Lunar phase:

The lunar phase or phase of the Moon is the shape of the directly sunlit portion of the Moon as viewed from Earth

The low buzz of hospital machines filled the stale air. My hands unfolded and refolded crisp brown paper as I paced nervously beside the nurses station. My eyes veering off occasionally to steal glances of the sleeping body across the room. I had been hovering by the door for the last twenty minutes and as each second passed I became less confident. Doubt seeping into the corners of my brain. Shaking my head I turned sharply with every intention of leaving. "Emma?" groaning softly under my breath I looked up from my restless hands to find Melissa McCall peering at me from behind the desk. From the look she gave me I realised I might have been standing there longer than twenty minutes.

"Mrs. McCall fancy seeing you here," I replied in want I hope was a casual tone. She narrowed her eyes before her lips curled upward into a knowing smile. I didn't like that smile. I didn't like the way she had looked between the brown bag filled with food and the passed out boy on the waiting room chair. I wondered if she had figured out my problem.

"Good, he needs some proper food, he's been living out of the vending machine all weekend," she nodded her head happily. Oh yeah she knew, I could feel the heat rise to my cheeks as I turned my face away from her. I then began to panic, if she knew who the food was for would she be able to tell how much trouble I had gone through to make it? Could she see the burns on my fingers from my first attempt at cooking or the sauce stains that I hadn't been able to scrub out of my jumper?

Nope. I couldn't go through with it. This whole thoughtful friend thing just wasn't me, I just couldn't do it. Especially now there was a witness! I raised a hand in dismissal, "what? No, this is for," I glanced down at the food in my hand and paused before adding an unconvincing, "you?" She didn't seem to believe it so I continued to ramble, "Yeah Scott asked me to bring it for you."

"Sure," was all she said as she scoped up some patient files and hurried off. Leaving me alone at the nurse's station with the bag of food held tightly in my sweaty palms. I groaned again and decided to leave for good this time.

"Hey, what's that?" My breath caught in my throat as the one voice I didn't want to hear chimed eagerly from behind me. Glancing over my shoulder I found a half-asleep Stiles eying the bag in my hands curiously from his perch. Throwing his arms upward he stretched dramatically letting out a loud yawn as he pushed himself to his feet. While he moved groggily towards me I couldn't help but notice his wrinkled clothes, he really had been here all weekend. Now, I'm not proud of it but a spike of jealously flared inside as I realised just how devoted the teen was to Lydia. "I'm starving, is that food?" He had reached the nurses station and his hand was reaching for the bag.

In one swift motion I pulled the bag to the side and dropped it into the bin, "It's nothing" The glass dish I'd stolen from my mum shattered loudly and the red tomato sauce oozed from the rips in the paper as the bag hit the bottom of the basket. My eyes narrowed daring Stiles to make a comment as his questioning eyes darting between the mess in the bin and me. Luckily, or unluckily depending on who you ask a piercing scream echoed through the halls before either of us could talk. It sounded familiar, it sounded like, "Lydia?"

Stiles had darted through the corridor toward the noise the moment we realised it was our injured friend. Any jealously I had felt for the girl melted away as I rushed after him unable to focus on anything over than getting to Lydia. We pushed patients and nurse out of our way as we hurtled down the halls. Only stopping when we reached Melissa and another adult, who I assumed to be Mr Martin from his familiar green eyes. Stiles had barged his way into the bathroom with the adults inspecting every inch of the room as he did. Melissa had already pulled the dripping shower curtain back to reveal a puddle of clear water swirling down the drain, we had just missed her. Crouching beside the shower Stiles scooped a damp hospital gown up and sent questioning looks towards the adults. I hovered by the door unable to enter the room fully as my eyes landed on the open window. Nudging Stiles lightly with my foot I pulled his attention from the others. As he turned he spotted what I was looking at and a soft whine left his lips, "Lydia?" We trailed behind Melissa as she began to set a search into motion. With the calmness of a born leader, she had sent the hospital staff off to search for Lydia in an orderly manner. I unfortunately wasn't as collected. I barely managed to nod back at Stiles as he barked instructions my way, "phone Scott get him here, take my keys. Emma, ring Scott."

My fingers shook as I dialed for Scott. I didn't even wait for him to greet me the moment the dial tone ended I began to ramble, "Lydia's gone, she's gone Scott we have to find her. Stiles told me to ring you. We don't know what happened. She was, then she wasn't. Oh man what if," I'm not sure how I managed it but while I fumbled to get my words out my feet had carried me to the hospital entrance. I saw my car wedged in beside Stiles' jeep, I fiddled with his keys thankful that I wasn't going to have to drive. How everyone stayed so calm in these situations I'll never understand. "Scott you need to get to the hospital I think Stiles has a plan, He usually has a plan, can you come? How fast can you get here?"

"I'm already here," his voice echoed down the phone as he appeared from behind the vehicle his disheveled clothes suggested he had run all the way here. "You have the keys?" I nodded and tossed the keys toward him letting him unlock the temperamental machine before clambering into the back seat. "I'm not gonna let anyone hurt her. Not again." I know he was saying to reassure me but I couldn't help but notice how the words seemed to help ease the tense in his shoulders to.

I jumped pathetically as the driver's door flew open and Stiles drove into the seat. Thrusting the damp gown from earlier under Scott's nose, "shove the thing in your face and let's find her." Stiles eyes set into a scowl as he turned the keys in the ignition and began to pull out of the car park, only stopping to avoiding colliding with a stony faced Allison, "Wow!"

I watched Allison and Scott stare at each other through the open window, "I thought you guys were playing star crossed lovers?" I had spent the few days comparing the pair to Shakespeare's tragic couple that the comment slipped out before I could process the situation. As Allison turned to counter the remark I realised something had happened to get her so worked up, something even worse than Lydia going missing.

"I don't care - she is one of my best friend, and we need to find her before my father does?" We all sat silently unable to comprehend the words fully. We had assumed we would just be up against the sheriff's department not a group of elite werewolf hunters. Allison continued, "I just saw him and three other guys leave my house in two SUVs." The severity of the situation finally become thing clear as the next few words left her mouth bitterly, "It's a hunting party."

Scott swung his door open, no words needed to be exchanged as Allison climbed over the chairs with far more grace than I had earlier. Stiles had already begun drive as she settled into the back with me. "All right, but if she's turning, would they actually kill her?" Stiles questioned as he turned out of the carpark and following Scotts directions when they came.

"I don't know," replied the huntress honestly, "They won't tell me anything. All they say is, 'We'll talk after Kate's funeral, when the others get here.'"

My blood ran cold at her ominous words, nothing good would come of other hunters turning up. I licked my lips fearing the answer I might get, "others?"

Allison turned to face me with the same worried expression edged into her face, "I don't know, they won't tell me that yet." Yeah this wasn't going to end well for us, to be completely honest if the last few months were anything to go by I doubt things would ever go well for us.

"Okay, your family's got some serious communication issues to work on." Allison scoffed at the teens jibe, clearly agreeing with him. "Scott, are we going the right way?"

I turned to look at the werewolf for the first time since leaving the hospital's grounds and cocked my head lightly to the side at the comical sight before me. Scott had suspended himself out of the window. His entire upper torso hung out of the window as we sped down the deserted roads towards the woods. "Take the next right," he shouted down to us like an oversized puppy edger to find its bone.

We finally reached the Hale house, somewhere I had hoped not to return to. My eyes scanned our dark surrounding uneasily, "why would she come here?" I realised my words had come out louder than I had intended when the others began to reply.

Allison stared up the brunt shell of a building. I knew she hadn't been back since the events with Kate and Peter. Did the place creep her out as much as it did me? She tilted her head and eyed Scott wearily, "Maybe she came here on instinct, like she was looking for Derek." Scott merely stared back unsure where she was going with the comment. Stiles and I shared a look as we tried to piece her words together. Seeing our confused expression Allison continued hesitantly, "Wolves need a pack, right?"

"Not all of them," Scott grumbled defiantly. Still trying his best to prove his independence.

I shrugged back, "She might have, werewolves are stronger, faster, just better with a pack, what?" I paused as I noticed the three of them pause and look at me. Huffing in annoyance I added an explanatory, "I've done my research." Why did everyone think Stiles was the only one who could use google?

Allison was the first to respond, "That the same for an Alpha?" I had never thought about it really, but it made sense. That could have been why Peter was so fixated on Scott. Scott seemed to agree as he nodded his head back ready to say something. However he never got the chance. Instead of speaking he yelled out as his body was flung upwards by his foot. Allison and I barely avoided getting hit by his arms as they waved comically by his head.

Stiles turned around from his spot near the floor to see what all the commotion was about, from the sheepish look on his face it was clearly his doing. How Scott remained so calm as he swung upside down I'm not sure but it was very impressive. He narrowed his eyes at Stiles and spoke slowly as if he were addressing a child, "Next time you see a tripwire - don't trip it."

"Yeah, noted," can Stiles halfhearted reply. He and Allison had already begun to fiddle with the contraption as I gripped Scott's shoulders trying to slow his movements. It was making me nauseous just watching him.

His enter body tensed under my hands before he called out a frantic, "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Someone's coming. Hide," none of us moved, though Stiles did turn to try to spot however Scott had heard, "Go!" We dove for cover behind the trees as armed men passed the tree line. My shoulder pressed firmly into Allison's as we watched her father stride toward her trapped, werewolf boyfriend. They really were just like Romeo and Juliet, though I hope neither of their stories end as tragically. None of us moved as the hunter and the werewolf exchanged words. Even after the group had left and Scott had freed himself we couldn't celebrate. Chris had reinforced our need to find Lydia first. The enter encounter had left a sour taste in our mouths as Scott lead us back to the jeep. The scent had vanished. Just like Lydia.

I drifted through the next day as if in a daze. We hadn't found Lydia, someone or something was stealing organs from bodies and well those two issues were big enough. "Did you hear that body at the cemetery was found without a liver," Matt told me gleefully as he joined me by our lockers. I glanced at Allison as she opened her locker beside me. I had been planning on talking to her about Kate's funeral but it didn't seem right to ask her personally questions with her number one fan beside me.

"That's nice," brushing him off as I pulled my notebook out. I might be worried about a liverless body but Matt didn't need to know that. He didn't need to know about any off it, I liked having someone outside of the supernatural to talk to. Someone to take my mind off of our growing list of problems.

"oh come on," Matt whined as he leant backwards into the locker between Allison and myself. I couldn't help but smirk at his actions. How Allison hadn't noticed his attraction to her I would never know, though perhaps she had noticed it had just chose to ignore him. I would. "Weird stories like this are you thing I thought you'd be a bit more enthusiastic about…nice dress." I frowned confused by the sudden jump in conversation. Though once I realise Allison had pulled a new dress from her locker it made sense.

Allison smiled sweetly back. So she wasn't ignoring him, "nice camera." I chuckled lightly at the dopy smile that had slipped onto his face. I had planned to shot him down or try my best to tease him in front of his crush but hushed tones from across the hall pulled my attention away from Matt. My eyes narrowed as the girl's whispered, just loud enough for Allison to hear. One commented on the fact Allison's aunt had been a crazy murderer, while the other jested about sitting next to her in English. Sure I knew Kate was a psycho hunter who had in fact killed people but that didn't mean others had the right to gossip about it. Especially in front of Allison, who had rushed of down the hall half way through the girl's discussion.

I slammed my locker loudly and glared at the girls, "is there an issue?" I didn't need to finish. The girls could barely hold my stare. One of the benefits of dressing in ripped jeans and leather jackets was people often made snap judgements. I didn't bother me, if anything it helped. I doubt I could scare anyone if people knew how much of a coward I really was. I mean I'd never even thrown a punch.

"Did her aunt really do it?" Matt asked once the girls had scurried out of sight. I didn't bother answering. I groaned inwardly as he called down the hall at me, "I'm going later, Audrey asked for pictures. You coming?"

I had purposely gone out of my way to avoid Matt. I couldn't put quite put my finger on it but the idea of him going to Kate's funeral didn't sit well with me. So instead of telling him that I thought it was a bad idea I hid from him, in a pitiable attempt of avoiding an argument. My chosen hiding place being the Library, which for a government funded public high school had a suspiciously large section on the occult. I'd filled the table with book after book each containing information of the supernatural. I only paused from my reading to scribble notes, take phones of diagrams or flick through various language dictionaries to translate sections of writing. As I scanned the various texts in front of me a plan slowly began to form. I continued to flick between the different books until I had every piece of information recorded for future use.

I hadn't noticed the library emptying as I engrossed myself in the literature. It was only when an annoyed cough rattled through the room that I looked up. My eyes settling on the frustrated face of the librarian, who had already slung her handbag over her arm as she pointed expectantly at the door. The message was clear, get out. I pushed my books into my bag and purposefully left the rest over the table to spite the woman. She tutted under her breath as I strutted past her. It would have been a lot more effective if I had managed to get through the door without walking head first into Stiles. My bag falling to the floor with a loud thud. "What are you still doing here," the boy questioned easily as if walking into people was a normal occurrence, perhaps with his coordination it was. Shaking his head he continued, "doesn't matter, I'm late!"

I smirked lightly as he went to pass me unable to keep my reply to myself, "for a very important date?"

Stiles paused. Turning his head he raised an eyebrow at me. I couldn't tell he found the comment amusing or painful. "Kate's funeral," he countered watching my carefully as if trying to read my reaction.

"Oh," My lips parted in surprise, I had known Scott would find a way to go but I hadn't expected Stiles to attend the funeral. Though given how close the pair were it wasn't that unbelievable that Stiles would go if he was asked. I nodded back and scooped up my bag before walking up to join him on his route out of the building, "have fun with that."

Falling into step beside me he shot me a confused look, "you're not."

"Going?" I cut him off. Pushing the doors open we entered the almost empty carpark. "No I doubt I'll be missed. Beside Allison said only family would be allowed past the police cordon, So why bother," I could feel his judgmental eyes watching me closely. He thought I should go. Well I wasn't about to change my plans just because Stiles Stilinski disapproved of them. Though perhaps I could get him to change his mind. Pressing my lips tightly disappointed in myself, I hated this need for his approval, "beside I want to try something out. I think I might have found a way to find Lydia."

His eyes light up in excitement. Oh god, my stomach churned as he smiled eagerly at me. How long was this going to last? "Really? How? What are you going to do?" he pressed on, leaning forward as if being physically closer to me would make me answer faster. I couldn't help but notice how easy it would be to kiss him. Before I could react to my sudden thoughts his face fell and his hand fished out his buzzing phone, "Crap that's Scott I have to go. Call me if you find her." And with that he was off. Darting across the school grounds and into his jeep leaving me alone to my muddled thoughts.

I didn't bother driving home, instead I opened the boot of the car and began to rummage through my bags. I placed the items on the floor behind the car, grateful for the lack of witnesses as I flattened out the stolen map of beacon hills. My fingers ran across the messy scribbles in my notebook that I'd made only hours ago. After checking one last time I was alone, I sank to the floor. Plucking the last cigarette from my silver tin I placed the pot in front of me. Filling the tiny tin with a view scraps of paper, some with Lydia's name scribbled across them. Tentatively I added the bay leaves I'd plucked from the hedges surrounding the school grounds. I lit the last one before dropping it to the pile. It had seemed like such a good idea earlier but now, now I just felt like an idiot sitting in the middle of an empty car park. Taking a deep breath I pulled Lydia's broken necklace from my pocket, I'd been holding onto the item after it had snapped off during the events of the formal. "Come on, please work," I pleaded helplessly. Glancing down at my notes one last time I extended my hand letting the necklace pass through the smoke from the tiny fire. Until finally the necklace hovered disappointedly over the map. Nothing. This wasn't how it was meant to be. Something was supposed to happen!

I groaned in frustration and threw the idiotic necklace across the tarmac. The broke clasp snagged the tip of my finger tearing the skin. Yelping I shook my hand weakly before bring the cut to my lips. I had every intention of packing up my experiment when a single bead of red caught my eye. A lone drop of blood form my cut had landed on the map. I'm not sure if it was just the low light but the blood seemed to almost roll before pinpointing a spot in the woods. Maybe it had worked, maybe I was just desperate. Either way, I packed away the items from the floor and set out to find the location.

The sun had started to set by the time I entered the woods and had I not have been deterred to find something I probably would have been scared witless. Goosebumps covered my arms as I ventured further into the tree line. I glanced at the map and did my best to follow it. The moonlight left an eerie glow as I shuffled through the endless trees. If I was right, which I doubted I was, then the marked spot was somewhere around... crap. There in the clearing before me was a completely naked, shivering red head. Her eyes fixed vacantly on the floor. I edged forward snapping twigs and rustling leaves as I approached. The noise seemed to wake her form her daze as her eyes shot up to lock with mine. Any fear I had had about her washed away as she cocked an eyebrow at me, "This is not the best time for you to confess your feelings."

I sniggered at her words. Overjoyed that her days in the wild hadn't affected her attitude. My lips curled upward as I replied, "I thought it would be really romantic, full moon, no clothes, police escort home." I continued to move toward her untying the dull checkered shirt that hung around my waist and held it out for her.

Her nose scrunched up in disgust as she slipped her arms into the fabric, "I've always hated this shirt." She began to button the front of it. Her dislike for the piece of clothing clear as it swamped her petite figure. I rolled my eyes are her behaviour, trust Lydia Martin to be worried about fashion after being lost in the woods for days. I swung an arm around her shoulders, while using the other to phone the sheriff department. I made a mental note to ring Stiles immediately after. Though I doubted he would forgive me for ringing his dad first.

I am so excited to start this season. Question, what do people think of Malia and Stiles? I am a huge Lydia and Stiles fan but I still like Malia as a character on her own, just curious.

review, comment, follow

Thanks xxx