"Tessandra Bradley!"

My head snapped up from my folded arms, the back of it smacking into the shelf above me on my desk. I let out a silent scream, clutching onto the spot of collision as I tried to gather my surroundings. Currently buried in homework, I realized that I must've fallen asleep while reading out of my chemistry textbook. My eyes glanced over to the clock and I saw that it was almost eight thirty, the red digits reminding me of the closing deadline of many assignments due tomorrow.

"If you don't come downstairs in three seconds, I am going to force this kid off our front porch!" Andre then screamed, her voice bellowing through the house with anger evident in it. "Tessa!"

Scrambling up from my chair, I nearly fell into my bedroom door and then wrenched it open. "I'm coming!" I screeched back to my sister and then tumbled down the staircase.

In the foyer, my sister was standing just a few feet away from the door with her hands on her hips, giving me a mildly annoyed look. "He has been knocking for the past five minutes like a psychopath." Andre told me through gritted teeth. "I thought he might go away if I didn't answer, but he was incredibly persistent."

"What-who?" I stammered and then hurried over to look out the peephole on the front door. A deep sigh left my lips when I saw that Stiles was pacing on the porch, trying to see inside the windows. Finally, I opened it up and he jumped at the noise.

"Jesus-" Stiles gasped, flinching away from me and then he seemed to relax once he saw that it was just me. "You and your sister need to invest in hearing aides...and a doorbell."

"What the hell are you doing here?" I demanded, pushing some loose locks of hair out of my face. "And why do you look like you just ran a marathon?"

Stiles frowned and then lightly touched his forehead, wrinkling his nose when he saw that there was a thin layer of sweat on his skin. "I-I just got finished talking to my Dad and I think there might be a connection with the kanima murders." He explained and glanced at Andre who now looked interested in our conversation.

"Next time, a phone call would be nice." Andre suggested and then gestured for him to enter. I opened the door wider and Stiles stepped inside, wiping his palms on the legs of his jeans. "I almost shot you, Stilinski."

"Noted." Stiles mumbled and nodded curtly. His eyes darted over to me and he gave me a sheepish smile before we followed my sister into the kitchen. As we walked, he took a moment to lean towards me. "Is she always this scary?"

"Only when it's you." I teased, giving him an acidic smile to which he looked somewhat frightened, his lips turning downwards. We then both took a seat at the breakfast bar and Andre took up the spot on the other side of the counter. "What did you find out?"

"So, my Dad did some digging and he realized that all of the victims were 24-the mechanic and the couple killed the other night." Stiles began, using his hands to speak and looking between the two of us. "It turned out that they all went to Beacon Hills in 2006."

"What about Mr. Lahey?" I asked, furrowing my brow and crossing my arms on the table top. "He wasn't 24 and I don't think he went to school in 2006."

Stiles nodded. "You're right. However, Isaac had an older brother named Cameron who died in combat." He revealed, swallowing hard. "And, if he were alive today, he would be 24."

I felt a sense of dread come over me, shifting nervously in my seat. "Okay, so, that could all just be a coincidence, right?"

"All of them had the same teacher." Stiles then said. He then turned to look at me. "Wanna take a wild guess at who that was?"

Thinking for a moment, I tried to remember the teachers who were a bit older and who could've been working during that time. Finally, it hit me and my throat went dry. "Mr. Harris."

"Wait, you're telling me that your asshole chemistry teacher might have something to do with all this?" Andre asked, raising her eyebrows. "That doesn't make much sense."

"Well, n-not yet." Stiles assured her, holding up his hands and trying to look confident. "I'm still working that out. My Dad is making some phone calls."

"What if this puts him in danger?" Andre then inquired, looking somewhat weary at the prospect. "The closer he gets to finding out who is committing the murders, the closer he gets to figuring out who is controlling Jackson."

"And, in case you forgot, he told us to stay out of his way or he'd kill us." I reminded the boy beside me. "Your Dad has no idea what he's getting into."

"I know, I know." Stiles sighed stressfully, running a hand over the top of his head. "But, he's the one who has all the information we need and can get it. I don't think that the kanima would attack the Sheriff in town. It would bring too much attention."

"Attacking a group of teenagers at a high school doesn't bring too much attention?" Andre asked rhetorically. "Stiles, he's getting more comfortable-more dangerous. We have to do something."

"Like what? Tell him about the supernatural and make it even more of a problem?" Stiles asked baldly, giving my sister a pointed look. "It's not gonna happen."

Andre frowned, knowing he was right. Her eyes darted around the kitchen for a moment and then they widened as a thought suddenly came to her. "I actually have an idea." She murmured. "Stiles, do you know if there are any openings at the police station?"

"What-you mean like a job?" Stiles clarified, looking mildly confused by her question.

Andre nodded and perked up slightly in her stance. "I could work reception or records-something. You have to get me a job, then I can keep tabs on your Dad and be able to get information." She implored, a smile coming onto her features. "I don't know why I didn't think about this before."

"Uh, yeah, sure." Stiles agreed, nodding his head quickly. "I'll talk to him and see what he can do."

"Ah, bless your heart." Andre cooed and then walked over to kiss him quickly on the head before rushing upstairs, pulling out her cellphone. Stiles sat stunned, blinking a few times while a red tint came across his pale features.

"I think that's the nicest she's ever been to me." Stiles murmured in realization, giving me a bewildered look. "But, she's got a good idea. I trust Andre to keep my Dad safe and she can be some sort of intel so I don't look so suspicious."

"All of this is so much easier now that we can be honest with her." I told Stiles, resting my head on my hand. "Makes me feel like less of a crappy person."

Stiles frowned and then turned in his seat so he could fully face me. "What are you talking about?" He questioned, his expression softening.

I was quiet for a few moments and I chewed on my bottom lip, staring down at the counter top. "After what Erica told you the other day, I just can't help but feel guilty." I admitted, shaking my head. "On top of that, I still feel awful for what I did to Isaac and I've been lying to Lydia. I feel like I try to paint everyone else as a bad person, when I'm just as awful."

"Tessa, you are not a bad person." Stiles assured me, reaching out to take one of my hands and clutch it tightly. "The life that we live is-is dangerous and chaotic. Right now, it's safer to keep Lydia out of it. You know that."

"What about Erica and Isaac?" I asked weakly. "I used Isaac because you were going to the formal with Lydia and then I forced him to go home with his Dad. I treated Erica like she was just another classmate and forgot about her. That's not what good people do, Stiles."

"People make mistakes." Stiles murmured, his thumb rubbing the back of my hand gently. "You aren't responsible for everyone. You also don't have to be perfect-none of us are."

"I just don't want to hurt anyone." I replied, my voice barely above a whisper as I felt a lump form in my throat. "I want to be a-"

"-a hero?" Stiles finished, a somewhat playful smile touching the corner of his lips as he gave me a pointed look. "Trust me, I am vaguely aware of the feeling."

I gave him a sheepish look and then looked down at our conjoined hands for a few quiet moments. "I'm just glad that you're here." I admitted in a soft voice. "I don't know how far I'd make it without you, Stiles."

"I'll always be here." Stiles assured me, releasing my hand only to place his own on the side of my face.

His brown eyes poured into mine and it was like I could feel every emotion that he was trying to convey. I hadn't been in very many relationships in my life and, even if I had, there was no way none of them would come close to this. Stiles was some sort of anomaly in my life and the thought of having something so good in my possession was almost horrifying. The thought of losing Stiles or hurting him in some way was enough to make my chest clench with terrible pain. I had been so destructive with friendships in my past and burned nearly every bridge I had ever built. Coming to Beacon Hills and making the friends I did had changed me only for the better. I would've never seen myself sitting in my kitchen with a boy who genuinely liked me for me.

Almost instinctively, I leaned into his touch and my eyelids fluttered shut to savor the feeling. With a deep sigh leaving my nose, an almost drowsy smile appeared on my lips. "Who knew you'd be the one I wanted, Stilinski?"

I heard Stiles chuckle and he ran the pad of his thumb over the soft skin of my cheek. "Definitely not me." He answered. "I was pretty sure we were going to hate each other."

A gentle laugh erupted from me and my eyes opened, looking at the boy across from me. "I don't think I could ever hate you."

Stiles returned my look with a lopsided smile and then dropped his hand down into his lap. "I don't think I could ever hate you, Tessa."

As if it were second nature, the top half of my body tipped forward to close the space between Stiles and I. He met me almost halfway and his lips met mine with ease. I felt a sigh leave his nose and he tucked a lock of hair that had fallen out of place behind my ear. I had always thought that kissing Stiles would seem so strange-so out of place-but, now that I was, everything seemed to make total and complete sense. Stiles just simply felt right.

After a few long moments, we finally pulled away from each other. There was a faint buzz to my lips and my head swirled slightly. Once I gathered myself, I suddenly remembered my conversation from the other night, chuckling quietly to myself.

"You're going to hate this." I told Stiles and bobbed my eyebrows. "Scott told Derek."

"Told Derek what exactly?" Stiles asked, furrowing his brow and then crossing his arms, sitting back up in his seat.

"Scott told Derek about...us." I reiterated, gesturing between Stiles and I.

Stiles blinked a few times and then his eyes widened. "Oh-oh! Oh." He cringed deeply and then looked almost worried. "Great, not only do we have to work with that jerk, now he knows that I've been canoodling his baby sister."

"Okay, first off," I began almost instantaneously, holding up a finger. "...never say 'canoodling' ever again or I will cut your tongue out in your sleep. Second off, Derek is not my brother which means I'm not his baby sister."

"Well, technically, you are." Stiles mumbled, his face going red as he cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Biologically, yes." I acknowledged and then gave him a sarcastic smile. "Realistically, absolutely freaking not."

Stiles let out a frustrated groan and then dropped his head into his hands. "That guy already dislikes me. This is just another reason for him to continue with that theme."

"Would you relax? He was actually incredibly calm about it." I assured Stiles, raising my hand and giving the boy a bewildered look. "For someone who hates Derek, you sure seem to care about his opinion."

"I don't care about his opinion." Stiles argued, his voice slightly muffled by his hands. "I just don't want to give him another reason to verbally assault me every chance he gets."

I rolled my eyes and then got up from my seat to retrieve a glass of water. "There's nothing you should worry about." I told him. "Look, I'm not super into the idea of having to side with the deranged Scooby Gang, but we have no choice. Scott's right-we will be stronger in numbers and we need all the help we can get now that the Argent's are starting to close in on the kanima."

"Scott was taking Derek over to the vet clinic to talk to Deaton." Stiles mentioned, finally lifting up his head and then resting his arms on the counter top. "He wanted to see if Deaton knew any kind of herbs or potions that could counteract the kanima venom."

I nodded slowly and thought for a moment. "How do we know that we can trust Deaton? I mean, we only just recently found out that he knew about the supernatural."

"Scott's been working for the guy for years now. If he was sketchy, we probably would've found that out by now." Stiles answered. "He's not the one we have to worry about."

"As long as Derek listens to Scott, we might actually make it out of this relatively unscatched. However, that also means that the other three have to follow, as well." I mentioned taking a sip of water. "Which seems highly unlikely seeing as more than half of them already have a vendetta against me which, strangely enough, pertains to you."

"I am just as surprised as you are." Stiles admitted, holding up his hands in mock surrender. "It also does not bring me any joy to know that I got my ass kicked because Isaac was jealous and you got your ass slightly kicked because Erica was jealous."

"Which will never happen again, by the way. I think I made it pretty clear to Isaac that I think he's an asshole and to never speak to me unless it's necessary." I told the boy and shook my head. "I sent him an incredibly scathing text message outlining a lot of detailed ways I could mutilate him if he ever decided to put his hands on you again."

Stiles looked slightly terrified, but also impressed at the same time. "I am forever grateful I am on your good side."

The next morning, I received a text message from Stiles saying that I had no choice but to ride with him and Scott to school. Lydia was slightly muffed that she had gone two days without driving me, but was allowing me what she called a 'honeymoon period' with Stiles. There was no secret as to why Stiles was refusing to let me out of his sight, the incident in the library putting him on edge. The only reason he wasn't staked outside of my house was primarily because Scott lived just across the street.

I rode in the backseat while the boys sat up front, chattering about some video game they were interested in. Truthfully, I was glad to hear that they could still talk about something normal when we were in the middle of something that was far from normal. It made me miss Lydia for a moment, knowing she was the only one I could at least pretend to be normal with.

As we pulled into a parking spot, I looked out the window to see someone locking their bike up at the bike rack just out front of the school. Recognizing the haircut, I realized that it was Matt and a sense of unease came over me. Shrugging it off, I allowed Scott to help me out of the backseat and onto the ground.

"There's got to be some other way to get tickets, right?" Scott was then asking his friend, obviously continuing the conversation they must've had in the Jeep. I had zoned out, trying to almost think of nothing for just a few minutes.

"It's a secret show." Stiles replied back to the werewolf. "There's only one way and it's a secret."

I then understood that they were talking about a rave that had come to town just a few nights ago. There were some posters plastered up at school and some on telephone poles in town. Lydia had mentioned it but only to slander the show, calling it a 'drug infested cesspool of horny teenagers who have a terrible taste in music', which meant she would not be attending.

As we had begun to make our way inside the school, I sensed some movement behind us. Just as I was about to look, the figure made itself known.

"Hey!" Matt called out, now standing just a few paces behind us. It got the attention of both boys and we all turned to face the other party. "Either of you guys know why no one's getting suspended after what happened the other day at school?"

I grimaced deeply, having forgotten that Matt had been involved with all that had happened. He was entirely in the dark and had only been caught in the crossfire. Regardless of my own personal opinion of him, I didn't want him to get hurt because of us.

"Just forget about it. Nobody got hurt." Stiles suggested to Matt, shrugging his shoulders. My hand swung out and thumped him in the bicep, giving him a sharp glare. "What?"

"I-I had a concussion." Matt reminded him, as if to answer why I had hit Stiles.

"Well, nobody got seriously hurt." Stiles reiterated as if that response were any better. I knew he just wanted to brush it off to avoid having to explain anything to Matt, but I could tell the boy was more than bitter.

"I was in the ER for six hours." Matt insisted, his eyes narrowing as he shook his head and took on a slightly offended expression.

"Hey, do you want to know the truth, Matt?" Stiles asked him exasperatedly. "Your little bump on the head is about this high-" The spastic boy bent over at the waist and held his hand just a few inches above the ground. "-on our list of problems right now!"

"Stiles, chill the hell out." I scolded him in a sharp whisper, giving him a wide eyed look. I then looked at Matt with an entirely sheepish smile. "Sorry, he, uh, didn't get much sleep last night."

Scott let out a small sigh, obviously put off by Stiles' response as well, and took a step towards the boy. "Are you okay?" He then asked Matt, sounding more concerned than his best friend.

"Yeah, I'm fine, now." Matt answered and his tone bordered the line of irritation. I even considered the idea that he might actually be suspicious of us as well. "So, you didn't get any tickets last night, either?"

Scott shook his head. "Are they still selling?"

"Uh, no, but I managed to find two online." Matt revealed. "You should keep trying. Sounds like everyone is going to be there."

With that, Matt gave each of us a lasting look before turning on his heel to walk in the other direction. A gusty breath left my lips with relief as I realized that we avoided another crisis for the time being. However, his last sentence made me weary and, without even having to ask, I now understood why Scott was so desperate to get to the rave. If Matt truly meant everyone, then there was the possibility he meant Jackson and his master.

"I don't like him." Stiles thought out loud, staring after Matt with distaste and shaking his head. As Scott was about to walk away, he looked back at his friend. "Hey, are you sure about this?"

"Last time, whoever's controlling Jackson had to kill somebody because he didn't finish the job. So, what do you think he's going to do this time?" Scott asked rhetorically.

Stiles was quiet for a few moments. "Be there to make sure it happens." He answered begrudgingly as if he hated being right about this. I couldn't blame him. Now, both the kanima and the master had killed someone with their own hands.

"So, we get tickets to this rave, and then what?" I asked the two boys, glancing between them. Like clockwork, they exchanged a look and then a small, sarcastic chuckle tumbled from Stiles' lips resulting in a deep frown from me.

"We-" He gestured between them and then me. "-are not getting tickets. Scott and I are getting tickets. You are going to stay home where there are no flashing lights, alcohol, darkness, and loud music."

"How many times are we going to do this?" I demanded, stopping just outside the doors. I then looked to Scott. "And why don't you chime in for a change, Scott?"

"I agree with Stiles. I don't think it's safe for either of you to go, but Stiles is just more persistent." Scott defended, shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. "Especially now, they don't seem to have any boundaries which could mean any of us could get hurt. I mean, look at Matt."

"Who is upright, walking and talking like a real boy." I pointed out. "None of this has ever been safe and-and you can't just start this crap now."

"We aren't arguing about this. We have lacrosse practice and two tickets to get." Stiles stated firmly and held up a hand. Quickly, he bent down and pressed a kiss to my cheek. "Have a nice day."

"Hold on a second-"

I couldn't even finish my sentence before both of them were suddenly shoving their way inside the front doors, sprinting down the hallway like two dogs. I sighed out a frustrated growl and scrubbed a hand down my face, realizing that it was no use to argue at this point. After a few seconds, I pushed my own way into the school and weaved through the kids to get to my locker. I spun the combo, trying to brainstorm ways that I would be able to obtain a ticket to the rave against the wishes of the boys, and then began unloading my books.

Just as I finished grabbing the last one, the door of my locker slammed shut. It just barely missed clipping the edge of my nose and a surprised yelp escaped me against my will. I stared ahead at the hand covering the door and I frowned once I realized who it was. My eyes slid up the arm and met a pair of mesmerizing yet infuriating blue orbs.

"You know, if you want to talk to me, you don't always have to sneak up on me while I'm at my locker." I reminded Isaac bitterly, an ingenuine smile being thrown his direction. "It's actually sort of creepy when you do that."

"As if you wouldn't walk away from me if you saw me coming." Isaac scoffed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

My eyebrows rose up slightly in surprise. "Oh, yeah? My feet still work, ya know?" I turned on my heel and began to walk in the other direction when, as per usual, his hand shot out to grab at my bicep. It wasn't harsh, but it also wasn't appreciated. "Come on, Isaac!"

Isaac was able to spin me back around to face and then released me shortly afterwards. "Tessa, I know what I did was wrong at Scott's, but you have to know I was telling the truth."

"You mean you were telling the truth about the part when you threw Stiles around because you have some little crush on me?" I demanded, giving him a sharp glare. "Fantastic. Thank you for making that crystal clear as if it wasn't before."

Isaac clenched his jaw and then scratched beneath his chin, trying to contain his frustration. "Look, if we're going to be working together, I can't have you hate me."

"I don't hate you, Isaac. I just don't particularly like you and would choose not to ever spend any personal time with you. Like, pretty much, ever." I reiterated, shaking my head. "I'm only doing this because Scott said so. Scott doesn't kick people's asses for no reason."

"I kicked Stiles' ass?" Isaac repeated, an almost proud look dancing in his eyes as the corners of his mouth twitched upwards.

"Are you kidding me?" I demanded wildly, my hand reaching up to shove Isaac hard in the shoulder. Although he only stumbled back a few paces, I was satisfied with the result which was a stunned look for the werewolf. "You really are that dense, Isaac. You suck, right now, dude. I don't want to be around you because of that reason. You are so far up on your high horse that you can't even see your own reflection."

Isaac snorted bitterly. "I don't blame you for not understanding my situation, Tessa." He began. "You didn't have to suffer from being the weak one your entire life. You haven't gotten the opportunity to, for the first time in your life, become someone stronger. This is the best thing that has ever happened to me and if I'm a little egotistical over what I can do, then who is to blame me? I've spent sixteen years doing nothing. Now, I'm finally something."

I swallowed hard, having to look away from Isaac for a moment. Part of me knew that he was right, that sympathized with him. The other part of me knew that there were other dangers and responsibilities that came with being a werewolf that Isaac didn't fully understand. Derek had chosen Isaac to be his beta because the boy had been willing and had potential to be exactly what he needed him to be-determined and physical.

"I'm sorry for what I did to you after the formal, Isaac. I truly am." I murmured after several beats of silence passed over us. The hallway had begun to empty out, a bell having rung for the next class but that was the least of my concerns. "There is nothing I can do to change that. I know you still hold that against me. That's why you're angry."

"Sure, there's that. There's also the fact that, even when I'm the best I've ever been, I still can't get the girl." Isaac then stated sharply, glancing down at the floor before back up at me. "That you can't change unless you want to."

"Isaac-"

"Save it. I have practice." Isaac ordered, holding up a hand as if to physically stop my words before he brushed past me to walk down the hall. I watched him go until his blonde curls disappeared around the corner and a defeated sigh left me, my shoulders deflating.

I eventually made my way to class with only a warning from the teacher about being late. The morning went by as normally as I could aside from my mind being far off from reality. Jackson had been conveniently absent and Lydia had been quieter than usual. My conversation with Isaac was once again settling heavily on my thoughts and I tried not to allow myself to feel guilty. It was the same way I viewed the Erica situation-how was I supposed to know that Isaac had liked me? He never told me and I never asked. I had been so focused on trying to pretend at least for a moment that I was a natural, teenage girl going to the formal with a boy she could stomach for more than five minutes. I had no idea that Peter would show up and that Lydia would be attacked on the lacrosse field. None of this could truly be my fault. Of course, the only person to blame was dead.

By the time lunch rolled around, Lydia had still been distant and I had watched her go out to her car to eat her lunch. I tried to ignore her odd behavior, thinking it was just her way of icing me out over not being able to give me a ride to school. I took my seat at the usual table I did, a couple seats open around me as if inviting the two boys or the brunette girl to take them. Allison entered the lunch room, a deep frown settled on her features and upon seeing me, she forced her lips up into a smile. She grabbed a lunch tray and then walked over to the table, sitting down across from me.

"You look...bummed out." I noted, tipping my head slightly to the side as if I were appraising her. "Everything okay?"

Allison let out a deep sigh and pushed some curled hair out of her face. "My Dad knows about the murders and-and he knows that there are two killers." She informed me. "I-I had to tell him. He was starting to catch on."

"Oh," I breathed, blinking a few times as I processed that information. "Uh, well, as long as he hasn't already come after us with long swords and wolfsbane bullets, I think we're okay. Right?"

Allison nodded and then she shrugged. "I guess so." She answered. "I'm just worried about Scott. He saw the camera footage from the library. I don't think he knows that we've been seeing each other, but apparently my Mom is getting suspicious."

I wrinkled my nose and grunted in distaste. "Yikes. I'm actually more worried about her than your Dad."

"Yes, I am aware of that." Allison told me blandly, her brown eyes giving me a bored look. "Which is why Scott and I came up with a plan. We're going to pretend like we're seeing other people in public so they can't connect any dots on their own."

I raised my eyebrows while an expression of disbelief walked across my features. "And Scott agreed to this?" I asked her and the girl nodded. "Wow, that is actually more shocking than everything you just told me."

"For once, I agree." Allison said, crossing her arms on the table top. She rapped her knuckles a few times against the surface. "Which is why I'm hanging out with Matt tonight."

I nearly choked out a piece of lettuce and shot forward in my seat, trying to dislodge the food from my throat. "You what?"

"He asked me to hang out and I said yes. I wasn't thinking when I did it." Allison explained, her eyes widening at my reaction. "I didn't think he would be such a big deal."

"I-It's not." I assured her, my voice rasped. "I just have a weird personal thing against him. I think he's kind of freaky."

"Tessa, you think anyone who looks at you the wrong way is freaky." Allison pointed out, spearing a tomato before popping it into her mouth. "You said that the kid in history who wears the same Metallica t-shirt every is freaky because his shoelaces are two different colors."

"What-he also stares sometimes!" I defended, waving my arms around slightly. "And I'm pretty sure I've seen him pick his nose before. And eat it."

"Gross." Allison mumbled, wrinkling up her nose and shaking her head. Then, she smacked her lips and huffed out a breath. "That is not the point. The point is, I now have to pretend I like someone else when I'm actually in love with Scott."

I grimaced and frowned. "Yeah, I do not envy you."

Allison shot me a look and propped up her hand on her fist. "I guess I should also tell you that my Dad tried to make it a big deal that you're friends with me and also friends with Scott." She started chewing on the inside of her cheek. "I told him that you were still allowed to be friends with him. You weren't the one threatened with your life."

"Oh, I hate that." I muttered, sinking down in my chair and setting down my plastic fork. "I really don't need your Dad getting suspicious. With your Dad comes Gerard."

"I know. He-He tried to say that you were putting me in danger by choosing to spend time with the both of us." Allison continued further. "I told him that was ridiculous."

"Does he know that I've been friends with the both of you the whole time? I'm pretty sure I distinctly remember nothing happening to you when school first started." I scoffed, holding up a finger and narrowing my eyes slightly. "In fact, I was able to hide you from the supernatural for a solid, like, three months."

"Trust me, I'm on the same page." Allison assured me. "He just wants to control every part of my life. It's getting harder to stay under the radar."

"Then, maybe this plan of yours will work in your favor." I told her optimistically, nodding my head. "They'll think you've finally gotten over Scott and that you're doing just as they asked. It works out for everyone."

"I don't want to pretend to be in a relationship with anyone. I just want to be with Scott." Allison whined and then folded her arms, dropping her head onto them. "This is so stupid."

"There, there." I comforted and patted the back of her head gently. "High school relationships are never easy."

"You're not helping."

"Yeah, sorry." I mumbled and pulled my hand away, pressing my lips together in a firm line. I glanced around the lunch room for a minute and was able to spy the two boys on the other side of the room. Stiles was talking animatedly and Scott mimicked Allison's attitude. "I do have some good news. Stiles is trying to get Andre a job at the station so she can keep tabs on his Dad. We are worried about the master going after him as he starts to learn more about the murders. He's the one who connected the victims, after all."

"That's helpful." Allison responded as she lifted her head back up and ate another piece of her salad. "Scott told me that Deaton mentioned something about the kanima being afraid or weary of things because his master is. Remember when you were trapped in the swimming pool and the kanima refused to get in the water?"

"Yeah, it was like he was afraid of it." I remembered, nodding my head and sitting up straighter in my seat.

"Jackson is the captain of the swim team." Allison informed me, an expectant look on her features. "Which means that it isn't Jackson directly when he's the kanima. It could all solely be the vendetta of whoever is controlling him."

"That...actually makes a lot of sense." I murmured as I nodded slowly once more. "Whoever the master is, he has a fear of water. And maybe something against the people he killed."

"Maybe." Allison responded and let out another deep breath. "Have you talked to Lydia lately? I haven't really seen her much since the other day at school."

I shook my head and my lips curled downwards slightly. "I saw her walk to her car just before lunch. She was also weirdly quiet in class this morning. She didn't even say anything about me getting detention with all of you guys the other day."

"I'm worried about her." Allison admitted, chewing on the inside of her cheek. "We aren't paying that much attention to her and she knows something is up. I also don't know if she has had any other problems aside from the incident at the ice rink."

I shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. I know that my mind has been shockingly empty. No weird visions of Peter Hale and the Hale house."

"That's good at least." Allison replied positively. "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, I have to make sure my parents don't find out about Scott and don't try to viciously murder Jackson."

"Oh, yeah, typical high school stuff." I joked emotionlessly and then slammed my plastic fork into a tomato.

A/N: Thank you finishing another chapter of this story. From now on, the chapters should pretty much stay on track with being two every episode. I have also been trying to remain consistent with the relationships as well as the plot line. Sorry for the jumping around there for a moment, but we should get back to normal, soon.

As always, please leave reviews. They're my medicine to keep chugging along.

Also, quick question for those of you who actually read these: should I start including a playlist? Such as song that would play in the scenes as if they were in the actual TV show? Would love to hear thoughts on that.

- Laura