*****I do not own Teen Wolf. I just own my own Character*****

Charlotte was sitting in her bed on her laptop, becoming obsessed with Empath lore and hoping to find answers about what she could possibly be and how to control any ability she had. Mostly trying to find out a way to block the Alpha from getting into her dreams.

She was reading a page, not paying attention to the outside world as her music played; too distracted to notice a figure outside her window.

Derek rapped on the window, making Charlotte yelp in surprise as she looked up from her screen and scowled at Derek. She got up from her bed and opened the window, letting him inside.

"What in the actual hell, Derek? Are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Charlotte huffed and pushed her hair out of her face. "We have a front door, y'know?"

"Your mom knows that I was arrested under suspicion of murder." He looked around the bedroom, stopping when he noticed the page open on the laptop. Scrunching his brows together, he pointed at the screen. "What's with the interest in Empaths?"

"Uh-" Charlotte ran over to her laptop and closed it, turning back to Derek. "Just curious, doing my own research. Can never get enough of the supernatural when your little brother is apart of it." She let out a nervous laugh, seeing how unconvinced Derek looked.

"You're a terrible liar, your heart is pounding against your chest." He stated, and Charlotte gave him a defeated look. "Scott's not answering his phone, and he agreed to come with me to see where the Alpha attacked."

Charlotte let out a sigh as she quipped an eyebrow. "So instead of sneaking into his bedroom, you sneak into mine?" She couldn't help but smirk when Derek gave her an annoyed looked.

"You're a lot more cooperative with me than he is." He crossed his arms over his chest.

Charlotte crossed her own arms over her chest. "That might be because you scare him a little bit." She shrugged her shoulders. She dropped her arms with a sigh and left her room to peek into Scott's. She heard the shower running, forever jealous that he got the bedroom with the bathroom in it. She went back to her room to see Derek looking at the photos on her bookshelf: ones of her and Scott when they were younger, one of Charlotte at her graduation with her mom hugging her, and one of Charlotte with Scott and Stiles a couple of years ago at what looked like a birthday party.

"He's in the shower, I'll let him know he's late." She leaned against the doorframe.

Derek nodded and was about to leave when he stopped right by the window. "Why do you trust me?" He looked back at her. Since that night she said she trusted him, after telling her and Scott what the Argent's did to his family, he constantly asked himself why she trusted him.

Her brows shot up in surprise at the question. "Why not?" She posed with a shrugged. "Should I not trust you?" She stepped back into the room, closing the door behind her.

She trusted Derek, for the fact that she could actually feel that he wasn't a threat, that he seemed so lost. "I told you before, it's just a gut feeling I have." She didn't know if she should tell anybody about herself yet, wanting to make sure Scott's problem was solved before they tried to figure out her own problems. Keeping the fact that she could feel people's emotions radiate off of them was becoming more difficult as time went on though, and she hoped that it didn't have to stay her secret for much longer. She also didn't know how to tell Derek or Scott that she had been talking to the Alpha this entire time.

Derek looked Charlotte up and down, trying to figure her out. Opening the window to climb out. "Tell Scott I'm not gonna go easy on him for being late." He turned and jumped out the window.

Charlotte watched as he exited her room, smiling to herself as she closed the window with a shake of her head. That boy really didn't know how to handle people trusting him, it was kind of amusing.

The next morning at work, Charlotte felt uneasy and paranoid.

There was a killing last night, someone that worked at the movie store was murdered.
Police are saying it looked like an animal attack, but she knew better than to believe that.

The Alpha was starting to come out of the woods, starting to kill more people.

She had no idea why she hadn't had a dream about the Alpha in a few days. Sure, she should be relieved about it. But there was a feeling in the pit of her gut that something was about to go very, very wrong. She didn't know what, or when. But she knew it wouldn't be good.

On her break, she pulled her phone out and dialed Derek's number before putting the device up to her ear. Her heart would jump at each ring, then it started to race when he didn't answer. Looking down at her phone with a frown, she put her phone in her pocket with a shake of her head. Something definitely didn't feel right.

Taking the phone out again, she called Scott, letting out a frustrated sigh when he wouldn't answer either. "Glad we have advanced as a society to have cell phones that no one answers anymore."

Entering in one last number, she was relieved that someone finally picked up. "Stiles, Scott isn't answering his phone."

"Yeah, because his dumb ass played hooky today with Allison." Stiles was on his way to Lydia's. After she wasn't at school, he was worried about her. Things were getting weirder in Beacon Hills.

Charlotte pulled her phone away to let out a groan of annoyance. "So there's an Alpha out on the loose, and he wants to go out on a date during school?" She put the phone back up to her ear. "Something isn't sitting right with me. Derek isn't answering his phone, either."

"God, what is with you and that man?" Stiles rolled his eyes. "He's probably busy trying to track the Alpha down himself."

"He's kind of the only hope we have to make sure that Scott either A: Doesn't kill anyone. Or B: Doesn't get killed." She looked behind her to make sure no one was actually listening to her right now. "What are you doing right now?"

"Heading to Lydia's. She wasn't in school today and I just wanted to make sure she was okay."

Charlotte could feel the worry Stiles felt for Lydia, he was so in love with her. It kind of made Charlotte and Scott sick at times.

"She was there when it happened, wasn't she?" The sigh Stiles let out was enough of an answer for her. "Okay, I'll try to get ahold of Derek again and see what he found out. Maybe ditch the rest of my shift while I'm at it." She said the last part under her breath, feeling useless being stuck at work. "Make sure she's okay. I gotta go." She hung up her phone, shoving it back into her pocket.

She looked at the front of the store, seeing her manager walking around the store. She looked behind her at the rear exit, contemplating if she should leave or not.
Making her decision, she made a B-line for the rear exit quickly jogging to her car. If she was to get in trouble, she'll just say it was a family emergency.

She practically sped on her way to Derek's. She wished she knew what was wrong, it drove her crazy. She tried Derek's phone again on the way to his house, throwing it to the side with a huff when he didn't answer again.

The silence was getting to her, she needed a distraction to help her not go completely insane. Hitting the power button to her radio, she was met with the middle of Boston's "More than a feeling"

"It's more than a feeling (more than a feeling)
When I hear that old song they used to play (more than a feeling)
And I begin dreaming (more than a feeling)
Till I see Marianne walk away
I see my Marianne walkin' away"

Pursing her lips forward, she changed the station. "Nah, not feeling it." She eventually turned the radio off, nothing helping her take her mind off her thoughts.

Pulling up to Derek's, she felt something hit her in the chest; almost like she was just shocked with something. Looking down at herself and saw that she was unharmed, she turned her car off and got out of her car.

Walking up the steps of the house, feeling more than one presence in the house, but not hearing anything when she put her ear up to the door.

Pushing the door open, she felt like she was electrocuted again - catching herself before she fell.

"What the hell?" She held a hand to her chest. She looked around the house and gasped when she saw recent bullet holes in the wall. She looked at the floor, seeing empty shells. "A machine gun?" She picked one of the shells up, looking it over. "And again I ask: What the hell?" She stood up, assessing that Derek wasn't home she made her way out the door - stopping just before stepping outside. She looked to the side, seeing that it looked like someone was thrown to the wall. Shaking the bad feeling off, she went back to her car and started off to her house.

Still feeling worried about everything she trudged up the stairs, pushing the door to her room open and let out a yelp of surprise when she saw Derek in her bed: Shirtless.

"What the hell?!" She exclaimed as she shut the door behind her. "I called you like three times, and you never answered me!" Stopping herself from ogling at him too hard, she let out a frustrated sigh. "Why aren't you wearing a shirt?" She plopped down on her desk chair. She felt that Derek was angry and… Scared? "What happened?" She softened her voice. "I went to your house - saw the bullets."

Derek was silent for a moment. He was attacked at his own home. By Kate Argent. Just seeing her sent a surge of rage through him. She told him that it wasn't the hunters that killed Laura, that it was the Alpha like Charlotte had said. So many things were going through his head at the moment. "How'd you know the Alpha killed my sister?" He finally looked up at her, and Charlotte could see so much pain in those sky blue eyes. "Don't say it's a gut feeling, I'm not buying that anymore." He remembered what she said at his house, that she dreams about the Alpha. He also remembered how defensive and nervous she was when he asked why she was looking up stuff about Empaths

Charlotte looked down at the floor, letting out a huff as she slumped back in her chair. She was hoping it wouldn't come to her having to tell him so soon. "You wouldn't believe me. I'm not even sure I believe it." She muttered, starting to fidget with her fingers.

"You think you're an Empath." He didn't ask, he stated. He heard her heart skip a beat, and he let out a sigh. "How do you figure?"

Charlotte didn't want to look at him, feeling ridiculous. She shrugged her shoulders. "Call it a gut feeling?" She laughed lightly. "I don't know. Since Scott got bit… It's like I'm more in-tune to his feelings." She shook her head. "Not just him… Stiles, my mom… You." She finally glanced up at him, seeing that he wasn't giving her any judgmental looks. "I've also… I-" She struggled to get the next part out. "I've been dreaming - about the Alpha…" She let out a shaky breath. "At first I thought they were just nightmares, really vivid nightmares. Eventually, I stopped being scared in them, just annoyed." She let out another light laugh. "I swore I was just going crazy with everything that's been happening lately. But it makes sense, doesn't it?" She picked at some stray threads on her shirt.

Derek listened to her - to her heart. She was telling him the truth. "It does make sense." He agreed, causing Charlotte to look up at him in surprise.

Derek remembered his mother talking about Empaths before; how useful they could be. Also how rare they were nowadays. "Can you tell what I'm feeling now?"

Charlotte nodded, "You're angry, scared, confused." She rubbed the part of her chest that felt like it was shocked earlier. "Were you… Were you electrocuted?"

"You could feel that? When?" Derek was intrigued now. He's never met an Empath before. Now it was all starting to make sense now: Why her scent was off compared to others, even in high school, how she always seemed to know when Scott was in danger. Why she trusted him. He was almost mad he didn't see it before.

"When I went to your house. I was worried because something didn't feel right when you didn't answer your phone." She stood from her chair, going to sit next to Derek on the bed. "First time was when I got there. Hurt like a son of a bitch." She rubbed the spot again. "The second time was when I went into the house." She looked over at Derek. "Who was it?"

Derek kept his gaze forward. "Kate Argent."

Charlotte's eyes widened. "Was she the one who shot you?"

Derek shrugged. "Probably." He sighed out. "We don't have the best history together."

Charlotte groaned and flopped on her back. "So, to recap:" She began, and Derek looked back at her. "My brother is a werewolf, I'm an Empath, we don't know who the Alpha is, and Kate Argent wants to kill you." She looked over at Derek, wondering something. "Why did you come here?" Surely he had another place to go once he was attacked, yet he chose to come to her room.

Derek stood from his spot on the bed, Charlotte sitting up. She watched him carefully as he tried to collect his thoughts. "Because," He started, and looked back at Charlotte. "I feel like you're my only friend." He heard her heartbeat pick up. "You trust me, and I trust you."

Charlotte stood up slowly. "You... You see me as a friend?" She asked, not believing she just heard Derek Hale admit that Charlotte was his friend. She always thought that he didn't want friends. He was always brooding about, always acting like he was better off by himself. "We're friends?" She couldn't help the smile that slowly started to spread on her face.

Derek nodded his head. "Why? Do you not want to be friends?" He asked, not sure why she seemed so surprised at his confession. He really did see her as a friend. Everyone else seemed so against him. Charlotte has been the only one that seemed like she was on his side. She was always wanting to help him if something was wrong; like back when he was shot by the Monkshood bullet, she barely left his side.
When he took her and Scott to the hospital to see his uncle, she was there to comfort him while Scott just tried to excuse what the Argent's had done to his family.

Charlotte shook her head. "It's not that." She laughed. "I'm just surprised that this isn't a one-sided friendship like I thought it was." She signaled between them. Derek looked down at her, and she could see something in his eyes that wasn't there in the past. There was a kindness to them, a trusting look. "Thank you for trusting me, Derek."

Derek nodded, "Thank you for trusting me." There was a ghost of a smile that Charlotte could see pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"Can you go find a shirt now?" She laughed as Derek rolled his eyes.

*****Aww Derek admitted Charlotte's his friend, that big ol' brooding softy.*****

****Y'ALL BETTER APPRECIATE MY BOSTON JOKE, BY THE WAY! I have been waiting to use it since I've been writing this thing. It's funny. Admit it.****

***Don't forget to R&R!***