The raw energy from winning the first lacrosse game lasted throughout all of the next week. So did Allison's excitement over her first kiss with Scott. I'd received a full report on what had happened inside the locker room: Allison's horror flick moment in the dark, Scott's apology for his weird-ass behavior, her encouragement, and their extremely enjoyable kisses. Then of course, Stiles had walked in and made everything a little awkward, but she still hadn't stopped talking about it. We talked about Scott when I invited her over to my house to study for chemistry. We talked about Scott when we went out to celebrate passing the test. And of course, we talked about Scott all other times in between. I knew Allison was trying to hold up other conversations for my sake, but she was so wrapped up in the boy that it seemed most of the time she could think of nothing else. I was caught somewhere between playful amusement and pulling my hair out of my scalp in chunks in annoyance. The only time I was guaranteed to be with Allison and have her not talk about Scott was when we were with Scott. Mostly, that time was used to help cultivate my growing friendship with Stiles, as we both tried to break up the adorable couple or politely ignore them.

Between schoolwork and the impressive amount of effort I was spending on maintaining my friendships, I was exhausted and more than ready to kick back and hang out with my mom for a nice Saturday. She didn't technically have to work on the weekends, and Lydia and her mother were both out as well, which meant Mom and I had the house to ourselves to kick back and relax with a mother-daughter movie marathon. And that's what I'd planned on doing. Until I received a string of texts from Allison.

"Hey Sadie! What's up?"

"Hey, do you have plans today?"

"Sadie, I kind of need to you to come over."

I raised my eyebrows at the messages, texting her back.

"I'm supposed to hang out with my mom today, but I guess I can come. Is everything okay?"

I grudgingly got off the couch and went to my mom's office, sticking my head inside.

"Hey Mom?" I asked tentatively.

"Hm?" She looked up at me over her glasses from her desk, where she was finishing off some reports.

"I just got some texts from Allison asking me to go over to her house."

"Is everything okay?" she asked with concern. She'd instantly taken to Allison's polite and shy demeanor when she'd come over.

"I'm not sure," I replied. "I'm waiting to hear back from her, but… I'm really sorry, but do you think you could drop me off at her house?" My mother sighed.

"Yeah, that's fine. I should probably finish these reports anyway, but this does not mean you get out of movie watching!"

"Wouldn't dream of it," I laughed. "Thanks, Mommy." I tapped the doorframe and jogged up to my room. Halfway up the stairs, my phone went off with Allison's reply.

"Yeah, sorry. Didn't mean to scare you. Dress cute."

Instead of replying with some snarky reply about how I always looked cute, I tossed the phone onto my bed and started to get changed. I wasn't sure what Allison was so urgently calling me for that required good fashion sense, but I thought I'd give it a shot anyway. I decided on a yellow camisole tucked in a pair of high-waisted denim shorts. I also had on black stockings, ankle boots, and a blazer-cut sweatshirt. Once I'd done my makeup and fastened my dog tags around my neck, I trotted back downstairs to meet up with my mom.

She dropped me off at Allison's house a few minutes later, leaving me with a kiss on the cheek and an order to text her when Allison told me what was up. I only had to wait a few seconds after I'd knocked for the door to swing up. Rather than the panicked friend I'd been expecting, I was suddenly face to face with Mrs. Argent.

"Sadie! You look lovely," she greeted, stepping aside to let me into the house.

"Hi, Mrs. Argent. And thank you!"

"Allison's up in her room," she informed me. I smiled politely before dashing up the stairs and right up to her door. I knocked furiously, and a moment later it flung open.

"Oh thank God," Allison sighed in relief, snatching my wrist and dragging me into the room.

"Allison, what the hell is going on?" I asked, falling on the end of her bed from the momentum. I groaned, shifting to pull out several hangers from underneath me. I looked around to see Allison had thrown several articles of clothing all over the room. My eyebrows rose higher.

"I uh, need your help. With an outfit." Deciding that there was no immediate danger, I sighed and stood up, brushing myself off.

"Outfit for what?" I asked, joining her at the closet.

"Scott," she replied simply. I rounded on her with a glare.

"Okay, I get that you really like this kid Allison, but if you brought me over here and had me cancel my plans just so I could help you with your outfit-!"

"No! No, of course not," she denied. "I needed a favor, I just need help with the outfit first. Please?" As I stared at her, I realized that her relationship with Scott would most likely be the death of me. She's already been around him so long that she was adopting his puppy eyes. My resolve crumpled, and I grunted wordlessly, turning to the closet. Allison bounced next to me as I ripped through her clothing. Finally, I pulled out a casual green dress and a denim jacket.

"Here," I huffed. "With leggings, ballet flats and one of your scarves."

"Thank you!" she sang, gently prying the hangers from my hands.

"Please don't mention it," I replied, still grumpy. "Now would you like to tell me what I'm doing here?"

"Well," she started, beginning to return the discarded clothes to her closet so that she didn't have to meet my eye. "Scott asked me to go out with him today."

"Yeah, I know Allison. You told me," I snapped. "Actually you probably told me he asked you out like, eight times."

"I know," she moaned, her face scrunching up in discomfort. "But I… I kind of panicked when I told my parents. It's just, you know, ever since the game they've been super over protective. Actually, not the game, since before the game when Scott showed up at my house. And I don't know what it is, cause I mean they let me go to your party the first week of school and they didn't even care that I didn't invite Scott inside. But ever since my dad met him he's been kind of controlling, and mom too and with the curfew and everything I didn't want them to say no and I totally thought they were gonna say no, even my mom-!"

"Allison!" I shouted, cutting off her increasingly rapid rambling. "What did you do?" She shut the closet door and turned to look at me.

"I told them that Scott and I were going out for lunch, but that you were coming with us."

"Allison!" I groaned, letting my head fall back.

"I know! I know, I'm sorry, I panicked!"

"You know how I feel about being a third wheel!"

"I know!" she repeated. "And I already talked to Scott. I explained the whole thing to him, about how sorry I was that it wasn't just gonna be us, and then I had to bring you along because I freaked out in front of my parents. So he's bringing Stiles." I sighed, still supremely angry but at least slightly placated that I wouldn't be totally alone.

"Fine," I growled, turning my back on her so I could sit in her desk chair once more.

"Ugh! You're the best, Sadie!" Allison reminded me. "I'm sorry again, and I completely owe you."

"Oh yeah, you owe me big time," I agreed, sliding my phone out of my purse as she stepped out the door to go change in the bathroom. A second later, her head popped back in.

"Unless you wanna say I did you a favor and this is a double date," she suggested with a wink. I glared lethally at her.

"Don't. Push it." She winced.

"Right. Running." She closed the door and sprinted off to the bathroom. Reluctantly, I opened a new message to my mother.

"Apparently I'm going out to lunch with Allison, Scott and Stiles."

When she replied a few minutes later, it was with a laughable response I really should have seen coming.

"A doubl date?!1!?"

I rolled my eyes at the typos she'd made in her haste to send the message. For someone who worked with computers for a living, she was never really good with texting or using her phone.

"No Mom, it's not a double date. Stiles and I are only going to cover up the fact that Allison and Scott want to go on a date at all. I'll talk to you later. Love you!"

Her rapid reply alerted me to the fact that she hadn't even put her phone down, waiting eagerly for my response.

"Fine. Love you too. GOOD LUCK!"

I heaved a sigh as I dropped my phone back into my bag and collapsed back onto the bed. I remained frozen there until Allison returned from the bathroom. She giggled a little when she saw my awkward position, but continued about her business in the room, putting clothes back and putting on make up.

"Allison?" I asked suddenly.

"Uh-huh?"

"You didn't…tell Scott that joke about this being a double date, right?" Allison put down the eyeliner she was holding, turning around to look at me with a slightly disbelieving expression.

"No!" she exclaimed earnestly. "Sadie, of course not. I'm…I'm just teasing you. I'll try to stop making such a big deal out of it."

"Promise?" I asked, raising my head with a little difficulty. Allison smiled.

"Promise." We both giggled, but before we could say anything else, the sound of a car pulling into the driveway drifted through the open window. Allison jumped up, running over and waving out with a grin. "Come on, they're here." I groaned, dropping my head back onto the pillows. "Up!" she ordered with a laugh, grabbing my wrist and physically tugging me out of the bed. Finally I gave up and followed her down the stairs. "Bye, Mom!" she called over her shoulder, and I echoed her with, "Bye, Mrs. Argent!"

"Alright, be safe! Have fun!" she called back, but Allison and I were already halfway out the door.

Waiting for us in the driveway was Stiles's slightly banged up Jeep. While it wasn't in the best condition, it was obvious he took good care of it. The black hood and doors weren't dingy, and the faded blue on the rest of the car was even and shining. Still, I rolled my eyes as we approached, Scott hopping out of the passenger seat so that Allison and I could climb into the back.

"Hey, Scott," she said, giving the boy a quick peck before accepting his waiting hand to help her into the car.

"Great," I grumbled as she climbed. "The Stalker-mobile."

"Hi, Stiles," Allison laughed, passing his shocked face as she settled in the back.

"Hey!" he barked, brandishing a finger as I climbed in. "Respect the Jeep, okay? I don't have to drive you anywhere."

"Actually, Stiles, you kind of do," Scott chuckled from somewhere behind me. I groaned as I tumbled into the back, desperate to not get stuck half-over the seat. I managed to hit my head on something, crouching uncomfortably so there was room for Allison. I held onto the driver's headrest for balance.

"God, there is like no room in here," I complained. "Next group outing, we take the minivan." Stiles let out a derisive laugh.

"Oh, so it's cool that you drive your mom's minivan, but you can have a fit over the car that I actually own?"

"Actually, yeah. Exactly," I replied in a sickly sweet voice.

"Alright, kids," Scott interrupted, attempting not to laugh. "That's enough." I rolled my eyes with a smirk. Allison leaned forward, wrapping her arms around Scott's shoulders from behind.

"So, where are we going?" Scott turned to smile at her shyly.

"You'll see." He turned to look expectantly at Stiles.

"Right," the twitchy boy said loudly. "Yes, my cue. Sorry." After that, the Jeep pulled back out of the driveway, and we hit the road.

Scott's plan hadn't really been all that elaborate. His mysterious "you'll see" winded up just being a chain café on the end of town that Allison and I hadn't been to before. As soon as the car was in park, I was already beginning to climb over the seat, batting at Scott's shoulder so I could get out. He laughed but obliged, and I poured myself out of the car, gripping the edge of the Jeep as Scott gracefully helped Allison out.

"That sucked," I groaned, wincing as I tried to straighten my legs. "It's like everything from the knees down is asleep."

"Don't be such a baby," Stiles teased, rolling his eyes as he locked the car. I replied with the most mature, dignified response I could think of.

"Don't be such a baby!" I mocked in a high, baby voice. Stiles shook his head with a grin.

"You gonna be able to walk, or are you so crippled I have to roll you in?"

"Shut up, Stilinski," I laughed, swatting at his shoulder as we led the way to the building.

"Hey, I'm just saying, if you're convincingly disabled I might be able to move to a handicapped spot."

We all walked up to the café, Scott running ahead so he could hold to door open. I smirked. It was supposed to be his date though, so I guess he felt like he still had to try and be chivalrous. After ordering our food and paying at the counter, Scott covering both his and Allison's meals, Allison took his hand.

"Um, Scott and I will go find a table. You guys wait for the food?"

"Yeah, sure. Scram, you two," I agreed, still attempting to neatly organize my change in my wallet. "Sorry about what I said about the Jeep," I apologized to Stiles, still looking down at my purse.

"Hm? Oh, no, don't worry about it. I know you were joking."

"Honestly, I think the Jeep's pretty kickass," I admitted, hoisting my bag back up onto my shoulder. Stiles beamed proudly.

"Yes! Thank you! I mean I know she's kind of crap, but an awesome crap." I chuckled, nodding in agreement as I leaned my arms on the counter.

"Yeah, just not that awesome for groups of three plus." Stiles sighed, leaning his back against the counter next to me.

"Yeah, okay, I'll give you that," he agreed, tossing his head to the side. "How about this? Next time round, you can drive."

"Sure," I snorted. "Thanks for the offer, but I'd prefer not to chaperone Allison and Scott's dates too often."

"No!" Stiles amended, eyes wide. "Right. That is not something I want to do."

"I mean I love Allison," I started, running my fingers through my hair. "But sometimes I feel like all we're ever talking about is Scott."

"I'd say I'm sorry for your suffering," Stiles chuckled, "but I'm kinda too happy it's not just me."

"Absolutely not." We quickly thanked the woman behind the counter for our food. I laughed when I saw Stiles's tray, filled to the brim with more food than I might be able to eat in a day.

"Hey," he said defensively. "I'm a growing teenage boy."

"I-I didn't say anything," I smirked. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, keep laughing." He picked up his tray, struggling for a moment as he tried to carry both Scott's and his own overflowing one.

"Oh my God, just give it to me," I groaned. I grabbed my own tray in my left hand, balanced Allison's on my forearm above it, and snatched Scott's from the counter with my right hand. Stiles looked on with awe as I easily walked away.

"You're uh—you're really good at that," he offered, tripping after me with his own food.

"Eh," I brushed off. "Just practice from fooling around with my mom. She used to be a waitress." We rounded the corner to see Allison and Scott at a booth in the corner. They were both leaning over the table intimately, holding hands and giggling as they stared at each other. I repressed a gag.

"Should we, uh…let 'em be?" Stiles asked tentatively.

"Nope," I replied brightly.

"Uh, no?"

"Nope," I repeated. "Today was supposed to be a day of relaxation. Kick back, pajamas all day, and hanging out with my mom. But I had to cancel, cause Allison and Scott needed us to be their date-training-wheels. You know what good training wheels do, Stiles?"

"Um, they, uh," he stammered, clearly thrown by the unexpected metaphor. "They help the big wheels learn to uh, balance on their own?"

"They stay screwed to the bike," I said, my tone borderline sadistic. Then I quickly glided over to the booth, slamming Scott's tray on the table and grinning evilly as Scott and Allison jumped apart. "Hey guys!" I sang, as Stiles snickered behind me. "So! A meal for Scott, a meal for Allison, a meal for me, and an entire grocery store for Stiles."

"Ha ha," Stiles laughed sarcastically as he sat.

"God, Sadie," Allison sighed, hand on her still heaving chest. "You um…scared us…"

"Yeah," I replied with a wink, sliding into my seat next to her. "Just a reminder that we're here, so no making out. As you were." Allison shoved me a little while Scott smiled sheepishly.

We talked collectively for a few minutes about anything and everything. We talked about school, the lives Allison and I had left behind in San Francisco and Menlo Park respectively, and what music we liked. I actually felt completely at ease, despite the fact I had wanted to stay at home. I was confident that I could be good friends with not only Allison, but Scott and Stiles as well. The couple had drifted off a few times, causing Stiles or me to make some loud comment to bring them back to Earth. But eventually, Scott and Allison were completely wrapped up in each other again. Tired of trying to keep their attention, Stiles rolled his eyes and turned back to me.

"So, what were you supposed to do?" he asked, shoving a wedge cut fry in his mouth.

"Hm?" I asked through a mouth of cookie.

"You said you were hanging out with your mom," he elaborated, slightly muffled. "What were guys gonna do?"

"Oh, we were just having a night in," I explained, waving my hand as I took a sip of my drink. "It's pretty much a regular thing, but it depends what our schedules are like. Every now and then we'll just order dinner in, clear our schedules and watch a movie or two together, or like marathon a television show. Usually it's me showing her stuff," I laughed. "She works from home, so she doesn't get out much."

"You sound like you're pretty close," Stiles observed, watching me from over the top of his own cup. I smiled.

"Yeah, we are. I've been trying to spend more time with her since the move too. I kind of feel like it's my job, you know?" I looked down at my plate, hand reaching for my dog tags as it usually did when conversation edged near the topic of my father. I could feel Stiles's copper eyes darting over my skin, and even though Allison and Scott were in another world, his attention was completely focused on me. After a few seconds, he spoke up.

"That's cool," he said simply. I looked up with my eyes slightly wide. I was met with a pair of carefully disinterested eyes, but I couldn't tell how much he actually knew. It was completely plausible that Allison had mentioned my father's death to Scott, who had in turn told Stiles. Or maybe Stiles, being as crazed about Lydia as he was, had found out about the new girl living with her from someone else. As easy as these solutions were, neither of them seemed right to me. Something soft in Stiles's eyes told me that he didn't just know or pity me, but understood, as if he had somehow figured out about my father just by looking at me and was gently avoiding the subject. "I'm the same way with my dad."

"That's cool," I echoed with a soft smile. Stiles nodded with a grin, thinking about his father.

"Yeah, I kind of have to force him to have meals with me so I can make sure he's eating right. He's not really supposed to have fries or burgers or greasy stuff like that."

"Hm, he's your father," I smirked, taking another bite of my cookie. "Isn't he supposed to be the one telling you not to eat junk food?"

"That's what he says!" Stiles replied energetically, waving his hands around. "But the doctor keeps saying he has to keep his cholesterol down and his blood pressure and stuff. But Dad's always working so it's kind of up to me to make sure he eats right." I smiled at his clear frustration.

"I'm sure he loves that."

"Yeah," he replied dryly. "Keeps telling me I'm ruining his life. Real thankful."

"Well I think it's sweet that you feel responsible for him," I complimented. Stiles shrugged, his cheeks getting a tad patchy.

"Right back at you," he shot, and I chuckled. "So what were you gonna watch with your mom?"

"Um, never got around to deciding," I answered. "Probably a couple old horror movies or something?" Stiles raised his eyebrows with interest.

"That's awesome! Your choice?" I smirked, shrugging.

"Mom said she wanted to watch a classic, so I told her that it better be a classic, poorly filmed horror because I was not watching West Side Story again." He laughed.

"Okay, okay," he said, swallowing another gulp of soda. "So if you were picking the movie, what would you go for?"

"Hm, not sure," I admitted, resting my chin in my hand. "Probably the original Dracula. Maybe The Wolf Man." Stiles stiffened and his eyes widened.

"Did you just say what I think you said?" he blurted before I could ask what was wrong.

"What-?" I started, but he cut me off.

"Did you just say that The Wolf Man was a poorly filmed movie?!"

"Oh come on," I replied, slouching back in my chair. "I just meant it's old and low budget compared to today's standards."

"Ol-? Low bud-? H-How could you say that?!" he demanded. "That movie is awesome, okay? It's a classic! It should be like, mandatory to watch! For everyone! I keep telling Scott he has to watch it, because it's so unbelievably relevant and important and-!"

"Hey! I know!" I cut him off defensively. "I just said that it was like, my top pick, okay? You don't need to tell me how much of a classic it is, I'm just saying that the technology of the time held it back. It was what, like, the 1940's? It was poorly filmed."

"No!" Stiles retorted immediately. "No, no, no! You do not get to call a cinematic masterpiece like The Wolf Man 'poorly filmed,' okay?! That's like—That's like blasphemy! Okay, you only use that term for movies where they had the ability to be better, for—for like shit movies like Killer Klowns from Outer Space or something."

"Shut up," I said immediately, laying my hands on the table.

"What? No! I don't want you talking bad about the first classic werewolf movie when-!"

"No, no! Stop! I mean you know Killer Klowns from Outer Space?" Stiles froze, staring at me with wide confused eyes.

"Yes, of course I know Killer Klowns from Outer Space," he replied rapidly. "Why do you know Killer Klowns from Outer Space?" My face split into a huge, gaping grin.

"Um, it's only like my favorite crappy movie of all time?" Stiles sagged back into the booth, still staring at me with awed eyes.

"Seriously?" I nodded, still grinning. Suddenly, he mirrored my expression, springing up to lean forward on the table. "No, but like seriously?! Oh my God, this is like the best thing that has ever happened."

Stiles and I then launched into a long conversation about our favorite shit-movies. We discussed the pros and cons of each, talked about the filming and plot holes and flaws of each one, and got violently defensive if the other insulted a "quality movie." It was fantastic.

Suddenly, the sound of a phone ringing cut through both conversations. Allison jumped, fumbling with her purse as we turned to watch. She rolled her eyes when she glanced at the caller ID.

"It's my mom," she informed us. "Sorry, I have to take this."

"Yeah, no, that's fine," Scott replied to the apology. I got up letting her slid out of the booth and walk to the door. I sat back down, giggling as I watched Stiles fidget in his seat. After a few seconds, he burst.

"Yeah, that extra large Coke was a bad idea. I'll be right back." He sprang up and speed-walked to the opposite end of the café, racing for the bathroom and leaving Scott and I in semi-awkward silence.

"Hey, Sadie?" Scott asked a few seconds later. I looked over at his content, brown, puppy eyes before he went on. "I just wanted to say thanks for coming out with us today. I'm sorry you had to cancel your plans."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Scott," I replied earnestly. "Nothing that can't be rescheduled. Glad I could help, I guess."

"Are you having a nice time?" he prodded hopefully, raising his eyebrows and leaning forward, and I laughed a bit at his nervousness.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I assured him. "I'm having fun. Thanks for bringing the fourth wheel." I jerked my head towards the bathroom, and Scott smiled.

"Ha, anytime," he chuckled.

"What about you?" I countered, taking a sip of my almost-empty drink. "Are you having a good time with Allison?" Scott suddenly grew nervous, furrowing his brow and smiling sheepishly.

"Aren't I not supposed to talk to you about that?" he asked tentatively. "I mean you're Allison's friend."

"If this is gonna work, Scott, we're gonna have to be friends too," I teased. "Didn't you ever listen to the Spice Girls?" He chewed on his bottom lip, lowering his eyes and mulling over the question.

"I can't believe she even wants to go out with me," he admitted after some deliberation. "I like her. Ever since you guys walked into the school it's like I can't get her out of my head. Like, I really, really like her."

"Hm, I see," I drawled, smiling knowingly. "The breathless, dizzying kind of like where she's all you can think about or talk about, you dream about her, and kind of forget about everything else when you're around her? That kind of like?"

"Yeah," he said with a small smile full of wonder. "How'd you guess?" I shrugged.

"You're pretty obvious about it. Plus, you seem the type." I grinned. "Between you and me, Allison really likes you too."

"W-What kind of like?" he asked with wide eyes. I glanced out the window to check that Allison was still on the phone with her mom, looking pretty annoyed.

"The kind where she talks about you a lot, and her heart beats faster when she's around you. But I guess you already know that."

"What?" Scott blanched. "Why would I know that?" I raised an eyebrow.

"Um, cause she's not exactly subtle either? I figured you would have noticed how nervous and shy she can get around you, unless you're actually that naïve." Relief flooded over Scott's face.

"Oh, yeah," he chuckled uneasily. "I-I-I thought you meant that—that I could like hear her heartbeat or something and—and I was…confused…" I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Okay…" I drifted off. Scott was definitely weird. I honestly thought that he was a good kid with good intentions, and his feelings for Allison were obviously very real, but there was still something about him I didn't like. No, that wasn't the word. I didn't…buy. There were too many things about his that I didn't understand. The sudden appearance of his lacrosse talent was a good place to start, along with his skittish behavior, and whatever his connection was to Derek Hale. I'd never gotten a real answer about what had happened at the party, from Scott, from Stiles, or even from Allison when she explained that she'd forgiven Scott. But now that we were alone for a few seconds… I snapped. "Can I ask you something?" I blurted. Scott looked up from his empty plate, startled.

"Uh, yeah. Go for it."

"It's just…" I stared at him hard, licking my lips before reaffirming my resolve and pressing on. "I know that Allison's forgiven you for everything that happened, but… Are we ever gonna hear an explanation as to what happened to you at my party?" Scott's face fell.

"Sadie, look, I am so sorry-," he started, but I waved him off.

"Yeah, Scott I know you are, and I believe you. I really do. I just want to know if you're gonna tell me what was so terrible that you just left the party sweating and wincing and left your friends behind. Honestly."

"I had a really good reason," he said quietly, looking up at me through his eyelashes with his best set of pleading, puppy eyes. "Can you just trust me?"

"I don't know, Scott," I replied honestly. "Can I?" We stared at each other in silence for what felt like an eternity, and I willed myself not to give in and tell him to forget about the party.

"Yes," he answered finally. I took a deep breath.

"You're going to have to tell me something. Like…Derek Hale." Instantly I saw the change in Scott's demeanor. His entire body seemed to tense up, and I could see he was clenching his jaw.

"What about Derek?" he asked lowly.

"I know you said that he's not your friend…"

"He's not my friend," he emphasized, nearly growling.

"I know," I assured him, slightly freaked out by the sudden ferocity. I could see why Allison had been worried. "But you obviously know him. Why else would he pretend you two were friends so he could drive Allison home? How else would he know about how you gave her the pen on the first day of school?"

"He said what?" Suddenly Scott was sitting straight up, completely at attention and alert. I jumped a little at his change of stature, then narrowed my eyes, considering his demeanor for a moment.

"Did…did you and Allison talk at all about what happened after you left the party…?"

"No," he answered immediately. "She said you guys didn't talk much, and all Stiles said was that he'd given Allison a ride. Why? What did he say?" It was a demanding tone, and the urgency and power in Scott's voice scared me a bit. But it didn't scare me any more than my other thoughts about Derek Hale.

"Well he showed up saying he was a friend of yours, and then described you a little. He said he was a part of the reason you were so good at lacrosse, and when I didn't believe that he was your friend, he mentioned that you'd told him about giving Allison your pen on the first day of school, and how it was cute you never shut up about her. Which you don't, so obviously you do know this guy. No more lying." Scott stared at his hands for a moment, which were clenching his tray so hard his knuckles were white, and I wouldn't have been too surprised if he'd left dents under his fingers.

"Derek and I aren't friends," he said slowly, choosing his words carefully. "I met him earlier in the year. We've talked a couple times, mostly him talking to me, but he must have heard about the pen from someone else. I think… I think he drove Allison home because he wants me to trust him…" I considered that statement for a moment. Okay, it was vague, but it was more than I'd had before and seemed fairly plausible.

"Okay," I conceded. Scott looked up at me with cautious consideration. "But what does that have to do with me?"

"Nothing," he replied, his eyebrows descending over his eyes once more in confusion. "Why?" I bit my lip, glancing around the café as I clasped my hands tightly on the table. Allison was still outside, and Stiles nowhere to be found.

"Have you or Stiles mentioned me at all?"

"No," Scott assured me. "Sadie, what's going on?" I took a deep breath, chewing on my lip and glancing nervously at Allison's date.

"Derek showed up to the library during my shift. That wouldn't really be weird except for the fact that he doesn't seem like a library guy, and he took out all the same books Stiles had returned earlier, and…he knew my name... He knew who I was even though I never introduced myself, and from what I can guess, Allison didn't tell him either." Scott stared at me with wide eyes.

"Wha-? Wh-? But-! Wh-When…?"

"Back when Jackson was in the hospital," I replied after I'd chosen one of the several unfinished questions. "Scott, why does Derek care who I am?"

"I don't-!" Scott was still spluttering. "Wh-Why wouldn't you tell someone about this earlier?!" I semi-glared.

"Why would I ask you about someone you weren't supposed to know?" Scott huffed, looking around almost frantic, and then banging his elbows on the table, running his hands through his hair. "Scott…Is Derek dangerous?" Scott slowly looked up at me and held solemn eye contact with me for a few seconds. He seemed to be deliberating something, and though he didn't speak, his answer was clear.

"Wow," Stiles's voice interrupted as he walked up behind me, leaning on the edge of the booth's seat casually. "Okay, so eyes a little bigger than my stomach. Remind me not to do that again." Scott and I broke eye contact to glance up at him, still staring wordlessly, before looking back at each other. "What?" Stiles asked, not missing the motion. I could tell Scott looked worried, and I couldn't help but imagine I looked worse. "What's going on, guys?" Scott looked up at his best friend, opening his mouth to say something, but no words ever came out. Instead, Allison burst through the door and sped over to the table laughing.

"Oh, God, guys I am so sorry about that. My mom is like, literally insane sometimes." Three heads immediately snapped to Allison, wide eyed and mouths slightly agape. Scott recovered first.

"Oh that's uh… That's okay don't worry about it." Allison beamed at him, completely oblivious to the rest of the natural world beyond the two of them, as usual. I could feel Stiles's curious eyes on me as I looked at Scott with something akin to disbelief. Why weren't we telling her? But Scott had just continued on as if the previous conversation had not even happened.

"Apparently we've been out forever by her standards, and she and my dad are demanding I come home. I'm so, so sorry guys."

"It's fine," I mumbled.

"So, are you uh ready to go?" Scott asked with a wide smile.

"Yeah, if that's okay."

"Sure," Stiles agreed in a shaky voice. I handed Allison her purse and we quickly cleared off the table before walking to the Jeep. I noticed that Stiles stayed by my side for most of that time, and helped me in the driver's door of the car so I could sit behind him. I didn't complain once on the ride home.

When we pulled up to Allison's house, Scott jumped out first. Allison went to get up, then paused to look back at me.

"Oh, are you coming in?"

"Um…" I paused, looking between the three curious faces in front of me. "A-Actually, I kinda want to get back to my mom. Stiles, would you be able to drive me home?"

"Yup, sure," he agreed, settling forward in his seat and glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

"Thanks." Allison hugged me in the extremely cramped space that was the Jeep's "backseat."

"Thank you so, so much for coming," she breathed, squeezing me tightly. "I promise I will make it up to you." I laughed.

"Allison, don't worry about it. I'm gonna go hang out with my mom now, and honestly I had a blast today. But you still owe me one." I winked and she giggled.

"Absolutely. I'll talk to you later." She climbed gracefully over the front seat. "Bye, Stiles. Thanks for driving."

"Yeah, no problem," he agreed easily. She slid out of the car.

"Good luck," I called quietly in a singsong voice, just before she closed the door. She glared playfully at me before walking up to the porch with Scott.

"What happened at the café?" Stiles asked steadily, though we were both watching the altercation on the porch.

"Honestly?" I replied. "I'll let you know when I figure it out." We watched as Scott and Allison exchanged a few more words, positively beaming at each other. Then, after a not-so-quick kiss, Allison ducked in her front door. Scott was visibly floating on air when he got back to the Jeep.

"She said yes," he informed us breathily.

"To what?" I asked, stretching out my legs as much as I could in order to take full advantage of the extra room.

"Another shot at a one on one date!" he informed me, turning back with a smile. "We're going out later this week."

"Well, great," Stiles cheered in a less-than-ecstatic voice as we pulled back onto the road. "Dude, that's super. Fantastic. Now does someone want to tell me what happened at the café while I was in the bathroom?" Scott sobered up immediately, and I watched his body motions as he figured out what he wanted to say. He shifted in his seat, first turning to look out the window, then sighing and turning his body in so he was facing Stiles and could easily see me.

"Derek talked to Sadie," he finally decided on. Stiles went rigid in his seat, suddenly glancing from the road to his best friend to the rearview mirror to my face in the back and everywhere in between.

"Wh-What?!" he asked in a high voice. "About what? When was this?"

"The day you returned those werewolf books to the library," I said quietly from the back. Stiles glanced back in alarm, and I could see his shoulders tensing for a yell, so I scrambled up waving my hands. "Before you freak out!" I interjected. "You and Scott were denying that you knew Derek at all, so I didn't tell you until you admitted you did." Stiles balked, clearly at a loss for words.

"I told her that we've talked to Derek a couple times, and he probably drove Allison home from her party because he wants to gain my trust," Scott said strongly. I glanced over at him, observing his intense gaze on Stiles. It wasn't just the fact that he was talking as if I wasn't there that bothered me. It was the wording he used, like "I told her that" instead of "I told her about." It just made the whole thing seem like more lies.

"But why would he go to you?" Stiles asked. "I mean it's not like you're really close to Scott."

"You're asking me like I have a clue?" I spat. "I have no idea, and you morons won't even tell me everything."

"What did he say?" Stiles pressed, ignoring my jab. I sighed.

"Not much. I mean, he took out all of the books that you returned, which meant he had to file for a library card, which he obviously didn't have. I thanked him for getting Allison home and then he said something super creepy like 'I'm sure I'll see you around, Sadie.' And he just left."

"Well what the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Stiles demanded, looking frustratingly back and forth between the road and the passenger seat where Scott sat.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Look." He turned farther around in the passenger seat so he could look right at me. "I'm sure it's nothing. Derek just gets super creepy and annoying. I'll try and go talk to him, though." I nodded slightly, not completely buying it.

"Woah," Stiles objected from the driver's seat. "You can't just go talk to Derek! The guy's a huge freaking w-w…weirdo!" Scott glanced over at him as the Jeep pulled onto my road.

"I'm not gonna start anything. I just want to know what he knows about Sadie."

"You should also probably ask about the books," I added. "That was additionally super weird."

"Yeah, well we're more worried about you than the books," Stiles grumbled as he parked in front of the house. I didn't miss the longing look he cast over it, scanning the driveway for Lydia's car and the windows for a glimpse of her strawberry blonde hair.

"Here, give me your phone," Scott ordered. I fished it out of my purse and handed it to him. "You haven't seen him since then, right?" he asked, and I shook my head. "Okay, so I'll talk to Derek figure out what happened and tell him to leave you alone, and if you see him, you can just call one of us." He smiled when he handed the phone back, and I glanced down to see "Scott McCall" and "Stiles Stilinski" added to my contacts. I glanced up, looking from Stiles back to Scott.

"I should be worried, right?" Stiles made a whining noise of consideration while Scott shook his head.

"I promise, nothing's gonna happen to you."

"Can I trust you on that?" I asked, quirking my eyebrow. Scott smiled.

"Yes." I glared back and forth between the two boys for a few more seconds, but when it was obvious I wasn't going to get any more information, I attempted to let it go.

"Fine," I huffed. "Let me get out of the car." Scott jumped out the passenger door, and Stiles helped me over the seat. "Thanks for coming, Stiles," I said when I was sitting normally in the passenger seat.

"Hey, thank you," he countered. "I had fun." I smiled, but he still looked a little shaken by the Derek conversation. "So if you need me, or you know Derek's there, if—if you even just like see him, you can—you can text me. And you should probably text me before that too so like, I have your number? So I know to pick up and stuff, you know? Yeah, you know." I smirked as he rambled, raising my eyebrows.

"Later, Stilinski," I replied, rolling my eyes.

"See ya, Bennet," he added with a nod. I slid out of the car, feet slapping the pavement as I turned to Scott.

"I guess I'll see ya, Scott." He nodded.

"Yeah, thanks for coming, Sadie. See you at school." I nodded and, resigned to my less-than-satisfactory set of answers, began to walk away.

"Hey Sadie!" Stiles called me back before I opened the door to the house. "Have fun with your mom! Wolf Man all the way!"

"Will do," I chuckled, throwing up a mock salute. I stayed on the steps as Stiles started the car back up, speeding down the road. I watched until the shining blue Stalkermobile had disappeared and then knocked my head on the front door with a sigh.

I wanted to trust Scott and Stiles when they said Derek wasn't a threat and that I didn't have to worry, but I couldn't. I believed in their determination to keep me safe, that they would try their best. But just because I believed in them didn't mean that I actually had to believe them and their stories.

I sighed as I pushed the front door open, ready to order some take out and watch werewolves run around with my mom.

I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into at Beacon Hills, but I was slightly worried I might not be ready to find out.


A/N: Wheee! I'm actually really pleased with the way this chapter came out. As you can tell, it's completely filler, all from my head. I just wanted to develop Sadie's relationship with Stiles a little more, and most importantly, Scott. I felt like I hadn't really given them enough chances to talk, and I wasn't quite ready to move onto episode 3 yet, so this lovely idea for a group "outing," not date, came to mind. While I love writing these, doing filler chapters is harder because it's all from my head. So I know you guys are probably really annoyed that I keep asking for reviews, but as this one wasn't extrapolated from the show, this time I really need your opinions! Please let me know how you're liking the story and how you feel about the characters. Thank you so much for reading and coming back for more!

-Brittney