Kara spent the next week without the energy to do much of anything, not knowing why she was suddenly so exhausted. She went from home to school, then back again, with nothing in between. At school, she'd just sit there, robotically copying down notes, and when she got home, she would go immediately to bed, not moving for hours.

Stiles was worried, to say the least. She knew that because he had sent Liam, of all people, Liam, to check on her. She felt bad for the beta's efforts; he came into her room while she pretended to be asleep, and he would just sigh, then sit with her for a minute before leaving. Luckily, he didn't try to talk to her about the kiss, or initiate another one, during that week-long period.

Then, one day, a Thursday, while she was actually sleeping after school, he came in and laid next to her on the bed. Somehow, she didn't stir, and he stayed there, staring at her. He knew she tended to toss and turn in her sleep, so when she rolled onto her other side and knocked into him, he wasn't surprised. What did surprise him, though, was her turning back over and snuggling into him. Her arms wrapped around his torso, her legs tangled with his, and her hands gripped the bottom hem of his t-shirt.

"Why are you in my bed?" She mumbled into his chest. He stiffened, since this was the most she'd spoken to him all week, but her fingers slipped under his shirt, stroking the skin of his lower back lightly. The boy all but melted under her touch. She opened her eyes to look up at him, silver irises on blue. "Because I was worried about you," he replied casually, as if she wasn't tearing him up on the inside with her words and actions. "And I missed you." He continued.

She snorted, staying in the position they were in, however compromising and character-breaking. "There's not much to miss, Wolf Boy." She retorted. He rolled his eyes and stared down at her. "Why have you been ignoring everyone?" He asked, voice soft in her ears. Her face fell, and she pulled away, facing away from him. "Stiles smothers me with his worrying, and everyone else treats me like I'm a child. I hate when people do that." She explained, frowning.

"Kar, you can't just cut everyone off. We- I - want to help." He told her. Her entire body felt hot and cold at the same time; when his hand came up to run along her arm, she nearly gasped out loud. His touch was electric on her skin.

She shot up into a sitting position, and he looked at her with wide eyes. The brunette stood up and backed away from him, but he followed her. Her back hit the wall, and suddenly, he was right in front of her. His hands reached for her own, sliding up and down her arms. Tingles were shooting all over her body, so intense that they were almost almost painful, yet she didn't want it to stop. Not even a little bit.

"I'm going to kiss you, okay?" He murmured. Before she could even nod, or give any other sign of confirmation, his mouth was over hers. She sighed in response, and her hands fluttered around until they landed on his jawline. The kiss became deeper, and he gripped the back of her thighs, lifting them so she was pressed against the wall with her legs wrapped around his waist.

His lips moved from her's to her chin, then down her neck. As he kissed her throat, she felt her claws come out and dig themselves into her palms. She pushed him away and faced the wall, breathing heavily, and she knew her eyes were glowing.

"Kara?" Liam whimpered, worried. She pressed her forehead against the cool wall. "Don't," she rasped. "Go. Just- just get out, Liam." She ordered. He hesitated, about to put a hand on her shoulder, but decided against it. She heard his footsteps walk away, out of the room and down the stairs. Then, she was alone with her jumbled thoughts and overwhelming feelings.

She threw herself down on her bed, curled into a ball on top of the blankets without bothering to cover herself, and allowed her emotions run over her. It was very rare for this to happen; she hated to be this open, this vulnerable. She normally pushed her feelings down deep and refused to acknowledge them.

Right now, though, she was going to let herself feel. First, it was a series of awful hiccups. Next were the silent tears. Finally, the sobs broke through, and she was suddenly breaking down, crying out in hatred of herself and everything that boy made her feel.

Meanwhile, as he walked away from the house, he pretended he couldn't hear her sobbing, but the heartbreaking noises she made were sharp in his ears. They cut into him, lashed at him again and again until he had to stop and just scream.

—

Mason came up to her at her locker the next day, wearing an expression that was downright muderous. "What did you do to my best friend?" He demanded, eyes narrowed. She fumbled for an answer. "I- I didn't do anything. What's wrong? Is Liam okay?" She replied, genuinely concerned. The brown-eyed boy's menacing expression faltered for a mere second.

"He hasn't said three words to me, and he's been moody all day. It's totally obvious that it has something to do with you. I don't know what's going on with you two, and I don't care, but you need to fix him." He declared, then stormed away.

She huffed, banging the back of her head against her locker in frustration. Boys are so complicated, she thought. Why did she have to go and kiss one?

With a sound that was a mixture of a groan and a sigh, Kara pushed off the locker and subtly sniffed the air for Liam's scent. When she realized where it led her, she rolled her eyes, but followed it to the weight room nonetheless, cutting through the locker room for time's sake and ignoring the half-naked boys.

"Liam?" She called, opening the door to the weight room. The boy she was looking for was in there, alone, with a weight-laden bar sinking into his chest. He appeared to be unable to lift it back up. "Jesus," she muttered, then darted over to help him. She threw one leg over the bench he was situated on, leaving the other on the other side; she grunted as she heaved the bar back up to the pegs where it could sit on its own.

Once he was out of danger, she sat down on his stomach and shoved him back down by the shoulders, not letting him sit up. "What the hell were you thinking? You could've killed yourself!" She cried. He rolled his eyes. "I would have been fine. I don't need your help, you don't need mine." He snapped, and sat up, despite her weight on top of him.

"That's not fair, Liam-" She began, but he stopped her and gently pushed her off of him. "Not fair? You want to talk about fair?" He exclaimed. "You've been nothing but unfair to me, ever since we met. You've hated me for next to no reason, and you keep giving me these mixed signals. You hate me, then you love me, and then you hate me again! You- you're exhausting." He finished, running a hand through is sweat-dampened hair.

Kara was speechless for a moment. Only a moment, though, because after that, she went straight to yelling.

"What do you want from me? Do you want me to tell you that I like you? Is that what you want?" She demanded. He didn't reply. "Because I can't. I can't honestly tell you that I like you. I don't know how I feel, and it confuses me so much." She concluded, sighing. The bell rang, signaling the start of class, and she turned to leave. "Just... Just give me some time." She said over her shoulder.

She was halfway to the door when Liam caught her arm. He pulled her towards him until they were chest to chest. "How much time?" He murmured, brushing her hair away from her face. She flinched slightly. "I don't know." She replied quietly. He nodded slowly and let her go.

"Will you come to my house tonight? So we can talk this out?" He asked, sincere. She copied him, nodding, and left the room, more torn than ever.

—

"Where are you going?" Questioned Stiles as she attempted to sneak out the front door. She winced, facing him. He looked at her expectantly, eyebrows raised. "Out," she replied awkwardly. He crossed his arms. "Out where?"

Knowing she was caught, she muttered, "Liam's," to which he sighed in response. "Go. Have fun." He instructed. She flashed him a quick smile then rushed out the door.

The run to Liam's house was short, and she focused more on the pumping of her legs as she sprinted than she did on the thoughts in her head. Her heart thundered when she reached her destination, and she couldn't tell if she was nervous, excited, or a mixture of both.

She made her way inside, up the stairs and to the room she distinguished as his by scent. She knocked lightly on the door, listening for him. There was a squeaky, "Come in," followed by a few ragged breaths. She opened the door, first peeking her head in, then upon seeing what was inside, entering all the way.

Liam was sitting on the edge of his bed, head in his hands, dressed in a t-shirt and raggedy gray sweatpants. His head shot up when she came in, and his eyes were puffy, like he'd been crying.

"Did you see one?" She asked softly, referring to the Beserkers, and stepped towards him. He swallowed audibly. "Yeah," he muttered. She pursed her lips and took a seat next to him. "C'mere." The brunette said quietly, holding out her arms. He looked at her strangely, as if she had grown a third eyeball. She rolled her silvery eyes and ran a hand through her hair. "It's called a hug, Jackass. It's what you do to comfort people." She mocked; he bit his lip, trying to suppress a laugh, and shook his head.

"If we're doing this, we're doing it right." Liam began, and she took a moment to dig her mind out of the gutter. He laid down on the bed and held his arms open. "Lay your ass down, Stilinski." He ordered. She laughed, partially because of the irony of the situation (after all, she wasn't technically a Stilinski), and partially because of his tone. He tried to sound tough, but he instead sounded childish.

Despite the fact that he aggravated her to no end, she took her place in his arms, with her head in the crook of his neck and his face buried in her hair. Her leg was thrown over both of his, which was comfortable for both of them. His hands rubbed circles on her back, under her loose-fitting sweatshirt, while her's drew patterns on his bicep.

"Don't you dare kiss me, Dickwad." She muttered. He chuckled and squeezed her sides, making her giggle. "Wouldn't dream of it. You're kinda gross." He said, joking. She rolled her eyes again and mumbled, "Same to you, Jackass." After that, it was quiet for a few moments.

"Kara?" He whispered. She glanced up at him, barely craning her neck. "Yeah?" She replied. He clenched his jaw slightly, then took a deep breath. "You said you needed time... How much time do you need?" He asked hesitantly. "Because I'll wait, you know. As long as you need to figure out how you feel about me." He finished. She felt herself blush, but pressed her burning face into his neck even more.

He fell asleep a few minutes later, the comfort of holding her enough to calm his nerves. Kara carefully untangled their limbs, going as slowly as she could so she didn't wake him. She stuck a pillow in the place of her body, and he instantly latched onto it. She looked down at him with a small smile and softly brushed back a single piece of hair that stuck out of place on his head; before she could even stop herself, she leaned down to press a gentle kiss to his forehead. Luckily for her, he didn't stir.

As she walked quietly down the stairs of his home, she felt like her heart was growing three sizes, like the Grinch, and abruptly, her feelings for him weren't so confusing. She promised herself that, the next time she saw him, she would tell him.

Tell him that he didn't have to wait, that everything had suddenly become crystal clear.

She'd tell him that she wanted him.

kara's catching mad feelings y'all

anyway I love lara v much I am trash for a ship that I created send help

-hales!