Chapter 2 – Just Breathe


Avery opened her locker door and flashed herself a wide smile in the mirror as she let out the breath she'd been holding. Her goal for the day was simple, make it through and appear normal. She could do that, she'd been doing it for weeks.

Looking up she saw Scott stumbling down the hallway not looking up, as he headed straight for her.

She barely made it out his way in time, as he cut between her and her locker door staring into the small magnetic mirror on the inside of her door.

Breathing a sigh of relief he leaned up against the lockers beside hers.

When he saw Avery staring at him with raised eyebrows he was a little out of breath from running as he admitted, "When I was outside, I saw my reflection in my helmet and my eyes were glowing."

She nodded but didn't say anything, knowing he wasn't done.

"And then I saw my shadow…"

"Terrifying!" She joked

"Only it wasn't my shadow… it –it looked just like Peter, when he was an alpha." He admitted, his voice quiet.

"Yikes." Avery breathed out as she pulled her locker door some so she could apply another coat of mascara in the mirror.

As she twisted the lid back onto the bottle she nonchalantly questioned, "Why are you telling me?"

Giving her a confused look he said, "Because… you know…"

She continued to give him an expectant look.

Stepping closer he motioned between them as he nodded and said, "You know, because of our connection."

Raising her eyebrows she stifled a laugh as she looked down to her shoes then back to him, "Sorry, Scott… you're just not really my type."

His eyes widened as he stuttered out, "No… I mean, our connection… you know what I mean, as friends. It happened when I crossed that mountain ash, do you not feel it?"

Barely able to keep a straight face at seeing him wondering if he was the only one who felt it, she cut him off, "Scott, we're not even friends… we just hang out with some of the same people.

His jaw dropped and she shrugged before she finally cracked a smile as she laughed, "Oh my god, lighten up! It's a joke, and yes… I feel it too. I'm just still getting used to this whole emissary thing. Normally it's only Teagan who comes to me for advice."

Pausing she continued, "And Isaac… who actually comes to me all the time for help and advice… I think he needs his own personal emissary."

"Avery!" Scott loudly said cutting her off.

Waving a hand dismissing both her thoughts and ramblings she said, "I think you're still trying to get used to this new strength and power you've got. But honestly, I'm not worried."

"I am! I am very worried, I feel like… I just don't have control anymore."

Frowning she nodded, "I know that, I also know you didn't have any good alpha role models either. Peter was a monster, and Derek… well, he just went around biting teenagers. But think about it, you turned into an alpha all on your own, Scott; because you refused to be a killer, because you had the strength and will inside of you to be something amazing."

With a smile he said, "I know you helped me."

"And I'm still here. But the point is, you have the power and the ability to control your werewolf side." Taking a step closer she continued, "You just need to believe in yourself, know that someone as good as you would never turn into Peter, or anything like him."

"But…" He started to argue.

"Stop!" Avery exclaimed.

"Scott, look at me and focus." She instructed, when he did she moved her hands as she spoke like she was pulling air towards her as she said, "Take a deep breath."

They both inhaled at the same time, relaxing her hands out to the sides she said, "Now exhale."

Despite the other teenagers who stared at them as they walked by, Avery had him repeat the exercise a few more times.

After they stopped he stared at her a few moments with a surprised look as he admitted, "I actually feel better… thank you."

Smiling she closed her locker and said, "Breathe Scott, remember… just breathe. The world and every single problem can wait a few moments while you catch your breath."

~()~

After arriving at school, Teagan kept her head down as she walked down the hallway, making her way toward her locker. She opened the locker door, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror hanging on the door, then quickly looked away when she saw how badly she looked.

She blew out a tired breath, then reached into her purse, pulling out the small make up bag she kept in there for emergencies, and with the way her face looked right now, this was definitely an emergency.

She pulled out a tube of concealer, dabbing it under her eyes, then began to blend it in, trying to cover up the dark circles under her eyes. Once she was done, she placed the bag back in her purse. She suddenly jerked her head up, when she heard someone walk over to her, stopping in front of her, a fearful look in her eyes until she realized it was Avery.

"Hey." Avery said, flashing a smile, looking completely put together when inside she was falling apart.

"Hi." Teagan mumbled back, as she turned to face the inside of her locker to begin changing out her book.

Avery was quiet for a moment, just watching her best friend. She didn't miss the fear in her eyes earlier when she walked up, or the bags under her eyes that she tried to hide, and she definitely didn't miss the bandage around her hand.

"Okay, T, what gives?" Avery asked, worried about her friend, who looked like she was seconds away from breaking down.

"What?" Teagan asked, as she looked over at Avery, confused.

"Well, let's see, you look like crap-"

"Thanks, A. Seriously, you just know the right words to make my day instantly better." Teagan snapped sarcastically.

Avery rolled her eyes, then continued, "I didn't mean it like that. I just mean you look like you haven't had any sleep at all, and what is what the bandage on your hand?"

"I cut myself. It's no big deal." Teagan simply stated, not giving any more details.

"It looks like a big deal." Avery pointed out, as she grabbed Teagan's hand, trying to get a closer look.

"Stop it!" Teagan said, as she jerked her hand away. "I told you, it's nothing, just drop it."

Avery looked her over again, as she lowered her eyebrows in concern. "Are you having the nightmare again? Is that what's wrong?" She questioned, remembering that Teagan mentioned having dreams of being back in the root cellar a few times, but that is all she told her about it, not wanting to worry her too much.

Teagan sighed, then looked over at Avery, plastering a fake smile on her face, as she said, "I'm fine. Sorry for snapping, I'm just tired… too much studying and not enough sleep."

"Really?" Avery questioned, feeling like there was more to it.

"Really." Teagan said back, continuing to lie.

"Okay. If you say so." Avery mumbled, as she held up her hands in surrender, letting Teagan know she was dropping it for now.

But she continued to watch her best friend as she went back to changing out her books. When she saw something fall out of her bag, she called out to Teagan, letting her know something dropped out, then leaned down to pick it up.

She looked at the rose gold infinity bracelet, then looked up at Teagan, as she asked, "Is this one yours or your moms?" She knew the two had identical bracelets.

Teagan glanced over her shoulder to look, and felt the air leave her lungs as she noticed it was her moms, which surprised her since she never put it in her bag. Of course every time lately her mother's bracelet popped up, she never remembered putting it there.

She didn't say anything, as she reached out to grab the bracelet, then gasped when her vision began to blur when she touched it. She faintly heard her mother calling out her name, begging her to listen.

"No, stop. Stop it!" Teagan cried out, as she placed her hands over her ears, not wanting to hear her mother's voice.

"Teagan..." Avery called out, wanting to help, but had no idea what was going on with her friend.

Every time Avery said her name, Teagan would hear it in her mother's voice instead of her best friends, making her cry out, begging her to stop and to leave her alone.

Avery glanced around, notching they were gathering a crowd, and reached out to lightly grab one of Teagan's arms to lead her away. When Teagan tried to pull away, Avery latched on to her arm, causing her to cry out in pain.

Avery hated to hurt her, but she had to get her out of the hallway before things escalated. She pushed students aside, snapping at them to mind their own business, as she pulled Teagan into the closest girls' restroom.

Once they were inside, Teagan pulled away from her, this time Avery let her go, and watched as she laid her face and hands against the cool tiles on the wall; panting.

"Teagan?" Avery softly asked, scared to approach her at first, but when she heard her begin to cry she rushed over to her side. "Hey, Teagan, look at me." She said, trying to get her attention.

Teagan turned her head to look, and then jerked away when she saw her mother's face instead of Avery's. She began to back up again, holding out a hand, as she cried, "No! No, just-just leave me alone. You're not real. This isn't real!"

"Teagan, listen to me, I am real. This..." Avery began to say, as she gestured between them, "This is real. We are real, I promise we are real."

Avery continued to talk to her, trying to convince her that everything going on was real, never realizing that Teagan was seeing her mother in place of her. Every word she said, Teagan saw come out of her mother's mouth, upsetting her even more.

"It's just a dream, it has to be a dream. Please be a dream." Teagan whimpered out, as her back hit the wall. She slid down the wall, sitting down on the floor, as she continued to cry, growing even more distraught.

When she began to gasp for breath, Avery really became concern. She had seen this before with Teagan and knew what was happening now, she was having a panic attack.

"No, no, no." Avery called out, as she rushed over at her. "Teagan, you have to calm down. You have to breathe, okay?" She continued, trying to help her friend the way she saw Isaac do the last time.

As her breathing became even more difficult, Avery called out her name, trying to get her attention, and saw the overhead light flicker for just a moment, but ignored it, as she said Isaac's name. She knew wherever he was in the school he would be able to hear her.

"Isaac, girl's restroom -east wing, now!" Avery said, knowing he would be able to calm her friend down.

A few, long, minutes later, the bathroom door swung open, as Isaac rushed in. He saw his girlfriend sitting on the floor with a blotchy, red face as she gasped for breath. He glanced over at Avery for a second, as he asked, "What the hell happened?"

"I don't know, but fix it!" Avery yelled out, as she pointed at her best friend, her heart beating in her chest with fear.

Isaac opened his mouth to say something else, but before he could, he jumped in surprise when a light overhead blew out, making a loud pop sound. He looked up at the light in confusion for a second, but figured it was just an old light.

Before he could think on it any longer, he heard Teagan gasp, bringing him back to what was really important, helping his girlfriend. He rushed over to Teagan, dropping down to his knees in front of her as he placed his hands on either side of her face.

Teagan looked at her boyfriend with teary eyes, as she murmured 'it's not real' in between gasps, her body shaking and heart racing.

"Shh, baby, it's okay." Isaac said with a calm voice, hoping to get through to her. When he saw her look over his shoulder at Avery with wide eyes, he softly stroked her cheek, as he said, "Hey, hey, just look at me. Baby, look at me, concentrate on me, okay? It's just you and me. It's always you and me, remember?"

She closed her eyes, trying to take a deep breath and became even more scared when she couldn't; no matter how hard she tried she couldn't take one, it was like she wasn't even in control of her own body anymore. She couldn't make it do anything.

He saw her slap her hand against the floor repeatedly, like she was fighting against whatever wouldn't let her take in a deep breath.

"What is happening? Why isn't she breathing?" Avery asked panicky, as she kneeled down beside Isaac.

He glanced around the restroom for a moment, trying to think of a way to help her, and was reminded of the first time he helped her with a panic attack. The time she rushed into the mens' restroom gasping for breath and he told her a lame fish joke to distract her.

Isaac turned his head back to look at her, then said, "Hey, what do you call a fish with no eyes?" He paused for a second, then continued, "A fish."

Avery snapped her head to the side, shooting him a look, as she exclaimed, "Seriously? A fish joke?"

"It worked before." Isaac pointed out.

"Well it's not working now." Avery snapped back.

"I see that!" Isaac yelled. He ran his hand through his hair, pulling at the curls and feeling at a loss on how to help. Nothing he had tried before worked this time and she was looking worst and worst the longer time went by.

"Wait, I got this!" Avery suddenly said, an idea coming to mind. Isaac opened his mouth to question her, but before he could, she laid her hands on either side of Teagan's face, pulling her toward her and pressed her lips against hers, causing his mouth to drop open in surprise.

Teagan gave out a big gasp, then held her breath as her eyes went wide. She pulled back looking at Avery in shock, as she finally took a deep breath causing Isaac and Avery to breathe a sigh of relief.

"What-why?" Teagan panted out, as she took several more deep breaths, feeling her breathing slowly return to normal.

"Lydia told me once that holding your breath could stop a panic attack." Avery explained, then added, "So when I kissed you, it shocked you so much you held your breath."

"Is it wrong that I actually enjoyed that?" Isaac joked, trying to lighten the mood. He chuckled when both girls shot him a look.

He turned his head to look at his girlfriend, he wiped the sweat and tears from her cheek, as he asked, "Are you okay now?"

"I-I think so." Teagan mumbled, as she glanced down at the floor. Embarrassed that things got that bad, and at school no less. "I mean yeah, I'm good, I'm okay." She added, seeing the worried looks on their faces.

"What happened?" Isaac questioned, as he moved to sit beside her. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her toward him so she could rest against him, her head now laying on his shoulder.

"It was- It was nothing. Just a little panic attack." Teagan answered, trying to brush it off, as she moved her head to rest against his neck cuddling into him. She hoped by doing so it would help chase all the bad thoughts away.

"Bullshit! That was more than just a little attack." Avery argued. "You were freaking out, T. And what did you mean by this isn't real? What is going on?" She questioned.

"I'll like to know that too." Isaac added. Even if she was breathing normal now and he could hear that her heart beat was steady, the look on her face when he walked into the room still haunted him. This was worse than any other attack she had in the past.

"It's nothing." Teagan denied, as she pulled away from Isaac. She would have stood up, but felt too weak to at the moment, the attack had taken a toll on her. She looked at the two staring at her, knowing they wanted an actual answer.

"I told you I didn't sleep well last night." She began to say, as she looked at Avery. She lowered her head, avoiding their eyes, and rubbed her forehead, "And I guess I just spaced out for a moment. I have a big test coming up today and I'm a little stressed about it." She dropped her hand and raised her head to look at them again, hoping they were buying her lie, as she stated, "I'm fine."

Avery looked at her for a moment, then over at Isaac, seeing if he was buying her excuse and noticed he wasn't.

Avery stood up as she said, "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" Isaac questioned.

"Just keep her here, I'll be back." Avery stated, as she began to walk toward the door.

"What do you mean 'keep her here'? I'm not a child, Avery!" Teagan yelled out, as her best friend rushed out the door on a mission. She tried to push herself up from the floor, then quickly sat back down, still not having any strength.

"Hey, whoa, just rest here for a minute, okay?" Isaac said, pleading with her.

"Why? So you and Avery can keep treating me like mental case?" Teagan snapped. "I told you, I am fine!"

"I know." Isaac said, as he pushed a lock of hair from her face. "But it'll make me feel better if you just sit here with me until you get your strength back. Just sit here with me, okay?" He pleaded.

Teagan looked at him for a moment, she could tell her attack really shook him up. She hated to make him worry about her, he had seen her woke up screaming several times the last few weeks as she was hit with nightmare after nightmare.

It was taking a toll on him and her father, and neither one knew how to help her. Not that she even knew how to help herself, all she wanted was to be okay again, to be normal again.

"Just let me hold you." Isaac softly said, as he ran his fingers through her hair, needing to be close to her -to comfort her and himself.

Hearing the pain in his voice, she nodded her head, then scooted closer to him and threw her legs over his lap. As he wrapped his arms around her holding her close, she buried her face in his shirt and taking a long, deep breath finally feeling herself relax.

After running out of the restroom, Avery skidded to a stop to keep from running into a pretty asian girl. She titled her head to the side, not recognizing girl and figured she was a new student.

When the girl went to walk around Avery and opened the door, she quickly jumped in front of the door, as she barked, "Sorry, bathroom is closed."

"But… I don't see a sign saying that." The girl said, then added, "Besides I just saw you come out of it."

"Aw, you're so new, it's cute." Avery said, as she folded her hands and shot the girl a grin. "Trust me, when Avery Dukate says something is closed, it is closed."

"I take it you're Avery Dukate." The girl said with a shy smile.

"The one and only." Avery said back. She pointed down the hall way, then said, "Then is another restroom that way. All the way down the hall and take a left."

"Okay, thanks." The girl said, as she took a few steps back, feeling like the blonde wasn't being completely honest, but what could she do about it? She was new and not looking to make enemies.

Once the girl was gone, Avery jumped into action rushing down the hallway in the opposite direction looking for Scott. After her talk with him earlier and seeing Teagan's freak out, it was plain to see something was going on and if she was the betting type, she would bet Stiles was having some issues too. All of it stemmed from the sacrifices they did weeks ago to save their parents. She had also been having her share of bad dreams, and wouldn't wish that on any of her friends.

She saw her friends; Scott, Stiles, Allison and Lydia, standing down the hall talking. She made her way over toward them, grabbing one of Lydia's arms and one of Allison's arms. Looking over at Scott and Stiles, seeing the same scared and confused looks on their faces that she saw on Teagan's earlier.

"Come with me." Avery announced to the group, as she began to walk back down the hall pulling the girls with her while the boys followed along behind them.

The group walked into the bathroom seeing Teagan and Isaac sitting on the floor, his arms still around her, as her head was resting on his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Allison asked, as she glanced around, wondering why they were all in the bathroom.

"Bathroom orgy?" Stiles guessed.

"What's going on is..." Avery began to say, ignoring Stiles' comment. She looked over at Scott, then continued, "You're seeing terrifying wolf shadows..." Looking down at Teagan,"You've had nightmares and now you're freaking out and having a panic attack..." She turned to look at Stiles, then said, "And I'm going to guess something is going on with you too, am I right?"

Stiles didn't say anything, just nodded his head, causing her to say, "That's what I figured; something is happening with all of you."

"Well, well, look who's no longer the crazy one." Lydia said to the group with a tight smile.

"We're not crazy." Teagan mumbled from the floor, she was now sitting in Isaac's lap.

"Hallucinating… sleep paralysis?" Avery began to say.

"Panic attacks." Isaac added, as he tightened his hold on Teagan.

Avery pointed over at him with a nod, agreeing with him, as she added, "Yeah, you guys are fine."

"We did die and come back to life. That's gotta have some side effects, right?" Scott pointed out, as he looked around the group.

Before anyone could comment, they heard the bell ring, signaling the start of their first class and causing them all to groan.

"We keep an eye on each other. Okay?" Stiles offered.

"Sounds good." Isaac said, as he helped Teagan up from the floor. She finally felt like she could stand on her own two feet without feeling dizzy.

After the group was in agreement, they all walked out of the bathroom together. Scott, Stiles and Avery headed for their first class, as Lydia and Allison walked off together.

Isaac turned to look at Teagan, then said, "We still need to talk about what just happened."

"Later. I promise." Teagan said, as she gave him a quick kiss then rushed down the hallway hoping he would never bring it up again, but she knew she wasn't that lucky.

~()~

Avery walked into her history class giving a small wave to both Scott and Stiles, before walking to her seat in the back of the classroom.

With a sigh she checked her phone to see if anyone had texted, as she replied to her missed messages the last bell rang and she looked up to see they had a new teacher.

"Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. Yukimura. I'll be taking over for your previous history teacher, my family and I moved here three weeks ago. I'm sure by now you all know my daughter, Kira."

Avery raised her head and looked around wondering who Kira was.

"Or you might not since she's never actually mentioned anyone from school… or brought home a friend for that matter…"

Hearing a sigh then a thud Avery looked over to see the girl beside her slam her head down on her arms over her desk.

"Either way… there she is." He continued as he pointed to his daughter.

Avery's eyes widened as she realized it was the same girl she'd help from going into the bathroom earlier, there was still something different about her; an energy she could still feel in the air.

The class laughed at the new girl's expense and Avery looked over as she joked, "You didn't tell your dad about us?"

Kira raised her head and stared at her with wide eyes as she her mouth hung open in shock.

"And here, I thought we were friends, Kira?" Avery continued, as all eyes were now on her.

Kira stuttered out as she stared at her and then looked up to her dad, "Oh… I -uh... I've made friends with Avery… I guess?"

Her dad looked between the girls sitting in the back row of the room and said, "Well this is the first I've heard about it, why haven't you invited her over for dinner or anything?"

Kira's light complexion darkened from embarrassment as she said, "I… didn't really think Avery would be interested." She was more confused than anything, she'd only first spoken to her earlier that day when Avery had refused to let her into a bathroom. But it was obvious the blonde liked being the center of attention.

"That's ridiculous, Kira." Avery said with a playful eye roll, before she leaned forward over her desk some as she flipped her hair over her shoulder and said, "I would love to come to dinner with you and your father." Her gaze was now focused on the their new teacher.

With a friendly smile, and either not picking up on her flirtatious behavior or deciding to not acknowledge it at all he said, "I'm sure you and Kira can work something out, I'm glad she's been making friends."

Avery smiled widely as she nodded as she reached over giving Kira's arm a small squeeze as if they were really friends. The new student nervously laughed and looked around, not sure how to act.

A low rumble of laughter went through the room and Kira scooted down in her seat some, wishing she could turn invisible, but the painful moment was quickly resolved when Avery loudly said, "Shut up!"

The room fell silent and she leaned back in her seat as she drummed her nails on the desk and added, "I for one am looking forward to hearing Mr. Yukimura's… fascinating lesson plan for today."

She looked over to see Scott and Stiles looking back to her, she flashed them a smile and then saw Scott's eyes drift over to Kira where they lingered longer than a curious glance would last.

Turning her head she saw Kira giving him the same interested expression and she smirked as she looked between them again before opening her book to the page number the teacher had instructed.

About halfway through the class she saw Scott shifting in his seat and staring at the floor beside his desk, from where she was sitting all she could see was his shadow from the sun beaming in through the large row of windows.

But then it occurred to her, that while she was seeing his normal shadow lined up with the shadows from everyone in his row, he was seeing something terrifying.

Taking out her phone she quickly sent him a reminder text, with the simple phrase 'just breathe'.

He jumped when his phone vibrated in his jacket pocket, she watched as he pulled out his phone and looked at it, before taking in a few deep breaths and turning around to shoot her an appreciative smile.

She nodded and put her phone away as she slowly glanced over at Kira who was paying more attention to Scott then she was to the assignment they'd been given.

Avery stared at her, for a moment she could have sworn there was a visible energy in the air around the teenager, but now she didn't see anything.

After class Avery gathered her books and quickly rushed out of the room behind Kira, as she continued to try and figure out what was different about the new girl. When she stopped abruptly, trying to get over to her locker Avery ran right into her knocking them both down.

With a groan of pain Avery raised up ignoring the laughs of fellow students as they walked around the pair.

Kira raised up, trying to gather books and separate her scattered papers from Avery's mess, when the blonde opened her mouth, Kira was expecting an apology but instead Avery snapped, "Who does that? Who just comes to a dead stop in the middle of the crowded hallway?"

Kira's eyes widened and she stuttered out, "I was just trying to get to my locker…"

Then her expression changed as she asked, "Wait… were you following me?"

Avery's own eyes widened slightly, realizing she didn't have an excuse. She truly had been following the teenager, but it's not like she could say she was an Imperium, and thought Kira might not be human.

"You were… you were following me." Kira realized

Rolling her eyes Avery stood with her books and scatted papers in her arm as she extended a hand to the new student, "Yes, I was following you."

Letting Avery help her to her feet she looked at her expectantly. "For a few reasons… one, my locker happens to be down this hallway and two, I wanted to say that I like your skirt, it's cute."

"Oh, um.. thank you?" she said, not sure how to take anything she said.

"Welcome." Avery arched an eyebrow as she started to walk past her, but Kira called out, "Avery, wait!"

As she turned around Kira held out an open notebook with notes from their last class. "It looks really realistic." She offered with a smile.

"Huh?" Avery asked, pulling the book from her hands with lowered eyebrows,

"The bird… it's a raven, right?"

Avery's eyes landed on where she'd sketched a black bird over the center of her page of notes, she had no recollection of doing so.

"I didn't draw this." She stated flatly, pushing the notebook back into the other teenagers hand.

"I saw you drawing in class…" Kira replied, confused as to why her compliment had upset Avery so much.

"No, I didn't." Avery snapped, as she took a step back refusing to take her notebook.

Watching as the blonde turned to walk away Kira called after her, "Avery… your notebook!"

But she didn't turn around as she rushed off towards her next class, repeatedly opening and closing her hand down by her side; trying to ignore the tingling in her fingers, the urge to pull power from the lights or anything with an energy source.

~()~

Later that day, after making it through most of her classes, Teagan was now sitting in the library toward the back, hidden in a small corner from everyone. She had planned to get a jump-start on her homework, but after sitting in the quiet room reading through a text book, she began to feel sleepy.

She covered her mouth as she began to yawn, then stretched her arms out in front of her, pushing the books aside, folding up her arms and laid her head on them. Within minutes she was fast asleep.

This was the way Isaac found her half an hour later, after tracking her scent throughout the whole school. He breathed a sigh of relief at finally locating her, as he made his way toward the back of the room.

The first thing he noticed was her racing heart, followed by her whimpering in her sleep -her face was scrunched up like she was in pain or witnessing something horrible.

"Teagan." Isaac softly said, as he stood beside her, not wanting to frighten her. As she continued to mumble out, 'no, stop', over and over again, he sat down in the chair beside her.

He laid an arm around her shoulder, and placed his other hand on the side of her head planning to pull her toward him to offer her some comfort to help fight whatever was troubling her in her sleep, but when she felt someone touch her, she quickly sat up and pushed away, a small scream escaping her lips.

"Teagan! Hey, baby, it's only me." Isaac said out, trying to reach out to her and stop her from fighting him.

"Isaac." Teagan whimpered out, as she snapped her eyes open and saw he was sitting beside her.

"Yeah, shh, it's me. It's only me, babe." Isaac said, reassuring her that he was there for her. "Shh, come here." He added, as he finally pulled her into his arms, feeling her cling to him and bury her face in his shirt.

"It's okay, it's okay, I got you. I'm right here." He softly said, as he ran a hand up and down her back, hoping to slow down her racing heart.

Resting his head on top of hers, and closing his eyes as a pained look crossed his face. He hated seeing what was happening to her. The nightmares were bad enough to witness, but whatever was happening to her now seemed way worse, he just wished she would let him in, let him help her.

He held on to her a few more minutes until he felt her pulling away, forcing him to regrettably release her. She sniffed and wiped at her cheeks, then ran her fingers through her hair, trying to tame it down.

"You okay now?" Isaac questioned, already knowing she wasn't but knew what her answer would be.

"Yeah, thanks." Teagan breathed out, as she reached out in front of her, grabbing her books.

Isaac breathed out a silent sigh at her lie. He shook his head, then said, "I thought you said they were getting better. The nightmares, you said they stopped."

"They did." Teagan lied.

"Teagan..." Isaac began to say.

"You just scared me is all." Teagan continued, avoiding his eyes.

"What happened to your hand?" Isaac questioned, looked down at her injured hand.

"I cut myself. It was an accident." Teagan simply responded, with a shrug.

"So let me get this straight..." Isaac began to say, as he reached out to grab her chin, forcing her to look at him. "You had a panic attack cause you're stressed over a test, even though I have never seen you stress that much over any test before. You fell asleep in the library and screamed out when I woke you up, then you grabbed on to me like you were scared out of your mind, but it was only cause I scared you, right? That is the excuse you gave me." He paused for a moment, but before she could say anything, he continued, "And you have a bandage on your hand, covering up what looks like a very deep cut, but that was just an accident, right?"

Teagan blew out a frustrated sigh, as she jerk her head away, then quickly stood up to gather up her books with out a word to her boyfriend.

"Where are you going?" Isaac questioned, as he looked up at her in confusion.

"Away from here that's for damn sure." Teagan mumbled. She slammed a book closed, then looked over at Isaac, as she added, "I'm not going to stand here and have you accuse me of lying to you."

"Then stop lying to me!" Isaac said back.

"How am I lying?" Teagan questioned, then added, "I told you, I'm fine! So you can stop looking at me like that!"

"Like what?" Isaac asked confused.

"Like I'm going to break any minute." Teagan answered, her voice slightly shaking, "You should know better than anyone, I am not some weak little girl."

"Hey..." Isaac began to say, hearing the tone of her voice and knowing she was getting upset. "I never thought that Teagan, and I would never say that. I'm just worried about you." He added, as he reached out to grab her hand.

"Well… you can stop worrying about me and just leave me the hell alone!" Teagan snapped.

She pulled her hand away, grabbed all her stuff then stormed away from the tabl, leaving behind a dejected Isaac. He dropped his head with a sigh, running his fingers through his hair.

He was at a loss for words and not sure what to do next. He wanted to chase after her, show her that he wasn't leaving but feared the more he pushed the more she would pull away, and he knew he couldn't let that happen. He couldn't leave her to deal with all of this on her own, he just needed a better way to go about it.

He needed advice and he knew exactly who he could go to.


~ A Teen Wolf fanfiction collaboration between Miss E Charlotte and Sage Londyn.~


A/N - Thanks for reading! ^_^ We really hope you're liking the story so far, we have so much planned for the rest of this season!

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