Slowing down, the red Mustang came to a complete stop as the light changed from yellow to red. A soft wind blew through Stella Williams's blonde hair as she looked around the empty road. Glancing down, she reached for the envelope on her passenger seat. She already knew what was inside—she opened it almost immediately after it slid under her apartment door a few days before she was supposed to leave for Beacon Hills. The note enclosed was read and re-read, marks on the paper from where she held it tightly. She practically had it memorized by now.
Thumbing past the note, Stella pulled out the old, grainy polaroid picture of her toddler self with two other children—a girl her age and a boy who was a couple years older. The moment felt fuzzy in her mind, but she knew it was herself. There were plenty of other baby pictures to back that up. But she didn't know who sent the note and the picture. The name was unfamiliar and there was no full return address, just Stella's name carefully printed out on the envelope along with an indication that the sender was from Beacon Hills. Even though Stella was already headed to Beacon Hills, the note had become another reason why she came back—she needed to know who sent it.
Suddenly, her phone rang, pulling her from her thoughts. She pushed the picture back into the envelope, putting it into the glove compartment as she reached for her phone. Smiling slightly to herself at the name on the screen, she answered the call as the light turned green,
"What's up, bro?" She asked as she proceeded with caution through the green light.
"Just wondering where my lovely sister is, considering you said you would be here yesterday." Her older brother's voice came over the line.
"Drew, I hate to tell you this, but I think you're turning into Mom." She clenched her teeth as she steered the Mustang with one hand.
"Ha ha very funny." Drew let out a dry laugh. "Seriously, Stella."
"I just crossed the town limits. Just, you know, trying to have a little bit more freedom," Stella continued, "before I give it all up to take care of a newborn."
"You're the one who volunteered." Drew reminded his sister as he walked through the hospital, "There's a key under the turtle on the front porch."
"Got it." Stella clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, "I will be there in about a half an hour. Is anyone home?"
"The kids are gonna leave soon so they might beat you there." Drew nodded as he pressed the button for the elevator.
"Alright, sounds good." Stella hummed in approval, "I'll see you later, Drew."
"Bye, Stella." Drew ended his call with his younger sister as the elevator dinged. Shoving his phone into his jacket pocket, Drew stepped on, hitting the button for Tara's floor. The doors went to close, only to have a hand come out and stop them. Drew looked over to see Scott stepping onto the elevator,
"Hey, Scott." Drew gave him a warm smile, "Where ya headed?"
"Uh, just looking for Leah." Scott said, a bit breathless. Drew noticed that he looked a little shaken, his hands curling into fists in his pocket.
"Well, she's upstairs with Tara." Drew nodded slowly, "Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, yup, yes sir." Scott nodded, blowing a breath, "Just winded from trying to catch the elevator." Drew made a face, but accepted Scott's lie as the elevator went up to the maternity ward.
Once the elevator doors opened, Scott let Drew step out first, following him down the hall. He saw Leah step out of her mom's room, tapping at her phone. When she looked up, she gave her dad a warm smile as he went over to give her a side hug and a kiss on the top of her head before walking into Tara's room. Leah noticed Scott and put her phone into the back pocket of her jeans as he walked up to her.
"Hey, sorry, I just saw your text." Leah gave him a small smile as she met him in the middle of the hall, "Nice haircut." She reached up to floof his hair with her fingers for a moment. Scott pulled back, rolling his eyes and momentarily forgetting what had just happened.
"Thanks." Scott gave her a lopsided smile as Leah dropped her hand from his head. She walked over to the row of chairs by the elevators.
"So your text." Leah's brow furrowed as she folded herself into the chair, Scott flopping down in the chair next to her. "What happened?" She pulled her knee to her chest.
"So, Allison and I were out in that abandoned park off of Second Street this afternoon."
"Right." Leah nodded, resting her chin on her knee.
"And we were…you know…" Scott motioned with his hand.
"Making out." Leah finished for him, making a face. Scott gave her an embarrassed smile and looked down at his hands.
"And then," His eyebrows raised, "her dad came out of nowhere, pulled me out of the car, pushed me up against the hood and pointed a loaded gun at my face." Scott quickly explained. Leah felt her eyebrows shoot up as she stared at him.
"Oh my God." Leah managed out, "But I thought everything was good." She sputtered out, lifting her head from her knee.
"Apparently not!" Scott cried out, raising his shoulders, "We're not allowed to see each other anymore." Scott slumped down in the chair.
"Oh, please." Leah scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Like a threat from Mr. Argent is going to keep you two away from each other."
"Well, I sure don't want a bullet in my head!" Scott hissed out, pushing up in his seat and shoving a finger against his forehead.
"Pull it out, you'll be fine." Leah waved her hand in the air. Scott stared at her, "Werewolf healing, remember?" Leah made her eyes wide and moved around a little bit, trying to joke around to make her best friend feel a bit better. Scott blew out a breath and shook his head, slumping down again.
"I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
"Sneak around." Leah stated the obvious. Scott glanced at her, "Have you seen any movies? Whenever two kids can't be together, they sneak out or they get together when the parents aren't home."
"Do you think she'd be willing to do it?"
"I specifically remember her saying that she loves you." Leah screwed her face up as she nodded, "I think yes." She gave him a smile and he started to play with the strings on his hoodie. "Just go talk to her, or text her." Leah corrected herself.
"Can I use your phone?" Scott asked, "It'll seem less suspicious if you call her."
"Yeah for sure." Leah nodded, lifting her butt up so she could reach into her pocket and grab her phone. She handed it to him, "She might not answer though cause we…aren't on speaking terms." Leah finished, pursing her lips. Scott gave her a small smile and nodded, knowing what she was talking about. The two girls never got around to talking about what had happened during the night of the formal. Allison was still upset with Leah for lying to her while Leah was still upset about Allison siding with her psycho of an aunt.
"How are you?" Scott asked after he got to his feet, a crease in his forehead.
"I'm fine." Leah placed a hand to her chest, "I wasn't hurt as bad as Lydia or had a human pulled out of myself like Tara." Leah shook her head, "All I got was a scratch."
"I mean your…" He tapped his temple with Leah's phone. Leah took in a breath and let her hand drop, looking around herself, just in case Connor or her dad were out in the hall.
"Not any worse, but not any better." Leah settled on, shifting in her chair, "I mean, I don't know." She lifted her hand up and then dropped it, "I remember Friday night. The formal and the fire and Zoey being born and then after that…" Leah made an explosion motion with her hand, "Nothing." She screwed her mouth to the side, "I woke up at home. And now we're here." Scott looked worried as he stared at his best friend.
"So you haven't talked to Stiles." He stated. Leah felt her brow furrow as she sat up in her chair, letting her foot drop to the ground.
"No. Not since Friday at the Hale house." Leah shook her head. Scott's brow furrowed, which got Leah to continue, "Why did something happen?"
"No, well…" Scott tilted his head to the side, "He said he drove you home and you—"
"Oh my God, please tell me I didn't say something stupid." Leah cut Scott off, mouth opening slightly as she looked at him with wide eyes, "Scott, please tell me I didn't tell him about my," She swallowed, "You know…crush." She whispered. Scott rolled his lips in and then looked away from her, giving her an answer.
"Oh fuck me." Leah groaned out, placing a hand to her head as she slumped back against her seat, "Great." She lifted her hand up, pulling down the corners of her mouth, "Fantastic. What the hell do I do now?"
"I have no idea." Scott shrugged, making a face, "But he's down on Lydia's floor if you want to talk to him."
"Oh my God…" Leah trailed off, placing her hand to her temple.
"It'll be okay." Scott tried to look on the bright side, even if he was a little worried that Leah had forgotten Stiles entirely. When Stiles had frantically called him, explaining what had happened when he showed up at Leah's bedroom with her backpack, Scott felt a knot full of worry and anxiety begin to form in his stomach. Stiles told him that Leah had completely forgotten who Stiles was, forcing him to leave before he had a second to try and get her back. It seemed that her memory gaps were getting more and more serious.
But when talking to Leah in the hospital, she seemed fine and like herself, which worried Scott even more; as Leah just admitted, she couldn't even remember her memory loss. Scott figured it was because of Leah's multiple encounters with Peter had messed her memories up even more than they already were. Now they just needed to find a way to help her.
Before Leah could respond to Scott's positive message, the sound of a hospital door opening got their attention. Connor stepped out into the hall and gave the two teens a two finger wave as he walked over to them
"I'm gonna call Allison." Scott held up Leah's phone and walked away from her. He gave Connor a head nod as he walked past him, getting a smile from Connor. Connor looked over to his sister and gave her a raised eyebrow look,
"Typical teenage drama." Leah sighed out, slumping against her chair, "Classic werewolf and werewolf hunter story."
"I know it very well." Connor nodded, stepping over to sit next to Leah, "Like his haircut though. More adult." Leah nodded in agreement,
"Hey, have you heard from Derek?" She asked, suddenly changing the subject and looking at her brother.
"No." Connor shook his head, nose scrunching up a little as he glanced away from her.
"Not lying are you?" Leah asked, raising her eyebrows.
"I'm not lying, Leah." Connor answered her, laughing a little, "I haven't seen him or been able to get ahold of him." He met her raised eyebrow look and made his eyes a bit wider
"Okay, okay." Leah put her hands up, "I was just wondering." She paused for a moment, "I wanted to ask him some stuff."
"About what?" Connor asked, brow furrowing. Leah shrugged, trying to play it off,
"Just if he knew who the woman was in the memory Peter showed me."
"Well, if what you saw on Friday actually happened, then you know he wasn't there. You said he wasn't there." Connor clasped his hands together as he leaned forward a bit. Leah screwed her mouth to the side and nodded, "There hasn't been anymore memory gaps, have there?" Leah paused for a moment, debating on whether or not she wanted to lie to her brother,
"Uh, yeah." Leah settled on, "I mean, nothing major." She was quick to defend herself, "Just don't remember how I got home on Friday night." Connor nodded, studying his sister for a moment,
"I'll talk to Deaton." He gave her a small smile, "See what we can do to help." Leah raised her eyebrows at him and nodded as he pushed out of his chair, "Besides, the only thing on Derek's mind right now is building a pack." Connor admitted, looking down at his sister. Leah's brows furrowed,
"A pack?" She asked, getting a nod from Connor,
"An Alpha is stronger with a pack. Harder to take out. And since Peter ripped Kate's throat out…more Argents are going to be here, which means more hunters—"
"Which means we're in the danger zone." Leah finished for him.
"So Derek needs a pack." Connor repeated himself, eyes on her the entire time.
"So he's going to turn people."
"That's usually how it goes." Connor nodded. "Teenagers probably." Connor raised his eyebrows quickly, "They're more accepting of the bite."
"Well, besides Lydia." Leah pointed out. Connor made a face and nodded.
"Anyway, I'm gonna head home," He looked down at his sister, "Aunt Stella is on her way and Dad wants me to meet her there."
"So she doesn't steal anything?" Leah raised her eyebrows as she smiled slightly at the mention of her Aunt Stella. She was all too aware of her aunt's track record, even if the last time she had seen the woman was when she was in elementary school. Connor made a face and shrugged,
"Or have a rager."
"She's basically a teenager trapped in an adult woman's body." Leah sighed out, looking to the side. Connor laughed lightly and nodded, agreeing with his sister. Leah smiled to herself, glancing down the hall to see Scott come out of the bathroom, glancing down the hall and spotting Leah where he had left her.
Quickly walking to her, Scott got back to Leah and Connor, holding out her phone to her. Leah raised her eyebrows and carefully took it as Scott took in a breath,
"Her parents aren't home tonight." He admitted, giving them a small smile, "So I'm gonna go over there for a bit."
"Nice." Leah raised her hand up to meet Scott's in a high five. Scott looked relieved, laughing a bit as Leah looked to Connor,
"Did you talk to Stiles?" Scott asked, changing the subject.
"Why do you have to talk to Stiles?" Connor asked before Leah could respond to Scott's question.
"I don't." Leah made a face and shrugged. Scott gave her an unamused look that Connor didn't catch,
"Uh, okay…" He trailed off, "Are you gonna come home with me?"
"I can take her on my bike." Scott offered, raising his eyebrows up, "We gotta check on Lydia." Scott glanced to Leah, giving her a knowing look. Leah slumped down in her chair, dropping her chin to her chest; she knew Scott had some sort of ulterior motive.
"Okay, yeah, keep me updated." Connor patted Scott's shoulder. He gave his sister a small wave before walking down to the elevators.
"You can't make me talk to Stiles." Leah seriously said, looking at Scott.
"I'm not." Scott raised his eyebrows, "I'm just suggesting that you do." He moved his head around as Leah eyed him.
"…Kay." Leah pushed out of the chair, "Let's go check on Lydia then."
The pair got onto the elevator and Scott pressed the button for Lydia's floor. It had been two days since she was attacked by Peter and the bite still hadn't healed. She had woken up and moved to the recovery floor, not remembering anything that had happened after she had walked out onto the lacrosse field.
Stiles had been keeping a watchful eye on Lydia during her time in the hospital so when the elevator doors opened, he was the first thing that Leah saw, sitting in one of the chairs, a balloon bobbing above his head. He was tapping at his phone as Scott walked out of the elevator. Leah acted on instinct, quickly pressing the button to close the elevator doors so she didn't have to talk to him. As the doors shut, Leah saw Scott glance over his shoulder a second too late, then Stiles looking over and making eye contact with her for a split second before the doors closed.
Once the doors shut, Leah stepped back against the wall of the elevator, letting out a slow breath and trying to calm her stomach worms. She shoved a hand through her hair, letting her eyes close as she groaned. Her head tilted back, hitting the wall—she couldn't face Stiles knowing that she had probably seriously embarrassed herself. Plus, if she had admitted her crush and Stiles did feel the same, then why hadn't he tried to talk to her over the weekend. Everything was lining up to show that it didn't pan out the way Leah thought it would. She cursed herself for even thinking of admitting to Stiles that she had a crush on him; it obviously went wrong.
The elevator doors opened and Leah stepped out onto the main floor. She wrapped her arms over herself and walked out of the hospital, letting out a slow breath and making a cloud in the cold air. Looking around herself, Leah was startled by the sight of Derek stepping up to her.
"Oh my fuck." Leah breathed out, calming herself down, "God." Derek gave her an amused smile as he shoved his hands into his leather jacket.
"Leah." Derek nodded at her,
"Oh, don't Leah me." Leah rolled her eyes, "You completely fucked me over!" Leah waved her hand at the new Alpha, "And Scott!" She added on, eyes going wide. Derek raised his eyebrows at her little outburst, "You killed the one person who knew who had my memories." Leah grumbled to herself, looking away from Derek as she re-crossed her arms over her chest,
"What if I could help you remember?" Derek asked, stepping closer to Leah. Leah glanced at him,
"Do you know who took them?" She carefully asked.
"No." Derek shook his head and Leah let out a scoff, shaking her head as she looked away from Derek again, "But I have another idea." Leah paused, licking her lips as she remembered her conversation with Connor.
"You want to turn me." She realized, eyebrows furrowing as she looked back over to Derek. Derek raised his shoulders up,
"It's your choice. But the bite cures all aliments." Derek explained, "You'd be able to remember everything." Leah eyed him for a moment and Derek continued, "I know how you feel about werewolves."
"Currently? Quite negatively." Leah instantly responded, getting a scoff from Derek.
"The idea of werewolves." Derek rephrased, "You think I don't know how you talked to Scott about how cool you thought all the enhanced reflexes were."
"Yeah, well, that was before all this shit happened!" Leah waved her hands around.
"Think about it, Leah." Derek bit out, "You'd be stronger, faster, a better version of yourself." Leah chewed on her bottom lip, looking away from Derek.
"What about everything else?"
"You've done your research. You know almost everything there is to know…on a base level." Derek smiled to himself before he continued, "I'd help you, teach you things that Google can't tell you." Leah didn't immediately respond, turning the idea of being a werewolf over in her head.
"I'll think about it." Leah settled on, glancing back at Derek. Derek seriously nodded before walking past Leah, past the hospital and disappearing into the shadows. Leah watched him go, feeling a gust of cold wind against her. She heard the sliding doors open as people stepped out of the hospital.
"Hey." Leah turned at the sound of Scott's voice, seeing him walk out with a group of people. "What the hell?"
"Sorry." Leah took in a breath, remembering why she had come outside, "Sorry, I just…I totally freaked out." She pressed a hand to her forehead, "God, why am I like this?" She asked, mainly to herself.
"It's okay." Scott reached out to her, brow furrowing, "I didn't mean to pressure you or anything."
"Oh, no it's fine." Leah waved her hand around, "I needed the little kick in the ass." Scott gave her a small smile and nodded at her, "Still wanna take me home?"
"Yeah, sure." Scott nodded at her.
The two of them walked over to where Scott's bike was chained up, Leah getting on the handlebars as Scott settled onto the seat. While Scott pedaled towards Leah's house, Leah couldn't help but think about her short, yet interesting conversation with Derek. He wanted to turn her and make her a part of her pack. After the past several weeks of dealing with werewolf drama, Leah was pretty set on never becoming a werewolf, but Derek explaining that the bite would cure all aliments—including Leah's memory loss, was the part she kept circling back to. It made sense; Scott's asthma had disappeared after he was turned, but Leah wasn't so sure that she could use one point to define a rather unknown pattern. It was definitely something she needed to think about.
Slipping off of the handlebars, Leah noticed a red Mustang sitting across from her house. She glanced to Scott to see him looking rather confused.
"It's my Aunt Stella's." Leah got his attention, "Probably." She added on, not really knowing if that was true but it seemed like a car she would drive. "She volunteered to help with the baby so Mom and Dad could get back to work."
"Oh." Scott made a face and nodded, "Makes sense." Leah shrugged, stuffing her hands into her pockets.
"We'll see how long she lasts." Leah sighed, "Headed to Allison's?" Scott nodded, getting off of his bike.
"Yeah, what are you up to?"
"I'm actually kind of tired." Leah blinked, realizing it was true, "I feel like I haven't slept in days." Scott's forehead creased in worry. Leah noticed and tried to backtrack, "I'll be fine. I'll just head to bed early tonight." Scott nodded, but the crease of worry didn't disappear.
"Have fun with Allison." Leah gave him a small smile and nodded back at him. She stepped back and gave him a small wave before turning and walking up to her house.
Slowly, Leah pushed open the door to her house, fearing the worst. Her aunt had only been in town for less than a day, but still it was more than enough time for Stella to redecorate or have a party or really anything. But the foyer and living room looked intact, as did the dining room. Leah walked through the living room, seeing her brother in the kitchen, making himself a sandwich.
"Hey." Leah said as she looked around for her aunt.
"In the basement." Connor nodded his head to the side to the hall where there was a door that led to the basement, "She's unpacking."
"Oh, okay." Leah relaxed as she walked over to the island. She hopped up onto a stool and crossed her arms on top of the island.
"How's Lydia?"
"Fine." Leah shrugged, not really knowing if that was true or not, "Uh, ran into Derek." Connor raised his eyebrows and looked up at her,
"How'd that go?" Connor asked.
"He offered me the bite." She casually said, gauging her brother's reaction. His eyebrows shot up.
"What?" He almost shouted, rolling forward, "Are you serious?"
"As a heart attack." Leah sighed, picking at her fingernails. "I mean I—"
"I'm gonna kill him." Connor simply said as he cut Leah off, raising his shoulders up, "I'm going to cut him in half." He made a face as he stepped back from the island.
"Wait, what?" Leah asked, getting off of the stool as Connor headed for the back door, grabbing a jacket as he went, "Connor, where are you going?"
"I have to go find a sword." He responded, opening the door and stepping outside. It closed with a slam and Leah jumped a bit at the sound. She stared at the door for a moment, not knowing what to do. Her mouth opened slightly and she turned on her heels as she heard someone coming up the basement stairs. The door opened and her aunt Stella came out into the hallway, all smiles.
"There's my favorite niece!" Stella let out a squeal as she hurried over to Leah, wrapping her arms around Leah's frame. Leah was a bit taken aback by her aunt's excitement, eyes going wide as Stella hugged her tightly.
"Uh, hi, Aunt Stella." Leah responded, standing still as her aunt continued to hug her for a moment before stepping back,
"God, look at you! You've gotten so big!" Stella's hands were on Leah's shoulders and she shook Leah's body for a moment,
"Never heard that one before." Leah mumbled back. Stella laughed, shaking Leah again before letting her go.
"Where'd Connor go?" Stella asked, walking past Leah. Leah turned to watch her pick up Connor's sandwich and take a bite out of this,
"Uh, he went out." Leah made a face as she walked back over to the island. Stella nodded as she chewed on the sandwich.
"Oh, you must be hungry." Stella realized, eyes going wide, "Your dad said that you've been at the hospital all day with your mom." Leah shrugged, crossing her arms over herself, "Let me make you something."
"Didn't know you cooked." Leah let her brow furrow as Stella gave her an amused look,
"Don't sound so surprised, Lele." Stella shook her head before turning and opening the fridge, "A girl can only live on takeout for so long." Leah raised her eyebrows and nodded, going around the island and getting back onto the stools.
"I'm glad you're home!" Stella continued as she pulled out various ingredients, "We can catch up." Stella threw a wink at Leah over her shoulder, "I mean the last time I saw you, you were a still a kid. You had a scooter and a two sizes too big helmet." Stella set her ingredients on the island and then turned to the stove to start warming a pan up.
"Well, I traded that in for a longboard and lacrosse gear." Leah rested her elbows on the counter, making a face as Stella spin back around, grabbing some of the food she had taken from the fridge.
"I saw. Seems scary."
"Not even in the slightest." Leah raised her eyebrows. Skateboarding and lacrosse were the two most normal things about her life and she was planning on keeping them totally scare free.
"Okay, so skateboarding and lacrosse." Stella talked as she got to work, "What else? How's school? Sophomore, right?"
"Yep." Leah nodded.
"Any cuties out there?" Stella asked, turning back around, "Should I be guarding the doors?" Stella wielded a knife and got in a fighting position. Leah let out a little laugh
"Please don't." Leah said as she rolled her eyes. "I think you would freak him out." Leah held her hand up,
"Are you saying there is a boyfriend?" Stella asked, tilting her head and lowering the knife.
"Ah, well, I mean…I meant, well, generally. A general him..." Leah trailed off and Stella gave her a look before she stepped over to the island, propping herself up on her elbows,
"Do ya like him?"
"Yeah—"
"Did ya tell him?"
"I mean yeah, I guess, but—"
"Did ya kiss him?"
"…Yes, but that's not the—"
"I think he's your boyfriend, babe." Stella screwed her mouth to the side, pushing up from where she rested on the island. Leah pursed her lips and watched as her aunt turned to the stove.
"It's not like that." Leah flattened her hands against the island, "Trust me."
"Okay, got it, I'm prying, enough boy talk." Stella said, waving a hand over her shoulder, "What else can we talk about?"
"What else do you want to know?" Leah asked, going to pick at her nails.
"Uh, tell me some hobbies. You know? What do you do for fun? I mean, last I saw it was action figures, space and race cars."
"I like to bake." Leah shrugged, not really knowing what else to say, "That's about it."
"I remember, when you were little, we used to play with this little easy bake oven." Stella laughed to herself, "It made the worst food, but you loved it."
"I did?" Leah pushed herself up onto her elbow. Stella turned around, leaning her back against the counter.
"Oh, yeah." Stella nodded, "Do you know if you still have it?"
"It might be in the attic." Leah shrugged, not really knowing. She never really went up in the attic, it was dusty and creepy.
"We should take a trip up there." Stella raised her eyebrows, a smirk on her face.
"Yeah, maybe some other time." Leah made a face. Stella nodded and turned back to the stove, flipping over whatever was on the pan. Leah watched her plate it and then turn back to present her creation to Leah.
"Ta-da!" Stella waved her hand around the sandwich, "Grilled cheese a la Stella." She winked at Leah as she placed the plate down in front of her. "Enjoy."
"Thanks, Aunt Stella." Leah eyed the grilled cheese before glancing back up at her aunt. "I'm actually gonna take this upstairs though. It's getting late and I have a ton of homework to get done before tomorrow morning." Leah clenched her teeth together as she reached for the plate.
"No, yeah, totally understandable, babe." Stella stepped back, putting her hands up, "Glad you're focusing on your studies." Stella gave her a warm smile. Leah responded with a small smile and nodded,
"I'll see you tomorrow." Leah said as she slipped off the stool, "Thanks for the grilled cheese." She raised her plate up at Stella. Stella nodded as Leah turned away from her aunt, walking out of the kitchen and into the living room.
Looking over his shoulder, Stiles checked to make sure none of his dad's deputies followed after him. None of them had so Stiles faced front, pressing his phone a bit more forcefully against his ear as Leah's voicemail greeted him. He waited for the beep as he walked out of the hospital,
"Hey, it's me. Something happened at the hospital. Your mom and Zoey are fine, but Lydia's gone. Like disappeared into thin air gone. We're going out to search for her, so it'd be nice if you helped. Yeah?" Stiles paused, wanting to say something else, but he just hung up, shoving his phone into his pocket.
He hadn't talked to Leah since the night she almost pushed him out of the tree in front of her bedroom window. The way she looked at him, the way she spoke to him was still fresh in his mind, almost like an open wound. If anything, what had happened with Leah that night in her bedroom window reminded Stiles so much of what he had went through with his mom. Being a stranger to Leah, being accused of something he didn't do, the abrupt change in attitude — it all felt way too familiar. But it was also unfamiliar; it wasn't being caused by something natural, but rather it was being caused by something supernatural. Something that could be easily fixed, if they knew how to fix it.
It didn't change how Stiles felt about her, a tidbit he had left out from his story when he told Scott what had happened, not ready to admit it out loud — even though he was pretty sure Scott knew just by how he looked at him. That he had feelings for Leah Kane, the girl who he had hated for a good portion of his life. The girl who incessantly teased and taunted him and who he returned the favor to. But he was slowly beginning to realize that he had just been burying his feelings under layers of disgust in order to try and convince himself that he didn't like Leah.
He had hoped the memory lapse wasn't permanent, something that would just go away in a few hours and he would be able to text Leah and have her respond in a natural way. But he just couldn't go through with it. He didn't know what to say to her — there were about ten different drafts of texts saved in his phone that he never sent. So he waited for her text first. But she never did.
Then when he saw her in the hospital for a split second, the look on her face made a knot form in his stomach. He went to text her again, only to stop himself, not knowing what to say. It was all just…complicated. So again, he waited. Ended up falling asleep on the chairs in front of Lydia's room, his mind still on Leah.
When he woke up from his mid-evening nap, everything happened so fast, Stiles was still trying to put it together. He had heard Lydia's scream, bolted to her bedroom — fearing the worse, only to find her room completely empty. She was gone. From there, the floor was full of his dad and his deputies, even Tara had come down, still dressed in a hospital gown and robe. They put an APB out on Lydia, realizing she was completely naked out on one of the coldest nights of the year. Stiles got in contact with Scott, beginning to get ready to go out and search for her, when he decided to call Leah to see if she could help. But all he got was her voicemail.
Scott was waiting in the Jeep as Stiles walked outside. He had Lydia's hospital gown in his hand and handed it over to Scott as he climbed in the Jeep. Scott gave him a small smile as he took the hospital gown.
"Have you heard from Leah?" Stiles asked, "I tried calling her but she didn't pick up."
"She's probably just sleeping." Scott assured him, "When I dropped her off, she said she was really tired." Stiles let out a sigh, leaning back against the seat and rubbing his hand over his mouth,
"But she was okay when you dropped her off, right?"
"Yeah." Scott said, eyebrows furrowing in worry, "Yeah, she seemed totally normal." Scott looked down at the hospital gown, "This is the one Lydia was just wearing, right?" Stiles nodded, blowing out a breath.
"I'm not gonna let anyone hurt her." Scott reassured Stiles, "Not again."
"Alright, just shove the thing in your face and let's find her." Stiles motioned to his face before starting up his Jeep. His headlights illuminated Allison hurrying out of the hospital, staring straight at them "Wooow!" Stiles jumped at the sight. Allison hurried over to the passenger side door, coming up to Scott.
"What are you doing here? Someone's gonna see us." Scott hissed out.
"I don't care—she is my best friend, and we need to find her before they do." Allison seriously said, hands clenching at her sides.
"I can find her before the cops can." Scott seriously said.
"How about before my father does?" Allison raised her eyebrows.
"He knows?" Stiles chimed in, leaning forward to see Allison better.
"Yeah. I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs." Stiles leaned back in his seat. If Argent knew about what happened to Lydia, that meant there was less time for them to find her. Especially because Argent was probably hunting her whereas Stiles and the rest were just trying to save her.
"Search party." Scott whispered.
"It's more like a hunting party." Allison made a face as Scott turned to Stiles, sharing a look with him before looking back at Allison.
"Get in." Scott said as he pushed open the door so Allison could get into the Jeep.
Allison climbed over Scott and got in the backseat. Stiles waited until she was situated before backing up and exiting out of the hospital parking lot. Scott pressed Lydia's gown to his face and then stuck his head out the window, picking up her scent. He shouted back for Stiles to go straight.
"All right, but if she's turning, would they actually kill her?" Stiles continued the conversation Allison had started in the parking lot as he drove down the road.
"I don't know. They won't tell me anything." Stiles glanced in the rearview mirror at Allison, giving her a disbelieving look, "Okay, all they say is, We'll talk after Kate's funeral, when the others get here." Allison repeated what her dad had told her early in the day.
"What others?"
"I don't know, they won't tell me that, either." Allison raised her hand up before dropping it to her lap.
"Okay, your family's got some serious communication issues to work on." Stiles glanced at her for a moment before looking at the road, "Scott, are we going the right way?"
"Take the next right!" Scott's voice came back. Stiles did as he was told.
Soon, the scent led the group into the woods. Stiles parked his Jeep outside of the entrance to the Preserve and pushed out of the driver's side, Scott and Allison following. He walked ahead of the two of them, glancing back every so often to make sure that they were still with him. Stiles checked his phone for any new messages from Leah, but there weren't any. Part of him began to worry about her while the other part was worried about Lydia. He didn't know why she came out here, in the middle of the woods, naked.
The three of them came upon the Hale house and Stiles glanced back at Scott to see him holding hands with Allison, "She came here? You sure?" He asked.
"Yeah, this is where the scent leads." Stiles stared at his best friend for a moment before sighing and turning back to look at the Hale house, walking forward a few steps before glancing back at Scott.
"All right, but has Lydia ever been here?"
"Not with me." Allison said as Scott shook his head, "Maybe Leah took her here." Allison suggested. Stiles barked out a laugh.
"Okay, Leah would never willingly go somewhere with Lydia. She would only take her here to like kill her or scare her or something." Stiles let his arms drop to his side and walked forward, continuing to the Hale house.
"Maybe Lydia came here on instinct, like she was looking for Derek." Allison lowly said to Scott.
"You mean looking for an Alpha." Scott realized, looking back at the Hale house. There was something else in the air, besides Lydia's scent. It smelled almost of Leah, but Scott shrugged it off, thinking it was just coming from himself since he had been with Leah earlier in the evening.
"Wolves need a pack, right?" Allison asked, getting his attention back to her.
"Not all of them." Scott answered.
"But would she have been drawn to an Alpha? Is it an instinct to be part of a pack?"
"Yeah, we're—we're stronger in packs." Scott explained what Connor had told him earlier in the weekend as he watched Stiles amble around the front of the Hale house.
"Like strength in numbers."
"No, like—like, literally stronger, faster, better in every way." Scott continued, remembering his conversation with Leah's older brother. After everything that had happened, Connor and Scott had a very long talk about almost everything Connor knew about werewolves and werewolf packs. He was more forthcoming with information than he ever was and Scott figured it was because he still felt a little bit guilty about what had happened. Connor wanted to make sure it didn't happen again, so he made sure Scott was informed.
"That the same for an Alpha?" Allison asked, hands in her coat pockets, "It'll make Derek stronger too, right?"
"Ooh, hey, look at this." Stiles' voice got the two to glance over to him. Allison hurried over to him to see what he found, "You see this? I think it's a tripwire." Stiles pulled on the tripwire and waited for something to happen.
"Stiles…" Scott said, sounding strained.
"Yeah, buddy—Oh." Stiles turned to see that Scott was hanging upside down, dangling by his ankle which was caught in the trap.
"Next time you see a tripwire…don't trip it." Scott groaned as Allison clapped her hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter.
"Yeah, noted." The two went to help Scott get down when he suddenly stopped them, putting his hands out.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Scott quickly said, "Someone's coming." Allison and Stiles both went to look around the area as Scott urged them to go hide, "Go!" Stiles grabbed Allison's hand and pulled her back the way they came, tugging her behind a tree a little ways away from where Scott was dangling. Allison was peering over Stiles's shoulder, still trying to keep the two of them semi-hidden as they watched three men stepped out into the clearing.
"That's your dad." Stiles whispered.
"I know." Allison whispered back. They were both quiet for a moment, watching what Mr. Argent was going to do to Scott, before Stiles opened his mouth.
"Have you talked to Leah tonight?" Stiles whispered out. He felt Allison's grip on his shoulder tense up for a moment before she answered him,
"Ah, no we haven't talked since formal." Allison whispered back, before pausing for a moment, "We kind of aren't on speaking terms."
"Why?" Stiles asked, looking back at her. He thought the two girls were friends. He actually thought it was pretty funny how quickly Leah and Allison became friends; Leah always swore she wasn't good with people and girls didn't like her at all. Neither of them said anything about a falling out and Stiles knew how Leah got when she was mad at someone.
"Because…it's complicated." Allison settled on, not wanting to try and explain it. She honestly hadn't talked to Leah since the fight at the Hale house.
Earlier in the night, when Allison saw Leah's name on her phone, she almost didn't answer it, but it was only Scott and Allison felt a little relieved; she didn't even know what she would say to Leah. Part of her wanted to apologize for not believing Leah about Kate, but a part of her was still mad about being kept in the dark for so long. All she knew for sure was that she missed her friend, wanting their fight to be over so they could go back to how they were—maybe be even closer without the dark cloud of secrets looming over them.
"Have you talked to her?" Allison whispered back, trying to change the subject.
"No." Stiles's voice was still hushed, "I keep trying to text her, but I can't think of anything to say."
"About what?" Allison asked, brow furrowing, then her expression changed, eyes going wide, "Oh my God, did she tell you she had a crush on you?" Allison asked, getting him to look at her.
"What? How do you know about that?" Stiles quickly asked back, "I thought you two weren't speaking?"
"Do you like her too?" Allison asked, blowing past his questions, "Stiles, did you tell her you liked her back?" Stiles made a face and tilted his head to the side,
"Not exactly." Allison squinted at him and went to open her mouth to say something, but the sound of footsteps got their attention.
They watched as Argent and his men walked away from Scott before Allison stepped out from behind the tree, going up to where Scott was still hanging.
"You okay?" Allison asked.
"Just another life threatening conversation with your dad." Scott said, voice still strained from hanging upside down. Allison glanced over to see the release on a nearby tree.
"Stiles, help me with this—" She put her hand on Stiles's arm before hurrying over to the tree, Stiles behind her, and both of them tried to figure out a way to let the trap release. Scott, on the other hand, decided to use his claws and slice through the wire, flipping over so he could land on his feet.
"Thanks. But I think I got it." Scott proudly stood in front of Stiles and Allison, grinning at them. Stiles made a face and let go of the release.
"Yeah…" Stiles nodded as Scott turned to face the Hale house. Scott glanced back at Allison and Stiles before looking back at the Hale house and stepping forward. He picked up Leah's scent again, and this time it was stronger than it was while they were walking through the woods. His brow furrowed as they got closer to the Hale house.
Stiles followed Scott up the steps of the Hale house and noticed that his best friend was on high alert. He thought that it was just because Lydia's scent was stronger since they were so much closer to the Hale house. Once they got into the house, Stiles brushed past Scott, heading for the stairs. He glanced back at the other two to see them standing there, Scott looking a little confused and worried.
"I'll take the upstairs, you guys split the down stairs?" Stiles asked, suggesting a game plan to look through the Hale house a little quicker and find Lydia. Allison nodded and headed past the stairs, into the back, but Scott just stood there.
"Scott?" Stiles asked, trying to get Scott's attention, "You good, man?"
"Yeah…" Scott nodded a little, "Just something's different." Stiles looked at him for a moment before turning back to look up the stairs.
"It's probably just this house." Stiles let his eyes travel around the burnt down house, "We gotta find Lydia."
"Right." Scott nodded and headed to the left, into what seemed to be a dining room at one point. Stiles continued up the stairs, walking down the hall to peer into what was left of a bedroom. There was no sign of Lydia. Stiles sighed and went to walk down the opposite end of the hall, to the other room, when he heard Allison's voice.
"Scott! Stiles!" She called out to them. It didn't sound like she was in danger, but Stiles still ran down the stairs, heading into the room where Allison was, gut knotting up.
She was standing in front of the couch, one hand by her mouth and the other across her stomach. Her eyes flicked up to look at Stiles and concern was written all over her face. Stiles quickly moved to get to her, thinking that Allison had found Lydia and that something bad had happened to her. Yet, when he got to the couch and stared down at what Allison was looking at, it was clear that it was much worse.
"Leah…" Stiles whispered.
He heard Scott's footsteps running up next to him and then abruptly stopping at the sight of their best friend. Stiles crouched down in front of her, seeing that her eyes were closed and she was curled up in a ball, shivering. Her lips were moving, but no sound was coming out. She didn't have any shoes on and there were knots in her hair and dirt smudged all over her bare arms and legs.
Stiles hesitantly reached out to touch her shoulder and Leah's eyes flashed open, making Stiles tumbled backwards onto his butt. She took in a deep breath and shot up into a sitting position, eyes wildly looking around.
"What the fuck?" Leah whispered out, shifting on the couch, "How the hell did I get here?" She made eye contact with Allison and Scott before her gaze dropped down to Stiles, "…what happened?" Leah swallowed, her hands gripping at the worn in couch cushions.
"Was hoping that you could tell me." Stiles seriously said, pushing to his feet. He reached down and helped Leah off of the couch. She was dressed in a pair of shorts and a tank top, and continued to shiver against him. Stiles quickly stripped off his coat, had Leah slip it on and then he zipped it all the way up. Leah was short enough that the jacket came down to her thighs and her hands were covered by the sleeves.
Stiles glanced over at Scott and Allison, who both looked extremely worried at the sight of Leah. Allison took off her hat and gloves, handing them to Leah, who carefully took them. Neither girl said anything. Stiles glanced back down at Leah and then back up at Scott and Allison. "I'm, uh, gonna take Leah home." Scott and Allison immediately nodded. "Call if you find Lydia or anything of hers."
"Lydia?" Leah asked, getting Stiles to look at her, "What's wrong with Lydia?"
"I'll explain later. Let's just get you home." Stiles sighed. Leah blinked and nodded, seeming out of it. Allison reached out to comfort Leah, only to stop herself and settle on giving her a small, sad smile.
Stiles led Leah back to the Jeep, helping her into the passenger seat before jogging around to the driver's side. They sat there for a moment, both of them quiet as the heat blasted from the vents, all of them directed at Leah. Stiles opened his mouth to ask the question that was on his mind, when Leah cut him off.
"I don't know." Leah glanced over to him, "I don't know how I got there or why I was there." Stiles stared back at her.
"Do you remember what happened before you ended up in the woods?" Leah looked away from him, staring out the windshield.
"I was in my room." She nodded, "I was changing into comfy clothes cause I wanted to work on some homework. I must've fallen asleep…and then, the next thing I knew, I woke up in the Hale house."
"Any weird dreams?" Stiles asked.
"I don't know."
"Well do you—"
"I don't know!" Leah suddenly snapped out, "I don't know! I don't!" She spastically waved her hands around herself, looking to Stiles, "Stop berating me with questions!" Leah was frustrated, mostly at herself, but it was easier to project her anger onto Stiles.
"I'm just trying to help." Stiles said. Leah looked away from him, looking down at her lap.
"I'm fine." Leah seethed out.
"You so obviously aren't!" Stiles laughed a little. Leah glared at him before crossing her arms over her chest. She looked back out the windshield and took in a breath,
"Just take me home." Leah seriously said, not wanting to talk about it anymore. Slowly, she was beginning to realize the situation she was in and how Stiles was looking at her. Like she was a baby bird who had a broken wing. And she hated it. She felt embarrassed and vulnerable and just wanted to be away from Stiles's worried gaze.
"You could've died, Leah. Don't you get how serious this is?" Stiles stared at her, trying to get through to her. Leah shifted in her seat, not looking at him.
"Just take me home." Leah repeated herself, this time with a little bit more force behind it. Stiles took in a deep breath and turned back to look out the windshield, starting up the Jeep.
He was angry at Leah for the way she was handling the situation. It was almost like she was convinced that nothing was wrong. That she didn't just sleepwalk to the Hale house from her house in the middle of the night. That there wasn't something seriously wrong with her head. And Stiles knew Leah, knew that she would act like nothing was wrong until it went away. But this wasn't something that she could just act through, it was going to get worse and Stiles needed to find a way to help her.
As he got out onto the main road, Stiles glanced over to see Leah lift her jacket covered hand and wipe at her face, almost like she was wiping away tears, her hair falling from where she tucked it behind her ear. He wanted nothing more than to tuck the hair behind her ear and tell her that he was there for her, that he didn't want her to push him away, that he cared about her. But he kept quiet.
A/N: Welcome to the first chapter of the second book of the HOW TO MURDER YOUR LIFE series! Looking forward to all of your reactions to this! Any questions, comments, concerns or cries of outrage?