Black Sun

The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary. Men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.

- Joseph Conrad

Chapter Twenty-Five

The Animals Know

I slept for most of the car ride back to Beacon Hills.

I woke up when we pulled into the driveway and parked in the garage, my temple pressed to the window. It was almost midnight so the only noise was the sound of the garage door shutting and Dad's voice as he spoke with someone on his cell. I was surprised Mom wasn't harping on him for breaking the laws of the road, with him being a lawyer and all. I guess we were all too tired to care. The vacation had been a long one. Yawning, I got out and helped Mom carry in our bags. She brought the most stuff with her so I lugged them upstairs to the master bedroom before hiking back down to retrieve my own things.

It felt nice to be back in comfort of my own house, a little surreal given that it'd been months since I'd seen my room again. My parents took me to Florida for a little bit and even though we spent a whole week there, I didn't remember much about the trip. Little details like the warm weather, the beach and nice hotel rooms were a given. You didn't have to travel to know those things about famous places, but as I followed my folks around different areas I wasn't trying all the way to really enjoy it. Not that the destination was a bad one but I guess I was just distracted.

Driving up to San Diego was better. Seeing our old home and neighborhood again was cool, if not a tad creepy since no one bought the place since we moved away. But it brought back memories nonetheless. Good ones.

"I thought I made it clear that the Smith case needed to be turned over to the DA's office before Wednesday," I heard my Dad argue with one of his colleagues over the phone as I passed him on the way back to the car. "I don't care what Tom told you."

Nice to know some things didn't change. I pulled the last of the bags from the trunk and went back inside, seeing Mom flick on the kitchen lights. She set her purse on the counter and checked the time on the microwave. The quiet hum of the fridge and ticking of the grandfather clock on the mantle were sounds I oddly missed.

"Want something to eat?" Mom asked me, opening the refrigerator. We cleared out most of the contents before we left so I wasn't sure what there was to make.

I shook my head. "No thanks, Mom. I'm gonna go my room and unpack."

The echo of Dad's unpleasant phone call followed me up the stairs until I shut my bedroom door, setting down my things next to my desk. I was about to turn and switch on the light, but something by the window caught my eye. I suddenly went still, red orbs floating in the pitch darkness.

My heartbeat raced.

"Derek?" I whispered, warmth building in my chest when the eyes crept closer. Hands encircled my waist, pulling me to a strong chest and I wrapped my arms around him in happiness. He smelled the same. He felt the same and I forgot how much of a comfort that really was.

I hugged him and he lifted me off the ground. One of his hands was tangled in my hair, pressing my face close to the crook of his neck while he breathed in my scent. I missed him. A lot. Being away took my mind off it and everything that happened four months ago, but there wasn't a day where the memories crept back in. I'd always think about him.

Raising my head, I held on to the back of his neck and kissed him. His scruff brushed over my cheeks but it felt nice, especially when he pulled away to kiss my neck. He growled low in his chest and my pulse couldn't stop hammering, half from his presence and the other from worrying if my parents would overhear. He carried me over to my bed and set me down, his body trapping me against him as he pressed our lips together again. My stomach was doing crazy gymnast flips and I felt like dying inside when his hand snaked up my shirt.

His fingers only trailed along my waist so I didn't freak out too much, but the rest of that calmness died when he leaned up to remove his shirt in one clean motion. Not the first time I saw Derek shirtless and it wasn't something I'd ever get used to. Not with the way he looked. His skin was hot to the touch when got on top of me again and kissed me passionately, teeth sinking in my lower lip. I held on to his broad shoulders, my cheeks blushed like mad and I was grateful I didn't turn on the lights.

Somewhere along the way, I lost my shirt too. The room was cold and raised goosebumps on my arms, but Derek's warmth was more than enough to chase the chills away. His hands ghosted up my waist and slipped around to the back clasp of my bra, thumbing the plastic latches. I froze, my heart lurching at the idea of going that far.

Not ready, a voice said in the back of my head. You're so not ready.

"Too much?" Derek murmured, as if sensing my apprehension.

I hesitated. "Sorry. It's just that..."

Derek cut my thoughts short and kissed me on the lips, hands cupping my face. "We don't have to do anything. I told you I'd wait and that's not gonna change."

I sighed quietly in relief and kissed his cheek, feeling sleepy. I didn't realize how late it was until Derek rolled us around so our heads were to the pillow. I laid my cheek to his chest, not wanting to fall asleep just yet even though I had school later that morning.

"Derek?"

"Huh?"

"After the fire... did you have dreams?"

"Dreams," he repeated lowly, as if wondering what I meant.

"I mean, is it normal to see people? All summer I've been dreaming the same thing. It doesn't happen every night, but sometimes I'd fall asleep and I'd see my cousin. I can't talk to him, but he's there." I paused, hoping it made sense. "Was it like that for you?"

"It's different for everyone," Derek replied. "When I went back to my house after the fire, I thought I saw my Mother. I knew she wasn't real, but when she stood there and looked at me... it felt like it was."

"Did she say anything?"

"No. I haven't seen her since."

That was different for me. Ellis frequently plagued my head at night but it didn't feel like my real cousin. Like someone wearing a mask and pretending to be him.

Derek kissed the top of my head. "It stops," he said. "It'll take time. Weeks, even months, but it does go away."

"I don't know if I can take it that long," I admitted, eyes droopy and tired. "It'll drive me insane."

"I won't let it."

Derek ran his hand down my side and I curled more comfortably against his chest, ready to sleep and mentally prepare myself for whatever the new school semester had in store. I ended up getting up once during the night to change into a sleep shirt before crawling back in bed. I lied on my side while Derek held my waist from behind, his chin tucked on top of my head. My bags sat in the corner and a part of me figured I should have just gotten it over with and unpacked everything but I didn't feel like moving an inch.

Maybe if I was by myself I would have mustered up the incentive, but Derek's strong arms keeping me to his chest killed the last of it.

Oh, well, I thought. I'd put them away in the morning.

[O]

The next morning I woke again to the space next to me empty and the curtains closed. I sat up, rubbing my eyes and remembered this was the first day back to school. I was pretty excited. I hadn't seen or talked to my friends all summer and a part of me was worried that they all forget I went away. Maybe that was dramatic to think. Sure, I could have called them but at the time I wasn't in the right mind to do anything. Now that more time passed and I was feeling better, I hoped that things would fall back to normal again. Or as normal as they could be.

I showered and got ready for the morning, hearing my parents easily step into their routine downstairs. A few of my classes in my school schedule were being switched around so I made sure all had all the books needed in my backpack before trudging down to the kitchen. I didn't have time to grab a quick snack like I usually did. I spent that extra twenty minutes putting my clothes back in my drawers and Mom was already rushing around, so I had no choice but to follow her out to the car.

I set my bag between my feet and buckled in. Dad left a few minutes us so there was virtually no one else in the street as Mom pulled out of the driveway. She tapped her nails against the steering wheel the whole drive there so I knew something was bothering her. I didn't ask what though. The first day was always an awkward occasion. Given that Beacon Hills High had been the home of some pretty freaky occurrences I couldn't blame her for being antsy. I kind of was too.

Mom pulled up to the curb and parked. She waited for me to get my backpack and open the door before leaning over and kissing my cheek. "Call me at three o'clock," was all she said.

I guess she wanted to make sure I was okay.

Sometimes I wondered what went through her head to worry so much. Beacon Hills was a nerve wracking place to live but I wasn't expecting body bags to start rolling out. Not on the first day.

"I will," I told her and got out. I shut the door walked up the front steps, a sea of students filing inside.

I found my old locker and punched in the combination. I forgot that I left stacks of old notebooks and other miscellaneous objects inside so I had to wrestle my books inside. It was probably a good idea to clean it out at some point but with all the lone sheets of notes and broken eraser heads crammed inside I knew I had to wait until the end of the day.

After storing the textbooks I needed for later inside, I closed my locker and started toward my first class. I double checked my schedule to make sure I was going the right way and when I looked up, a figure standing at their locker made me stop dead in my tracks.

Walk the other way, I thought but I just stood there, holding my books close like an idiot.

Allison glanced up from her belongings then, noticing me there and her eyes widened a little.

"Hey," she greeted apprehensively.

"Hi," I said back, trying not to look and sound awkward. "Did you have a fun summer?"

"Yeah, it was... it was good." She smiled faintly and it seemed like she was trying to hide something. "I went to France."

I noticeably brightened at that. That definitely took the cake for coolest vacation spot. "Whoa, really? That's awesome."

Allison smiled a little wider. "Where did you go?"

"Oh, my parents took me to Florida and we went back to San Diego for a little while. Nothing special, really."

"You were gone four months," Allison replied, a crinkle to her brows. "And when you didn't call, I was thinking you weren't gonna come back."

I looked away. I didn't mean to ignore everyone but I didn't know how to reach out. Maybe I should have tried... it might have made me feel better sooner. And made the dreams go away.

"What's your first class?" I asked after a moment of silence.

"English."

"Me too," I said, smiling. "So... I guess I'll see you there?"

"Yeah," Allison nodded. "Yeah, definitely."

Relieved that the moment passed, I strode past her but my chest ached that farther I walked. It felt great seeing and talking to her again but it wasn't the same and I could guess why. Since her Mom died and she tried more than once to kill Derek, things had been tense between us. We should have talked about it but then Ellis died, making everything worse and all I felt like doing was going away.

But now that I came to terms with him being gone, I didn't want to push my friends away. I needed them. How else would I cope in Beacon Hills?

I came to a halt, taking a deep breath and turned around. Allison was facing me too and when our eyes met I didn't second guess myself and ran back to her. She hugged me tight, tears in her eyes. I missed her so much. There was so much I wanted to tell her but I didn't know where to start.

"I'm sorry," We both said to each other. I giggled at that and so did she, pulling away to wipe her eyes.

"I'm not sorry for not talking to you all summer," I told her. "After everything happened, nothing felt right. I didn't know what I wanted anymore."

"No, I understand," Allison replied. "You needed time. I felt the same when my Mother died." She sniffed and pushed a loose curl from her eyes. "I'm sorry too. What I did at the police station-"

"It's okay, I get it," I said. "You were grieving. It's normal, right?"

Allison didn't say anything and just rubbed her damp cheeks. "Promise you'll tell me if go psycho again?"

I laughed and picked up a book that fell to the floor. "Promise. Will you do the same if I try to disappear again?"

Allison chuckled. "What if I can't find you?"

"But you're a hunter, you can find anybody."

"I used to be hunter," she corrected. "My Dad and I decided to hang that up."

"Wow, really?" That was a shock. I thought that since this was the second time an Argent family member went a little bonkers the hunters would tighten their hold on Beacon Hills a little. But I guess even they had a limit.

I waited for Allison to get the rest of her stuff from her locker so we could walk to class together. When she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, I noticed something new about it.

"Did you cut your hair?" I asked. The color looked lighter too.

She glanced down at her shorter, wavy locks and smiled. "Oh, yeah. What do you think? I wasn't sure about the color."

"It looks great. But I feel bad for Scott, he's gonna lose it when he sees you again."

Allison laughed and playfully pushed my arm. "Stop."

"There you guys are!" A soprano voice quipped from behind us. Four months away from Beacon Hills didn't dull my instincts that much. I knew who that exactly belonged too. Waltzing up to Allison's side was none other than Lydia Martin. "Did you make up already? Good. Now Allison can shut up about how you'll never talk to her again."

"Hi, Lydia," I said despite the red head's spiel.

Lydia smiled and touched her chin to one shoulder. "Charmed." She leaned against the lockers as a squadron of muscled boys year came stalking down the hall then, lighting sparks in her eyes. "Freshman," she fluttered. "Tons and tons of fresh men."

"You mean fresh boys," Allison quipped. "Lydia, they're fourteen."

"Some are more mature than others."

I could have sworn I saw one of those boys carrying a Star Wars backpack, but maybe it was my eyes playing tricks.

"You know, it's okay to be single," Allison told her. "Focus on yourself for a little while. Work on becoming a better person."

"And not such a narcissistic all the time," I added.

Lydia scoffed and stood up straight. "Allison, I love you... and I tolerate you at best, but that's beside the point." I rolled my eyes when she addressed me. She definitely didn't change. "So if you ever need to do that thing where we talk about me and pretend we're not actually talking about you, it's totally fine. But... I don't want a boyfriend." She scoped out the halls then. "I want a distraction." Her gaze stopped and stared at someone over Allison's shoulder.

Allison turned to look too. "Brothers?"

"Twins," Lydia breathed back.

Curious, I peered over to see what it was. The object of Lydia's intrigue was the form of two teenaged boys that looked like they just fell out of a motorcycle club. Both wore similar leather jackets, gloves and carried bike helmets. Not really the kind of style that was made to go unnoticed. Lydia stared at them luridly, biting her glossy lips. This couldn't possibly have anything to do with Jackson leaving the country. No way.

When the boys passed by the lockers, they suddenly went rubber neck, gawking at me like I was that one person that could spread a disease if they got 'personally' close to. They didn't look scared, just wary. It was kind of creepy, but given how much I'd seen, I didn't think anything by it.

The school bell rang then so we headed to class.

In truth, seeing Mr. Sherman again wasn't very high on my wish list. Hopefully he had a better summer than me. Maybe he'd go easy on me this year. My folks wouldn't be too happy if I ended the first week of the semester on a bad note. Scanning the rows of chairs, I chose one toward the back near the window. Allison sat in front of her now ex-boyfriend Scott. He definitely looked the same, eyes still big and wide like a puppy.

Stiles on the other hand, supported a new mop of hair. Actual hair. No more buzz cut. I didn't know whether to be ecstatic or mortified by that. Though, I had to admit, it looked great on him. I waved at the two boys and they returned the gesture, grinning. Same old trouble makers.

I unzipped my backpack and searched for my English book. I could have sworn I packed it that morning-

The sound of my cell vibrating in my front pocket and everywhere else around me made me jump and glance around. Everyone received a text message at the same time. That couldn't have been a coincidence...

Tapping the box, I frowned as I read over the message.

"The offing was barred by a black bank of clouds," a voice started reading the passage just as I read it and the click click of high heels entered the classroom. "And the tranquil waterway leading to the uttermost ends of the earth flowed somber under an overcast sky seemed to lead into the heart of an immense darkness."

A woman walked up to the teacher's desk. She was younger than most of the staff at Beacon Hills High with long curly dark hair. She was pretty and smiled as she held up her phone that also had the text message on it. Oh, that's right, I thought. Mr. Sherman transferred schools before summer ended.

"This is the last line of the first book we are going to read," the new teacher announced. "It is also the last text you will receive in this class. Phones off, everyone."

Weird way of telling everyone not to use our cell phones in class, but I shrugged anyway and did as instructed. I tucked my cell in my backpack flap and sat up to see the teacher writing her name on the chalkboard along with the day's lecture. Ms. Blake. She seemed nice enough.

I took out a fresh sheet of paper and starting taking notes, glancing up at the board occasionally to see if Ms. Blake had written something new down. After about an hour, the old Principal came in and whispered something in Ms. Blake's ear, who then beckoned Scott out of the room. Hopefully it wasn't anything serious. The boy was a magnet for trouble.

I went back to writing down notes as class went on. Since it was the first day back, not a lot of homework was being assigned which was cool. Some teachers wouldn't hesitate and see how much they could break their students, like Mr. Sherman. Definitely wouldn't be missing him. As I was concentrating, Stiles and Lydia started murmuring to each other discreetly, at first it was short whispers but then their conversation dragged on. I was about to wad up a paper ball and throw it at Stiles' head but then out nowhere, a black bird slammed into the window, leaving a huge splatter of blood.

Everyone jumped, startled. Ms. Blake's eyes were wide and she slowly approached the glass. Nothing was out there except the clear blue sky and thick line of trees but then her face paled at something on the horizon. An entire flock of birds, a hundred or so, came flying straight for the window. One by one they rammed their beaks against the glass, over and over until one of the panels shattered. Dozens of them came swooping in, pecking and flying around our heads.

Everyone screamed and fell from their seats.

"Get down, everyone!" Ms. Blake said over the whirring of wind and cawing of birds. Students dived under their desks, knocking them over for protection and some even crawled toward the teacher's desk.

I covered my face with my arms and flinched when the sharp point of a bird's beak nicked my hand. A drop of blood ran down to my wrist.

"Get down, get down!" Ms. Blake shielded a few students from the attack. "Get down! Get down!"

I pushed my chair back and slid under the desk, holding on to the legs so the bird wouldn't knock the thing over. All around me students fought to cover themselves and I saw Stiles leaning protectively over Lydia, their desks turned over. Bodies of birds began falling to the floor, blood spattered on the walls and bits of glass everywhere. I took a deep breath and tried not to look at the dead corpses of the birds at my feet, their necks sickly broken and twisted. What was wrong with them? Why was this happening?

I closed my eyes, curling my legs further under the desk and hoped it would end soon. So much for a normal first day. But this wasn't like any form of weirdness I'd seen before. I couldn't explain what was going on and I didn't understand it. Was there even a reason?

When I opened my eyes again every bird lied dead on the ground. Silence engulfed the classroom. Nobody screamed and they all just stared at the wreckage, sliding out from their hiding spots. Faculty members who heard everything raced to call the cops and in the matter of minutes, police cars and EMTs were checking us over. I wasn't sure what the police could do. The birds were already dead.

I was one of the last students to get their cuts cleaned and bandaged. Thankfully it wasn't too severe. The rubbing alcohol stung but I felt better once they taped a bandage over it. The school staff called our parents too so I sat at one of the chairs and waited for either Mom or Dad to show up, dreading the second they did. Mr. Argent was already present and consoled Allison. When he saw me, he nodded politely, but didn't say a word. He wasn't so scary anymore. Intimidating for sure, but I wasn't uneasy around him like I used to be and I guess that was a good thing. He felt like just another dad. A dangerous one, but a father nonetheless trying to protect his only daughter.

Mr. Stilinski came up to me after a while and asked a few questions details about the attack. I told him as much as I could and he wrote it all down in his notepad but it was cut short when my Dad popped up. He glared a little at the Sheriff, warding the poor guy away and I almost face palmed. He couldn't be cool for one second.

"I knew we should have homeschooled you," Dad grumbled, dressed in his work suit. He lifted my hand and inspected the bandage sealed across it. "A clean slate, huh?"

"I'm okay, Dad. Nothing happened."

"Yes, because I remember when a fleet of crows destroyed my high school English class too. I must have forgot to tell you about that one."

Okay, I guess I saw what he meant. "I'm not saying it wasn't weird, but we just got back. Shouldn't we see if it gets worse?"

"It already has." Dad opened up his suit jacket then and fished out a folded newspaper article from that morning's issue. He handed it to me.

I flipped through the pages and skimmed over the headlines that reported cases of rabid attacks from wildlife and domestic animals alike. From the dates, it appeared they all started the week we left for Florida. Either those people needed to train their dogs or Beacon Hills was overdosing on crazy again.

"So what does this mean?"

"Who knows," Dad replied, tucking the paper back in his suit jacket. "Only the animals do." As if sharing a mutual thought, he glanced over his shoulder at Mr. Argent, who looked back at the same time. They stared each other for second before turning away to their respective daughters. Even with Mr. Argent not hunting anymore, the tension between them was still thick. I wondered if it would ever go away.

"Will it ever be the same?" I asked quietly, knowing how far the two families went back.

"I don't know," Dad admitted, sounding at a loss.

I frowned. I was hoping that was one thing that would change. "I don't think they they know anything either," I told him. "They don't hunt anymore."

Dad raised his eyebrows but didn't look fully convinced. "Imagine that." He checked the time on his watch then and picked up his briefcase from the desk. "I have to get back to work. Get your things and I'll take you home."

"Okay."

The rest of the day had been cancelled because of the bird accident, so most of the students already left school. I was bummed the first day back ended so awfully but I was glad that none of us would have to worry through our next classes. I wouldn't have been able to focus after what happened.

"I'll bring the car around," Dad told me before I left to get the rest of my books out of my locker. Allison and Lydia were already at their lockers, waiting for their parents. I headed toward them, struggling to slid my heavy backpack up my arm with a sore hand.

"Are you going home too?" Allison asked when I walked up.

I nodded. "I think I'm already done with the new semester."

"Is it me or is Beacon Hills turning into more like beacon for the totally bizarre and supernatural?" Lydia observed, retouching her makeup.

Allison and I smiled at her joke as Lydia shut her locker door. We turned for the exit, but then a girl approached us. She looked older than us, too old to be in high school, and her baggy clothes made it seem like she just crawled out of a car wreck.

"Where's Scott McCall?" The girl asked. She glanced at Allison. "You're Allison, right?"

"Yeah, how do you know-"

"Where's Scott?"

"He had to leave," Allison told her, also sensing the girl's oddness. "He was supposed to be back in class-"

"Is he coming back?"

"What do you want with Scott?" I asked, feeling put off by a stranger asking for his whereabouts. I had a feeling she didn't go to our school.

"Yeah, who are you-" Allison was about to say, but then the strange girl gripped her arm hard enough to make her gasp.

"Hey, easy with the physicality, sweetheart," Lydia sassed, stepping forward, but her protest died short also when the girl seized her arm as well.

If she really wanted to find Scott she was going about it the wrong way. Holding my backpack to my shoulder with one hand, I shoved the girl's chest with the other and she stumbled back. Allison and Lydia touched the spot where the girl clutched them, like she left burn marks. Before any of us could say anything the girl spun on her heel and ran down the hallway. She disappeared around the corner and I let out a breath of relief. At least none of would get detention for fighting.

"Good job, Alessandra," Lydia remarked with appreciation. "Scared another one off."

I was about to answer but when I turned around, I realized why the girl looked so scared. Standing at the end of the corridor were the twin boys. Okay, that's totally not creepy, I thought. Were they there the whole time? They must have been. Why else would the girl high tail it like that?

When the boys saw me, they darted into the nearest door. Weirdos. "I don't think it was me," I muttered, confused by the sudden events.

"Well, she bruised me," Lydia lamented, frowning at the bright red mark on her skin.

Allison also gazed at her wrist. "Huh. Me too."

We exchanged glances, wondering what to make of the situation. The girl could have been just strong and that was why she left a print, but there was still the question of what she was doing in school. And asking for Scott. Where did he go anyway?

Mr. Argent came down the hall toward us then. "Come on, let's get you girls out of here. School can wait another day," he said, putting a hand on Allison and Lydia's backs. He glanced at me when I didn't immediately follow.

"My dad's coming to get me," I said. Honestly I was surprised that he would have given me a ride home if I needed it. Despite him turning over new leaf I still thought he wanted nothing to do with me around his daughter.

Mr. Argent nodded. "Take care of yourself," he said and it sounded like he meant it.

"I will."

I waved my goodbyes at Allison and Lydia as they went out to Mr. Argent's car. The parking lot was almost empty by the time I walked out to wait for Dad and he cruised up within seconds, windows rolled down. I didn't tell him about what happened inside with the girl since the day was already bad on it's own. He probably couldn't make sense of it either.

[O]

Since there was very little homework assigned that day, I finished what Ms. Blake told us to do in a couple hours and spent a majority of the afternoon in the living room. I grabbed a poptart from the pantry and munched through it as I flipped through the required reading material. The Tv was on too, but on low so I wouldn't get distracted. I couldn't help but glance up every now and then though, the news anchor showing video feed of animal deaths across the county.

Dad was right. Something was going on.

Eventually I turned off the Tv and just sat on the sofa, bored out of of my mind. After a while I stood up to go back to my room but then my phone buzzed on the coffee table and when I checked it, I saw that it was a text from Allison. Apparently I wasn't the only one stumped on what to do with the rest of their day. That was comforting.

They invited me along with them to pick out paint colors for Allison's room. I forgot that they sold the old Argent home and moved to an apartment complex. I hadn't seen it yet so I was eager to go back to hanging out with my friends, especially after the bird attack. If it had been at Lydia's house instead, I would have kissed my invitation goodbye. I went upstairs to put on some shoes before meeting Allison's car at the curb. I made sure I locked up first and texted my folks so they wouldn't come home and think I went missing. The last we needed on top of a day like that was Mom having a panic attack.

I climbed in the backseat, fiddling with the bandaid on my hand the entire ride there. The apartment building Allison lived in was bigger and fancier than others I'd seen but I wasn't surprised considering how nice their old house was. Whatever Mr. Argent did on the side except hunting werewolves really had them rolling in dough.

Once we were in Allison's room, I sat on her bed and watched as they spread out paint samples on the desk and held up some to the wall. There must have been over a hundred swatches and I wondered how we'd get through them all by tonight. Lydia had a eye for design though so I figured she'd take the reigns a little. Or a lot.

I leafed through a few colors on my lap while they discussed what style to go with.

"Okay, what color are you looking for?" Lydia asked Allison, a stack of color cards in her hands. "Pastel? Vibrant?"

"I was thinking blue. Like a subtle shade."

Lydia scrunched her nose at the idea and I took it as a sign she didn't agree with the idea. Shocker. "What about mauve?" She suggested, holding up a color card to light tan wall.

Allison folded her arms and studied it. "It's pretty, but something about it doesn't feel right." She looked over to the bed at me. "Alessandra, what do you think?"

"It's kinda boring," I admitted.

Lydia huffed and gave me a tiny glare. "Thanks for the imput."

I shrugged sheepishly. "Hey, I'm just being honest."

Allison chuckled at our exchange before going back to the desk for more color samples. She returned with at least a dozen and began taping them all over the wall. A lot of them were soft in shade, like water colors. I leaned my head around to see the assortment, thinking if any of the cards on my lap would look good.

Lydia found another one she liked and held it to the wall with a smile. "This one. It's perfect."

Allison still sounded unsure. "Mm, I don't know. I'm still thinking maybe a shade of blue." She stepped forward to compare a sample beside Lydia's hand, their wrists almost touching. My gaze drifted from the cards to their skin, the bruise the girl gave them redder and more noticeable than before. It didn't even look like a bruise anymore. More like a burn mark.

Whoa, I thought. Definitely not a coincidence.

Allison must have felt my bewilderment because she glanced over her shoulder at me and I mutely gazed back, the fun easy going atmosphere gone. Her expression was puzzled too as she looked to our red headed friend, who happily went studying the color swatches. No care in the world. Or rather without notice.

"Lydia, look," Allison murmured, gaining her attention.

Lydia's cheery features crumbled when she finally saw the pattern their wrists made together. But she didn't have anything to say either, she just stared wide eyed at us then back at the bruise. It was too eerie to be a normal, like a scrape you got by slipping and falling in your driveway. There was something in that mark. Something that told us what was going on but I had no idea what. And it freaked me out.

Nobody talked about paint color for the rest of the night.

A/N: I'm so excited to start s3. One of the saddest parts though is not writing Jackson into anything. He was one of my favorite characters and I'm gonna miss him a lot. :/

I want to thank you guys for staying with me this far and all your continued support. It means so much to me.

Also out of curiosity, what's everyone's favorite episode of season 3? Mine is a tie between Chaos Rising and Motel California.

Thanks for reading!