recklessthings | 彡 cora hale

That settles it, doesn't it? Alek can't close himself off to what she is asking, even if she really isn't asking. (It's the closest he'd get too, if he were in her shoes. There is something about her that is familiar to him. as he relates to her difficulty in expressing what she wants to, he makes a decision of his own.)

"Yes, you do."

It's said swiftly and without much room for doubt - at least not on his end. Alek brings himself to his feet, having made up his mind, and he stretches his hand out to her in offer. It's Cora's decision whether she takes it or not, this olive branch he is offering metaphorically and literally, but if she does, he'll take her to the Hale Manor. He knows his brothers would agree with him - they can't leave her alone with this.

The look on her face is a mix of relief and confusion. It isn't that she doesn't appreciate what he's offering, because she does. The idea of being around other wolves, wolves who will be able to help her deal with this, is an important one and she wants to accept his offer, that olive branch, for what it is, but she feels he need to ask more first.

"You don't know me." Obviously. "Why help me?"

She's waiting for the other shoe to drop, the catch that will explain it all. Nothing comes for free in this world or any other, and Hales fall into traps like this all too easily. She doesn't want to accept help and wind up selling her soul, not that she thinks Alek would ask that of her.

"I've been where you are." There's a slight pause. "I am where you are."

If only a few steps ahead of her. It hasn't been that long since Alek learned what it was like to carry the wolf inside of him. It wasn't that long ago he had his first full blooded moon. He is where he is today because his brothers wouldn't leave him alone with it, even when he did absolutely everything to push them away. "You're a wolf, Cora. We help each other."

Maybe it's that simple. Maybe it can be.

She doesn't know why she should trust him, but she wants to. She needs to. She doesn't really have anyone else to trust. It doesn't help that her ears were tuned to the steady thump of his heartbeat, and there were none of the other tell-tale signs of deception. As far as she could tell, he was telling the truth. She'll just have to hope he isn't wrong.

She reaches up, taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet.

"I just have to pick up some stuff."

Some stuff being her jacket. She doesn't really have anything else.

Trust doesn't come easily. Sometimes, it doesn't come at all. And then there are other times where you just have to take a leap of faith before you know either way. He realizes he's asking a lot here, but he also knows what could happen if he doesn't persuade her. While they might not know each other, he's already invested in helping. It's not something he can explain. He just knows he can't not do anything about it.

It's why there's an inward sigh of relief when Cora takes his hand. Alek's grip is steady as he pulls her up, before he glances down at himself.

"And I should ... probably shower," he says in agreement. "Meet you in fifteen by the school entrance? The rest of the guys will be here soon."

Alek has a feeling she would rather avoid a lot of smelly, dumb boys.

Yes, yes she would. She nods a bit in agreement, before turning and heading back towards the way she came in. She just has to get back to Grant Park, and maybe steal herself a pair of shoes in the process. She was going to need an entirely new wardrobe, but that's something that can come with time.

In theory.

She pauses, just inside the doorway, before glancing back to him with a look that has more gratitude than she can probably put into words. "Thank you."

That's why Alek will enlist Ava's help, Cora.

... The thought of Ava and Cora in the same room with the former giving the latter fashion tips, though. Anyhoo, Alek gives her a faint smile and nods his head, stepping further into the showers once she's off. True to his word, he'll be climbing down the front steps of the school's entrance, freshly showered, in search for her.

He's half wondering if she'll still be there, or if she changed her mind.

The idea of Ava and Cora in the same room together is amazing and beautiful and maybe it will happen one day. But for right now, it's just Alek and Cora and she will make her way back to the high school again, just like she promised. Her long dark hair is hanging around her shoulders, and she's still in that boy's basketball uniform that is too big for her, but over it now is a leather jacket with sleeves that hang a little long over her hands. She's also got a pair of neon colored cheap flip-flops that she ~~stole~~ borrowed from a street vendor.

She's hanging back, just outside the entrance until she sees him, and she pushes away from the wall, falling into step next to him with a small smile.

"Hey."

Alek's wearing a leather jacket, too.

He never really goes anywhere without it, if he can help it, and he jogs the rest of the way to catch up with her. "Hey," he says, flashing a small smile of his own. "You hungry?"

Because there's a lot of ground they need to cover, and they might as well not do it on an empty stomach.

"Starving."

Which comes out with a little more emphasis than she'd like, but she's essentially been scavenging for the most part. While she's done it before and it's not hard to survive on it, sometimes you just need more. Plus, one thing that's consistent between both kinds of werewolf - shifting still takes a lot out of you.

She looks a little sheepish before nodding. "I could eat."

Alek lets out a laugh at how naturally her first reaction comes.

"I hope you like pizza," is his answer, since that's pretty much all he would eat if it was left up to him. Her brother will find that out for himself as well, down the road. Alek's already fishing his cell phone out of his pocket. The way he sees it, if he orders it now, it'll be waiting for them by the time they get there, since it's quite a trip.

'There' is the Hale manor, on the outskirts of town. Nothing surrounds the property but woods and grassy green knolls. Alek pulls up at the front gate, and once it opens, it won't be long before it comes into view.

"Pizza is awesome."

Granted, she could eat anything, but pizza is always an A+ option. She's pretty quiet for the rest of the drive there, eyes making note of all the different landmarks so that she could find her way there and back. When she sees the actual manor though, she can't help but have her eyes go a little wide at the sight. "Wow. This place is huge."

Alek wouldn't have forced conversation.

He's someone that enjoys silence as much as the next person. He doesn't feel the need to fill it with small talk, and he knows there's a lot Cora's trying to wrap her head around. He forgets, sometimes, what the place must look like to someone that's never stepped foot in it before. Alek closes the door to his car, and glances over at it.

"...Yeah, I guess it is, isn't it?" He smirks a bit, faintly. "Seems smaller when you toss all my brothers in there."

He loves you guys, but really.

She nods a bit, keeping her eyes on the rest of the house for a moment, before she glances back over to him.

"How many of you are there?"

Aka now many not!Hales is she going to have to deal with here. It's not that she isn't over it, but she does still want to be at least a little prepared.

"Five. ... Ish." Alek cringes inwardly, since he realizes that answer can give way to confusion. "Four of them live here with me, technically, but we have an older brother that lives in Chicago, too. Just not ... here."

Because Adam. Adam and his world of issues.

Her eyebrows climb a bit at that, but it's not at Adam's lack of presence in the house. She figures that he just moved out or something.

"Big family."

She used to have a family like that once. But that was a very long time ago.

Alek smirks faintly at Cora's remark.

"You could say that. They're all strong personalities, too. So sometimes it feels even bigger."

Than it really is. A honk interjects before Alek can say anything else, and when he cranes his neck to look behind him, he finds the pizza has arrived. Delicious, cheesy pizza.

Cora is immediately distracted by the smell of food, something that claws at her. She hadn't realized how hungry she actually was until food was in chomping distance. Still, she waits for him to pay the pizza guy before following him into the house, looking at everything else to keep her from staring at the food.

Alek smirks at her reaction, dutifully paying the pizza guy and leading Cora into the kitchen. He opens up the pizza box and is equally swift at retrieving paper plates for them. They have nice plates, but that means washing dishes, and Alek is still an eighteen year old boy. "I hope you don't mind pepperoni," he says to her, nudging the plate in Cora's direction.

Because Alek is big on pepperoni and extra cheese.

She shakes her head because no, she doesn't mind pepperoni, and she's just going to take a great big bite and start shoveling the pizza into her mouth. She makes it about halfway through the the slice in question before she pulls back and swallows about half.

"Thanks."

Alek's not going to be much different, honestly. He scarfs down his slice of pizza entirely before he thinks to reply to her, and despite the fact he's a boy, he has the sense to swallow about half of it himself.

"Don't mention it. Consider it like a rites of passage."

Chicago pizza = Important.

She snorts a bit at that, before going back to her pizza. There may even be some happy noises. You can't get get better than really good pizza. She makes her way through half the pie, before she stops and actually looks around more.

"How long have you guys lived here?"

Alek considers Cora's question, chewing thoughtfully on his pizza slice. He doesn't answer until he's swallowed down that bite.

"Ever since I was a kid. I don't remember much about my life before living here, but we were all born in England. Moved around a bit until we settled here. My brothers are all a little older than me, so they'd know more about that. For me, there's... really only ever been this."

She nods a bit at that. Cora is he opposite - the Hales had lived in that preserve in Beacon Hills for generations until the fire, and then what was left of them were scattered and broken. They had a home. Now, not so much.

"It reminds me of where I grew up."

"Where was that?"

Wanderers come from all kinds of worlds, he's found. He never assumes what their home must've been like. Sometimes it's similar to his, but sometimes it's not. Sometimes, it's both.


	✔ Cʀᴏssᴏᴠᴇʀs/AU ✔ Aᴄᴛɪᴏɴsᴘᴀᴍ ✔ Pʀᴏsᴇ	✔ Pɪᴄᴛᴜʀᴇ ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛs ✔ Oᴛʜᴇʀᴡᴏʀᴅʟʏ ✔ Sᴛᴀʀᴛᴇʀs	♥ F/M, F/F ⏰ Uᴘ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴀᴛᴇ

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