They both stared at me and Scott said slowly, "So you had a nightmare with Carter in it and you think it wasn't yours?"

"Yes!" I cried out. "Look, I know it sounds stupid but here are the facts. The entire nightmare, I didn't feel like myself, which sounds normal for a dream but I didn't feel like myself because I wasn't myself. I was seeing everything from Carter's point of view. I was just kind of a robot and everything that happened were things she's afraid of."

"What do you mean?" Isaac asked, finally contributing to the conversation.

"She's afraid of losing her brother and the first thing that happened was that he walked away. She's afraid of car wrecks because her dad died after being hit by a car. And, something happened to Brian in a car. I didn't understand what that meant. But we were in my Jeep and I was telling her that we need to close the door and she was getting more and more scared. Then, we wrecked and she screamed and the dream ended and I woke up."

They both just stared at me. Scott said slowly, "Dude, you've been hanging out with her a lot. Maybe it was just a nightmare. You've been having them a lot lately."

"Scott, this wasn't just a nightmare! This was Carter's worst nightmare. This is what she's the most afraid of. And I dreamt it. I was inside her head. And it was terrifying. I didn't understand a lot of what she meant or why she did things but I was in her nightmare."

"I thought you said they were normal?" Isaac asked. "I mean, you were able to get into her nightmare. You opened a door when you guys lit the beacon again. Maybe she has a door too and you walked through it, into her nightmare."

"That….actually makes a lot of sense, Isaac."

"Did you just agree with Isaac?" Scott demanded. "Are you sure you're not still asleep?"

I looked down and counted my fingers quickly before I replied, "I'm sure I'm not asleep. But it does make a lot of sense. Scott, if she has a door open too, it could explain why you guys get a weird feeling from her and her brother."

"Except we don't get a weird feeling from her," Isaac interrupted. "Yeah, she's weird. But it's only her brother that I feel weird around."

"Well, keep burying your feelings for Brian then because it's Carter whose dream I was in."

"Have you talked to her yet today?" Scott questioned.

"No. I haven't seen her since last night. But I'm serious, Scott. Right before Carter's nightmare, I walked through a door in my dream, and, next thing I know, I'm standing there talking to Carter and it became her nightmare. I literally walked out of my dream and into hers."

"Okay, assuming it's all true, assuming you walked through a door and into Carter Erickson's mind, there's only one question that matters," Scott answered.

"Why does she have a door open in her mind?" Isaac finished for him.

"I don't know but there's not really a good way of asking her. I can't walk up and say, 'Hey, Carter, great run last night. B-T-dubs, did I walk through a door into your nightmares last night? You know, a nightmare where I almost killed you in my jeep?' Yeah, Scott, that will go great. She just got comfortable with me. I'm not wrecking that."

"Stiles, we know you like her, but…"

"It's not like that," I interrupted Scott. "Carter isn't Lydia. This isn't me having a crush on a girl. This is me protecting a friend who has had a rough life and needs a good friend. It's something all of us know about. I'm not going to throw that away."

Carter wasn't an open book and I didn't expect her to be. We'd only known each other for two weeks. But she let things drop. When Brian was sick, a time I didn't know a lot about, their lives stopped. Carter was 11 when it started and almost 16 when it ended. They moved from Florida, where she was born, to the East coast for her brother's health. Within a year, she lost all of her friends, her chance for dates, her sense of normalcy. Morgan pulled her out of school and homeschooled both of them. Carter didn't have friends or dates or socialization. Then, when she was adjusting to that, Morgan bounced them to Beacon Hills and threw her back into it. Carter needed normal at Beacon Hills.

"You know a lot about her," Isaac commented.

"Oh shut up. Of course I know a lot about her. I've been spending five days a week with her for two weeks now. I'm sure you know a ton about Allison too. My point is, what's going on if there's a door open in her head? Look what it's doing to us. What is it doing to her?"

"I don't know, Stiles, but let's give it a week or so," Scott calmed me. "Maybe it was a fluke. Maybe she's fine. You haven't seen her. You don't know."

"Maybe it's time for us to talk to her," Isaac interjected. "We've been avoiding her because it makes her uncomfortable. Because, as Stiles says, she can't read us. Maybe we just need to give her something to read."

"Absolutely not, wolf boy. She's not a werewolf; she's not a hunter; she's not your business. Leave her alone or I'll turn you into a rug. Do you understand me?"

"Calm down and go eat something while we get ready," Scott commanded. "We're not going to scare her. We're going to wait this one out."

I avoided everybody that morning. As soon as Brian parked the car, I leapt out, called a quick hello over my shoulder to Danny, and raced inside the building to hide in the bathroom. I was exhausted, a little scared, and very confused. I was in the stall for ten seconds when my phone buzzed with a text from Brian. "I told Danny you're having your period. The plan isn't to avoid Stiles."

"I don't care about the plan. I just can't handle things this early in the morning," I replied.

I stayed in the bathroom and played a word game on my phone until first bell rang. Then, I crept to first period. I was tired, stressed, and agitated. I wanted to be at home where I didn't feel brittle. I barely made it through French awake. Afterwards, Jason met me at my locker, like always, and I was in a fog while he talked. For the fifth or sixth time, Jason repeated, "Are you okay, Carter?"

"Hmm?" I shook myself out of my walking sleep again. Like always, Jason was carrying my backpack slung over one shoulder and his soft green eyes were focused on my face.

"Are you okay? You seem like you feel awful. I mean, you look great, like always, but you seem like you don't feel good. Are you alright? Are you sick?"

"I'm fine, Jason. I just didn't sleep that great. What were you talking about?"

"I was actually asking what you're doing on Friday. This Friday. What are you doing this Friday?" He was embarrassed, nervous, apprehensive. But hopeful. The fog was lifted and I was suddenly very, very alert and very, very, nervous.

"I don't have any plans right now. And I don't have plans to make plans. I don't do much on Fridays or weekends. So, you know, no plans." I was rambling like a damn idiot. I brought my brother back from the dead, yet I couldn't be asked out by a guy I was decently attracted to without wanting to throw up on his shoes.

"Well, do you want to do something this Friday, or Saturday? I mean, not just something. Like bowling. We could go bowling. You said you liked bowling. Do you want to go bowling? With me? On Friday or Saturday?"

"Yes." I answered too quickly. He barely had the words out of his mouth before I was almost shouting my answer at him.

"What?" Unbelieving, hopeful, shocked. We'd both stopped in the middle of the hall and we were staring at each other.

'Yes, I want to go bowling, with you, on Saturday."

"Yeah?"

'Yeah. What time?"

"umm…I didn't plan this far ahead," he admitted. "Can I tell you more later?"

"Yeah, please do."

"Okay." We continued walking, grins on both of our faces, and it happened. Later, when I had to explain to Mom what happened, I cited lack of sleep and increased adrenaline from being asked out for the first time ever as causes for my increased violence levels.

I should have realized sooner that there was going to be a hand on my ass. I should have realized sooner that there was somebody close behind me and that the three guys walking behind us were snickering. But I was too full of everything. Anxiety and happiness and adrenaline. So, when the firm grip of a too big hand found my ass, I yelped and whirled around to face my harasser, who wasn't staring at me.

"Damn, Greenberg, I see why you like her. She's got an ass on her." Unfortunately for the lacrosse team oaf, that was the last thing he said before I hit him. I put everything I was feeling into the punch and it erupted up my arm while his head snapped to the side, but I didn't give myself time to think about it. I was just so mad. I followed through with the other arm and he swayed a little. It was overkill to sweep his legs out from under him, but I was tired of reaching up to hit him.

"Carter!" Jason cried out from behind me but I was past hearing. I just jumped the big asshole. He didn't know what to do with a girl and he was already slightly dazed from the first two punches and from landing on his ass. So I was able to just keep hitting him. I hadn't been violent in a very long time. I was a good girl. I was a good girl that brought her brother back from the dead. I was a good girl that ran every day and ate healthy and did her homework and behaved herself. I was a good girl who kept herself locked away from society for five years while she and her mother figured out how to bring Brian back. I was a tired, frustrated, angry good girl that had been having an amazing moment that lit up her day when a complete asshole decided to break it up.

"Carter!" the other voice in my head briefly registered as Stiles but I didn't care. I kept hitting the idiot on the ground below me. The blood blurred any personality traits on his face. I'd broken his nose. I was on the verge of breaking his jaw. One, two, maybe three more punches and he'd have to have it locked shut.

"Carter!" Somebody grabbed me and I shoved them off before I went back to what I was doing.

"Don't. Ever. Fucking. Touch. Me. Again," I snarled. It was the first and last thing I said before I was dragged off. A strong pair of arms came down around my shoulders and I found myself sliding backwards off of the oaf on the ground.

"Get the fuck off of me, now!" I screamed it, my voice echoed down the halls and everybody fell silent. I whirled around to find myself face to chest with Isaac Lahey, the blonde shadow boy. He tightened his grip on my upper arms and I was scared, so I leaned up on my toes and head butted him as hard as I could. His nose broke quickly and disgustingly, spraying me with warm, salty blood. He cried out and I watched a glimmer slide over his eyes. Blue to gold to blue. There was a glow in the middle. He pinched his nose and I could almost hear the bone shifting back into place. I could see the healing happen. I stepped back quickly and looked around me.

I was surrounded. There were people all around me, watching me, worried, amused, scared, but silent. They were all completely silent. Danny and Stiles stared at me. There was blood smeared across Danny's chest and I knew he was the one who tried to drag me off at first, the one I shoved. Stiles' mouth hung open in shock. I could hear the rubber thud of the principal's shiny black shoes on the tile floor as he raced down the connecting hallway, coming to break up the fight that had ended already. Then, the boy on the floor groaned and murmurs broke out among the spectators. The principal arrived way too late and his voice filled the hall when he shouted, "What is going on?"