolf talked lowly on the other end of the room. They were discussing what could have happened there, still trying to find out the truth about it all. Their voices filled the place.

Something caught Stiles' eyes, so they boy kneeled over and observed the mess of pieces of glass and broken vases.

"Guys?" He spoke up, carefully picking up a vase while he tried not to cut himself with the glass that lay on the ground.

"What is it?" Parrish asked as they approached him to see what he had found.

Stiles held the vase up for them to see, leaving the rest bewildered at the sight. It was completely intact. As if they had been careful not to break it unlike the rest of the artifacts of the gallery.

"What the hell?" The Sheriff uttered in disbelief.

"It can't be a coincidence that this very vase was left untouched" Stiles suggested, sending his best friend a complicity glare.

"What's so special about that vase?" Parrish piped up, voicing his thoughts and questions.

"I don't know" The Sheriff replied absently, his tone implying that there was indeed something special about it.

"That's what we need to figure out" Stiles tilted his head to the side as he observed the vase.

One would think there was nothing special about it. Just a regular small brown vase with a strange symbol engraved on it.

"Starting with that symbol" Scott pointed his finger at the vase, gracing his skin against the surface of the black symbol that stood out on the surface.

It looked very familiar to them.