Lydia fisted her hands in her jacket pockets and bit her lip. The warm summer air did little to soothe the constant hum of fear that made her heart beat rapidly.

"You feel it too?" Scott said behind her. He bounded up the two steps onto Lydia's front porch and studied her seriously.

Scott thought she looked drained and paler than usual. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail and she didn't seem to be wearing any makeup, although Scott didn't think he was much of an expert on the subject. He drew in a soft breath of air and felt Lydia's anxiety fill his lungs.

"I'm fine," Lydia chirped, plunging her key into the lock. She let a shield of strawberry blonde hair fall across her cheek to hide the panic in her eyes.

She squeezed her eyes shut as she fought against the scream that had been rising in her throat for the last two weeks.

She pushed the door gently, and slipped through into the hallway. She ushered Prada away from the door so that Scott could slide in behind her before the dog tried to escape into the garden.

Upon seeing Scott, Prada began to growl before bursting into a string of yapping barks as she snapped at Lydia's heels.

"Prada, stop!" Lydia scolded to no avail. "She's been like this ever since you dragged me out into the woods."

Scott's eyes began to glow and he growled low in his chest. Prada whined and padded down the hallway into the living room.

Lydia hung her coat in the coat closet and dropped her shoes by the door. Scott trailed after her as she began to make her way upstairs.

He hadn't spent much time in Lydia's house since her birthday party and decided it looked very different when it wasn't crowded with people. He secretly hoped he would survive this visit without being poisoned with wolfsbane.

Scott was surprised to find that the house felt warmer and less sterile than he had expected. There were photographs he hadn't noticed before – probably cleared away for the party – hung on all of the walls and signs of family life on every surface. He thought it was sad that Lydia's was not the happy family it appeared to be but he would never acknowledge it in front of her.

He hadn't been paying the photographs much attention but there was one that caught his eye as they reached the top of the stairs. It wasn't exceptional in any way. He guessed that Lydia would have been around eight or nine when the picture was taken. It was a portrait of Lydia and her parents against a bright white background. Despite the sparse backing they wore hats, gloves and thick coats with fluffy hoods. Lydia's parents watched with joy as their daughter threw fake burnt orange leaves in the air. Lydia smiled enthusiastically at the camera as they rained back down on her.

As Scott drew closer to the picture he could see what had drawn his eye clearly poking out of the top of Lydia's coat. A scarf. A bright, rainbow scarf. He squeezed his eyes closed as he tried to remember where he had seen it before but the memory seemed to be lost. He assumed Lydia would know and clambered up the remaining stairs to catch her.

As Lydia climbed the last stair she came to a halt abruptly and Scott grabbed hold of the rail to stop himself from colliding with her.

"What? Too much?" Scott heard Natalie Martin ask her daughter as Lydia took a cautious step forwards to allow Scott to squeeze passed her.

Natalie admired herself in the long mirror opposite the stairs. She smoothed down her dress and turned around for Lydia's approval. She gave Scott an odd look in the mirror and retreated into her bedroom. Lydia followed and gestured for Scott to do the same.

"You look nice," Lydia commented suspiciously as she folded her arms and tilted her head.

"I'm having dinner with a friend, I've left you food in the fridge," Natalie replied over her shoulder as she sat down at her dressing table.

Scott felt he was intruding and paused at the door but Lydia sat herself down on the bed.

"Which friend?" Lydia prompted.

She twisted her fingers into the ends of her hair.

Natalie rolled her eyes.

"The Sheriff."

Lydia sat up straight and Scott backed out onto the landing. The air had become rapidly filled with tension and he was beginning to feel he might not be welcome.

"Sheriff Stilinski?" Lydia said slowly.

Scott felt like he could see cogs moving in Lydia's head.

"Yes, we're going to Rosita's, the Mexican place."

Natalie fumbled with her earrings and sighed in frustration as one fell onto the carpet. She foraged under the dressing table for it.

Lydia felt that maybe she had missed something, some detail that would explain why her mother was having dinner with Noah Stilinski.

"You're going on a date with Sheriff Stilinski." Lydia wasn't sure if she was asking or processing but Natalie answered anyway.

"It's just a dinner, Lydia," Natalie assured her.

Lydia scanned her mother from her Jimmy Choo heels all the way up to her grandmother's pearls around her neck.

"Then why are you wearing your first date dress?" Lydia countered.

Natalie shook her head and began gathering the last of her things into her purse.

"You do realize that he's Stiles' dad, right?" Lydia continued despite her mother's protests that she was late.

"It's not a date, and even if it was you don't need to worry about that. You should be thinking about college."

Natalie's head whipped up as the doorbell ring. She made her way out of the bedroom to answer it with Lydia hot on her heels.

"And if it wasthat, that would mean you were dating my boyfriend's dad," Lydia complained as she thudded back down the stairs after her mother.

The doorbell rang again.

"I have to go," she said as she swung the door open. She smiled as Sheriff Stilinski stepped into the hallway.

"Natalie, you look great. Lydia, Scott." He greeted them with a nod as Natalie turned towards the closet at the end of the hall.

"Hey," they replied in unison.

"Just let me get my coat." Natalie smiled until she noticed Lydia stalking after her again. "Please, Lydia, let's talk about this later, you're embarrassing me," she admonished as she nodded towards Noah, who was laughing about something with Scott.

"No, let's talk about this now," Lydia insisted.

Natalie pulled on her coat and tied the belt around her waist. She shook her head and stepped around Lydia. She picked up her bag from the side table where she had left it.

"Mom," Lydia called after her as Natalie began to follow Noah out onto the porch.

Lydia grabbed the door and Natalie gave her a tight smile when she saw her standing in the doorframe.

"Lydia, I said we'll talk about this later," she affirmed in a clipped tone. Lydia could see her mother's chest rising and falling heavily as she attempted to calm her frustration.

Noah placed a hand on Natalie's shoulder and said, "Why don't I go and get the car started; give you two a moment."

Natalie nodded and he retreated down the drive to his car.

"He's my boyfriend's dad, Mom, please," Lydia said again. She tried to make her voice softer this time. After a lifetime of being an only child, Lydia had developed the skills for getting what she wanted from her mother. Begging was one of those skills.

"Oh honey," Natalie took a step towards Lydia. "I know how hard it must be with Stiles so far away but now is the time for you to be focusing on getting ready for college not chasing after a new boyfriend. If your father and I are any example, then you know high school romances just aren't built to last. Look at you and Jackson. He was so good for you and now you barely speak to him anymore and if I'm completely honest, Lydia, I'm not sure if Stiles is the one for you."

Lydia couldn't move. She couldn't understand how her mother could be so wrong.

"Jackson is a Kanima," Lydia blurted incredulously.

Natalie's eyes widened but she didn't press the subject any further.

"Goodnight, Lydia," she said finally.

Lydia stood frozen on the porch with her lips parted as Natalie sauntered down the driveway and climbed into the passenger seat.

After a moment, Scott emerged from the hallway behind Lydia.

"Lydia?" He questioned as he came to stand by her side. He noticed that her eyes seemed to have glazed over and he placed a hand on her arm. "Hey, Lydia, you okay?"

Lydia didn't respond and her skin was ice cold under Scott's fingers.

"Lydia," Scott said again, louder this time. He shook her shoulders slowly but she was unaffected. "Lydia," he growled, his eyes burning red.

Lydia jumped and shook her head. She blinked rapidly and looked up at Scott with wide eyes.

"Are you okay? Did you see something?" Scott pressed urgently.

Lydia gazed out into the garden whimsically.

"We're all going to die," she whispered.