Love Unexpected || Scott McCall X OC ||

Chapter 1

It was almost evening when the plane landed on the airport. And Sayma was beyond tired. Even with what little sleep she had had in the plane, an airborne journey of sixteen hours was not fun. Add that to the fact that this was her first slight, the dizziness that she was feeling was a given.

Sayma followed her father out of the airport, along with the rest of the family. Her father went on to greet a man who looked to be in his early forties and was wearing a police uniform. Her father's face broke into a smile as he greeted his friend. It's been a while since she had seen her father smile. It was good to see that smile again.

Her father beckoned them forwards. "Come. Let me introduce you to my family." Sayma heard him say.

Sayma walked forward with everyone else. Her father introduced her mother, her brother and then her sister-in-law. And then it was Sayma's turn.

"And this is my little girl, Sayma."  She scowled at her father at being called a little girl, but kept quiet due to the presence of a stranger. Well, stranger for her.  The man was a friend of her father's.

"Assalamu alaikum."* She said in the way of Islamic greeting. It was what she had grown up learning. You greeted someone with that when you meet them, especially your elders.

"Walaikum assalam.*" He replied without hesitation, his American accent tinging the Arabic, and Sayma blinked. Twice. She had not been expecting a reply and definitely not a correct one at that. The surprise must have been visible on her face because the man chuckled.

"Yeah, your dad gave me an 'Islamic Expressions 101' when we first met. I have become quite good at them, if I do say so myself." The man said. Sayma felt a small but true smile spread across her lips as the man introduced himself. "I am Noah Stillinski. And as the Sheriff of Beacon Hills, let me be the first to welcome you guys here."

Sayma smiled. "Thank you ...." here she hesitated. What should she call him? By his name? No, that would be rude and disrespectful. By uncle? No. Too personal. By Mr. Stilinski? Not exactly rude, but she wasn't comfortable with it. Giving a sigh, she finally settled on, "sir."

It was the man's turn to blink in surprise now. He raised his eyebrows for a moment before saying, "Now, none of that, young lady. The only ones to call me 'sir' are those who work at the station, that too only on duty. I would tell you to call me Noah but I know better. Just call me Mr. Stilinski or Sheriff Stilinski." He paused for a moment, seemingly in thought, before he said, "Or just plain Sheriff. I mean that's what most of the town calls me. So there's no need to call me 'sir'."

"He's right." A a voice came from behind the Sheriff. The man sighed, as if exasperated, and turned, giving Sayma a clear view of the one who spoke. It was a scrawny teenager with moles dotting his face and neck. He was walking towards them with an easy smile on his face. As he reached them, he tilted his head towards the Sheriff and said, "His over inflated ego does not any more air."

The Sheriff sighed again, closing his eyes and shaking his head. He then turned towards them and spoke, "Yeah, this one's mine. Stiles." Sayma could see the resemblance between them.

And then the Sheriff took to introducing them to his son. "Stiles, you already know my friend, Emdad. That's his wife, Mrs. Hasina Amin. Beside her is ...." He introduced them one by one and the last three left were Humaira, Sayma and Sakib. The youngest three.

The Sheriff then pointed towards Sayma. "That's Emdad's daughter, Sayma." Stiles, for some reason, decided that this was the perfect time for him to extend his hand for a handshake with a 'nice to meet you' whereas he just greeted everyone else with a wave and a 'hello'. Sayma's father frowned and her brother's eyebrows rose.

Now the 'more conservative' (insert eye roll and sarcasm here), aka, the extremists, hung up on 'traditions', would very much hate for Sayma to shake the hands of a stranger boy. But Sayma's family was not that extreme. Sure, they were strict and they expected their children to follow the obligatory rules and traditions. And Sayma didn't usually shake hands. But that didn't mean she would be rude enough to refuse someone who had their hands open and extended as a gesture of friendliness.

So with a smile, Sayma slipped her hand into his and lightly shook it. "Likewise." Stiles seemed surprised, as if he had been completely expecting Sayma to not shake his hand. Which wouldn't be a too far off assumption considering the reputation Muslims had made for themselves in America.

Stiles's face broke into beaming smile as he released her hand and turned towards Sakib. They introduced themselves to each other without any help from the others. Stiles, clearly thinking that everyone had been introduced, turned to go out the exit but his father stopped him.

"It seems we missed someone." He said and then gestured behind Sayma, who was now acting as a shield between Humaira and the others. Her cousin was shyly peeking from behind Sayma. As energetic as Humu was when around her friends and family, no one would even suspect how naughty the girl was when she was around strangers. It was like she had a switch which she flipped. When it was off, she could take the world by storm. As soon as she was around new people, she flipped the switch and made a shell around her. She wouldn't talk to anyone she wasn't comfortable with.

Sayma sighed and tugged her from behind her and made her stand in between herself and Sakib. "Sheriff, Stiles, I would like you to meet my cousin, Humaira."

Sheriff smiled and nodded. Stiles, on the other hand, almost gave a jumped and made a sound at the back of his throat that he would later swear up one side and down the other wasn't a girly squeal. "Oh God, she is so cute. She looks a lot like you, Sayma. And she has puppy dog eyes like Scott. I am never letting these two meet. Between them, they can make us do anything with their puppy dog power. Oh sorry. Hi, I'm Stiles." He said in a one breathe.

Humaira blushed and giggled as Stiles rambled, relaxing a bit. She gave a shy  wave and out of the corner of her eyes, Sayma saw Stiles give a smug smile. It then occurred to her that Stiles was trying to make Humaira comfortable and from the looks of things, he succeeded. Sayma caught his eye and mouthed, "Thank you."

He nodded at her. No one else saw their exchange as they were busy cooing over Humaira and chuckling. The Sheriff smiled at them. "Well, now that the introduction is done, let's get going."

The Sheriff led them out of the airport and toward where two police cars and  a blue jeep were standing. Another officer was waiting for them there.

"This is Deputy Parrish." The Sheriff introduced the man. "Deputy, this is my friend I was talking about, Emdad. And that's his family."

"Nice to meet you, sir." The man said and shook hand with her father. Her father nodded at him with a smile. After that, it was decided that Sayma, Sakib and Humaira would ride with Stiles in his jeep. HIS jeep. He had a jeep. And Sayma had to throw week long tantrum to get a phone. Dammit.

Sayma's father, mother, aunt and uncle will ride with the Sheriff while her brother and sister-in-law would go with the deputy. They all hopped on and pulled out of the airport, none of them sensing the change that would soon come into their lives.

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A/N: I know. I have left this for way too long. But it is not abandoned. The updates will be slow and irregular.. But that doesn't mean that I won't update. I will update even though it might take some time.