"So, you're going to come back here right after school and then Lydia is going to pick you up?"

Genie hummed in agreement, nodding sleepily as she munched on her cereal. Finally, Friday had come. The week hadn't knocked her around too badly, but she was tired from trying to readjust to a new school. It would be good to have a weekend just to relax, starting with a night at Lydia's house. Lydia had texted her the night before, demanding that they hang out that weekend and leaving no room to argue. Genie wasn't going to question her anyway. A hand reached out, snapping her from her daze as it cupped her cheek. Her mother was staring at her with a wide grin, her eyes crinkled into crescents. She smiled back, pulling away with a blush and spooning another mouthful of cereal.

"I'm so happy you've got a few friends already, honey," her mom murmured, leaning against the table on one arm as she sipped her coffee. Genie nodded again, unable to stop the grin on her face.

"Me too," she whispered, setting down her spoon and looking down at the cereal again. She bit down on her lip, hesitating before looking up at her mom again. "I just hope it's- I just- I want it to work. I really want it to work. I'm just so nervous-"

"Didn't you say Lydia told you to stop being nervous because you're already friends with them?" her mother interrupted, raising an eyebrow dubiously.

"Mom, I can't just- It's impossible to just stop being nervous," she argued, leaning back in her chair and sighing loudly. "It used to be so easy to make friends. Now I barely remember how I did that when I was younger. I don't know how I did it."

Her mother gave her a sympathetic look, cooing as she reached out to brush a few fly-aways from her face. "You were yourself, Genie," she reminded, sighing at the continued worried look on her daughter's face. She put down her coffee mug and folded her hands, leaning forward to talk more quietly to Genie with an apologetic look on her face. "I know that moving around has been really hard on you. Julien was so quick to adapt, and Paul is too young to remember the hardest parts, but you were stuck right in the middle. It was so hard on you, honey, and I'm so sorry for that. If I could have kept us in one place, I would have."

Genie pushed her bowl aside, laying her arms down in the space she cleared, and reaching out to grab her mother's hands. Her mom clamped her fingers around her, drawing her hand up into a kiss. "I know, mom," she said softly, putting her head down on her free arm. "It's alright."

"It's not, but I hope it will be," Mrs. Cary countered, squeezing Genie's hand a little tighter in her own. "I'm hoping- I'm not sure if it's going to work out this way, but we'll see. I'm hoping it's possible for us to stay here, at least until you finish up high school."

Blinking owlishly up at her mother, Genie's mouth popped open in shock. "R-Really? That might be-"

"Might. I don't want you to get your hopes up, but the project I'm working on might take a few years," her mother speculated, letting go of her daughter's hand and standing up to start cleaning up the kitchen. The pleased look on her face was enough to make her daughter beam from where she sat. "Now, go finish getting ready and I'll drop you off at school."

When Stiles and Scott had been missing at their table in the library for study hall, Genie wasn't particularly confused. It wasn't a big deal for people to sneak off and do other things during study periods. Lydia and Malia were strangely quiet, but it seemed like everyone was simply very busy. Genie used the time to get ahead in her Chemistry homework, asking for Lydia's help on occasion when the questions stumped her. She was confused, however, when she walked into the cafeteria only to spot the table she had been sitting at the entire week was completely empty.

With a glance around her, she confirmed that the group hadn't migrated, stepping slowly in the direction of the empty table. She couldn't see anyone. There hadn't been any junior assembly meetings planned, to her knowledge, and she couldn't remember anyone in the group mentioning other plans in the days prior. A feeling of unease passed through her, her stomach tightening as she sat down alone at the table and took out her lunch. Without even meaning to, she cycled through possibly scenarios of why they could be missing, but her mind was coming up blank. Her next train of thought led her to what she herself could have possibly done, before she shook her head to clear the malicious thought. Genie set about eating quickly and quietly, not looking up from her food for the entirety of the period.

The unease in her stomach calmed some when she walked into her next class to see that Isaac was sitting in the back already with his hands folded in front of his face. The smile he gave her was forced as she sat down, but there was always a level of vacancy in his eyes, so she tried to brush it off. Genie curled her hands into the hem of her white scoop-neck shirt, looking down at her homework and trying to fight against that gnawing unease building inside of her. From beside her, Isaac cleared his throat and she turned to look at him.

"Hey, so Lydia said that people were bailing on the plan for tonight because other things came up, so we're going to try to do it next week instead," he informed her, shrugging his shoulders as the bell rang and the quiet chatter in the classroom fell away. Genie nodded her head quickly, smiling at him to show she understood, before facing front. 'Everyone's just really busy today. They all seem really stressed,' she rationalized, taking in a deep breath and nodding to herself in reassurance, the panicky feeling in her chest subsiding.

As a result of cancelled plans and a lack of knowledge of the area, Genie spent the entire weekend in the house. It wasn't a bad change of schedule, as most of Saturday and a large part of Sunday was spent painting and decorating the house so that it was more of a home. By the time that Sunday night rolled around, most of the cardboard boxes from the move at been taken apart and stored in the basement, leaving the house looking clean and put together. Her brother had practically rolled in paint, on several occasions, and the entire family spent the weekend trying to wash off all of the color splotched on their skin.

The tension Genie had felt on Friday was practically gone by the time she got to school on Monday morning. Her mother's busy-work all weekend had helped to keep her moving and doing something other than work herself into a panic, as she normally did. The halls were already packed by the time she got to school, dodging between crowds as she made her way to her locker. There was a curious buzz of low whispering, however, that seemed to line the walls. She swallowed uneasily, looking around at the students who seemed to be vibrating with a quiet tension, people talking in furious whispers in packs. As she sidled up to her locker, Genie blocked out the tension and prepared for class.

By the time she got to fourth period, she was tired of all the constant noise. Genie practically smacked her head against her desk in chemistry, trying to ignore the chatter, but was unable to block out the two boys behind her.

"That's so messed up, man. I'm so glad by aunt was in town and I couldn't go," the first boy admitted, his voice almost reverent sounding.

"It was crazy. I don't understand how it even happened," the second replied, his chair squeaking as he moved. His voice was pitched higher and strained, like he was trying to keep it under control.

"I mean, crazier things have happened. The mountain lion thing was nuts and-"

"Yeah, but the mountain lion didn't decapitate a man outside of Lydia Martin's party Friday night. I mean- Well- Okay, it did kill a few people, but not like that. That's a person deliberately killing someone. Demarco wasn't a bad dude, either. It just blows."

Whatever sense of comfort Genie had gained over the weekend was swept out from under her in an instant, her stomach seizing up uncomfortably in reaction. Her fingers were shaking when she slammed her book shut at the bell, her body unable to stay still and practically hurtling down the hall to her locker. Logically, Genie thought through the situation and figured it must be the man that had killed the family- the Walcotts, she remembered- the previous week, as they had never found him. She shut her eyes tight and tried to calm her erratic breathing. The news that another murder had happened was bad enough, but her heart dropped even more at the second bit of information.

Isaac had told her on Friday that everyone got busy and couldn't hang out, but Lydia had thrown a party. There was no way Lydia would throw a party without inviting everyone, and it seemed clear enough that she had invited at least half the school, just not Genie. Her entire body seemed to sag under her weight as she shuffled away from her locker, walking aimlessly until she found an empty classroom and slipped inside. Everyone had gotten busy on Friday, but they had only gotten busy because they hadn't wanted to invite Genie. Her stomach felt sour at the thought.

Trying to distract herself from the situation barely worked, even as she tried to knock out some of the homework assigned that day during her hour in the empty classroom. Her hand was shaking as she tried to write, the words on the page looking more like a child's scribbles than sentences. When she finally couldn't write anymore, Genie leaned forward with her head in her hands. I don't understand, she thought, trying to fight back the tears building up in her eyes. The group could have simply told her they didn't want to be friends, instead of lying to her and building up her hope that things would work out before excluding her. She swiped the tears from her face, breathing in deeply and trying to shove down the sting of betrayal.

When the lunch bell rang, Genie felt sick. Going to lunch meant either facing the group or being able to hide for another period. Both options made her want to crumple to the ground as she undid the lock on her locker. She rifled through her locker and picked up the books she needed on autopilot, shoving them in her bag a little more forcefully than she intended to.

"Someone didn't come to study and someone definitely needs a caramel frappe from that café in the mall after school today," a teasing voice intoned, strawberry-blonde curls bouncing into her vision as Lydia came to rest on the locker next to her. Genie hummed tonelessly, focusing on her task and trying to keep herself calm as she shut her locker door. "I understand it's a Monday, Genie, but must we revert to becoming Frankenstein's monster?"

Without a word, Genie turned away from Lydia and walked to the far cafeteria doors. The click of heels followed her there, but when Genie sat at an empty table in the back of the cafeteria, Lydia chose to stand and stare at her with a confused look on her face. With a hand on her hip, Lydia raised her eyebrows and gestured towards the table the other girl sat at.

"And why are we sitting back here?" Lydia asked, as if she was talking to a child. The confused look on her face quickly morphed into something much more aggravated. All of the irritation and disappointment that Genie should have been feeling was absent, substituted only with an emptiness she didn't know how to swat away. Lydia gave her another look, waiting for her to speak, before sitting down quickly at the table and narrowing her eyes. "Well?"

Before speaking, Genie took a breath to steady her vibrating nerves. After a moment of silence, she looked straight at Lydia with a blank face. "How was your party?" she asked, her voice shaky. Lydia looked like she'd been slapped, her eyes wide as she looked at Genie. Genie nodded, sinking in defeat and sniffling quietly. Quietly, she took out one of her textbooks so she could feign being busy, just so she wouldn't have to keep looking at Lydia. Before Lydia could answer, another body sank into the other seat beside Genie. Looking up, Genie locked eyes with Isaac for a second, the boy looking between Lydia and Genie with a raised eyebrow, before snapping her attention back to her history book. Isaac's arrival only seemed to hail the rest of the group, however, as the other seats around her started filling in. Genie felt like she was going to hurl, her stomach lurching violently.

"I thought sitting in the center of the cafeteria was a social status move," Stiles chided sarcastically, dropping his bag on the table and turning to go up to the lunch line with Malia and Kira in tow. Lydia snapped her mouth shut and sat up straighter in her seat to collect herself. Her response was too late for Stiles to hear it, but she had to say it regardless.

"Change of scenery," Lydia answered plainly, keeping her chin lifted as Scott and Isaac stared at her in confusion. Genie couldn't bring herself to look up. Shifting uncomfortably, Scott cleared his throat and drew the eyes of everyone at the table. He looked pointedly between Genie and Lydia.

"Everything cool?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in concern.

Lydia shared a quick, uncertain glance with Genie, her mask breaking a little at the betrayed look in the girl's eyes. Genie hesitated for a moment, breathing in steadily and relaxing her hands in her lap. "Everything's fine, Scott," she replied, turning back to her reading as she rested an arm on the table and laid her head down. An elbow nudged her in the ribs, her eyes flitting up to see Isaac fixing her with a worried look. She didn't dignify it with a reply, choosing to close her book and worm her other arm under her head so she could shut her eyes.

The rest of the table returned to a silent, tense table, the clatter of their arrival rousing Genie from where she had her head resting. Kira and Malia picked up on the change immediately, but it took Stiles a moment of talking with a full mouth to realize that everyone else seemed uncomfortable. Swallowing thickly, his eyes darted around the table.

"Okay, what the hell did I miss? I mean, you're acting like someone died- I mean, someone did, but-"

"Stiles!" Scott whispered, the final s hissed like a warning. He shot Stiles a hard look, to which the paler boy responded with indignance.

"What? Seriously, it's like a funeral at this table right now! The dude who died Friday at Lydia's isn't due to be buried till- Ow!"

Malia had shoved an elbow into Stiles's side, her eyes flashing to look at Genie as the younger girl pulled her book from the table and dropped it into her bag. It was then that Stiles seemed to recognize the signs of what was going on, his eyes going wide as he snapped his gaze to Genie, mouth open like a fish out of water. If that wasn't the perfect look to describe how Genie felt, then she didn't know what was. She gave a small, shaky smile as she stood up, trying to hold her tears at bay until she at least got out of the room.

"I just- uh- Thanks for letting me sit with you guys, but I'm just going to- uh- I'm going to go, now," she stuttered, her cheeks going red as she backed away from the table and rushed from the cafeteria. There were a few noises of protest, but she tried not to pay them mind as she rushed to a bathroom as far away from the cafeteria as she could and locked herself in a stall.

Genie had been able to calm herself down enough in time for the next period, but was dreading going to the economics class. She'd have to sit next to Isaac for almost a full hour and she wasn't sure she would be able to focus with him there. However, she wasn't sure if she was happy or even more upset by the complete lack of communication between the two of them throughout class. The blonde hadn't even looked at her once, his eyes focused forward the entire time.

When the final bell of the school day rang, Genie couldn't control the tired sigh that whooshed out of her. She gathered her belongings quickly, ready to go home and pretend as if the day had never happened. Walking out into the side parking lot, there was a ripple of anxiety in her stomach when she saw Lydia and Isaac waiting by Lydia's car. For a moment, she thought she could slip away and avoid them, but it seemed as if luck was not on her side, as Isaac looked up and caught her eyes just as she had been about to walk in the opposite direction. She felt frozen, unable to do anything but drop her gaze to her feet, as the two approached.

"Hey," Isaac greeted lamely, a hand waving into Genie's line of vision. She sniffed and looked up again, glancing between the two before trying to settle on looking unaffected.

"Hi."

Lydia bit her lip, hesitating before her until she reached out to tug on the younger girl's wrist and guide her towards the car. For a moment, Genie was baffled, unable to react except to move along with her, until she was able to gain back her senses and pull away just as Lydia had reached the car. The shorter girl turned to her sharply, opening the car door and stepping towards the driver's side. Genie nearly rolled her eyes, the sting of the situation hitting her a little more sharply as she tried to back away, only to collide with Isaac behind her. He cleared his throat uncomfortably before gesturing to the car.

"No."

With a sigh, Isaac pushed her forward a little, but Genie pushed back against him and turned around. She didn't bother trying to hide the hurt on her face then, her mouth pulled down in a sharp frown and her eyes glassy. He looked almost stricken at the look, much like Lydia had been by her question earlier.

"Just let Lydia drive you home. Just today. That's all we're asking," he bargained, shrugging his shoulders gently and looking down. Genie crossed her arms over her chest, taking in a breath at the request. Shaking her head quickly, she tried to step around him once more, but he blocked her off easily. She reached a shaky hand up to her eyes, dabbing at the tears forming there before turning around sharply and getting into the car without another word. Isaac closed the door behind her and walked back towards the school, where Genie could see the other boys waiting for him with another, smaller boy by their sides.

The first few minutes of driving were silent, a veritable storm brewing in the backseat of the car, but Lydia paid it little mind. Genie tried not to pay attention to anything, closing her eyes and sucking in a deep breath to calm herself. When she opened them again a few minutes later, she realized that they were headed away from her house and in the direction of the mall. Lydia seemed to notice the growing irritation of the girl beside her, glancing in Genie's direction and sitting up a little straighter.

"Well, I told you I needed a caramel frappe," she reminded quietly, her usual tone of command tinged with uncertainty. "And Isaac didn't know I was kidnapping you. He legitimately thought I was just going to drive you home, but I really wanted to go back to that café so I figured I might as well drag you along. Maybe buy you a strawberry and crème smoothie."

Genie sighed, leaning back in her seat and closing her eyes again. 'There's no saying no to Lydia Martin, is there?' she mused.

By the time they had gotten their drinks and had sat down at the table, Genie felt more tired than anything else. Lydia had chattered on noisily, trying to fill the awkward void and stall the real conversation until they had found a place to settle. Once they were sitting, however, she seemed to go silent, unable to find the words to say. Genie drank at her smoothie slowly, looking up from the corner they had sat in to scan the rest of the shop. There were only a few other patrons in the tiny café, most of them young couples other than the small family by the front window. She and Lydia were secluded, blocked from being seen by most of the shop by the main serving bar.

"Genie?"

Taking in a deep breath, she looked up at Lydia with blank eyes, straw still wedged between her lips as she sucked another mouthful of strawberry and swallowed. Lydia paused, mouth popping open with an audible noise before she took a quick swig from her drink.

"Genie, I just wanted you to know that-"

"I really don't need you to tell me a bullshit excuse, Lydia," she mumbled, looking down at her folded hands on the table and inspecting her ragged nail. Lydia went silent again, and when Genie looked up she could see the contemplative look on Lydia's face.

"You want the truth?" she asked suddenly, making sure to hold eye-contact with Genie. It was Genie's turn to hesitate, her heart hammering quickly at the sudden confidence that Lydia had regained. The sadness in her eyes was replaced with an intensity Genie hadn't seen there before, the look scaring her a little. While she didn't want Lydia to lie to her, she also wasn't sure she wanted to hear the blatant rejection out-loud. When she didn't answer, Lydia took that as confirmation and nodded resolutely. "We cancelled on Friday night because we were trying to stage an intervention for someone that Scott had become friends with, because he noticed… signs that he was hurting himself. He didn't think he had a problem, however, so we had to trick him into coming. Kira told him it was a party, but then he spread word that I was throwing a party at my family's lake house and then the entire school showed up and a man was murdered, so all in all, Friday night was a disaster."

For a moment, Lydia looked like she was going to start screaming in aggravation, but she settled back into her seat and took another prim sip from her drink. Genie blinked at her, dumbfounded.

"Am I- Am I supposed to believe that?" she asked quietly, her voice a little incredulous.

"Yes!" Lydia cried, looking to the side quickly when she saw the heads of the other patrons snap in their direction. She scooted forward so she could talk quieter, her face sincere. "I'm being entirely truthful with you, Genie. I promise. We didn't want to tell you the truth because the person the intervention was for goes to our school, and we didn't want to bring any more people into the situation, but then it blew out of control anyway."

Genie raised a skeptical eyebrow, raising her own drink to her mouth so she could take another mouthful and have an excuse not to talk. It seemed as if Lydia was being honest with her, and she seemed desperate to make amends. There was a part of Genie that wanted to hold a grudge, tell Lydia how much the situation had hurt her, but Genie was rarely a confrontational person. Even letting Lydia know that she had found out about the party had been a huge action for her, one that she almost wished she could take back. She hated the aftermath. All she wanted to do was start the day over and pretend nothing had ever happened. With a sigh, Genie set her drink back down and leaned back in her seat. "Who was it?"

Lydia gave her a begging look, her lips pressed together in a thin line, before she sagged and gave up the name. "Liam Dunbar," she whispered.

For a moment, Genie couldn't think of anyone by that name, but she vaguely remembered hearing the name Liam called out before. It took her a moment to think of it, but her eyes widened and snapped to Lydia with a surprised look. "You mean the boy Scott hurt during practice last week?" she clarified, watching as Lydia nodded her head slowly and leaned back to sit up straight in her seat, giving Genie a pensive look. "You staged an intervention for- Oh my God, was he on something during the try-outs?"

"Mmhmmm, and Scott caught him. Liam's a good boy, really, but he just needed a little guidance. He's had a little trouble adjusting with his transfer, and some family pressure about being good at lacrosse. Scott is kind of taking him under his wing. He wants to help him out," Lydia explained. "I wasn't supposed to tell you, but I just- I didn't want our friendship to get messed up so quickly. We have to be friends at least long enough for me to screw up in a bigger way, like kissing your ex-boyfriend in the coach's office."

Without saying another word, Lydia stood up with her drink in hand and walked towards the exit. Genie's eyes were as wide as saucers, her lips split open as she stared at Lydia in confusion. Lydia snapped at her to hurry up, shaking Genie into uncoordinated motion as she practically tripped over her chair to catch up and walk beside her. She shot Lydia a suspicious look, one corner of her mouth lifting.

"Is there a story behind that, or is that just what you have planned for us?"

"Believe me, I never plan to do that to anyone again. It's not worth it," Lydia confided, smiling sadly as she took a last sip from her drink and threw out the cardboard cup. After linking their arms, Lydia led them back to parking lot and towards her car, the two girls silent. Genie tried to puzzle through what she knew of the group and who was exes with who, but nothing came to mind.

"Wait- Who did you-"

"Scott."

"What?" Genie crowed, pulling away from Lydia with her eyebrows raised high in amusement. The other girl got into the car without a word, leaving Genie floundering as she hurried to climb into the passenger's seat. "But- Wait, didn't Kira only get here like last semester? And I thought they weren't even-"

"Allison. He was dating my friend Allison," Lydia said quietly, her hands twitching on the steering wheel as they pulled away. A sinking feeling in Genie's gut made her draw back, her mouth closing tight at the tense atmosphere in the car. Lydia snuck a look at her, taking in a deep breath and letting it go in a large sigh. Genie watched as the girl seemed to build herself up slowly, taking a few minutes of silent driving to prepare herself. "Our friend Allison died just before break started. It's just been- It's been an adjustment."

Genie squeezed her eyes shut, taking in a short breath and curling her hands around her seatbelt. Losing a friend like that so suddenly… she thought, her own mind flitting back to her own near loss just before break. Emily had had some sort of aneurysm after school one day, resulting in her hospitalization in a coma just before Genie moved away. She had been doing better recently, her parents had said in an email, but there was a long road of recovery in front of her. In Beacon Hills, however, the worst had come to pass. Little by little, Genie was beginning to understand all of the awkward silences and words left unsaid. That tension at the lunch table on the first day made more sense, as she thought back to the look on Scott's face and Kira's tense silence. There was one more drawn face that she remembered, her heart speeding up a little as she lifted her head to look at Lydia.

"She and Scott- when she- they weren't…"

"No. No, she was dating Isaac."

Nodding, Genie let herself fall quiet, unable to find her words as they looped through the backstreets to return to her neighborhood. The sky was just turning dark above them as Lydia pulled up to Genie's house. For a moment, the brunette found herself unable to move, staring straight ahead at the glow the headlights cast on the street. After a tense few minutes, Genie unbuckled her belt and turned to Lydia with a serious look.

"I'm so- I know you don't want to hear it. You've probably heard it thousands of times, but I'm so sorry. If you ever need to talk- about her or- or anything… Just- If you need an outsider to vent to-"

"You're not an outsider," Lydia interrupted, tilting her head so she could fix Genie with a determined stare. Her mask only faltered for a moment, an unbearably sad look behind hazel eyes, before she was smiling wickedly. "Tomorrow, I'm going to make you tell me who you think is cute in school and then we're going to find you a boy. We can't just have you become a total pariah. You missed a pretty killer party this weekend, in case you didn't know."

With a disbelieving scoff, Genie popped open the door and lifted herself out, only stopping when Lydia called for her to wait a moment. She poked her head back down through the door, taken aback by the earnest look on Lydia's face.

"I'll see you tomorrow at study? And lunch?"

Genie hesitated for a moment before nodding, smiling gently when Lydia flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned her bravado back on in an instant. Lydia shot her a dazzling smile and wiggled her fingers in a goodbye, her car driving away the moment Genie shut her door.

A/N: Thanks thanks thanks for all the reviews and all the reads, everyone! Super grateful that you guys even like this. Gimmie your suggestions, comments, anything, as always.