HAPPY HOLIDAYS BITCHES
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN WAITING, YOU'RE FUCKING WELCOME

Katherine had been woken up by Liam making a phone call and the sunlight shining through the curtains she'd forgotten to close the night before. Vaguely, she remembered eating a bit more and taking her pills before returning to crying into Liam's shoulder, and then she'd blinked and suddenly it was morning. He'd smiled apologetically at her but hadn't hung up, so she'd guessed it was Hayden.

They ended up eating toaster-Eggo's for breakfast, and then Liam had finished both of their dinners as well because apparently six waffles wasn't enough for him, and then she'd gone to change because she'd fallen asleep in her clothes from the day before.

When she came back they decided to just have a lazy day, which she was fine with because she honestly didn't feel like doing anything. They played Clue again and she won nearly every single game, and then they moved on to watching the TV show Bones so the two of them could make bets on whether or not Katherine could guess who the murderer was using Gummy Worms as payment. Ten episodes in, Liam had given up and they just watched the rest of the season and ate whatever candy they could find in the house.

As soon as 6 o'clock rolled around, Liam was nudging her up off the couch telling her to go get a sweater and shoes because they were going outside for a bit.

Which was exactly how she'd ended up going out for a walk with Liam and Hayden after dark, her wearing the same outfit she had to school that day with her hair loose down to her shoulders and her eyes unbelievably heavy. Apparently, Liam had read somewhere that fresh air helped people battling with depression, and he was seemingly so desperate to have her back to her normal self that he was willing to risk exercise, even with the way a simple jog had ended in their freshman year.

The air was cold on her cheeks, and her fingers were numb, but Katherine found herself enjoying the night air, even if her face didn't portray it. Liam was beside her with Hayden on his other side, the two of them exchanging worried glances as they approached the school and wandered out onto the lacrosse field so they could take a break. "Your ankle's okay and everything?" He asked her softly as they sat down in the grass.

Katherine just shrugged. "It's fine," she mumbled softly, dragging her fingertips over the frosty grass below her. "Thank you for asking, I really do appreciate it. Honestly, I don't—" she'd been about to tell him the honest truth — that she didn't feel much of anything these days, let alone physical pain — but had been interrupted by a sound one didn't often hear on a lacrosse field before she had the chance.

A horses neigh.

She was standing up and looking around, her body suddenly flooded with terror, even if she'd never been around a horse for a moment in her life.

Liam was on his feet in an instant and had her tightly in his arms before Hayden was even on her feet. "You need to breathe, Kat," he murmured gently, his hand rubbing her back in a soothing manor.

But she couldn't breathe, because that itching in the back of her head was growing stronger now, and it felt like she was remembering something.

Maybe I have seen horses before...

"No, I'm not having a panic attack, Liam," she whispered, looking at him with furrowed brows. "You mean you...you didn't hear that?"

The two looked at each other, confused, before looking back to her. "Hear what?" Hayden asked softly.

For unknown reasons, she felt her stomach drop.

And then the realization hit her like a tidal wave.

Clinging to someone as they'd said their goodbyes to both her and Lydia.

Watching the door of an old blue jeep slam shut in her face.

Water falling through her fingers.

Seeing the black horse stare at her as the Eichen elevators shut.

Katherine forced a teary smile, the realization as to what was going on finally clicking in her mind. What would happen to her. "You're going to forget me, Liam," she whispered quietly, looking up at him with her sad brown eyes.

They stood in silence for a moment, the high schools lacrosse field growing eerily quiet as her words settled in. "What are you talking about?" Liam frowned, his middle of his brows creasing with both confusion and worry.

She swallowed thickly. "I saw the Ghost Riders," Katherine managed to choke as she covered her mouth with her hand, tears spilling from her eyes.

"The — no..."

Katherine looked up at him, her bottom lip trembling as she held back a sob. "They're coming for me — the hunt — just like they came for Stiles; and you're going to forget me."

"No—" Liam breathed. "No way, how can I forget you? You're a pain in my ass, and you drive me off the walls all the time." Tears we're filling his eyes as he spoke, and Katherine felt her heart break at the mere sight. "You're my...you're...you're Katherine...I — there's no freaking way I could forget you."

She forced another smile onto her face, knowing he was starting to freak out, "but you will," she whispered. Katherine could see Hayden watching them from the corner of her eye, an unreadable look on her face. "And it isn't your fault. It's no one's fault, okay? I need you to remember that — remember it for me."

"We can keep you safe," Liam protested, his eyes filled with panic. He cupped her cheeks in his palms, and for a moment, he seemed to have forgotten all about Hayden. "We'll figure something out, we always do. I'll keep you safe, okay?"

"Then you'll get hurt," Katherine shook her head immediately, leaning into his hands while gently grabbing his wrists. "I won't let that happen. You know I won't."

"I can hope, right?" Liam choked out, a frown forming on his lips.

"I guess so," Katherine whispered, smiling weakly up at him. "But it won't work out the way you want it to."

Another neigh echoed through air, and she let flinched, wrapping her arms around her middle.

"What," Liam walked towards her until he was so close Katherine could feel his breath moving the baby hairs against her forehead. "What is it. What's going on, Kat."

"The horses," she whispered shakily, staring up at the sky. The echoing crack of a whip filled the air, though it was far away still. "They're here — the hunt — you need to leave, Liam. Take Hayden and get the hell out of here."

"I'm not going to leave you behind, okay?" Liam snapped, adamantly shaking his head while a tear rolled down his cheek. His hands were trembling against her cheeks. "Not ever."

Katherine smiled weakly at him yet again. "You don't have a choice," she murmured softly.

The two stared at each other for a moment, soaking in what the other looked like.

Liam with his bright blue eyes. Dark hair that was in dire need of a trim. That sweet little furrow of his brow.

Katherine with her adorable dimples and soft smile. Tangled hair tucked haphazardly behind her ears. Cold hands with a familiar nervous tremor in the right one.

It was as if Hayden had disappeared completely, which maybe she had. She didn't really want to look away to check, as horrible as it was to admit.

And as Katherine looked around for her, she discovered that she actually had. It was just her and Liam. Just like the good old days.

She stared into Liam's eyes for a moment, her heart shattering at the mere thought of looking away. Of never seeing him again. Her chest ached, her head hurt, and all she wanted was to go home. To crawl under her blankets in bed and never ever leave.

But she couldn't live with herself if she put her father and mother in danger like that. Or Scott and Malia. Mason. Lydia. Liam.

Oh god, Scott and Lydia. They would forget she had ever existed, just like they all had with Stiles...was there ever a Stiles? Did I make that up? Am I really going crazy? Now that she thought about it, when the Riders take her, she will have never existed at all in the first place.

With endless wishes and thoughts running through her head at a mile a minute — all these things she wanted to do before she ran out of time but hadn't because she thought her life would be longer than sixteen years — only one made sense to her. So she acted on it.

Katherine walked the two steps separating her and Liam. She gently grabbed the collar of his shirt and tugged his head down lower so his eyes were in line with hers. She paused briefly, giving him a chance to walk away from her.

He didn't.

He just looked her right in the eye, closer to her than she could ever remember him being before in the two years she'd known him. She closed her eyes for a moment, allowing herself to bask in the comfort he never failed to bring her, and sighed. He smelled like mint and the earth and some kind of naturally scented hair product his mum had probably bought for him and suddenly she couldn't not smile. When she opened her eyes he was still looking at her, his forehead against hers and taking in shallow breaths and it was like right then and there she had no choice to do what she'd been aching to do for months.

So she did exactly that, and she kissed him.

Her eyes fluttered shut and a light blush dusted across her cheeks as she forced herself to keep from shying away, knowing she wouldn't ever get the chance. She had to do this, at least once in her life. At least once. When he didn't kiss her back she began to pull away, her hands falling shamefully to her sides. He looked genuinely stunned; with parted lips and wide eyes, seemingly unable to stop blinking, which she found oh-so-utterly endearing.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, guilt flooding her when she realized that Hayden wasn't there, and it now felt truly like sneaking around behind her back. "I just—"

He cut her off before she could finish her sentence, his lips pressing urgently to hers. Katherine immediately closed her eyes and brought a hand up to gently tangle into the hair at the back of his head. His hands left her hips, traveling up her back, fingertips moving through her hair before they finally settled on holding her face in his palms as gently as he seemed to be capable of.

After a long moment, they were forced to separate to catch their breath. Then their eyes fluttered open, and Katherine was met with the sight of a shy, nervous — blushing — Liam Dunbar. She let out a small laugh and pressed her forehead to his.

"Why did you do that?" Liam whispered. His hands still rested on her cheeks while the pad of his thumb gently brushed against his cheekbones. Katherine had moved hers from his hair to hold onto his arms.

"Because I love you," Katherine answered softly with a smile, pressing a soft kiss to the palm of his hand. Then the evenings events sunk in, and she remembered why they were at the school and upset in the first place. Her smile faded as she looked down at her feet. "And in a few moments, you won't remember it, anyway. You won't remember me."

The crack of a whip filled the air, and Katherine flinched again as she turned to watched in horror as Ghost Riders and their horses began appearing all around them. She knew Liam wouldn't leave her there after what she'd just done — not willingly, anyway — so she did the only thing she could think of that would spare both him and Hayden.

She ran.

Her arms moved rapidly at her sides as she sprinted to the middle of the lacrosse field, wanting to be as far away from Liam as possible to ensure he wouldn't be harmed.

But she didn't make it very far.

The whip wrapped itself around her ankle, and Katherine let out a loud shriek as her feet were pulled out from under her and she face planted into the dirt. Then they were pulling her. She did her best to hold in her screams for Liam's sake, but as the Riders horse began to move faster, she couldn't help it.

Liam watched in horror as his best friend was dragged across the Lacrosse field by an invisible figure, screaming in agony as she became further and further away from him.

He blinked once and the screaming stopped, and she was gone; as if she'd never even been there in the first place. Liam felt anger and sadness fill up the pit of his stomach as he desperately tried to cling onto the memories fading from his mind.

"Are you sure? I yelled, like, twice," Liam chuckled, letting her go of her sides when he realized she wouldn't fall over.

"Yeah, I guess I was just off in my own little world," the girl shrugged lightly, smiling up at him with bright brown eyes and dimpled cheeks. He smiled back.

He inhaled heavily.

They sat in silence for a little while, then Liam sighed. "My step dad used to tell me that when kids get angry, they deal with it in two ways," he explained quietly. "They hurt themselves, or they hurt someone else."

"Oh," Katherine realized, her eyes widening fractionally. "So you didn't want to hurt me."

"Yeah," Liam sighed.

Now he was pulling on his hair, trying to hold onto the sand grains that were memories, now falling through his fingers.

"I know this probably isn't the time," Katherine whispered, her entire body trembling as she looked everywhere but at him. "But I — uh — I'm not really sure what's going to happen after this, but I do know that I can't die without you knowing." She inhaled shakily and wiped the tears her eyes, then closed them. "I'm — uh, crap — okay. I have...feelings...um, for you, Liam. And I don't really know if it's just a stupid crush or if it's so much more than that because I have nothing to compare it to, but I, um...I like you as more than a friend."

He let out a shaky whimper.

"Liam, it's okay," she promised weakly, slowly turning to look at him. The moment he saw just how desperately she was trying to hold herself together, he felt like the biggest piece of shit on the planet. "I already told you no matter what, you're always going to be one of the most important people in my life, okay?"

More sand fell, and it sent a flush of guilt through his chest.

When they'd started walking back in the direction of the hospital again, she handed him a blue jello, and the two of them ate in silence. They took turns carrying the backpack because Katherine didn't feel like having it the entire time and also wanted to practice her heel kicks in the middle of the abandoned road while still eating her jello, ignoring the score's Liam was giving her each time she landed.

There was hardly anything left in his grasp.

"Did you know that snow dampens sound? That's why I love it so much; because everything goes all quiet and it feels like time kind of stops, even if it's just for a little bit. It's great for when you're having a panic attack, too." Her cheeks were flushed a deep pink, along with the tip of her nose, and her hair was full of snowflakes and she was smiling up at him so widely his chest was practically bursting with happiness and adoration and Katherine.

Liam was nearly sobbing as he fell to the ground, desperately trying to hold onto something within himself — anything — that told him Katherine Claudia Stilinski was real, and the only thing he could find was the Star Wars charm bracelet dangling around his wrist. He held it so tightly the little figurines embedded their shapes into his palm, but he didn't care. Because in his mind, holding onto that bracelet meant holding onto Katherine.

But it was too late.

She was gone.

🐺🌑🥍

When Liam woke up that morning, something hadn't felt right.

It was just a regular Monday morning, the same as any other, and yet he couldn't help but feel as if something had drastically changed.

He sat up in his bed with his sheets still covering his legs and for a moment just sat there, trying to figure what he was forgetting. What he was missing. Absentmindedly he brought a hand up and scratched at his mouth, then paused with his pointer and middle fingers gently pressed into his lips.

For some reason the action made his heart speed up, and his entire body stilled.

Yes, something within him had changed, and it had been drastic.

He felt different.

For weeks, it had felt as if the very make up of his being was being pulled in two opposite directions, one significantly more important than the other. Then something had happened the night before — he couldn't quite remember what — that had changed everything, as if his mind had been completely made up.

Slowly and uncertainly Liam shook his head and got out of bed, his heart lurching when he realized he was running late and wouldn't be able to pick...to pick Hayden up?

The answer didn't feel right, but who else would he be picking up?

Mason got a ride with Corey or took the bus and there was no one else...

He shook his head again and quickly grabbed everything he'd need for school, then got dressed and ran out of the house, texting his girlfriend as he went. Running would be easier for him, that much he knew.

The bell for first class was ringing just as he slid into the empty spot beside Hayden in their history class and smiled apologetically at her which she shrugged at, and then moved her gaze down to his wrist as the faint sound of something jingling that she wouldn't have heard if she weren't supernatural. "Why are you wearing a...is that a charm bracelet? That's a little bit childish, don't you think?"

Liam followed her gaze down to his wrist and sure enough, there was a cheap-looking charm bracelet, the type that usually came with a DVD pack or something, with little charms of lightsabers and Storm Troopers and Darth Vader, or Leia, Han and Luke dangling past the sleeve of his shirt.

Even though he had no idea where it had come from, had no recollection of buying it, the mere sight of it made his heart lurch and that same feeling of complete and utter decision fell upon him again. Very carefully he grabbed a hold of the tiny Princess Leia charm, with it's brown hair and brown eyes and determined expression, and it was as if staring down at that little plastic figurine was all too familiar, and everything in his life now made sense.

"No," he murmured, pulling his sleeve down to cover it again. "No, I don't think it's childish at all."

But he didn't know why.

GUYS
GUYS
IT FINALLY HAPPENED
I MADE YOU ALL WAIT TWO FULL BOOKS FOR THIS MOMENT LMAO

Also a solid shoutout to larae333 who literally called this part of my plot happening tWO FUCKING BOOKS AGO YOU PROPHET I LITERALLY COULDN'T UNDERSTAND HOW YOU FIGURED IT OUT IN BOOK ONE WHEN I LITERALLY HADN'T EVEN HINTED AT IT DUDE I—

I SWEAR WHEN YOU COMMENTED YOUR THOUGHT BACK ON CHAPTER 17 OF 'YOUTH' I HAD AN ANEURYSM BECAUSE I JSUT COULDN'T FUCKING FIGURE OUT HOW—