LYDIA

There was something strange going on in Beacon Hills. It wasn't the fact that there had been some "mouthless man" and weird Wendigo whatever thing that put Lydia on edge. It wasn't the fact that she really hadn't gone out with a guy since Aidan, and even that had ended like a trainwreck. It wasn't the training sessions, either.

No, there was something else wrong, she was sure of it. She hadn't had any screaming fits lately – at least, excluding trying to find a specific way to tap into her "belladonna scream", as Stiles had jokingly named it.

But Lydia knew when something was amiss. She knew there had been something different about Scott – despite not really remembering who he was at the time – the moment he had showed up Jackson in lacrosse.

Lydia had known that something was wrong with Jackson after she had been attacked, despite not knowing what it was that made him suddenly become who he was pretending to be.

There were many, many, many other examples she could think of. All Lydia knew was that her intuition was never wrong, whether it be natural or supernatural.

In addition to that feeling, however, she had to reflect on a weird occurrence from the other day, and the continuous events that had followed.

Lydia always went out for jogs in the morning. Ever since training had begun, however, she'd been pushing herself further. She knew it wasn't a competition, but she wanted to be the top student between her and Stiles. It was nice enough to see the muscle she was beginning to build, as well as how tone her body was slowly starting to become.

One morning, however, Lydia had encountered a strange sight on the trail she always went on. A girl about her age was further up by one of the trees, dressed like she too was out for a job, and she was kneeling on the ground, tying her shoe. As Lydia came closer, she realized how it was. She'd seen her the first day she'd transferred into their school, and in the hall, but recognized her most from when they'd changed her back from a coyote into a person.

What was Malia doing on her trail?

Lydia knew some part of her should stop jogging, take out her earbuds, and maybe say something to Malia. After all, Lydia hadn't really seen the girl hang out with anyone at school. She wasn't even in the same grade as Lydia, despite being the same age. Lydia figured being a coyote for several years could do that to you.

But Lydia didn't stop. This was supposed to be her alone time to be recreational and run along a lonely path when literally no one else was awake in town. So she jogged, although she could tell that Malia was also jogging along the same path, albeit keeping her distance.

It had been pretty weird the first day. But every day Lydia had gone running since then, Malia had been on the path as well, either already running, or resting somewhere.

Lydia didn't converse with her any of the times. But Malia also didn't try to converse with her, either. Lydia thought about changing her routine, but she liked this route way too much to give it up; besides, it wasn't uncomfortable sharing the same path with Malia. If anything, and Lydia would never admit this out loud, she felt almost safe.

Malia was some sort of were-coyote-thing, and Lydia guessed that meant she more or less had similar abilities to Scott and Derek. If there ever were danger around the corner, Malia would run off without a moment's notice, and that would be a big enough sign for Lydia to make a real run for it as well.

And that was how her mornings know seemed to go. Neither girl would speak to the other, and there was always a distance between them, with either Lydia in front or Malia in front, but it was actually rather nice in Lydia's eyes.

Lydia's nights, however, were growing rather boring. Outside of training, all she had to do was homework, which would take no time at all, read, or watch something. It was nights like these she really felt how much she missed Allison.

Sometimes, she'd go out for a drive to get her mind off things, even going to places she and Allison would go. She sometimes felt crazy when she did, because she'd leave her car, sit on the hood, and pretend Allison was there with her. She'd talk to her, tell her all the juicy gossip, how she was feeling, how she was convinced that there was a certain love affair beginning to blossom in the training group…

But eventually, the night would end with her talking about how much she missed her.

So when Lydia went out one night for some alone time and saw Danny walking around town, constantly checking over his shoulder and acting very suspicious, Lydia decided to investigate. For one thing, she didn't feel like having a particularly emotional night. For another thing, Danny was Jackson's best friend – for all she knew, they were still in contact, unlike her and Jackson – and she felt like she should at least make sure he wasn't involved in some weird drug deal. She owed it to Jackson, since he wasn't here.

Lydia had parked her car and then began following Danny, maintaining a safe, sneaky distance. Maybe she wasn't good with a sword, but at least Lydia Martin could hide well in the shadows. Lydia had to thank all the numerous times she'd practiced doing this when eavesdropping on her mother as a child.

As she followed him, she noticed he was taking strange routes, as if he really were trying to make sure no one would see him or be able to track him.

So she continued follow him, and finally, he stopped in a deserted alleyway.

Lydia had to ask herself why Danny would even be doing this. Since when did this kid have anything to hide?

Unless…

Of course.

It all made sense now.

Danny was hooking up with someone – someone who wasn't out.

Lydia couldn't resist; she needed to know who.

Lydia immediately hid by a rotten smelling trash can and a wall with a nice hiding spot. It wasn't exactly an ideal evening, but really, Lydia was bored and didn't realize quite how much she missed gossip.

When she saw someone fall from the roof onto the ground by Danny's feet, however, Lydia jumped back and nearly gasped, stopping herself short. She didn't want them to hear her. Especially since now there was a boy who had launched himself from a roof onto the ground beside Danny in a crouching position, and from what she could tell, he hadn't broken a single bone.

Lydia tensed up. She'd only seen certain type of people be able to do that. People like Scott and Derek.

And then, the boy stood up beside Danny, and they embraced like old friends. Lydia began to wonder if maybe this was still a hookup.

Until he opened his mouth.

"Dude, I've missed you," the boy said, his familiar voice carrying over to Lydia.

It was Jackson.