The lacrosse team was already heading out onto the field when we arrived. Lydia gave a flirty wave to Jackson as she climbed the bleachers, Alison and I trailing behind her. The wind was picking up and I had to bat one of Lydia's long, red curls out of my face. I pulled out a beanie from my messenger bag and pulled it down over my ears. Alison mimicked me and it seemed like Lydia was the only one unprepared for the cold. Grinning, I pulled a second beanie from my bag and handed it to her. "I've been blind to the cold lately, so I'm trying to be crazy prepared."

Lydia beamed as she put it on, arranging her curls. "Have I told you I loved you today?" she joked, giving me a side hug. I returned it, pulling Alison it on my other side. "New friends can have a hug too!"

The Cyclones moved around on the field waiting to start. Jackson was jogging in place with his best friend Danny while he gave Lydia the occasional glance. He was a tough guy, but he had a hardcore soft spot for his girlfriend and apparently he thought his helmet masked it enough to stare at her during practice. It was kinda sweet actually since they were big fans of PDA, but not of romantic sentiments. I spied the back of Matt's jersey as he started to head toward's the field and I tensed. I'd successfully avoided him all day, but how much longer could I really do that? We'd broken up nearly three weeks ago. He had to be over it by now, right? I felt Alison tap my leg to get my attention and I peeled my eyes away from my ex-boyfriend.

"So Lacrosse is like field hockey?" Alison questioned. Obviously Jackson didn't do a great job explaining the sport if she still had questions.

"Sort of? The sticks are weird, but it makes sense when you see it in action," Alison nodded at Lydia's comment, seemingly content. I scanned the players for my brother and was surprised to see him glancing over towards the stands. I waved at him with a smile, but didn't get a wave back. I looked to my right at Alison, then back at Scott. They were both staring at each other with interest and my wave snapped Alison out of her daze, her brown eyes widening.

"Why are you waving at him? Do you know him?"

I smirked as Lydia sighed loudly, "I should hope she does. She lives with him."

Our new friend's eyebrows furrowed in confusion, "He's my brother. Twin, technically."

Alison groaned into her hands, "Oh my god, I told you your brother was cute. I am so great at making new friends."

I patted her knee, "Relax. New friends can help with new boyfriends if you want. Not that you need it, Scott was practically mesmerized by you."

She pulled her hands off her face, a smile growing. "Scott" she said as if testing it out.

I rolled my eyes at her and turned back to the field as Coach blew the whistle. It took me a moment to realize Scott was in the goal and not Danny. I hadn't been BFF's with him lately, but I was pretty sure he didn't become great at goalie over the summer. Scott clutched his head as a player ran at him, hurling the ball and it bounced off his helmet, knocking him to his back. What the hell was that? Coach's laugh boomed over the field as the rest of the players joined in, jeering at Scott. Scott lifted his head, clearly embarrassed by what happened. He stood up, shaking off the hit as another player ran at him.

The ball left the pocket of the other player and was caught by Scott smoothly. I was momentarily stunned, never having seen Scott actually catch a ball with the pocket before. He seemed equally, if not more shocked, staring down at it with amazement.

"Yeah!" came a shout of support from the bench, from who else but Stiles. The lineup of players gawked around each other at my brother and his catch. Hopefully it wasn't a lucky catch, as Alison was now even more interested.

Player after player ran at Scott, each time he caught the ball with ease. I clapped and cupped my hands around my mouth to shout, "Go Scott!"

"He seems like he's good" Alison observed casually.

Lydia perched on the edge of her seat with a curiosity she didn't normally have for Scott. "Very good" she nodded. She turned towards me, "Has he been practicing a lot this summer? With a trainer?"

I shook my head, "Mom could never afford a trainer. I think he's practiced a lot though," I shrugged. I wish I knew more about the mysterious lacrosse skills he'd seemed to get overnight. Scott bounced with excitement in the goal, freezing in place when Jackson walked to the front of the line with aggressive determination. He was clearly not going to be shown up Scott.

"We'll see how good he is now. Jackson is the best,"

Lydia was right on the money and I nervously bit my thumb nail, watching as Jackson ran towards Scott, hurling the ball at the goal with a leap. Scott twisted in the goal, the ball catching in his net just like the dozens of times before. I jumped to my feet, screaming loudly. Lydia had joined me and both of us cheered for Scott, clapping wildly. I was unbelievably proud of him, but then I suddenly remembered bite. How was he doing so well at lacrosse and not in pain? Scott was still busy in the goal so I had to talk to the only person who would know what was going on with him.

"I'll be right back." I told the girls and I climbed down over the bleachers and strode towards Stiles. He was still jumping and shouting for Scott when I clamped a hand down on his shoulder. He let out a strangled cry of surprise and fell to the grass in a flurry of burgundy. He was never very coordinated. Stiles jumped to his feet quickly, cheeks turning pink at his embarrassing display. "Hey! Can you believe what we just saw!?"

I smiled, shaking my head. "No, I can't. Especially with that bite he's got on his side,"

Stiles was no longer smiling, "Awe jeez, he showed it to you?"

"Not since last night. I just hope he's not secretly bleeding out under his jersey."

"I'm sure he's okay Scarlett. I mean, he seems okay," he assured. We both looked to Scott who smugly tossed the ball into the assistant coach's net, stunning him. I nodded, but I still couldn't shake the feeling something was wrong with Scott. The bite or something else. "Can you just keep an eye on him for me?" I asked.

"Yeah! Definitely! Two eyes even!" his head bobbed in agreement. I smiled and turned back to the bleachers towards my friends. I paused, looking over my shoulder at him. "Hey Stiles?"

He paused from gathering up his gear, "Thanks for the jacket last night. You're a good friend," and before he could reply I ran back to my spot on the bleachers. Lydia handed me my bag and we bid farewell to Alison. She started towards the parking lot, fishing around in her bag. Glancing over my shoulder at her boyfriend, who was staring after us looking none too pleased. "Aren't we waiting for Jackson?"

"Nope. My mom dropped my car off earlier. The brakes are all fixed so we don't have to rely on him for rides anymore."

I dramatically lifted my arms to the sky, "Thank you Jesus!" I exclaimed. Lydia playfully swatted at me, "He's not that bad."

I slid into her blue car, "You only feel that way because he's your boyfriend. To the rest of us he's moderately tolerable at best. Don't get me started on the musical number he gave my neighborhood this morning with his car horn."

"I love Jackson. He's just got a hard exterior for everyone," she reasoned and I held my hands up in defeat. "I know, I know."

I leaned back into my seat, watching the trees race by as we passed the Reserve. She'd put on a Marina & the Diamonds CD, but I wasn't really listening to the song. My thoughts flooded back to Scott again and it was like Lydia could hear them. She turned down the stereo and took a quick sideways glance at me. "So how is reconnecting with your brother going?"

"I think somethings up with him. He got lost in the Reserve last night and I had to go get him. Something bit him, I don't know what 's what I was up so late doing, tracking him down with Stiles. He works tonight, but I'm demanding to see the bite when he gets home," I nervously twisted the end of my ponytail as I vented to her.

"What if it's infected and he's getting adrenaline rushes to his heart right before he dies? And that's why he was so amazing at practice?"

Lydia rolled her eyes, "That's ridiculous. If it was infected he would be getting weaker from his body shutting down. Don't you pay attention in science?"

"Not all of us are geniuses like Lydia Martin," she hmm'd in agreement. We pulled up to my house just as the sun was setting and after a promise to be ready on time in the morning, Lydia was headed home. After changing into leggings and a loose t-shirt I'd found in the laundry basket, I started on my homework. There thankfully wasn't that much from the first day, save from Mr. Harris. Even on the easiest school day of the year he had to load us up with fifteen pages of reading. I was nearly finished when my stomach growled and I realized it was past dinner time. Mom was working an overnight shift so it was up to me to fix dinner.

I dug through the fridge to find chicken that had nearly reached it's expiration so I coated it with some seasoning and starting sautéing it on the stove. Tossing a bag of frozen veggies in the microwave, I leaned back on the counter as the chicken finished and flipped through my phone, texting Alison about meeting up before English in the quad tomorrow. She hadn't replied and I was just starting to worry we'd scared her off when my phone beeped.

I have SO much to tell you in the morning! See you before class :)

I am living vicariously through Lydia so I can't wait! I replied, sliding my phone back on the counter. I heard the front door shut and I poked my head out from the kitchen. "Scott?"

He came into view, soaking wet from the rain, but he didn't look upset about it at all. Instead he looked strangely pleased. Scott eyed the chicken on the stove hungrily and I pointed at the kitchen table for him to sit while I plated it.

"Have I said how much we need a car? Riding my bike in the rain sucks," he bemoaned, stabbing at his broccoli.

"That's why we are working! To get a car!" I replied, digging into my own dinner. I eyed him as he wolfed down the food on his plate before I could even cut my first piece of chicken. He paused from inhaling his food, frowning at me. "Wut?" he asked with a mouthful of food.

I pointed my fork at him, "You are acting to freaking weird. When did you get so good at goalie? You totally owned Jackson today out there,"

Scott shrugged, "I practiced a lot with Stiles this summer, not that you'd know that."

My eyebrows shot into my hairline at his dig and I felt my cheeks burn. He was right, so I told him so. "You're right," he stared at me quizzically, clearly he hasn't heard that too often. "I'm sorry I've been such a shit sister. I want to be a better one and a better friend. To you and Stiles."

"So not such a bitch?"

"Scott!" I admonished, but a smile crept onto his face and I could tell he was kidding. Sort of anyway. I tossed my napkin at him and he caught it before it hit, tossing it back at me. He put his plate in the sink while I finished eating and put the leftovers in the fridge for Mom. Scott pulled out his Chemistry homework with a groan and I nodded towards my finished papers on the counter. "Go for it."

He shook his head, "Man, you are serious! And you say I'm the one being weird!"

"You are! You have a serious wound, which by the way you need to show me right now, and kicked ass on the field today! I already had Lydia discredit my crazy idea about adrenaline rushing to your heart before you die!"

"Hey that's what I thought too! Stiles shot it down and basically told me I'm turning into a werewolf," Scott didn't look up from my notes as he copied them down. "Uh Scotty?"

His shaggy head lifted with a guilty look, "I don't want to show it to you Scarlett."

We stared at each other in a stalemate and I suddenly jumped from the table, running at Scott with the attempt to lift his shirt. He dodged me effortlessly, "No!"

"Show it to me!" I screeched, chasing him around the dinner table and up the stairs. He was in his room with the door locked before I even cleared the landing. I pounded on his door, "How the hell are you so fast? I'm going to tell Mom when she gets home that you're delusional with infection and you'll have to show me!"

"Just go to bed Scarlett! Don't worry about it!" he shouted back. I stormed into my room and crawled into bed. Here I was, trying to mend our relationship and he was defensive over nothing! My mind whirled with possibilities of what was going on with him. Holy crap, what if he was on steroids? That would explain the sudden appearance of the pull up bar in his doorway and the lacrosse skills. There was no way with his asthma he would have beaten me up the stairs like he did. I flipped off the light and resolved to figure out what was wrong with him in the morning, with or without his permission.

AN: Hello to my new followers/favorites! I have the second part of this chapter going up before Sunday! Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Read and review. :)