Just as a reminder to all of those who are reading: When the text is written in bold and italicized lettering "like this," that is the part of the conversation had in sign language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Wolf. I also have no claim on any pop culture references that I may use throughout my writings. I only own my OCs. Enjoy the read.

(o.o)

Chapter 2.01

It had been a month since the evil, dark druid Jennifer wreaked havoc on Beacon Hills. We'd finally been able to put all the stress of her behind us. The problem we face now was that Allison, Scott, and Stiles were still having the after-effects of being ritually sacrificed. There wasn't much any of us could do except try to endure it. I could only be there for Stiles, which, if I was being honest, wasn't a chore.

I enjoyed being around Stiles. He was never boring to hang out with. Even if we were just sitting on his living room couch, playing video games, or if I was teaching him to sign. It was always fun. I tried to keep his mind from delving too far into his fear. He was having nightmares and there wasn't much that I could do if I wasn't physically there for him. I'd often get a video call in the middle of the night from him just wanting to talk. It happened almost every other night. I would never complain because I promised him I would be there for him and I wanted to be.

I had dressed and gotten myself ready for school, eyeing the sweater sitting on top of my dresser. It was Stiles' that he gave me the night of the sacrifice. I'd tried to give it back to him so many times, but it somehow always found its way back around my shoulders.

I reached for it, telling myself it was time to give it back to him, but when my fingers brushed against the fabric I wasn't in my room anymore.

I looked around, finding myself at the school. I stood in the courtyard connecting the school to the parking lot and the lacrosse field. Standing on the underside of the bridge, I looked around, confused. It was dark and much colder than I knew it to be for the beginning of October.

"Stiles?" I called, wondering if he was around. It was his sweater that I was holding.

"You can't kill me!" A voice shouted, fury dripping from the words.

I whipped my head around at the sound, hoping to see someone around me, but I was still the only one in the underpass. Needing to draw some sort of focus and figure out what was going on, I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. Letting out the air, I opened my eyes. In front of me was a man wearing a leather jacket who had his wrapped head wrapped in what looked like medical gauze. I furrowed my brow at the sight, taking a step towards him. "Are you okay?"

The man looked up at me, opening its mouth in a menacing smile and revealing sharp, black fangs.

I shook my head. "Nope." Instantly, I let the sweater slip through my fingers and fall to the floor. The vision disappeared from my view and I was back in my bedroom. I sighed again, glad he was gone. I turned towards my door and saw Dad standing in the doorway.

"Everything okay?" He asked, signing.

"That's debatable."

Dad eyed the sweater on the floor.

I followed his gaze. "Yeah, I'm not really sure what that was about." I leaned down to pick up the sweater but my fingers hesitated, hovering over it. I wasn't sure that I wanted to see that thing again.

The floor shook with Dad's heavy footsteps. He appeared in front of me, crouching down and grabbing the sweater. "I'll put it in a bag for you."

I offered him an uneasy smile. "Thanks, Dad."

"Isn't this Stiles'?" Dad asked, studying the sweater.

I nodded, feeling a pit in my stomach. "Yeah, but he wasn't there. In the vision." I said, giving him more confidence than I felt. "It was...something else."

Dad nodded. "It'll be downstairs waiting for you."

After giving my father a smile, I turned to my closet going for another sweater. I really had to get that sweater back to Stiles. I couldn't wear it anymore. Not after what I saw. I shrugged on a new sweater and checked my phone, seeing a text from Stiles. He was on his way. I rushed down the stairs, saying goodbye to my father, and grabbing the bag from him. As soon as I turned the handle to the front door, Stiles' Jeep pulled up to the sidewalk. I showed him a large smile and jumped in the Jeep, handing the bag over to him.

"What's this?" Stiles asked, looking inside the grocery bag.

"Your sweater," I told him. "I figured that it was finally time I gave it back to you."

"I mean, you could still wear it if you wanted it to."

I sent him a tight-lipped smile, enjoying the bashfulness he radiated with that sentence. "Stiles, I have my own sweaters. And it's not the 50s. I don't need to wear your sweater to let people know I'm dating you."

Stiles smiled but it didn't quite reach his eyes. The dark circles seemed to be holding the smile in his cheeks. Stiles turned back forward in his seat and drove away from my house.

I waited for a beat before saying anything. "You had another nightmare."

Stiles met my gaze for just a second and then nodded, eyes back on the road.

"You didn't call."

"I've called you every night this week." Stiles shrugged.

"And I told you to call me if you were having trouble sleeping. There's no expiration date on that."

Stiles was nervous. He had one hand gripping the steering wheel so tight it turned his knuckles white. The other was a shaky fist, perched on his knee.

I reached over and grabbed the hand on his leg. "You can tell me anything, you know that right?" I asked, earning a single nod. "Not only can you, but you should. If we're gonna get through this you need to talk to me."

Stiles took a deep breath. I was locked in a locker, trying to push my way out. Somehow I'd gotten to the school and the nemeton was in the middle of a classroom." Stiles shared. "When I touched it, the roots grabbed me and I woke up. Or - or I thought I did." He looked at me, still nervous.

I gave him an encouraging nod.

"I couldn't tell. But when I woke up that time…" Stiles looked over at me. "Lydia was there in my bed. And, you know, I didn't think it was real because I wouldn't have wanted Lydia in my bed. I would have wanted you in my bed. Because I like you and I think having you in my bed, sleeping next to me would be pretty awesome."

I agreed wholeheartedly, but I knew I wanted him to continue instead of commenting on it. However, he had to focus. "Stiles?" I questioned, getting a look from him. "What else happened?"

"The bedroom door was open. I went to close it, but went through it and then I was in the woods. Back at the nemeton." Stiles said, "But I knew that one was a dream, so I woke myself up."

"How many times did you wake up without actually waking up?"

"Just one more time. That time, I woke up screaming." Stiles parked the car in the school parking lot.

I put a hand on Stiles' arm to stop him before he could get out. "What else is happening to you?"

Stiles thought for a moment. "Severe Dyslexia. I can't read, the letters are all jumbled up."

I sighed. "We can go see Dr. Deaton today."

Stiles waved me off. "I can't. I've got a thing."

"Well, tomorrow then." I offered. "Maybe today we skip. Do some research on dreams and, maybe, dyslexia. We'll work something out. My dad wouldn't mind us taking one day. In fact, he'll probably encourage it." Especially with the weird vision I had that morning, but I wasn't going to bother Stiles with it. "We've been through a lot and we're still trying to figure most of it out."

Stiles shook his head. "It's a good idea, Ceej, but I think we just need to be with everyone."

"Okay." I nodded. "Well, I'm here for you. Anything you need."

Stiles stared at me and I could practically feel the intensity in his eyes. He leaned forward, capturing my lips with his. "I got pretty lucky with you."

I shrugged. "Maybe just moderately lucky."

Stiles pursed his lips, thinking.

"You okay?"

"Are you busy after school?"

I furrowed my brow, "No, I mean, other than homework."

"My thing after school, my dad and I…" He paused. "We're going to drop flowers off at my mom's grave for her birthday. Do you wanna come?"

I gave him a sympathetic smile. "You sure you want me there?"

Stiles nodded. "I asked my dad the other day if it'd be okay. Since you lost Carter, you know, you get it. And I want you to be there."

I gave him a small nod. "I'd love to go." With that, Stiles and I exited the car and made our way up to the main building, holding hands. As we approached the area from my dream that I was dreading, my eyes caught someone rushing down the stairs like they were running from someone. I loosed closer, pointing it out to Stiles. "Isn't that Scott?"

Stiles looked forward and nodded his head, hurrying to catch up to him. Stiles grabbed Scott by his shoulders. "Hey, you alright?"

Scott was surprised to see his friend. He looked frightened, trying to get his heart rate back down. Scott's shoulders moved with every breath. He nodded his head, but just barely.

"Scott, you don't look alright," I told him.

Scott looked down at me, nodding. "I'm okay."

Stiles grabbed his best friend's attention. "No, you're not. It's happening to you, too. You're seeing things, aren't you?"

"How did you know?" Scott asked, his eyes glancing behind me and Stiles.

I turned around to see Lydia standing behind Stiles with Allison trailing behind her.

"Because it's happening to all three of you."

I eyed Allison, curious. "What are you seeing?"

Allison looked at me, shyly. She and I never really bonded, but she knew that I could be trusted and I could trust her. "My Aunt Kate."

Inside, I seethed at the mention of the woman. I hated Kate. I wasn't very fond of her when she was originally dating Derek, but knowing that she was the cause of the Hale Fire made me all the angrier. Before I could comment, Lydia was walking towards the school.

Stiles grabbed my hand, walking with me.

"Lydia, wait!" I called, "We need a plan. Or some way to solve this." I grabbed her hand, making her pause at the touch. The look she gave me was one of confusion, so I quickly took my arm back. "Stiles is having really bad nightmares. And Scott's seeing things, I think." I looked over at Scott, getting a nod from him.

Lydia had on a pleased smirk. "Well, well, well, look who's no longer the crazy one."

"We're not crazy." Allison insisted.

My cousin raised a brow. "Hallucinating? Sleep paralysis?" She said, pointing to Scott and then Stiles. "Yeah, you guys are fine."

"We did die and come back to life. That's gotta have some side effects, right?"

"Yeah, more than some," I said quickly. "There are, like, a million tv shows that show coming back from the dead as very, very bad." All of their eyes were on me. Apparently, I had said the wrong thing. "What I mean is we've just got to pay attention to you three in particular." I looked at Lydia. "We have to make sure they don't go full zombie and kill each other or themselves."

Lydia nodded.

"And Lydia?" Stiles asked, getting Lydia's attention. "Stop enjoying this so much." He said, moving past her and down the hall. Scott and Allison following his lead.

Lydia furrowed her brow at Stiles' comment. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

I took a deep breath, knowing I had to talk to Lydia. I grabbed her arm again, making her look in my direction.

Lydia looked back at me and down at my hand. "You okay?"

I shook my head. "You feel that right?"

"I can." She nodded. "What's wrong?"

I released Lydia's arm, sighing. "I saw something this morning. And I don't know what it is. So please, take this seriously."

Lydia nodded to me. "Did you tell Stiles?"

"I can't bother him with this. Not until we fix whatever is going on with him."

"I've got your back." Lydia insisted.

I gave her a smile. "I'll see you later. I've gotta catch up with them for history." I left her, running off towards Scott and Stiles. When I got to class, I saw Stiles had saved the seat in the front row for me and taken the one behind it. I smiled at him and walked up to the teacher sitting at the desk.

The teacher was surprised by my approach and looked up at me. "Hello." He said with a warm smile.

"Hi, I'm CJ," I told him. "Chandler Parker?"

The teacher nodded, looking down at his attendance sheet, finding my name, and a note left by the previous teacher. "Right. CJ, nice to meet you. I'm Mr. Yukimura." He grabbed a piece of paper from the pile at the corner of his desk and handed it to me.

I took it and read it, finding it to be a syllabus. I furrowed my brow at the paper, spying his name. "Yukimura?" I asked, wondering if I'd pronounced it right.

Mr. Yukimura nodded.

"Cool, I just wanted to introduce myself, all things considered."

"I appreciate that." Mr. Yukimura said, "Let me know if there's ever anything I can do for you."

I nodded before turning around going for the seat Stiles saved for me. I slid in and turned to face him. "Thanks for saving my seat."

Stiles smiled my way.

My eyes glanced past Stiles, seeing a girl I didn't think I'd noticed before. I sent her a small smile so I didn't look weird staring at her. My phone vibrated in my lap, signaling the late bell, so I turned back around, pulling out my history book.

Mr. Yukimura stood up in front of the class. "Good morning, everyone. My name is Mr. Yukimura. I'll be taking over for your previous history teacher. My family and I moved here three weeks ago. I'm sure, by now, you all know my daughter, Kira?" He paused. "Or you might now, since she's never actually mentioned anyone from school, or brought a friend home, for that matter. Either way, there she is!" Mr. Yukimura gestured to the back of the class.

I turned, it was the girl I'd only just noticed. Quickly, I felt bad for not noticing her until now. A couple of months ago, I was her. In a strange school surrounded by people, I didn't think I would become friends with. I turned back to the front, my gaze shifting to Scott who was passing her a smile.

Scott shifted back to the front, his eyes stropping on his shadow on the ground. He sat up a little straighter and his shoulders lifted.

I reached out a hand, tapping his desk to get his attention. I gave him a look, asking if he was okay.

Scott nodded, giving me a smile I knew he hid his lie behind. We were going to figure this out.

(o.o)

After class, Scott, Stiles, and I walked to Stiles' locker to grab more of his books. I stood on Stiles' right, leaning against the locker next to his.

"Maybe we need a little more time to get to normal?" Scott suggested.

"I tried to get him to play hooky with me today, but he wasn't having it."

"Yeah, well, try not to forget, we hit the reset button on a supernatural beacon for supernatural creatures." Stiles reminded us, trying to open his locker. "There's a pretty good chance things are never going back to normal."

Scott nodded. "Yeah."

Stiles was still staring at his lock, trying the combination for what seemed like the fifth time.

I watched as Scott's attention strayed from Stiles and down the hall. I followed his line of sight and my eyes landed on Kira. I looked back at Scott and smiled.

Stiles was having a minor freakout moment in front of me, pulling at his lock.

I put my hands over his, calmingly. "What's your combination?" I asked him.

Stiles took a deep breath, taking a step back and telling me the combination to his locker.

I moved to turn the dial to open the locker. I worked it slowly, making sure I got the numbers right. When I did, the lock opened and I looked up in victory only to find Scott and Stiles were running off. I furrowed my brow, catching Stiles' eye. I tapped my forefinger and middle finger against my thumb a couple of times, asking Stiles what he was doing.

Stiles pointed to each of his eyes and then flicked his forefinger over his bottom lip. "Red eyes."

I nodded quickly, smiling at his ability to recall words I'd been teaching him. I locked Stiles' locker after grabbing his books for his next class and turning around. Kira was making her way in the direction that they went. "Crap," I said to myself. I hurried, moving to stand directly in her way. I waved exaggeratedly. "It's Kira, right?"

Kira nodded, still trying to find Scott and Stiles over the crowd.

Her refusal to admit I was in front of her didn't stop me from trying. "Hi, I'm CJ," I said, signing the words.

Kira answered, but she was facing away from me in her attempt to walk around me.

I stopped her from going after the boys with a hand on her arm. My hand was warm, connecting to her skin, and I tried not to show my confusion. "Actually, I'm deaf."

Kira met my eyes.

"So, I couldn't hear anything you just said. But if you look at me, I can read your lips." That got her.

"Oh, my God. I'm sorry. I didn't know."

"That's okay." I said, "I'm used to it. No need to be sorry."

Kira gave me a weak smile.

"While I've got you, I just - I wanted to say that I know how it is to be the new kid here. That was me two months ago." I pulled a piece of paper from Stiles' notebook in my hands and scribbled my name and phone number on it. "If you ever needed anything: pen, paper, someone to listen; I'm here for you."

Kira furrowed her brow, surprised by my friendliness no doubt. She took the piece of paper from between my fingers, studying the scribbles on them.

"Oh, but I should say that I can't do phone calls. Video calls work though. And texting, of course!" I sent her a smile.

"Thanks." She said, looking at me.

"Anytime. Really." I turned my head seeing Stiles and Scott coming out of the classroom they had been hiding in. I pointed back at them. "I'd better go, but I'll see you in class, okay?" I got away from Kira, hurrying after Scott and Stiles as they headed for the field house. "What the hell happened?"

Scott and Stiles stopped in the underpass. "I started turning."

I suppressed the need to shiver at my location and furrowed my brow. "I thought that was a problem of the past."

"It was until we sacrificed ourselves." Stiles shared.

"That's what you've been hallucinating." I realized. "You think you've been changing."

"It's like I became what Peter was when he was Alpha, back when he bit me," Scott explained.

"Peter?"

Stiles nodded his head, remembering I didn't know some details. Derek had tried to fill me in, but with the time crunch we were on it was easy to gloss over certain things. "When he killed Laura and became the alpha he turned into some super, monster, vengeful, mega wolf."

"Like the twins?"

"Worse, if you can believe it."

I shrugged, rolling my eyes, "Well, it's Peter, so…"

"Touche."

I looked back at Scott. "So, can you relearn control? Just thinking about it like every day is the full moon. Use a mantra or something?"

Scott looked at me like I had run over his foot with my car on purpose. "Do you know how long it took to learn control on a full moon?"

"I mean, I had to throw lacrosse balls at him and get his ass beat for keying some guy's car," Stiles recalled.

I raised a brow. "So, what? Like a day?"

Stiles dropped his jaw, narrowing his eyes at me. Once he realized I was right, he stood straight, closing his mouth. "Well, yeah. Actually."

"Look, obviously I'm no expert, okay?" I said, knowing I had almost no clue what I was talking about when it came to holding control. "I'm not trying to tell you this is easy because I know it's not. But this is the hand we're dealt and we have to play the cards one way or another. That being said, you can't continue to walk out of classrooms with bloodstained hands."

Scott looked down at his hands, noticing that I was right. He dug through his bag for a t-shirt to wipe the blood off.

I dug into my purse, grabbing my bottle of hand sanitizer. I held it up to him and Scott held out his hands for some. "We're gonna figure this out. Until then, try to stay calm."

Scott nodded, cleaning off his hands.

I held the hand sanitizer out to him, getting a questioning look. "For the next time you have to puncture your palms to stop from changing. Can't let everyone think you're a murderer."

Scott took the bottle from my hand. "Thank you."

I gave him a smile. "One thing at a time, Scotty."

Scott laughed at the name I used for him.

"Oh, so is that okay? I can call you Scotty?" I asked, laughing.

"You can call me Scotty?" He nodded.

"Awesome." I smiled, looking back at Stiles. "You see that? I've given him a nickname. You guys are so stuck with me now."

Stiles smiled at me. I felt the admiration from his look and the butterflies erupted in my stomach.

Stiles opened his left arm, ready for me to slide my shoulders underneath. "Let's get to class."

I joined his side, grabbing his hand in mine. I gave it a squeeze. Yeah, we were all going to be okay.