APRIL SCRUNCHED UP her nose is disgust as Stiles mumbled in his sleep. They were at the hospital, waiting to hear anything about how Lydia was doing when all of a sudden, he slumped down in his chair and closed is eyes. Now, not only was a Sharpe girl bored, but she had to listen to whatever the hell Stiles was saying in his probably disgusting dream.

"Oh," he sighed, just as Melissa passed by them with a clipboard in hand. "Just like that. No, no, you first. Me first?" The woman shook her head at him before he stopped talking and just began snoring.

Lydia's dad stepped out a moment later, smiling at April and looking at Stiles confused before turning to Melissa. "He's been here all night?" he asked, pointing at the sleeping boy his the chair next to his daughter's friend.

"He's been here all weekend," the McCall woman told him as Stiles made kissing noises. Stiles' leg kicked up and almost took one of April's eyes out, so she moved a couple seats away from him.

She was glad she did that because when a nurse bent down to take the trash out, the Stilinski whispered, "You're dirty." April stuck her face in her hands and tried to pretend like she didn't know him. His eyes slowly opened, and when he realized where he was he sat up, running into one of the balloons tied to his chair.

He looked around before his eyes landed on his blonde friend sitting four seats away from him. "Rise and shine, loverboy," she smirked, leaning back in her chair.

"What are you talking about?" he quizzed, gazing at her with a confused expression.

April's smug smile only grew bigger as she repeated what he had been saying just moments ago. "Just like that. No, no. You first."  She giggled when his eyes went wide in realization, and his face turned red in embarrassment.

"Shut up," he grumbled, placing his feet on the ground and standing up. "I'm going to get a snack from the vending machine, and I'm not getting you anything." She nodded, and he disappeared around the corner. But after a total of two seconds, his head stuck out from behind the wall. "Do you have any change?"

April rolled her eyes before digging through her purse and handing him a handful of quarters. He went off on his journey for the second time, but after a few moments, the Sharpe heard some banging, a thud, and the sound of breaking glass. "Oh, god," she muttered to herself, knowing the most probable cause of the noise.

She didn't have much time to dwell on it, however, because the sound of Lydia's scream made her jump to her feet. She rushed to the girl's door as Stiles, Melissa, and Mr. Martin arrived. "Lydia? Lydia!" Stiles yelled.

"What the hell was that?" Melissa said, panicked as she opened the door of Lydia's room. The four of them rushed inside, but as soon as they saw that she wasn't on her bed, Stiles pushed past them and barged into the bathroom, the others following shortly after.

The water was still running, but Lydia was nowhere to be seen. Melissa reached over and turned off the tap as they all looked around in shock and worry. April frowned when she saw Stiles staring at something, and realization came to her.

The window was open.

《❀》

"NAKED?" THE SHERIFF QUIZZED Melissa as they walked down the hallway with Mr. Martin. They had called the police as soon as they had realized that Lydia wasn't in her room, and they had arrived about ten minutes later. "As in nude?"

"I'm pretty sure they mean the same thing, but, yes, as far as we know, she left here clothing-optional," the woman answered, seemingly frustrated. This had never happened before. Of course there had been weird and suspicious activity in that hospital before, but no patient had ever just gotten up, screamed, and left.

Sheriff Stilinski nodded, writing all of it down in his notepad as the deputy trailed behind them. They came to a stop, and he faced Melissa. "All right, you checked the whole hospital, right?"

"Every last corner," she replied. Until the police got there, her, Mr. Martin, Stiles, April, and all of the nurses had searched the hospital high and low, but no one found Lydia or anything that could be related to her disappearance.

"Nothing suspicious?"

"Nothing," Melissa and Mr. Martin glanced at each as if to check if either of them found anything. "She just took off."

The sheriff turned to his deputy and ordered, "All right, let's get an APB out on a 16-year-old redhead." The other officer nodded and left, and Stilinski turned back to Melissa. "Any other descriptors?"

Before she could answer, Stiles walked in between them with April behind him. "5'3", green eyes, fair-skinned, and her hair is actually strawberry blonde."

"Is that right?" the boy's father asked him, and April watched in amusement. She had always found Stiles' obsession with Lydia cute, and while her strawberry blonde friend found it flattering, she said it was never going to happen.

Stilinski grabbed his son by the back of his neck, and the boy yelped in pain. "Come here," he whispered. "What the hell are you still doing here?"

"Um," Stiles hesitated, racking his brain for a good answer that wasn't 'I'm in love with her.' "Providing moral support?"

"How about you provide your ass back home where you should be," the man told him, and April unsuccessfully hid her small giggle with a cough.

Stiles nodded. "Okay, I can do that too. April, do you need a ride?" The blonde shook her head, but followed him out, deciding that she should probably go home as well. As soon as they had stepped out of earshot of the adults, Stiles turned to her. "Ready for a fun hunt around town?"

"No, Stiles," the blonde groaned. "It's too cold for that. What is that?" Stiles had just pulled something out of his jacket that looked like a piece of crumpled cloth.

"This is what Scott is going to use to track Lydia's scent. And while we're out there, risking our lives to find your best friend, you'll just be sitting at home as Lydia freezes to death," Stiles answered, holding up the cloth to reveal that it was a hospital gown.

"Ugh, fine," April sighed after his successful attempt to guilt her into coming with them. "I'll come, but if I die of frost bite, you're out of my will."

"You already have a will? And I'm in it?"

《❀》

"SCOTT, BY THE WAY, you look like an idiot when you hang your head out the window like a dog," April informed the McCall boy as they walked through the forest and toward Derek's house. Allison had joined their search party at some point, and Scott was using his werewolf senses to find Lydia before Chris Argent and the other hunters get to her.

"I'll take note of that," Scott chuckled, "You know, for the next time I plan to track a naked girl in the woods."

"She came here?" Stiles questioned, turning to look at Scott as they approached the old, rickety house. On the very few occasions that April had entered it, she had always been scared that it was going to come crashing down on top of her. "You sure?"

Scott nodded, answering, "Yeah, this is where the scent leads." Stiles nodded, opening his mouth like he was going to say something, but they all just stared at the house in silence, remembering what had happened there just a few days ago. April turned to Allison who looked like she was picturing something that she didn't want to think about—her aunt's death.

"All right, but has Lydia ever been here?" Stiles asked as he stopped again to look at them. The question was because if she had never been there, how the hell would she know where it is and that there was even a house there?

April and Scott shook their heads as Allison replied, "Not with me." They continued toward the eery building, April and Stiles ahead of the couple, and the brunette girl continued, "Maybe she came here on instinct, like she was looking for Derek."

"You mean, looking for an Alpha," Scott clarified, and it sent a shiver down April's spine. The last thing they needed was another werewolf, especially a newly-turned one with the heightened personality of Lydia.

"Wolves need a pack, right?"

"Not all of them," the McCall answered, looking around to make sure that no one was following them. Lydia was nowhere to be seen, but they couldn't call out for her for fear of being heard by hunters or police.

"But would she be drawn to an Alpha?" Allison countered, searching for any explanation why Lydia would be there of all places. "Is it an instinct to be part of a pack?"

They paused, and Scott thought about it for a second before nodding again. "Yeah, we're stronger in packs." The blonde had stopped with them so that she could hear what they were saying better, but Stiles kept on going.

"Like strength in numbers," Allison said, understanding, for she had been taught that by her father. The bigger the hunting party, the less likely you are to get killed, or worse, bitten.

"No," Scott responded, "Like, literally stronger, faster, better in every way." Being a part of a pack made werewolves more dangerous and harder to kill. April didn't know if that made her feel better or worse. If Lydia had found Derek, than maybe he could protect her from the Argents and their friends, but if that happens, that would also mean that she would be a werewolf and bonded to Derek.

Allison thought about that for a second before asking another question. "That's the same of an Alpha?" Somehow, Stiles had wandered to a spot behind them, and he was looking at something in the dark.

"That'll make Derek stronger too." 

"Woah, hey, look at this," Stiles called to them, and they all turned to see him crouched next to a tree, holding something that looked like a wire. "You see this?" Allison went to get a closer look while April and Scott remained in their spot. "I think it's a tripwire. There's another one over there." He pointed to a spot about two feet away from them, and Allison walked over to that one.

They both pulled them to see what would happen, and all of a sudden, April felt herself being pulled by her foot. Next thing she knew, she was hanging upside and staring at Scott, who was also upside down.

"Guys," Scott said to his two friends that were safely on the ground.

"Yeah, buddy," Stiles answered, and the two turned around to see Scott and April hanging. April hurriedly tucked her shirt into her jeans so that it didn't fall. "Oh."

"Next time you see a tripwire..." Scott sighed, and the blonde next to him could feel all the blood rushing to her head. "Don't trip it." 

"Yeah, noted." Him and Allison giggled a bit before moving to help their friends down.

Scott quickly stopped them, holding his hands up. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Someone's coming. Hide." When they made no effort to move, he urged them, "Go!"

They ran down the hill, finally reacting, and hid in darkness somewhere just as April saw the upside down bodies of the hunting party that Allison was talking about. "Oh, crap," the Sharpe groaned before smiling politely at them.

Once Chris Argent noticed who they were, he sighed and knelt in front of them so that they were face-to-face. "Scott? April?"

"Mr. Argent," the former replied.

With a smirk, the man asked, "How are you doing?" Care to help us down? April thought, her head already starting to ache.

"Good," Scott answered, his jacket almost falling off his arms. "You know, just hangin' out." It was a stupid joke, but the blonde couldn't stop the laugh that fell from her lips. Argent gave her a look, and she shut her mouth swiftly.

"This is a mighty fine trap you got here, Mr. Argent," April complimented. He had always liked her. Well, until he found out that she was best friends with the werewolf that had been dating his daughter. "Definitely can't get out of it."

"Nice design. Very constricting," Scott added.

Chris did not find it very funny. His face remained serious and unblinking. It was kind of creepy. "What are you two doing out here?"

"Looking for our friend," the boy replied, which was a reasonable and truthful response. He couldn't question that too much.

"That's right," Chris nodded, as if remembering that they hung out with Lydia. "Lydia's in your group now, isn't she? Part of the clique? Is that the word you use? Or is there another way to put it? Part of your pack?"

Scott gulped. "Actually, clique sounds about right to me." He opened his mouth to say something else, but he didn't get the chance.

"I think group is the best way to describe it," April interjected, knowing that Scott was probably about to get them in trouble. "We don't even all sit together at lunch."

"I hope so," the man told them. "'Cause I know she's a friend of Allison's and one special circumstance such as yourself, Scott...One, I can handle. Not two. Do either of you know what a hemicorporectomy is?"

"Bless you."

"I have a feeling I don't want to," Scott replied, and April shook her head.

Chris continued to explain, "A medical term for amputating somebody at the waist. Cutting them in half." Oh. 

The blonde commented sarcastically, "Oh, how pleasant." The image of that was enough to give her nightmares for the next few days. She didn't even know why she was being threatened. Scott was the one Chris hated so much.

"Takes a tremendous amount of strength to cut through tissue and bone like that." Chris ignored her comment and reached up to demonstrate to Scott where he would be cut if a hemicorporectomy ever happened to him. "Let's hope a demonstration never becomes necessary."

He then got up and pulled something out of his pocket. When April saw the silver blade of a knife, her eyes went wide. The man stood in front of her and reached up, and the blonde closed her eyes, thinking that this was the end.

Then her head hit the ground.

She groaned in pain as she realized that he had cut her down. He turned and walked away, leaving Scott to hang on his own. April smiled up at the McCall boy who was hanging above her.

"Loser."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

helloooooo! welcome to the first chapter of look after you. i promise that we will meet isaac soon, but for now, what do you think about april. i'm not the best writer, so if anything sounds weird, let me know. i'll see you soon. love you all so much! bye!

- LENA