She starts to think about what Derek almost told her. Once she starts she can't stop. She bites the end of her pencil, trying to pay attention but she feels him crawling right back into her thoughts, the casual lean, as if he was going to tell her a secret only meant for her ears. Aria just about drove herself crazy as she tried to listen to Lydia jabber on about whichever twin she was dating. She would glance over every-so-often to make the appearance she was paying attention.

Aria bites her lip for the entire day. She goes home and lays in her bed, thinking. She flips onto her stomach, grabbing her phone, checking her text messages. She sighs as she realizes that no one actually misses her. She's okay with that. The Alphas were after her, Derek was confusing her, and just everything was weird.

"My little bird."

Aria bolts up, recognizing the voice she hadn't heard for a while now. She glances over, standing up, "Mom?" She whispers.

"So young to be fighting so many."

Aria follows the voice, she goes into the attic, where all of her mother's stuff is. She coughs, the dust infiltrating her lungs. She wipes her eyes furiously, walking into the attic to turn on the light. Boxes galore, labelled lazily. Claudia's stuff. She sits down in front of the box, opening it slowly. Her father had tried to throw everything her mother had owned, touched, or even looked at for too long in this small box. Aria pulls out her mother's old necklace, with the locket she never quite managed to open. Aria pockets the heart shaped locket.

She gets a wild idea, grabbing her phone out and texting Derek. I need your help with something, okay if I swing by?

Derek texts back a minute later, That's fine.

Aria knocks on his door, glancing around, the locket burning a hole in her pocket. Aria's about to turn around and leave, deciding this was a stupid idea. But he opens the door before she has time to take the first step.

"Uh, hi!" She notes that her voice is too chipper so she lowers it, "What's up?" She asks nervously.

Derek steps aside, letting her in. She shyly walks into his flat, glancing around, nodding.

"So, you've really tried the grunge-esque thing, it works, I like it." Aria can feel her heart in her chest ready to jump out and do a jig. She glances over at Derek who is looking more and more amused by the second. "Are you going to say something?" She finally asks.

"Your heart is beating really fast." Derek notes, folding his arms over his chest, cockily smiling, "Why is that?"

Aria's hand shakes as she reaches into her pocket, holding out the locket, "I need you to open this."

"When did I turn into your personal locket opener?" Derek asks, taking the small heart into his hand, flipping it over in his palm.

"Just now, actually." Aria takes a step towards him, pointing at the locket in his hand. "This was my Mom's and I haven't been able to open it ever since I was born. The first few years were understandable, but I bought a locket opener and that wouldn't work either." She explains, "I need you to open it."

"Why is it so important?"

Aria doesn't want to tell him about the voice, so instead she says, "I miss her." She admits lamely. "She died when I was a kid but she used to sing Johnny Cash. This is all I really have left."

Derek holds her gaze for a few moments before turning back to the locket. He opens it quickly, the small click reassuring. A small note falls to the ground and Aria swipes it up, opening it.

Don't let them get you.

Aria's confused as she stares at the note. She didn't know what she'd been expecting, but it wasn't this. She was expecting some heartfelt sappy note, but nothing. Derek hands her the locket and she glances inside of it to see a picture of her as a child. Though her eyes have been colored with red marker. Aria's heart is beating faster and she's worried she's about to have a heart attack. She sits on his couch, staring at the picture in the locket. Her long golden locks pulled back into a french braid, her toothy smile popping out. Her usually green eyes instead a vibrant red. The marker harsh and demanding against the photo.

Derek keeps standing, staring at her. Not saying anything. Letting the silence become his answer.

"What is this?" Aria whispers, flipping the locket over and over in her hands. She's quiet for a moment, she stands up slowly, then she throws the locket with as much anger she can muster. She hears it crack. "What was that?" She turns to Derek, her eyes wild, "I wanted something. Not that, I didn't want my Mom to be in on this whole true Alpha business. I wanted it to be nice and heartfelt. I wanted it to be a note that said, 'hey keep going kid I fucking love you'. Not some, omen!" Aria takes the note out of her pocket, ripping it up furiously. Her Mom's sprawly cursive torn to shreds. "I wanted a note that parents used to put in their kids' lunchboxes when they were kids. Not some, not some fucking OMEN!"

"Aria."

Aria starts pacing frantically, "No, no, this is ridiculous. The voice, it couldn't have been for this. Not more of this fate shit, my god, not more of this." Aria runs her hands frantically through her hair. "I wanted her. I wanted to know what she'd been like. I can barely remember her, did you know that? Whenever I think of her I think of birds, Johnny Cash, and her singing me to sleep. Nothing else. Nothing else there's NOTHING ELSE. Did she prefer diet or regular? Does she put milk in her coffee like I do? Does she hate cheesecake? What's her favorite color? What did she want to be when she grew up? But no, nothing, none of that. More of this werewolf shit. Nothing I can use. Nothing for me."

Derek does something shocking, he takes her by the arms, and he hugs her. She's confused for a moment, but she steps onto her tiptoes, hugging him back, her face in his shoulder.

She hadn't realized she'd been crying, "I wanted something to hold onto." She realizes.

Derek drives her home, saying she wasn't in the mental state to drive home by herself. She keeps furiously wiping her eyes and fixing her makeup. Aria looks over at him, trying to think of something - anything, to say.

"I'm sorry, I'm a little unhinged in case that wasn't already achingly obvious." Aria admits, her voice cracked from her crying.

Derek glances over at her, "I've seen unhinged, you're not close to it."

Aria leans back in his leather seat, glancing out the window, "That was sort of wildly embarrassing." She admits. "I don't usually cry in front of people so you should know that you're on a very short list of people who have seen me cry."

"I'm honored."

"I didn't realize I was crying so don't think that."

"Sure."

"I didn't!" Aria protests as he pulls in front of her house, she feels her heart sink. "My Dad's home." She says weakly.

"So?" Derek asks as Aria's dad emerges from the house.

"I'm fucked, that's it, I'm fucked." Aria says, looking over at him wildly, "I'm not supposed to be around you - but you already knew that so why am I telling you again?" Aria opens his car door, stepping out, "Dad listen -"

Her Dad pushes past her, to the open car door, "Hey Derek, why don't you come in for dinner?"

Derek glances at her, "Uh sir, actually-"

"That wasn't a question." Her Dad says with a smile, "Please, come in."

Derek and Aria share a frantic look. Aria shakes her head but he climbs out of the car anyways, following her Dad to the house. Aria moans, stepping into the line of people that would lead to her death.

Damn it, Dad.