Waiting

The thing is, I probably wouldn't have bothered going into the locker room. Had it not been for Scott practically flying into it. Even then I still would have hesitated to go in. I know how much Scott hates it when I run after him and into potentially dangerous situations. But I had just seen Liam stalk into that very same locker room not a minute ago, to say he was looking pissed off and ready to maim and or possibly kill someone would be an understatement. I caught up with Scott almost immediately and he made sure to keep me behind him just in case things went south. And south they did go.

The first thing I notice is Derek, naturally. His dark figure looms over Liam even though they stand several feet apart. Derek is standing next to some lockers with a knowing smile plastered on his face. Liam stands in front of him with amber eyes and a deadly growl escaping his lips. He charges at Derek, but he is easily deflected and pinned against one of the metal lockers behind him. By his neck no less.

I stand there stunned for a few seconds. Scott motions for me to follow him. So, I make my way to his position beside the two people who have been pretty much screwing with my mind for the past couple of days. Scott starts to call Liam's name. But Liam is already fuming so his words fall upon deaf ears.

Watching Liam as he is right now only reminding me of one thing. Last night. On the forest floor, with his claws digging into the skin on my wrists. He could have easily mauled me to death in his wolf state. So, why didn't he? What had stopped him?

I look down at the white bandages now wrapped around them and proceed on nothing but a hunch. As quick as I can, I unwrap my bandages and slam my wrist onto the locker next to me. A pained cry escapes my lips and I can feel my eyes starting to sting right away. Black spots fill my vision and I kneel on the floor, clutching my now opened wound.

I sit on the dirty locker room floor for several seconds, panting and waiting for the pain to subside. I am not aware of the sickening silence that now fills the room. After about a minute or so I look up at the three werewolves before me. All of them share a concerned look and I know I'll never hear the end of it.

Scott is the first to react. He kneels beside me and grabs my arm. In an instant the pain is gone. I can see the black veins curling on Scott's arm and I mumble a simple apology that I know is not needed. Letting out a small laugh, I stand up using the lockers to my left for support.

Derek still has Liam against the lockers, but he's no longer thrashing. His eyes are the first thing back to normal. From their honeycomb shade and back to their original electric blue. As soon as they are back to this color they are set on mine. The same look of recognition and concern I received last night still prominent in them. Then his fangs start to retract along with his claws. Derek lets him go and Liam's look softens further as he looks down at my blood drenched hand.

Even with Scott having taken away most of the pain, my head still spins a little and I take a seat on one of the benches near me. Scott is hesitant to leave me but after he hears me tell him I'm okay, he walks over to Derek and Liam. They exchange a couple of words, but soon the bell rings. Scott's gaze doesn't leave Liam for a second.

"Get to class." Liam obediently walks out immediately and Derek and I can't help but smile at each other. "What are you smiling about?" Scott asks, looking at us as if we've gone insane.

After several seconds holding in my laughter, Derek says, "You're going to be good at this."

My laughter fills the locker room but the second I catch Scott's glare, my laughter ceases to exist. Scott shakes his head and disagrees with Derek, but we both know it's the truth. Scott didn't become a true alpha by being a shitty leader. Even if he doesn't see it, he's doing a good job.

Derek and Scott continue talking and I disappear into my thoughts. If there was ever a better time to ask it would be now. I open my mouth several times only to close it almost immediately. My breath seems to catch in my throat and soon enough I can feel my heart start to speed up.

"No. You're not supernatural." Derek's voice rings through my head and I look up at him.

"But you said..." my throat starts to close up and I struggle to form a cohesive statement. "You said I was something. Y-he could smell it on me."

"Experienced werewolves can mask their scent. Experienced alphas can mask the scent of their pack members." Derek pauses for a second and moves closer to me. "My mother used to do it with the kids in the house who weren't wolves. It's supposed to keep you safe from enemy packs."

Derek is about to continue but he gets cut off by someone I had forgotten was with us. Scott's voice is somewhere between worried and beyond confused.

"What the hell is he talking about, Dani?" I clear my throat and wait for Derek too answer for me. He doesn't and I let out a deep breath before I start

"The day Baby Derek was at our house he said something weird to me. I've been trying to figure it out ever since, but nothing panned out. He kept asking me what I was and I didn't get it. As far as I knew I was the only one who hadn't gone through some sort of supernatural change. But he was persistent, he said he could smell it on me and that I wasn't a werewolf but that I had to be something."

"I didn't know about it at the time. That's why I kept pushing. I knew you didn't have a human scent, but I wanted to know what kind you did have." Derek interjects as if it's the most logical thing.

Scott switches between glaring at me or Derek for several seconds before I make my excuse to leave. He's hesitant to let me leave, but after a promise to pick things back up at home he finally gives me a curt nod. I offer Derek a small wave and give Scott a quick hug before making my exit.

He's standing in the middle of the field holding his long stick when I finally find him. Tracking down Liam Dunbar has got to be just about the hardest thing to do in the history of the world. As I get closer I realize that he must have heard me the second I stepped onto the field. When Liam speaks up from in front of me I realize that must have been the case.

"Not now, Danielle." His voice sounds calm, but his tone indicates otherwise. The fact that he called me Danielle doesn't help me feel any better. I actually flinched when I heard him say it.

I know he is still mad about last night and I don't blame him. In some ways, he was right about my deception. I did lie to him so that he would agree to go to the lake house. But even so, I can't stand to think that he believes I didn't mean a word of what I said to him yesterday.

His back remains turned to me and I take a step towards him as I speak. "You heard me when my shoes touched this grass. That's progress."

"Actually, I heard you when you opened the door to leave the building." Liam whispers, and I can see the grip on his long stick tighten to the point where his knuckles turn white. I continue to move closer to Liam and once I am right behind him I place my hand on his shoulder and make him face me.

"Sit with me. Please?" I don't give him much of a choice. Once the words leave my mouth, my hands are in his. I pull him down into a sitting position opposite me on the grass. As soon as we're both comfortable he let's go of my hands and places his gaze on the grass at his side. Where he rips blades of grass from the ground as he continues to speak.

"I also heard you laughing at something that guy said and…" he lifts his head up slightly when he says this. But still doesn't dare to look me in the eye. "You don't wear perfume, but you have a scent specific to you. Kind of like Scott's but different somehow". I chew the inside of my mouth and nod as I roll my eyes. His lips curl into a small smile before he goes back to splitting grass from its root in the soil.

"You okay? I mean, your bandages and all." Liam's voice is hardly audible at this point and I can tell he is avoiding my eyes. It's comforting to know that even though he's pissed off at me, he still cares about how I am doing.

I look down at the white bandages haphazardly wrapped around one my wrists in the spots where his claws dug in. I start to unravel them and that is when he finally looks up at me again.

"Want to know a secret?" I ask as I place the bandages on my lap and move my wrists away from his line of vision. "My mom's a nurse." I place my arms in the space between us and give him a full view of the area the bandages were covering earlier. My tan skin is still somewhat split, but now with the blood cleaned off it is easy to tell that the injury wasn't that bad. Liam grabs my arms and looks at them for a few seconds before he speaks.

"Last night…" he trails off and I can tell that he feels guilty even though he shouldn't. I bring up one hand and lift his chin up before setting it back down in his.

"It's not your fault." My voice is barely above a whisper. "None of it was your fault, Liam." His lips curl up into the smallest of smiles and he scoffs at my efforts to reassure him.

"And…I'm sorry about it too." His hand tenses up in mine and Liam is back to avoiding my eyes. "I should have just told you the truth about the party."

I remove my hands from his and start picking at my nail polish as I wait for him to say something. Anything. It takes a while but after what feels like an eternity of silence, he finally looks up at me again and speaks.

"And the morning? That was part of the scheme too?" he's hurting and it isn't hard to tell. I don't blame him of course. He thought that he had someone to trust with everything going on. Someone who knew more than him and was willing to help, but after last night he's convinced that everything I have ever done was only to drag him into that lake house.

"No. I told you by your locker that I meant it and I did. The lab was way before we had our little pack meeting. That was all me." my eyelids seem to droop and I can't help but think how tired this conversation makes me. Why can't things just be right again?

"The way you looked…all lost and scared half to death about what was happening. The way you looked at me and the way you spoke about how you could talk to me..." I pause at a loss for words. "I meant what I said, Liam." I lean down to give his hand a gentle squeeze to reassure him some more and then turn my head as if something caught my eye.

"Why did you hurt yourself? In the locker room just now. You didn't have to do that." His question makes me smile and I let out a small laugh and turn my head to look at him again.

"I guess that was a little extra, huh?" I shake my head a bit, trying to find my words. "I don't know. I guess I just thought that if hurting me was what brought you back last night, then it could do it again. Even if I was the one doing the hurting."

A bus pulling into the school's lot catches Liam's eye. I've barely turned around completely when Liam lifts me up and starts pulling me out of the field. We're off the field in seconds and by the way he's walking through the building I can tell this won't be good. Mason must have agreed because when we pass him in the hall he only teases us for a second before running after us.

Liam walks out to where the Devenfort Prep buses have just pulled in to the school and calls out the name "Brett". A blond boy just stepping out of the bus walks over to him immediately and Liam lets go of my hand. The boy is much taller than Liam but this doesn't seem to discourage him in the slightest. I cover my eyes expecting the worst. But after several seconds of an intense staring contest Liam extends his hand to Brett.

"Have a good game." Liam's voice sounds genuine and my breathing goes back to normal. That is until Brett decides to be an asshole. He laughs along with the rest of the boys from the bus before actually bothering to respond.

"That's cute, Liam. Is that what they told you to say in anger management? Apologize and everything's fine."

Mason let's out a small whimper from beside me and I take a step towards Liam.

"You demolished coach's car." Brett continues and I can see Liam's body tense up as he speaks through gritted teeth.

"I paid for it." Liam says through gritted teeth and I can tell it's taking a lot of self-control to tear this guy a new one.

"Yeah, you're gonna pay for it. We're gonna break you in half out there and it's going to be All. Your. Fault."

I move closer to Liam noticing that blood is seeping from his now balled up fist. Once I am close enough I intertwine our fingers; both in an attempt to hide the blood and hopefully calm him down. Scott and Stiles burst through the crowd seconds later. I help Scott drag Liam away from the crowd as Stiles stays behind for a few seconds. Unsuccessful in his attempt at trying to and ease some of the other team's tension. Brett ignores Stiles invitation to shake hands. Stiles takes this moment to run after Scott, Liam and I.

The three of us drag Liam across campus and into the locker rooms. Liam kicks and screams as Scott and Stiles push him under the running water of one of the showers. After a while he calms down and sits up against the tile walls of the shower room. His shirt sticks to his skin now and his breathing is still ragged from having exerted himself in his wolf out.

"I got kicked out of school. They sent me to a psychiatrist for an evaluation." Liam huffs out still trying to slow his breathing. Scott looks at Stiles and I for a second before turning back to look at Liam and saying, "What do they call it?"

"Intermittent explosive disorder"

"IED? You're literally an IED that's great." Stiles voice sounds off from beside me and I shoot him a warning glare, which he ignores. "That's great, you gave superpowers to a walking time bomb." Scott ignores Stiles rambling and continues with Liam.

"Did they give you anything for it?" Liam's eyes immediately look up to meet mine and he sighs before answering.

"Risperdal. It's an anti-psychotic" his tone sounds almost ashamed and I can't help but move closer to him. "But I don't take it." Liam continues.

Stiles claps his hands in the air at Liam's last remark and lets out an ill-mannered "obviously". This earns him a curt look from Liam and an elbow to the ribs from me.

"I can't play lacrosse on it. It makes me too tired." Scott looks over at me for a second and I nod as we make a silent agreement between ourselves. Liam can't play tonight, especially not with Brett and all his buddies on the field.

"Okay, I think you should bail out of the game. Tell Coach your leg's still hurting." Scott offers and Liam gets up immediately as a series of no's start flying out of his mouth.

"I can do this, especially if you're there." He directs his statement at Scott but his eyes don't leave mine for more than a half second as he says it. A sad smile pulls at Scott's lips and he looks at me for a moment.

"It's not just about the game. We think that whoever killed DeMarco might be on our team."

This causes Liam to stop looking at me as he focuses his attention on Scott. "Who's DeMarco?"

Thinking we have had enough of his comments for today, I pipe up almost the second after I see Stiles open his mouth. "He's the guy who brought the beer to Lydia's party. The one they found beheaded on the street." My eyes leave Liam for a second as I asses what Scott might have just implied.

"You think whoever order the keg, killed him?" Scott and Stiles just give me a quick nod before turning back to a now lost in thought Liam. Scott speaks before I can.

"What? Do you know something?"

"I don't know who ordered the keg, but I know who paid for it." Liam does that thing where his voice is only just above a whisper. But we all hear him loud and clear when Garret's name comes tumbling out of his mouth.

"What do think you're doing?" he has a knowing smile on his face and I can see Mason isn't paying all that much attention to what Liam is saying. He's staring at a shirtless Brett from across the field.

"What? Me? Agreeing with you. I'm being agreeable." I shake my head from my spot beside Liam as Mason tries to play it off. "You think he's hot don't you?" Liam's voice sounds somewhat annoyed and I can't help but laugh a little. Mason tries to explain himself, but I butt in.

"Um…yeah. No offense Liam. But the whole 'arch nemesis' thing doesn't change the fact that he's in our top ten." My voice doesn't falter as I give Liam my honest answer. Mason looks over at me as if I've lost my mind and bite my bottom lip trying to keep from laughing.

"What so you're saying he's hotter than me?" His voice seems angry for a second and my laughter fills the air around us. I bring a wide-eyed Mason and a reluctant Liam into a hug as I glare at Brett. He is still getting ready across the field. I look for a good minute before I turn to Liam who is going on about how Brett wants to destroy him.

"I don't know, Li. It's almost to close call. But don't worry, you can take him. " Liam's face turns red as his smile widens and I roll my eyes at Mason playfully as I let go of them.

"…and then give him. To me." Liam's eyes widen as he looks at his best friend, who is now back to watching Brett. "Nah, just go out there and kick their smug prep school asses, man." Mason adds and he and Liam fist bump as Liam puts on his helmet.

"Yay for friendship!" I scream as I pull them into yet another hug making sure to show Liam the shirt I am currently wearing.

"Oh, look my spare jersey. You found it. How kind of you." The sarcasm is pretty obvious but I ignore it and continue smiling proudly even as he says, "Now give it back." Liam's voice sounds annoyed but only just and I giggle as he holds onto my waist tighter. Mason manages to get out of our group hug and just stands there laughing as Liam continues to harass me.

"I would, but it's kind of chilly tonight and I don't fancy being in nothing but a bra for the next couple of hours." The bra thing does the trick because Liam's body tenses up a little and he puts me down right after I say it. I look over to Mason and wink as he shakes his head at my antics.

"Patiently waiting for you two idiots to admit you love each other already." I shake my head and punch Mason's arm at this. But all he does is wiggle his eyebrows suggestively at me.

Liam clumsily clears his throat beside us and we turn to him. Our eyes watering from both the cold air and all the laughing. His intense glare is planted on me. Even though I know he's playing I still move over to him in an attempt to apologize.

"You can't be mad, Liam. I'm supporting you and look how cute I look wearing it." I spin in a slow circle trying show off the big bold number nine on my back of the maroon colored jersey. Then, I finish off by wrapping my arms around his neck and giving him a tight hug. He's a bit taller than me so I have to tiptoe to reach him in the right way. He places his hands on my waist again and hugs back with equal intensity.

The cold air around me disappears as I am wrapped in his warmth. I don't know if it's a werewolf thing, but Scott and Derek are always so warm. They're like freaking radiators and I love it. After several lovely seconds of being warmed by him I pull back a little and look him in the eyes.

"Good luck." My voice is almost a whisper but with his super hearing and the lack of personal space between us I know he heard me. Mason clears his throat from behind us. Like a father who just caught his kids doing something wrong and I feel the blood rush to my face. I stutter for a second before directing a small apology to Mason as I let my arms drop.

Mason and I both give Liam a small wave as we make our way up the bleachers and into our seats. We sit there quietly watching the setup for about a minute before Mason speaks.

"Okay, so when do I get my wedding invitation?" I roll my eyes at his statement immediately and he gives me a small push as he eggs on for some answers. "Come on, Danielita. I may have only just met you this year, but you're an open book, and this chapter seems to be missing a few pages in my copy."

I let out a breath before looking over at him, annoyance evident in my expression. This, does little to discourage him, and after about six minutes of hounding me I finally fill him in, careful to leave out the part about the supernatural. All in all the story I feed Mason goes something along the lines of me finding Liam at the party after speaking with Mason and us going for a walk in the woods. I even seeped in a little bit about our heart to heart in the field during free period today. A detail that made Mason practically squeal with excitement, and that seems to satiate his hunger for details. For now anyway.

The next half hour of the game is filled with Devenfort Prep making quick and easy goals. Kira gets pulled out of the game at some point, and Mason spends all this time rambling on about how it's ridiculous that "you guys are making this such an unnecessary slow burn".

I should've known. The way she ran off into the parking lot. She didn't even bother changing out of her lacrosse uniform. I should've known something was wrong. The red and blue flashes told me something was wrong. The whispers and looks told me something too. But I never listen.

Everyone trains their eyes on me as I frantically make my way through the crowd. They split a path down the middle almost immediately. As if they're afraid of breaking me with a single breath. Every glance makes me feel sick and my breathing seems to stop every time I hear their names. Even just snippets of whatever they're saying make my heart race and my blood boil.

I see her first. She has handcuffs around her wrists and when she looks up with that sneer on her face I know it's for me. Her eyed lock on mine and I feel the anger build up in my chest as I make my way to her.

"Where is he?" the Sheriff's newest deputy, Jordan Parrish, my tone takes him back a bit. But Violet just stands there with the same expression she had before I approached her. "I swear to god, you crazy bitch, if you hurt him…" my argument is cut off as she spits in my face and that's when I lose it.

My fist hits her square in the jaw and if it weren't for all the adrenaline coursing through my veins I would be on the floor from how much my knuckles hurt. The blow knocks her down and several officers start making their way to me. I ignore their warnings as I pick her back up by her hair. I have no idea where all this is coming from. But I do know that she is the reason I don't know where Scott is and that's enough to make me hate her.

"What did you do to him?" she's still a little disoriented and I am pretty sure my words aren't registering at all. Despite knowing this, I continue asking her nonetheless. The same question flies out of my mouth as I shake her shoulders. At this point I'm faintly aware of someone calling my name. The voice is familiar but the pounding in my ears doesn't let me pinpoint exactly who it belongs to. I have three deputies trying to pry my hands off of Violet's shoulders as she sits, still pushed up against a nearby wall.

I'm not exactly sure when I started crying. But the hot tears are now rolling down my cheeks and leaving small stains on Liam's jersey. It feels like I have been questioning Violet for an eternity. But I know that it has not even been a full minute between me hitting her and whatever it is I'm doing right now.

After several seconds of struggling, someone manages to remove my hands from Violet's body. I flail around in their arms trying to break free. It's only then that I notice how quiet the hallway is now. When I walked in there were voices all around me. The air was polluted with conversations that I didn't quite understand. The person who pried my hands away from Violet pulls me into a hug. For the second time tonight I am wrapped in the same abnormal warmth I have come to know all too well.

Scott

The adrenaline rush subsides and a sense of incredible fatigue fills my being. I wrap my arms around his lower back and squeeze as I try to muffle my sobs into his shirt. He rubs my back softly and after several seconds I let go. Making sure to wipe the tears from my eyes as I look up at him.

Aside from the concerned look on his face he looks fine. A wave of relief rushes over me as I dig my face into his now tear stained shirt.

"You… You didn't answer your phone. I called and you wouldn't answer and I couldn't find Stiles an-"

Scott leans down so that we are face to face and says, "It's okay. I know, and I'm sorry."

"…and no one would tell me what happened and you didn't'…you wouldn't pick up the phone, Scott. You always pick up." my constant panting makes it difficult to speak. But I continue rambling, even after Scott apologizes and tells me he's okay several times.

A firm hand is placed on my shoulder and I compose myself ready to face my dad who has just seen his "little girl" go ape shit on one of her classmates. He doesn't say anything. All he does is check my hand and tell me to find an EMT. I nod and walk away silently, holding my bruised hand to my chest.

From my spot on the stairs I can see Scott and my father talking in hushed voices. After a brief conversation, I see him walk away and over to where Violet now stands. Scott looks over at me and I hold up my now bandaged hand and give him a small smile. He walks up and sits next to me on the steps, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

"That was pretty bad ass, D. I mean I never thought you were the confrontational type." Scott says from beside me and I can't help but laugh at how stupid his comment is.

"Well. That's probably because I'm not the confrontational type. But sometimes my loser older brother goes out and tries to get himself killed and you know someone has to be there to avenge his death." We sit in a comfortable silence for a bit before someone walks up to us.

Liam.

He looks over at me and his eyes widen a bit as he sees my bandaged hand, but he makes no effort to start a conversation with me. I can instantly feel my chest heat up as the blood rushes to my cheeks. I don't bother trying to cover anything up. Both he and Scott most likely already heard my heart speed up.

Liam and Scott talk while I tune them out and play with the bandage on my hand.

If you keep this up you're going to end up looking like the Nogitsune, girl.

This thought makes me smile for some reason and I shake my head trying to leave my thoughts. Liam's voice brings me back somewhat. He's worried about being on the third part of The List. I choose this time to start participating in the conversation.

"List? What list?" my voice is a little hoarse from the yelling but I know they heard me even though neither of them makes a move to answer my question. "Guys, what list?"

Scott is the first to speak as he takes a seat on the steps next to me again. "Remember how Malia couldn't understand Lydia's notes?" he waits for me to nod before continuing. "Well it turns out it was because it was some sort of Banshee computer code that needed to be cracked to reveal some sort of bounty list."

I furrow my brows, not completely grasping the situation. "You mean someone is paying other people to kill supernatural creatures in Beacon Hills?" I pause for a second as my brain finally seems to process the information I've just received. "So, Demarco, and that kid from the hospital… his family?" I look up at Scott hoping he'll deny my realization, but his face only reassures me more of my deduction.

"Who's on it? Are you on it?" I look expectantly at Scott but all does is nod. "How much?"

"25"

His answer confuses me even more. "25 dollars? For a true alpha werewolf who bested the alpha pack?"

Scott stops me before I can continue.

"No, Dani. 25 million."

"And you've chosen now to tell me this? And you're on it now too?" I look over at Liam who just stands awkwardly and scratches the back if his neck. "Where the hell are they even getting the money to pay for all these mur- the bearer bonds. Scott they have to be using the bonds from the Hale vault!" Scott just nods and offers a quiet "I know".

I nod my head and for the first time tonight I quiet down.

As if we didn't have enough to deal with.

Despite the immense bomb that was dropped on me last night, I find my head preoccupied with other seemingly less important thoughts the morning after.

I'm chalking it all up to shock because I honestly can't think of anything else that would keep me focused on such a mundane issue with everything that's going on.

However, I let my brain wander and over asses my teenage dilemmas about how I seem to suck at all the wrong things. I mean, I have no trouble with the supernatural. Even though my knowledge is limited, I think I do a pretty good job in the whole "staying alive" department.

I'm also pretty good with school. Most of my core classes are one or two grade levels higher than regular freshman classes. My GPA has stayed at a pretty solid 3.8 ever since I started taking high school classes back in middle school and I think it's pretty safe to say that most of my teachers can stand me.

All of these are very good things in my opinion. I mean, having all this crazy witchy woo going on around you and still managing not to suck at your only actual job right now is pretty fucking great. Ready for the kicker?

I never used to have a problem with boys. That's not to say that I was some sort of freaking dominatrix back in middle school, because that was definitely not the case. But at least I could deal with them. I mean, it wasn't like I had a bunch of prepubescent boys constantly at my heels, but I guess I had a boyfriend at one point. Then again maybe not.

I was like twelve to fourteen years old, and while the rest of the girls were discovering mascara and all the different ways to get someone of the opposite sex to pay attention to them I was helping Stiles read through thick volumes of "Supernatural Creatures and Their Many Forms". If I wasn't doing that, I was either at home reading or out with Allison running or learning how to use a bow and if I wasn't doing that I was probably out somewhere with Scott and Stiles, riding in a blue jeep and eating curly fries.

So, I guess I skipped out on a few classes on how to handle teenage boys, but even then, the first half of this school year had been pretty good as far as I could tell. A couple of boys in different grade levels had asked me to the movies or to lunch, most of them just used the "study date" excuse though, and I had handled that well enough. I never said yes to coffee dates and movie outings, but if someone asked me to help them study for a test, I would. It wasn't like anything was going to happen. I always invited them over after school and if they didn't have a car we would have Stiles drop us off. So right off the bat they had some hyperactive spaz giving them the evil eye the entire ride.

If that wasn't enough to let them know that making a move was not a good idea, I would sit them at the dining room table once we got home. This was my way of expressing that this was a purely educational experience, and if that didn't register to the guy I was with then I always had Scott – the werewolf – or my dad – the cop – as backup. One had a gun and the other had supernatural abilities. Needless to say if, any of them tried to get frisky they wouldn't get very far, and that was the way I liked it. I didn't have time for teenage boys with trash grades and zero respect for women. Everything was perfect.

Then Liam showed up and he seemed like the type of person you would actually enjoy spending time with. He never said anything out of line and he understood my humor, and he was smart too. Not just the book smart type either, he knew things I had never even known were things that needed to be known.

Within the first week I had known him he had shown all these different sides of himself to me and I couldn't figure out why I liked being around him so much or why I wanted to make sure he was always okay. It was like this instant connection with the guy and it only got stronger. Especially after Scott bit him.

"You like him don't you?" Scott's voice brings me out of my thoughts and I look up from my spot on the floor to find him standing over me.

Last night had really done a number on me. With Scott having an attempt on his life, me freaking out and attacking Violet and the little bit of news I received after; I had gotten home and practically knocked out on the nearest cushioned surface. In this case, one of the bean bags in Scott's room.

"You let me sleep on the floor? Classy." I say not even bothering to acknowledge his question.

I notice now how fast my heart is beating and I bring my knees to my chest in an attempt to hide it. Scott is still looking at me and when I avoid his question, he takes a seat next to me and sighs. I rest my head on his shoulder and we sit in a comfortable silence for a while.

"Stiles is going to flip. You know that right?" my lips involuntarily quirk up into a small smile at his comment.

"I'll buy him some large curly fries and watch all the Star Wars movies with him and he'll get over it." I say in a quiet voice. It is only now that I notice how hoarse my voice still is from screaming at Violet and I clear my throat harshly, trying to fix it. "Am I dumb for it? Like of all the people to have a crush on I pick your beta."

"I'm pretty sure he was your crush before I turned him. So, what you should really be asking is 'Of all the people you could've turned, it just had to be the guy I'm madly in love with?' in which case the answer would be 'Yes, it had to be him.'" I groan loudly and earn a pat on the back from Scott.

"I'm not in love with him. I'm fifteen. It's a stupid crush and I'll get it." I look up and the look on Scott's face tells me he doesn't believe a word of what I just said, but I glare and shove his face away before getting up to get ready for school.

Ah yes, school is still a thing.

"I was actually thinking I could not go to school today. I mean, I've been through a lot in the past couple of days and I think maybe I deserve a break. Don't you think? " Scott's glare gives me my answer and I grab his hands to steady myself on my way up.

I look down and suddenly see that I am still wearing the same clothes from last night. Which means I'm still wearing Liam's jersey. I walk into Scott and I's connected bathroom and into my room, not bothering to take a shower. I take off my clothes and change into new ones before throwing Scott the jersey and asking him to throw it in the washer.

"Are you sure? I'm pretty sure Liam wouldn't mind if it still smelled like you." Scott jokes from his room and I fake a laugh before I glare at him and make my way downstairs.

The now clean maroon jersey is wrapped around my arm as it has been for the last two periods. Both of which were completely void of Liam. At one point Coach asks me if I know where he is and when I tell him I don't know says, "He's your boyfriend. Shouldn't you know where he is all the time?" my cheeks instantly turn crimson and I reply through gritted teeth.

"Liam's not my boyfriend." Apparently, Coach senses my discomfort and doesn't pursue the issue further. After class I find Scott and Mason both looking equally concerned. When I walk up to them they both ask me about Liam.

"I haven't seen him. That's why I walked over here; I figured Mason would have better luck at getting his jersey back to him." This doesn't seem to calm their worrying and we barely have time to speculate before the bell rings.

"You guys just get to class and let me know if he answers any of your texts." Scott tells Mason and I, and we nod as we walk off to our class.

"I don't even know why you guys are worrying so much. He's probably just sick like the other sixty percent of the population of Beacon Hills." My tone makes it obvious that I am not concerned about Liam in the slightest and Mason picks up on this quickly.

"Last night you were telling me all about how cozy you got at the party and now you couldn't care less about him? And he didn't look sick on our run this morning. Jumpier than usual maybe, but not sick." I roll my eyes as I take a seat next to him. We're doing a lab in bio so at least we'll get to talk.

"Okay, first of all we were not 'cozy', and it's not that I don't care. I just don't think that one little absence from school should be cause for alarm, but if you say he was fine this morning then maybe I might be a little worried now." I clear my throat and pull out my phone to shoot Liam a text before continuing my conversation with Mason. "And if you don't mind I would really appreciate it if you stopped bringing that up. I mean, you hang out with a guy once and then never hear the end of it. Its not that big of a deal. We hung out, we talked. It was fun, but that's it." I get up and make my way to where all the beakers are as Mason follows dictating how many of each size we need as he reads from the lab sheet.

"Excuse you. It is a big deal when you're both madly in love with each other and neither one of you will admit it." Mason exclaims from his hovering position over my shoulder.

"Why was he jumpy? Did he say anything about it? Maybe that can help you guys find him." I easily deflect his statement and he shoots me a glare, clearly not happy with the fact that I am avoiding the subject.

"Why do you think? He couldn't stop thinking about it. He finally told me about it and now I wish he hadn't." My stomach ties itself into a knot and I start blushing uncontrollably. But a slight panic sets over me when I realize that I didn't exactly share the made up story with Liam and he might have said something that doesn't exactly fit with what I told Mason.

I grab the last of the beakers and make my way back to our table before saying, "Why? What did he say?" Mason looks at me in pure disbelief and I place my head in my hands as I silently curse myself out for messing up the lab set up again.

"Are you kidding me? You can't seriously be that oblivious about how totally in love with you Liam is." The last sentence makes me whirl my head around to face Mason who is staring at me wide eyed. "He kept asking me if you had said anything about it and at one point he got so sappy I was ready to strangle him, but he ran off and left me alone on the trail. I couldn't find him afterwards so I figured he just made his way to school."

Mason's words fly around in my head as I try to understand what he's saying. There's a long silence between us before I speak again. "Well, I'm sure he'll turn up. We shouldn't worry so much; it's like I said before. He's probably just sick." That seems to end the conversation for us and we work quietly until the bells rings.

The rest of the day goes on without as much as a smoke signal from Liam. When the final bell rings Mason and I agree to call each other the second either of us gets anything on Liam. It isn't until later in the evening that I get news from anyone and it isn't even good news.

I can feel the damp earth under the soles of my shoes. By now the once bright and clean pair of running shoes are covered in dirt and whatever else may be lying on the forest floor.

The second Chris Argent called me and said Scott had gotten hurt I knew exactly where to go. No one was home but me so all I did was put on my running shoes and lock the door before breaking into a sprint and making my way to Deaton's clinic. By the time I get there I am practically drenched in sweat and my hair is a mess of flyways. I pull the front door open and dash in immediately.

"Scott!" my breathing is still ragged from the running and even just saying his name makes my vision a blurred mess. No one answers and I make my way into the back of the clinic where Scott is laid on the table unconscious and with some sort of horn coming out of his stomach. Deaton and Argent are on either side of him and they both give me worried glances once I come through the door way.

"Did you run all the way here? Please tell me you did not run all the way here." Argent almost makes the last sentence sound like a plead and I can't help but smile at how concerned he seems. I move to answer but get interrupted by Scott's groans as he comes back into consciousness. Argent makes a comment about how much it will hurt to get the antler out of Scott and then immediately goes to take it out. Scott lunges to his feet, seemingly from the pain and instantly starts asking about our dad and the sheriff.

"What do you mean? What happened to them? What happened to you, Scott?" all three of the men in front of me seem to hesitate before Scott speaks.

"They were moving Violet from the station and into higher security tonight. Garrett called me through Liam's phone and told me to meet him. When we talked he said that if I didn't help him get Violet back that…" Scott trails off for a second and I know what he was going to say.

"He would kill Liam." The lump in my throat makes it hard to continue but I somehow manage it. "Okay, but what does that have to do with dad and the sheriff?"

Argent walks over to me and places his hand on my shoulder. "They were in the truck and there was an accident." My eyes instantly start to sting and I sniffle in an attempt to hold back the tears that are threatening to leave my eyes.

"It was Kate. She's controlling the Berserkers and she caused the truck to crash. Sh-she also took Violet." Scott adds and I can instantly feel my blood start to boil.

"Kate. She's dead. Peter killed her. He scratched her freaking throat out with his claws, and she's back and turning Dereks into babies and screwing everything else up too." I cover my face with my hands before continuing. "You said they were in the hospital. That means they're alive, right? Both of them are okay. Right?" Scott gives me a small nod and I can feel as one single tear rolls down my cheek.

"What about Garrett? If he threatened to kill Liam, then that means he knows where he is. So, where is he? Why isn't he here with you?" my constant sniffling makes it almost impossible to get my words across. Not that it mattered, because I know Scott understood me when he looks down at the floor almost in shame.

"One of Kate's berserkers killed him before he could tell me. That's why we need to find Kate. She has Violet and if Garrett knew where Liam was then chances are Violet did too." Scott doesn't sound very hopeful but I nod my head to show that I understand.

"Okay, so let's go then. Let's go find Kate." Scott looks up at me immediately and I can tell I said the wrong thing. "Whoa whoa whoa whoa. There is no 'let's go find Kate'. You're not going, Dani." I clench my jaw at my brother's protective nature.

"You said Kate has Violet. If there's a chance in hell that Violet might know where Liam is, then I'm going. I will wait in the freaking car if I have to, but you are not leaving me here while you and Chris go play vigilante."

Terms of Agreement

Danielle McCall Delgado will not leave this vehicle for any reason.

Should Danielle hear any sort of noise come from the building, she will make sure the doors are locked.

Once all doors have been accounted for, she will hide in the back and wait for Scott or Chris to return.

If Scott could've had it carved in stone it would have been done. It had taken a lot of arguing to secure myself a spot in this rescue mission from hell and I wasn't about to put that in jeopardy by breaking one of his silly little commandments.

The second we had gotten to Argent's Arms International Scott had warned me about leaving the car for any reason at all. This black SUV was my home for however long it took to find Violet and deal with Kate. If I heard anything crazy coming from the building, I was not only forbidden from going inside to see what the hell was going on; I was also supposed to make sure that all of the doors were locked and then immediately cower in the darkest corner of the car.

I wasn't complaining. I knew Scott only did it to make sure I was safe, but staying in the car – even though I could clearly hear gunshots coming from inside – and not being able to help made me miserable. Here was everyone else risking their lives for something. For a cause, their friends, their family, and I was left to wait in the goddamned car.

That wasn't even the worst part, believe it or not. The worst part happened when all the fighting had subsided. After they found Violet's lifeless body strapped to a random chair in the middle of the warehouse and after Kate managed to get away. Scott practically flew out of the building without as much as a glance in my direction. That's when I jumped out of the car. I tried to chase after him, but no matter how fast I was there was no way I was going to catch up to him. Kicking the ground beneath me I hop back into the car and Argent floors it. I have no idea where we're going, or if we're even following Scott but I let him drive and I don't speak a word.

When we finally do arrive at our mystery destination, i find that Liam is in the same position that Scott was in when I last walked into Deaton's clinic a little over two hours ago. The main difference being that at least he doesn't have an antler sticking out of him.

Deaton makes an incision in Liam's chest and a yellow puff of air comes out from the wound. I move over to him instantly and grab his hand. He is still unconscious but the fact that he is alive is more than enough for me. Scott and Argent leave to talk and Deaton goes back into his office. Once again, it's just me and an injured Liam. The good thing is that this time we don't have a wendigo coming around the corner.

From my place on the stool I can tell Liam's hair is still somewhat wet from the water. Scott found him in a well after all. His breathing is calm and his eyelashes seem to stick together. My hand is still on his, only now I find myself tracing small patterns on the skin of his palm. There's the remnants of a cut in the middle of it and most of my attention is set on tracing its outline. I'm immersed in this when Liam makes a low humming sound from his spot on the table. I look up to find him smiling down at me.

"Hey, welcome back to earth, Dunbar." I say with a smile and he returns it gingerly. I keep smiling as I continue to trace circles into his palm.

"What happened?" Liam's voice is groggy and he sounds so tired I'm amazed he's still awake right now.

"Um… well I'm not exactly sure. I just know that Garrett took you and put you in some well in the middle of nowhere after pumping you full of wolf's bane. But that doesn't matter. You're okay and you're here so none of that matters."

Liam smiles from his place on the metal work bench and intertwines his fingers with mine before drifting back to sleep.

There's the faint awareness of a cold metal surface beneath me, followed by the warmth of another person's touch on my arm. I wake up from my daze and lift my head, rubbing my eyes and running my fingers through my bed head along the way. Once I've composed myself, memories come flooding back, and I remember where I am and who's touch it likely was that woke me. I need no other confirmation than Liam Dunbar's eyes as they hold my gaze. I smile, more so to myself than him, but either way he returns the gesture and for a moment or two we stay like this. Gazes locked on one another, and smiles widening at the exchange.

"You almost died, Liam," my voice is groggy from having just woken up. So much so that I almost don't recognize it when I speak up. That's when I break eye contact. Instead of looking up at him I settle for lowering my gaze to where my hands lay on my lap. Tucking a lock of stray hairs behind my ear, I let out a small chuckle. "I'm sorry. I can't believe I just said that." I fix my stare on my palms now as I notice how much I'm shaking. This hasn't happened since…

"Allison…" the name slips through the cold air and I feel my heart stop, I'm too caught up in my reaction to realize that my voice wasn't the one that finished the thought. As if on queue, everything around me starts to fade, until his voice brings me back.

"Who's Allison? You kept saying her name in your sleep." his tone reflects his confusion and at the sound of her name I twist my neck up to look at Liam again. His eyes bore holes into mine and I can feel a wave of unwanted emotions start to rush over me. Letting out a deep breath, I just barely manage to will them away. Now is not the time to have another breakdown.

Instead I release the tension that has built up in my body over the last few seconds. I plaster a smile on my face once again before standing and maneuvering Scott's hoodie off of me. Without a word, I hand it to Liam.

For a second he sits on the table, confused with my actions until I gesture to his uncovered torso. Then there's an intense blood rush to his face as he quickly grabs the hoodie from my hand and hurries to put it on. He mumbles what sounds like a thank you somewhere between zipping it up and getting his limbs through the sleeves.

I'm halfway out of the room when I feel his hand wrap around my shoulder, stopping me in my tracks.

"Dani, are you okay?" the way he speaks to me now is different. It's the same way everyone spoke to me for the first few months after Allison died. As if I might break if they didn't choose their words carefully.

Clearing my throat, I place my hand over his and turn to look at him. I hold onto his hand and place it in the empty space between us before finally answering. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

He doesn't seem too convinced, but even so he doesn't push it. All he does is offer me a soft smile before releasing his hand from my grasp. My brow creases at the loss of contact, but I brush it off as fast as it comes.

"Where's my brother?"

"He's outside talking to the vet and that guy with the guns,"

I only nod, keeping my eyes glued to the floor. A strange silence fills the clinic. The only sounds I can make out are the faint conversations at the front of the building. In an attempt to find something to occupy myself with, I try to tune in to whatever the exchange might be about.

For some reason it's like I can't figure out a way to talk to Liam. Which is probably why I'm trying so hard to just avoiding it all together. He seems to sense my apprehension, because he makes no other attempt at starting a conversation. For this, I am thankful, but the quiet ticking of the clock and the silence of the room soon become unbearable. I find myself forcing words out of my mouth, if only to keep my thoughts from spinning.

"It's late. We should go. Stay with us tonight if you'd like. Dad's never there and I'm pretty sure my mom has the late shift tonight. In any case she's pretty much used to our guests by now so you'll be okay either way." I lift my head enough to catch his reaction. A small smile has creeped onto his cheeks and he's nodding his head slowly as he makes his way to the door. I follow soon after, pausing to offer Deaton a thank you before heading out with everyone else.

"…visual confirmation is always required for payment."

Stiles reaches for the boom box and presses the stop button. For a moment the three us stay as we are with Scott and Stiles on the floor besides Scott's bed and me leaning against the door frame. We steal quick glances from one another to the duffel on the carpeted floor beneath us. Stiles is the first to speak.

"You ever made a wire transfer?"

"I've never had enough money," Scott's voice rings from beside him.

"Okay, so not a single one of us understood a word of that?" I let out a puff of air and lean my head against the door in frustration. Scott gives me what looks like a reassuring look before he speaks.

"I don't understand any of this. Why would someone use all this money just to kill us?" Scott says, gesturing down at the money in confusion.

"Someone really wants you dead, dude"

I instinctively roll my eyes at Stiles' unnecessary comment before looking toward Scott. The one who hasn't moved since we stopped the recording . Something seems to snap him out of it. Just as I move to sit next to him he jumps and starts shoving the stacks of cash back into the Garret's duffel. Stiles starts to protest but gets cut shut down by Scott all too soon.

"It's late. We got the PSATs in the morning." Scott doesn't look up, he only continues to frantically place the bills back in the bag.

"Scott I think he was talking about the money. There's five hundred thousand dollars in th-"

"It's half a million dollars, dude. What are you going to do? Slide it under your mattress?" For once I'm not annoyed by one of Stiles' rude interruptions. Only because I understand why he's so worried.

Scott moves to answer him, but some sporadic knocks from the front door stop him. Groaning inwardly I place a hand up in the air, motioning them to stop.

"I'll get it. You two figure this out."

They nod silently as I open the door and step out onto the hallway. I make sure to close the door behind me before leaving.

The knocking hasn't stopped; if anything it's gotten louder and more frantic. By the time I get downstairs it's almost louder than the storm outside. When I open the door I am more than surprised to see a soaking wet Malia at my doorstep. I move to let her in and she rushes right by me and up the stairs without a word.

I don't question it, though. Especially because a few minutes later she runs past me with Scott and Stiles at her heels.

"Stay here, Dani. I'll be back soon." Scott hurriedly says as he runs past me, closing the door and leaving me to take care of our sleeping guest.

I look over to find that Liam is still laying on one of our couches, sleeping. He hasn't moved from this spot since we got home a little over three hours ago, and none of us dared to wake him. He's already had more than enough to deal with tonight. Even Stiles gave him a sympathetic look as he passed by and that's saying something.

I shake my head and smile at the thought. I move over to place a blanket over him before settling down in the seat next to his. Soon enough I feel my eyelids begin their slow decent over my eyes and I drift off to sleep with little protest.

woo okay!

Isn't this chapter long as hell. Hopefully not too boring for you guys, but I feel a lot happened here. This used to be like three moderately sized chapters and I decided to make it one huge one. Hopefully not too bad, but I hope you enjoy anyway

-V