Wonder

COMPUTER HUB LYRA

Computer Hub was an ugly store.

It was a gray square of a building, with large windows depicting posters of computers held by bikini clad women and games full of guns, cars and everything a 40 year old virgin of a hacker or a prepubescent teenage boy would want. The neon open signed flickered between red and blue and the door it hung on held a spiderweb of thin cracks.

Ariel looked out of place.

This was in the back roads of downtown Beacon, in the same plaza as a shady looking Chinese restaurant and a lottery ticket store. In her cocktail dress and fancy heels, the McCall girl looked better suited for a charity event that only served to make rich people feel better about being excessively wealthy.

The inside of Computer Hub was surprisingly neat. The grey walls were covered in posters and racks of games. In the middle of the store sat a few rows of computers, ranging from the Apple Mac every college student seemed to have to a black box like thing that looked more like a briefcase than a laptop.

Soft rock played from an extensive speaker set and the air was thick with cigarette smoke. Ariel shifted uncomfortably, hating how her stilettos dug deep into the plush welcome mat. She took a few steps forward, cringing at the sound her shoes made when they stepped onto the linoleum floor.

"I think you took a wrong turn somewhere. The Barbie gala isn't held here." The girl behind the counter looked familiar. She had a blunt cut bob, framing harsh features and a glare. One side was tucked behind a heavily pierced ear, the other hanging down over the side of her face. She wore a black tank top, an angsty band logo adorning the cotton. There was a tattoo on her arm, and another visible on her wrist. She was very pretty, in an intimidating way that made Ariel shrink back.

"Um, actually not looking for a barbie gala." Ariel was nervous and hated herself for that. She was a badass werewolf, why did this girl intimidate her? "But if you were looking for the nearest hardcore rock concert, I think you took the wrong turn too."

The girl didn't answer, instead raising a judgmental eyebrow and slowly looking Ariel up and down. Ariel shifted awkwardly, knowing full well how idiotic she looked in the tight blue dress, heels and choker. She saw something flicker in the girl's eyes before she curled her lip in contempt.

"Ariel McCall." Her voice rang out clearly as she lazily met Ariel's eyes. Hers were hazel and cold, but Ariel's heart still jumped. "I would expect to see you at a lacrosse game or an all you can eat buffet, not computer hub." Ariel was mildly offended, suddenly feeling fat. She narrowed her eyes at the girl, still not remembering her name or how she knew who Ariel was.

"Is this how you greet all your customers..." her eyes flickered down to the girls nametag. "Lyra?"

"Only the ones I know aren't actually here to buy something." Lyra glared, shifting a russet skinned arm to cover her name tag. "What are you doing here, Ariel?" The way she said Ariel's name, the harsh and brash way her tongue caressed it made the girl bite her lip thoughtfully. What in the hell was she doing there?

"I need a favor." Ariel squared her shoulders in confidence, making her way up to counter and staring Lyra down. The girl seemed slightly surprised and rather amused that the small blonde girl was sticking up to her.

"What, do you need a last minute manicure before the dance?" Lyra snorted roughly, looking at Ariel contemptuously.

"Actually, I need someone to trace a cell."

Derek had been captured by the Argents a few days earlier. Scott had told her of how he was about to kill Jackson (good riddance, she had said), how they had fought and how the house had been suddenly filled with bullets. Scott had been saved by Deaton and Ariel was there to hold his hand when he awoke. Derek however, had fallen into the claws of the Argents. As much as Ariel wanted Derek to be tortured slowly for betraying them, she wanted to be the one to do it. Searching had been fruitless and she was on her last resort- Scott's phone. He hadn't been able to find it after the gunfight and Ariel had a sneaking suspicion that Derek had pocketed it. She hadn't shared her idea, but if it was true, she would be able to track him from the GPS.

"Is Danny here?" Lyra looked at her with raised eyebrows, not expecting an answer like that from the delicate blonde. Looking at the girl, with her beautiful face and shiny hair, Lyra had expected her to ask where she could buy GTA for her boyfriend or something. "You know, Danny? Tall, Hawaiian, very sassy but nice? He said he worked here-"

"Yeah, I know Danny." Lyra waved her hand, cutting Ariel off. "He's at that stupid dance, like everyone else."

"Right." Ariel swore inwardly, cursing at herself for being such an idiot. Of course Danny was at the dance. "Well do you know anyone else who can trace cells?"

"I can." Ariel's face lit up. "But not for someone like you." Lyra finished, turning around and typing away at her computer. Ariel craned her neck, expecting to see a screen of codes but instead saw a game of solitaire.

"What do you mean, someone like me?"

"I mean, a pretty blonde girl with nothing wrong in her life. She likes to think she's a nerd because she reads sometimes. Her favorite subject is gym so she can show off her mediocre legs and pretend she's bad at volleyball so some guy will help her. She dates douche bag boys with too much confidence and loves long walks on the beach. Only eats kale and loves shoes." Lyra was lying. She'd seen Ariel at school- she knew she hated kale and she knew she only wore two pairs of shoes on a daily basis. She also knew she kicked ass at volleyball and her legs were anything but mediocre.

"That- I hate long walks on the beach! Sand sucks!" Of all her rebuttals, Ariel knew that was the worst. Lyra was watching her with a lazy look, a small smirk on her lips. Ariel's chest heaved with air and anger. She was not a shallow blonde! It was then she remembered Lyra, who was in her history class and her gym class.She was Ryan Gildens cousin from Washington, the rude new girl no one knew anything about. Lyra had once told Meredith that she looked like a Bratz and a pug had a child and Ariel had laughed all day about it. She remembered Sky's words from Macy's and couldn't help the twitch of her lips. "God, you really are a constipated panther."

"Excuse me?" Lyras eyebrows shot up, and Ariel gained a little confidence with that. She leaned forward, placing her elbows on the counter and narrowing her eyes at Lyra. They held each others gazes, steady hazel on stubborn brown.

"I need you to trace a cell, Lyra." Ariel's voice came out strong and commanding. Lyra bristled at the tone but didn't look away. Instead, she scanned Ariel's face, taking in the pale skin and the smooth planes. Why would a girl like this need her to break the law? A delicious sense of excitement bubbled within Lyra, the possibility that the small blonde girl she had watched from afar may be more than a dumb teen girl.

She had first seen Ariel McCall her second day at BHHS, when she had been trailing behind Ryan and glaring at everyone. Ariel was short, with her hair in a braid and her face makeup free. She was talking to a tall boy and Lyra despised him instantly. Ariel had bumped into her, muttering a sorry and walking away. She saw her again that day, at the field that day with two girls. Lyra had watched from the top of the bleachers, sitting alone and offering her silent support to Ryan at tryouts. Ariel had cheered for a boy on the field, who Lyra guessed was her brother. She'd moved and sat with a lanky boy, the one from the hallway and Lyra had clenched her teeth.

Since that day she'd watched Ariel silently, noticing the little things like the mole on the curve of her finger and the tattoo on the back of her neck. She saw how the girl disappeared with her brother and friend, how she cut herself off from everyone else to focus on them. It amused Lyra, watching the small blonde run around haphazardly, tripping often, chewing incessantly on the back of the pen. Ariel interested Lyra and she knew deep down that she wasn't the dumb blonde she had first thought.

"I don't do favors." Lyras voice was cool and she watched Ariel's face fall.

Ariel pressed her eyes together, the realization of her failure sinking in. She didn't know how to hack, how to find Derek. He was suffering right now and all she could do was go to a dance. Peter was still out there, threatening and manipulating. She needed to kill him and she needed Derek to help.

"But for a price-"

"Anything." Lyra held in a grin as she watched Ariel's eyes snap open, excitement flood her face.

"Anything?" She smirked, knowing exactly what she wanted. Ariel shifted under her intense stare, wondering what she had just gotten into. Lyras dark eyes were burning into her and she felt a wave of uneasiness yet also excitement rush through her.

"Anything."