AUTHOR'S NOTE: This picks up after the previous chapter. I know it's days after the final showdown that Scott talks to Deaton about the darkness around his heart but I'm changing it. He won't talk to Deaton about it and the talk will take place the next morning after the showdown.

Avery's standing alone in the parking lot outside of Deaton's clinic.

Her face is impassive as she stares out into nothingness, just now regretting that she let Derek and Cora out of her sight. The two Hales had grew on her rather quickly and while she and Cora took a while to come around to one another, it still hurt to watch them walk away. Their words were still whirling around in her mind, their words about them coming back but she had a feeling things weren't as simple as they made it out to be.

Vibration against her leg snaps her out of her thoughts. As she digs out her phone, she catches Isaac's name and picture taking up her screen. Quickly accepting the call, she holds it up to her ear. "Hello?"

"Avery." Isaac sighs airily. "You're okay."

"Uh, yeah." She grins though he can't see her. "Scott was supposed to tell you all I was fine."

"Yeah, he did." Isaac mumbles. "But I just had to hear you for myself."

"Okay.. well I'm fine." Avery weakly chuckles. "How are things on your end?"

"Chaotic. When your Dad showed up in the E.R along with the other two missing parents, the law enforcement swarmed the place."

"Ooh, that sucks."

"Yeah and now your Dad is asking for you. He's arguing with Scott that you're not okay and he wants to see you for himself."

"Crap." Avery pinches the bridge of her nose. "The last he saw of me was when Ms. Blake tossed me across the room and broke some things in my body."

"Yeah. He's getting really red." Isaac mutters with a suppressed laugh. "I think Scott is scared. Yep, he's definitely scared and mad I'm making fun of him. I think you better-"

"I'm on my way." Avery laughs. "Tell Scott to hang on."

"Okay."

"I'll see you soon. Bye."

..

..

After telling Deaton and Lydia that she was leaving because her Dad was asking for her, Avery quickly finds herself back on her bike and heading for the hospital. With everyone swarming the hospital in hopes of getting a statement from the Sheriff, Chris, and Melissa- Avery pushes her bike to the limit of it's speed capacity.

And sure enough, once she gets to the hospital, the parking lot is packed with Beacon Hills Police Cruisers and the dark SUVs- most likely belonging to the FBI agents. After quickly finding a space so that they don't tow her bike away, Avery quickly hops off and as she runs through the waiting room- she's ripping off her helmet and searching the room and halls for any sign of her family or friends.

There are a few people sitting in the waiting area looking at her as if she's lost her mind and a few nurses standing by that look ready to intervene should she start making a scene.

But before she could give them a scene, Isaac appears down one of the halls. "Avery!"

The look of relief that passes over Isaac's face and the fact that he's running down the hall towards her has Avery breaking out into an ear-to-ear grin. The moment Isaac has his arms wrapped around his girlfriend and lifts her off the ground while shoving his face in the crook of her neck- Avery laughs. "Whoa, there. I take it you're happy to see me?"

"Ecstatic." He breathes when he sets her back down on her feet, cradling her face in the palms of his hands before pressing a kiss to her lips. Given their surroundings and audience, Isaac doesn't push it further than a few seconds lip lock and a bunch of follow up pecks.

"Mmm." Avery laughs as Isaac continues to pepper her lips with chaste kisses. "I can see."

After getting his reassurance that Avery was indeed right in front of him, he pulls back while continuing to cradle her face in the palms of his hands. As his eyes scan her face, they eventually fall to her neck where he frowns and moves to push her hair aside.

"Don't." She catches his hands and pushes him away. "Not here."

"But-"

"It's over, Isaac." Avery pleads with him. "Every warrior is going to have their battle wounds. Just be glad mine have been looked after by Deaton and will heal within weeks, if not days." Isaac's frown deepens as he manages to lean in and brush his fingers against the scratches on her neck, the ones that were self-inflicted because Avery couldn't control her panic when Jennifer was magically strangling her. "You can play Doctor later." She huffs with a roll of her eyes. "I'm pretty sure you told me to hurry because my Dad was freaking out."

That seems to snap Isaac out of his trance as he pulls back. "Yeah. Uh, this way." He gulps before snaking an arm around her waist and leading her down the hall.

When they turn down one hall, Avery sees several nurses crowding around a room at the end of the new hall she and Isaac are heading down. There are two police officers standing guard while the nurses fidget in place and whisper to one another.

"Where's my daughter?! I don't want any damn sedatives until I see her!"

Avery's eyes comically widen and Isaac snorts. "He's been like that for a while. We haven't been able to calm him down because someone who doesn't know what's going on in this town has been stationed inside and we can't risk them overhearing."

Avery owlishly blinks and nods as she listens to her Dad's shouting, and as they near the room- the Officers perk up. "It's okay." Isaac tells them. "She's the daughter."

At the word 'daughter', the Officers and Nurses seem to relax and give the both of them entry to the room. The second John lays eyes on his daughter, he visibly relaxes as well as the room's occupants which include a Doctor, two more nurses, an FBI looking agent, and Stiles.

"Sweetheart." John's voice cracks as he drinks in the sight of his daughter. His gaze is set directly on her throat before falling to her jean clad legs and as she chances a glance down, she realizes her red jeans are dirtied.

"Hey, Avs." Stiles uncomfortably smirks at his sister with a little wave as Avery mentally curses her stupidity.

"Stiles." Avery greets with a forced smile. She makes a move to adjust her hair so it blocks her throat area but the nurses still see it.

"Miss?" A female nurse moves forward, dark brown hair pulled into a low bun as gray eyes crinkle in confusion. "Do you need to be looked at as well?"

Avery catches the FBI agent stirring to get a look at her but Avery quickly shakes her head. "No. No, I'm fine. I've been checked already." She assures her.

"But Miss-"

"I said I'm fine!" Avery snaps at her, narrowing her eyes in annoyance so the nurse knows to back off. Isaac pulls her back into his side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and glaring at the nurse as well. Seeing that the teen wanted no help, the nurse backs off and Stiles joins Isaac in comforting his sister. "Everyone needs to get out." Avery suddenly tells them. "Everyone except my brother and Isaac." No-one moves a step so Avery raises her voice. "NOW!"

The two female nurses jump at being startled by the sudden harshness of the teen and scurry out of the room with the male Doctor following slowly. The FBI agent lingers in the room, eyeing Avery carefully.

"So you're the long lost twin." He drawls.

Avery's attention snaps to him, eyes narrowing as she takes in the light blue button up beneath a dark blazer hanging off his shoulders. He seems a bit younger than her own Dad but not by much. At least, she doesn't think so when she doesn't spot a single gray hair on his head. "Who are you?"

"I'm, uh," He fumbles, patting down his pockets before pulling out a wallet and flipping it open so she can see his badge. "Agent McCall. I believe you're friends with my son."

"I see." Avery then drawls, crossing her arms over her chest. "Not to sound like bitch, Mr. McCall, but I believe the woman of your child has been checked in here as well. Shouldn't you be with her?"

"Well would you look at that." He slowly smirks before he lets his gaze drift over to Stiles. "She's got the same fire as you, kid." Stiles huffs and puffs at Mr. McCall's words but before he can get worked up- Agent McCall turns to John. "Sheriff, I'll be back in a bit to take your statement."

And with that, Agent McCall leaves the room and Avery moves to quickly shut the door behind him. With a sigh, she turns to face the room and is immediately enveloped in a hug by Stiles.

"Holy hell, Avery." He breathes hotly though not loud enough for outsiders to hear. "What the hell happened to you? Scott filled is in on some but you look.."

"Jennifer put up one hell of fight." She chuckles before gently pushing her brother away.

Looking over his shoulder, she finds John looking at her and he looks like he's on the verge of tears. He's sitting shirtless in the hospital bed, a bed sheet pooled in his lap and a thick piece of gauze is taped to the right side of his chest. As Avery stumbles towards him, John huffs out a cry.

"It's okay, Dad." Avery assures him, tears of her own filling her eyes. "It's all over now."

The second she reaches his bed, he leans forward and grips her by the arm- pulling her down onto the bed with him and hugs the life out of her. He lets a few sobs escape before he quickly sobers up and moves back to look her in the eyes. "Honey, how are you- why aren't you injured worse? I saw what she did to you.. and your neck! Sweetie.."

Avery blinks away tears before using the back of her hand to brush them away. "It's a long story, Dad. Very long story that's more suitable for home than this place."

"Avery-"

"No, Dad." She shakes her head. "I promise- promise- that once you're released we'll have a very long discussion. There's so much you don't know- so much that I couldn't tell you but now I can."

John slowly shuts his mouth and with a sigh, he nods. "Okay. But your neck," He frowns. "-what happened there?"

"Self-inflicted." She answers him. If anything, giving him this one answer is sure to hold him over until he gets released and they could talk about this in their own home. "Jennifer used her magic against to me to strangle me from half a room away and in my panic, well, I started clawing at my throat. This was my fault."

"No." John shakes his head at her. "No, it's not your fault. It's not your fault." He mutters before bringing her back in for another hug.

Avery hugs him, letting him hug to his heart's content before maneuvering around so she's side-by-side with him with her back to the elevated bed top. John takes the hint, scooting over on his bed so Avery can settle in next to him.

"You're definitely telling me everything when I get home. Everything. You and Stiles both."

"Of course." Avery yawns. "But since Stiles is older, he gets to tell you his story first."

"What?!" Stiles squeaks but when John sets him with a glare, he quickly nods. "Yeah, okay, sure. I can go first."

Avery smothers her grin as Isaac snorts in amusement. "Don't think I forgot about you, Lahey." John then voices. "Did my daughter know you were a werewolf when you two decided to get close?"

Isaac blushes and stutters under John's inquiring gaze and this time, Stiles laughs.

"Shut it, Boy Wonder." Avery levels her twin with a playful glare.

"Whatever you say, Katniss." He teases back.

"Oh my god." John groans at his bickering kids- Isaac sighing in relief as he shrinks back towards the wall now that John isn't paying him any attention. "You two and Isaac need to go home. And I'd prefer if you all stay together. Just as a precaution."

"Dad." Stiles groans. "We don't need a babysitter."

"I know." He shrugs. "But I'd just feel better if you had some of the supernatural realm there on your side in case something were to happen."

John looks set in his decision so Stiles caves. "Fine but I'm inviting over Scott."

"Really?" Avery grins. "I'm pretty sure Scott won't want to leave Melissa's side."

Stiles deflates at that and with a roll of his eyes, he throws his arms outward in mock agitation. "Whatever. Lets just go if we're leaving. They're not releasing Dad until tomorrow night and Dad says we still have to attend school tomorrow so we might as well leave now. Scott told us Deucalion killed Jennifer and that Deucalion left after you gave him a choice so we don't have to worry about anything."

Avery is speechless, the teen gulping at her brother's words. Deucalion killed Jennifer.

Her heart skips a beat and then two, and when she doesn't say anything, Isaac takes a step forward. "Avery? You okay?"

"What?" She snaps out of her thoughts, trying her best to calm herself down before Isaac picks up on it. When his words click in her mind, she shakes her head clear. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I'm good."

Neither Stiles or Isaac look like they believe her but with a discreet shake of her head, they drop it for the time being. "Okay, okay." Stiles finally says. "Can you at least sign my release forms so I can actually leave then?"

"Whoa, wait, what?" Avery leans forward in a flash. "Why do you need to be released?" Stiles looks sheepish now and no-one wants to meet her gaze. "Stiles." She says deathly calm.

He flinches at the sound of her voice before shoving his hands in his pockets and hunching in on himself. "I crashed my jeep into a tree. I was out for a while and the doctors thought I had a concussion but I didn't."

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, Avery closes her eyes so she doesn't lose it. "Yeah, yeah." She grumbles. "Just go get your damn form so we can get home, clean up, and get some sleep before we go to school. I don't even know why we're going after all that's happened." She says as she pouts at John.

"Consider it payback for keeping me in the dark." He hides a grin. "You said yourself there's nothing to worry about so I don't see why you can't continue with your education."

Stiles chuckles before he leaves the room in search for a Doctor who can get him his release papers. The remaining three occupants lapse into a silence but John doesn't take his eyes off his daughter for more than a second at a time. Though, he does linger a bit on Isaac when the teen werewolf won't stop staring at his daughter as if she's going to suddenly disappear.

Avery fidgets under her Dad's stare for a moment only to breathe out in relief when Stiles reappears with a Doctor who's carrying a clipboard. As Avery moves to the side to join Isaac- John catches the two teens linking hands before pushing their joined hands behind them. He doesn't say anything- instead he chooses to listen to the Doctor drone on about what the release papers say and so on.

After a handful of minutes and having the papers officially signed, the Doctor leaves and the teens prepare to take their leave as well. John calls in a Police Officer, one of his from the Beacon Hills department, and asks if he can drive his kids home. The Officer says he can, asking the three teens to follow him but before Isaac and Avery can exit the room- John stalls them.

"Hold it, Avery. Isaac." John grunts. When the two teens turn to him with their 'deer caught in headlights' look, he rolls his eyes. "Just.. don't make me regret letting you stay the night without adult supervision in my home, Isaac." He says and when Avery opens her mouth to deny whatever it is she's going to, John gestures to their hands. "You two are not as subtle as you think you are. Now go. Your brother and Deputy Evans are waiting for you."

Avery snaps her mouth shut, Isaac blushes, and John laughs as Avery drags the werewolf out of the room and away from him. Once caught up with Stiles and Deputy Evans, Avery walks off towards her bike. After quickly explaining that she has her own mode of transportation, and that she'd follow them on her bike, Stiles and Isaac take the offered ride from the Deputy and after a less than five minute drive, they're soon at the Stilinski household.

The moment they step foot inside the home and Avery stows her helmet away in the downstairs closet, Isaac and Stiles swoop in.

"What happened tonight?"

"Why'd you tense up in Dad's room?"

"What didn't you want to say in front of him?"

Avery sighs, her heart beating significantly faster as she heads for the living room and readies herself to tell them truth. She toes off her boots along the way and plops herself down in her Dad's favorite black recliner with a sigh. When she gets comfortable, she pulls off the mesh shirt she's wearing over her head which leaves her in only the red tank and jeans. As she brings her feet up on the chair, she rests her forehead on her knees.

"Deucalion didn't kill Jennifer." She grumbles as she hides her face from them- afraid of what their reactions are going to me. "I did."

Avery clenches her eyes shut though they can't see her face and prays that they get all the yelling and or shock out of their systems and fast. But whatever Avery is expecting, it doesn't happen. When the silence after her declaration becomes too much, she chances a look up at them.

"What did you just-" Stiles cuts himself off, looking as if he's still trying to process. "You wanna run that by us again?"

Avery sighs, tears immediately filling her eyes and she pushes her hair back behind her ears. Clearing her throat and looking anywhere else but at her brother and Isaac, she repeats herself. "I killed Jennifer. I shot an arrow through her throat." Again silence falls over them and Avery finally lets the tears fall. As her bottom lip trembles- it snaps Isaac and Stiles out of the shocked stupor.

"Hey, no, don't do that." Isaac immediately mumbles when he sees the tears. He steps forward, easily perching atop the arm rest and wrapping an arm around Avery's shoulders as Stiles comes to stand in front of her.

"No need for the tears, Avs." He tells her. "Ms. Blake deserved what she got."

Avery's gaze snaps to meet his. "You're not mad?"

"Mad?" Isaac's brows furrow in confusion. "Why would we be mad?"

"Because I killed someone!" Avery squeaks- her eyes wide as her attention darts between the two boys. "I killed another human being! The only difference between us was that she practiced magic. You should be disgusted by me."

"Avery.." Stiles sadly sighs and crouches in front of his sister. "Jennifer was no ordinary human being. She harnessed power that no human should have access to and she murdered innocent people along her path to harness said power. You did nothing wrong."

Avery seems to slump further into her seat at her brother's words, every fiber of her being relaxing as well, and it's something that Isaac's senses immediately pick up on. "That's why Scott said Deucalion killed her. He covered for you because you regretted doing it."

"I don't regret doing it." Avery mumbles, laying her head back on her knees. "I was- I was just caught up in the fight. I was angry at her jerking me around and the way she was beating Derek and I just lost it. She was testing Scott on whether or not he'd really kill her and then Deucalion stepped up to the plate to kill her but I beat him to the punch. Afterward- when Jennifer stopped fighting to breathe- I snapped out of the angry haze I was in and was shocked that I actually did what I did. I needed a moment and then I got scared that if you knew, you'd look at me differently."

"I'd never look at you any differently." Stiles murmurs, reaching forward and knocking his sister's legs to the side so she'd look up at him. "Your my flesh and blood- my twin. Whatever you do, I know there's a good reason for it."

Avery gave him a feeble smile before looking up at Isaac where he returned the grin to her. "You're my girlfriend. Of course I'll back you up."

She snorts at him, shaking her head in amusement as she moves to rest her head on Isaac's leg. "I just ask one thing of you both, though. Don't tell Dad. I'll fill him in on my life back in Louisiana but let him think Deucalion killed Jennifer."

There's nothing more said on the matter after Isaac and Stiles give their word. Stiles soon heads upstairs, telling them that he's going to shower before he eats and falls asleep. While Stiles showers, Isaac leaves to go pick up clothes from Scott's home so he can shower there at the Stilinski's home as well. And while both boys are busy, Avery quickly throws together sandwiches and hot pockets for when the boys come looking for food before she eats a quick snack herself and rushes upstairs to retrieve her laptop.

As Avery settles down on the sofa with her laptop in her lap booting up, Isaac returns. He tosses his clothes on the recliner before following his nose to the kitchen. When he comes back into the living room, he has a plate stacked with three sandwiches and two hot pockets. With a sheepish grin and shrug, Avery laughs at him and pats the spot next to her for him to sit.

When Isaac settles in, Avery immediately logs into her email and selects two contacts in the 'To:' field- Elijah and Nik. With Isaac reading over her shoulder, Avery tiredly sighs and starts to write out her message.

Dear Elijah and Nik,

I'm sorry I haven't kept the both of you entirely in the loop but it's about time I tell you everything.

It all started on my first day of school here when a flock of birds flew themselves into the window and I ended up finding out that my brother's best friend is a werewolf..

The following morning, Avery wakes up in her room sore as can be. Her neck is stinging in pain from when she clawed at it, her back is aching like it's never ached before, and her arms and legs have more than a few bruises that's going to be hard to explain.

After writing the email to Nik and Elijah last night, she ate a quick snack herself before cleaning up a bit and went to bed. Seeing as John had trusted them, she left Isaac to sleep on the sofa while she slept upstairs. Once in the comfort of her room, she had thought about drinking some of Nik or Elijah's blood that she had for emergencies. But when she checked her mini fridge, she realized that Scott and Stiles had emptied her last four remaining vials down her throat which meant that she had a few weeks before it cleared out of her system.

Noticing that the house was quieter than normal, especially with Stiles and Isaac there, Avery decides to go and investigate. As she sleepily stumbles by her brother's room, she notices that the room is empty.

"Stiles?" She calls out, yawning as she makes her way to the top of the stairs. "Stiles!" She tries again.

Footsteps scramble from the kitchen area before Isaac pops his head out. "Oh, uh, Stiles left already." He sheepishly grins at her.

"Already? What he'd leave in?" Avery frowns.

"Yeah. He woke up earlier, dressed, and took off. One of your Dad's deputies dropped off his jeep."

"Oh. Okay." Avery's frown deepens before she narrows her eyes at Isaac who's fighting a smile as he looks at her pajamas. "Oh for Christ's sake, Finding Nemo is for all ages." She scowls and crosses her arms over her chest. Isaac holds his hand up, feigning innocence and Avery grins before it slowly falls until she's frowning once more. Stiles leaving, especially without waking her or leaving a note with Isaac was not something Stiles would have done. Especially after everything they've been through these past couple of days.

"Avery?" Isaac fidgets at the bottom step when he sees Avery zone out. "You okay?"

Shaking her head clear, Avery manages a smile for him. "Uh, yeah, I'm good. I just- I.." She trails off with a sigh and now Isaac looks slightly worried. "I'm sorry." She suddenly apologies. "But, uh, can you get to school on your own?" Isaac's brows now furrow as he waits for her to explain. "It's just.. Stiles. I need to talk to Scott and ask him a few things about what to expect now but I need to do it privately." She grimaces.

Understanding dawns on the teen werewolf and he slowly nods. "Okay, yeah, the school isn't that far from here." Avery sighs out in relief and Isaac easily takes the stairs two at time until he reaches her. He wraps her in a loose hug, rubbing his cheek atop her head. "Don't take too long, yeah?"

She looks up at him with an impish grin, wrinkling her nose and giggling when he continues to rub his cheek along her forehead and cheeks. As he moves in for a kiss, Avery turns her head at the last second and he catches her cheek. When she meets his sad eyes and pout, she grins. "Morning breath." She gives the excuse as to why she turned away.

Isaac rolls his eyes and when Avery doesn't expect it, he quickly pecks her lips. "Whatever, it's not that bad." He chuckles. "I'll see you at school."

"See you." She mutters as Isaac slips into his shoes and walks out the front door.

Giving herself a moment to breathe, Avery collects herself before heading back to her room to pick out some under garments so she can shower. She still has a good hour and half before she has to be at school and she knows that Scott likes to leave his house at the last minute so she can take her time in the shower and picking out clothes.

After gathering a towel from the linen closet, Avery locks herself in the bathroom and runs the hot water. She gets the bathroom nice and steamy before she steps into the shower, letting the hot water burn her skin red. In a rush to hurry and get into bed the night before, she had rushed cleaning up in the bathroom with warm water so the scalding hot shower now is very welcome.

She slowly scrubs in shampoo to clean out any dirt and blood from her hair and scalp before rinsing it all out and moving on to conditioner. She lets the conditioner sit in her hair while she does a quick facial in the shower before rinsing her hair clean and then her face. She makes a quick work of shaving before gently washing over her body because of bruises and cuts, and soon finds herself turning off the water and towel drying off.

Picking up her hair dryer, she takes it with her to her room after pulling on her undergarments and wrapping her hair up in her towel. When she's in her room, she plugs in the dryer and removes the towel from her hair before drying it so it's barely even damp.

As Avery steps up to her closet and throws open the door, she glances down at her nearly bare form before deciding that today was definitely a pants day. Her eyes land on a pair of gray slim fit jeans with stars printed all over the place and after easily sliding those over her legs, she reaches for the first shirt her hand is closest to. Without looking at what was on front, she pulls it on over her head and walks over to her dresser for accessories.

When her eyes catch sight of her reflection, she snorts at the words on her shirt, The War Is Over, and can't help but think how true that is. The sight of the printed dove in the middle of the shirt has her thinking of peace so she searches through her jewelry box for a sterling silver peace sign ring. After slipping the ring on her index finger, she finds a black friendship bracelet that also has a peace symbol and slips that around her wrist.

She's slipping on a pair of gray converse when her eyes land on a bruise around her right wrist. Frowning, she studies her wrist before she finds more bruises splayed up and down both her arms and it's when that she checks out her entire outfit in the body length mirror that she realizes she's going to either need a jacket or change into a long sleeved shirt. Once back at her closet again, she finds her white and black panda hoodie that she had yet to wear while in Beacon Hills.

With a shrug, Avery pulls the hoodie on over her head, pulling her hair out to hang over the front of her shoulders so the curtain of hair can block most of the damage done to her throat.

After seeing that she's wasted enough time getting dressed, Avery quickly locates her backpack before rushing downstairs to pick out her helmet from the downstairs closet. Picking up her motorcycle's key from the table by the front door, she hurriedly makes her way outside and up on her bike.

..

..

The drive to Scott's is less than three minutes and when she's pulling up, Scott's on the verge of pulling out of his driveway until he spots Avery.

Pulling off his own helmet, Scott smiles at her when she pulls up to his side and pulls off her own helmet. "Hey, Scrappy. What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Scooby." She grins back. "I, uh, I have something to tell you but I also need to talk to you about something. Do you mind?"

"No, it's fine." He smirks. "But can we talk once we get to school? Mom said that saving the town is no excuse to miss out on my education."

"Sounds like Dad." She snorts. "How's she holding up?"

"Better than the last time she was held against her will. The first time, she was held against her will in my room but Gerard had the Kanima choking her in mid-air."

"Ouch."

"Yeah. That and she's having a ball ignoring my Dad's attempts to patch things up between them. We don't want him in our life but he's being stubborn at the moment."

It's then that Avery notices a dark SUV sitting by the curb in front of the McCall household. "That blows." She finally says as they sit there on their bikes. After a moment of silence and zoning out, Avery snaps back to reality. "Well, I guess we can talk in the parking lot." She caves. "Come on, lets go."

Scott's grin falters but he eventually nods. Both teens pull their helmets back on before revving their engines and riding side-by-side to school. There's not much traffic so they get there fairly easy and when they do, Avery notices that all her friends showed up to school as well.

Allison and Lydia's cars are both in the parking lot as well as two identical motorcycles that could only belong to Ethan and Aiden. She's surprised at how fast the twins bounced back and even more surprised that they decided to stick around after everything that went down.

As they park and turn off their bikes, Avery catches Scott nodding towards something behind her. When Avery pulls off her helmet, she turns to look and finds her brother's jeep in the lot as well.

"Stiles is already here?"

"I guess so." She mumbles before turning back to Scott.

"Okay, well, what did you need to tell me?"

When Avery turns back around, she glances quickly around them to make sure no-one they know is listening in. When they aren't, she blurts out, "Derek's left town. Cora, too."

Scott's eyes bulge at her confession. "W-what? Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She nods. "They told me personally last night they were leaving. Derek said they'd be back but I don't know. Do you think he'll come back?"

Scott takes a moment to think about his answer before shrugging. "Honestly? I don't know if he'll ever come back." He tells Avery and she deflates just a little.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"If it makes you feel any better, part of me hopes so-" Scott feebly grins at her since he realizes how the Hales' departure is making her feel. "-but another part of me hopes that maybe they'll be okay wherever they end up." Avery sighs, kicking the pebbled rocks in the parking lot as she and Scott start walking towards the front of the school. When she doesn't say anything, Scott takes a second to study her and realizes that she has more to say but is holding back. "Is that all you wanted to speak about? You seem like you had more to say back at my house."

Avery's head whips in his direction, eyes wide at being caught. Before they can enter the school, she groans and stomps to the side by the front entrance and gestures for Scott to follow. Once more, she checks for prying eyes before speaking. "It's Stiles." She mutters as she avoids eye contact. "I can't stop thinking about the consequences for him, you, and Allison- and this morning he just up and left the house without telling me or speaking to Isaac. I-" She trails off with a frown and finally decides to meet Scott's gaze. "-I'm worried that he's already feeling the effects and I don't know how to help him. What am I supposed to do?"

Scott doesn't say anything for a moment and Avery's heart sinks. And then it sinks even more when Scott sighs and ruffles his own hair. "I felt it once I woke up this morning. Just like Deaton said we would." He admits to her and it takes everything in Avery to not cry. "If I felt it, I'm sure Stiles and Allison feel it too. It makes me think about that quote Jennifer used when she started her first class 'cause when I felt it, it felt like I was looking into the heart of an immense darkness."

Avery's eyes well up with tears before she sniffles and wipes at her eyes with her sleeves. "So what are you going to do? There has to be something to chase the darkness away."

Scott slowly grins at her before moving to stand side-by-side with her and drapes an arm around her shoulders. "There is. I just gotta look for my friends."

Avery snorts at how cheesy it sounds but she realizes that he's being serious. Her presence- everyone else's presence is what is going to chase the darkness away.

Scott finally decides to lead them inside, stopping just on the inside as he inspects the hallway. Avery closely watches him, watching as his grin gets a little bigger. When she turns to see what he's looking at, she finds that he's looking at Lydia and Aiden who are standing way too close to each other by the lockers though they look comfortable with one another. Scott's gaze turns to the right side of the hall, his grin widening even more and when Avery follows his gaze- it's Danny and Ethan who are holding hands and chatting to each other with smiles on their faces.

Towards the end of the hall at the stairs, Avery spots Isaac and Allison walking down. They're both talking to each other, laughing at one point before the two of them spot Scott and Avery watching them. Allison gives Scott a radiant smile, one that Scott returns, and Isaac is just smiling at Avery.

"Go." Scott laughs and nudges her forward. "I'll see you later in class."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure." Scott says just as Stiles appears from behind him, clapping him on the shoulders.

He startles Scott but when Scott sees who it is, he chuckles and nods at his best friend. Avery grins at her brother, Stiles feebly grinning at her. "Hey, Avs."

"Stiles." She greets.

As the seconds tick by, she watches as Stiles' grin falters until he looks like he has no care in the world. Avery starts to frown herself but before she can say anything, she feels her hood being tugged on until it's pulled on over her head. With a confused frown, she looks up only to find Scott and Stiles smiling wide and chuckling at her.

"What?"

"Cute ears." Stiles teases her.

"Oh my god." Allison suddenly squeals from behind her. "I so want your hoodie."

"What are you talking about?" Avery mutters as she angles her body so her gaze darts back and forth between her twin and Allison.

Isaac suddenly laughs before he tugs on something on her hood. "Your hoodie." He says. "They have panda ears."

Avery's cheeks burn red. She had completely forgot that the hoodie came equipped with ears and is now fiercely regretting wearing this particular hoodie to school. Booming laughter suddenly catches her off guard and when she turns, Avery finds both Scott and Isaac laughing and smiling wide. When Allison soon joins in with her muffled giggles, Avery can't help but think that Scott was right.

If they were going to get through this- this darkness around their heart- they were going to need their friends.

..

..

The school day seemed to pass by in a sluggish manner.

After first period whenever Avery ran into her friends in between classes, she could see the darkness take hold once more. It happened slowly but it was detectable in the way their grins slowly faded from their faces and the way they withdrew into themselves when they didn't have classes together.

P.E didn't help much seeing as Coach had them running again. There wasn't a chance to talk to anyone since Finstock had them running up until the minute before the class bell and then by the time everyone had gathered in the locker room, everyone was tired and annoyed and sweaty.

During lunchtime, it took the combined effort of Avery, Isaac, and Lydia to bring the smiles and laughs back. And of course, that was made easier by Avery's adorable hoodie and after taking several pictures in it, she managed to wrangle Allison into it so the teen would smile whenever the others weren't around. Avery had pulled Scott aside and asked whether or not they should tell the others about Derek and Cora.

When they decided to tell them- Allison was the only one who didn't really care about the news. Isaac, Stiles, and Lydia looked a bit crestfallen that Derek and Cora decided to leave without telling anyone other than Avery.

When Aiden and Ethan noticed the difference in Allison, Scott, and Stiles- they grew curious enough to have Lydia explain it to them when they kept pestering her. Afterward, they kept their distance from the group until the battle they had just won wasn't as fresh on their minds.

During sixth period, everyone waited with bated breath to see their replacement teacher. And three minutes after the bell rang, their curiosity was put to rest when an elderly man nearly hobbled in and took a seat at the front desk. When the old man- who had a severe receding salt-n-pepper hairline- started hacking and wheezing into a handkerchief, nearly everyone in class shared a similar and eerie grin.

English class for now was going to be a piece of cake.

The last class of the day was just as sluggish as every other class. And by the end of the day, Avery was ready to get home, do whatever homework she had, prepare dinner, and go with Stiles to pick up their Dad from the Hospital.

..

..

Once home- Avery gladly throws her backpack on the floor of her room and plops down face first on her bed. The minute the school day had ended- Stiles fled the parking lot without a word, Scott groaned then sighed and said he'd go after him, Allison was tired and just wanted to go straight home, Lydia found herself being occupied by both Aiden and Ethan who didn't know what to do now that they were on their own, and Isaac grew quiet.

When asked what his deal was, Isaac nervously replied that he wanted to make a stop at Derek's vacant loft for something he possibly might have left there. Avery seemed skeptical of his answer but when she remembered his crestfallen expression at the lunch table, she dropped it and let him do what he had to do. After asking him if he wanted a ride, and Isaac declining, he gave her a quick kiss before running off with word that he'd call later.

So as Avery got a moments rest, she closed her eyes for a few minutes before she got an early start on her homework that wouldn't be due 'til Monday morning. Considering it was Friday, she still had time but she wanted it out of the way as soon as possible. Closing her eyes, she sighed contently and started to count numbers in her head.

..

..

The sound of a door shutting louder than a normal push was what woke Avery. There's a moment of silence before footsteps stomping up the stairs make her more alert. After pushing herself up and turning over, Avery finds her cellphone to check the time.

She'd been asleep for two hours.

As the footsteps got louder and closer, Avery rubs the sleep out of her eyes and sits up. "Stiles?"

The footsteps stop then start again and Stiles sticks his head in the doorway. "What?"

Had Avery been more alert, she would've glared at him for being so rash with just one word. Instead, her eyebrows furrow in confusion at her twin's attitude. "What crawled up your ass?"

Stiles clenches his jaw while subtly rolling his eyes and it's then that Avery notices the paleness of him. She had seen him not even five hours ago and already, it seems like his mood turned dark. Without uttering a word, he disappears from sight but Avery isn't about to let it go.

"No, hold up! What happened?" She calls out as she hurries after him. "Why are you in such a bad mood? You were fine just-"

"Avery!" Stiles sighs with a grunt. "Stop talking. Just leave it alone."

"No, I will not leave it alone." She grits out through clenched teeth as she follows him downstairs now. "This darkness crap is taking ahold of you rather quickly. More quickly than what it did to Scott and Allison at school. What's going on with you?"

"Nothing!" He shouts. "Everything's the same. Deaton warned us about this so it shouldn't come as a surprise to you! Just.. leave me alone."

"I will not leave you alone!" She yells right back, tears filling her eyes. "You're my brother, Stiles. My twin and I'll be there for you every step of the way but you can't lash out at me. At any of us. You have to let us be there-"

"I don't have to do anything."

Avery gapes, reeling back at the sudden coldness in his voice. Steeling herself, Avery stood taller as the tears silently fell from her eyes. "That's right, you don't have to anything." She tells him with hardly any emotion at all. "You need to."

Stiles holds Avery's gaze before the fight suddenly drains from him. Letting his shoulders slump and his head hang, he sighs. "Avery-"

"No. You listen." She cuts him off, the fire igniting in her eyes. "Yes, Deaton warned us but you can't let it rule you. You can't push us away." She sniffles before wiping at her eyes. "Your friends, your pack is what's going to keep you, Allison, and Scott alive. You can't let the darkness consume you because once you do, you won't come back from it." Stiles goes quiet, his gaze staring straight at her. "And if you think I'm annoying right now, how do you think Dad is going to be? He's going to be much more pushier than I am."

"No." Stiles immediately shakes his head. "No, Avs, you can't tell him. If he finds out, it'll crush him." He says and now Avery can see some emotion come back to life within her brother. Panic. "If Dad finds out that I basically killed myself for him, he'll hover twenty-four-seven."

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

Stiles' eyes dart back and forth, focusing on nothing as he comes up with a plan. "W-we tell him that the others and I were put under hypnosis. That Deaton put us in a trance but we leave out the part where we were held under water to do so."

"Stiles.." Avery sighs. "Dad wants the full story. He wants to know everything."

"If we can't tell him you killed Jennifer then we can't tell him that Scott, Allison, and I were held under water until we basically died."

Anger suddenly swells within her though she knows her brother made a fair point but she can't help feeling angry. He can see it too, the anger filling his sister but he holds his ground. The second Avery opens her mouth to argue, the front door opens causing the two teens to freeze and tense.

"Kids? You home?"

"Dad?"Avery and Stiles mouth at one another, eyes both widening before Avery shakily calls out to him. When John steps into the kitchen where his kids are, he smiles at them with a sigh.

"W-what are you doing home?" Avery asks as she moves forward to gently hug him. "We were supposed to pick you up later?"

"Yeah, well, they let me out early." John shrugs. "I had one of the deputies bring me home."

The arm closest to John's wound is in a sling and the man looks well rested as he smiles at his children. Avery returns the smile and Stiles forces his though they all know it's forced. The three lapse into a silence, no-one knowing what to say and Avery starts to fidget.

"Dinner! I-I can attempt to make dinner." She babbles. Stiles rolls his eyes while John just snorts. "Or not." She frowns at their reactions. "We can order in?"

John perks up at the idea while Stiles just shrugs. "Whatever. I'll be in my room. Call me down when it gets here."

Stiles walks around his Dad and sister, heading for the stairs only to disappear into his room. When John turns his questioning gaze on Avery, her smile falters. "He's just tired." She easily lies for him while rubbing at her eyes. "We're both tired and going back to school so soon wasn't easy."

John silently curses. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have sent you back. I should have just waited until after the weekend."

"It's fine." Avery assures him with a grin. "Everyone else was there so it was okay.. it was just tiring."

"I'm sure it was, kiddo."

The moment John wraps his free arm around his daughter's shoulders, Avery slumps into him with sigh and weakly hugs him around the waist. For a second, John feels guilty for sending them to school though he's not sure exactly what the both of them went through that has them so worn out.

"Tell you what," He murmurs. "-you order chinese food and we can put off our talk until the weekend."

"Deal." Avery immediately accepts as she picks out her cellphone and dials the number for the nearest chinese delivery place.

..

..

After a quiet, yet tense dinner where Avery had to slightly lie about Stiles behavior being because he was exhausted, Avery cleaned up the kitchen of their take-out containers before going up to bed. John had decided to stay up and watch a bit of TV in his own living room since he was tired of being in a bed and Avery left him to do whatever he pleased.

With the way Stiles had been behaving, she was surprised to find him in her room but not so much when it appeared that he was already snoring as he was sprawled on his stomach on the left side of her bed. Realizing that this was her brother reaching out and not pushing her away, she allowed herself a moment to smile before gathering up some pajamas for a quick shower.

And by the time she had gotten out of the shower with her hair mostly dry, she managed to squeeze in on the right side of her bed by curling in on herself with her back against her brother's side.

Which is how their Dad found them the following morning.

"Kids." John fought a smile at the sight of his teen twins sharing the same bed. When they didn't move a muscle, he raised his voice. "Kids!"

Stiles jerked awake, pushing himself up as if he were ready to do some push-ups before flailing at not recognizing his surroundings and falling into the small gap between Avery's bed and wall. At his pained impact, Avery groaned and burrowed further into her comforter before shoving her head under the pillow.

John rolled his eyes at his daughter's antics before marching forward and yanking her source of warmth from her. At her shriek of annoyance, and the cool air hitting her skin, Avery jerks awake just as Stiles peers over the side of the bed.

"Don't give me that look." John snorts as Avery tries her best to glare at him. "I need the both of you downstairs and outside. There seems to be a generously over-sized wrapped present sitting on the lawn that's addressed to the both of you."

Stiles' interest is now piqued whereas Avery grumbles about needing more sleep. Just as she lets herself fall back into her pillows, Stiles is catapulting himself over the corner of her bed while wrapping his hand around one of her ankles. "Come on, Beetlejuice, lets go see what we got." He says as he drags her halfway off the bed before she could fall.

"Don't call me that!" She kicks out at him, missing when he jumps away, and self-consciously pulls on the hem of her black and white striped sleep shorts. John snorts when he catches on to the reference before letting his son out of the room and waiting for Avery to get up. "Yeah, yeah, I'm coming." She mumbles as she stands, raising her hands high up above her head in a full body stretch before readjusting her black tank-top. "Lets go before Stiles opens it without me."

John follows Avery down the stairs and outside to where Stiles is circling the ginormous box while scratching the back of his head. It's a plain white box with a giant red bow sitting atop, and in bold block letters, it simply states Avery and Stiles Stilinski. There's no note- nothing that says who it's from.

Stiles and Avery glance at one another before shrugging and placing their hands on the box. It seems hollow and flimsy- easily lift-able- so with each teen grabbing a corner in the front and lifting, they let the flimsy hollowed box fall backward.

There's a moment of silence as the three Stilinski's just stare at the two identical black Kawasaki sport bikes before Avery starts jumping up and down squealing. Stiles just gapes when his mind processes that this was addressed to him and his twin while John audibly groans and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Would someone like to tell me why there are two identical motorcycles on my front lawn?" John grumbles.

Avery and Stiles both whirl around to face their Dad- Stiles' mouth dropping open even more as Avery's eyes widen at the now two figures standing behind their father. The two impeccably dressed figures standing behind their Dad- one with a dimpled smirk and the other looking stoic as ever though you could clearly read the amusement in his eyes.

"I believe that would be my brother's doing, Mr. Stilinski." A heavily accented British voice drawls.

So the Originals are finally in town :) Avery's outfits are up on Polyvore and the twins' motorcycles are up on (fanficimagery. tumblr. com) Go check it out.