"Hey, you want pizza or Mexican for dinner?"

I poked my head into the bathroom between my brother's and my room. He was in the doorway connected to his bedroom, doing pullups.

The resemblance between us was obvious. We had the same dark, thick hair- though his was currently shaggy, while mine fell in waves down my back and to my waist. Our eyes were the same, a deep and rich brown that almost looked black. We were about the same height, though he was an inch or so taller- even though I was older.

There were a few noticeable differences between us. Where he had the tanned, golden skin like our mum, I was a little paler like our dad. His face was more diamond shaped, mine was like a heart. He was extremely fit, with abs and everything- but I mean, he's doing pull-ups, so of course. I was just thin, with a nice waist… and my breast weren't non-existent.

He dropped to the ground and grabbed his shirt off the floor to wipe the sweat off his forehead. "Pizza. Pepperoni-"

"And extra cheese." My smile slipped into place. "Just the way we like it."

Two years separated Scott and myself. He was sixteen, while I was eighteen. Despite the difference of age, we were pretty close. Even though he was a sophomore, and I was a senior, I still spent practically all of my time with him- and our best friend.

Since we were little Scott and I have always had a bond. I wasn't exactly a healthy kid growing up, and had spent a lot of time dealing with my chronic asthma. When Scott was born and we found out he had asthma as well- albeit a milder form- I was naturally concerned. For the next sixteen years I was always there to help him, and in turn he was there to help me.

I turned to slip back into my room, pulling my phone out of my pocket to call the pizza place. But as I went to dial the number, a noise from outside had me freeze. I wasn't sure what had made the noise, but I was pretty sure it sounded like a person…

Not even a minute later, I was walking out of my room at the same time Scott was coming out of his with a shirt and hoodie now on, and baseball bat in hand.

Following him, we headed downstairs and for the front door. On the way, I grabbed the other baseball bat we had sitting in the foyer. I gripped it tightly as we snuck outside to investigate the noise.

Moving as quietly and carefully as possible, both Scott and I held the bats with determination as we walked around the porch, looking around the yard for whoever might be out here.

Suddenly someone dropped from the roof above.

I let out a scream as Scott and the other person yelled in fright. But it only lasted a second before I realised who the person was.

Stiles Stilinski.

He was Scott's best friend- and mine by default.

The three of us did everything together, which usually got us in trouble. Though the boys were worse than me. I did a pretty good job at not getting caught… most of the time.

All long and skinny limbs and barely taller than Scott. He was pale, too. But not dead pale, it was more like the skin tone of someone who spends a decent amount of time playing computer games. His buzzcut hairdo was growing to the point where I wouldn't be able to call it a buzzcut much longer. His eyes were brown, but in a certain light they looked slightly hazel- though lighting wasn't necessary to see the constant sarcasm in his gaze.

"Stiles, what the hell are you doing?" Scott asked before I had a chance too.

I let out a breath lowering my bat. "You almost killed me!" Raising a hand to my chest, I tried to calm my beating heart.

Hanging upside-down from the roof- his leg more than likely stuck on something- Stiles gave me an exasperated look. "I almost killed you? You two are the ones with the bats. Why, by the way, do you have bats?"

"We thought you were a predator." Scott noted simply.

Rolling my eyes, I move to prop my own bat against the wall. "You need a hand?" I asked, looking to Stiles.

"Yes. Please." He nodded.

Moving closer to the porch railing, I leaned against it, grabbed his arm, and tugged. With that, he fell into the bushes below.

"I know it's late, but you gotta hear this." He started as he climbed over the railing to stand with us. "I saw my dad leave twenty minutes ago. Dispatch called. They're bringing in every officer from the Beacon Department, and even state police." He told us, excitement bubbling in his voice.

"For what?" Scott and I asked at the same time.

"Two joggers found a body in the woods."

Scott's eyes went wide. "A dead body?"

Once again, I rolled my eyes, though it was Stiles who responded, quick with a sarcastic response- as per usual.

"No, a body of water." He shook his head at my brother. "Yes, dumb-ass, a dead body."

I moved to sit on the railing, swinging my leg back and forth. "Do they think it was murder?"

"Nobody knows yet." Stiles shrugged. "Just that it was a girl, probably in her twenties."

"Hold on, if they found the body, then what are they looking for?" Scott asked, having a good point.

Stiles jumped a little, having been waiting for that question. "That's the best part. They only found half." He nodded. "We're going."

…

I waited for Scott to get out of Stiles' Jeep before I climbed from the back, to the front and then hopped out. The three of us moved to the trail- which was chained off with a sign that clearly stated no one was allowed in the Beacon Hills Reserve after dark. But we just climbed over it without a care.

With Stiles carrying a torch, he led the way, heading into the darkened woods.

Scott hesitated for a moment. "Are we seriously doing this?"

"You're the one always bitching that nothing ever happens in this town." Stiles noted.

"I was trying to get a good night's sleep before practice tomorrow." Scott mumbled as he followed Stiles and me.

Stiles shook his head. "Right, 'cause sitting on the bench is such a gruelling effort."

Reaching over, I punched his arm. "You never get off the bench either."

"First of all. Ow!" Stiles lifted his free hand to rub at his arm. "Secondly... at least I'm not delusional. I know that I won't be getting off the bench anytime soon."

"I'm playing this year." Scott sounded so sure of himself, it broke my heart to think he was getting his hopes up for something that probably wouldn't happen… "In fact, I'm making first line."

"Hey, that's the spirit." Stiles responded, though he was still being sarcastic. "Everyone should have a dream, even a pathetically unrealistic one."

"Can we change the subject and talk about the body we're looking for?" I asked, wanting to talk about literally anything other than my brother's doubtful dreams.

"Half a body. We're looking for half." Stiles corrected.

"Which half?"

Pausing a moment, Stiles thought about it for a second before shrugging as he continued on. "Huh… I didn't even think about that." He laughed lightly.

Great…

"And what if whoever killed the body is still out here?" Scott asked, having a good point once again.

Stiles nodded. "Also something I didn't think about." He answered as we reached an incline.

I paused and pulled out my inhaler, taking a few shots in order to prepare for the climb. It didn't take much for me to become breathless. Didn't take much for my breathing to get so bad I'd need an ambulance… so I always did my best to stay in the safe zone.

Scott had stopped with me, waiting to make sure I was okay as he continued to talk to Stiles, breathing a little heavily as he did. "It's comforting to know you've planned this out with your usual attention to detail."

"I know." Stiles grinned as he reached the top of the incline.

I handed my inhaler over to Scott so he could take a few shots and not have to pull his own out of his pocket, as I rolled my eyes at Stiles. "Maybe the adult should be the one holding the flashlight, huh?"

"Just because you're eighteen, doesn't mean you're an adult." He countered.

Scott and I made it to the top then, but we quickly had to duck as Stiles dropped to the ground, covering the flashlight.

Up ahead we could see the search party in full action, which meant Stiles' dad would be there. The last thing we needed as to get caught… especially by Mr Stilinski. He was nice and all, but that just made me feel guilty for doing stuff like this.

Stiles shifted, getting to his feet again, before he hurried off. "Come on." He called to us while keeping his voice as quiet as possible.

"Stiles!"

"Wait up!"

Knowing we couldn't stay where we were, Scott and I hurried to our feet and made a break for it, running as fast as we could, following our friend. Using the trees for cover, we tried to stay as low as possible so as not to get caught.

But it didn't take long for me to slow down, feeling my lungs burn like fire as I tried to breath in some air. But it was like breathing through a straw while being stuck under water.

Scott stopped as he turned to me, one hand on my back for support, while the other held my shoulder to keep me from falling. I reached into my pocket, pulling my inhaler out again, bring it to my lips to take a couple of shots. Scott stayed exactly where he was as I did, watching me carefully, worriedly.

The sound of a dog barking had us both quickly duck behind the closest tree as we listened to Stiles get busted up ahead.

"Hold it right there!"

"Hang on, hang on." Another voice spoke up, one I recognised. It was Mr Stilinski. "This little delinquent belongs to me."

"Dad, how are you doing?"

"So, do you listen in to all of my phone calls?"

"No." Stiles answered, though it didn't sound too convincing. "Not the boring ones." He added.

"Now, where's your usual partners in crime?"

"Who, Scott and Angela? They're at home. Scott said he wanted to get a good night's sleep for the first day back at school. And I didn't think bringing Angie out here when it's so cold would be a good idea. It's just me. In the woods. Alone."

Not believing his son, Mr Stilinski called out into the woods. "Scott! Angela! You out there?!" He paused a moment, waiting for a response, before calling out again. "Scott? Angela?" When all he got in return was silence, he sighed. "Well, young man, I'm gonna walk you back to your car. And you and I are gonna have a conversation about something called invasion of privacy."

Scott and I stood there as we listened to thunder roar above us, and footsteps walk off in the other direction.

Once we were sure we were alone, Scott turned to me, concerned. "You okay?"

I nodded, but he didn't look convinced.

"Angie…"

"I'm fine. I swear." Straightening up, I gestured further into the woods. "Fastest way out of here on foot is that way."

Looking in the direction I'd pointed in, Scott didn't seem too confident. "You sure?"

"Yes." I was, too.

While Scott was all about his lacrosse, I was a straight A student. While he spent most of his time working out and practicing, I tried my best to satisfy my ever-growing curiosity, which led to me learning a lot, including how to navigate the woods when lost.

"Fine." Scott sighed as he nodded. "Let's go then."

We walked side by side, wandering further into the woods. It was dark, and cold, and scary. Without Stiles' sarcasm and enthusiasm, the energy and excitement of being out here had deflated pretty quickly.

Crickets chirped nearby, while a wolf howled in the distance- which was odd seeing as wolves shouldn't be around here. But I just shrugged it off as I hugged my jumper closer to me.

"You okay?"

"Mm-hmm." I nodded. "You?"

"Yeah."

The sound of bird wings flapping above us had Scott and I pause. We looked up but couldn't see anything. It was too dark. So, we just continued on.

"I really wish I'd changed clothes." I mumbled, looking down at my pyjamas.

Stiles hadn't given us a chance to get dressed. He'd wanted to come out here straight away, so we'd find the body first. Scott and I barely had time to grab our shoes from where they sat by the front door, and even then, we put them on in the Jeep.

That meant I was stuck in my long and loose purple cupcake pyjama pants, and baggy grey jumper that was so long it sat on me like a dress. Scott had already been in jeans, and had thrown on a shirt and hoodie before we'd found Stiles.

"You hear that?"

Pausing, I looked over at Scott confused. "Hear what?"

"The crickets."

We both fell silent then, listening to the sounds around us… only there were none. It was suddenly very quiet. But that's not the only change we'd noticed. There was a thick tension in the air now. Like something was about to happen…

Why do I get the feeling that's not a good thing…?

Turning, we faced some trees that were ahead of us in the direction we'd been moving. Straining our ears, we tried to figure out what exactly was going on.

Scott pulled out his inhaler, giving it a shake as he watched the trees.

It happened unexpectedly. Out of nowhere a herd of deer jumped into view, stampeding our way.

"Scott!"

Reacting out of instinct, I jumped towards my brother, throwing us both to the ground.

Covering him with my body, we both squeezed our eyes shut as the animals hurried passed and over us. Scott held my jumper, pulling me as close to him as possible as I ducked my head to his shoulder feeling my heart race and eyes brim with tears.

The sound of the deer stomping on the ground was loud, surrounding us. But we didn't move. We couldn't.

It lasted for about a minute, probably less. But eventually, the deer disappeared having run off.

"Hey." Scott shifted underneath me, so he could look me in the eyes. "You hurt?"

"N-n-no." I stuttered, shaking my head. "You?"

"I'm okay."

We didn't move right away. Instead we waited a second or so longer, taking the time to calm ourselves. Then, once I was feeling as good as I was going to get, I pulled myself up before offering a hand to Scott to help him as well.

Once he was standing, he started to look around at the ground. "I lost my inhaler."

"Huh?"

"My inhaler. I lost it." He sighed, pulling his phone out to use the light as a torch.

I did the same, and shone the light to the ground, trying to find his inhaler. Those things weren't exactly cheap, and if mum found out he'd lost it he'd be in a world of trouble.

Kicking at the leaves and twigs on the ground, just in case the deer had disturbed the area and covered the inhaler, Scott and I split up to search the small open area. My light was scanning the ground when I found something other than leaves, twigs, dirt and tree roots…

I let out a scream as I fell.

"Angela?!" Hurrying over, Scott came to see if I was okay, but found himself looking down at the upper body of a woman instead. He yelled out in shock and stumbled back, but he moved further than I had, which led to him stumbling down a small yet steep hill.

Forgetting about the body, I scrambled over to the decline and slid down as smoothly as I could. Though not as smoothly as I'd like because I still managed to scratch myself on twigs and rocks on my way down.

Ignoring the small and currently insignificant wounds, I hurried to my feet and rushed over to make sure Scott was okay.

I dropped to my knees by his side. "Can you move?"

Nodding, he shifted from lying on his stomach, to sitting up.

"Okay, good. Come on." Pulling myself to my feet again, I grabbed his arm and helped him up. "Let's get the hell out of here."

Not needing to be told twice, he followed me as I led us towards the nearest road. But we only took a few steps before we stopped cold in our tracks.

The growl came from behind us, but it felt like it was coming from everywhere. It shook my bones and vibrated against every nerve and fear inside me.

"Angie…"

Looking behind my shoulder I was met with the back of Scott's head as he faced the direction of the growl. Shifting on my feet ever so slightly I looked around him, unable to keep myself from wanting to satisfy my curiosity.

But the moment I saw what was there, I regretted my decision to look.

I'd never seen anything like it. It was big, and black. All of it was black, like a shadow. I would have missed the thing completely… if it wasn't for the bright and menacing red eyes staring right at Scott and me.

"Scott…" My heart began to race again, as I started to breath harder. "Run?"

"Run!" Turning, Scott grabbed my arm just as the thing started for us.

I didn't fight as Scott pulled me along. I just followed, slamming my feet onto the ground as hard and fast as I could. My lungs were burning again, worse this time. But I couldn't stop. I couldn't slow down. I couldn't look back. If I did, I was sure I'd be dead.

Unfortunately, it didn't seem to matter how fast we were going, because there was no way we were going to out run the monstrous animal.

I was pushed to the ground as a pair of paws gasped my shoulders, and a set of claws dug into my skin. Scott fell as well, pushed by the force of me dragging him down.

He turned to me, eyes wide. "Angela!"

Then I felt the worst pain I'd ever felt before. The thing above me leaned closer. Its hot breath was on my neck for the briefest moment before I felt its teeth sink into my shoulder

A scream erupted from my lips, pushing out all the air from my lungs. Searing pain pulsed through my whole body as I felt the thing above me bite deep enough that I was sure I was going to die.

"No!"

Suddenly the thing was pushed off me as Scott threw his whole body at the animal in order to save me. But instead he just put himself in harm's way.

I watched as the animal shifted expertly, found an opening, bared its teeth, and lunged.

Scott's scream wasn't as high pitched as mine but it was just as loud and pained. The sound echoed off the trees as the animal above him pulled its teeth from the side of his torso.

Yet Scott stilled seemed to find a way to fight and push through. Using his feet, he kicked out at the animal hard enough so he could scramble away and get to his feet.

"Come on!" Grabbing my hand, Scott helped me up as quickly as he could, and then we were off.

I wasn't sure if the animal was following or where we were going. All I could focus on was making sure my feet met the ground at a timely pace, while the thrum of my pulse beat loud in my ears and my lungs begged to be filled.

The trees disappeared as we found ourselves running onto the road just as a car approached us. They swerved in time, narrowly avoiding us. Then they just kept going, leaving Scott and I behind.

Catching our breath, we noticed that we were no longer being followed, and that it was now raining. I hadn't even realised we were decently soaked, but then again, it hadn't mattered much before.

"Here." Moving towards me, Scott reached into the pocket off my jumper to pull my inhaler out. He held it to my mouth and watched as I breathed in. "Better?"

I nodded, feeling the effects of the medicine already helping. "Now you."

Doing as I said he took a few shots of his own as I lifted his hoodie and shirt so I could check the animal bite. It looked pretty bad, but not as bad as I thought it would have. Scott put the inhaler back into my pocket before moving my jumper away from shoulder so he could check my bite.

I hissed out in pain slightly causing him to pause. "Sorry."

Shaking my head, I moved so he could get a better look at the wound. "How bad is it?"

There was a pause, but it wasn't because he was taking his time to see what the damage was. It was because he didn't know what to say. That told me it probably wasn't as bad as I initially thought, but it wasn't good either.

Bamby