Nearing midnight, Derek and I were trekking the woods to look for Cora and Boyd. It was Derek's plan to split up much to my demise. Splitting up never really worked for anybody. But steady yet here I was in the woods with a brooding alpha, a torn and drafty shirt, and a never ending silence. I'm sure Derek was counting on me not talking since he wasn't my alpha and I definitely wasn't in his pack, but ever since he got Erica's body, something had changed. I could feel it in the air. We were about 20 yards away from the actual entrance from the preserve when my ears got tired of hearing nothing by the sounds of our steps. "Sorry about Erica."

"Not your fault," Derek answered shortly.

"Not yours either," I shot back, looking over at Derek who kept his line of vision straight ahead. He didn't say anything after that. I know he's a man of few words but my god I would have split up with Scott if he would have let me go with him instead of Derek. But I guess it's Scott very subtle way of saying that he trusts Derek with my life. To be fair, Derek did literally pump the life back in me. Then there was the whole brother/murderer scheme that led to my werewolfdom. So I definitely owed Derek one or two whether I want to admit it or not. "I'll join your pack."

"I don't need your sympathy," he said without missing a beat.

"I know," I said with an eye roll. "But you need my help so I'm offering," I proposed, looking up at the moon and feeling the pull from it. "Plus I still need some help with this whole thing. I get most of my information from movies and it's a lot harder than it looks."

"That's because this is real life."

"Yeah, well. I didn't think werewolves existed in real life either." We walked side by side in silence for a few minutes until Derek suddenly stopped. I stopped a few steps ahead of him and turned around to frown at him. "What? Did you catch a scent?"

"If you wanna join my pack, then you have to trust me."

I nodded and looked away from him. "I do."

"You're lying," he dead-panned with a stoic expression.

I frowned at my telltale signs and shrugged. "Small doses, Derek. I trust you in small doses."

"I saved your life twice," he said with a scowl. Although it came it more like a question.

"Yes, and I owe you for that; you said it yourself."

"Fine," he agreed after a pregnant pause. I nodded once as Derek started walking again and I fell into step beside him. "We need to set some ground rules."

"Agreed," I said a little too quickly. "First things first, communication, Derek. For the love of god communication. If something's going on; Isaac and I need to know, okay? Second, no chains, restraints, or anything weird like that on full moons. I got this," I assured, referring to myself. "You have to do something about your uncle otherwise you're gonna come home one day to a single bloody v-neck and I will wave that thing around with pride. And if he resurrects himself, then I'll do it again and again and again," I exaggerated. Most of that was an empty threat. Most of it. "You gotta stop being so abrasive all the time—What?" I asked when Derek scoffed at my last rule.

"You're telling me to be less abrasive," he stated. I rolled my eyes and tried to think back to a time where I was as abrasive as Derek. I frowned once I realized it was when I was mouthing off my empty threats about Peter. I crossed my arms and sighed heavily. "Done?" He asked with a slight tug at the corner of his mouth. I nodded stubbornly and deliberately looked to my right where Derek wasn't walking. "Good. One, you've have to stop being so stubborn and listen to me. Two, you have to trust me; that's not an option. Three, you have to find an anchor that isn't anger," he finished shortly.

"Why? It works like a charm." Whatever Derek was about to say was cut off by his phone vibrating. I heard Scott's voice on the other end and slightly leaned in as Derek and I stopped. "I found them," Scott began in a guilty voice.

"You found them?" Derek asked, his eyes widening.

"But I lost them," he finished anticlimactically.

"You lost them?" I rolled my eyes at Derek's rhetorical questions and continued listening.

"Yeah, I kind of had to."

"Wasn't exactly the plan."

"I know which is why I think that we should stick together," Scott reiterated. I sent Derek an 'I told you so' look in which he rolled his eyes at. "Trust me; he's too strong, too fast, and way too angry for one person to handle. We've got to do this together. All of us."

"It's true, he almost tore Scott and me apart in the vault," I added. Derek glanced down at me before looking around and taking in his surroundings. "Look, we're over at the trails by the entrance to the preserve. Can you meet us here?"

"Yeah, just got to drop something off first," Scott replied before hanging up. Derek hung up and did something else on his phone be he slipped it back into his pocket and stood with a stoic expression.

"Scott doesn't trust you?" I asked, leaning on a nearby tree. Derek shook his head silently. "You know it would help if didn't utilize the whole 'shoot first, ask questions later' shindig," I said knowingly.

Derek furrowed his eyebrows and glanced away for a brief moment. "I've never shot anybody."

"Oh, Derek," I sighed with a slight patronizing undertone in my voice. Derek stood stoically and silently as I tugged at the ends of ripped shirt. Seriously I should open up a store specifically for werewolves who have a hard time keeping shirts not ripped or tattered. I'd make a fortune. I don't even remember getting the long tear on my right long sleeve. Luckily my cardigan was only stained with blood. Now there's no point of me dressing for the season if it meant my clothes were going to be ripped for the opposite season. I rolled my eyes and pulled my sleeves up to my elbows.

The sound of my phone vibrating interrupted my intricate sleeve pulling. I checked the name on my phone to see Stiles calling and merely slid the phone back in my pocket without missing a beat. As soon as the vibrating stopped, it started again. I let out a long sigh and shut my eyes as I leaned against a tree.

"Weren't you the one saying I need to communicate?"

I opened one eye to glare at Derek. "You know you talk a lot more than people give you credit for."

"It's Stiles, isn't it?"

I shut my eyes again with a frown on my brow and huffed as my phone vibrated again. Derek let out a short laugh. "Don't act like you've never avoided people, sour wolf," I muttered, my eyes still shut. "I'll deal with Stiles later."

"He's your anchor," Derek said, purposely ignoring his new nickname. "I wouldn't put it off too long."

I shot my eyes open and lifted my head to look at Derek. "Wh—how do you—put what off?"

"Whatever annoying teenager angst you guys are dealing with," he shrugged.

"How'd you know he's my anchor?"

"You're not a very good liar."

"That's not true, its way easier to access anger than it is to swoon over someone whose only defense is sarcasm."

"Exactly. Which is why you need to deal with that," Derek said pointing to my phone. "Anger doesn't have to be everybody's anchor."

I leaned my head back again and thought about Derek's words. Granted he had a really good point, but I wasn't so sure about relying entirely on one person to keep myself from killing and maiming. I'll deal with all my anchor business some other time because now we actually have two murderous werewolves roaming the city.

A branch snapped in the distance and I jumped up at the sound from behind me. I stood up straight and backed into Derek who was also on high alert. I took in a deep breath and instantly relaxed my shoulders while my heart continued pounding. "Seriously, Scott?"

"Sorry," he grinned sheepishly.

Derek rolled his eyes and turned his back toward Scott and I. "Come on," he ordered, taking off into the preserve. Scott and I exchanged looks before breaking out into a sprint of our own. We put about 5 yards of space in between us as we ran through the preserve. The gap slowly started to close once we caught a scent. Following the scent of Boyd and Cora, Scott flipped twice before landing on his feet to stop. Derek did the same, only not as dramatic (which was a first). I sloppily tried to skid to a stop and kicked up dirt in the process. Derek had to throw up his arm just to get me from running over a foot print in the dirt.

"Is it them?" Scott asked, examining the print.

Derek nodded and scanned the area around us. "There not the only ones who decided to stick together."

"Is that gonna make it easier or harder to catch them?"

"I don't know."

"Derek," Scott began. "I saw Boyd try to rip two little kids apart. Are they gonna do that to everyone they find?"

Without missing a beat, Derek nodded. "Everyone and anyone."

"Well, that's comforting," I sighed with an eye roll.

Scott's phone began ringing and Stiles wasted no time and began talking before Scott could say anything himself. "Scott, Lydia found a dead body at the public pool. It looks like Boyd and Cora did it. And oh my god there is blood everywhere."

Scott look frustrated and sighed heavily. "Are you sure?"

"Yep. Throat ripped out, blood everywhere. It's like the frickin' Shining over here. If two little twin girls come out of the woods, start asking me to play with them forever and ever, I'm not gonna be surprised."

"Can you get a little closer to make sure it was them?" Scott asked.

I stepped forward and placed a hand on Scott's arm. "I'll go check it out just to be sure."

Scott looked down at me with a reluctant look on his face before shutting his eyes and sighing again. "Charlie's on her way over there."

"I—oh, good. Tell her it's nice to know she's not dead," Stiles quipped before hanging up. I rolled my eyes and turned back to group alongside Scott.

"This doesn't make any sense. The public pool is all the way on the other side of the woods. We haven't tracked them anywhere near there," Derek argued.

"Derek," Scott sighed. "They killed someone."

I held up my hand and looked over at Scott who seemed unconvinced. True enough we don't have all the facts, but I'd give anything right now to not run around this damn preserve again. "We don't know that."

"Go," Derek ordered. "We'll call you if anything happens."

I nodded once before disappearing in the preserve once again.

"Oh, god," I mumbled, taking in the scene in front of me. There was a dead body still leaking blood from the single laceration on his throat. The police had yet to arrive, but Stiles and Lydia were nowhere to be found.

"Yeah, it's pretty bad," Stiles agreed, coming around the corner. I jumped at the sound of his voice and looked behind him for Lydia. "You didn't hear me?"

"I heard you, I just wasn't paying attention," I said, pointing to the gruesome scene behind me.

Stiles cringed and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that'll do it."

I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes to focus on a scent that wasn't blood or chlorine. I opened them and walked over to the edge of the pool where the water was eerily still. I stared at my reflection silently and shook away any thoughts that were distracting me. "They weren't here."

"Wha—Char, look at this guy and tell me a werewolf didn't do this," Stiles argued. He placed both his hands on my shoulders and turned me around to face the victim.

I shook my head again and tried to catch a scent. There was one I didn't recognize, but I knew it wasn't Boyd's or Cora's. To be honest it just smelled like straight up death which was incredibly unsettling. "Where's Lydia?"

Stiles huffed and pointed over to her car. "She's pretty freaked out."

"I would be too if I just drove to the site of a dead body without realizing what I was doing." Blue and red lights suddenly filled the darkness while ambulances and patrol cars invaded the area. My phone began vibrating for the umpteenth time that night and I dug it out of my pocket to check it. It was a message from Scott telling me that he was on his way with back up. I didn't bother trying to decode the back up and merely stuffed my phone back into my pocket. "I should probably get out of here."

"Wait," Stiles yelled, grabbing the top of my arm. We shared a brief moment of silence before Stiles opened his mouth to say something.

"Stiles, dead body," I reiterated, pointing to the obvious site. Whether he wanted to talk, fight, or whatever it was he wanted do, it wasn't the time and definitely not the place.

"Uh, right," he agreed. "Promise me, we'll talk later."

I nodded quickly and glanced behind him to see Derek and Isaac parked in the shadows. "Promise," I repeated, looking back at Stiles. I sent him a small wave before disappearing behind the line of patrol cars and the ambulance. I managed to get through without getting caught at the scene of the crime and headed to Derek's SUV. I caught a glimpse of Mr. Argent and Scott and sighed. Really it was best to stop asking questions. This night was going to be long and it had only just begun.

"Wasn't them," I announced, hopping in the backseat of Derek's SUV. Frankly, I like his new car. It's way better on gas mileage than his Camaro. Although it does give him a more of a soccer mom look.

After another ominous meeting in the woods, I was given the incredibly exciting task of waiting at the school. I was supposed to be listening for the high frequency emitters that are supposed to lead Boyd and Cora directly to me so they could be trapped. I easily scaled the side of the building using a combination of the gutters, pipes, and the wall itself until I was on the roof of the school. I was half tempted to howl at the moon for shits and giggles, but decided against it in case anyone was watching. The only part of this plan that I appreciated was the alone time I was given. I decided to try to get back into my Angry Birds stage and beat my personal best. Unfortunately my concentration was broken when the unforgettable sounds of the emitter was heard.

It let out a sound that was irritatingly familiar as Stiles' old dog whistle. I cringed at the sound, but kept my ears uncovered regardless. The plan was to meet outside the school, but plans change. Especially considering it was a full moon and everyone was focused on not shifting while trying to contain two uncontrollable werewolves.

It's just our luck.

The irritating noise from the emitters grew louder. It was almost unbearable until Isaac had grunted from behind me. I whipped around to face the noise as he hoisted himself over the wall and onto the roof. "Thanks for helping me," he thanked sardonically as he made his way over to me.

"Thanks for the headache," I snapped back. He didn't bother to counter an argument and looked out at the view. "I should probably head to the entrance of the school. Derek and Scott are probably around here somewhere." Isaac nodded in agreement and left the same way he came. I followed him out of curiosity and almost laughed aloud at my poor attention to detail. Lo and behold there was a ladder that led perfectly from the roof to the ground. Isaac waited patiently as I took the easy way down.

We sat on the steps of the entrance of the school and playfully bumped each other's knees in silence. "This feels weird," Isaac spoke up. I shot him a look telling him to continue. "Feels like were waiting in a coliseum for the lion to come out and attack us."

I paused my knee bumping and slowly turned my head to Isaac. "That's a terrible analogy."

"Feels right," he shrugged.

"That's the worst part, jackass."

"Fine, fine. It feels like we're about to get married."

"Isaac."

"What?"

"Are you always like this on a full moon?" I asked while trying to bite back a smile.

"Would you rather I be more werewolfy?"

"Not a real word."

He shrugged and leaned back on his shoulders on the step behind him. "Made you laugh either way."

I blew out a huff of air threw my nose and shook my head. "How do you think this whole alpha pack thing is gonna play out?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

Isaac didn't have time to answer when we heard growling in the near, near distance. We both rose to our feet and kept our gazes locked on the direction where the growling was coming from. "I know you hate it, but we should split up."

There wasn't time for me to be annoyed by Isaac's plan. I pushed him toward the general direction of the buses. "Go."

He took off in a sprint to the back of the school without another word. I moved to prop open the doors to the school. I listened for anymore sounds as I stood in the doorway. I scanned the dark area in front of me until I saw a pair of yellow glowing eyes. "Oh, here we go," I mumbled under my breath. I took a deep breath as I let the feeling of the full moon wash over. The shift was painless as it was instantaneous. The pair of eyes came running toward me and it only took a second for me to realize that I was Cora.

I cracked my knuckles and began backing up into the school. Once she was too close for my comfort, I juked to the right in a sprint knowing she would follow me. With the freshly waxed floors, it was difficult to turn corners without knocking myself out, but I managed to do without the help of friction from my shoes.

After a mere 30 seconds of being deliberately chased, I realized I had no idea where the boiler room was in the school. I mean yeah, it's under the school, but where the hell are the stairs. Panic rose in my chest as Cora managed to get close enough to swipe at my cardigan. I cursed under my breath and sloppily turned a corner, and then turned another one blindly.

"Charlie!"

I almost stopped at my name being called throughout the school, but I knew I had to keep moving. Pinpointing the voice was difficult considering the school was empty. "Charlie!" The voice yelled again, clearer this time.

"Charlie!" My ears twitched once I realized it was Derek and immediately changed course to find him. I caught his scent along with the feeling of panic that he left. With Cora still hot on my heels, I saw Derek and Scott at the bottom of a staircase that I assumed led to the boiler room. I paused for half a second to see Cora a yard from me. Luckily the distance was enough so she would run into the boiler room and not into me. I cursed again and took the stairs two at a time and slammed into the wall once the door shut beside me.

"Are you okay?" With my hands on my knees, I let my head dangle while I focused on my breathing to shift back into my human form. I know my huffing and puffing wasn't a very good answer, so I shot him a thumbs up instead.

"Did that actually work?" Scott panted. I continued taking deep breaths and slid down the door across from Derek who looked exhausted. Scott became eerily quiet as he stood in the same spot with his ear pressed against the door. I held my breath to quiet my own breathing to listen inside the boiler room. I heard the fluttering heart beats of Boyd and Cora, but there was a third beat. Slower and much more human.

"There's someone in there," I exclaimed, shuffling to my feet. It only took Derek a second to confirm that as he too got up to his feet. He pushed Scott aside and leaned against the door. It seemed like forever before he moved again.

"I know," he confirmed before whipping the door open and disappearing inside. Scott shut and locked the door behind him as soon as Derek's foot crossed the threshold. On my own instinct, I moved to follow him but Scott gripped the tops of my arms as a restraint.

"No, you can't go in there," he growled, pressing his back to the door while keeping me in place. He wrapped his arms all the way around me painfully as I struggled against Scott in a frustrated manner. My eyes flashed gold when his grip only got tighter as I continued pulling against his grip. I felt the overwhelming need to go in and help Derek despite the fact I that I could easily come out dead considering my track record. The sounds coming from the boiler room were putting me more and more on edge. There was growling, snarling, and a whole lot of scratching.

"Scott," Isaac yelled from upstairs. I ignored the yelling and finally pulled one arm from Scott's grasp. I immediately ducked and reached for the door handle until Isaac yelled again. "Guys, the sun is coming up!"

Suddenly, I stopped while it became silent. We stared at each other as we listened for four heartbeats, but only heard two. This time it was Scott who charged at the door and sprinted inside. I followed him inside and skidded to a less than graceful stop once I found them all around the corner. Derek sat there bloody, scratched, bruised and slumped over while perched on his knees. Boyd and Cora were both incapacitated. The other heartbeat was coming from a corner in the room. Scott and I both turned to see a terrified Ms. Blake hiding behind a shelf. Isaac had joined us shortly. Derek slowly lifted his head and acknowledged our existence by simply panting and staring. "Get them out of here," he ordered. "I'll take care of the teacher."

Once the sun broke completely, Scott and I headed to the morgue at the hospital to meet Stiles. We'd been up all day and all night so we figured why not push it anyways. Besides, if Stiles is calling people to the morgue, then something's definitely up. I didn't even want to think about what I looked like. Then again, I couldn't look any worse than Scott or Derek.

"So you joined Derek's pack?" Scott asked, breaking our comfortable silence.

I nodded in response and slid my hands into my pockets. My phone had died a couple of hours ago and was worth a paperweight right about now. "Just felt right. I don't think I would have made a very good Omega anyways."

"I thought the same thing too," he agreed. His eyes widened once he realized what he said. "No, uh—I meant me. I thought—"

"I get it," I chuckled with an eye roll. "I'd think the same thing if someone made me watch that Omega get cut in half."

"Yeah, that'll do it," he cringed at the memory. We eventually made it to the hospital on foot and snuck into the morgue with ease. It was almost too easy to sneak in.

We easily found Stiles considering he was the only live heartbeat downstairs. He was pacing and didn't even bother to stop when he spotted us. I quietly shut the door and went to stand over by the bodies that were laid out on the table. "So what's the verdict?"

"Sacrifices," Stiles said simply, putting a stop to his pacing. Scott and I shared a silent look.

"Start over," I stressed. Stiles sighed shortly and slapped on a pair of rubber gloves. He pulled down the sheets from the bodies and pointed.

"That guy Lydia found at the pool. All three were virgins. Emily, Heather—"

"Wait," I interrupted. I squinted my eyes to get a better look at the blonde who was indeed Heather. "That's Heather?"

"Yeah, I told you she was missing," Stiles said with a frown.

"Yeah, but I thought she was just missing missing, not APB missing."

Scott cleared his throat from beside me. "What's uh, what's the difference?" Stiles and I both turned to Scott before pointedly looking at Heather. Scott's face turned into a slow façade of realization. "Sorry, continue."

"They all have the same injuries; strangled, throat slashed, and their head bashed in. It's called the threefold death," he continued.

"And we know it's not Boyd and Cora…" Scott began.

"And we know these aren't random killings," I nodded.

"Hence, human sacrifices," Stiles finished.

I ran a hand the best I could through my hair while Scott let out a long, tired sigh. "What do we do now?" I asked, looking between Scott and Stiles. Stiles shook his head while removing his gloves and tossing them in the trash.

"Well we can't just stand around and wait for someone else to die," Scott vowed.

"I don't think we have a say in that, Scott. I mean we just learned that someone is sacrificing people," I reiterated, rubbing my eyes. "And considering we've been up since yesterday morning, any plan we come up with now would probably get us killed."

"She's right," Stiles agreed, scratching the back of his head. With that unanimous agreement, we all left the morgue and made our way to the parking lot where Stiles' Jeep was sitting.

"Where's your bike?" I asked Scott.

"I...think it's at home?"

I let out a short laugh and gave him an understanding look.

"So irresponsible," Stiles scoffed, crossing his arms. Scott and I sent Stiles our convincing looks. Stiles seemed unconvinced until I nudged Scott who I'm sure put on those ridiculous puppy dog eyes. "You know what? I'm gonna start charging you two a fare," Stiles declared. He opened the passenger door and silently stomped over to his side of his car and got in. Scott and I high fived before he climbed in the back.

Once Scott was dropped off at his bike, I decided that I would try to take a nap on the way home. Unfortunately Stiles decided that was a good time to play with the radio. After landing on the tenth static station, I slapped his hand away from the radio. He mumbled a feeble sorry from under his breath. I tried to settle in a comfortable spot again while shutting my eyes. It only took a few seconds for the sleep to take over until Stiles started mindlessly tapping his fingers on the dashboard.

"What is it?" I asked in a tired voice. The taping stopped immediately and Stiles' heart beat picked up. "What's bothering you?" I asked again, opening my eyes to glare up at him through my eyelashes.

"I—uh—we're here," he stammered. I sat up in my seat to look out the window to see my apartment building. "I'll follow you in just so I know you're safe."

"Stiles, it's just—"

"For my sanity, please?"

"Okay," I nodded. He sent me a small smile in response and got out. I moved to follow him, but was stopped by the blinding sun. "Ugh, god what time is it?"

"A quarter after 6," Stiles yawned. I rubbed one eye in a tired manner. We silently made our way to the elevator and finally to my humble abode (in a sense). I unlocked and opened the door while Stiles shut it behind me. My intention was to head straight to bed, but was stopped by the mess that was littering the kitchen. I wafted the scent of old, stale booze away from my nose and started gathering the empty beer bottles off the counter. Stiles followed my lead and dug around for a trash bag under the sink.

Holding an empty bottle of Jack Daniels, I tried to pinpoint exactly when my dad's drinking started back up. And when in the hell did it get this bad? With everything that's going on, it's too hard to tell.

Was it the divorce from 10 years ago?

Was it from the army?

Was it from Matt's death?

Was it...me?

"Charlie," Stiles said slowly, walking toward me with his hands up. He eyed what was once the empty Jack Daniels bottle in my hand. It was now nothing but bloody shards. Stiles gently took my hand and picked out the pieces of glass with shaky hands. The lacerations were healing at a quick pace so I steadied Stiles hands with my free one. Without a word, I led him to the bathroom. I handed him a dry washcloth from the linen closet and sat on the edge of the tub. Stiles joined me after he dampened the cloth with warm water. "I know you're a werewolf and everything, but that's not an excuse to squeeze glass bottles until they explode," he lectured while wiping the excess blood away.

"I'm surprised you're not green with disgust right now," I teased lightly. Stiles shrugged one shoulder before giving me my hand back.

"Good as new," he nodded, tossing the now dirty towel in the hamper. I flexed my hand and admired his hard work. "So, uh, what's the deal with all the booze anyways? Your dad have a party or something last night?"

"No, I would have caught a scent," I mumbled in a shaky voice. "Or something." I sighed and buried my face in my hand for a brief moment. "He's drinking again." Stiles was silent and still for a moment before he pulled me in for an embrace. I returned the gesture and wrapped my arms around the boy's waist. "It's my fault," I whispered into his shoulder.

"What are you tal— "

"It was right in front of my face the whole time and I didn't even notice, Stiles. It was Matt all along and we could have saved him. I could have saved him when he was nine and none of this would have ever happened and now my dad is drinking himself into a coma because he doesn't know any other coping mechanism and it's my fault they got divorced. It's my fault he left the army; I wanted him here for my own selfish reasons. It's my fault Matt's dead. And now Erica's dead? I mean it's like a really shitty domino effect is happening and it's getting worse, I can feel it. Something really, really bad is gonna happen next and I'm like 90 percent sure it'll be my fau—"

"Shut up," Stiles deadpanned.

I gaped at him silently to find the words, but could only muster one word. "What?"

"Shut. Up."

I shot up from my seat as my eyes flashed gold. "Are you serious right now Stiles Stilinski?"

Stiles clumsily shot up from his seat as well and use the few inches he had on me as an advantage. "As a heart attack." I laughed sarcastically once and pointed my finger to him chest firmly. He cut me off before I used the opportunity to speak. "None of this is—and never will be your fault, okay? Blaming yourself won't make it go away, you know that. We all went through hell last year and we all got through it one way or another and we can get through this. Together, okay?"

I swallowed thickly and shyly looked away from Stiles. Playing the blame game was easy, especially if Peter Hale was around, but with everything that happened last year it I still find hard to believe how this wasn't ultimately my fault. Only slightly convinced, I looked back up at Stiles. "Okay."

He wrapped his arms around my neck and shoulders and pulled me into another warm hug. I returned it silently and let myself relax in Stiles' arms. We stood there for a couple of minutes before pulling away. I was proud to see that I didn't shed one tear. Letting out another yawn, I realized that was definitely a school day.

Crap.

There was no way that I was in a state to go to school today, but I was for the sake of my sanity. Being left alone with my thoughts was usually a virtue, but not today. "We have school today," I informed with a frown.

Stiles checked the time on his phone and showed me the time. "We have a couple of hours to sleep."

"Right," I yawned and blindly started to head out of the bathroom. "C'mon, I'll walk you to the door."

"Actually," he interrupted. He flushed lightly and rubbed the back of his head. "Is it cool if crash here? I don't really trust myself to drive right now, and I could just sleep on the couch or floor or whatever works for you. You know they say driving sleep deprived is as bad as driving while you're drunk? So to be on the safe side of things I think I should maybe stay here. But you know only for a couple of ho—"

"Yes, for of the love of god just stop talking," I agreed, walking out of the bathroom and to my room. I heard Stiles let out a nervous laugh from behind me. "You can sleep in my bed. I imagine after staying up all night the last you wanna sleep is on someone's floor," I said, kicking off my shoes. I took off my cardigan and then my shredded shirt, revealing the black tank top underneath. I climbed into bed, jeans and all, and got comfortable the best I could. Stiles followed my lead and set an alarm on his phone for a couple of hours from now. Personally I didn't care if we were late or early, I just wanted to sleep. After he finished setting up the alarm, we both laid on our backs in an awkward silence while we stared at the ceiling. I lifted Stiles' arms and cuddled underneath so I was positioned right under his neck while my arm was draped over his stomach and the other was tucked under my head. He curved his body into several positions which was basically torture until he finally got comfortable.

"Night, Char," he whispered, placing a kiss on my head.

I fluttered my eyes shut and yawned one last time. "Night."

The unforgiving sunlight from the early morning shone through my blinds and easily woke me. I cracked open both my eyes to glare the best I could at the light and flipped over to avoid the sun. God the sun was a worst alarm than the actual alarm clock. I was hardly fazed when I saw Stiles still fast asleep. He was snoring lightly with his mouth open and his eyes twitching from under the lids. His pulled me toward him while moving himself closer to me. I laughed softly and placed my hand on his cheek to trace the freckles that dotted his face.

A half smile spread on his face while he continued sleeping soundly. Unfortunately, it was definitely time for him to get home and check in with his dad. I moved my hand to hair and rested my arm on his shoulder. "Stiles," I cooed, playing with his hair gently. With absolutely no reaction, I sighed and decided to keep up with this (ineffective) gentler approach in an attempt to be less abrasive. "Stiles, c'mon wake up, we have to get to school."

Stiles simply tightened his grip on me further until I was practically nuzzling the boy's neck. An idea suddenly popped in my head since my other approach was getting me nowhere. With a sweet smile on my face, I began lightly scratching Stiles back. He gave me a deep sigh in response. I moved to his collarbone and began placing light kisses from there to the crook of his neck. With another low sigh, I grinned to myself and began sucking and gently nipping at the skin.

He moaned lightly as his cheeks flushed a light pink. "Yeah, right there." I couldn't help but to laugh out loud at that line. To my surprise, it actually woke up Stiles who seemed surprised to see me. It took him a moment to realize where he was and what exactly just happened. "That was so dirty, Daehler. So dirty," he accused with narrowed, sleepy eyes. He sat up and rubbed his eyes.

I propped myself on one elbow and smirked. "Should've woken up sooner," I shrugged, running a hand through my sure-to-be tangled hair. "Besides, Derek has woken up to worse." Stiles face scrunched up into what was supposed to be a glare, but he mostly looked hurt. I sat up quickly to throw my hands up in front of me and widened my eyes. "No wait! That's not what I meant?"

"Okay, I'm gonna ignore that and go back to sleep," he decided, rolling over and burrowing back under the covers,

"No no no no no," I argued, ripping my duvet off him. "We have to go to class, remember?"

Stiles sat up again with an annoyed look on his face. "I already took care of that."

Amused, I smiled while eyeing his ridiculous bedhead. "How?"

"Just go back to bed, god."

"Wow," I deadpanned, crawling over him to climb out of my bed. "Is that how you get all your girlfriends in bed?"

"Girlfriend?" He asked with a single eyebrow lifted.

"It sounds so lame when you say it out loud," I frowned, looking anywhere but at Stiles smug face. "Like you have to carry my books home from school."

"Only if you wear my Letterman jacket," he teased.

I snorted out a laugh. "You don't have a Letterman jacket."

"Hey, that's no way to talk to your boyfriend!"

I bit my lip to keep from smiling and crossed my arms stubbornly. My throat hurt and my head were definitely feeling terrible from the lack of sleep. "I'm gonna grab a glass of water, okay?"

"You can't be mad if all the covers are gone!" He sang while burying himself back under the covers.

"Oh, yes I can!" I mocked, fetching a ponytail holder for my hair to tame it temporarily. With another eye roll at Stiles, I left my room to head to the kitchen. It looked in the exact same condition Stiles and I left in. I stepped over the broken Jack Daniels bottle I crushed earlier and grabbed a glass from the cabinet to fill it with water from the tap that was built in the fridge. After gulping the liquid down, I stared at the refrigerator door. My dad's work schedule was posted with a single piece of tape and according to the paper; he was an hour late for work.

Setting the empty glass down, I sighed heavily and headed to his room where I could hear nothing but his TV playing. I braced myself for the worst and began knocking softly in case he was hungover. "Dad, get up. You're late," I called out through knocks. After a couple minutes of absolutely no change, I turned the doorknob until the lock budged and opened the door slowly. I cringed at the now broken lock, but continued forward anyways. I saw my dad sprawled across his unmade bed with all of his clothes, and even shoes, were still on.

With another sigh, I walked over and lightly shook him by his shoulder. "C'mon dad, wake up," I groaned. I stopped shaking out of frustration, but froze when his arm limply fell off the bed and landed on the ground with a thump. I frowned deeply and leaned toward his eerily still figure. I listened very, very closely to find a sound. Any sound. I heard Stiles sleeping beat and my own racing one. My breathing hitched once I realized that was it. There were three bodies in the building, but I could only hear two beats.

But there were three people in this apartment.

But I could only hear two heartbeats.

Two.

"There's supposed to be three," I mumbled. I dropped to my knees by my dad's head and took a closer look. I blinked any tears that were threatening to appear and placed two fingers on my dad's jugular to feel for a pulse. "Dad?" I whispered after felling nothing but cool, damp skin. "Daddy?" I said louder this time although it came out more broken than I intended it to.

Two was supposed to be three.

Rising to my knees, I kept my eyes on my dad in hopes that he would eventually move or something. "Stiles?" I managed to yell. I patiently waited for him to respond, but was only met with his light snoring. "Stiles!" I heard a muffled fall followed by cursing. Stiles eventually made his way to and stood groggily in the doorway.

"What? What is it?"

"There's supposed to be three heartbeats," I began softly. I slowly turned my head back to my dad and stared. "But I only hear two."

Eh, idek anymore. Review?