THERE'S A HEAVINESS that settles into my chest as I walk the school hallways, heading towards the library to meet my friends whose parents were currently very unimpressed by their behaviour. It was beginning to feel like no matter what we did, something would always go wrong.

I was thankful that my grandmother hadn't been too angry with me. She had — in some ways — understood why my friends did what they had done. Though despite the understanding she had displayed, she proceeded to spend a good half hour lecturing me about making smarter decisions. I didn't have the heart to tell her that I had absolutely no idea what the hell I was doing. Or even where to start.

In fact, when it came to helping my friends, I actually felt pretty useless.

"It's everything Lydia can translate. And trust me, she was very confused." I hear Allison say as I locate them in the library, and watch as she passes Scott her tablet. I share a brief smile with Stiles before leaning my back against the bookcase behind us.

"Yeah, what'd you tell her?" Scott questions, curious.

"That we were part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures."

"We are part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures." Stiles responds with an unknowing smile as he motions his finger from himself, towards me and then back again.

It was true, yes, though I barley played anymore. And if I did it was only to appease my nagging best friend. At some point my interest in books had grown stronger than my love of online and video games. All part of growing up, I suppose.

Allison looks slightly taken a back as she shakes her head and mumbles, "O—oh. Great."

Scott on the other hand is unfazed. "Okay, does it say how to find out who's controlling him?"

"Not really. But Stiles was right about the murderers."

"Yes!" Stiles celebrates, and I can't help but to roll my eyes as a smile makes it's way to my lips.

"Such a dork," I whisper to myself, but when he casts a playful side-eye my way I know he heard it.

"It calls the kanima a weapon of vengeance. There's a story in there about this South American priest who uses the kanima to execute murderers in his village -

"All right, see? So maybe it's not all that bad." Stiles cuts Allison off before she gets to the next part. 

"Until the bond grew strong enough that it killed whoever he wanted it to."

"All bad. All very, very bad." I say nothing as Stiles says what we're all thinking. I simply stand there and slowly nod, with a gnawing feeling that this is all going to end very badly.

"Here's the thing, though. The kanima's actually supposed to be a werewolf. But it can't be—"

"Until it resolves that in its past which manifested it."  Scott reads the screen and I glance over his shoulder at the words written hoping that something, anything, will hold some kind of answer. But I find nothing they haven't already.

"Okay, if that means that Jackson could use a few thousand hours of therapy, I could've told you that myself." Stiles adds with slightly widened eyes.

"What if it has something to do with his parents? His real parents." Allison's words remind me that Jackson is adopted, something I'd forgotten about until now.

I move forward and fold my arms across my chest, glancing between them. "Yeah— do any of you know what happened to them? Why they gave him up?"

All three shake their heads.

"Lydia might." States Stiles.

If anyone did, it probably would be Lydia. Despite their rocky relationship, there had to be something there for them to date for so long.

"What if she doesn't know anything?"

"Well, he doesn't have a restraining order against me, so— I'll talk to him myself." I'm grateful that Allison offers herself up, because truthfully I have no desire to speak to him.

She places a book back on the shelf, and Scott seems to become nervous at the thought of her going to speak to Jackson alone. "Okay, what do I do?"

"You have a make-up exam, remember?" Allison reminds him. He glances back at me and Scott, and we both nod.

He had to take the exam. Despite all that's going on, school was still important.

"Promise me," she breaths, reaching to subtly grab his hand.

I wasn't worried about her. In the short time I'd known her, it'd been more than obvious that she could take care of herself. In some ways, I was envious. I hoped that one day I'd feel more brave. Most of what seemed like bravery on my part was mainly just disguised recklessness.

I had a tendency to act first, think — and potentially regret — later.

As the couple interact, I watch on, and can't help but to notice the look in Scott's eyes as he looks at her; like the universe exists only in her eyes and he'd die without her.

I find myself wondering if I'll ever find a love like it.

"Hello, earth to Cassia?"

I'm broken from my thoughts when Stiles nudges me, and as I turn I see him wear a worried expression. I give him what I hope is a reassuring smile and shake my pitiful thoughts away.

Who cared about love anyway? All I'd ever seen was how badly it destroyed people. Yet still I yearned for it somewhere deep within.

Maybe I'd read one too many books. Maybe I lived in daydreams and false hopes. Maybe I was just an idiot.

"What are you thinking about?" He whispers in question.

"Nothing." I shrug it off, adjusting my backpack. "I just— I zoned out for a second there."

To avoid any further question I take a few steps forward, catching the tail-end of Scott and Allison's conversation.

"Allison, if you get hurt while I'm busy with some stupid test, someone's going to need to take care of me. If he does anything—"

"Like?"

"Anything... weird or bizarre— anything." Scott sound's exasperated.

Stiles leans forward, peaking his head between the bookcase shelves as he glances at Allison. "Anything evil!" Allison reaches out and pushes him away, resulting in him nearly dropping his books out of his hands. "Ah— ow!"

A laugh escapes my mouth. He gives me a glare; i ignore it, amusement still clear.

The bell suddenly rings to signify next period, and with a heavy sigh I turn towards Allison. "Good luck," is all I have to offer her, and she seems to appreciate it.

"Thanks," she tells me with a nervous smile before we all go our separate ways.

——————————

The next hour seems to go by slowly, the second hand on the clock dragging around at a snails pace. Whatever my teacher says goes in one ear and out the other, as all I can do is sit and envision everything that could possibly go wrong.

One thing my mother had always said about me was that I had a wild and wonderful imagination, and right now it was making my head hurt.

The bell finally rings and I waste no time grabbing my bag, making a quick beeline for the door. I know Stiles is just about to come out of his math class and make my way towards it, only to see Lydia walking away from him in the distance. I can only assume their chat about Jackson didn't go well.

Just like I'd suspected.

"Stilinski!" I call out, but before he can turn to see that it's me, I notice Erica come out of nowhere and push him back towards the wall.

Annoyance bubbles within me and I go to move forward, but by the time I make it through the swarm of students exiting classrooms, I lose sight of them both.

"Great," I mumble to myself, feet moving fast as I attempt to find them.

When I finally do, they're outside the boys locker room. I stay behind, approach slowly as I try to catch a little of their conversation.

"I used to have the worst crush in the world on you. Yeah, you, Stiles. And you never once even noticed me. Exactly how you're not noticing me now." As I hear Erica's words I can't help but to gulp; an unwarranted pang of sympathy presents itself.

I approach cautiously, not sure if it's the right time to interrupt, but despite her showing signs of being a normal teenager, I still don't trust Erica.

"Stiles?" I say, quietly, and watch as he seems to take notice of something on the ground.

"What the?" I glance down, now seeing the growing puddle of water that seems to becoming out from under the boys locker room door.

When the door bursts open and Scott falls to the ground, I jump back in surprise, brown eyes wide. It's only when Jackson follows and leaps onto him that all three of us make a move to split it up.

Erica grabs onto Jackson, using her werewolf strength to hold him back, while me and Stiles — two weak little humans in comparison to Scott — attempt to hold our best friend back.

"Scott! Scott!" Stiles and I's voices muddle together as we both attempt to reason with him, but still the two boys try their best to break free, to get a shot at one another.

It's then that Allison comes out, and suddenly Mr. Harris can be heard. "What the hell is going on? Hey! Enough!"

We finally let go of Scott, who moves away to lean against the wall opposite, dripping with water. It becomes clear in a matter of seconds that Allison's encounter with Jackson didn't go well. No surprise there.

"What do you idiots think you're doing? Jackson! Calm down!" Harris booms, his irritation apparent. Though when was he ever not in a mood? "Mr. McCall, you wanna explain yourself?" He glances at Stiles and I. "Stilinski? Ashford?!"

We say nothing.

Then I notice Matt, creepy as ever. Standing there with Allison's tablet in his hand. I narrow my eyes in on him as he reaches it out towards Scott and says, "you dropped this."

Mr. Harris snatches it before Scott can, and begins to point toward us all, one by one. "You and you, actually... all of you. Detention. Three o'clock."

"Wait, what? I literally just got here!" I protest, but he turns quickly and glares at me in warning.

"Don't make me put you down for the whole week, Ashford. Like I said, three o'clock. All of you."

——————————

Three o'clock comes around and sure enough there we all are, entering the library when we should be headed home. Grandma hadn't been too impressed when I'd text her to tell her I wouldn't be able to work after school after all, thanks to Mr. Harris.

I follow my friends to the first table, Stiles and Scott sit at one side and as I sit down across from them, Erica slides into the seat beside me, while Allison joins Matt and Jackson at the table opposite.

"Oh, uh... we can't be in detention together," Jackson begins to say, and I resist the urge to roll my eyes, trying to tell myself he's not all that bad. "I have a restraining order against these tools."

"All of these tools?" Mr. Harris questions.

"No. Just us tools," Stiles grumbles, motioning between him and Scott.

"Fine. You two, over there." The teacher points towards the next table down.

As my friends get up and move table, I'm suddenly hit with the realization that I'm going to be stuck alone with Erica.

She smiles smugly, as always, and pulls out her laptop as I slouch back in my chair and sigh heavily. I know I should sit there and say nothing, simply let the dislike between us simmer and grow. But the truth is, despite me not trusting her, I don't hate her and I don't think she's a bad person. "So... Stiles, huh? I mean, I guess I can see the appeal, if sarcastic and awkward is what you're into."

It's s joke, of course. I can see so many reasons why a girl would find him appealing. But at the same time, he was my best friend and it was kinda gross.

She glances at me and tries to hide her shock, but I see it. "You heard that? You know, it's rude to eavesdrop." For a moment she flashes her glowing eyes at me, but her gaze softens when I let let out an amused laugh.

"Relax, blondie— put the claws away. You wouldn't be the first teenage girl with an unrequited crush. We've all been there." I tell her, meaning no offence. His lack of interest had nothing to do with her and more to do with the fact that he'd been blinded by Lydia Martin from the very first moment he saw her.

"What makes you think your crush is unrequited?" She asks the question, that now familiar smirk on her lips. She enjoys playing this game; I don't.

What did she mean by that?

I have no time to ask, and I'm glad of that. I hadn't been meaning Derek, but now he's in my head again and I curse myself for allowing it to happening so easily.

Jackson gets up, and as I glance it him I notice how unhealthily pale he looks. Mr. Harris follows him out to make sure he's okay, and the moment he's out the door Scott and Stiles are back at our table.

Scott wastes no time in questioning Erica, desperate for some answers. "Stiles says you know how Jackson's parents died."

"Maybe." Erica glances up from her notepad, putting her pen down.

"Talk." Scott's insistent, tired of the games. We all are.

"It was a car accident. My dad was the insurance investigator, and every time he sees Jackson drive by in his Porsche, he makes some comment about the huge settlement he'll be getting when he's eighteen." Finally she gives us something.

"So not only is Jackson rich now, but he's getting even richer at eighteen?" Stiles looks slightly horrified, but at what cost was his wealth?

"Yep." Replies Erica, nodding her head.

"There's something so deeply wrong with that." Mumbles Stiles.

"You can say that again," I whisper, thinking about how he'll never have to work a day in his life if he doesn't want to, and here I am at almost eighteen working most nights to afford a car that probably won't even last me six months.

Erica opens up her laptop." You know what? I could try to find the insurance report in my dad's inbox. He keeps everything."

We all lean in, eager to see what she finds. That's when a voice calls out over the p.a system. "Scott McCall, please report to the principal's office."

We say nothing, simply share a look between us. I assume it has something to do with the mess left behind after the fight with Jackson, I'm not sure sure how they're going to explain that away.

Scott leaves and Stiles, Erica and I huddle around her laptop, eagerly waiting for something to pop out. Eventually, Stiles spots something of interest.

"Whoa, look the dates"

"Passengers arrived at the hospital DOA. The estimated time of death - 9:26 P.M., June 14, 1995." Erica slowly reads out the words, and I'm confused until Stiles clears it up. "Jackson's birthday is June 15th."

My heart drops, the true extent of his tragedy being realized. "So you're telling me he never even got to meet his birth parents— that they died before he was born?" My question comes out in a whisper. "God, no wonder he's fucked up."

Mr. Harris gets up to leave, and as he does we all begin to gather our belongings, glad of the thought of getting out of school finally. But he soon shuts it down.

He chuckles. "Oh, no, I'm sorry. Uh, yes, I'm leaving. But none of you are. You may go when you're done with the re-shelving. Enjoy the rest of your evening."

Stiles slowly sits back down, and as Harris turns to leave I have to resist the urge to launch the closest book at the back of his head. He was such an asshole.

With a huff I turn around and grab onto the sleeve of Stiles' plaid shirt, urging him onto his feet. "Come on, let's get this over with I seriously want out of here. I kinda feel like a sitting target stuck in here with him."

My head subtly motions toward Jackson, the boy seemingly unaware of the true danger he possessed. Stiles sighs and stands to his feet, following behind. "Fine. I'm up."

We begin to sort through the mess of books, but soon I find that Stiles has gone to an aisle with Scott and Allison — to fill them in on what we found — while I once again end up beside Erica. Only this time we choose not to speak.

I let let out a sudden, low squeal in surprise when the light above me gets shattered, shards of glass raining down as I notice Jackson in his half-animal state dart across the ceiling above.

"Erica!" Scott shouts out to his fellow werewolf and it's not long before her eyes glow, teeth and claws on display. I hear her let out a scream and she falls to the floor. For a moment I assume she's simply been paralyzed by the Kanima venom, and watch on as Jackson writes a chilling message in the board.

'STAY OUT OF MY WAY OR I'LL KILL ALL OF YOU'

It's only then — as the Kanima jumps out the window and flees — that I notice Erica's body convulse, her head leaning back. I scramble to her instantly and panic sets in. "Guys! Hey, guys! S-somethings wrong, I think Erica might be having a seizure."

"He's alive!" Allison calls out about Matt as Scott and Stiles rush over to help with Erica.

"We need to get her to a hospital." Stiles insists, taking the blonde from my arms and into his, as I slump back feeling defeated.

"Derek— only to Derek." Eric's struggles to get her words out.

"We need to get her to the hospital," Scott repeats to Allison. And once again Erica makes it clear she only wants one person. "To Derek... To Derek."

"Go," Allison tells him, and I don't have to be a werewolf to sense the shared sadness between them. There seems to be a distance forming between them, despite neither of them wanting it.

"Hey, Scott!" Stiles calls out as Scott rushes around to Allison.

"I'm staying here with you," he tells her softly.

She shakes her head. "They can take her alone. Not like this. And Matt— I've got to call an ambulance for him, just go."

They go back and forth for a few moments longer, and I wish as his best friends that Stiles and I could handle this alone so that he could stay with the girl he loves. But we can't. And it feels like we're letting him down.

"Go." She insists one last time.

Without hesitation he takes her face gently in his hands and place a kiss on her forehead.

Before I know it he's scooping Erica up into his arms and we're leaving Allison alone with Matt, taking Erica to her Alpha.

To Derek.

AUTHORS NOTE

Hello! If you're reading thank you, I love you and appreciate you. I just wanna say sorry if it's kinda repetitive with me having to go with the shows dialogue a lot in some chapters, but I have to get it in for the storyline. The next few chapters I'm gonna try and have a lot of outside dialogue/interaction too so thanks for sticking with it! If you could vote/comment it would mean the world! But as always, no pressure at all!!!

Ps. I've changed it so that she's coming back from Seattle instead of San Francisco because I was watching the show back and realized that's what Allison says in the first ep and I don't want too many similarities so if you read San Francisco in a chapter then I've missed it when editing.

Gx