"I can stay until Scott get's back, if you want." Stiles said with a sigh as he sat down on the foot of my bed. My brother had to go and pick our mom up from the hospital tonight, and since I didn't want to be in these wet clothes anymore Stiles offered to drive me back to my house so I could change. How sweet of a boyfriend is he.

I didn't want him to leave- that was the problem. I know that if I tell him I want him to stay until Scott get's back that he would leave when my brother returned. And as I just said before, I really don't want him to leave. I don't want to be separated from him right now- the past two nights he has been put in harms way and there was not a single thing I could do about it to help him.

My eyes then landed on my backpack that was sitting on the floor in front of my dresser, we did have school tomorrow... maybe I can stay the night at his place. I know that his dad is probably at the station working on the Isaac Lahey case, so he won't be home. And plus, I don't want him staying here while my mom and brother are in the house. That would be awkward to explain.

I took a deep breath as I glanced at him nervously, "Actually... could I... um, well... can I stay the night with you? At your house?"

As soon as I said it- I felt like an idiot for even asking such a question. He doesn't want to have me stay the night with him, not after the long and stressful day he's had. He probably wants to go home, take a shower, change, and then get some well earned sleep. Without me.

His eyes widened, "You want to...to stay at my house....with me... at my house?"

"Yeah... I just really don't want to...um, be without you right now... but if you don't want me to I completely understand." I backtracked quickly, maybe asking him was a bad idea. I don't know why I am so scared from the thought of him going back to his house without me.

"No! No, I want you too- I mean, yes. Yes, you can." He stammered nervously as he stood up from the bed, looking a bit on edge. I don't know why, he's not the one that looks utterly pathetic right now because he can't bare the thought of not being with me for the night.

I nodded as I made my way to my closet, "Okay just... I need to pack some clothes for school tomorrow, and then we can go."

What should I grab? My hands snatched up a gray tank top and a pair of black skinny jeans quickly, I then grabbed my pair of keds that had a galaxy sort of print on them and shoved them into my school bag. I had already taken a shower and changed into my pajama's so I'll just wear those over to his house, that's okay right? I then headed to the bathroom to grab my hairbrush and toothbrush, once I had them dropped into my bag I slung it over my shoulder and slipped on my shoes.

"You ready to go?" I asked tentatively.

"Yeah, yes. Um, yes." He then walked out of my bedroom quickly, what is up with him? I don't think I will ever be able to fully understand him- ever.

✢

The ride to his house was silent, other than the mindless chat we had every now and again. I was really tired, and I just wanted to go to sleep knowing that Stiles was right beside me and I would have nothing to worry about. Nothing can happen to him while I'm with him, he can't be taken or killed or seriously injured if I'm right next to him. He will be okay. And that in turn, makes me okay.

When he pulled into his driveway and we walked into his dark and empty house, I was reminded of Derek's old rundown house. Does he still stay there? I can't imagine that he does- now that he has Erica, Isaac, and Boyd all with him. Do their parents even care that they are out all the time and how different they are all acting? I mean, I know my mom questioned it with Scott- but he still manages to stay around the house.

"Um, I need to...take a shower... I'll only take five minutes, okay?" He said to me as we made our way up stairs and into his bedroom. I couldn't help but smile as I looked around, he kept his room so much cleaner than Scott did. His bed wasn't made- his blankets were a mess and his pillows were at odd angles, but it looked oddly perfect like that. His room looks just the way it should, and I love it just the way it is.

I nodded as I sat my bag on the floor, "Okay."

He took a deep breath and then made a dash for the bathroom, it sounded like he hit his shoulder on the wall and then started muttering curses under his breath. I chuckled as I kicked my shoes off and walked over to his nightstand, there was a photo of me and him from my fifth birthday party. I've never noticed that before, and I've been his room more times than I can count. I picked up the frame to inspect the picture more clearly, and the image brought back memories from that day. We both were wearing bright red party hats, and his arm was around my shoulder as we smiled widely into the camera- showing where we had missing teeth at the time. I could see Scott in the background giving us bunny ears as he smiled as well, and then my dad and mom were standing by each other in the background. My eyes started to sting as I sat down on his bed, clutching the frame tighter in my hands, why have I never seen that picture before? If my parents are in the background, who took the photo?

I try to think back to that day, but it's kind of fuzzy. I can remember that I had a cake with pink and purple icing. And I can remember that Stiles got me a nerf gun- that way I could play with him and Scott. I remember feeling like the coolest girl in the world because I had a gun just like the boys and I could shoot them. I remember my mom laughing and joking with Stiles' dad about the amount of trouble that Scott, Stiles and I would get into with the nerf guns. But I can't remember for the life of me who took the picture.

Okay, why do I even care who took the picture? It's just a picture. One that obviously means a lot to my boyfriend because it's framed and sitting on his nightstand. I don't know why it matters anyway. I didn't have time to put the photo back on the nightstand before Stiles stumbled back into the room, wearing a pair of black athletic paints and a white t-shirt. His hair had grown out slightly from his buzz, when it's wet you can see it growing. I wish he would let it grow out, because I really want to see him with longer hair. He looked a bit confused at what I was looking at, but then his eyes darted to the nightstand and they widened when it registered what it was.

I felt like I had just been caught looking at something that I shouldn't have seen, which is why my entire face heated up in a blush. Oh. I carefully set the picture back on the nightstand and blinked a few times before clearing my throat and asking him about it, "Um... I've never seen that picture before."

He nodded, "Yeah... my mom took it."

My eyes widened when I realized what he had just said. His mother took the photo. His mother that is no longer with us. His mother that he very rarely ever talks to me about. She took the photo and he is the only one that has ever been able to see it because she took it for him. I feel like I shouldn't have looked at it- like by looking at it, I ruined the whole intimate connection with his mom thing the picture had.

"Oh-- I'm sorry, I... I shouldn't have-"

Stiles cut me off quickly, "Kasey, it's okay."

"No it's not. This was... like your thing and I just... I'm sorry." I mumbled, this whole sleepover thing was already taking a turn for the worst. Why do I have to be so nosey all the time? I couldn't just leave the damn picture alone.

He sighed as he walked over to the bed and sat down next to me, "She gave that picture to me literally the moment it was developed. She said that she was really happy to be able to capture such a beautiful moment of our friendship to save forever. She put it in this frame and it's been in my room ever since that day, I've just moved it around since then."

"We do look really happy, even my parents look happy." I chuckled as I risked another glance at the photo. My mom and dad were standing practically on top of each other, and my dad had his arm around my mom's shoulder. The sight made my chest burn and I really, really hated my dad for ruining that. For leaving us. For leaving my mom. It's stupid to still hold a grudge over him leaving, but I do.

He slipped his hand in mine and laced his finger between the spaces of my own, squeezing them tightly. I've never really talked to him about the way my parent's divorce affected me, and he hasn't really talked about the way that his mom's death affected him. But-- we somehow seem to get each other, when things get too hard or we need to vent about what we're going through, we can help each other. We are the only people that can help each other.

"You know... I've been kind of dreaming of this day for... for a very long time." He said quietly.

I rose an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"You are staying the night at my house...with me...me of all people." He chuckled as he shook his head from side to side, a small smile dancing across his lips.

I don't understand why he thinks me liking him and dating him is such an odd situation, like I would never go for him. Every girl on the planet should be fighting over him to be honest. He is...he is what every girl deserves. A boy who above all is your best friend and you know you can trust with everything. A boy who cares about you more than he cares about anything else. A boy that I just happened to be able to catch, and I'm not letting him go- ever.

Without another thought I brought my lips to his, and once again he held his breath for a few seconds before breathing out in relief. Why does he always hold his breath like that whenever I really kiss him? Do I catch him off guard? Or am I a bad kisser? Or does he not want to kiss me... no, of course he wants to kiss me. He is my boyfriend. He wouldn't be dating me if he didn't want to kiss me.

Stiles pulled back slightly, leaning his forehead against mine as he breathed in and out slowly. I closed my eyes and just relished in the fact that what we have- our relationship, is the best thing I have going on in my life right now. He is the best thing I have in my life right now.

"I love you," He mumbled quietly.

I smiled to myself, "I love you too."

✢

The next morning I woke up, feeling very refreshed and fully rested. Stiles and I fell asleep rather quickly after the 'I love you's' were exchanged, and then we got up for school and arrived here. Scott was a bit weary of the whole me staying over thing, but he didn't have much time to complain about it because Stiles' got a call from his dad- saying that Isaac was released or something and now he was back at school. Which is not a very good thing, considering he is a part of Derek's new pack...

And you can imagine my surprise when we got to Economic's class and the first thing out of Jackson's mouth was, "What the hell is a Kanima?"

I sit beside Jackson in that class, directly behind Stiles- and Jackson sits right behind my brother, so as soon as the word Kanima left the jerkoff's lips, we all practically snapped our necks in his direction to gape at him. Where the hell did he hear that at?

"Alright, listen up. A quick warning before we begin our review. Some of you, like McCall, might want to start their own study groups, because tomorrow's midterm is so profoundly difficult... I'm not even too sure I could pass it. Okay, I need a volunteer at the board to answer the first question. Come on, who's go it?" Finstock was talking, but my eyes were glued to Jackson. Where the hell did he hear the name Kanima from? Just when you think he is out of the picture... he comes slithering back into it.

Jackson then started talking about how Derek 'kidnapped' him and tested him to see if he was the Kanima. He somehow got a hold of the goo or whatever it was that the Kanima uses to paralyze people, and he used it on Jackson...

"Yeah, paralyzed from the neck down. Do you have any idea what that feels like?" Jackson seethed as he glared between the three of us.

Stiles snorted, "Yeah I'm familiar with the sensation."

"Why did Derek test you anyway?" I asked in annoyance, I had thought we had gotten rid of one asshole, but now apparently we are back up to two. Derek was no long the lone asshole.

Jackson gave me a look of bewilderment, "How should I know?"

"Do they think it's Lydia?" Stiles asked quickly as he glanced at the strawberry blonde on the other side of the room. Why am I not surprised that she was going to wind up being drug back into this as well.

Mister Cheekbones closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "I don't know, all I heard was her name and something about Chemistry."

"Jackson!" Finstock shouted as he approached our little four-way conversation, oh great. It is nearly impossible to have a conversation in this school without a teacher interrupting you I swear.

"Do you have something you want to share with the rest of the class?" He asked as he gave Jackson one of his famous sarcastic looks. The Coach was definitely a character... that's for sure.

Jackson blinked rapidly, "Um... Just an undying admiration for my--my Coach." I let out a sigh as I glanced at him, he is such a terrible liar. Is it really that hard to make something more believable up?

"That's really kind of you. Now shut up. Shut it! Anybody else?" Finstock asked as he glanced around the room. Well he certainly is a bit agitated this morning.

Scott sighed as he walked away, "How do we know it's not her?"

"Because Scott- I literally held freaking eye contact with it, and I saw pure evil. And if you look into Lydia's eyes... it's a solid 50% evil, maybe 60%.... but that one time when I came to school with her and Allison it was definitely at a 40%." I responded.

My brother gave me an odd look, "That's not a very good argument."

"I'm well aware of that. But... it just can't be her. If it's her, then what does that mean about me? Whatever I am- I'm somehow connected to her, what if... oh my god... what if I turn into something like that?" I began to panic at just the thought of turning into that creepy lizard thing. It can't be Lydia. I refuse to believe that she is the Kanima.

Stiles turned around to face me, "It's not Lydia. And you aren't going to turn into anything like that, you're fine. And Lydia's fine. Everybody's fine."

I let out a shaky breath as I nodded in response, he offered me a small smile before turning back around. I just need to calm down. Lydia isn't the Kanima. She can't be, because if she is something like that... I could turn into something like that. And I really don't want to turn into that. I tried to busy myself with watching Lydia try to solve the problem on the board, but I couldn't think straight.

A very familiar feeling crept up the back of my spine and the pain in my head started once again, this is different than what I felt with Erica when she was on the wall. This is the exact same way I felt when I was in the shower at the hospital. Whatever is going on with me- has something to do with Lydia right now. I tried to blink away the pain, but it was only getting worse. My hands went to either side of my head as I began to to whisper the words, "Someone help me. Someone help me. Someone help me."

Pictures of Peter started to creep into my mind, he was here in the classroom. Dressed in a black jacket- like the night he bit me. Lydia is writing on the board and he is walking up to her, what is he going to do? And before my mind could register what I was doing I jumped out of my seat and screamed, "LYDIA!" as loud as I possibly could.

The pain stopped and the whole class fell silent as they all looked between Lydia and myself, she was standing at the board- facing the class. Her eyes were teary and blood-shot and she had written something on the board, all over. What did that say? I looked around at all of the students, and they all held questioning looks about my outburst. What is happening to me? Stiles and Scott looked beyond concerned as I slowly sat back down in my seat, trying to keep myself under control.

"Um... okay. Does anyone else want to try, and maybe this time in English?" Finstock said awkwardly as Lydia set the chalk down and walked back to her seat. I looked back at the board and tried to read what it said, and when I read it backwards I nearly started screaming. She had written, someone help me.

My boyfriend was wrong, I am so far from being fine.

✢

When we got to Chemistry class, Erica and Isaac looked about ready to pounce on Lydia on the spot. Scott had managed to get in the seat beside her before one of them could, and Stiles and I had to take the table beside them.

"Einstein once said 'two things are infinite: The universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe.' I myself have encountered infinite stupidity." Harris began to lecture as he made his way down the aisle of lab tables. He stopped to pat Stiles' shoulder as he mentioned the infinite stupidity, "So to combat the plague of ignorance in my class, you're going to combine efforts through a round of group experiments. Let's see if two heads are indeed better than one. Or in Mister Stilinski's case, less than one."

I glanced at Stiles and he rolled his eyes in annoyance, Harris truly does hate my boyfriend. I don't understand why, just because Stiles is a bit of a wing-nut doesn't mean he's a bad student, he actually maintain's an A in this class...

"Erica you can take the first station with..." Harris was starting to instruct but before he could finish practically every guy in the room raised their hands. Erica glanced around and smirked, clearly proud of the fact she was the new sex icon in the classroom.

Harris narrowed his eyes, "I wasn't asking for volunteers, put your hormonal little hands down. Erica start with Mister McCall."

After Harris assigned us to our partners, I will say I was less than thrilled to get partnered with one of the annoying boys in the class that was obviously a little friendly. I think his name was Mark or something, I don't really care enough to know really. He was literally hitting on me the entire time for the first station- and I was very grateful when Mr. Harris hit his little bell so we could switch partners. I was the one that had to stay at the table, while the other person moved on. And the person who sat down at my table, happened to be Isaac...

I glanced at him awkwardly and he sent me a smile, "It's nice to finally get to meet the Kasey that I always hear about."

"What?" I asked in confusion.

Isaac smirked and picked up a test tube, "Derek has told me all about you and your little boyfriend up there..." He nodded his head in the direction of Stiles.

Instantly I tensed up and squeezed the plastic bottle of Baking Soda in my hand tightly, Isaac chuckled to himself as he filled the test tube with some vinegar, clearly enjoying the fact that he was able to threaten me.

"I don't know what Derek wants you to do to Lydia, but don't do it. She isn't the Kanima." I said quietly.

He nodded, "I'll take that into consideration... when I'm about to kill her."

"Wha-" the bell dinged cutting me off, and Isaac smirked before switching stations, Erica then plopped down in the seat beside me.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance, "Seriously?"

"Didn't you miss me? I thought we were getting closer..." She chuckled as she smiled deviously.

"Oh, I must have taken the whole getting knocked out by the starter of my boyfriends jeep the wrong way," I retorted as I narrowed my eyes at her.

And then she grabbed my leg tightly- I could feel her claws itching to rip through the denim fabric, "Oh come on, Kasey... a girl fight in Chem... it would be so hot."

"You're insane." I muttered as I glanced at Isaac and Lydia, it didn't appear to look like he was about to kill her at the moment. That's a good sign for the time being.

Erica rose an eyebrow, "And you're not? I hear you see and hear things that... well, that aren't really there."

Before I had time to re-act she sunk her claws into my leg and I gasped out as I gripped on to the edge of the table, shit that hurt. She pulled her claws out and smirked at me, "Don't test me, Kasey. Just because Derek won't hurt you- doesn't mean that I won't."

"Okay, if you all did the reactions correctly. You should be looking at a crystal right now," Harris' voice broke my train of thought, I glanced at the small little crystal in the beaker in front of me. Well it's good to know I did the reaction right.

He sighed, "And now the part that you will all most likely enjoy- you can eat it."

I winced as I sat up straighter on the stool, Isaac was holding his and Lydia's little crystal in the air with some forceps. She grabbed the crystal and went to bite it but before she could Scott jumped out of his seat, "Lydia!"

She stopped and looked at him, "What?"

"Um...nothing." He mumbled as he slowly sat back down.

Lydia rolled her eyes and then began to eat the crystal. I didn't feel any pain or anything going on inside of my head, so I guess she will be okay. But if the goo doesn't affect her... does that mean she is the Kanima?

✢

After Chemistry class, we decided to have a small meeting in the Janitor's closet. Allison, Scott, Stiles, and myself all piled in there the second the bell rang. My jeans had little cuts in them- and some blood had seeped through, but you couldn't really tell due to the black material.

"Derek is waiting outside of the school for Lydia," Scott said quickly.

Allison rose an eyebrow, "To kill her?"

"Yeah. Especially after what happened at the pool."

I sighed, "Scott... she isn't the Kanima."

"She didn't pass the test, Kasey. Nothing happened to her. She was completely fine." Scott pointed out as he glanced at me.

"It's not her, I know that sounds crazy after what just happened- but I have a feeling, a very strong feeling that it isn't her. She is something, just not the Kanima." I argued as I ran my hands over my face. I know that she isn't the Kanima. I just know it.

Allison shook her head from side to side, "It doesn't matter, what does matter is that Derek thinks it's her. So either we can convince him that he's wrong, or we've got to figure out a way to protect her."

"Well I really don't think he's going to do anything here, not at school." Scott stated as he rubbed at his eye.

"What about after school?" Allison asked as she sat down on the desk.

This is getting so much more complicated, now we have Derek and his two little were-minions trying to kill Lydia. Again, he is having issues with his social skills. He could get answers so much easier if he just would ask questions instead of just jumping to conclusions all the time.

"Well what if we can prove Derek wrong?" Allison inquired.

I sighed, "By three o'clock?"

"There could be something in the bestiary," She pointed out.

Stiles chuckled, "Oh you mean the 900 page book written in archaic Latin that none of us can read? Good luck with that."

"Actually... I think I know someone who might be able to translate it." Allison said thoughtfully, who in the hell knows archaic Latin in Beacon Hills? That isn't exactly a language that is widely used at the time..

Scott nodded, "Uh, I can talk to Derek, maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove that it's not her. But if anything happens, you guys let me handle it. Okay?"

"What does that mean?" Allison asked in confusion.

My brother locked eyes with his secret girlfriend, "You don't heal like I do. I just don't want you getting hurt."

I then watched as Allison started to dig through her bag, she pulled out a piece of metal that when like flicked a certain way extended into a travel size crossbow. Well that certainly is handy... and kind of scary.

She held it up in the air, "I can handle myself."

Scott was silent as he just looked at her, they were about to have one of their intense couple moments- I can see it now. Stiles and I don't ever really have those in front of people... I don't think we do anyway. I'll have to pay more attention to that.

"What? Did something else happen?" Allison asked slowly.

"No. I just don't want you getting hurt. Seriously if anything happens you let me now. I don't care if your dad finds out. Call, text, scream, yell, whatever. I'll hear you and I'll get there as fast as I can. We have until three." Scott said seriously as he made his way to the door.

I glanced at my boyfriend who was holding Allison's small crossbow, before I could question what he was doing an arrow shot out and nearly hit Scott in the face- thankfully his werewolf sense allowed him to catch it before it took his eye out. I stood there in shock as Allison turned around to take the crossbow from Stiles, "Ah...sorry, that's...a sensitive trigger...on that."

"You're an idiot," I sighed.

____________________________________________________________________

And yet another update, woo. My head hurts, and I really just want to write about season three, I have so many idea's planned and it would just make writing so much easier- but I have to get through season two first. Anyway, hope you all are enjoying the story so far. How cute was the Stasey thing in this chapter- I loved it. :) be sure to fan, vote, and commentttttt! xx