HARSHER THAN THE BARK

A/N: Thank you to everyone who has commented on the relationships that Scarlett has with both Derek and Scott. I'm glad you guys are seeing that because I do try and delve into their characters so that it's as real as possible. Once again, thank you for all of the reviews, favs and follows! It really does mean a lot:)

Scarlett mulled over her options of movies as she walked down an aisle of the video store. She twirled her keys in her hand as she thought about it…romance? Comedy? Should she do both and go for a rom-com? Nope. Horror? Oh, maybe she should watch one of those werewolves movies that Stiles was talking about or-

She looked up when she heard the bell on the door ringing. In walked Jackson looking semi-pissed. If she knew anything then she knew that Lydia had sent him in there to get The Notebook. It was one of Lydia's favourite movies, much like it was one of Scarlett's. Lydia often talked about how she had Jackson completely bitched and she could make him watch it with her whenever she wanted.

Jackson's eyes found Scarlett and he smirked before he walked over to her. "Scarlett…" He purred, trying to annoy her.

"Dick." She greeted him with a false smile before turning her attention back to the movies, attempting to ignore his presence.

"Is that all you ever think about?" He asked rudely, knowing he was getting under her skin. Scarlett hid her rage by taking in a deep breath and then exhaling telling herself he wasn't worth it.

"Goodbye Jackson." She said curtly, walking away from that aisle. Jackson's hand shot out to grab her arm before she got very far though.

"Wait, can you help me find The Notebook?" His jaw was clenched and she could tell that he hated the fact he was going to have to watch it again and that he had to ask for help to find it.

She gave him a look and scoffed, yanking her arm away. "Find it yourself."

Jackson grit his teeth together and went about trying to find it before giving up after about two seconds.

"Can somebody help me find The Notebook?" He called out hopelessly. Scarlett let out a small laugh. Looking around, she realised that the guy that worked there wasn't there anymore and he had been when she had walked in. Strange. Apart from her and Jackson, there was literally nobody else in the store.

She walked out of the aisle that she was in and looked around again. All she could see was Jackson asking if anyone was there.

"There was when I came in but he's obviously not here anymore." She told him with a shrug. He gave her a look and quickly walked towards her when a light started flickering. She rolled her eyes at him. "Oh, a flickering light. How terrifying."

"Do you hear that?" He asked, whipping his head from side to side.

"It's just a phone." She said simply, not believing that he was freaking out.

"No, not that. It's…too quiet."

"Um, maybe because we're the only two people in here." Jackson had suddenly gripped her arm and she looked down at it before looking back up. "Jackson, what the hell?"

He turned her around so that she was facing the same way as him and she got the same look on her face. There, just ahead of them was what appeared to be the feet of someone lying down. Well, that wasn't good. She was now the one gripping Jackson's arm as the two of them walked towards the aisle that the feet were sticking out of.

They slowly peered around the aisle and Scarlett's hands shot up to cover her mouth at the sight.

"Oh my God." She gasped, looking away from the man. He was clearly dead. His throat looked as if it had been ripped out. He was all bloody and his eyes were still open.

Jackson was just as startled as Scarlett and he moved backwards, knocking into her before she could stop him and before she could stop herself from falling into the ladder that was underneath the flickering light. The ladder fell and suddenly all of the lights were flicking on and off and eventually they went out making the whole store dark.

Scarlett got back up with the help of Jackson and they stood extremely close to each other, scared out of their wits. She didn't know what had done that to the poor man but she was pretty sure it wasn't a mountain lion and her guess was too scary to admit.

There was a growling noise behind them and Scarlett's blood ran cold. The two of them turned, ever so slowly, and looked right at the growling beast. Its eyes shone a blood-red and Scarlett was frozen in fear because that's exactly how Scott had described what the Alpha looked like and that had been her guess as to what had happened to the guy that worked at the store.

Jackson's eyes widened and he quickly jumped behind one of the shelves of movies, yanking Scarlett with him when he noticed she wasn't moving. He made her duck down with him and somehow they ended up gripping each other's hands. Scarlett didn't exactly like doing that but if she was going to die then what did it matter. She actually felt a lot better that Jackson was there and she wasn't going through this alone.

They both looked around the corner and saw a big flash of black before they quickly moved back again, breathing heavily trying to stay as calm as possible. Their hands became sweaty but they gripped them tighter, trying to find comfort in the action.

God, she felt like she was in a fucking horror movie.

The supposed Alpha knocked the shelves and the DVD's came tumbling down on them but they remained still. Then, it actually knocked the shelves over and it was like dominoes. One by one they fell onto each other and when it came to their shelf falling down, Jackson did something that surprised Scarlett. He pushed her out of the way before she could get crushed and instead, his legs got caught under it.

"Jackson!" She whispered in a panicked tone as she crouched beside him. He was making pained noises but keeping them as quiet as possible. Scarlett didn't know what to do but she couldn't just leave him lying there so she crawled to the shelf that was on top of Jackson and tried to push it off but damn, the thing was heavy.

Her heart started hammering in her chest we she saw the beast up close, approaching her and Jackson. It was definitely the Alpha. It looked like a much bigger version of Scott and Derek when they shifted except it was much more animal and looked like an actual monster, which it was, from a fairy-tale or something.

She shrank back to the point where she was almost lying on the ground. It looked at her as she shook with fear, growling ferociously at her. That was it. She was most definitely going to die. That thing was going to kill her and then she would never get to do anything with her life. She would never know what would've happened in her future, what life would have been like when she made it out of Beacon Hills. She would never see her mom again, or Scott or Lydia, Allison…any of her family…she would never see Derek again. Oh crap. She barely knew him and she was already thinking about him in what could be her last moments of breathing.

Scarlett wanted to cry or scream or something but she physically couldn't. Her body wouldn't allow it. All she did was watch the Alpha use its claws to move Jackson's jacket slightly and look at something on his neck. Was it looking at the claw marks Derek had left on him? Maybe it could sense that it was Derek that made those marks. The thing was out to get him after all.

Apart from her own pounding heartbeat in her ears, the only thing she could hear was Jackson's short and terrified breaths. She wanted so badly to help him. She may have hated him slightly but that didn't mean she wanted to watch him get killed right before her eyes…right before she was about to get killed.

The Alpha slowly backed up, growling at Scarlett once more before running and smashing through the window of the video store.

There was never a happier moment in her life than that moment. The moment she knew that she wasn't going to die. Relief flooded through her and she closed her eyes for a second, thanking her lucky stars for the fact she was still breathing. Then she remembered Jackson and she got up quickly, jumping to where his face was turned towards.

"Hey, hey. You okay?" He looked at her with wide eyes and he looked completely petrified. "It's gone. It's fine. I'm gonna try and move this thing off you again but I'm going to call the cops first, okay?" She asked him softly. He made a small nodding motion and she got back up, taking out her phone and unlocking it. She dialled 911 and waited for an answer before she told them everything and they said they were sending people over.

When that was done she moved back to the shelf and she managed to move it just enough, although she wasn't sure how long she could hold it up for. "Jackson, move!"

He swallowed and used his arms to push himself up, moving his legs from underneath the shelf. When he was out of the way Scarlett let the shelf drop again and she walked over to Jackson who was using another shelf to steady himself. When he looked at her, his expression was pained.

"What the hell was that?"

"I have no idea." Scarlett replied, knowing that she had to act clueless.

"Hey Lyds, you doing okay?" Scarlett asked a traumatized looking Lydia. When the Alpha jumped through the window it had jumped onto Lydia's car, scaring the shit out of her. Now, she was sitting in the back of an ambulance with her legs hanging over the side while the police did their job and a crowd of people gathered at the scene.

"I-I'm f-fine." Was Lydia's reply. Scarlett pulled her in for a hug and they stayed like that until Sheriff Stilinksi asked if Scarlett had been questioned yet to which her reply was no.

"What time did you get here?" An officer asked as they took notes.

"About half an hour ago." Scarlett replied, hugging herself.

"Alright, can you tell me exactly what happened? Try not to leave out any details."

"Okay, um, I wanted to watch a movie so I came here to get one and when I walked in the…guy that worked there was just fixing a light. I spent a while looking for something to watch and then Jackson came in and he was asking for help to find The Notebook. That's when I realised that the guy from earlier wasn't around anymore so we started looking around and found him, dead, lying in one of the aisles." She said, trying to look upset about it. It wasn't that hard to do considering she was still pretty freaked from the whole 'almost dying' thing.

"Okay. And do you know what killed him?"

"N-no. I don't know what it was. I didn't see anything. I mean, there was some growling so maybe it was that mountain lion that everyone's talking about." Scarlett shrugged, once again acting clueless.

"Maybe…well, thank you for your time." The officer sighed.

"No problem. Sorry I couldn't be of more help." The officer just gave her a bleak smile and walked away.

Scarlett sighed and then noticed Stiles walking towards her, with a worried look on his face.

"Hey, are you okay? What the hell happened?" He asked.

"I'm fine and call me crazy but…I'm pretty sure the Alpha just attacked me and Jackson and also killed that guy." Stiles' eyes widened and he pulled her to the side where no one could hear them.

"Are you freaking serious?! It was here? Why didn't it kill you? Or Jackson?"

"Yes and I have no idea." Stiles was going to say something else but his dad came over to them before he had a chance.

"You doing okay Scarlett? You need a ride home?" He asked sincerely.

"No, I'm just gonna drive myself. Thanks anyway." She offered him a small smile.

"You get checked out? Questioned and everything?"

"Yeah, EMTs said I was all good and I gave my statement to a deputy."

"Alright kiddo, careful driving home." He nodded to her before walking away again.

"Well, I'm gonna go. But I'll tell you more about it when Scott's around." Scarlett said, walking away from Stiles.

"Bye Scar." He called after her.

"Bye."

Sorry about your locker…Lydia forced me into it. Happy Birthday!

Scarlett quickly texted Allison before the class started and she was forced to listen to Mr Harris go on and on and on about complete and utter crap.

Allison: Yeah, I guessed as much but thanks anyway!

She read the text and then locked her phone, putting it in her pocket when Mr Harris started talking.

"Just a friendly reminder…parent-teacher conferences are tonight." Oh yeah…Scarlett had completely forgotten. She didn't need to go but Scott did. Sucks for him. "Students below a C average are required to attend. I won't name you because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment. Has anyone seen Scott McCall?"

Mr Harris had stopped at Scarlett and Stiles' table and his question was clearly directed at them but Scarlett ignored it and Stiles looked up with a highlighter in his mouth. He looked around, seeming to be confused.

The room was silent until Jackson walked in and everyone just stared at him. He made eye contact with Scarlett before quickly looking away and sitting down. She noticed that he looked really tired, like he hadn't gotten any sleep. No wonder…she hadn't either.

"Jackson, if you need to leave early for any reason…you let me know." Mr Harris said quietly. He was probably the only student in the school that Mr Harris didn't hate and he treated him like the golden-boy. Jackson gave a nod and Mr Harris went up to the front of the class to start the lesson.

"How come you aren't getting that treatment? You were there too…" Stiles said, leaning over to Scarlett.

"Because Mr Harris hates me and Jackson was the one who hit his head, not me." She replied, not really fazed at all by the attention Jackson got.

"Start reading chapter 9." Scarlett flipped open her book and was about to start reading when the asshole started talking again. "Mr Stilinski, try putting the highlighter down between paragraphs. It's chemistry, not a colouring book."

"Rude." Scarlett mumbled under her breath as she began reading. Halfway through the first paragraph, she stopped and wondered why Scott still wasn't there. She thought that maybe he had just been late for class but that obviously wasn't the case. If he was skipping school then he was going to get in so much trouble because he's done it before and that time, their mom was furious. So, if he's doing it again then it's going to be even worse considering that the parent-teacher conferences are tonight and he's not doing too well in any of his subjects.

Scarlett watched as Stiles leaned forward to Danny. "Danny, can I ask you a question?"

"No." He said, making Scarlett laugh quietly.

"Well…I'm going to anyway." Stiles said. "Um, did Lydia show up in your homeroom today?"

"No."

"Stiles, she's staying off today. I thought I told you." Scarlett said to him. He gave her a look.

"No, you didn't." He said, sounding annoyed.

"I thought I did." She shrugged.

Stiles turned back to Danny again. "Can I ask you another question?"

"What?" Danny asked, annoyed by Stiles pestering him.

"Do you find me attractive?" There was no answer from Danny so Stiles kept leaning forwards until he fell off of his chair.

"Oh my God." Scarlett muttered, covering her face with her hand as everyone looked at their table.

"McCall!" Brooke shouted as Scarlett made her way out of the changing room. She stopped and turned around to face the angry looking blonde. Here we go…

"Yes?"

"If I catch you slacking off like that again then I'm gonna cut you from the fucking squad, you got that?" Scarlett narrowed her eyes at the older girl, not believing what she was hearing.

"I wasn't slacking off. I had a rough night. Sorry that I wasn't up to par, your highness."

"You better watch yourself McCall…because I'm serious." Brooke said in a low voice, pointing a finger at Scarlett.

"I'm one of the best cheerleaders you've got, not to mention I help make up half the routines these days because your too busy being a slut." Brooke's eyes widened and she looked furious. Scarlett knew that she was risking her spot on the squad but it was a democracy and Brooke was the only cheerleader that didn't like her so there was actually very little chance of her getting kicked off. "So, don't patronize me about slacking off for one practice."

"You're treading in dangerous waters you little bitch." Brooke spat before stomping off like a child.

"I know how to swim." Scarlett called out, just loud enough for Brooke to hear. She smirked and turned around only to come face to face with Derek. "Holy shit!" She shouted, having a mini-heart attack.

"She's a bitch." He said, pointing in the direction Brooke had walked off in.

"Yeah," Scarlett breathed out. "Tell me about it." She fixed her bag on her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at Derek. "So, not to be rude or anything but why are you here?"

"I was talking to Jackson…then I was going to come find you. You saved me the trouble."

"By talking do you mean threatening?" She asked with a smirk.

"Naturally." He shrugged.

"Fair enough. Why do you need me?"

His face hardened and he lowered his voice. "I need to know what happened in the video store."

She leaned her head back against the wall as she sighed. She didn't want to talk about it again. She thought that when she told Scott, Derek would be there and she wouldn't have to tell the story twice. Turned out that was just not going to happen.

"Basically, the Alpha killed that guy and it didn't kill me or Jackson. Although…it did look at the claw marks on Jackson's neck and I'm pretty sure that's why it didn't kill him, or me."

"Wait, it looked at the claw marks?" Derek asked.

"Um, yeah…it was really weird. It kinda looked like it recognized them or something."

"Yeah, it probably did. Doesn't explain why it left the two of you alive."

"Is it really that shocking that we're still alive? Because Stiles had pretty much the same reaction as you and I mean, call me selfish but I seem to be the only one that can appreciate the fact that I didn't die." Scarlett said. She was beginning to get a little pissed, the way Stiles and Derek said it just sounded as if they didn't care whether she lived or died.

"You're right, I'm sorry. I'm glad you're not dead. I'm just surprised." He said, making intense eye contact with her, making her heart rate quicken.

"Better." She smiled and then the bell rang. She groaned at the sound, she was not prepared to face the rest of the day. Maybe she could just ditch like Scott…

"What?" Derek asked. She seemed to remember he was there and looked back up at him.

"Uh, nothing…I just don't really wanna go back to class." She said with a slight laugh.

"You could always ditch." He said with a smirk of his own.

"You know what? I think I will." She nodded to herself. "Screw school. I deserve to miss one day. My grades are perfect." Derek laughed at her and they fell into step with each other, making their way outside.

"So are you like…going home?" Scarlett asked casually.

"Where else would I be going?" He asked, giving her a look.

"I don't know. What do you do in your free time? Well, other than threatening teenagers."

"I work out." Scarlett stopped for a second, just imagining him working out…all sweaty and beautiful. No wonder he was in such good shape.

"Okay well since you're going down into the woods anyway…feel like giving me a ride?" She asked with a cheesy smile.

"Why are you going down there, may I ask?" He asked, coming to a stop in front of his car.

"To write." She replied simply, already opening the passenger's door because she knew he was going to say yes anyway.

"Write what?" When he saw that she was getting into the car he rolled his eyes but grinned at her boldness.

She stayed quiet for a second while he got in the car and started it before turning to her with an expectant look.

"My diary." She shrugged, putting on her seatbelt. She was going to lie and say it was some essay for school but he would be able to tell if she was lying so she thought that it was best to go with the truth.

He looked at her and smirked. "A diary?"

"Yes. A diary. Because it would really suck if I kept all of these emotions bottled up and then ended up turning into some crazy bitch." The way she said it with such calmness made Derek laugh to himself. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing. Um, why do you need to be in the woods to write?" He asked as he sped out of the school parking lot.

She pondered it for a minute before answering. No one had ever asked why she did that so she'd never really thought about the reasons that much. "I don't know…I guess I just like being away from all the noise and people in general. I mean, I can only handle people to a certain extent and then they start getting on my nerves. Being in the woods by myself helps me feel at peace, like I have a clear head and I can just write down all of my problems without worrying about them…if that makes any sense."

"I'm not gonna pretend to completely understand that but I can accept it." He said with a small smile.

"I suppose thinking about it now… it's not exactly the safest place to hang around, what with a murderous Alpha on the loose and everything."

"You still wanna go? Because I can turn around." He told her, remembering that what she said was completely true. It wasn't safe and he felt uneasy at the thought of her being in the woods all alone. He also didn't like the fact that she was in the video store when the Alpha showed up. Internally, he was beating himself up because by the time he and Scott got there, the police were already there, the Alpha was already gone and Scarlett had already been in harm's way. The two of them had no idea that it was going to attack there nor did they know that she was going to be there. If he had known then he would've prevented her from ever entering the place.

"No, it's cool but I'll probably just stay close to the house so that if trouble comes my way I won't be completely defenceless. I'll have you nearby." She said softly and with a shrug.

A look of doubt crossed his face before he quickly covered it up with a slight laugh. "Yeah."

They didn't talk for the remaining few minutes of the journey instead they just sat and listened to the music on the radio letting that fill the silence.

Eventually Derek pulled up to the Hale House and they both exited the car.

"Have fun working out Hale." Scarlett winked Derek before, suddenly feeling more confident around him.

"Don't wander too far McCall." He called over his shoulder as he walked into the house. Scarlett laughed and shook her head, walking in the opposite direction. "I won't." She mumbled to herself.

It didn't take long for her to find a spot that she liked. It wasn't her usual tree but it would suffice. She sat her bag down and took out her phone, checking for any messages. She had none so she turned it off, not wanting to be disrupted by anything and she sat down leaning against the tree. She rummaged through her bag until she found the dark blue, leather-bound, book. The pages were almost completely full so she would have to get a new one although, she loved that one dearly because she'd had it for so long and all of her personal thoughts and feelings were in it.

She found a pen and opened the book to the next page that didn't have her writing scrawled all over it. Tapping her pen on the page she pondered what to write about first. After all that had happened recently, there was so much she could write. Especially because she hadn't written in her diary since…before Scott became a werewolf. Before she was pretty much cast out and alone. Okay, so she would start with that.

'Dear Diary…'

From where Derek stood on the porch he could see Scarlett writing away. He couldn't explain why, but he thought the whole idea of her writing down her secrets and feelings was cute. Never in his life had he done such a thing nor had he ever talked to someone about his feelings because in the grand scheme of things they were irrelevant. And yet somehow, over the short while that he'd know her, he felt like he could open up to Scarlett. Not much, but more than he'd opened up to anyone in a very long time. There wasn't an exact reason for it, but Derek's guess was that they were drawn to each other because they were both lonely.

He watched her for a few more minutes, watching how her brows furrowed in concentration, how her writing seemed to get faster when she got an angry look on her face and how she gripped the pen so tightly. She was probably writing something about Scott. He had noticed how pissed off she'd been with her twin lately and that was understandable because Scott was being a dick to her but he couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for Scott's actions…for making his sister feel left out. Scarlett began to bite her lip and Derek couldn't continue looking at her because if he did then more sinful thoughts would cloud his mind and he couldn't let that happen. He scanned the surrounding woods again, listening for any sign of trouble as far as his hearing would allow him and when he deemed it safe he went back inside the house.

Scarlett looked up from her diary when she thought she felt someone watching her but there was no one there. She sighed and finished her last sentence before signing the bottom of the page: '- S.L. McCall.'

She closed the book over and ran her fingers against the smooth surface before tying the string again and putting it back into her bag. Her back ached from sitting against the tree so when she stood up she stretched and cracked her back, sighing at the feeling. She looked behind her, into the woods, feeling slightly paranoid that something was going to run out and attack her. And by something she of course meant the Alpha. She gathered her bag and slung it over her shoulder, making her way back up to the Hale House where Derek was.

The porch creaked a bit as she walked up the stairs, she was a little weary considering she'd never actually been in the house before and it looked like it was all going to collapse at any second. The majority of the house was burnt down, leaving huge holes in the roof. The windows were mostly all cracked and broken, some of the floorboards were torn up and upon walking inside she was hit with a waft of dust.

"Derek?" She called, looking for any sign of him as she made her way through the house. She didn't have to search very far before she saw him, well his back anyway. He was doing pull-ups on a door frame…shirtless. She stood and watched the way the muscles in his back clenched each time he pulled himself back up, the way the beads of sweat rolled off of him and not in the disgusting way, more like in the sexy way. Again, she was intrigued by the tattoo and she wanted to know what it was even more.

He had probably already heard her come in but she decided to make herself known nonetheless by walking forward and straight passed him, all while admiring his body. He looked at her and stopped the pull-ups but she immediately insisted he keep doing them.

"Oh, don't stop on my account. Just, pretend I'm not here." She said, making a gesture with her hands that told him to continue while she moved to lean against a wall that had a perfect view of him. Derek smirked and did a few more pull-ups before dropping to the floor and immediately starting his push-ups.

Scarlett watched the way his biceps worked to push him up and keep him steady and how he switched to doing one handed push-ups. Show off.

"That looks like it's far too easy for you to do. Why don't we make it a little bit more challenging." Scarlett said with a smirk, dropping her bag and walking towards them.

"What'd you have in mind?" He asked, continuing to do the push-ups.

"Me." She shrugged.

"You want me to do this, with you sit on me?" He was amused by her idea.

"Yep."

"Well then it's not really a challenge then…you're tiny." Scarlett pretended to be offended, putting her hand to her chest and gasping before becoming serious again, well as serious as she could be when all she wanted to do was smile.

"I'm not that small. It just seems that way to you because you're a lot taller." She stated.

"Okay then." He said and she smiled, walking the rest of the way to him and sitting sideways on his back. "Seriously, there's practically no change."

"Just shut up and start doing the push-ups." She heard him laugh and he started. She had to put a hand on his shoulder to steady herself and then remembered she had planned to count how many of these he could do…oh well, she could ask him about the tattoo instead. She moved her hand from his shoulder and she used her fingertips to trace the tattoo, making him tense up more than he already had been. "So, what's the story behind the tat?"

Derek licked his lips before he spoke, continuing to do the push-ups with ease. She really did weigh nothing, or at least it felt that way to him. "Do you know what it is?"

"Three connected spirals…?"

"Good observation skills." He said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes.

"My mistake…in that case, no. I don't know what it is. Do enlighten me Hale."

"It's a triskelion."

"A wh-" Before she could finish her question, Derek had stopped and his head snapped to the side as if he was listening intently to something.

"Hide." He said, making her jump off of his back.

"Where?" She asked in a panicked tone.

"Anywhere!" He hissed, pushing her back so that she almost tripped. She turned and looked for somewhere to hide but the only place she could find was behind the stairs in a dark corner. She ran to it and crouched down, staying as far in the shadows as possible right before the door was kicked open and three people walked in. Two men and a woman. One of the men was holding a gun and Scarlett began to freak out. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately but that's twice in one week her life had been in danger. Her best guess was that these people were hunters and she also took a wild guess in thinking that the woman was the one who shot Derek…meaning she was an Argent.

"No one home?" One of them asked.

"Oh no…he's here." The woman said with a sick smile on her face. So, she obviously knew Derek. "He's just not feeling particularly hospitable." No fucking wonder, bitch.

"Maybe he's out…burying a bone in the backyard." Scarlett made an unamused face at that. What a pathetic joke.

The woman gave the guy a look. "Really? A dog joke? You go in there and that's the best you got? If you wanna provoke him, say something like…too bad your sister bit it before she had her first litter." The three of them were now walking around the house and Scarlett bit her tongue as to not make any sound. "Too bad she howled like a bitch, when we CUT HER IN HALF!"

Jesus, she was crazy.

Scarlett heard a loud and ferocious growl and then a scream from one of the hunters as he got thrown against a wall by Derek who came jumping out of one of the rooms. Scarlett couldn't see him properly from where she was hiding but from what she could tell, he wasn't fully transformed.

Derek knocked the other guy out and then Scarlett thought she heard what sounded like…what was that? A Taser? Did that hunter have a freaking Taser? Apparently so because she heard the sound of the electrical shock touching flesh and she cringed. She heard Derek whimper and fall to the floor. The sound made her heart ache and she thought for sure that the crazy hunter was going to kill him and there she was…completely helpless yet again.

"Wow…this one grew up in all the right places. I don't know whether to kill it or lick it." Scarlett thought she was going to be sick. The hunter's words were making her feel physically ill.

She heard the sound of the woman's boots against the floor as she walked around and along with that she heard the sound of Derek trying to get back up, he was making pained noises and he sounded weak.

Come on Scarlett…think of something.

As quietly as she could she took out her phone and turned it back on, thankful that she had turned it on silent as well so that it didn't make any noise. She almost dropped the phone when she heard the Taser hitting Derek again, the shock strong enough to make him fly backwards and end up in Scarlett's line of sight. She wished that she could help him but she knew she was useless in this situation. Focusing on her phone instead of Derek, she managed to text Scott asking him to get to the Hale House ASAP. All she could do then was wait.

The hunter's sadistic laugh rang throughout the otherwise silent house and Scarlett wanted so badly to knock her out so she wouldn't have to listen to her anymore.

"Nine-hundred thousand volts…" Holy hell that was a lot. And it must be a big ass Taser too. It was probably designed especially for werewolf hunters. "You never were good with electricity were you? Or fire."

Oh, she definitely knew Derek. They clearly had a past together. Scarlett didn't know what the relationship between them was but if it was what she thought it was then not only did she find it absurd that a hunter and a werewolf got together but she also felt a slight pang of jealousy. Hurry up and get here Scott. She kept hoping that her twin would just miraculously show up and save Derek's ass. She obviously didn't want Scott to get hurt but he would at least be able to distract the hunter long enough for Derek to get back on his feet. But, of course, Scott wasn't answering any of her texts that she kept sending.

Scarlett groaned internally as the hunter started talking again. The very sound of her voice was pissing her off in so many ways. "So I'm gonna let you in on a little secret and well, maybe we can help each other out. Yes, your sister was severed into pieces and used as bait to try to catch you, unpleasant and frankly a little too…Texas Chainsaw Massacre for my taste but quite true. Hm, now here's the part that might really kick you in the balls…we didn't kill her."

There was a short silence until it was filled with her voice again. "You think I'm lying?"

"Wouldn't be the first time…" Derek said weakly. And there was another pang of jealousy. They must've been together at some point.

"Sweetie," Ew. "Why don't you just listen to my heart…tell me if I am. We. Didn't. Kill. Your. Sister." Scarlett strained to hear what she was saying as she whispered the last part but she caught it anyway. "You hear that? There's no blips or uptakes. Just the steady beat of the cold hard truth. Found bite marks on your sister's body Derek. What do you think did that? A mountain lion? Why aren't we helping each other out? You might as well admit what you've been guessing all along which is…the Alpha killed your sister and all you have to do is tell us who he is and we'll take care of it for you. Problem solved. Everybody goes home happy. Your little girlfriend, whoever she may be, is safe from harm."

Scarlett's heart stopped when she heard her say that. What the hell was she talking about? Was she talking about her?

"What are you talking about?" Derek asked, cursing himself for letting Scarlett come here and putting her in danger. If Kate knew where she was hiding…she'd kill her without a second thought.

"Oh don't try to cover it up Derek. I highly doubt that that, right there, is your bag." Derek sucked in a sharp breath and glared at her.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Scarlett cursed. How could she have been so stupid to have left her bag lying out there, wide open?

"But I'm gonna let that slide considering she's really not worth my time and instead I'm going to get back to the topic at hand…judging by the look on your face, I'm gonna go ahead and say you don't know who the Alpha is either. Well, guess who just became totally useless…" She turned around and before she could start firing the gun she'd taken out, Derek made a run for it leaving Scarlett alone with the psycho hunter.

When Derek was a safe distance away he turned to face the direction he had come from. "Shit!" He couldn't have been more pissed off with himself. The last thing he wanted was for Scarlett to get hurt and now he had just left her hiding from one of the most deadly people he knew. He hoped to God or whoever else there was that Kate meant what she was saying about Scarlett not being worth her time. He moved a little bit closer back to the house so that he could hear what was being said.

"You know…if I were you, whoever the hell you are, I'd get the fuck out of this mess before you end up dead. Derek isn't worth it." Kate called out, walking back out of the front door when her two side-kicks had finally come to.

Scarlett swallowed hard and she felt herself shaking like a leaf. Derek had left her. Alone and defenceless. Okay, the woman said that she wasn't interested in her but that didn't mean she wasn't going to kill her if she found out where Scarlett was. She leaned her head against the wall when she could no longer hear the hunters.

What the hell was all that shit? And who was that bitch to tell her what to do? That mess was a part of her life…and she would decide herself is she thought Derek was worth it. She would decide if he was worth her life.

After sitting for what felt like an hour but was only really a few minutes, Scarlett got up again. She carefully made sure that there was no one still lurking around and she quietly went to retrieve her forgotten bag.

"Scarlett?" She heard Derek call. When she turned around she was met with his solemn face. "Are you okay?"

"Are you?" She countered, slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Doesn't matter. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have left you with her-"

"I'm glad you did." She interrupted him. He gave her a confused look so she continued to explain. "You can't honestly believe that I would have rather you stayed and gotten killed for my benefit. Jeez, Derek. I'm not heartless…I'm not her." She added as an afterthought, referring to the female hunter.

How could Derek be so worried about her? She was well hidden. He wasn't. The woman was going to kill him and if he didn't run then he would've been dead and she wouldn't be able to live with herself.

"If she saw you then she would have killed you! Because of me. I put your life in danger. How can you be so forgiving?" Derek was once again confused by Scarlett and he didn't know how to feel about it. Why the hell was she always so nice to him? She should hate him. Just like Scott did. She obviously didn't understand that her being caught up in all of this was dangerous and that Kate had been right. If Scarlett didn't get out, then she was going to end up dead.

"You didn't put my life in danger! Why can't you see that?" She half exploded with frustration. Why was he incapable of understanding that not everything was his fault? "Look, it was my choice to come here. Not yours. And it's not as if you invited them down here. You didn't know that they were gonna end up attacking you. But they did, and you saved your ass. It's called self-preservation. It's not a bad thing. Besides, she had no interest in me anyway. I was completely fine. So just…forget the whole thing and we can move on."

Derek stood completely still as she talked, taking in all of her words. She was a pretty powerful speaker if she put her mind to it and she also had a point. He did nothing wrong. Except for leaving her. He wasn't going to be able to let that go. But he wasn't going to tell her that. All she was going to see was him moving on from this, like she was.

"Okay. Let's move on. I'll drive you home." He then looked down at himself and realised he was still shirtless. "After I put on a shirt."

Scarlett couldn't help but laugh at him. For such a hard-ass he sure could be cute.

"So what else did they say?" Scarlett asked her mother, referring to her teachers at the parent-teacher conference.

"Well, practically all of them said that you're a genius and that if you keep working the way you are then you'll have no problem getting into whatever college or university you want when the time comes." Melissa replied with a bright smile. She was thrilled to hear such good news about Scarlett. Scott on the other hand…not so much.

"What about Scott?" Scarlett's voice had gotten quieter and she didn't know what her mom's reaction was going to be considering she couldn't imagine her brother got a very good report from any of the teachers and not to mention he didn't even show up.

Melissa sighed, completely stressed about whatever was going on with Scott. "It wasn't anywhere near as good as yours. I-I just don't know what's going on with him…that chemistry teacher, what's his name-"

"Mr Harris?" Scarlett suggested.

"That's the one. What a dick. He told me that Scott's behaviour and lack of attention is due to him not having a male authority figure, you as well." Melissa looked down with a sad look in her eyes. "I-is that true? Do you feel that way?"

"Of course not mom…how could you even think that? Dad left. There's nothing we can do about it and we don't need to. We're better off without him and you do a perfect job of being an authority figure and a totally great mom at the same time. Mr Harris just talks out of his ass and wanted to find something to blame for Scott not doing so well. It's not anyone's fault." Scarlett pulled Melissa in for a hug and they stayed like that for a few minutes before Melissa remembered what she was going to tell Scarlett about when she first came went in there.

"I completely forgot to tell you! There was a mountain lion at the school tonight." Scarlett's eyes widened.

"A mountain lion? Like, the one that's been killing people?" She knew that it wasn't but still, it was strange that a mountain lion would just randomly show up at a time where everyone was blaming it for the deaths in Beacon Hills.

"Yeah…crazy right? And you know who killed it? Allison's dad."

"Mr Argent…with, like, a-a gun?"

"Yeah, what else would it have been?" Melissa asked with a strange look.

"I don't know. I'm just tired." Scarlett laughed off her worry about Mr Argent carrying a gun around with him. A gun that he probably used to kill werewolves…like Scott, and Derek.

"Alright. Get some sleep." Melissa kissed the top of Scarlett's head and got off the bed and just as she was about to close the door she turned back. "You...uh, you didn't know anything about Scott ditching today, did you?"

"No, I was in school all day."

"Good. At least one of my children knows how to behave." She smiled and closed the door.

Scarlett hated lying to her mom. It was just something she never did and there she was, lying through her teeth. But at least she had good reason for it. She didn't want to cause her mom anymore stress because dealing with Scott seemed to be hard enough.