"And then he just left me there, tied to a chair with a broken arrowhead. It took me two and a half hours to get out."

"Seriously? Can you file neglect for that? I mean, leaving you alone in the woods in the house that belongs to number one on the Argents' Most Wanted list?"

Allison laughed as she swung her gym locker open, peeling off her sweater and folding it neatly. "Well, he didn't leave me completely alone. There was another guy there to supervise, one of dad's hunting friends. Chase Bennett."

"Hm, sounds like a stand up guy. Nice strong name." She laughed again as I traded my black blazer and white camisole for a black tank top. I smirked. "What? Chase means hunter. It's an English name. Look it up."

She rolled her eyes, whacking me with her own tank top before pulling it over her head. I watched as she paused to pull her bracelets off, rubbing her wrists as if the ropes that had bound her were still there.

"But seriously, Ally, are you okay?"

"Hm? Oh yeah, no. I mean, it scared me, but I got out. I guess it's all part of my training."

"About that…"

I stepped out of my boots, keeping my eyes on the ground. I wasn't entirely sure I wanted to go down the road I was standing on. It could easily take me a dozen places I didn't want to be. On the other hand, my options were pretty limited.

"I was wondering," I said slowly, "if you'd…well, I wanted to know whether or not you thought it might be a good idea to…you know…teach me a few things…"

"Teach you?"

"Yeah, you know, just…little stuff your dad's teaching you…"

Allison stopped, only half-changed into her gym clothes. "You want me to train you to be a hunter?"

"No," I said immediately, banishing Kate's face from my mind. "I just…I want to be prepared. Whether I'm a hunter or a werewolf or a human, I'm involved in this. We both are. There's always the risk that something's gonna happen to us."

"Sadie," Allison said with a weak smile, "I don't think any of the werewolves in Beacon Hills are planning on tying people to chairs."

"Obviously your dad doesn't have a problem with it."

Her weak smile fell away.

"You don't seriously think my dad's gonna do something, do you? He said—"

"I know what he said," I offered lowly, "but your dad isn't the only hunter in town. If it's not your family, it could be other hunters, other werewolves. I just know that being involved is dangerous, and…I want to be ready."

Allison pursed her lips, mulling over the words. She finally stepped into her gym shorts and nodded.

"Okay. I can try, but fair warning, I'm not a really good teacher. And being tied up isn't fun."

"Okay, what conversation did I just walk into?"

Lydia promptly marched between us, sly smile on her face as she dropped her bag on the bench. Her perkiness snapped the tension out of the air, and Allison and I were grinning and giggling with ease once more.

"Not what it sounds like," Allison assured her, grabbing her sneakers.

"Exactly what it sounds like," I said with a smirk. "I was offering Allison romantic assistance."

"Oh my God, Allison, you're not seriously trying bondage with Scott?"

"W-what? No!" Allison squeaked in protest, hurriedly looking around the locker room and lowering her voice. "I—I'm not trying anything with Scott."

"That's a relief. Seriously, bondage is not all it's cracked up to be."

"Lydia!"

She dismissed my gasp with a mischievous smile and tugged her T-shirt over her head. "Anyway, can't we agree that there are much more pressing topics to be discussing?"

"Nope." I focused on my shoelaces, determined to ignore the way that Lydia's eyes were boring into my head. "Not that I know of."

"Come on, Sadie! What are you wearing tonight?!"

Even just that simple question made the nerves claw at the inside of my stomach. I could vaguely hear Allison gently coaxing Lydia away from the subject, but even when they were right next to me, it was hard to focus on what they were saying. The only word I had a grip on was "tonight," and it was just screaming over and over in my head.

Tonight! Tonight! Tonight! Tonight! Tonight!

I had no idea how my date with Stiles had managed to creep up on me. I'd already agreed to go out with him. I knew that Stiles was planning something, and I'd only had to wait a few days before he brought up his idea at lunch. Or at least, he brought up that he had an idea, then refused to tell me any details beyond the night we'd be going. Tonight.

I'd been thinking about it every day since. It was the first thing I thought of when I woke up, a voice screaming at the back of my head every time I saw him, the last worry on my mind before I fell asleep.

Even if I hadn't been hyperaware of the approaching date, Lydia had been reminding me every day out loud. Honestly, she was more excited than anyone—except maybe my mother.

"Are you nervous?" Lydia asked as we headed out into the gymnasium. Her arms were crossed over her chest, as if she thought the idea of me being anxious about my first date was absurd and offensive.

"Yes, Lydia. Yes, I am nervous. And I get more nervous every time you ask me about it. So can you please stop asking me about it?"

"Fine, fine. I'm not trying to get you all worked up."

"Thank you."

"…that's Stiles's job."

"Lydia!"

My so-called friends subsided into giggles, poorly hiding their faces in their hands as I glared at them. Lydia looked far too pleased with herself, but Allison looked more than just amused; she looked conniving.

I turned on the spot, following her gaze to the other side of the gym, where it seemed Scott and Stiles had beat us to class. Scott had a hand clamped over his mouth, his face growing red from the effort of containing his laughter. Thankfully, Stiles looked utterly confused, glancing between all of us and, by the looks of it, demanding that Scott tell him what had been said.

"Both of you need to shut up," I hissed. "I'm begging you, just…I'm nervous enough as it is. Can we cool it? At least in classes with Scott and Stiles?"

"Ugh, fine," Lydia groaned, twirling a strand of strawberry blonde hair around her finger. "You're no fun."

"We are sorry, Sadie," Allison said pointedly, nudging Lydia with her elbow. "We're just happy for you."

"I get it, and I love you for it. It just…feels like you guys are so happy that you're sucking all the happy out of the air and leaving me with nothing but nerves, so…slightly less happy, please."

We joined the group of students collecting in front of the giant climbing wall Coach Finstock had set up, standing on the opposite side of the gym from Scott and Stiles. I would've been happy to join them, but since Scott and Allison were still trying to maintain the appearance that they'd broken up, I'd gone back to my old habit of splitting my days between them. I stayed by Allison's side as Finstock called through attendance in his ridiculously loud voice, which only sounded louder in the spacious gymnasium.

Then we'd been paired off and forced to race each other up the wall. I went up with Lydia, which was a relief after watching Jackson and Greenberg together. Lydia and I were well-matched, but she insisted on letting me "win" for good luck. She winked when we touched down again, then flounced off to the water fountain. Scott and Allison were already stepping into the harnesses, so I realized too late that Lydia had been setting me up.

"So, I know that I already said that I find you disturbingly attractive with firearms, but I kinda want to revise my answer. It's pretty much anything athletic, because that—that was pretty awesome. I don't know, I guess uh…I guess I just think it's insanely appealing whenever you do anything really sporty or physical…and that totally came out wrong, because you—I—I didn't mean physical physical stuff, which—which I'm sure you would be very good at, but I am definitely not thinking about right now—"

"Stiles."

"Yeah, I know. I'm gonna stop talking now." He reached up to scratch at the back of his neck, as he was apt to do when he talked himself into a corner. "Just…just trying to compliment you."

"Well, thank you." I smirked, crossing my arms as I focused on Allison and Scott ascending up the wall. "You can compliment me all you want, Stilinski. Flattery doesn't change the fact that you invited them on our date."

I could almost feel his grimace as he stood beside me.

"First of all, I—I did not invite him. He invited himself as a joke, and then I told him that I didn't want him anywhere in the general vicinity, and then I made a stupid bet to make sure he'd leave us totally alone, and then I—I lost said bet and now he's taking Allison too. I'm sorry, I just—trust me, I really wish I'd kept my mouth shut. If it were up to me, we'd be completely alone…wow, that still sounded creepy, um—"

"Stiles, it's fine," I assured him, interrupting his rambling. "I get it."

"You get it? The—the alone thing, or—"

"The whole thing. Honestly, it's fine."

"You're…not mad?"

"Why would I be?"

Stiles scuffed his heel into the gym floor, his long fingers weaving in and out of each other as he wrung his hands. "I don't know. I didn't want you to think I was backing out. I just ruined everything by…with, uh…"

"Your videogame hubris?" I suggested with a smirk.

Stiles looked to me in confusion. "What? Hu-what?"

"Hubris."

"Oh my God, Sadie, will you just—usually I find your vocabulary very enticing, but today I'm just very frustrated and very, very sorry. Again. Agh!"

He shook his hands out frantically, and I giggled, drawing his eyes back to me with that butterfly-inducing half-smile. I bit my lip and took a tentative step closer to him.

"Look, I'm not angry. Allison did the same thing when she and Scott were supposed to go on their first…well, second date. We chaperoned them, so…fair's fair, right?"

"Yeah. I guess…"

"And as far as the other thing goes…" I glanced around to make sure that Lydia was long gone and Scott was busy talking to Allison on the wall. I took a step closer to Stiles, poking him in the chest and forcing him to look me in the eye. "I'd prefer we were completely alone too."

Stiles stared at me, his jaw slack and his maple eyes wide with surprise. I dug my teeth into my bottom lip, trying to contain my teasing, self-satisfied smirk. Before either of us could say anything there was a whizzing sound, a gasp, and a thump that made us both jump to look at the climbing wall.

Scott was lying on his back on the safety mat, face screwed up as he tried to catch his breath from the fall. The class burst into laughter, Coach Finstock loudest of them all as he crouched down to make fun of Scott.

Stiles snorted. "You know, I'll bet he's real thankful for all those amazing werewolf reflexes."

"Actually," I giggled, "I think we've got hunter reflexes to thank for that."

I grinned up at Allison as she reached the top of the wall, then gracefully repelled back down. She was still beaming when she hit the floor, and winked at Scott as she unbuckled her harness. I offered her a sound high-five as she rejoined the crowd.

"Alright! Next two!" Finstock called. "Stilinski! Erica! Let's go! The wall!"

Stiles beamed at the chance to prove himself, taking one stride forward before pivoting back to me and tapping his cheek. "Uh, for good luck?"

"Just get up the wall, Stilinski."

"Meh, worth a shot."

He hurried into position, strapping himself into Allison's harness. Erica shuffled after him from the back of the group. I tried to give her an encouraging smile, but she didn't seem to notice. Her wide eyes were trained on the obstacle in front of her, her hands trembling at her sides. It didn't take much to realize how nervous she was.

Finstock gave a blast of his whistle, and then Erica and Stiles were off. I watched with mild interest as Stiles quickly took the lead, as if his life depended on it. I was trying to look mildly interested, anyway, which was hard with Allison smirking next to me and elbowing me in the ribs. I smirked and shrugged her off. There was a ninety-nine point nine percent chance that Stiles had been ogling my ass when I was up on the wall. Why shouldn't I return the favor?

I was only able to enjoy the view for a couple of seconds before something else caught my eye. Erica hadn't just fallen behind in her climb; she'd stopped completely. She was desperately clutching at the colorful, plastic rocks and trembling from head to toe. It didn't look like nerves; something was wrong.

Everyone else was starting to notice too. A wave of whispers was flowing and ebbing around us, people leaning in to talk to their neighbors, a few bold students pointing up into the air. Stiles had already scaled and descended the wall, thrusting his arms in the air in oblivious victory. Everyone was too busy staring at Erica to applaud him.

Erica let out a frustrated sob. Her body shook with frantic breaths as she began to hyperventilate. The class surged forward beneath her, either to catch her or to get a better look.

"Erica!" Coach Finstock called up. "Dizzy? Is it vertigo?"

"Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear," Lydia corrected from my left, sparing Finstock a scathing look. "She's just freaking out."

"Lydia, stop," I scolded, but my eyes never left Erica.

"Coach, maybe it's not safe," Allison said in concern. "You know she's epileptic."

Judging by his wide-eyed expression, Finstock certainly did not know that Erica was epileptic.

"W-why—why does nobody tell me this stuff?! Erica! You—you're fine! Just—just k-kick off from the wall! There's a mat to catch you! Come on!"

If that was supposed to console her, it certainly didn't work. If anything, Erica pressed herself closer to the wall, sobbing uncontrollably as her knuckles glared a bright white.

I hesitated for just a moment, then pushed my way to the front, swatting at Stiles's shoulder. "Gimme the belt."

"Huh?" Stiles asked, tearing his eyes away from his climbing partner.

"The belt, the harness, come on!"

He shared a confused look with Finstock who, in a true act of helpless confusion, nodded in agreement. Stiles fumbled to unbuckle himself from the ropes, passing them off to me and taking my place in the crowd.

I took a deep breath and jumped onto the wall, making my way up and over to Erica as quickly as I could. I slowed my pace just slightly as I drew level, not wanting to startle her, but she barely seemed to notice me. She was trapped inside her head for fear. I tried to keep my voice as quiet and gentle as possible.

"Hey, Erica. It's Sadie. You okay there?"

Erica clamped her mouth shut. The whimpers died down to silence, but her body continued to quake as she stared up at the rafters above her.

"Okay, right. Stupid question. You're gonna be okay. I know repelling kind of sucks, but we're not that far off the ground, alright? Scott just fell too, and his harness stopped him a foot from the ground. So why don't we both just push off, get to the ground, and then we can get the hell out of here. Okay?"

I couldn't tell how much the words were registering. Erica's head jolted up and down. I hoped she was nodding, but it could have been another nervous tick. Either way, I decided to give it a shot.

"Good. One. Two. Three."

Erica pried her hands off the rocks, grabbing onto her rope in a desperate attempt to find security. We slid slowly down to the ground and landed softly on the mat amidst hushed classmates. Finstock immediately stepped forward to help Erica remove her harness.

"See? You're fine. You're on the ground. Alright, let's go. Shake it off. You're fine."

She sent him a pitiful look as she moved to the back of the crowd. People were already starting to giggle, and I saw Erica duck her head to hide her face under her frizzy blonde hair. I shoved Dylan Peters out of my way as I rushed after her.

"Hey! Erica, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she grumbled, still shuffling away.

"Are you sure? I already went, so if you wanna go for a walk or something, I can tell Finstock—"

"I said I'm fine!"

She rounded on me with wild eyes, angrier than I ever could have imagined her. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, not out of fear, but from rage. She stared at me for a few seconds, her lips feebly attempting to curl into a snarl, but she couldn't manage it. That seemed to frustrate her more than anything else. Her lips trembled and she squeezed her eyes shut, visibly on the verge of tears. I took another step forward, but she just stepped back.

"Just…just stay away from me…"

Erica retreated into the hallway, leaving me standing there in shock. I knew we weren't exactly friends, but I couldn't imagine what I'd done to warrant this. We'd always gotten along fine—in Biology, Chem, the few laughs we'd shared in gym at Finstock's expense. Now it was like she couldn't bring herself to look at me.

"Hey, you okay?"

Scott appeared at my side, looking back and forth between my stunned face and the door where Erica had disappeared. I blinked, trying to shake the misplaced feeling of guilt that was already burning my stomach.

"Yeah, yeah…I'm fine."

"Try not to worry about it." He rested his hand on my shoulder, the warmth of his palm immediately soothing my nerves. "She probably just wanted to get out of here. I wouldn't want to talk to anyone either."

I nodded feebly, but still jumped when Finstock blew the whistle for the next pair. Scott's thumb rubbed comforting circles over my skin, and after a few seconds, I finally let him steer me back to our friends.

The rest of class passed without incident. The last few couples climbed up and down the wall with ease, Finstock over used his whistle, and screamed at Greenberg a few times for who knows what. The usual. But even after that stretch of normality, I was still feeling worried and uncomfortable as we retreated to the locker rooms.

"I don't get why you're so worked up about it," Lydia remarked. "She's the one who freaked, not you."

"I'm sure she's fine, Sadie," Allison added with sympathy.

"Yeah, I know. She just…she seemed so upset. Like, angry-upset."

"Because she kinda sucked," Lydia scoffed. "The three of us kicked ass on the climbing wall, and she couldn't even make it halfway. She's just jealous."

I was about to berate her again when a more uncomfortable thought occurred to me. Jealousy.

"You…you don't think she knows about me and Stiles…right?"

Allison looked up curiously, but Lydia snorted.

"Sadie, the entire world knew about you and Stiles before you and Stiles knew about you and Stiles."

"No, I know that, I just mean…you know, now that we're…official…"

The word felt strange on my tongue, and I mouthed it again just to try it out. Stiles and I were official. Lydia and Allison both smiled sincerely.

"Why don't you want her to know?" Allison asked. "I mean, I guess you have been a little more flirty lately."

"Which is totally called for," Lydia tacked on in agreement. "It took Stiles this long to snag you. He might as well flaunt you."

"Sh! Lydia, keep your voice down. Erica could be…"

The scolding died in my throat as I looked around the room. I turned back and forth, peering briefly down the rows of lockers for the shock of tangled blonde hair.

"…not here…"

"Sadie, what is it?" asked Allison.

"Erica. She's not here."

"Yeah, you already told us she bounced out," Lydia pointed out. "She's probably skipping."

"In her gym clothes?" I asked dubiously. "No. Something…what if something's wrong?"

"Sadie—"

Allison tried to call me back, but I was already out the door.

My original plan had been to walk the hallways, stake out the water fountain in case she was hiding outside, but there was a flurry of noise in the gymnasium that made me pivot and sprint in the other direction. Almost all the lights had been turned off, save for the two over the climbing wall. They acted like spotlights, highlighting each rock, casting shadows over the floor, and silhouetting the three figures huddled on the ground.

I sprinted across the floor, kneeling between Scott and Stiles with half the class on my heels. Scott had Erica wrapped tightly in his arms and was struggling to keep her still. She was convulsing again, but this time it wasn't from fear or panic or rage. Her eyes were glossed over and her breath came out in short, gurgling bursts.

"Put her on her side!" Allison ordered, skidding the last few feet to Scott's shoulder. "Put her on her side!"

Scott rushed to comply, and Erica's trembling fingers clutched onto his with all her strength.

"How did you know?" Allison asked him in a hushed voice.

"I just felt it…"

"Wait, how did you know?" Stiles asked, turning to me.

"I didn't! I just—I realized she wasn't there, and I got worried and—"

The conversation was cut short as Coach Finstock burst from his office, finally noticing the commotion in the gym. He replaced Scott's position at Erica's side and shouted for someone to run to the nurse. Several people by the door darted into the hallway, but Finstock continued screaming until the rest of us had dispersed. For the sake of the poor girl in his arms, he laid off the whistle.

All the girls in our class changed in silence, sharing wary looks. Everyone was shaken, unable to think of anything comforting to say after a scene like that. By the time we'd all changed back into our normal clothes, the nurse had joined Finstock over Erica's body, and was on the phone with 911.

I gripped my bag tightly, watching them from a distance. I could only imagine what Erica had been doing in the gym when her seizure hit her, but I had a pretty good idea. She'd been climbing, trying to make it to the top, proving that she was just as good as the rest of us, even if she only proved it to herself. The thought made my stomach writhe with sympathy and acidic guilt.

An arm wrapped around my shoulders, gently tugging me away from the scene.

"Come on. Let's get out of here."

I let Stiles pull me into the hallway, someplace a little away from the crowd while we waited for the bell to officially release us. He stopped with his back on the wall and tugged me to stand in front of him.

"Hey, I'm sure she's gonna be fine. She's been through worse."

"I know. I just…I feel…bad."

I was smart enough not to use the word "guilty" out loud. That would get me a lecture. Of course, Stiles was smart enough to know exactly what I meant.

"This was not your fault," he said firmly. "Erica's epileptic. You didn't do that. You didn't make her climb up there or make her have a seizure or anything, okay? That's not your fault. You climbed up there and you helped her down and—and it was awesome, okay?"

My lips grudgingly twitched up into a small smile. But that was Stiles's specialty: making me smile when I least wanted to. I forced myself to nod.

The bell rang, and he fell into step beside me as we headed down the hallway.

"So, are you gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Thanks."

"Are you sure? You seem shook up and…" He puffed his cheeks out, glancing at me surreptitiously before fixing his eyes on the end of the corridor. "I just want to make sure you feel okay. And if you're not then, you know, I don't want to force you to go out tonight. If you aren't in the mood or something or you wanted to—to—"

"Take a rain check?"

"Yeah…"

I pulled him to a stop and, this time, I stepped in front of him with the reassuring grin. "Definitely not. I don't want to push this off anymore. I'm going to be fine, and we are going to go out tonight…wherever it is that you're taking me."

"Thank God." Stiles beamed, but quickly checked his expression back to concern. "I mean, uh—are you sure?"

"Positive, Stiles."

He bobbed his head a few times as the smile crept back up on his face. For a few seconds, we just stood there, grinning at each other like idiots. Stiles cleared his throat.

"Right, so uh…I'll—I'll see you later."

"Right. Yeah." I could feel my face heating up again as I took a step back from him. He turned to walk to his next class, but before I could stop myself, I grabbed his wrist. "And Stiles?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

I bit my lip, nerves raging like a hurricane. I made a snap decision and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. I promptly recoiled and looked around the hallway, waiting for someone to drop all their books and call us out for out PDA, but everyone just continued on their way. No one spared us a thought.

Stiles's face was already bright pink. He cleared his throat and lifted his hand like he might touch his cheek, then decided it was a terrible idea and forced the limb back to his side.

"Ahem, uh…yes. You're—you are welcome."

I beamed, trying to contain the giggle that was threatening to creep out of my throat. I took a few steps back, nearly knocking over several people behind me. Then I ducked my head and rushed to class, slightly mortified, but unable to wipe the silly, stupid smile from my face.

Thinking about Stiles had effectively pushed all thoughts of Erica to the back of my mind. I was still on edge, but it was tough to focus on my guilt when I was so constantly worried about making a good impression. I could barely get any of my work done with Lydia, Allison, and even Scott teasing me about the big day. Thankfully, with Scott's werewolf hearing, I could curse him out for making fun of me all through class.

It was nice to worry about something normal for a change. But normal only lasted so long.

Stiles and I were walking shoulder to shoulder, taking our time getting to the cafeteria. I pulled him to a stop as I noticed who was standing up ahead.

Lydia's perky strut and teasing smile had vanished. She was leaning against a wall nearby, her face screwed up as tears began to roll down her cheeks. Crying was already a sign that something was wrong, but with Lydia? Crying in public? I knew it had to be something borderline catastrophic.

Stiles understood without words. He squeezed my hand and continued to the lunchroom so I could have some privacy with my best friend.

"Lydia?" I asked as I skidded up to her. "Lyd? What happened?"

She sniffed, paralyzed. Her right arm clutched her books to her chest, the other flat against the wall to stop herself from collapsing. She only met my eyes for a moment before her gaze flicked over my shoulder. I followed and immediately spotted the problem.

Jackson was storming down the hallway, his whole form trembling with anger, as it seemed to be doing more and more frequently. He had his back to us, stomping away, but that only meant that a few seconds ago he'd been standing in my place, and whatever he'd done had left a trembling, broken Lydia in his wake.

"I'm gonna fucking kill him."

Lydia snatched my sleeve before I could march after him. I thought she might've been grabbing me for balance too, but it seemed my fury had snapped her out of her daze.

"No! Sadie, no, just…just stop."

"Lydia, he can't keep doing this to you! He's—he's a fucking douchebag to everyone and everything that moves and someone needs to—"

"Stop!" Lydia's voice was nothing more than a desperate squeak, so pitiful and sad that I instantly closed my mouth. She closed her eyes, her hand tightening on my sleeve. "Please…please just…"

She couldn't finish the sentence. My fury seemed to crack right down the middle, falling apart as quickly as the girl in front of me. I pulled Lydia to my chest, holding her close and letting her sob into my shoulder.

"Okay, it's okay. Look, I'm—I'm not going anywhere. Let's get you out of here."

I tried to pull her along, making for the nearest bathroom, but Lydia shrugged me off and batted my hands away. "No, no. Just go."

"What? Lyd, I'm not leaving you alone like this."

"I want to be alone like this," she said emphatically. "Go to lunch. Sit with Stiles. I'll be…I just…go."

And before I could say another words in objection, she brushed past me, pressing one hand over her mouth like it was the only thing holding her together. She kept her head down as she rushed through the hallway before finally ducking out of sight.

I wanted to run after her, refuse to leave her side until she told me what was wrong and gave me permission to kick Jackson repeatedly—preferably until he was unconscious—but I knew that she's never agree. Lydia hated showing weakness, and even though I'd seen her cry plenty of times before, I understood why she was pushing me away. All of us were already worried about her. Exhibiting any more weakness would bring the attention back on her, and for once, Lydia didn't want to be the center of attention. I needed to respect that.

I pulled out my phone and sent her a quick text, reminding her that I would be there for her the moment she needed me, and I would save her a seat at lunch if she was feeling up to it. Then I slowly made my way to the cafeteria, trying to remember that feeling of content happiness I'd just had a few minutes before. I didn't think I was going to manage it, but the moment I set my sights on Scott and Stiles, my anxiety ebbed again.

"Forty-five dollars," Stiles was complaining to Scott as I walked up. "I mean, can you believe that? You're totally chipping in, dude."

"I don't know, man. It seems worth the price."

"Yeah, well it was supposed to be fifty. I only got five dollars off because, and I quote, 'Bennet's less annoying than you are.'"

"Wow," I laughed, slipping into the chair next to him. "Who can I thank for that glowing compliment?"

Stiles almost jumped out of his seat, arms flailing wildly as he tried to stash whatever he was holding into his bag while keeping it out of sight. "S-Sadie, you can't just do that!"

"Boyd," Scott answered for me, with a chuckle.

"Oh! Well, in that case, that actually is a glowing compliment."

I looked over my shoulder at the table I had once shared with Boyd. He was sitting in the exact same spot, in the exact same chair, just as alone as he usually was. I shot him a wide smile and waved enthusiastically. Even at this distance, I could see Boyd roll his eyes, but his lifted a hand in response before returning to the homework he'd spread out on the table in front of him.

I snatched a fry off Scott's plate and turned back to Stiles. "So, do I get a 'thank you' for earning you a discount on your…?"

"Nice try," Stiles said with a grin. "It's nothing you need to worry your pretty little head about. And thank you."

I held my hands up and rolled my eyes. "Fine, fine. I won't pry."

"Oh come on, that's it?" he whined. "No—no begging? No 'please just tell me where we're going'? You're taking all the fun out of this secret surprise thing."

"Fine." I smirked, planting my elbows on the table and leaning as close to his face as I dared. "Stiles, will you please just tell me where we're going?"

"Nope!"

He poked my nose with a grin, laughing smugly as I turned back to his food. I smiled, but it was a bittersweet one, something the Scott picked up on in an instant.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," I sighed. "Just Lydia."

"Is she okay?" Stiles asked, sobering.

"She could be better. She could be a lot better. Frankly, I think all our lives would be better if I just wipe Jackson Whittemore's stupid existence off the stupid face of the planet."

"I wholeheartedly agree," said Stiles. "Just nothing that gets you arrested before tonight."

"What happened?" asked Scott.

"That's the thing. She won't tell me." I carded my hands through my hair in distress, then let them thump to the table. "She just stopped me from kicking his ass, told me to leave it along, and then went to go cry in the bathroom. I know she needs time to herself, I just…I hate leaving her alone. Everything that's happened, that's still happening—I just get so freaking anxious—"

"Hey, it's okay," Scott insisted, resting one of his hands over mine. "We're not gonna let anything happen to her. She's got you looking out for her. Me, Stiles, Allison. We're all here for her."

"Yeah, except we're not. Not all the time."

I frowned down at the table, trying not to think too hard about the words, but I couldn't help it. These days, any time I wasn't next to Lydia, there was a slideshow running in the back of my head of all the terrible things that could happen to her. What if she went into another fugue state and disappeared? What if Deaton was right, and she was having a delayed reaction to Peter's bite? Would she just grow claws in the middle of her French class? How long would it take Gerard to find out, down in the principal's office? What happened when the Argents decided she was a little too abnormal to be considered human? All it would take was one ill-timed bathroom trip, one stop at the gas station, one trip to the mall before they could whisk her away and I might never see her again.

And that was only half of it. Scott had told me and Stiles all about the new shifter he saw the night of the full moon. While Stiles and I had been corralling Isaac—and making out—Scott had faced off against the newest horror in Beacon Hills, something with scales and talons and an actual tail. Whatever it was, we were pretty sure it was the real culprit behind Mr. Lahey's death, and if it had already killed one person, it was only a matter of time before it killed another. Just like last semester, I was back to worrying about some rampaging creature hurting Lydia on accident, purely by chance. The only way to prepare her for something like that would be to tell her the truth, but she'd been in such a frantic state the last few days, it never felt like the right time. Maybe there never was a right time. Maybe I was putting it off because I was so afraid she was going to hate me for lying to her, the same way Allison had hated me. Maybe I was just a coward.

I was just about to apologize for being so mopey when Stiles grabbed my hand.

"Why don't you bring her tonight?"

"What?" I asked, my head snapping up.

"If you're afraid of leaving her alone, why don't you ask her to come with us?"

"…on our date?"

"Double date," Stiles corrected, brandishing a finger at Scott. "I already screwed up the invite list, so we might as well make it a group outing. At least we'll get our money's worth. So bring Lydia."

"No, no," I sighed, shaking my head. "I'm worried about her and everything, but…I have to learn to get over it eventually, right? I—I can't ask to bring her."

"You're not asking to bring her. I am." He cautiously weaved his fingers through mine, looking at me in earnest. "Look, separation anxiety is something I kinda understand. She got hurt, and you don't want it to happen again, because you feel responsible for her, so…I'm not gonna ask you to prioritize me above your best friend, not when you're this worried. I want you to have a good time tonight, so if that means bringing Lydia along then…then we bring Lydia."

I stared at him in awe for several seconds. It was cliché to say, but it was one of those moments where it felt like Stiles and I were the only two people in the room. He just never ceased to amazing me with his consideration, how genuine and thoughtful he could be. I wasn't sure if I wanted to kick myself for waiting so long to date him, or kiss him for making me feel so lucky.

"You are just…the absolute best," I said softly.

Stiles scoffed, wearing a proud grin, and I leaned over to plant another kiss on his cheek.

"Ugh, gross," Scott groaned. "Can you guys wait until you actually go on the date?"

"Uh, no," Stiles said adamantly. "I'd like to continue with the not waiting, thank you."

I rolled my eyes, laughing at both their reactions. "Sorry, sorry. I'll stop."

But I knew Scott wasn't actually that annoyed. He sat there across from us with a small smile, thrilled as he was uncomfortable. He'd been annoying Stiles and I to get together for an eternity, so for him, unnecessary PDA was a kind of victory. I squeezed Stiles's hand again in victory.

Suddenly, Scott's face went slack. Not just a look of surprise, but a stony expression of dread.

"Scott…?"

Stiles and I turned in our seats in search of the distraction, but it didn't take long to find.

I had no idea how it had happened so quickly. I wasn't so much surprised as I was just baffled. It had hardly been a few periods since gym. I just couldn't imagine how they had managed it.

Erica Reyes was strutting into the cafeteria, drawing every eye in the room. Not shuffling. Not scampering. Strutting. Strutting in with her new leopard pumps, a black mini skirt, low cut white tank top, and cropped leather jacket. And it wasn't just the new wardrobe. Her frizzy hair was gone, suddenly an orderly mass of cascading blonde curls, and her acne seemed to have disappeared in just a few hours. Magically.

She sauntered over to a table just a few in from the door, leaning down to snatch an apple out of the hand of one of the unsuspecting boys. Not that he seemed to be complaining. He was too focused on the way Erica was shoving her tits in his face. She dug her teeth into the apple, raising her eyebrows innocently as she wiped her lips, now painted a startling, bright red.

Lydia appeared at my side, slamming her hands down on the table.

"What. The holy hell. Is that?"

It took Scott a second to find his voice. "It's Erica…"

It was as if she'd heard us which, I realized with a start, she probably had. Erica glanced up from the poor boy in front of her, finding us instantly in the crowded lunchroom. Heavily-lined eyes looked at Scott, Lydia, Stiles and me in turn. She stood back up to her full height, smirking at her audience and backing out of the cafeteria. Just before she reached the door, she peeked over her shoulder again, catching my eye and taking another malicious bite of her apple.

I was the first one out of my chair, half-way across the room before Stiles or Scott could even stand up. I marched out into the hall, breaking into a full on sprint when I found it empty. I could hear the boys behind me, their feet slamming on the tiles as we rushed toward the front of the school.

No, no, no, no, no…

But the answer was a resounding yes. I burst through the front doors to the school and instantly recognized the sleek black car parked on the curb, the dark hair of the person in the driver's seat. Stiles and Scott poured out of the building behind me, watching in shock as Erica jeered at us and climbed into the Camaro with a special kind of elegance she wouldn't even have dreamed of a few hours earlier.

Derek looked out the window to face us, his expression momentarily unreadable behind dark sunglasses. Then his face broke into a smile; it wasn't the small, heartfelt smile he'd given me at the railcar. This was a triumphant sneer, a twisted expression of pride. Two down. One to go.

The Camaro pulled out of the parking lot, wheel squealing as Derek slammed his foot on the gas. I just stood there with my heart sinking lower and lower, burrowing into the ground beneath me. My hands were shaking at my sides; Stiles took one gently and pulled me back toward the school.

"Guys, come on…"

"He bit her," Scott growled, reluctantly following us into the building. "We had to help him save Isaac from the Argents, and he still bit her!"

"I know," Stiles sighed. "Scott, there's nothing we could have done."

"How—how did he even find her?!"

"Isaac, probably," I supplied. "I introduced them at formal, so…"

Scott struggled for a moment, visibly becoming more and more enraged. His body started to shake. Then he cursed, turned around, and punched one of the lockers with a scream. The metal creaked, a small dent embedded in wake of his fist.

"Woah, woah, woah!" Stiles dropped my hand, running to grab Scott by the shoulders. "Let's kick it down a notch, okay? Try to remember who our principal is, 'kay buddy?"

I watched as Stiles tried to calm him down, desperately attempting to keep him from slipping up and shifting in the middle of the hallway. How long would it be before Derek had to do that with Isaac? Erica? What happened when they were at school with no one to help them because he was too busy scouting for his third musketeer?

I ripped my phone out of my pocket, dialing the number from memory. The boys didn't even notice what I was doing until a simpering voice picked up on the other end.

"I'm sorry, Derek can't come to the phone right now. Would you like to leave a message?"

"Erica, I know you're new to this, but one of the great things about being a werewolf is the super-hearing. He can already hear me. So Derek, I hope you've thought this through, because you needed our help with one beta. There's no way you can handle two."

There was a few seconds of silence in which we all exchanged looks on our end, Erica looking to Derek for direction on the other. I heard her huff in disapproval before Derek's voice came through loud and clear.

"I told you, Sadie. I need a pack. They'll learn from each other. They'll help each other. And then they're gonna help me."

"Right, and are you pulling Erica from school too? Cause after that little scene she just caused in the cafeteria, I'm sure it's only gonna be a few hours before Gerard's knocking on her door with a broadsword."

There was another beat, and I could've sworn I heard Derek growl. Clearly, he hadn't known about her scene in the cafeteria. Erica hadn't been able to resist the temptation of showing off in front of all the popular kids and her former bullies. It was a reaction anyone should have seen coming, and if Derek had been too stupid to realize that, then he had no business biting a teenage girl.

"Why did you call me, Sadie?" Derek asked, ignoring my previous question. "You know what I need. And you know you can't stop me."

"I know. I guess I just hope that part of you is listening, because that part knows that you're in over your head, and it knows that I'm right. You can't do this again."

"Can I hang up on her?" Erica hissed, and this time, I was sure I heard Derek growl.

"Look, do what you want, Erica," I snapped at her, "but this power trip can only last so long. Things are going to get dangerous, and then you won't have time to play dress up anymore. And Derek? Good luck. Because disciplining a teenage girl can be tough, and we're a real bitch to handle."

I promptly hung up on him, clenching my phone so tight that the edges threatened to cut into my hand. The only sound in the hallway was heavy breathing, Scott and I both trying and failing to calm ourselves down. Stiles looked between us warily.

"What did he mean?" Scott asked, when he was finally calm enough to speak.

"What?" Stiles looked between us even faster. "What did he say? When? I hate not being able to hear anything."

"Derek. He said Sadie knows what he needs."

I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut. I hadn't told Scott or Stiles about the railcar, mostly because I didn't want them lecturing me about what a terrible idea it was. I was starting to think that myself. I'd showed Derek the railcar as a kind of peace offering, a reassurance that I still wanted to help, but now I realized that by making him comfortable, I'd probably boosted his ego. Now Erica's life would be levelled too, all because I'd wanted to play little sister.

"It's a Hale family thing," I told Scott and Stiles, "something about balance. He wants three betas."

"Three?" Scott repeated, just as I had. "He wants to bite someone else?!"

"Ideally, yeah, but he has to know that's a bad idea. Isaac has already caused enough trouble, and now he's got Erica. He can't honestly think he'll be able to control three fresh wolves on his own."

"Yeah," Stiles scoffed, "well maybe he does think we'll keep cleaning up his messed after him."

"We have to," Scott said miserably. "If Derek keeps doing this…the kids he bites are only half the problem. People will get hurt. We can't let that happen."

"You sure?" Stiles countered, "Because this really doesn't sound like our responsibility. Just once, I'd like Derek to realize how colossally he's fucked up."

I gave him a pointed look, but it was halfhearted at best. I was about ready to give Derek a taste of his own medicine too. But as usual, Scott was the voice of reason.

"Stiles, you're the one who told me I don't have a choice. I can do things no one else can. We all know things no one else does. That means we have to do something. It's our responsibility."

Stiles let out a very heavy, very long sigh and planted his hands on his hips. "You know, you sound like Captain America when you do that. Doesn't he sound like Captain America?"

I couldn't help the smirk that worked its way onto my face. Even Scott laughed a little bit. I chewed on my bottom lip, looking to him for direction.

"So what do you want to do?"

"Nothing," he said dejectedly. "Not right now. If we draw any more attention to Erica, Gerard will know something's wrong. So for today, we just…pretend nothing's wrong."

"Oh thank God." Stiles whooped comically, wrapping one arm around each of our shoulders and tugging me and Scott to his sides. "Look, Scott's right, okay? So I'll tell you what we're gonna do. Instead of worrying about the rest of the shit going on in this town, we are going to finish the school day, we are going to go home, and then we are all going out tonight. Because I, for one, would like to have a good time. Stiles wants to have a good time!"

Scott's surly face broke across from me, changing again into a reluctant grin. "Dude…"

"What? No, Scott, I—I want us all to have a good time. Not like—shut up."

He shoved Scott ahead of him and slid his arm around my waist as we headed back to the cafeteria.

Erica had certainly left the room in chaos. Most people were still whispering about her transformation—literally—and a few boys were keeping a wistful eye on the door in case she decided to come back. Lydia stayed with Scott, Stiles and I for the rest of lunch, grilling Stiles for all the details I wasn't allowed to know. Scott kept me distracted by asking for help with his English assignment while Lydia and Stiles argued in hushed voices. Whatever he'd said to her, she'd agreed to come along for the group outing, "if only to keep the whole thing from being a complete disaster."

She also seemed to think that, halfway through the school day, we'd reached the point where it was no longer appropriate for me to be hanging out with Stiles so close to the date. She enlisted Allison's help keeping us away from each other, which I couldn't entirely understand. Lydia had responded with a metaphor about "starving the lions before the fight," and I'd quickly resolved not to question her again.

There was a moment of déjà vu as the girls dragged me out of the school at the sound of the bell, shooing me into the car so they could take me home to get ready. It felt like the night of the winter formal—avoiding Stiles, getting primped, the overwhelming knowledge lurking in the back of my mind that something bigger was going on. I could only hope that tonight would go better than that had.

A lot better.

A/N: Happy Valentine's Day! Sorry for the doubly late chapter. Work has been very hectic this month, but for all good reasons! Thank you, as always, for reading and leaving reviews.