𝙽𝚊𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚊'𝚜 𝙿𝙾𝚅

As I nervously pace around Derek's loft, my phone starts ringing loudly and I pull it out to see Lydia's caller ID.

"Lyds, what's up?" I ask in concern.

"N-Nat, I need you and Stiles to come to Beacon Hills public pool" She stutters and I frown.

"What's wrong? Are you okay?" I ask, looking at Stiles who walks over to me.

"I found a dead body" She declares and my heart drops.

"I'm on my way" I assure her, hanging up.

"What's happening?" Stiles asks me.

"We've gotta go, now. Lydia found a body" I rush out, grabbing his arm and dragging him to the door.

"Goodbye to you too!" Peter calls out sarcastically and I flip him my middle finger.

We jump into the Jeep and Stiles starts it up, slamming his foot down on the gas. In no time at all, we reach the public pool and I practically throw myself out the Jeep.

"Lydia? Lydia!" I scream, jogging towards her.

"Lydia, are you okay?" Stiles asks her as I pull her into a short hug.

"I'm okay" She nods "That, over there. Not okay"

I look over to where she gestured and I gulp when I see the guy sitting on the lifeguard's chair, throat slashed.

"Hey, don't look at it" Stiles tells me and I nod, turning my attention to Lydia.

"Yeah, all right. I'm gonna call my dad" He adds.

"I already called 911" Lydia replies.

"You called the police before you called us?" Stiles retorts.

"I'm supposed to call you guys first when I find a dead body?" Lydia asks in disbelief.

"Yes!" Stiles screams in frustration.

"Stiles, enough!" I scold him, punching his arm "Call Scott and tell him Lydia found a body"

He reluctantly pulls out his phone and dials my brother's number. Scott picks up and the dorky boy explains the situation to him.

"Yep. Throat ripped out, blood everywhere. It's like the freaking Shining over here. If two little twin girls come out of the woods, start asking me to play with them forever and ever, I'm not gonna be surprised" Stiles exaggerates and I rub Lydia's back as she lays her head on my shoulder.

Stiles gets a little closer to the body and I grimace, turning to look at Lydia.

"You feeling okay, Lyds?" I mumble.

"Apart from the headache that feels like someone's drilling into my skull, I'm okay" She answers and I nod.

"We'll get you home as soon as we can" I assure her and she smiles gratefully at me.

"Thank you, Nat" She sighs and I smile at her reassuringly.

The loud sirens of police cars wail in the distance and soon swerve into the parking lot, a coroner's van in tow. The Sheriff gets out the first car and he walks over to us.

"Who found the body?" He asks as the coroner approaches the chair holding the corpse.

"I did" Lydia answers, standing up straight.

"I'm gonna need to ask you a few questions. Is that okay?" Sheriff Stilinski says and Lydia nods.

The man looks at Stiles and I, giving us a look that screams 'get lost' and I get the message before the dork next to me does.

"We'll just wait in the Jeep" I speak up, grabbing Stiles' arm.

"That's a good idea" The Sheriff nods at me as I drag his son away.

Stiles hops into the driver seat, much to his protest and I climb into the passenger seat.

"You didn't have to drag me away" The boy grumbles.

"Trust me, I did. Your dad wanted us out the way. I know his 'go away' look" I argue.

"What would you know about my dad? You haven't seen him in eight years" Stiles scoffs and I feel a pang in my chest.

Stiles looks at me and his face drops when he sees he's hurt my feelings.

"Natalia, I'm sor-" I cut him off.

"No, you're right. I waltzed in after being gone for years and just assumed everything was still the same, but it's not. Lydia has a new best friend. Theo is gone. Isaac has Derek to protect him. My brother's a werewolf. There's an Alpha pack in town" I drawl off with a deep frown "I guess I just thought you hadn't changed. That you had stayed the same. But you're different too"

"Different?" Stiles asks in confusion.

"You're not my brother's dorky best friend who I have to stick up for on the playground anymore. You're smarter now, and a hell of a lot more sarcastic" I explain with a smile and Stiles chuckles "You're still a dork, but you're different"

"You're different too" Stiles replies and I raise a brow "You're prettier with all your teeth, you're a lot more confident and a little meaner"

We both laugh loudly and I shake my head, looking out the windscreen. Our laughter dies down and I let out a sigh.

"Maybe I should go back to San Francisco" I suggest.

"No!" Stiles objects immediately and I look at him in surprise "I mean, don't go. You just got here. Scott will be devastated if you leave him again, so will your mom"

"Just Scott and my mom?" I ask in amusement.

"Well, Lydia too" He shrugs and I smile softly.

"That's it? No one else?" I ask and he drums his thumbs on the steering wheel.

"I might miss you a little" He mumbles.

"So, you want me to stay?" I say, hiding my amusement from the boy.

"Yeah" He nods.

"Okay" I reply and he looks at me in surprise.

"Okay?" He asks.

"Okay" I confirm.

❦ ❦ ❦

"You didn't have to follow me home" Lydia declares as we enter her bedroom.

"We just wanted to make sure you got in okay" Stiles shrugs.

"I had a police escort" Lydia sasses him and I snort, sitting down on her bed next to her.

"I know the inner workings of that force, all right? They're not nearly as reliable as people think" Stiles explains.

"Well, you also don't have to follow me into my room" Lydia says matter of factly.

"Well, I...Uh, yeah, I don't have an answer for that" He answers and I shake my head with a smile "We can leave"

I stand up next to Stiles and he makes a move to turn around but Lydia's voice stops him.

"Are you really gonna go without asking me the question that you've been dying to ask me?" Lydia asks and I frown in confusion, looking at Stiles.

"Well, I'm not- I haven't been dying to ask anything. No questions here for Stiles. Nothing" The spastic boy rambles, making me roll my eyes.

"I can see it on your faces" She sighs, looking down at her feet.

"Maybe my face just has, like, a naturally interrogatory expression" He suggests.

"Well, your interrogatory expression is getting on my nerves" Lydia snaps before taking a deep breath "The answer is, I have no clue how I ended up finding that body. I didn't even know where I was until I got out of the car"

"Yeah, but the last time something like this happened..." Stiles drawls off.

"I know. Derek's uncle" Lydia states.

"Peter" I add.

My phone rings in my pocket and I pull it out, answering the call when I see my mom's caller ID.

"Hey, Mom" I greet her.

"Hi, baby. Are you with your brother and Stiles?" She asks me.

"Stiles is with me, but Scott is out" I answer.

"That's good. We just got a body at the hospital ...I think you and Stiles should come down here and check this out" She explains and my eyes widen, my arm shooting out to hit Stiles.

"Ow!" He complains.

"We're on our way" I tell her.

"Okay. Don't take too long" She replies.

"We won't. Love you" I smile.

"Love you too" She responds before I hang up.

"We have to get going, Lyds, but call me if you need anything" I tell the strawberry blonde.

"Thanks again, Nat" She smiles weakly.

I give her a quick hug before grabbing Stiles' arm and dragging him out of the Martin household.

"What did your mom want?" He asks as we hop in the Jeep.

"Something about the body. She wants to show us something" I answer and he starts up the car.