I turned into a spastic mess. Every corner I turned, I was afraid I'd see the beast from last night. If someone slammed their locker, it reminded me of the shattering glass. And every time someone bumped into my side, it reminded me that I had been hurt. Everything around me was a constant reminder of the insane night I had just experienced. This was worse than the side effects I'd earned from the bus episode. My stomach was doing summersaults at the thought of leaving Lydia at home. I was starting to wonder if maybe I should have stayed at home with her but she was insistent on me going to school. Besides, I didn't want to miss Allison's birthday. I still had her present in my backpack.

I clutched onto my backpack straps, taking in a deep breath and frantically looked around at everyone. I expected their eyes to glow. I expected low growls to come from their throats but they were all perfectly human. What I saw last night as not animalistic or human. It was almost both and that made me even more frustrated. I already hated being a freaking scaredy cat—no pun intended—and now I had something else to ponder about that wrapped into the incident that had happened last night. I know Lydia and Jackson had seen it too and I could imagine that they were also wondering just exactly what it was. Sadly, the investigators had told all of the witnesses that what we saw was a mountain lion. Without objecting, we all reluctantly agreed. It was the only leverage we had to hang on to our sanity. A mountain lion had attacked the video store.

I had been so lost in thought—I almost passed by my next class. The only thing that kept me from walking right passed it was an arm latched onto my shoulder. I jumped in the air, gasping, and almost throwing my books to the ceiling. My heart pounded in my chest and for a split second, I was back at the video store. I could hear Lydia's screams and see the red glowing eyes.

"Tessa, Tessa, hey, it's me." Stiles murmured, cautiously placing his hands on my biceps and looking down into my wild blue eyes. "It's okay." Stiles whispered and he cupped his hand to my cheek, trying to connect my eyes with his. When they finally met, I let out a deep sigh of relief and then swallowed thickly.

"You scared the shit out of me." I breathed out heavily, my shoulders sagging underneath his one hand. He let go of my face and then took his hands away from me.

"I—I'm sorry." He muttered, rubbing the back of his neck with flushed cheeks. "I just saw you and you looked like you were in this trance."

"I was thinking." I admitted softly, fixing my backpack on my shoulders. "I'm sure you could guess what I would be thinking about."

"Yeah…" Stiles trailed off nervously and nodded his head.

"I—I just keep seeing the glowing eyes and hearing all of the sounds. The bruise pounds when I think about and it's just so…maddening." I grumbled, running my hand over the top of my head and down my ponytail. "I barely got any sleep last night so I'm exhausted. I'm probably going delusional."

"Hey, you are not going to delusional." Stiles argued, brandishing a finger in my face. "If you were going crazy, you'd be talking to invisible people and having Andre fill out forms to send you on to Eichen House."

"Then why the hell does everything just happen to sound and look like everything from that night?" I asked him carefully, keeping my voice low in case unwanted ears were listening. No one knew that it was Jackson, Lydia, and I last night at the video store murder. Stiles was probably the only kid at Beacon Hills High that didn't have a single rumor to make up about everything. He was my best shot at not losing my mind on everyone. And lately, he'd been the one to calm me down with a single touch.

"It's kind of like PTSD, I guess." Stiles mumbled, shrugging his shoulders.

"Stiles, I don't even know what I saw last night. I can't even panic over what I don't know." I told him sharply, giving him a pointed look. I'd come to the conclusion that the questions running through my head did have answers and a particular boy had those answers. Stiles knew and he hadn't been very subtle about it. "That's why you're going to help me."

"Say what now?" Stiles jaw hung slack for a few moments as he blinked quickly.

"You,"—I harshly jabbed my finger into Stiles's chest—"are going to tell me everything I need to know."

Stiles shoved my finger off his chest cautiously. "I—I don't know what you mean." He stammered, shaking his head.

"Yes you do." I argued, nodding my head. "You know what was at the video store last night, you know what attacked the man at the bus, and you are gonna know why Derek's eyes were glowing blue on Friday."

"You saw them glow?" Stiles hissed lowly, leaning forward on his toes.

"Ha!" I snapped, shoving him backwards and almost making the poor boy fall over. "So you do know why they were glowing."

"I never said that!" He objected offensively.

"But you got that look in your eyes." I pointed out, gesturing towards his panicked golden eyes. "You freaked for a second because you didn't want me to see his glowing eyes."

"That is so not true." Stiles was lying and it wasn't hard to tell. "I—I was simply saying that because that—that isn't something very natural."
"Stiles, you're stuttering so much I might think you have a disability." I rolled my eyes, shifting my backpack on my shoulders. "You're lucky we're about to be late to chem so get your ass inside that room."

"On it." He muttered and then turned on his heel to shuffle inside the classroom. I followed in behind him and took my seat beside Erica. She gave me a short look before shoving her face back inside her blank notebook. I propped my chin up on my hand and looked over my shoulder. I realized that Scott wasn't sitting in his designated seat and neither was Allison. Lydia obviously wasn't here either but that didn't explain as to why the couple wasn't here. I frowned slightly and then turned back to Mr. Harris.

"Just a friendly reminder, parent/teacher conferences are tonight." Harris announced to the class after he'd assigned us our work to do for today. Of course I had almost forgotten that Andre had to actually attend those conferences because, yay me, I was failing chemistry. "Students below a 'C' average are required to attend." I saw a kid cringe in the front seat theatrically and I sighed softly, rubbing my face. "I won't name you because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment." Mr. Harris walked toward a few steps and then stopped right in front of Stiles's lab table. "Has anyone seen Mr. McCall?" He asked and looked down at Stiles.

I held in a small snort upon seeing Stiles. Almost his entire book was filled up with yellow highlighter marks and he had the cap inside his mouth. He obviously hadn't noticed the teacher until he looked up with widened eyes. Stiles didn't have a chance to answer because the door for the classroom suddenly opened. I looked back towards the front and my eyes furrowed when I saw who stumbled in looking worse than I'd ever seen him before. He usually had the glowing skin, cocky smile, and dreamy eyes but instead, he looked exactly like Derek did on Friday. This actually brought me to the point where I was worried about him.

Jackson silently walked in and over to his lab table, sitting down. Mr. Harris made his way over to the poor boy and whispered some words to him before backing away. "Everyone start reading chapter nine." Mr. Harris ordered and he waltzed up to the board before stopping again. "Mr. Stilinski. Try putting the highlighter down between paragraphs." Stiles lifted his head up again with the cap still inside his mouth. I smiled but made it fall short before Harris could see it. "It's chemistry, not a coloring book." Stiles stared at Harris back before tipping his head up and spitting out the lid. He caught it in his hand and then gave me a small glare when he caught me looking at him. I rolled my eyes and turned back around, beginning to read the assigned chapter.

I heard small voices coming from behind me later one and saw that Stiles was talking to Danny. I would assume it had to do with either Lydia or Jackson. Danny was obviously not enjoying the conversation with Stiles and I watched them carefully. I was honestly somewhat curious to know exactly what they were saying but I couldn't hear them from this far away. I shifted my gaze over to Jackson who simply gave me a sharp look before jerking his head down to his books. I pressed my tongue to my cheek and then turned back around, bouncing my leg rapidly. I was turned around only for a moment when I suddenly heard the clattering of a lab stool. I snapped to look towards the noise and saw Stiles's stool spinning around the ground as he casually tried to stand back up. He cleared his throat and then gave a curt wave to the class. I rolled my eyes in irritation with an exasperated sigh and then actually read this time.

"Lydia let go of my skirt!" I gritted through my teeth, trying to move away from her and literally grabbing onto her window drapes.

"It's so pretty." She mused, gripping onto it tighter and then using some sort of inhuman strength to jerk me backwards. I stumbled in my sneakers and to avoid ripping her curtain, let go and fell backwards. I tumbled over her legs and had mine over her's as she laughed hysterically. I huffed out a dramatic sigh and then sat up, looking down at her. "We should do that again."

"No, we should not." I grumbled, fixing my skirt and kicking my legs away. Lydia pouted and sat up on her headboard, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You never let me have any fun with you." She whined. "Why can't you just be a fun person, huh?"

"Shut up." I said with a heavy roll of my eyes as I climbed up from the bed. I made sure to keep a safe distance from her so she didn't grab my dress again. I walked around to her nightstand and picked up her pill bottle. "God, what the hell are they giving you?" I read the label but could barely sound out the first few syllables. "Whatever." I sighed and put the bottle back, setting it in the arms of her small giraffe.

I'd had Andre drive me over here after school since I had still been worrying my ass off about the state of my best friend. Andre had agreed easily and then mentioned she had to head back to the college for a few hours. She said she'd picked me up afterwards and I hoped that was soon. Lydia was fine and I had a visual representation of that but she wasn't exactly Lydia. She was an entirely different person and quite frankly, annoying. I was glad that she wasn't sobbing and crying about deranged animals. I had to tolerate for a little while longer and then I could go home and sleep. Besides, the bruise on my side was thudding with pain. I'd taken another pill but it seemed like it hadn't done a thing. I was tired and just needed to cover myself in blankets for the rest of the evening. Lydia had the luxury of doing that all day.

"Why are you so mean to me?" Lydia groaned, slumping down onto her pillows and looking up towards the ceiling. "I'm so nice."

"You're nice?" I snorted in disbelief, shaking my head and going over to my backpack. "You really must be doped up right now."

I heard Lydia giggle from her spot on the bed, waving her hands in the air. "I want to be like this forever." She told me happily. "I like it."

"Oh, so do I." I muttered, bending over and pulling books out of my back. I set them down on the empty side of her bed. "I brought you homework. When you're sane, you should get it done."

"Homework sucks." Lydia spat in a childish voice, slamming her hand down on the side of the math book. "I'm not doing."

"Yes you are." I argued, nodding my head and making her roll her head in my direction. "If you didn't, normal you would literally have a meltdown. You'd probably shave your head."

Lydia giggled once more. "Tessa, you're so funny."

"Hey, you remember my name." I grinned and then pointed at her. She glared at me and the exemplified that the real Lydia was still in there under all that medicine.

There was a knock from the door behind us and I turned, expecting to see Mrs. Martin. Instead, I saw someone I shouldn't have been surprised to see show up. "Pardon the interruption," the woman said, smiling at me weakly, "But, honey, there's a Stiles here to see you." She finished and Stiles was slowly walking in behind her.

Lydia had flipped over onto her stomach, one hand suspending her head and the other hand was being inspected. "What the hell is a 'Stiles'?" Lydia asked in her usual manor if she didn't understand something. I rolled my eyes and then took a seat on her vanity stool. Of course her brain couldn't understand that Stiles was a name, not a thing. Although I would gladly beg to differ, that wasn't our current case.

"She took a little something to ease her nerves." Mrs. Martin sighed, looking towards Stiles. "You can—you can go in."

"Thanks." Stiles said to her, getting up off the doorframe and walking into the room. Mrs. Martin left, keeping the door cracked and Stiles stopped just a few inches away from the girl's bed who hadn't even bothered to look at him yet.

"I would say I'm surprised to see you here but I'm not." I greeted, scrunching up my nose and shaking up my head. "Why pass up the perfect opportunity to visit your future girlfriend's house without invitation."

"Shut up." Stiles said with the same tone and eye roll I had used on Lydia earlier. "It's not like I was ecstatic while driving here."

"That would explain why the Jeep isn't wrapped around a tree. Your leg would be bouncing so fast, it'd fly up from the brake." I pointed out, jerking my head towards the window and making Stiles glare at me. Finally, Lydia rolled over, putting a hand on her hip and looking up towards Stiles.

"What are you doing here?" She asked calmly and with less irritation she had in her voice earlier. Stiles's head snapped in the direction of Lydia and he glanced at me for a moment before wringing his hands together.

"I was just making sure you were okay." Stiles answered.

"Hm." Lydia turned back over, hair covering her face and playing with her fingers. I sighed and then got up from my seat. I walked passed the boy and over to my best friend, crouching down in front of Lydia. I brushed some of the hair out of her face and she smiled down at me. "Tessa, you're here."

"I've been here for the past ten minutes." I mumbled and then pushed the hair behind her ear. "But, uh, Stiles here,"—I gestured to the boy—"has been worried sick about you all day. He'd appreciate it if you'd let him know you were okay." Lydia stared at me blankly for a few moments as if her brain were slowly processing my words.

"Why?" Lydia asked, pushing herself up and looking towards Stiles. Obviously she was asking why Stiles was worried about her. I stood back up to my full height and she scooted over. She then patted the spot where she'd previously been laying while still making full eye contact with Stiles. He chuckled and then rushed to sit down. I rolled my eyes and resumed my former spot on the vanity chair.

"Because I was worried about you today." Stiles answered to her question. He was tapping his leg and his voice descended as he ended his statement. Lydia lifted up a piece of her hair and began to move her head up and down. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh," Lydia sucked in a deep breath and put her hand on Stiles's bicep. He jumped underneath her touch and I covered my mouth with a laugh. "I feel…" Lydia sat up, getting close to Stiles's face. "…fantastic." Stiles stiffened and I heard his heavy breathing stop.

When she pulled back on slightly, his jaw was hanging slack and his eyes were wide with shock. He chuckled nervously again and then hit his knee a few times with his fist. He moved his eyes down to Lydia's nightstand, seeing the bottle in the giraffe's arms. "Oh!" He muttered and then leaned forward, grabbing the bottle. "I bet you can't say 'I saw Suzy sittin' in a shoeshine shop' ten times." Stiles said, looking at her with an amused smile on her face.

"You're a freaking idiot." I grumbled, rubbing my forehead with my hand.

Lydia cocked up an eyebrow and gave him a look that clearly accepted his challenge. "I saw Shuzy—" Lydia stopped, noticing her mistake.

"Uh…" Stiles held his mouth open.

"I shaw—" Lydia stopped again and Stiles smiled an adorable little smile, setting the bottle back down. I was confused as to why I found it adorable but ignored it. Suddenly, Lydia fell back down onto her elbows, a look on her face.

"Lyd?" I shot up from my stool, instantly worried about my friend. Stiles looked over his shoulder at me and I rushed over, kneeling in front of her.

"I saw…" Lydia muttered, Stiles making a confused expression. I narrowed my eyes and then cocked my head to the side.

"Uh, Lydia, what—what are you talking about now?" I asked with a breathless laugh. There was still a hint of concern in it from the look on her face. "What did you see?" I glanced at Stiles nervously.

"Something." She answered, staring forward into my eyes.

"Something like…?" I shook my head slowly. "Like a mountain lion?"

"A mountain lion." Lydia agreed and I clenched my jaw. Of course they would convince her it was a mountain lion. I wished I could be like that too.

"Are you sure you saw a mountain lion or are you saying that because that's what the police told you?" Stiles asked, leaning down towards her slightly.

"A mountain lion." She repeated again nodding her head. Stiles reached over her and grabbed the stuffed giraffe.

"What's this?" He asked her and she turned to him.

"A mountain lion." She repeated once again and I clapped a hand to my forehead, sitting back on my butt.

"That was completely pointless." I said giving a fake smile and shaking my head curtly up at Stiles.

"You're so drunk." Stiles said and before he could even mentally prepare himself, Lydia slapped her hand on his thigh. Her head tipped forward and her forehead rested on the very top of his thigh. Stiles's mouth opened as he looked like he was chocking. "Oh my—" he basically wheezed out and I snorted, covering my mouth with my hand.

"You're seriously the biggest guy I've ever met." I mumbled, getting up to my feet and poking him in the shoulder.

"Maybe because I am a guy?" Stiles shot back, cocking up his eyebrows but still not letting that chocking noise come out of his voice. I rolled my eyes and ran my hands through my hair. Finally, Stiles got up from the bed, having enough of his moment. He stood at the edge of her bed, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Since I've noticed you don't own a car and you've been checking your phone, I assume you'd accept a ride home from me?"

"Could I hitch a ride in your wagon?" I asked, wincing.

"W—wagon? Are you kidding me?" Stiles scoffed. "Fine, you could just not get a ride home."

"God, quit being such a baby. Sorry, I won't disrespect the wheels man." I mocked in a surfer dude voice.

"Well, I think we're gonna get going." Stiles mentioned to Lydia loudly, gesturing towards the door. I swung my bag over my shoulder and stood in the doorframe, waiting for Stiles. "I'll let you get back to the whole post- traumatic stress thing." Stiles said, ushering me out the door. It was about to shut when Lydia stopped him and me abruptly.

"Stay." She murmured. Stiles spun around, shoving the door open with a very confused expression. I peeked over his shoulder and then glanced up at the side of his head before returning my attention back to Lydia.

I moved passed him and he shut the door before pointing to himself. "Me? Stay?" He inquired and I rolled my eyes.

"I know she isn't asking me, moron." I grumbled and he glared at me quickly before desperately looking at my best friend.

"You want me to stay?" He asked her again and she made a noise as if she were saying yes. Slowly, she sat up and nodded her head with an oddly seductive look on her face. I kept my place by her bedroom door and watched the interaction. She was chuckling and patting the spot where she wanted him to sit again. Stiles rushed over and took his former spot and I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest.

"Yes please." She finally answered verbally, getting dangerously close to Stiles's face again. I wondered what it would be like if Jackson was here. Unless…

"Uh, Stiles," I muttered but I was cut off by Lydia continuously begging him. I didn't have a chance to warn my spastic friend when she suddenly called him by the name I had been anticipating.

"Jackson."

Stiles made a face and then ran his tongue over his teeth, looking away from Lydia. "And…we're done here." He muttered as Lydia fell backwards onto her bed. I laughed into my hand, unable to control my amusement. I spun around and rested my forehead against the door. "Would you stop enjoying this so much?"

"I'm sorry." I breathed out with a wide grin on my face. "Really I am but holy crap." I busted out into another fit of laughter, slapping my legs and jumping. Stiles rolled his eyes and then his head snapped in another direction. I quieted myself and then looked over to where he'd turned. Lydia's cellphone was ringing and she was passed out on her bed. Everything must have worn her out. "I got it." I ran a hand through my curls and then picked up the phone. "It's a text." I told Stiles and I opened it.

There was a video playing and I watched with a furrowed brow. "I don't know how to—" I was going to tell Stiles I didn't know how to stop it when suddenly, the video camera shook violently. Before I could peel my eyes away, I saw something I never wanted to see again. It showed the giant beast shattering through the glass window. Lydia's camera must have been on when this happened and she had recorded everything. I gasped, almost screaming, and dropped the phone to the floor. I stumbled away from it and Stiles shot up from the bed.

"What? What happened? What did you see?" Stiles asked quickly, his eyes frantically overlooking my terrified face.

"Stiles, the video"—I whispered, swallowing and covering my eyes with my hands—"Lydia recorded the animal."

"What!?" Stiles squeaked and fumbled to the pick up the phone I had dropped down onto Lydia's bedroom floor. He picked it up and watched the video himself before letting his jaw hang open with terror. He glanced towards the girl sleeping on the bed.

"I can't let her see that, Stiles." I said firmly, pointing towards the cellphone in his hands. "She—she'll literally have nightmares for the rest of her life."

Stiles had the phone clutched in his hand and the top rested against his chin. "I know, I know." He replied, nodding his head. "I'll delete it."

"But we can't get rid of it." I argued and he furrowed his brow. "We'll send it to one of ourselves first and then we can delete the text and video off of Lydia's phone. She has visual evidence and if I want to find out what this thing is, I need the video."

"No!" Stiles snapped and I frowned at him like a child. "No. If Lydia can't see the video, neither can you. I thought you saw someone die on that video."

"I saw someone die in real life!" I hissed, bouncing on my toes and glaring at him. I sighed before pinching the bridge of my nose and shutting my eyes. "Look, I don't care what kind of precautious you're trying to take here but I need that video. If you won't tell me what's going on, then I'll figure it out myself."

I tried to reach for the phone but Stiles moved away from me, holding it behind his back. "Oh no, you won't. Scott and I have put lots of effort into this to make sure you don't find out…ever." Stiles shrugged his shoulders and I narrowed my eyes.

"So Scott's in on it too then? What about Allison, does she know?" I asked in almost a sickly sweet voice with cocked eyebrows.

"Allison defienently does not know. And, well, basically its Scott thing to tell, not mine." Stiles answered and I groaned, dropping my face in my hands.

"You two are inevitable." I grumbled. "I just want the stupid video. Let me send it to myself."

"No. I'm not going to let you do that to yourself." Stiles said, holding his ground. I let out a growl of anger and then threw my hands down to my sides.

"Then what do you suppose with do with it? Besides, who in the hell would send something like that to her?" I asked, throwing my arm out towards him.

"I—I don't know. That doesn't really matter right now." Stiles answered, blinking his eyes rapidly and waving his arms around. "I'll send myself the video and you can't watch it whenever your pretty little head wants to." Stiles said calmly, waving his hands in the air. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Fine but call Scott after this, got it?" I ordered him, shoving my finger in his chest briefly. "He needs to know that Lydia got sent this video if he's a part of all this."

"Okay, cool, that's fine." Stiles nodded and then shoved Lydia's phone in his back pocket. "How about this—I'll call Scott and you can be there when I call him? I—I need to get home before parent/teacher conferences happen so—so you'll, uh, have to, um…" he trailed off, his cheeks turning red.

"I'm gonna have to come to your house for a little while?" I finished for him and he nodded. I rolled my eyes once again. "Oh my God—this isn't eighth grade, Stiles, seriously. You've been inside my house before."

"Shut up."

"Hey it's me again. Look I found something, and I don't know what to do, okay?" Stiles explained to Scott's voicemail once again. "So if could turn your phone on right now, that'd be great. Or else, I'll kill you. Do you understand me? I'm gonna kill you." He paused for a moment. "And I'm too upset to come up with a witty description about how exactly I'm gonna kill you, but I'm just gonna do it, okay?" I could hear Stiles's voice rising and I crossed my legs on the top of his bed, watching him nervously. "I'm gonna—ugh—goodbye!" Stiles then tossed his phone in my direction and I caught it with raised eyebrows.

"Wow." I mumbled. "That was intense."

Stiles sighed and sat down backwards on his black desk chair. Stiles's room was cleaner than any other boy's bedroom I'd been in before. Even my cousin's bedrooms were messy but Stiles's was clean…except for maybe his desk. It was defienently a boy's bedroom with dark gray painted walls, multiple band and fandom posters scattered across them. He had a bed catty corner towards his door with a shelved headboard that had random things crammed inside. There were a couple other shelves placed around the rooms along with multiple different styles of lamps. Stiles had a smaller bed with light gray sheets and a fluffy dark blue blanket strewn across. It was exceptionally comfortable and the whole demeanor of his room made me feel welcome enough to where I wasn't standing oddly in the middle of his room the entire time I was here. I didn't fail to notice the talk black filing cabinet and surfboard placed beside his desk which held a printer, a laptop, another lamp, and loads of papers.

Stiles had his head resting on his arms where there was suddenly a knock on his bed room. "Gah—!" He practically yelped throwing his hands up as we both looked over to see who'd knocked.

"Please tell me I'm gonna hear good news at this parent/teacher thing tonight." Mr. Stilinski asked with a visible cringe on his face. He was wearing a simple black t-shirt with a black plaid flannel over the top. It strangely reminded me of his son sitting in the chair looking at him with his jaw hanging open.

"Depends on how you define 'good news'." Stiles answered, looking up at him while he played with something in his hands.

"I define it as you getting straight A's with no behavioral issues." Mr. Stilinski replied and I smirked, rubbing the corners of my mouth as I looked over at Stiles who did the whole chicken dance thing like he had when Lydia put her head on his leg.

"You might wanna rethink that definition." Stiles told his father with a grimace, and I chuckled softly to myself, messing with Stiles's phone in my hands.

"Tessa, how do you define good news?" Mr. Stilinski asked me, swinging his head in my direction. I stopped fumbling with Stiles's phone and rose up my eyebrows.

"Um, well, uh…" I paused for a moment, rubbing my neck before clearing my throat. "I define it as a moral perspective of the situation. Like, the grades are bad but—but you know in your heart that your child is just holding back on his natural given abilities because he doesn't want to defiantly show up the rest of the student body."

Mr. Stilinski also raised his eyebrows up to his hairline and nodded slowly. "I'd like to say that's the first time you've said that to someone but is it really?"

I opened my mouth to expertly lie to him but he gave me a knowing look. "I've said that at least three times." I exhaled deeply, nodding my head. "But—but this is the first time that I am fully voicing my opinion without making a sarcastic comment.

"I'm pretty sure that entire statement was sarcasm and a fix of your own imagination." Mr. Stilinski shrugged his shoulder and I flinched, tugging the dark blue blanket into my lap. "Nice try, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Mr. Stilinski." I muttered, giving him a two finger salute.

"Alright, I think that's enough said." Mr. Stilinski murmured to himself and then turned to walk off in the other direction.

Stiles spun around in his chair and opened his mouth to speak. "If you think I was talking about you, don't even say a word." I pointed at him and he nodded, clamping his mouth shut. I smirked in victory and then covered my legs fully with his blanket. "You still have Lydia's phone?" I asked as Stiles turned back around.

"Yeah." He breathed out, nodding his head and grabbing it off his desk. He slid back in his chair to sit beside the bed. He started the video again and I waited for a certain part in the video. I reached forward and tapped the screen, stopping the motion. "W—why did you stop it?" Stiles asked, looking over his shoulder and down at me.

"I stopped it because of that." I answered, pointing towards the blurry picture on the screen. It was the beast I had seen. "I can look at it now and it isn't trying to kill me." I laughed breathlessly and then wiggled the phone out of his hands. I stared down at the animalistic face on the screen and just stared. "That isn't a mountain lion, Stiles and I know you know that too."

Stiles snatched the phone out of my hands and moved back over towards his desk. "Come on Scott." He muttered. "Where the hell are you?" He dropped his face in his hands and I shifted nervously on his bed. I watched as Stiles watched Lydia's phone, his arms crossed over his chest, tongue pressed against his cheek, and leg bouncing at a rapid pace, my eyes struggled to stay in sync. I finally fell backwards onto the young boy's bed, suddenly realizing how tired I was as soon as my head hit his pillows.

"I deleted it."

I didn't dare shoot up and yell at him. I wasn't going to ask why. I wasn't going to throw pillows at him. I wasn't going to get angry with him.

"Good."

My voice was barely above a whisper and I nodded up towards the ceiling. It was better this way. It was better if I didn't see the video ever again and it was a lot better if Lydia never saw the video at all. Of course I wished I just knew exactly what had jumped out those windows but it wasn't Stiles's position to tell me anything. If I should be mad at anyone, it would be Scott. He should have his phone on. He should be answering Stiles's call because something very, very important had happened and apparently everyone needed Scott's consent before proceeding with any plans. I was beginning to understand the extent of this secret since Stiles had told me that he and Scott had put lots of effort into me not finding out. I guess I'd just have to wait until we saw Scott again.

I let out a fatigued sigh and let my eyes fall shut for a few moments. I planned to open them back up and ask Stiles if he had any food around but it felt like my eyelids were being stapled to my eyes. My body relaxed into Stiles's bed which felt suddenly a thousand times comfier and the blanket was warmer. All the noise slowly faded away and left me in peaceful silence. Before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep on Stiles's bed.

"Tessandra."

I furrowed my brow, not opening my eyes and sitting as still as possible. There were only a handful of people who knew my full name. That was Stiles, Mr. Stilinski, Andre, and my mother. I hadn't told Lydia or Allison. I wasn't sure why I'd even have a reason to tell Scott or Jackson and of course I wouldn't tell Derek. He wasn't even exactly my friend even if I had freaked out over him almost dying.

"Tessandra, open your eyes."

My eyelids suddenly weren't stapled anymore and snapped open against my will. I was looking up into a night sky filled with stars and a very large full moon. It was like I could almost reach up and touch it with my fingers. I glanced around and found that there were trees surrounding me and figured I was in the middle of a forest. This was obviously a dream. I remember falling asleep at Stiles's house, not the middle of the woods. Whoever was calling my name wasn't real and if I pinched myself, I'd wake up and be back in Stiles's room.

I pushed myself up on my arms and froze when I saw what was sitting in front of me. Maybe I wasn't in exactly in the middle of the woods but more rather a part of the woods owned by none other than Derek Hale. The charred house was darker and had a creepier degree to it. The moon glowed through some of the windows and throughout the broken pieces of wood that made up the building. I wasn't sure exactly why I was here.

"Hello?" I called out, my voice echoing all through the scenery. I scanned the area, twisting my head back and forth but not seeing anything. It was then I heard a low, low, growl and my eyes widened, remembering the familiar sound. I turned my head over my shoulder and the breath in my lungs failed, my chest seizing up.

It was the red eyes.

"Tessa! Tessa, relax!"

Someone was shouting at me as I kicked my legs and frantically gasped for air. Arms wrapped around my shoulders clutching me to their chest as another pair of arms kept my legs pinned to the bed. I finally stopped panicking, looking around at my surroundings. Mr. Stilinski was sitting behind me, holding me, and Stiles was at the bottom of the bed, holding my legs down. Stiles had been shouting my name and when I fully understood that I wasn't in my dream anymore, I sagged underneath their hold.

"Bad dream?" Mr. Stilinski asked, squeezing my biceps and I nodded slowly.

"I—I was on the Hale property." I told them, looking blankly at the wall behind Stiles. "There—there was someone calling my name."

"Who?" Stiles asked, carefully removing his hands from my limbs and standing up at the end of his bed. Mr. Stilinski rubbed comforting circles on my arm with his thumb, loosening his hold on me.

"I—I don't know. I didn't recognize the voice." I murmured, shaking my head and blinking a few times. "All I heard was growling and when I turned around…I saw them again."

"Saw what again?"

"The red eyes…"

Stiles stiffened and his eyes widened. Mr. Stilinski moved away from me. "You saw red eyes again? When—when was the first time you saw them?" He asked and I could tell that he was beginning to think different of me. I didn't want those pills Lydia had. I didn't need those pills Lydia had but he didn't understand. So instead of telling him about the video store, I opted for something different.

"I had this dream a few weeks ago." I lied. "I told Stiles about it. It—it's just a dream I get sometimes."

"Ah." Mr. Stilinski responded, nodding his head as he climbed up from the bed. He then checked his watch. "I have to go off to the conferences. I will see you kids later. Tessa, if you happen to stay any longer, there's some leftovers in the fridge."

"Alright, see you later, Dad." Stiles waved curtly to his father who waved back and then left the bedroom. When we were sure he was out of the house, I sighed and then pressed my palm to my forehead, shaking my head. "You okay?"

"Not really." I muttered and then held up my hand. "Don't hug me."

"Noted."

I dropped my hand down into my lap and then got up from the bed. "God, what the hell? I didn't have these dreams last night." I said, wandering over to Stiles's desk. I found a small tin of Altoids and took one, popping it into my mouth. "I don't think you understand how embarrassing this is." I began to pace his room. "Your dad, the sheriff of Beacon Hills, the one who already thinks I'm going crazy, had to hold me down."

"He doesn't think you're crazy, Tessa. Come on." Stiles replied softly, shaking his head and gesturing towards me. "He's just confused and worried, that's all."

"Looks like we're rowing the same boat here, Stilinski." I snapped, glaring at him and continuing to pace. "Did Scott call you while I was sleeping?"

"Nope. He won't answer still." Stiles replied in annoyance making me growl.

"Stiles, I cannot keep going on like this!" I was practically shouting, throwing my hands down to my sides. "Look, I don't want to sound like a bitch or pushy, but if he does not get here before the conferences are over, I will do whatever I have to do."

"For what?" Stiles asked nervously, shrinking away from me.

"To figure out what the hell you're hiding from me."

AN: Ooooh, shit. Badass Tessa is evolving. God, I love writing her so much lmao. Anywaysss, this chapter seriously just drug on and on and on all the way into the freaking hills. I usually hate writing this chapter and the chapters for Heart Monitor because those are so boring to me. Whatever. I'll try to make them interesting ;) I loved the amount of freaking StilesxTessa this chapter! P.S this is going to be a longer AN. P.P.S: The italics in my stories will stand for phone calls and dreams.

So I know it might seem like I'm rushing into the touchy feely right now but Stiles, he's a good guy. He's worried about everyone and besides, Tessa isn't being a total brat to him all the time so their friendship is beginning to evolve. Like, in Season 3, there is a scene where that banshee chick Meredith is screaming and he like holds Lydia's face because her ears are bleeding not to mention he hugs her in the same episode. Tessa needs some loving and some care even though she seems like she doesn't need it but Stiles notices. I will say though, they do not have feelings for each other in the romantically sense. It is purely friendship at this point because I like slow burns man.

As always, I love reviews so please leave them! S/O to Alexandraashley for reviewing! I loved your review so much because you were able to see the whole sarcastic view of Tessa! I tried not to make it so blunt that Tessa is your 'sarcasm is my only defense' kind of gal so thank you :)

Love you all!