Disclaimer: teen wolf does not belong to me in any way, shape or form. Thank you so much for the continued support, it means the entire world, and a big shout out to guest, blu3b3rryt3a, and scottken x 2 for the amazing reviews and support, it truly means the world. Yet again, another quick update because my nightshift schedule has been so weird lately, and I seem to be on a roll so I don't wanna stop - haha. Hope you enjoy :)

She didn't mean to fall asleep, honestly.

The continuous late nights, the tossing and turning, the early mornings and rude awakenings just got the best of her.

When she woke four hours later, Stiles was no where to be seen. The last time she remembered seeing him was when he rushed to her bathroom... then nothing. She must have passed out on her bed not much longer after that.

She was still a bit dazed and bleary eyed, pushing herself up on the bed as the blanket that was wrapped around her slipped down and bunched around her hips.

She didn't remember getting all tucked up and cosy because she didn't mean to fall asleep. Which meant, the only logical answer to that, was Stiles.

Did he come out of the bathroom, see her sleeping and made her comfortable? Did he take the time to cover her up, protecting her from the chill?

Unless she had Casper the ghost around here, it must've been Stiles.

She rubbed at her eyes until she saw stars, repressing a yawn as she reached and fumbled for her phone, ignoring the countless messages and notifications she had and opened up her text conversation with Stiles, typing out a quick, lighthearted message.

'Heyyy. Sorry I fell asleep, that's my bad. I'm the worst company sometimes.'

She didn't even have a chance to put her phone down to stretch before the sharp beep alerted her to a message, smiling to herself as she opened it.

'Don't sweat it, you were tired. I understand'

Of course he understood. She wasn't oblivious. It was so obvious he was crushing on her, unable to be annoyed by anything she did - even falling asleep on him when he just went to pee.

'I assume you found your way out the house okay? she asked, following by a laughing emoji, or are you actually hiding in my closet?'

She managed a quick full body stretch before her phone pinged again, Stiles clearly very eager to talk to her.

'No closet lurking for me, unfortunately'

Even just his use of the word 'unfortunately' showed he was getting much more comfortable around her, maybe even trying to flirt back a little.

'That's a shame... you might've seen something good' she fired back, adding on a little winky face for good measure.

This time, Stiles wasn't as quick with his reply. No doubt trying to decide if he was hallucinating or if what he read was real - lucky for him, it was totally real.

She waited patiently for a response, giving him a few extra seconds before his message flashed up on her screen.

'Good? Think you may be underestimating yourself there'

Simple, yet effective. Much like his waffle order.

She found herself laughing under her breath, appreciating the fact it probably took him one whole panic attack and a sudden growth spurt of his balls to type that out and send it.

'Cute Stilinski. You got game'

'Now there's something I've never heard before'

She smirked, their easy flirtatious banter keeping her occupied.

'Just remember what I said... funny drops underwear' followed by a cheesy smile emoji for good measure but, for whatever reason, his text back was just as quick, his anxious fingers no doubt flying across the screen as he probably sat back and waited with baited breath, chewing on his thumb nail.

Something she noticed he sometimes did in high stress situations.

Not that she was studying him or anything creepy like that. She was just aware of these sorts of things sometimes.

'Do you think I'm funny?'

Yup. He was definitely having a heart attack by this point.

'Unfortunately-' she teased, '-I think you're hilarious. You're getting close to getting me to break my no boy rule' adding in the suggestive face emoji.

It was true. She supposed she was attracted to him. He was just different. Wholesome. He never expected anything, thankful for whatever interaction he got. Not like all the others that treated her like some cat and mouse game - she being the mouse.

This attraction though was unusual in itself. She was usually always lusting after the 'bad boys' - the ones that you knew would treat you like shit, but you still went for anyway.

Stiles was the complete opposite to that. He was an anxious hyperactive mess with absolutely zero experience in girls what so ever, but she still found him adorable.

And funny. Always with the funny.

Funny could drop her underwear any day.

After the utter mess that was her last relationship, she wasn't looking for commitment. She wasn't even looking for a boyfriend - or girlfriend. Hell, she couldn't even properly manage her own emotions, let alone being responsible for somebody elses... but she was still open to connection. Someone - or something - that made her feel.

Surprisingly enough, that was Stiles.

She did briefly remember saying something earlier to him before they got their waffles and milkshakes... something about being being open to friends with benefits but she got distracted by the doorbell ringing.

He never actually gave her an answer to that, no doubt tripping over his own tongue and tonsils as he fumbled, but it was cute. He was cute. And maybe she needed cute for a change.

She could no doubt teach him a thing or two... or a hundred. She guessed he would be inexperienced, but attentive. Intense, but careful. Probably incredibly nervous but equally as fascinated. Obviously. Didn't you see the way he stared at her boobs in a shirt? Imagine he saw her fully and completely naked...

She shook herself from those thoughts, trying not to get too engrossed in her very vivid and very horny imagination, opening up his text.

'I am?' It simply read, followed by three consecutive dots.

Her bottom lip found it's way between her teeth, biting back her smirk as she played with him.

'We'll see' she replied, not forgetting to add the winky face just to add fuel to the fire - or, more than likely, an extra inch or two to his boner - and stretched out her neck and spine one more time to make them crack before jumping out of bed, a new found energy pumping through her veins.

She had wasted her afternoon sleeping and, although it was much needed, she didn't want to squander away her Saturday.

She quickly changed into a pair of tight red patterned sports leggings, a sports bra and a fitted white tee, deciding to go for a run.

She hadn't been out in a few days to train, what with everything that had happened with Derek, so now was as good a time as any.

By the time she got dressed and threw her hair into a high ponytail, her phone buzzed again and she smirked as she swiped at the screen, reading Stiles' text.

'You're very very very mean, I hope you know that'

Of course she did. It was one of her favourite character traits.

'No risk, no reward Stiles' she simply replied, plugging in her earphones and slotting her phone into her arm band, setting off on her run.

"-I mean, that's an invite right? To ask her out?"

Scott simply peered up at him from his bed as he paced the length and breadth of Scott's room, nervously chewing on his thumb nail until it was a short stump, retelling the entire story of his morning with Kayla - and her texts that afternoon.

"... You started that group project without me?"

Stiles stopped pacing for a moment, sending Scott a displeased look.

"Really? That's what you took from that whole conversation?"

"I hope you're both going to put my name on it"

"Scott" Stiles exclaimed, snapping his fingers in front of his friends face, "your grades aren't my biggest concern at the moment, thank you! Have you even been listening to a word I've said?"

Scott nodded innocently, "yeah. She's flirting with you. But doesn't Kayla flirt with everyone?"

"She hasn't flirted with you"

"Well, I mean, her tone of voice is kinda suggestive-"

Stiles cut him off with a jumble of exclamations, waving his arms out.

"Okay, jeez. She flirts with everyone, I get it" he mumbled, "she's a free spirit. But, I don't know, it feels different. It feels like she wants me to do something about it"

Scott snorted in amusement, a dopey smile pulling at his lips.

"You don't have the guts to ask her out"

"What? I-Of course I do" he defended himself feebly, knowing Scott was, in fact, right, "I could totally ask her out"

Scott simply rolled his eyes, not buying Stiles' words one bit.

"Really?" Scott asked, "dude, I've said this before and I'll say it again - she will eat you alive and leave no crumbs"

Honestly, the more he got to know her the more he realised just how true that was. She had a big personality - fun, sarcastic and confident, embracing her wants and needs, never being shy. He struck her as the kind of person that got what she wanted - always.

"I-I could-I could handle her" he muttered insecurely, his voice barely above a whisper, "I could... could..."

Scott just quirked a brow knowingly, that shit eating grin spreading across his face.

Stiles just blew out a long breath, not even having the ability to defend himself as he returned to pacing.

"I couldn't" he sighed, "I really couldn't. But it still feels like she wants me to do something. I mean, she basically said she would have sex with me-"

"What?" Scott interrupted, his eyes widening in shock, "she said that? With actual words?"

"Yeah" Stiles shrugged, jittery and anxious as he chewed on the side of his cheek, "I mean... that's an indication she likes me right?"

"Maybe" Scott muttered, still in shock, "I don't know. Girls are complicated"

"You're telling me" Stiles puffed out a long sigh as he plonked himself next to Scott on the bed, "half the time I think she's just joking around, then she comes out with stuff like that and I'm like 'whoa', y'know? Maybe I should just leave it alone" he continued in something close to disappointment, "I don't want to make an idiot of myself - again"

She had gone for a long run around the preserve, clocking up as many miles as she could until her legs were burning and her heart was pounding, beads of sweat tickling her forehead and the back of her neck.

She had mixed up her run between simple jogging and sprints, keeping at a steady pace for a couple of miles before running flat out, her trainer clad feet thundering across the forest floor.

Running helped clear her head from all the cobwebs, focusing solely on herself and her steady heartbeat. It was, in a way, freeing, and gave her a sort of high.

She had found herself running a lot more since her 'recovery'. Sometimes spending hours just running to no where in particular, fuelling the feelings of euphoria. It was a safe way to get high, but never quite as good as the real thing.

Darkness fell quicker than she expected, or maybe she had been running for longer than she thought, but she decided now was as good a time as any to head home, despite her stomach curdling at the thought.

It still didn't feel like home.

Don't get her wrong, it was a beautiful house and she was incredibly lucky to get to experience that, but it just did nothing for her. She had no connections to it. It was, really, just fours walls.

Plus, it had her mom in it.

The tension that had build up between them had only worsened since she returned home and got clean. And, quite frankly, she just didn't have the energy to deal with the passive aggressiveness.

She began to make her way out of the preserve, keeping a wide berth of The Hale house, but just as she was passing the signs that read 'Welcome to Beacon Hills Reserve, no entry after dark', a sudden touch to her shoulder made her jump.

indistinctively she turned around and lashed out, her hand balling into a fist in preparation to knock out whoever the fuck was getting all up in her personal space, but what she didn't expect was for that someone to grab her fist just inches away from their face.

"Derek?" she gasped, sending him a displeased look as she grabbed her fist back, yanking out her ear buds, "what the hell?"

Derek simply sent her an unamused glance, his gaze moving to the sign that read 'no entry after dark' before looking back to her.

"It's just turned dark" she rolled her eyes, "chill"

"You shouldn't be out here alone. The alpha is dangerous"

"I know" she folded her arms stubbornly, "I can take care of myself"

"No, you can't" he insisted, much to her dismay, "you wouldn't stand a chance"

"Wow, thanks" she muttered, "glad to know you think I'd turn into shish kebab so easily"

He lifted up her earbuds that were dangling freely from her phone, the music still blasting from them.

"How are you meant to hear any potential danger with these in?"

"I need Avril Lavigne to motivate me"

"Kayla..." he sighed, his eyes softening a little, "this isn't Louisiana anymore. It's Beacon Hills. It's dangerous. Your dad isn't here to protect you, which means it's now my job"

"I know it's not safe" she replied, "I lost family that day too"

A brief flash of pain shot through his stare, the reminder of the fire all too prominent.

"I may be human, but I'm not defenceless - or stupid" she added, "I've trained my entire life to be able to be even half as good as the supernaturally inclined. You don't need to worry as much"

Derek's face was tense, clearly not happy with her chat back.

"As long as there's hunters here and the Alpha is still killing people, I'm still going to worry" he insisted, "I'm not losing any more family"

She glanced down at the forest floor, feeling a little bad for making Derek worry. She didn't mean to be so blasé about all this, but her whole life she had been treated like the weakest link when, in reality, she knew that wasn't true. She may not have any supernatural advantages, but she wasn't weak. She could handle a lot more than what people expected.

"Speaking of..." Derek continued, dropping his stern telling off voice, "he's killed again"

"What?" she asked in surprise, whipping her head up, "when? Who?"

"Just now. I heard it on the police scanner. Someone at a movie store"

"Shit"

"Shit indeed" Derek agreed, "which is why you need to be safe, at home, and not out here alone"

"Derek-"

"Kayla" he cut her off, "for once can you please do as you're told?"

She sighed, rolling her eyes but begrudgingly nodded.

"See... that wasn't so hard, was it?"

She was so tempted to punch his smug ass but somehow managed to restrain herself, throwing him a dirty side eye and was sure she saw him try and hide his smirk, pointing out of the preserve.

"Get in your car and go home. I need to go and get Scott"

"What?" she exclaimed, "so it's okay for you to drag Scott into this and not me?"

"He's already in this Kayla" he reminded her, "you're not. He needs to understand why I need him to help me catch the Alpha. So get going"

"I don't have my car"

Derek frowned, "how did you get here?"

She did a sarcastic point to her gym wear, striking a pose.

"I ran. Obviously"

"Do you have any self preservation instincts at all?"

"Do you have any self preservation instincts?" she mocked, "apparently not"

He sighed, reaching into his pocket to throw her his car keys.

"Take my car and go straight home" he warned, "I'll let you know if I find out anything"

He made sure to watch as she turned around and headed to the Hale house, making sure she was actually listening to him, and when she was almost there and turned around to see he had gone, disappeared into thin air.

"Dickhead" she muttered under her breath, dragging her feet through the leaves and twigs as she saw the the wreckage of the house in the distance, "discriminating against me because I'm human. Well, this human could kick your ass"

She continued to muttered obscenities under her breath, hating being made to feel like a spare point as she came up to the once magnificent Hale house, the burnt wreckage still feeling like a stab in the heart.

She didn't get why Derek still hung out here. It was freaking creepy - and she didn't get creeped out by much. But, then again, Derek was kinda creepy.

She kept her gaze down, walking around the side of the house and towards the Camaro, clicking the keys to unlock it, the dark night sky flashing a bright orange as the lights on the car lit up briefly.

She was just a few steps away from the car when a sudden whoosh swept past her, the loose hairs from her ponytail curling around her face.

She stopped short, her entire body tensing.

What the holy hell was that?

Her stomach twisted, her muscles clenching as she remained still, steadying her breathing as to regulate her heartbeat.

Could that be...?

No. Surely not. According to Derek, the Alpha has just killed at the movie rental store... why would he be back out here so quick?

No. If anything, it was probably Derek playing a prank on her. A prank to put the fear of god into her to make her stay away from the preserve.

She ignored the twinge in her gut telling her something wasn't right, swallowing the lump in her throat as she slowly turned around, staring out into the vast expanse of darkness, disregarding the feeling of a pair of eyes staring straight into her soul.

"Okay" she called out, "very funny Derek. You're hilarious. Quit trying to scare me. I'm not a child"

No answer. Typical.

She lifted the keys, rattling them in her grasp.

"I'm going, so chill. Don't crap your pants"

Again, no answer... but that feeling of being watched still remained.

"You're a dick, you know that?" she raged, "seriously, stop treating me like I'm ten" and with that she threw herself into the drivers seat, starting up the engine and skidding down the dirt track road, failing to see the pair of red eyes reflecting in the rear view mirror.

Did she listen to Derek?

The simple answer was no.

Why? Because she rarely listened to anyone. When people were forceful in ordering her what to do, it made her much more unlikely to do said thing.

You would think after sixteen years, they would know that already.

She decided to head into town and go to go the movie rental store and see what was going on, smirking to herself as she deliberately raced through a couple red lights and made sure to get flashed on a speed camera.

Sue her, she was petty. Derek pissed her off, so she was going to piss him off even more.

Payback was a bitch.

Payback in the form of a few hundred dollar fines.

It didn't take her long to reach the store, having to Google map her way there as she still wasn't overly familiar with the town, hoardes of people already creating crowds.

She parked as close as she could, deliberately almost running over a group of so called 'Karen's' who were blocking an empty parking space, clearly thinking their nosiness was more important, ignoring their displeased looks as she got out.

She heard them mutter under their breaths about "youths these days" and just how "inconsiderate" she was being as they "needed to know what was going on to protect themselves"

She simply responded by flipping them the her middle finger, smirking as they gasped.

Clearly, 'Karen's' were a world wide issue then.

She flipped them the bird. She didn't murder their entire family. What drama queens.

She saw some police cars and a couple of ambulances parked out in front and managed to squeeze her way to the front of the crowd, watching them load a dead body covered in a white sheet into the ambulance.

Her eyes scanned the crowd, subtly trying to see if there was anyone or anything suspicious, until her eyes found someone familiar.

Stiles was seated in the sheriffs car, the door half open as he was watching the scene unfold with pure fascination in his stare but that initial fascination seemed to melt into worry, a frown pulling at his brows.

She wondered why, following his gaze and saw Lydia and Jackson next to the other ambulance, clearly trying to be treated by the EMT's.

His worry clearly wasn't aimed at Jackson which meant...

Right. How could she forget. He was secretly in love with the unattainable Lydia Martin. He had all but said to that to her the first time they properly spoke.

That was the thing with the goofy, funny guys...

... they always liked someone else.

It wasn't hard to see why. Lydia, as much of a pain in the ass that she was, was drop dead gorgeous. By all accounts, she was flawless. Hell, even Kayla had a small crush on her because - duh - she had eyes. She was sure Lydia Martin was the object of many peoples affection.

She shook away the uncomfortable twist of her gut, recognising it as something close to disappointment, and decided to try and be sneaky, dropping under the police tape and snuck over to her two friends.

"Hey guys" she said quietly, stepping up beside the ambulance, "you two okay?"

Immediately Jackson's head swivelled around to face her, his eyes sparking with what many would assume was anger but Kayla could clearly see fear there, his pretty blue eyes wide and wild. On the flip side, Lydia continued to stare off into space, barely acknowledging her presence, most likely going into shock.

"How do I look to you?" Jackson demanded, drawing Kayla's attention to him, his voice trembling almost unnoticeably.

"Wow" she muttered, "you're somehow caught up in a murder and you're worried about your looks? But surprisingly... that doesn't surprise me" she added with a scoff because, after all, this was Jackson.

"No, I mean do I look like I have a concussion?" he growled, clenching his fists in an effort to try and contain himself, "these asshats won't let me leave no matter how much I try and drill it through their thick skulls that I am fine" he snapped and Kayla simply rolled her eyes, not at all deterred by his violent outbursts.

"You look and sound just as annoying as ever so yes Jackson, you seem fine to me" she muttered, looking towards Lydia who was shaking slightly, her usual immaculate face now running with make-up.

"Lydia" Kayla piped up gently, trying to be as gentle as possible - which was very unlike her. She didn't really do 'gentle' - she did blunt. Blunt she was comfortable with. Gentle, she was not. But she didn't want to add to Lydia's new found PTSD, or whatever.

Lydia's glazed eyes met hers and Kayla didn't know what to do, the show of emotion making her feel a little uneasy, so she just reached out and took ahold of her hands to show her support – she really didn't know what else to do, she couldn't exactly reassure them that everything was going to be okay because that would be a massive lie. And Kayla did not like lying.

"How you holding up?" Kayla inquired and Lydia nodded slowly, her usual bright eyes now dull and lifeless.

"I'm fine" she replied mechanically, as if on autopilot, "I just want to sleep"

"I think the EMT's are about to let you go now" she reassured, looking around at the dwindling crowd that the deputies had managed to disperse, the EMT's packing up their bags.

"I swear to God if they don't let us go right now..." Jackson continued to rage selfishly and Kayla nudged him with her arm to shut him up. Honestly? Didn't he have any decency? His girlfriend was having a mental breakdown it seemed, and all he cared about was going home? God, even she wasn't this heartless.

"Jackson" She hissed, "shut up for a minute before they arrest you and then you'll never get home"

He just shot her a deadly glare to show how un-amused he really was, crossing his arms as he went back to huffing like a six year old child that didn't get the candy he was wanting.

"Okay, so you've been cleared by the... oh" a kind but gruff voice said, stopping short as he saw her there, "Kayla, right?"

She looked up at the Sheriff, seeing his confused look, his gaze sweeping between them and the now small crowds behind the tape, clearly wondering how she got past his line of sight.

"Right" she nodded, "hi again Sheriff"

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, clearly very confused by her sudden appearance, adding to the stress of an already stressful night.

"Uh... how did you get here?"

"I drove"

He raised his eyebrows at her very matter of fact voice, the straightforwardness of her tone making him feel a little bit like an idiot.

"No, uh... I mean, behind the tape?"

"I ducked" she smiled, "I used to win all the limbo competitions"

He ran a tired hand down his face, not having the energy to argue with a teenage girl as he looked between Jackson and Lydia.

"You've been cleared to go. We don't need anymore statements"

"Finally" Jackson exclaimed, taking off away to his Porsche without a second thought, leaving Lydia sitting on the back of the ambulance, still trying to contain her tears.

Kayla simply rolled her eyes again, her hatred for Jackson growing to biblical heights as she felt pity towards Lydia, knowing the feeling of being left and uncared for all too well.

"I uh... I can drive her home" Kayla offered, quirking a brow at the sheriff, "if that's okay?"

"Yeah, of course. You kids have got to stick together" the Sheriff advised, "but go straight home. It's not safe out here"

She nodded, reaching out to help Lydia stand on shaky legs, wrapping an arm around her waist as she helped her walk through the crowds and towards Derek's Camaro.

"Wait - Kayla" Lydia suddenly exclaimed, reaching out to gran her wrist before she could shut the car door, "can you stay over?"

"Stay over at your house?" Kayla asked, "like a sleepover?"

"Please?" the strawberry blonde asked meekly, more tears pressing themselves forward and Kayla felt her whole body begin to itch, not comfortable with this kind of emotion - she never knew what to do when people cried. It was just awkward.

"Uh..."

She wasn't particularly affectionate or cuddly, not for a long while, so just simply stared at Lydia like she had two heads, stiffly reaching out to pat the top of her head.

"... Sure. I'll stay" she said, gently pressing on Lydia's forehead with her two fingers, pushing her into the car, "just don't try and spoon me. I like my own space" then shut the door.

She wasn't exactly the best emotional support person, especially in circumstances as delicate as this, but she realised Lydia had no one else and she felt bad for her new found friend because no one should be left alone to be scared and fearful after seeing something as terrifying and confusing as what she just saw.

She went to walk around the car to get into the drivers side and, just before she slipped in, she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She knew that feeling all too well, twisting her head to search for whoever was watching her and quickly saw Stiles leaning over the top of the sheriffs car, his eyes lighting up as they met hers, raising his hand into a two fingered wave.

For whatever reason, seeing him sort of pissed her off.

Why?

She wasn't entirely sure, but she supposed it was the way he had been looking at Lydia earlier.

As soon as she thought that, she almost laughed at the ridiculousness of it all.

Why would she be feeling something as petty as jealousy?

She didn't get jealous.

And why would she get jealous over Stiles and Lydia?

It was ridiculous.

The whole situation was ridiculous.

He was her friend - one of her only true friends here, that knew everything - and she was only flirting with him to be playful... it wasn't like she was wanting anything with him...

Right?

No, of course not. No relationships. Remmeber the rule, Kayla.

She just forced a tight smile on her face, not responding to his eagerness before slipping into the car and driving off, heading in the direction of Lydia's house.

That confusing, albeit brief, encounter left Stiles completely bewildered, a little hurt that she blew him off.

Maybe she wasn't all that into him, after all.

A/N) I am powering through this recently aren't I hahah it's just so fun though; and I'm loving adding so much more detail to this. So I hope you all liked this varied chapter, it had a bit of everything; so please review and I will see you all soon :)