Sarah was having an off day. There were moments when she felt invincible; on top of the world. And one wrong glance, one bump of the shoulder set her reverting into her shell. She knew who she trusted, and those she didn't know were to be avoided. There were words that kept repeating themselves over and over in her head, You need to be careful of who you spend your time with. She knew that Derek was right, she had to be careful. But she didn't want to become hard or distrusting of anyone she didn't really know.

"What's up your ass?" Jackson was at his locker and had noticed Sarah's odd behavior today. She'd been awkwardly quiet in Chemistry, perceiving Dr. Harrisin a new light. Well, she'd been weary around him since the night of the Formal. So that bit wasn't really new, but Jackson noticed her hunched shoulders and shifty eyes. He saw the way she muttered apologies to the people who kept ramming in to her. It was a usual occurrence, but not the apologies. No, Sarah typically rammed them back or retorted with a witty remark. He also knew by her fashion choices that her head wasn't here at school (he blamed that bit on Lydia Martin).

She had thrown on a torn Led Zeppelin shirt that tied around her waist, she had thrown on a pair of old yoga pants and she wore a red hoodie with red vans. Her hair was tied in a messy bun and she wore no makeup. Jackson blamed Lydia in that he noticed things like that. He knew that she would typically straighten her hair with this kind of attire and that she would wear heavy eye-makeup and leather leggings with that kind of shirt. He hated that he knew something was up with Sarah Stilinski; he wasn't supposed to notice those kinds of things.

"It's been a long week." Jackson's brow rose.

"It's Tuesday."

"Yup. And yesterday was Monday, meaning that it was the start of the week. Weekdays shouldn't be allowed." Jackson let out a breath of laughter at that. And it was quiet between them as Sarah got the books she needed out of her locker.

"Are you sure you're ok? You just seem really shifty."

"Yeah, well, I have to be." She gave him a knowing look. "I don't know who I can trust anymore." Jackson's brows both furrowed at that. "It's really dumb." She finally relented. "But I went on a date and was stood up."

"Stilinski, that stuff happens. You can't let that bother-."

"No, I found out later that he was a hunter." She whispered the last part. She sighed. "He stood me up because he was amputating omegas." She leaned in a bit closer. "And now I'm just trying to avoid anyone I don't really know because I honestly don't know who I can trust anymore. It's not one of those weird first-world problems, Jackson. It's just…I don't know who I'm sitting next to in class anymore."

"What's his name?" Sarah was surprised that Jackson wanted to know.

"Anthony Carnevale. He's in my Lit class." There was another beat of silence. "You need to be careful, too, Jackson. I understand that you're not interested in the teamwork aspect and that you're smart and can take care of yourself." She waved her hands, dismissing whatever he was going to say about the matter. "Just be cautious about who you talk to." She gave him a soft pat on the shoulder and walked to class, shoulders still hunched as she tried to avoid the major crowds. Jackson vaguely wondered who this Anthony Carnevale was and wiped away the thought; knowing there was nothing to be done.


The next morning, Anthony Carnevale's body had been found. It was kept on the down low, but Sarah managed to find out about it because of her father's obvious connections with the law. She was on edge that day; legs jittering, nail-biting and shifty eyes. She couldn't concentrate on her schoolwork and she didn't make much conversation with anybody, not even Stiles and Scott. When she'd heard about Erica in P.E, it only worsened the situation. Now she was anxious for her friend's wellbeing as well as her so-called date's death. She was tense and uptight, something she was fully aware of and she could feel the pressure in her head and her irate attitude only worsened when Scott texted her about Erica's seizure.

Sarah wanted to be there for her friend, but she knew that Gerard Argent, the new principal, would never allow such a thing, even with her high-performing academic achievements and perfectly clean record. So she was stuck in school with lingering thoughts and visions of the worst-possible scenario for the entire week. And when she saw Jackson practically screaming at Lydia, shoving her against the wall, she just about lost it. When he was done with his spiel, she grabbed him by the collar and shoved him against a set of lockers, uncaring about his own anxiety and wound up behavior.

"Don't you dare." She snarled, her molten eyes blazing and her nostrils flared. Her neck was red with anger. "After Winter Formal, you have no right to talk to Lydia, especially like that. So don't you dare speak to her like that. Or I swear, you will have me to deal with. And you know how I can be." She shoved him even further in to the lockers for good measure and walked away, leaving the lacrosse player shaken and a little less uptight.

She headed to lunch to sit with her brother and Scott and was a bit confused as to why Stiles had dropped a set keys in front of Scott when he sat down. She looked at where Stiles had previously been sitting and she saw one of her friends eating alone. Sarah waved and was glad to receive a smile in return. She gestured to an empty seat across from her and was disappointed in the shake of his head. She was about to call out to Boyd until the entire cafeteria stopped and stared as someone entered.

Someone all too familiar to Sarah Stilinski sauntered into the high school cafeteria as if it were a runway, complete with cheetah-print stilettos and a leather jacket. Every single person attracted to women, and even those who weren't, stopped and stared at the beauty who sexily bit into an apple before her dangerous hips swayed out of the cafeteria as quickly as she'd come in.

"What was that?" Lydia stopped at their table.

"That's Erica." Sarah gulped, releasing a tight breath of air she hadn't known she was holding. She and the boys raced outside to see Erica enter a familiar Camaro. She and the driver smiled beautifully at the trio before speeding away. Scott felt anger course through his body and Stiles was feeling utterly helpless. But both knew that Sarah was not shaking because of the nippy weather, but because of the rage and anxiety that was taking its toll on her body.


"Why don't you come with us tonight?" Stiles asked his big sister.

"Because I'd be the awkward fifth wheel." Sarah returned. "And remember what happened last time?"

"Technically, you and Scott were both there without dates."

"Yes, and Scott had sneaked in to the dance, just like you're now sneaking in to the ice den." Sarah was trying to finish the chapter of her favorite book, but she couldn't make it past this page. It had nothing to do with Stiles and everything to do with all that was on her mind.

"Look, you need a night out. Just relax for a few hours and come ice skating. You love that!"

"As the awkward fifth wheel, I will be stuck in my mind still." Stiles wasn't having any of it.

"Look, if you have a panic attack tonight, I need to be there." Sarah's expressive brows furrowed at his words. "Dad's at work, so you need to come with me tonight so that I can keep an eye on you." There was a pregnant pause. "Please. Just come hang out with us." There was another beat.

"Ok, fine. Let me change." Sarah had kept her Led Zeppelin shirt on, but changed into black leggings and teased her curly hair. Without a care about makeup, she threw on the leather jacket that Derek had given her and was ready to go. Stiles noticed her new attire but made sure not to comment on it. All he did was drive to pick up Scott and meet Lydia and Allison at the ice rink, which was why Stiles had been talking to Boyd that afternoon.

Sarah sat alone as she laced her skates. Allison and Scott were being adorable while Stiles was trying to be deep and meaningful with Lydia. Sarah felt like the black sheep of the group; the one that no one really wants to associate with, but they do out of pity or because of the history between them all.

So while Allison taught Scott to skate and Lydia brought out some old tricks from when she took lessons, Stiles watched in awe and Sarah skated around for the same reason people take walks or take up running. The exercise gave her something else to focus on other than everything coursing through her head. For a while, she forgot all the negative emotions and the cold pierced her skin in the best possible way and the air made it easier for her to breathe. She managed a few tricks that she'd learned back in the day; back when she'd been an active athlete.

But everything turned on her when Lydia started screaming at what everyone else thought to be nothing. Stiles was holding her and Scott and Allison came dashing back from the photo booth in confusion. Sarah had collapsed when the shrieks had started and she couldn't bring herself to upright herself.